Powderham Castle is located south of Exeter on the banks of the River Exe in Devon, England. The 3500-acre site, comprised of a remarkable assemblage of historic buildings and landscapes, has remained in private ownership by the same family for 600 years, yet received little study to date. Over centuries and generations, the family has adapted their seat, prominently positioned along an important trade route on the River Exe, to conform to contemporary fashions and to accommodate changing needs. While the core of the original structure remains, it is embedded in a number of later building campaigns in which wings and towers were added, elaborate Georgian interiors were inserted, and medieval features were re-finished and re-Gothicized. The result is wonderful amalgam of more than 600 years of architectural and family history that is no small challenge to decipher.
In 2017 and 2018, 20 graduate students and faculty from the Historic Preservation Program at Weitzman School, in collaboration with the University of Plymouth and the Earl of Devon, completed documentation on the medieval and 18th-century portions of the Castle. The project was initiated by Professors Daniel Maudlin and James Daybell of Plymouth’s Cornerstone Praxis, who saw an opportunity to bring together scholarly expertise in a collaborative model that merged architectural history, conservation, social and cultural history, and landscape studies.
By synthesizing information from archival evidence, documentation, and archaeological building investigation, the partnership has yielded original research that enriches the understanding of Powderham Castle’s physical and social evolution. Key findings of the research—assembled by Pamela Hawkes, Professor of Practice in Historic Preservation; Laura Keim, Lecturer in Historic Preservation; and Starr Herr-Cardillo, Research Associate, Architectural Conservation Center summarized in this document—highlight the ways in which these methodologies represent enormous potential for future investigations.
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