History of Rowden Court

History of Rowden Court and the Revelstoke Estate

Rowden Court was originally a range of farm outhouses, built in 1884, on the former Revelstoke estate. In order to preserve their architectural merit, permission was granted to convert them in the late 1980s and classified as Grade II listed buildings.
Rowden Court was part of the Revelstoke estate. The first Lord Revelstoke – Edward Baring of the Baring Brothers Bank – lavished money on his 3,000-acre countryside estate, centred around his mansion Membland Hall (sadly destroyed by a fire in the 1920s.)

It is understood that Lord Revelstoke instructed George Devey as his architect. Although not a household name, Devey was architect to the Rothschild family, and well-regarded by his peers; his style of architecture was considered to be the forerunner to the Arts & Crafts movement. Devey not only designed Membland Hall, but also the village church and school, and all the service buildings to the estate including Rowden Court.

Lord Revelstoke also commissioned a 9-mile carriage ride to take his visitors on spectacular rides around his estate, with uninterrupted views of the sea. Now part of the South-West Coast Path, Revelstoke Drive is still in use today and is a short distance from Rowden Court. Along the walk, you will see some of the other distinctive Revelstoke estate buildings still in existence, including Warren Cottage – a summerhouse where Lord Revelstoke once entertained the future King Edward VII.

Rowden Court itself comprised of cowsheds, and cart and implement sheds. The Old Engine House was a typical engine house: a polygonal building containing a horse engine used for powering threshing machinery, as well as chopping and crushing fodder. Engine houses were also known as a gin gang, wheelhouse, roundhouse or horse-engine house. The horse engine was usually circular but sometimes square or octagonal, and was powered by a horse which walked round and round inside the building.

Under Lord Revelstoke’s leadership, Barings Bank suffered a financial crisis in the 1890s, and as he was held personally responsible, he eventually sold the estate.