Hemerdon House
Still the home of the family for which it was built, a late eighteenth-century house with a wealth of local and family history.
Plympton, Devon, PL7 5BZ
Facilities
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Free parking
Wheelchair access
All the reception rooms on the ground floor are accessible, and these are where most of the pieces of historical significance are to be found. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access to the first floor and no disabled WC. Access to the grounds and parkland is limited. Please contact us for more information.
Built in the late eighteenth century by the Woollcombe family, the current owners’ ancestors, Hemerdon House contains a wealth of local and family history, with artefacts collected by the family through generations.
On Open Days (please see their website for details) visitors are invited to enjoy a guided tour of the interior followed by a leisurely wander through the parkland with its pond and walled garden.
The presence of the family in Devon has been recorded since the 1100s, and in the Plympton area since the 1500s. The family’s participation in local public life – in particular over the last 300 years, through the naval and military services, the clergy, the law, medicine, and local government – is reflected in the contents of the house.
The major fittings, fireplaces and the like are thought to be original, and the furnishings have been accumulated over the years by the family for the house. These include a number of paintings and objets d’art, many acquired by Henry Woollcombe, who was a founder of the Plymouth Athenaeum and an enthusiastic patron of local artists.
Hemerdon offers an intimate insight into a country house and its family from the late 18th-century to the present day.
Please note: The information on the Historic Houses website is advisory, but please always check the website of the house or garden you intend to visit before travelling.
Please see the house’s website for open dates.
Free to Historic Houses members. Please see the house’s website for standard admission prices.
Please see the house’s website for group visit arrangements.
Schools are welcome to visit Hemerdon.
Please contact hemerdon.house@gmail.com or 07704 708416.
Wheelchair access
All the reception rooms on the ground floor are accessible, and these are where most of the pieces of historical significance are to be found. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access to the first floor and no disabled WC. Access to the grounds and parkland is limited. Please contact us for more information.
Getting here
Plympton, Devon, PL7 5BZ
Hemerdon House is located between the villages of Hemerdon and Sparkwell in the South Hams area of Devon. Plymouth is approximately 7 miles away, along the A38, and Exeter about 40 miles.
SatNav instructions are variable and may be misleading at the very last stage of the journey. Please check the website for accurate directions.
Find the exact address on what3words: ///crowned.list.inform.
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