More about Hallsannery..
History
Hallsannery was bought in 1984 and was then developed as a
Field Centre by a partnership of the Cornford and Jollands
families. The main house, although Georgian in design was not
built until the 1840s during the reign of Queen Victoria. The
original owner was a rich merchant from Liverpool who made his
fortune dealing in spices from the Orient. The main house had
adjoining servants’ quarters at the back, as well as a coach
house where grooms and coachmen used to live. We think the
Parkland was planted at the same time and still contain the
original oaks, which are now almost 200 years old. This Parkland
has been designated this year (2009) as a County Wildlife Site.
A cottage was built at the beginning of this century for the
gardener and housekeeper, and three new buildings have been
added in the last 17 years since the estate has been a
residential Field Centre. In November 2005, residential courses
ceased but day courses continue.
Landscape
The Parkland looks to the North over Bideford and to the
East over the Torridge Estuary and the Tarka trail, once a
railway line (land belonging to Hallsannery was sold to the
Railway Company in 1869) and now a cycling and walking trail. It
is an area of high landscape value. There are two areas of
woodland, which were probably planted at the same time as the
Parkland: at the time of purchase in 1984 these areas had become
completely colonised by Rhododendron ponticum which we are
slowly removing to improve the wildlife value.
Who lives and works here?
Pip and Pete Jollands and Sally and Chris Cornford live on the
Estate where Sally keeps sheep, pigs, ducks, hens and Red Devon
cattle (Ruby Reds).
Our Holiday Cottages
We started our self catering cottages in 2006 with the
Coachman's Cottage and the Chauffeur's Flat, the Gardener's
Cottage was added in 2008. We aim to be as flexible as possible
with friendly, personal service. There is always a welcome cream
tea for you with homemade scones and raspberry jam. Our cottages
are available for short breaks out of the high season and are
dog friendly (well behaved and by arrangement).
Involvement under Countryside Stewardship :
Our hedgerows boundaries are being restored in the traditional
way and the stone faced hedge banks repaired and restored to the
style of the area. On the species-rich grassland (Steep Slope)
the scrub, composed mainly of gorse, is being controlled by
removing and burning off site. We are not applying fertiliser to
the Parkland in the hope of restoring it to a species-rich
grassland. The trees in the Parkland will be replaced if needed
with other native species. We hope that over time the area will
return to the way it looked in Victorian times.
Click here for views of the estate
