Rather
than being built on an old site, which was common at the time, as
illustrated by his neighbour Judhael of Totnes, he elected to build
Berry Pomeroy on a remote site within the woods, on a fairly inaccessible
knoll above a deep-sunk tributary brook of the river Dart.This can
be explained after looking at the castle, and determining the defensibility
of the building. The tributary ravine protects a good half of the
Northern side of the building, the Southern side, the most exposed
face of the building, is protected by high walls and a gatehouse of
exceptional solidity, From which rise two high hexagonal towers.
Above
the portcullis chamber is a fine carved shield with the lion rampant
of Pomeroy, this can also be seen well displayed on the tombs in the
parish church, a mile outside the woods. Complete reconstruction took
place in the twelfth century, although most of the existing buildings
date from much later.
The
Pomeroys were among the most powerful of the early Devonian feudal
houses, and had the unusual luck to continue there lineal succession
for 500 years. This was indeed more from luck than anything else.
Henry de Pomeroy was a resolute supporter of King John Lackland, in
his rebellion against Richard 1. Having been forced to flee from Berry,
he seized the impregnable Cornish rock of St Michael, and held it
until all hope was lost. He escaped forfeiture of his lands and riches
by committing suicide, having first assigning his lands to his sons.
Local legend has it that his method of suicide was quite gruesome,
having blindfolded his horse, he rode the animal out through the postern,
and down the precipitous north side of the castle, ending up in the
ravine below suffering from a broken neck. This story, although colourful,
is however quite untrue, as history tells us that Henry had his surgeon
bleed him to death, apparently an ancient Roman tradition.
The
Pomeroys endured until the early years of the reign of King Edward
VI, an era marked by religious wars. Sir Thomas Pomeroy, at that time
the head of the house, was one of the main supporters of the Catholic
party in the West Country. It is believed that during the early part
of the Protectorate of Lord Somerset, an infamous land grabber of
the time, undue pressure, maybe even some degree of blackmail was
used to ‘Persuade’ Sir Thomas to part with his lands.
Legend has it that Sir Thomas saved his head after the unsuccessful
Prayer Book rebellion of 1549 , by signing over Berry to Somerset.
However, it would appear that this cannot be true, since , by 1549,
Somerset had been deposed, and was residing in the Tower . Somerset
was released from the Tower, and enjoyed two more years at liberty
until he was attained and executed by his rival John Dudley, Duke
of Northumberland. During this time, he made over Berry to his eldest
son, Edward Seymour, the child of his first wife, Catherine.
Edward
and his descendants for two hundred years became lords of Berry Pomeroy,
and certain other Devonshire lands, and Baronets after the time of
James 1.
During
the early part of the Seymour reign, considerable changes where made
to the buildings. In the centre of the old castle walls was erected
the magnificent Tudor building, nowadays the most eye-catching of
the site. It was a mansion built for light and convenience, with enormous
mullioned windows,
which occupy more than half of its frontage. There are long galleries
and spacious reception rooms, so common in the buildings of the time.
Apparently,
the interior decorations were elaborate, almost to the point of being
ostentatious, even for the time. Mantelpieces of polished Marble instead
of freestone, fluted Corinthian pillars, cornices of wreathed fruit
and flowers, in high gilt, ceilings of curiously figured plaster,
paneling of precious woods.
The building is said to have cost £20,000, a great deal of money
for the time. According to the author of ‘ Worthies of Devon’,
himself an eighteenth century vicar of Berry, ‘The whole was
never brought to fruition, as the west side was never begun’.
Five
generations of Seymour’s lived at Berry, Knights and afterwards
baronets, prominent within the noble families of Devon. The English
civil war brought harm to Berry, as it did to many castles at the
time. The walls were ‘slighted’, and the residence suffered
considerable damage. It must have been still inhabitable in 1688,
as Sir Edward Seymour brought William of Orange there on his march
from Torbay to Newton Abbot. It would appear that Edward was the last
resident of Berry, and he spent his later years at his residence at
Maiden Bradley in Somersetshire. Indeed, that would appear to be the
place of his death.
History
tells us that the roofs of Berry succumbed to a lightening strike,
and were fired, and that the owner, considering it rather remote,
would not go to the expense of repair. Three hundred years of wind
and rain have done their worst, and the once magnificent building
is now a picturesque skeleton of its former self, showing the sky
through mullioned ribs.
When
wandering around the site of the old castle and manor house, take
in the atmosphere, and try to imagine the intrigue and skulduggery
that went on during its heyday, and then maybe, just maybe, you may
be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of the many ghosts that
patrol the walls.
For anybody with an interest in history, this is a must.
