Manor of Silverton

[6] In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as COLVN (i.e. "Colun"),[7] and was one of eleven manors held in Devon in-chief from King William the Conqueror by his Saxon thane Godwin.

[10] Most of the lands of the Saxon thanes of William the Conqueror eventually passed to the feudal barony of Gloucester, as was the case with Culme.

was tenant of several other manors from the Honour of Gloucester, including Down Umfraville[14] in the hundred of Axmouth, which had been held by Godwin the thane both before and after the Norman Conquest.

Other manors held at some time by the Sachville family or branches thereof included Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe and Bicton.

[16] An heiress named Margaret, possibly of the Sachville family, brought it by marriage to her husband Sir Simon Meriet.

The arms of Langford of Kilmackedrett were: Paly of six sable and or, on a chief vert a lion passant guardant of the second[21] which were visible on the facade of the now demolished Antrim Castle.

[22] These arms are almost identical to those of the Langford gentry family of Bratton Clovelly in Devon, of whom the earliest recorded head was Richard Langsford (died 1583).

[23] Sir Henry Langford's portrait, now in the collection of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, was painted in 1710 by William Gandy (1650-1729).

In his will he left a life interest in Combe Satchfield to his second wife Dorothy Taylor, with reversion after her death to his brother Thomas I Langford Brown.

"The great joy of all the boys was to spend their holidays with "Aunt Brown" at Combesatchfield, about ten miles away in the parish of Silverton.

This protest was perhaps not unnecessary when we know that there were two of these ponds on which excursions in tubs were wont to be made, also an old pistol or two, of which the boys had full command, and horses with which they did pretty much as they liked.

Too far from the parish church for her to walk, she always drove on Sunday in her dark green chariot with two fat horses and a postillion, in drab Jacket, all over buttons, with white leather breeches, top-boots, a black velvet cap surmounting all, with gold lace on the top, a very vision of splendour to youthful eyes.

She would not relax this rule, although every year, on the Sunday before Silverton Fair, the garden, famous for its apricots, was regularly robbed during church-time.

The house and its antient features have departed, for on the death of Mrs. Brown in 1831 the property passed into the hands of her husband's family, who sold it to the last Lord Egremont.

As he stood out-side it, waiting for it to be opened, he could hardly help expecting to see old Drewe the butler, and to hear the noise of the bolt being withdrawn as in old times.

Lord Egremont spent vast sums on it, and died in 1845, leaving it unfinished, and finally in 1900 the materials were sold to housebreakers, who blew it up with dynamite.

[32] His chest tomb survives in Silverton churchyard, next to the west door of the church, inscribed as follows: Underneath are deposited the mortal remains of Thomas Langford Brown Esqr.

To complete the structure a fortune would have to be spent, and as a result it has fallen into the hands of Messrs. Atkins and Taylor of Exeter, who are demolishing it and making what money they can out of the materials.

Instead of the whole pile taking an upward flight, as many expected, nothing resulted from the effort, further than some four or five sharp cracks, a spit of fire, and the detachment of some blocks of masonry.

After a sufficient wait, the workmen cautiously crept back to the building, recharged the orifices with dynamite and again ignited the fuses, retiring as before to a safe distance.

The third attempt which immediately followed, though it dislodged more of the building, miscarried in its full purpose, but the place was fairly knocked to pieces.

[38] It is the only surviving remnant of the house and was acquired in 1987 by Sir John Smith, founder of the Landmark Trust who sought to prevent it being converted into flats.

In 2004, with the financial assistance of a private donor, the Landmark Trust started its restoration for use as self-catering holiday accommodation, completed in 2008.