Pilton House, Pilton

It later served as the residence for various Members of Parliament for Barnstaple, for which it was well suited being only a 10-minute walk from the centre of that town, yet in a secluded situation with extensive grounds, and sufficiently large and grand for entertaining borough officials and electors.

No records detailing the history of the site of Pilton House before the 18th century survive on available title deeds.

[5] Reed (1985) states that the site was part of the Pilton Priory lands purchased following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by the lawyer George Rolle (d.1552) of Stevenstone,[4] founder of the influential and wealthy Rolle family, and quickly re-sold by him in 1545 piecemeal and at a profit.

[4] The next owner was Sir William Fraser, 4th Baronet (1826-1898), a politician, author and book collector.

[14][15] In 1893, the occupant was Major General Hugh Chichester (1836-1896), JP, of the Royal Bengal Artillery,[16][17] Of an ancient family seated at Raleigh, Chichester's great-grandmother was Amy Incledon, eldest daughter of Robert, who built Pilton House.

Pilton House, near Barnstaple, Devon, built in 1746 by Robert Incledon [ 1 ] (1676-1758)
Crenellated mansion house on or near site of Pilton House, detail from an undocumented [ 2 ] 18th century (?) oil painting (see below) now in the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon , showing a distant view from the west bank of the River Taw, of the adjacent towns of Barnstaple and Pilton
18th century view of Pilton (left) and Barnstaple (right), divided by the small River Yeo , flowing into the broad River Taw (foreground). Left : St Mary's Church, Pilton; Pilton Bridge over the River Yeo. The centrally placed crenellated white mansion house appears to represent Pilton House. Right : St Peter's Church, Barnstaple, with spire; Barnstaple Long Bridge over River Taw. Undocumented [ 3 ] 18th century (?) oil painting now in the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
Robert Incledon (1676-1758) builder of Pilton House in 1746. Portrait by Studio of Thomas Hudson (1701–1779), collection of Barnstaple Town Council, displayed in Barnstaple Guildhall