Lupton, Brixham

[5] At some time before 1792[6] it was sold by Charles II Hayne, who had only lived in his new house for about twenty years, to the judge Sir Francis Buller, 1st Baronet (1746–1800), of nearby Churston Court, which he let to a tenant.

[7] Judge Buller had another residence, on bleak Dartmoor, known as Prince Hall,[8] where he was a pioneer of moorland reclamation.

[11] Lupton later became a seat of the Peverell family, which according to the Devon historian Tristram Risdon (d. 1640) occupied it for ten generations.

[32] In 1788 he sold Lupton to Judge Francis Buller and made Fuge House his principal residence.

He died in 1821, having bequeathed Fuge House to his great-nephew Charles I Seale-Hayne (d.1842) (on condition he should adopt the additional surname of Hayne), the second son of Sir John Henry Seale, 1st Baronet (1780–1844), of Mount Boone, Dartmouth, the son of his sister Sarah Hayne.

Sir Francis Buller, 1st Baronet (1746-1800) "since the acquisition of so fine a place (i.e. Lupton) hath quitted Churston, the antient seat of the Yarde's", as wrote Rev.

He noted that the north drive passed through 'newly planted grounds' and 'a most luxuriant shrubbery' which included a "great variety of flowering shrubs".

[41] Sir Francis Buller-Yarde-Buller, 2nd Baronet (1767–1833), son and heir, who inherited Lupton and Churston.

[45] A notice appeared in 1841 in a local newspaper: The recent alterations and improvements at Lupton, the splendid residence of Sir J Yarde Buller having been completed the Honourable Baronet has again returned to it with all of his establishment.

At about the same time the artist Samuel Cook was commission to paint murals on the walls of the staircase of views immediately outside the house.

[49] Further remodeling of the house was made by the 1st Baron in 1860 when he commissioned Anthony Salvin to make more additions.

It seems that two famous designers were involved in the laying out of Lupton Gardens in 1840, namely James Veitch and George Wightwick.

The Italian gardens appear to have been at least partially designed by George Wightwick as a detailed coloured plan survives in his portfolio entitled: "Design for the Italian gardens, Lupton House, near Brixham: general plan and elevation and section of balustrade on its dwarf wall".

[53] He was a friend of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George and Queen Mary) and was a member of the house party that entertained them at Ugbrooke Park when they visited Devon in 1899.

[citation needed] John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston (1873–1930), son and heir, who was born in 1873 and was educated at Winchester College and later served for many years in the Scots Guards.

The 3rd Baron had six children, including Joan Yarde-Buller, who in 1936 married Prince Aly Khan in Paris.

Richard Francis Roger Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston (1910–1991), son and heir, who owned Lupton until 1960 during most of which time it was let as he did not live there.

The estate played a major role in the support and training of the U.S. Infantry in their preparations for Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings.

[56] In 1960 the property was acquired by Rowland Smith (d. 1979), proprietor of Rowland Smith Motors in Hampstead, North London, and of the Palace Hotel in Torquay, and who in 1949 had purchased as his country residence nearby Coleton Fishacre House, now owned by the National Trust.

[57] In 2008 the Lupton Trust was established which currently uses the house and grounds for a variety of commercial activities, mainly concerning community groups, charities and social enterprises, all designed to assist in financing a restoration.