Features:

Italian Terrace Borders, traditional walled Kitchen Garden, Lake with massive ThujaPlicata trees, Granite Labyrinth. Falconry Displays each Sunday at 11:30am and 3:30pm, weather permitting. Animals including Highland Cattle, Peacocks and Berkshire Pigs. Tea Rooms - light lunches and teas. Childrens Play Area 'hidden' in the Wild Garden. Plants Sale Area.

Open 18 March - 1 November, 10am to 5pm. Closed Saturdays.

Tapeley is off the A39 on the B3233.

Telephone 01271 342558 for prices and further information.
Long before the Norman Conquest, a thousand years ago, the occupiers of Tapeley ( or Tapelia, as it was called in the Doomsday Book ) have, from their elevated plateau, been able to look down on the tidal river Torridge, across to the pretty and one-time important port of Bideford (which during the 1600's was the second largest port in Britain handling more tonnage than Liverpool, Bristol, Southampton and Plymouth put together ), and across to the high rising village of Northam. Thus beyond to the ancient village of Appeldore, and to the distant land of Lundy, owned for a while by the Christie Family - a truly staggering panoramic view, fading into the horizon over the Atlantic.

Tapeley passed from the de Tapplegh family to the Grants and from them to the Grants and from them to the Cobleighs whose heiress married Sir Roger Giffard. Sir John Giffard ( the Great Grandson of Walter Giffard, a kinsman William the Conqueror ), married Ada, daughter of Hugh Courtney, Baron of Okehampton in 1316 and moved to Tapeley from one of the number of residences at Weare Giffard (a few miles away from the Torridge ). The Giffards were an ancient, large and powerful family who had served their King and country in every imaginable position.

Then "The Cleveland Reign" began in 1702 when William Cleveland sailed his fine vessel up the River Torridge, and on a closer inspection of Tapeley through his telescope, is alleged to have said "That is the place for me". Tapeley in those days was a seven bayed white stuccoed farm house. He married Miss Anna Davie of Orliegh Manor, Bideford, and their son John Cleveland became sole Secretary to the Admiralty from 1751 until his death in 1763.

John Cleveland's son, also called John Cleveland, took over Tapeley and sat for seven successive Parliaments as Member for Barnstable. In this time he added the dining room and adjoining Dairy lawn where he entertained his constituents. One of the second John Clevelands brothers called Augustus (born 1745, died 1784), joined the East India Company and went out to India where he became Govenor of the Province of Bengal. Whilst there, "without bloodshed or terror of authority, employing only the means of conciliation, confidence and benevolence (and the gift of his daughters home baked cakes)", attempted and accomplished the entire subjection of the lawless and savage inhabitants of the Jungleterry hill tribes of Rajamahall.

John Cleveland was succeeded by his nephew, Augustus Saltren willet Cleveland who married Margaret Chichester of Arlington Court. They had a son, Archibold, and two daughter, Agnes and Caroline.

Archibold Cleveland joined the 17th Lancers aged 17 and was one of only three officers to survive the charge of the Light Brigade, but was killed a month later at Inkerman, aged 21. His plight and bravery can best be seen in the letter he wrote to his uncle after Balaclava in 1854: "…Lord Raglam who had been told on purpose (by a man who wanted the Cavalry to do something brilliant) the wrong position of the guns, ordered us to charge them. We were formed up at one end of the valley, the nine twelve pounders were at the other - one and a half miles away, flanked with Cavalry and infantry. On each side of the valley was rising ground, on the left of us a battery of six guns, on our right batteries of about seventeen or eighteen guns….so you can imagine how we were mown down by the cross firing…..". He wrote of how three Cossakes came after him following the charge: "..the next ran his lance straight through my pouch box which is made of silver and saved me, the next caught me in the ribs but the point of his lance was broken off and only bruised me. Was that not a lucky escape? - and I had one or two lucky escapes of being cut down before that, only I was too sharp for them."

In 1856 a monument was erected for him in the field on the seaward side of the house with a 50 foot obelisk rising from it. The obelisk was destroyed by lightening in 1933 during a freak thunderstorm when according to a local newspaper, blocks of granite were thrown 100 feet into the air and the iron rails twisted.