Duvale is a historic estate in the parish of Bampton, Devon. It is situated on a narrow flat plain in the steep-sided valley of the River Exe, 1 1/2 miles south west of the town of Bampton and 5 miles north of Tiverton, also on the River Exe further downstream. The name, given by Pole as Deu Vale, is said by him to signify "a valley of water". It was until the nearby construction of the present busy A396 road a place of exceptional seclusion and tranquility.
Duvale was held by a branch of the ancient Dennis family of Orleigh. Pole states Deu Vale to have been held in 1242 by "Robert le Dennys".
Cruwys
After the Dennis family, Duvale was held by a branch of the ancient Cruwys family of Cruwys Morchard. Pole states Deu Vale to have been the dwelling in 1295 of "John Crewes".
Tristram
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I Duvale was purchased from the heir general of the Cruwys family by Thomas Tristram. Writing in about 1630 Pole stated of the first Tristram of Duvale "whose posterity contynewe theire dwellinge in the same place". An old mansion near Bampton Castle, called Castle Grove, was another nearby residence of the Tristram family, who according to Lysons probably purchased it from the Bourchiers, feudal barons of Bampton. In 1822 the site of Bampton Castle was the property ofRobert Lucas, heir to the Tristram family. A mural monument to John Tristram exists in Bampton parish church, inscribed as follows: On the escutcheon above are shown the arms of Tristram impaling Stucley and Southcombe (Argent, a chevron ermines between three roses gules seeded or barbed vert
Newte
After the Tristram family, in 1796 Duvale was the joint property of the East India CompanyCaptain Thomas Newte, author of Prospects and Observations on a Tour in England and Scotland, Natural, Oeconomical, and Literary, by William Thomson ), and the widow of his brother Rev. Mr. Newte, a classical scholar and poet. Thomas Newte married Anna Maria Raymond, one of the three daughters of the wealthy East India Company ship owner and banker Sir Charles Raymond, 1st Baronet, of Valentines, Ilford in Essex. Anna Maria predeceased her father leaving her married sisters the co-heiresses to Raymond's vast fortune. Raymond was himself born in Withycombe Raleigh, Devon. The Newte family had long been prominent in the area. Henry Newte The Elder was Town Clerk of Tiverton. Newte's son Henry NewteThe Younger, also served as Town Clerk of the town from 1625 to 1655 and was also twice its Mayor, and in 1660 the MP for Tiverton. John Newte, a Church of England clergyman was, for a period, appointed chaplain to King Charles II. However, Charles II converted to Catholicism on his deathbed in 1685. Newte was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton and became Rector of Tidcombe and Pitt portions, Tiverton. He donated money for the building of Cove Chapel, founded Charity Schools in Tiverton and bequeathed land in Braunton to Balliol College, Oxford to found an exhibition for a Blundell's scholar. Several monumental inscriptions to Newte family members survive in Tiverton parish church, including:
Henry Newte ;
Richard Newte, Rector of Tidcombe and Clare quarters in Tiverton, which were in the patronage of his family.
Rev. John Newte ;
Samuel Newte, Rector of Tidcombe Quarter, Tiverton;
Rev John Newte.
1796 visit by Swete
In the summer of 1796 Rev John Swete visited Duvale as part of his topographical tour of Devon. Although he described the house itself as "of antient date without any conspicuous marks of consequence", he was highly impressed by the natural scenery of the location. He approached from Tiverton, via Cove, where he crossed the River Exe by the newly built Cove Bridge, and proceeded across Duvale Ford to Bampton. He described seeing "Duvale House", and described the surrounding scenery as:
In 1880 Duvale was let to Thomas I Yandle, a farmer previously the tenant of Hele Bridge, a farm on the Pixton Estate in Dulverton, who had fallen out with his landlord. The Yandle family in 2014 is still prominent in the Devon and Somerset stag-hunting community. Thomas I had 3 daughters and 5 sons who grew up at Duvale: Jack, the eldest, Dave, Perce, Ernest and Thomas II, who died of TB aged 14. He acquired tenancies of several further local farms, to one of which, Riphay Barton at Exebridge he himself moved in 1901, and established three of his sons as farmers: Jack at Chevithorn Barton, part of the Amory family's estate at Knightshayes Court, and two brothers at Duvale. All the sons had been destined for farming, but Ernest Yandle, the second youngest, considered of delicate health, at the age of 14 or 15 was sent away to Tiverton to learn the trade of draper which he continued at Exeter and Bristol until 1910, when he returned to Devon to farm and hunt. In 1918 Thomas I retired from farming, and Ernest took over the tenancy at Riphay, while Jack remained at Chevithorne and Dave and Perce in partnership at Duvale. Shortly before 1931 Percy Yandle purchased the freehold of Duvale, just before his brother Ernest purchased the freehold of Riphay, from the Pixton Estate of Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon. Percy Yandle lived with one of his unmarried sisters who kept house for him at Duvale. Duvale was sold by the Yandles in the 1960s In 1919 the 4 Yandle brothers took on mastership of the recently formed Tiverton Staghounds, and built kennels at Duvale. They retained the mastership until 1945. The Tiverton Staghounds was established to control red deer numbers around that locality, which had previously been the responsibility of the long-established Devon and Somerset Staghounds, which found itself with too large a country to cope with effectively. Ernest's son is Tom Yandle of Riphay, chairman of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, High Sheriff of Somerset and a committee member of both the National Trust and Exmoor National Park, who played a leading role in challenging the Labour government's ultimately successful proposal to ban hunting with hounds.
21st century
Since 1991 the property has been renamed "Duvale Priory" and has been operated by Mark Underhill as a holiday letting business, and more recently as a licensed functions venue. The premises with converted former farm buildings and kennels has sleeping accommodation for a total of 93 persons, Orchard Barn, Duvale Barn, Duvale Retreat )
