Arlington Court

Arlington Court is a Regency-era house in North Devon with classical proportions and cream-coloured walls set within an estate of rolling grounds and mature trees. Inside, rooms are filled with collections of model ships, shells, and decorative objects acquired over time, while the stable block holds a museum of horse-drawn carriages ranging from state coaches to working vehicles.

The house was built in the early 1800s and remained under Chichester family ownership for generations, during which time they filled it with collections from their travels and interests. The National Trust took ownership in the mid-1900s and opened it to visitors, preserving the rooms much as the family had arranged them.

The house shows how the family who lived here collected objects from across the world, filling rooms with model ships, shells, and curiosities that reflected their travels and interests. Walking through the rooms gives you a sense of what mattered to them and how they displayed their discoveries.

The estate has parking near the entrance, a café inside the house, and accessible routes through the main areas for people of all abilities. If you want to explore beyond the house, marked walking trails wind through the woodlands in various lengths, so you can choose how far to go.

The carriage collection is one of the largest private collections in the country, and it shows more than just fancy state coaches—it includes everyday working vehicles that reveal how people of different ranks travelled. This mix of grand and ordinary tells a story about society and transportation methods that most visitors don't expect to find.