Creedy Park

Creedy Park is situated in a secluded valley to the north of Crediton. The mansion was built in 1846 by William Burn for Colonel HR Ferguson-Davie, but was destroyed by fire in 1915 and rebuilt in 1916-21 by Sarel for Arthur Ferguson-Davie. The mansion was converted into thirteen residential units by Lucas, Roberts & Brown, c1982. Creedy Park is laid out in the English Landscape Style with extensive woodland on the perimeter hillsides, sheltering the mansion and screening it visually from the adjacent village of Sandford to the north and Crediton to the south. The stone boundary walls of the estate survive, although in need of repair in places. The small lake is now used for fishing.There were two carriage drives from the East and West Lodges; principal approach was from the East Lodge but today the approach is along the secondary carriage drive from the West Lodge; the drive from the East Lodge can still be discerned. There are walled kitchen gardens to the north of the house, the smaller one unfortunately is now a garage court , there are ‘allotment gardens’ for the residents in another, and modern house has been built along the north wall of the largest walled garden. There is a Rookery and woodland with some specimen trees north of the house, and open parkland with specimen and small clumps of trees to the south. There are formal gardens near the house with stone balustraded walls.  Polwhele noted in 1793 that it ‘is delightfully situated in a large park which is surrounded by a strong wall.’ Three years later Revd John Swete visited Creedy and wrote that ‘The situation at Creedy is fine, surrounded by what was a park, but what had been converted by the late baronet, who was a great practical agriculturist, into pasture grounds. The whole consisting of (blank) acres he had surrounded by a wall at a vast expense, which rendering the grounds more compact and less liable to being trespassed on did not add to the picturesque; there was not much variety in the disposition of the lawn, and though there was a good deal of timber wood and many clumps dispersed about it, yet there was something in the general appearance, which betrayed neglect or inattention which is not usually met with around seats of similar consequence.’ White (1850) noted that it was ‘delightfully situated on the west bank of the River Creedy . . . The mansion, built by the first baronet, has been frequently altered, and has still a modern appearance’ while Stockdale described it as ‘a handsome spacious mansion very delightfully situated on a gentle eminence, in an extensive park about 3 miles in circumference’

House listed Grade II; East Lodge, West Lodge, former stable blocks (now two houses), Keeper’s Cottage and Kerswell Cottage all listed Grade II. 

Cherry & Pevsner: The Buildings of England – Devon, 1989: 301 S Pugsley: Devon Gardens – An Historical Survey, 1994: 44 T Gray: The Garden History of Devon, 1995: 83 T Gray: Devon Country Houses and Gardens Engraved Vol I, 2001: 93