Woodway House

Woodway House is in Teignmouth, South Devon. It was originally a farm on lands held by the Bishop of Exeter. In around 1830 a thatched 'cottage' in the style of Horace Walpole's (1717-1797) Thames-side villa, Strawberry Hill was built here by Captain Thomas Spratt R.N.

Woodway Cottage in about 1825 when Captain Spratt was living there.

Walpole built his villa at Twickenham in around 1747 and set a fashion for rural romantic Gothic-style retreats. A number were built by retired colonial administrators and military men who liked verandahs, spacious lawns and the sunny climes of Devon. Woodway House is a classic example of this romatic 'chocolate Box' style of architecture.

The History of Woodway House

Woodway had been a farm, originally in the form of a Devon Long House until Captain Spratt built the large thatched cottage on the front in around 1815. A house on the lower boundary of the grounds was known as Goreway. Demolished in the 1970's, it was named after the Norman Baron, Serlo de la Gore. Woodway would have been part of its holdings and could even have been the home farm. The large stables and coach house survived and were for many years used by a company that maintained garden machinery.

The next known owners after the Spratt's were the Whalley family, who lived at Woodway from 1880. Lt.-Col.P.R.Whalley, D.S.O. sold Wodewaye in 1951 and the Griffith family became owners.

A view of the driveway with its granite gateposts and the cast-iron gates which somehow survived WW2

The name Wodewaye had been used by the Whalleys from the romantic notion that Wode Way Lane had been Woden's Way, rather than a colloquial use of the word Wood. The name was changed back by the Griffith family. A number of features of the old farm remained, including a lane which had joined up Woodway road with the Dawlish Road. This was always refered to as the 'moat'.

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The Front of Woodway House in the early 2000's.

The boundary walls are of old Devon hedges in several places, with stone sides and planted with fine specimen oaks and other trees and shrubs. The field beyond the front garden was called the Leigh or Lea Field, indicating that it was the first of the farm fields created from tree felling etc. when the farm was established. The Duck House is a cob-built building, sadly no longer thatched.

The Old cob built Duck House.

A Duck Pond was located nearby, however no sign of this remains. A number of white glazed earthenware eggs have been found in the soil around this spot. They were used to encourage a broody hen or duck to lay more eggs.

A view of Wodwaye from the croquet lawn.

The 1825 drawing shows a number of pine trees and a marble monument on the front lawn, topped with a flag of St.George, which commemorated the Battle of Trafalgar. Pieces of this structure were still in existence in the 1960's, dumped at the bottom of the garden. This drawing was done by Miss P.Whalley of Deanway, Branscombe, Seaton, Devon.

The old lane which had linked Woodway Road with Dawlish Road. Known to the Griffith family as the 'moat'

The Design and Construction of Woodway House

Woodway House shows three clear phases of construction, with the 'Cottage Orne' of the 1820's, the old farm buildings and the tutors living quarters and classroom, built after 1825.

The identifiable remains of the old farm buildings consist firstly of a barn with a hay loft that collapsed in a gale and was demolished in the 1960's. A cobbled courtyard with a deep well, granite trough and pump is surrounded by outbuildings which include an upper story that had a ladder running up to it, probably for access to the stable hand's dwelling. Another pump was located inside the side wing which was the Boiler House, with its chimney. The clothes were boiled here on washing days and the pump drew water from the same well, using a system of lead pipes. A door at one time led into the main room of what was the living area of the farm. This large room still had a 'pollished' mud floor in 1951 and the large kitchen fireplace is etill present. In the floor of this room was a hatch that led down to a 'bottle shaped' storage cellar, hidden when the floor was tiled in the 1950's.

The cobbled courtyard with the old pump, granite trough and covered well.

The old front door of the Woodway farm house, later converted into a window and then blocked up altogether when the cottage orne extension was built onto the front of the old farmhouse.

The False or blocked up chapel-style window with a 'painted on' cat looking through the window panes.. Known to the Griffith family as the 'moat'

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The site of the old stables and an old farm building.

Woodway House in the snow, showing the high insulation properties of thatch.

The 'Cottage Orne' part is built of cob, the foundations of the walls being only huge oak split trunks resting on the native bedrock of red sandstone. The walls are between three and four feet thick, giving a cool building in summer and a good insulation against the cold of winter. The thatch is also a marvellous insulator. The Devon saying is that 'All cob wants is a good hat and a good pair of shoes', meaning that cob will last for hundreds of years as long as water is kept away. Its other value is that, unlike bricks, the material is a continuous whole, giving great integrity and stability. Unfortunately Woodway suffered from water damage in the late 1980's due to an old chimney flue open to the rain, necessitating much remedial work and construction of a substantial side buttress. A false or blocked up chapel-style window faces the driveway. With the age of this part of the house it is possible that the window was blocked up to save on window tax after the new schoolroom and tutors living quarters were added.

A view from the front lawn showing the new side buttress.

A view onto the front lawn through the gate in the new side buttress.

James Spratt, C.B., F.G.S., Commander, Royal Navy

He joined the Royal Navy and gained fame for his exploits at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, aged 32. He was a master's mate on Captain Durham's ship, the 74 gun HMS Defiance. The ship was attempting to board a French ship, the Aigle. After the first attempt the log records that "A certain Mr.Spratt, an active young master's mate, took his cutlass between his teeth, called to the boarders to follow, lept over board and swam to the Aigle, followed by a few men; he got in at the stern port, and was met by some of the crew, who resisted. He succeed in cutting his way up and hauled down the Frechmen's colours, and in the act of doing so, was shot through the leg, 'He dragged himself to the side of the ship, and holding his bleeding limb over the railing, called out, Captain, poor Jack Spratt is done up at last! Captain Durham was able to warp alongside, and Spratt was slung on board.

Spratt, who was badly hit, refused to have his leg amputated, and the surgeon, feeling the operation was essential, asked the Captain for a written order to authorise him to take the leg off. This was refused, though Durham promised to argue the matter with Thomas. Spratt held out his other leg, which was a very good one, and said: Never; if I lose my leg, where shall I find a match for this? Spratt was made a lieutenant after the action, and did not in fact lose his leg, but he was 17 weeks in hospital in Gibraltar (Warner 1965).

Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt C.B., R.N., F.R.S., F.G.S., Vice-Admiral

Thomas was born at Woodway House in 1811 and lived here for 40 years. He was a hydrograher, cultivated scientist and author (Mel. Hist. 1986). He later served in HMS Albion in North America from 1813 to 1814. In 1853 Spratt surveyed the Nile Delta.

He spent the years 1848-50 studying the movements of the Bar sands at Teignmouth and published a book on the subject, dedicated to Sir William Reid, Governor of Malta. The book was entitled 'An Investigation of the Movements of the Teignmouth Bar' and he gave all his data to the "Teignmouth Harbour Commission". At this time the commission were struggling to relieve the local trade from an umjust tax, levied annually by the town of Exeter (Spratt 1856). A Mr.Bell, an Assisting Engineer on the South Devon Railway spent some months confirming the accuracy of Spratt's observations.

Another stage in the sand movement cycle at Teignmouth

A plan showing one stage in the cycle of the sand movements at the Teignmouth

Isambard Kingdom Brunel lived at Watcombe for a time and he congratulated Captain Thomas Spratt on his scheme to improve the promenade and the harbour entrance at the same time; "I never read a more sensible, concise and practical discussion of such a subject" (Trump).

The improvements were never carried out. Spratt also published a plan of the revolving movements of the sands at the Exmouth Bar (Spratt 1856).

Spratt was commended on several occasions for saving swimmers who got into trouble off Teignmouth and on his 60th. birthday he swam from Teignmouth to Brixham and back.

Teignmouth Den Seafront showing the Old Library, Hotel and the Ness in the Background, circa 1830

The Gardens and the Wildlife of Woodway House

An old orchard with twenty or so trees was complemented by a new orchard planted in the late 1960's. A wide variety of cooking and eating aples were joined by pear tree varieties, cherrys and plums. The flora of the old orchard sward was dominated by primroses and violets.

A view of the primrose dominated sward of the old orchard as it was in the 1970's.

Detailed plans of these primroses were plotted yearly inm the 1970's to show the change in distribution. In addition to the wild type, white, red, pink and multi-headed varieties grew here. Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) grew here, together with Black Bryony, Flowering Redcurrant, Horse-radish, Butcher's Broom (Ruscus aculeatus), Bluebells (blue, pink and white) and Granny Bonnets (Aquilegia).

The Old and New Orchards with a profusion of Blubells in flower

The grounds of the house are particularly rich in ferns, mosses, liverworts, leafy liverworts and lichens. The lichens grow in profusion on the old walls, slate roofing tiles and tree bark, especially of the older specimen trees, such as the oaks, Horse-Chestnuts and the copper beeches. Xanthoria parietina was a common lichen growth on the boiler house tiles.The Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) has many small depressions in its bark made by Nightjars.

A feature of the garden running down from the verandah is the New Zealand Cabbage Trees (Cordyline australis) growing to the left hand side when facing.

The New Zealand Cabbage Tree in Flower with Mr.J.Ll.Griffith in the foregound.

These can be seen in the 1825 drawing and although the main growth was killed off by severe winters, new growths always appeared. Old Wisteria trees are a feature of the verandah, together with Passion Flowers and Bankshia roses.

Bits and Pieces

The Woodway Ghosts

When the Griffith family moved in a helper commented on the 'pretty young ladies in old fashioned dresses' in the attic rooms. These were the bedrooms of the Whalley sisters at one time and it seems they never wanted to leave their beloved Wodewaye. At a later stage one of these rooms housed a large railway set and for some reason the short distance up the this last flight of stairs always seemed particularly spooky to young Roger Griffith, its builder.

An old relative (Mrs.Wilson) had a main bedroom at the front of the house and frequently commented on the 'Victorian' gentleman who walked into her room through the door beside her bed. No door existed here and the matter was dismissed, however when the room was redodecorated a door was found to have existed at the exact position indicated. The bedroom next door had been a room where the family prepared themselves before coming into the Morning Room to greet guests.

A more recent ghost is said to be that of Gordon Griffith, who had shared this room with his brother Roger. He died of brain cancer when only 12 years old in May 1963. The same old lady would say that Gordon would often came and sit beside her bed, keeping her company in the mornings as she read her paper.

Miscellaneous

A large collection of old clay pipes stalks and bowls found in the rear vegetable gardens built up over the years. They were cheap and disposable, so this isn't surprising. Many children must lived at the house judging from the numerous clay dogs, miniature tea sets, clay dolls, etc. that have been found. Much of this collection is now held by Teignmouth Museum, together with Commander Whalley's sea chest that was in the house up until the 1980's.

Window tax was was first levied in England in 1696 to offset the expenses of making up the gold and silver deficiency in the re-coinage of William III reign caused by clipping and filing of coins. It was based on the number of windows in a house and large mansions often had many existing windows blocked up, such as a whole side of Loudoun Castle, in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was repealed in 1851 and replaced by a tax on inhabited houses (Encyc. Brit. 1953).

Minadab at Holcombe is another Strawberry Hill style cottage, but of altogether a more eccentric construction. It was built in 1820 by Robert Benjamin Young, born in 1773. He was one of Admiral Lord Nelson's captains and he built his cottage to resemble a ship as much as possible, the east side being the fore end and the west side the after end. The upper floor was reached by means of a rope ladder. It has a round cellar with with places for storing casks of rum. Young was a lieutenant in 1795 on the Bonne Citoyenne at the battle of St.Vincent in 1797 and he was in command of the frigate cutter Entreprenant in 1804 and fought on her at Trafalgar and later at the blockade of Brest (Warner 1965). The Minidab was a French ship, but the significance of the ship is not known.

Cob is a carefully blended mixture of wet earth, containing enough lime to enable it to set hard. Also added are chopped reed or straw, animal dung, sand, gravel and small stones as ballast. Cob walls are seldom less than two and as much as four feet thick. These were built up in layers of about six to twelve inches thick and each had to set before the next was added. A two story building could take anything up to two years to finish. The building up was done by eye, leading to the classic rounded and undulating appearance of cob walls (Evans & Green 1982).

Old Cotmaton Cottage in Sidmouth is another example of a 'Strawberry Hill' romantic gothic-style construction (Evans & Green 1982).

Appendix 1 - The 1951 Sale of Wodewaye Cottage

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Notice of the 1951 Sale of Wodewaye Cottage

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Further Details of the 1951 Sale of Wodewaye Cottage

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Details of the Gounds of Wodewaye Cottage at the time of the 1951 Sale

Bundles of thatching straw at Woodway House

The thatcher at work on the cottage orne part of Woodway House

Appendix 2 - Thatching the Cottage Orne

A View up the Driveway in the 1960's

References

• Encyclopaedia Britannica (1953). Vol.23. Pub. London.
• Evans, Tony & Green, Candida Lycett Green (1982). English Cottages. Pub. London.
• Spratt, Thomas (1856). An Investigation of the Movements of Teignmouth Bar. Pub. London.
• Trump, H.J. Westcountry Harbour.
• Warner, Oliver 1965). Nelson's Battles. Pub. Newton Abbot. ISBN 0-7153-5169-9