The Devon historian Pole (died 1635) states that it "hath taken his name from the situacion", presumably meaning that it was a cott (mediaeval farmstead) on the east side of the manor of Talaton.

Swete remarked in his Travel Journal: "From the sight of the tents I assumed a notion that Sir George with some of his friends was come once more to greet the Lares of his ancestors".

[30] He is said to have told the unfortunate young female house-guest who caused the fire by drying her clothing too close to the fireplace in her bedroom: "My dear, I forgive you, but I never wish to see you again".

[31] The author William Makepiece Thackeray was an acquaintance of the 1st Baronet and his children, and in 1852, long after his death, he used his memories of former visits to Escot in writing his novel Pendennis.

The protagonist "Major Pendennis" was based on the 1st Baronet, and features of the house and grounds appear in the book, thinly disguised.

[32] The present house was built in 1838 by Sir John Kennaway, 2nd Baronet (1797–1873) (whose father had died two years earlier in 1836), to the design of Henry Roberts.

[30] It is built of Flemish bond brick and appears yellow on the forward aspects but red to the rear and service buildings.

Sir John Kennaway, 3rd Baronet (1837–1919), son, lived through the agricultural depression of the 1870s and sold off some of the estate's farms to the tenants and increased rents on others.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 Sir John joined the Home Guard, being too old to serve in the main forces.

Escot became a home for 40 evacuee children from London, under management of the Waifs and Strays Society, and the Kennaway family moved out temporarily to Fairmile, a house on the estate.

[35] Sir John Lawrence Kennaway, 5th Baronet (1933 – October 22, 2017), son, who in 1956 inherited from his father an estate which was barely financially viable, partly due to high death duties payable.

In the interests of economy he demolished the derelict and redundant old nursery at the rear of the house, but retained the remainder of the service buildings next to it, including the old dairy, the bread oven and the bothy.

In 1988 he married Lucy Bradshaw-Smith (born 1966), from nearby Ottery St Mary, trained in catering, who with her husband "shared a love of the natural world and a selfless commitment to the Escot cause".

The couple have faced many setbacks including:[30] Otters and wild boar were introduced to the estate and boosted visitor numbers to 4,500 in 1990.

The house itself is now hired out for a variety of events, including a Policeman's Ball, wedding receptions from 1994, Civil Marriage ceremonies from 1996, conferences, etc.