[8] In 1925 the property was purchased by Lt-Col Reginald Cooper, who was the oldest friend of Sir Harold Nicolson, having been his contemporary at Wellington College and a colleague in the Diplomatic Corps.

Cooper's larger projects included moving the River Tone to save his favourite pine trees from erosion.

[11] In the 2003 book "England’s Thousand Best Houses", Simon Jenkins awarded Cothay four out of five stars "for its authentic medieval interiors ‘of incomparable value’".

[13] In 2008 and 2009, the manor was the subject of a Channel 4 television programme presented by hotelier Ruth Watson as part of her Country House Rescue series.

[16][17] In an interview in August 2011, the Robbs said they had accepted some of Watson's advice as they had discussed in the "revisited" episode (which aired in November 2009) but had also implemented some new concepts of their own with a "little bit more soul, spirit and meaning".

"[10] The report also provided this summary of the full property: The manor itself comprises a 16,700sq ft complex of residential buildings surrounding its medieval core — the Robb family’s private domain — with outlying elements, including the north wing, the studio annexe, the coach house, its adjoining cottage and a one-bedroom first-floor flat, currently let on assured shorthold tenancies.In early June 2020, the property was listed for sale at £5 million,[22] and sold in October 2020 to its new owners for £5.25M.