Escot House
Coordinates: 50°46′31″N 3°18′10″W / 50.7753°N 3.3029°W
Escot House is a privately owned 19th-century country house, the home of the Kennaway family, situated at Talaton, near Ottery St Mary, East Devon. It is a Grade II listed building.
A house was built at Escot in 1678 for Sir Walter Yonge Bt by Robert Hooke and altered by architect James Wyatt in 1795. It was sold in 1794 to Sir John Kennaway Bt, an East India Company diplomat then recently returned from India. The house was destroyed by fire in 1808 and the Kennaways lived for some time at Fairmile and Fort House, Sidmouth.
Sir John built the new house to a design by architect Henry Roberts in 1838. Built in yellow brick with limestone mouldings, the two-storey house has a square plan and symmetrical five-bayed west, south and east entrance fronts.
Sir John Henry Kennaway, the third Baronet, was Member of Parliament for East Devon and Honiton.
The house is not generally open to the public but is available for functions and is licensed for weddings.
Escot Park, the surrounding 220-acre (89 ha) park, designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and the gardens are open to the public. Escot Park is used for events including the annual Beautiful Days music festival and occasional other outdoor music and theatre performances.
References
- Escot - The Natural Place
- English Heritage:Images of England, photograph and architectural description of listed building
- Magna Britannia Vol 6 Devonshire (1822) p469 Talaton