About Escot - Escot - The natural place for a great day out in Devon

About Escot

The history of Escot is currently being researched and we hope to publish a guide in due course.  Meanwhile, here are some highlights.

The derivation of the name Escot is likely to have come from ‘cott', meaning built property and ‘est', the east: this then was land lying to the east, probably of the main settlement at Talaton
The coming of the Normans in 1066 had a profound effect on land ownership and inheritance rights.  From then on, for the first time in this country, the principle was established of passing on an estate intact to the oldest son or to the widow according to Norman custom. Thus it was that in 1249 Dame Lucia di Estcote inherited from her husband the estate of Estcot.

In 1680 Elizabeth Channon sold the entire estate to Sir Walter Yonge, for £3450.  

The Yonges (Sir Walter, then Sir William and finally Sir George) owned Escot until 1794.  During this period the first Escot House was built, the parkland was laid out by Capability Brown and the gardens reached their high point and were visited by King George III in 1789

The Kennaways were originally Scottish.  They came south after the mid eighteenth century highland ‘troubles', settling near Exeter and specialising in trading. Then, having achieved fame, fortune and a baronetcy from service in India, they bought Escot from Sir George Yonge in 1794. Over the ensuing years the Kennaways served as local Member of Parliament and occupied a variety of government posts.

The original Escot House was built to a grand scale and was compared in appearance to Ragley Hall.  It burned to the ground in 1808, uninsured!  The current Escot House was built virtually on the same site in 1838.  In 1840 the Coach House and stables were completed and in 1860 came the London to Exeter railway line which runs through the north of the estate.

The post war years brought difficult times to many rural estates and this was a period of relative decline at Escot.  In 1985 the estate was entrusted to John-Michael and Lucy Kennaway and the essential work of restoration of the estate and diversification of estate businesses began.  That programme has continued ever since interrupted only, but significantly, by the slicing in two of the estate in 1990 by the new A30 in spite of all Swampy's efforts.

 The rest, as they say, is history.