A Landmark Setting for Unforgettable Moments

In his book ‘The Curate and the General’ (2013), Roger Bowen (1935-2023), once a trustee of Devon Historic Buildings Trust (founded 1973), said of Haldon Belvedere: ‘People often ask about the history of the building and the reason for its construction and they almost always want to know more than is available from current easily available literature'. Haldon Belvedere (Lawrence Castle), Devon’s iconic Grade II-listed triangular tower, which crowns the ridge of the Haldon Hills, was commissioned by Sir Robert Palk (1717-1798) in memory of his great friend, Major-General Stringer Lawrence (1698-1775). A Visitors’ Guide explains that: ‘Lawrence had served in Gibraltar, Italy, the Low Countries and at Culloden. In 1747, aged 50 and having left the British Army, the East India Company recruited him to go out to India and start what later became the Indian Army. Robert Clive served under him’. Completed in 1788, clergyman John Swete (d.1821) visited Haldon Belvedere the following year and wrote in his diary: ‘As we were now on our departure from Haldown (sic) on the descent of its northern extremity, we had before us a triangular tower raised by Sir Robert Palk and devoted to the memory of his friend, General Lawrence. It had a round tower at each angle and rose three stories (sic) high. From its own elevation and that of the conical hill on which it was placed it became an object to the most distant parts of the county, it is hardly possible to conceive a spot better adapted to an edifice of this nature than this of Pen Hill, dominated so by the Britons on account of its eminence’. He drew a picture of the breathtaking sight on a page facing these comments, and continued: ‘I took the opposite sketch from the road from whence the pine-clad hill and the tower were seen in great perfection’. Although the Hill was bare of vegetation in his drawing, the trees that provide a green canopy had been planted. The author of ‘The Tower on the Hill’ (2008), Christopher Pidsley, tells us: ‘It is said that much of the material for the building of the three-sided tower came from the ruins of Sir George Chudleigh’s house, Place Barton, near Higher Ashton. Three-sided towers were very much in fashion at the time. The Duke of Cumberland had Shrub Hill Tower built at Windsor in 1757, and the Courtenays erected one on their estate at Powderham in 1773. Another, Severndroog Castle, had been built in 1784 at Shooters Hill, South London’. Iain Fraser in his book ‘The Palk Family: Haldon House and Torquay’ (2008) said: ‘Figures suggest that it cost in the region of £2,000-£3,000 to build the folly-like castle. It was said that Robert Palk was going to enjoy looking down on his neighbours and rivals in Dunchideock, the Pitman family. In response, the Pitmans planted a screen of elm, birch and hawthorn trees on the boundary of their land so that in due course the tower would be hidden from view’. The Palk family had purchased Haldon House (built 1720-1735) on the far side of Pen Hill in 1769. The country mansion, standing in a bucolic and serene setting, had been modelled on the Duke of Buckingham’s London home, which later became Buckingham Palace. Sir Robert Palk was born near Ashburton, educated at the Grammar School and Wadham College, Oxford. He was then ordained in the Church of England, becoming a Royal Navy Chaplain, but later renounced Holy Orders to serve on the Council of the East India Company and, subsequently, as Governor of Madras. Having amassed great wealth through trading silks, spices, diamonds and coral, after two periods in India, he returned to England, where he was elected a Member of Parliament. He was extremely influential in political and society circles, while his son and eventual successor, Sir Lawrence Palk (1766-1813), was instrumental in the development of Torquay, building a manor house there to entertain important guests, among whom were Crowned Heads of Europe, who visited both his lavish homes. Haldon Belvedere was not only a memorial, but a feature to enhance the landscape surrounding Haldon House. It also provided a unique opportunity to extend the Palks’ hospitality in the opulent ballroom. Christopher Pidsley explained: ‘The tower…also served a practical purpose, being used for elaborate entertainment. The guests and liberal refreshments were transported from the house via a specially constructed carriage drive incorporating two bridges over public roads…After a visit by George III and Queen Charlotte, in 1789, the carriage drive became known as The King’s Drive’. The Royal visit to the Westcountry took place after the King’s illness. His Majesty travelled with Queen Charlotte and their daughters, Princess Charlotte (the Princess Royal), Princess Augusta and Princess Elizabeth. They stayed at the Deanery in Exeter, intending to travel to Plymouth to review the fleet, but whilst in the area, Sir Robert Palk entertained them at Haldon House and took them to visit the Belvedere. Unfortunately, His Majesty was unable to complete the Naval review, as the Royal Party dramatically returned to London with due haste, as the French Revolution began.

The Palk family left Haldon House in 1892, after which the Bannatyne family from Ireland lived there, having purchased the entire estate (with the tower) for £46,000, spending almost £100,000 on improvements and expansion during their tenure. Christopher Pidsley paints a glorious, yet tragic picture: ‘The house and grounds were the setting for elaborate social gatherings. Family photographs of the period record finely dressed ladies and gentlemen, enjoying picnics and games of tennis and cricket in the early years of the 20th century. In July 1911, the Bannatynes’ elder daughter married Ludovick Heathcote-Amory, of Knightshayes Court, Tiverton. Sadly the idyllic life on the estate was soon overshadowed by the outbreak of the First World War, and the death of Mr Bannatyne on 18th October 1915. Less than a year later the news came from France that his son James had died on 14th May 1916, as a result of wounds received in battle. Before the conflict was over, his son-in-law was also dead’. Mrs Bannatyne, devasted by their deaths, planned to leave Haldon House and began the process of selling off the estate, along with various good and chattels. A vast auction took place in 1920 under the auspices of Messrs. Hannaford and Son, of Exeter. Smallholdings, single and groups of cottages, gardens, farms, lodges, parkland, stables and the chapel were sold; even Dunchideock Post Office did not escape the auctioneer’s hammer. Haldon Belvedere was offered with this description (from the Haldon Estate 1920 Auctioneers Catalogue): Belvedere Tower Erected in 1788 by Sir Robert Palk, to the memory of Major General Stringer Lawrence, who for 20 years commanded the British Armies of India and laid the foundations of the British Empire in Hindustan. It stands at an altitude of about 812 feet above sea level, is built in the Norman style of architecture, and consists of a triangular building with round towers at each corner and each of the three floors contains a large hall and two ante-rooms. From the lead roof, most extensive views can be obtained of the Mouth of the Exe, Portland Bill, the Quantock Hills, Blackdown, the high lands about Okehampton, Brentor, and the Cliffs of Beer and Seaton. To the north-east of the tower, a ‘picturesque’ timber and thatched cottage’ with two rooms used ‘for luncheon parties in the shooting season’ was also offered at auction. Haldon House and Belvedere did not find buyers and a further series of auctions were held, culminating in 1925, by which time the House had ‘deteriorated so badly’, according to Christopher Pidsley, ‘that it was eventually sold for demolition; the price, £8,500, which included just 36 acres of the surrounding land’. One wing of the house survived. Haldon Belvedere had been closed since the outbreak of the Great War. By 1925, the tower was totally obscured by trees, although they were cleared to some extent by timber merchants, Bartlett and Bayliss. Mr Bartlett’s daughter bought the tower from a short-lived syndicate, who had previously acquired the property and she sold it to the Dale family: Bernard and Annie Dale, and their sons, Edward and Cyril. (They also had a married son, who lived locally). Mrs Dale was particularly enthusiastic about their new home; Christopher Pidsley wrote: ‘…she opened the tower to the public, establishing a tea room for the many visitors. Local people remember Mrs Dale presiding over the operation in a variety of very large floppy hats!’ One of the brothers would sit at a table at the bottom of the drive with a roll of threepenny tickets, charging admission to the grounds.

For three consecutive nights in April 1942, Exeter became the first target of German ‘Baedeker’ raids across England, which Historic England describes as: ‘a fresh wave of bombing’ that ‘targeted small, historic cities’. Bath and Coventry would also suffer from these raids. ‘The aim was to damage historic buildings of cultural importance and spread fear among the population’. A lone aircraft struck Exeter on the first and second nights; however, a deadly swarm of twenty-five Nazi attackers appeared on the third night, dropping a lethal load of incendiary bombs and high explosives. A further raid happened the following month. The Luftwaffe, flying up the silent, silver ribbon of the River Exe, used Haldon Belvedere, standing sentinel on the ridge to the left of their flightpath, as a waymark. Meanwhile, the Dale family continued to reside at the tower in the early part of WWII, but their views on the conflict would prove controversial, as reported in the ‘Western Morning News’. During July 1942, Edward and Cyril Dale were summoned to Exeter Police Court ‘for failing to comply with an order issued by a National Service officer to work on a land drainage scheme at Holsworthy’. They had previously been sentenced to six months in prison the previous year ‘for failing to attend a medical examination prior to entering the Armed Forces’. The brothers pleaded ‘Not Guilty’ to their second offence, to which someone in the public gallery shouted: ‘You ought to be under German rule!’. The brothers stated they ‘could not recognise the National Service Act’ on religious grounds with Edward elaborating further on his views and Cyril telling the Court they ‘had not been doing nothing’ since being released, as they ‘kept a restaurant and twenty-two acres of land at Lawrence Castle’. The Clerk to the Magistrates told them: ‘You mustn’t make the witness-box a forum for your religious beliefs’. The Chairman of the Bench finally decided that as they were unlikely to change their minds, they must serve another term in prison and sentenced them to a further three months’ loss of liberty. At some point, the British Army moved into Haldon Belvedere and used the tower as an observation post. A field in Dunchideock below the tower was known as ‘Searchlight’ at this time, which may indicate further activity. More clandestinely, an Auxiliary Unit operated around Haldon. These men, 5,000 of them across the country and sometimes also members of the Home Guard, were trained to form a resistance should the Germans invade Britain. They led a secretive, shadowy existence, training three nights each week, also quietly patrolling the area between Exeter and Teignmouth. After the war, during 1947, Mrs Annie Dale, Edward and Cyril’s mother, took the Army to Court, asking for compensation after damage to the tower’s stairs – with ninety steps to the turreted roof, the longest cantilevered spiral staircase in England. Iain Fraser, tells us: ‘Mrs Dale was awarded £405 by the General Claims Tribunal for damage caused to the interior of the building whilst in the possession of the Army during the war. The tower was an ideal strategic look-out post. Hob-nailed boots were blamed for a lot of the damage made to the stairs. It was a lot less than the £3,191.00 she originally filed for. One wonders if she was trying to get back at the government for having jailed her sons…’. Fre

Christopher Pidsley described the state of Haldon Belvedere while the Dale family lived there: ‘Living conditions in the Tower must have been very spartan, as there was no electricity or water supply, and the toilet was an ivy-clad privy in the trees. The only heating was provided by an open fire on each floor, with the chimneys in one of the corner towers’, although in later years, the Dales were able to use Calor Gas for heating and cooking meals. The fabric of the building ‘progressively deteriorated’, standing prominently, exposed to four counties. In 1960, a ferocious storm struck the building, destroying one of the turrets and startling Mrs Dale, who was in bed at the time, and during 1990, three windows were smashed in another devasting storm. Edward was now an elderly man, enduring a difficult existence after the death of Cyril. This hastened change and another chapter in Haldon Belvedere’s history. Shortly before his death in 1994, Edward had approached both the National Trust and the Landmark Trust, asking them to preserve the tower. As neither were able to assist, he set up the Stringer Lawrence Memorial Trust to ensure the building’s preservation. The Trust arranged for the well-established Devon Historic Buildings Trust to manage Haldon Belvedere and lead on restoration. The full-scale architectural project cost over £450,000 in total (exceeding the £390,000 estimate) with a major part of the funding provided through a substantial grant of £200,000 from English Heritage, while Devon County Council, Exeter City Council and Teignbridge District Council also made significant contributions. The work took place during 1995. Devon author, naturalist and historian, Brian Carter (1937-2015), on a circular walk around Doddiscombsleigh, noted in his book ‘Pub Walks in and Around the Haldon Hills’ (1996): ‘…I swung left at the junction, signposted Chudleigh. A songthrush sang and the horses in their field nodded their approval while I marched on to Lakeham Farm. The road looped up the hillside towards the vision of Lawrence Castle (Haldon Belvedere) which was wrapped in polythene and scaffolding, to the crossroads where my route left was signposted Exeter’. Haldon Belvedere was proudly unveiled in April 1996, as reported in the ‘Herald Express’, which published a photograph of Lady Lucinda Lambton, respected writer, photographer and broadcaster on architectural subjects, outside the tower with Chairman of Devon Historic Buildings Trust, Roger Bowen, and the architect, John Earnshaw. Lady Lambton was reported to be ‘enchanted’ with the result and described the building as ‘very, very beautiful…It is like a gothic wedding cake inside and a castle outside’. There was great excitement that the tower would be open to visitors and used for weddings, while the top floor had been converted into a holiday apartment with stunning views. A performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ took place in the grounds over Easter. The first wedding soon took place with solicitors Felicity Heath and Alan Hine taking advantage of the recent change in the law that allowed buildings other than places of worship and registry offices to be licensed for ceremonies. Astonishingly, Mr Hine’s grandmother was none other than Mrs Bessie Smith, daughter of timber merchant Mr Bartlett, who sold the tower to the Dale family. His mother, Mrs Bessie Hine, and his aunt, Mrs Dora Hill, had both lived in Haldon Belvedere until the Dales’ purchase, when they moved to a nearby cottage. The Bridegroom told a ‘Herald Express’ reporter: ‘We are delighted in a small way to be adding a little to the history of the tower which I remember well from my childhood and which has been part of my family history for a long time’. They intended to hold their reception at the Lord Haldon Hotel, the remaining wing of Haldon House.

After years of closure due to COVID-19 restrictions and legal issues, Devon Historic Buildings Trust agreed to a transfer of ownership from the Stringer Lawrence Memorial Trust. As this was completed, a major reconfiguration of trustees was completed with enthusiastic newcomers offering skills in law, charity governance, historic building renovation and landscaping, joining experienced figures with architectural, surveying and planning experience along with representatives of Devon County Council. Chairman of Devon Historic Buildings Trust, Mark Kingscote, spoke to Paul Greaves from www.devonlive.com, telling him about the plans for a new era: ‘This is one of the most historic buildings in the county and the trust has just taken ownership after many years of leasing the building. On the second floor we have just refurbished and decorated the apartment and we hope to let it out as a holiday let. That has been very successful in the past and brings in good income’. Mark added: ‘This is Exeter’s castle, but also one of Devon’s best kept secrets’. Professional relationships have been established with Devon Wildlife Trust, Exeter Cathedral and the Ministry of Justice (Community Payback), all of whom have provided guidance and support to maintain the tower and grounds. The Trust has close links with Dunchideock History Society and has also formed the Friends of Haldon Belvedere to help with fundraising. Haldon Belvedere has since been used for filming, photographic shoots, fashion spreads, ‘tour and tea’ events for local history societies, and business meetings, while Dr Rachel Trethewey gave a talk about her most recent book, ‘MUV’, a biography of Lady Redesdale, mother of the Mitford sisters. At the end of a successful year, BBC TV ‘Escape to the Country’ filmed for a Christmas celebrity edition, featuring presenter Angellica Bell, using footage in a segment about places to stay near properties viewed by Angellica. Devon Historic Buildings Trust looks forward to many more interesting and fruitful events.