Colcombe Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Colcombe Castle was a manorial residence, possibly fortified, of the Courtenays, Earls of Devon. It stood less than a kilometre north of Colyton, in East Devon. According to early writers, Hugh de Courtenay had it built in the late 13th century, under Edward I. In the 15th century it served as a family residence, notably for Earl Thomas de Courtenay. Its proximity to Shute, a Bonville stronghold, fuelled a rivalry that would lead to the clash at Clyst Heath in 1455. In the early 16th century Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter, largely rebuilt it. After his conviction and execution for treason (1538-1539), the estate was confiscated by the Crown. It was later restored to his son Edward, who died in 1556, and then passed to the Courtenay heirs. The Poles of Shute bought it back. The antiquary Sir William Pole (1561-1635) completed a new house there, where he died. During the Civil War, in 1644, Prince Maurice is said to have set up his headquarters there, and the house is said to have been almost entirely destroyed. With the Poles settled at Shute, Colcombe was neglected and became a farm. What survives today is a 17th-century farmhouse of rubble stone under a slate roof, listed at Grade II, which may incorporate remains of the former manor house. Still visible are footings, an early 16th-century kitchen and room, chamfered beams, and a Tudor-style arch reused in a parapet above a leat.