352:, which the two cousins had visited on their Grand Tour. Tradition maintains that the house was designed by Jane herself. It is possible, however, that plans were drawn up based on her ideas by "a Mr. Lowder" mentioned by a 19th-century writer. The sister-in-law of Jane's cousin John, Anne Glass, married a Commander John Lowder, a banker and property developer. Lowder's son, also named John (1781–1829), practised as a gentleman architect in Bath. Although only 17 years of age when A la Ronde was built, it is possible that the younger Lowder designed the house based on Jane's ideas. In 1816, Lowder designed the unusual Bath and District National School (demolished 1896), a 32-sided building with wedge-shaped classrooms. A la Ronde may possibly have served as an early prototype for the larger, later project.
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virtual tour of the delicate Shell
Gallery on the uppermost storey of the house to allow observation without risk of damage. The original kitchen and strong room on the lower ground floor now function as office spaces, with a plan to turn these into interpretation and co-creation spaces in the next few years.
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called "the most extraordinary feature in the house". Between the main rooms were triangular-shaped closets with diamond shaped windows. Much of the internal decoration, including original artworks fashioned from shells, feathers, seaweed, and other components, was produced by the two cousins, whose
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The two cousins became greatly attached to each other and in 1795 decided to set up home together in Devon. They negotiated the purchase of 15 acres (6.1 ha) of land near
Exmouth. Once their house had been built they lived secluded and somewhat eccentric lives for many years until 1811 when Jane
402:
The last private owner of the property removed all but one of the very large central heating radiators installed by
Reichel, and with the purchase of the property by the National Trust in 1991 came the restoration of the wall coverings to the more authentic colours of the time, as well as creating a
360:
The house was completed in about 1796. The stone-clad building consists of 20 rooms, the ground floor ones radiating out from a 35 feet (10.7 m) high hallway, named "The
Octagon", and originally connected by sliding doors. The central lantern extends beyond the steep roof. The lower ground
410:, showing the painstaking restoration of the Shell Gallery. With the conservation completed, the house was visited by Jonathan Harwood who had lived at the house with his mother Ursula Tudor Perkins. She sold the house to the National Trust in the early 1990s after living there for 18 years.
378:
Reichel, the sole male owner in over two hundred years, was responsible for substantial (but carefully thought out) structural changes. These included the construction of a water tower and laundry room, the installation of a bathroom and
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specified that the property could be inherited only by "unmarried kinswomen". This condition held firm until, in 1886, the house was transferred to the
Reverend Oswald Reichel, a brother of one of the former occupants.
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brought back by the cousins from their
European Tour. Pevsner described the building as "a wholly delightful and unique creation", and the Gallery as "very charming" but "unfortunately badly restored".
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and kitchen and an upper octagonal gallery housed an intricate hand-crafted Shell
Gallery. The floors are connected by a narrow staircase lined with shells, which
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320:, where she was born in 1750. Jane grew up in London and became guardian to her orphan cousin Mary. On her father's death in 1784, she decided to embark on the
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The
Parminter family, which can be traced back in North Devon as far back as 1600, had acquired considerable wealth as merchants. Jane was the daughter of
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The
Parminters also built a chapel on the estate, named the Point-in-View. It has its own Grade I listing and is a
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accompanied by her invalid sister
Elizabeth, her younger orphaned cousin, and a female friend from London.
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987:"Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, review: lovely TV, but there's an elephant in the room"
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867:"A la Ronde and Point-in-View, Exmouth, East Devon by Keith Searle at genuki"
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1002:"Hidden Treasures Of The National Trust: Inside The BBC's New Series"
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handicraft skills were excellent. The house also contained many
799:"A La Ronde, and The Point-in-View (park and garden) (1000686)"
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Entrance to the Shell Gallery; this is now closed to the public
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The ceiling of the Octagon with the Shell Gallery at the top
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CHARITY OF MARY PARMINTER, registered charity no. 210057
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In May 2024 the house was featured in the BBC series
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The design of A la Ronde is supposedly based on the
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302:National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
182:National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
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1109:A la Ronde information at the National Trust
1031:"The Point in View (Grade I) (1164937)"
899:Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1989).
1155:Grade II listed parks and gardens in Devon
773:"The Manse of The Point in View (1103806)"
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399:and the addition of an external catwalk.
16:Grade I listed building in East Devon, UK
1114:A 360° virtual tour of the Shell Gallery
1066:Charity Commission for England and Wales
968:"Hidden Treasures of the National Trust"
499:Display of shells in an ornate fireplace
927:The Rough Guide to Devon & Cornwall
903:. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 446.
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451:A la Ronde stable, from the south-west
408:Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
924:Andrews, Robert; Hack, Peter (2004).
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1130:National Trust properties in Devon
1036:National Heritage List for England
803:National Heritage List for England
777:National Heritage List for England
751:National Heritage List for England
724:National Heritage List for England
391:, the replacement of the original
272:, England in the ownership of the
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671:Memorial plaque to the Parminters
192:A la Ronde, and The Point-in-View
989:– via www.telegraph.co.uk.
901:Devon (The Buildings of England)
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1135:Historic house museums in Devon
1000:Hussey, Margaret (7 May 2024).
487:A fireplace in a reception room
243:Location of A la Ronde in Devon
1150:Grade I listed houses in Devon
276:. The house was built for two
1:
985:Wilson, Benji (10 May 2024).
747:"The Point in View (1164937)"
256:is an 18th-century, 16-sided
361:floor housed a wine cellar,
1087:. Swindon: National Trust.
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439:The north-eastern entrance
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475:A la Ronde, window detail
427:A la Ronde from the south
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1145:Country houses in Devon
841:"An All-Round Addition"
463:A la Ronde, roof detail
282:Jane and Mary Parminter
1006:Country and Town House
719:"A La Ronde (1164838)"
683:Interior of the chapel
596:Mary Parminter Charity
346:Basilica of San Vitale
288:, as are the adjacent
1083:Meller, Hugh (2018).
536:Point-in-View chapel
529:Point-in-View chapel
331:The terms of Mary's
717:(6 December 1949).
292:chapel, school and
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797:Historic England.
771:Historic England.
745:Historic England.
695:A chapel ante-room
652:registered charity
631:Reference no.
296:, together with a
284:. It is a Grade I
205:Reference no.
166:Reference no.
78:50.6417°N 3.4088°W
1094:978-1-84359-108-5
941:978-1-84353-312-2
873:on 19 August 2016
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618:The Point in View
562:OS grid reference
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1077:Bibliography
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1040:. Retrieved
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1009:. Retrieved
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932:Rough Guides
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875:. Retrieved
871:the original
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849:. Retrieved
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728:. Retrieved
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553:Summer Lane
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372:objets d'art
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356:The building
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258:cottage orné
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18:
955:Meller 2018
851:28 November
823:Meller 2018
808:24 February
782:24 February
756:24 February
730:24 February
385:dumb-waiter
363:strong room
200:12 Aug 1987
81: /
57:Coordinates
1124:Categories
1085:A la Ronde
1042:19 January
701:References
623:Designated
397:roof tiles
322:Grand Tour
314:Barnstaple
294:almshouses
254:A la Ronde
197:Designated
158:Designated
153:A la Ronde
66:50°38′30″N
24:A la Ronde
609:– Grade I
280:cousins,
262:Lympstone
144:– Grade I
69:3°24′32″W
550:Location
340:Designer
278:spinster
46:Location
877:21 June
658:Gallery
635:1164937
555:Exmouth
414:Gallery
350:Ravenna
308:History
266:Exmouth
209:1000686
170:1164838
51:Exmouth
1091:
1011:17 May
938:
907:
393:thatch
328:died.
318:Lisbon
585:Built
579:Devon
395:with
348:, in
298:manse
270:Devon
260:near
126:Owner
118:Built
112:Devon
41:House
1089:ISBN
1044:2024
1013:2024
936:ISBN
905:ISBN
879:2010
853:2023
810:2014
784:2014
758:2014
732:2014
588:1811
575:Area
387:and
333:will
121:1796
108:Area
38:Type
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
