Bowringsleigh was an estate owned by the Bowring family until acquired by William Gilbert in 1543 and by William IIlbert in 1695. The present baronial appearance, with a castellated four storey tower to the right of the Tudor frontage is due to Richard Coad’s restoration of 1868-73 for William Roope Illbert, following fire damage to the east wing in 1843.
Grade I, gate piers 130m. south, gate piers at SX 719 439 listed Grade II
Cherry & Pevsner: The Buildings of England – Devon, 1989: 196-97
T Gray: The Garden History of Devon, 1995: 52-4
Country Life v.37, 1915: 304; v.116, 1954: 280-3, 356-9
B Jones: Follies & Grottoes, 1974: 346
HA Tipping: English Homes – Period III, 1927,II: 127
T Gray: Devon Country Houses and Gardens Engraved Vol I, 2001: 36
