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Wooleigh Barton

Wooleigh Barton

Wooleigh (or 'Ullegh' as it was known in old documents) near Beaford, was the former home of the Wooleigh Mallets who were close cousins of the Mallets of Ash. Both branches were descended from the Mallets of Enmore.

Wooleigh was originally known as Wolves' Wood, written "uullegh" in early Saxon times. The early Saxons had no letter w, but of course that's what their double u eventually became. This double u construction (which was originally pronounced "oo-ugh", naturally mutating to "wugh" if said rapidly) was often dropped in later spellings (i.e.Ullegh), probably because later peoples had forgotten the etymology.

The family held the barton until the early 17th century until it passed to the Acland family through John Mallet's grand-daughter Eleanor when she married Arthur Acland. Her cousins became the second St Audries branch of Somerset, with landholdings in east Devon (Honiton area), Dorset (Poyntington) and Wiltshire (Newton Toney).

The farmhouse as we see it today retains most of its features from the days of Mallet ownership (16th century) and is Grade II* listed.

[With special thanks to Mr. Pengelly]

A very good history of Wooleigh is available in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolleigh,_Beaford


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   Thumb   Description   Linked to 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Gate post. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Ventilation slot. 
 
3
Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Overall view. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Front view. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Workmen's bell. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Door of chapel, with moulding dated to c1400. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Chapel, c1400, at the east end of the house. Behind is the solar, or family's private quarters.  
 
8
Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Early 16th C Solar cross-wing and c1400 chapel. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
West end of south front. The room next to the cross passage was the "service" room (food preparation & storage). The large end room (2 sets of windows) is later than the original house, and was added in the late 17th C. All the windows in the south front are 19th C.  
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Farm track, looking west across the River Torridge valley. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
East end. Large window and brown door mark the extent of the hall, the most important room, formerly open to the roof until 17th C when it was ceiled. This entailed moving the hearth from its central position to a lateral one, marked by the stack behind. Clock tower is a much later addition (19th C). The bell used to call in the workers from the fields.  
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Gateway. 
 
13
Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Front porch, late 19th C, possibly on site of earlier one. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Entrance Sign. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Front garden. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Steps. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
View from the driveway. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Front path. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Barn side view. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
A modified photograph showing how the house may have looked in earlier times, with a thatched roof instead of Slate.

With thanks to Dave Dingley. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Farm track, looking west from main road. 
 
22
Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
East end. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Driveway. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
View from drive, looking north-west across the River Torridge valley with drive on the right. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Tractors. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
Ornamental gate post. 
 
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Wooleigh Barton
Wooleigh Barton
West end. The porch marks the position of the cross passage. The brick stack marks the end of the early house.  
 


Linked to Wooleigh, Beaford, Devon, England, Sir Sir Arthur ACLAND, Eleanor MALET, John MALET, Robert MALET