Portledge Manor, Manor house in Alwington, England
Portledge Manor is a stone country house in Alwington, close to the North Devon coast, featuring a dining room with a heraldic ceiling and a Spanish-style courtyard. It is listed at Grade II*, which places it among the most protected historic buildings in England.
The Coffin family took possession of the estate after the Norman Conquest and held it for close to nine centuries before selling in 1998. Few English country houses remained in a single family's hands for so long, which gives this property an unusual place in local history.
The manor holds a collection of Spanish armor and weapons gathered by the family over several centuries, still visible inside the house today. These objects point to connections that reached far beyond Devon, making the interior feel like a crossroads of distant worlds.
The house is in Alwington, a small village in North Devon, and is easiest to reach by car. Inside, rooms follow a traditional layout with narrow corridors, so comfortable footwear makes the visit easier.
The chapel on the grounds contains an arch from the 13th century, one of the oldest surviving parts of the property. Nearby, a building known as the Brew House marks where hops were once grown and beer was made for the household.
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