Cadhay is a 16th century stone courtyard house set in a charming listed garden.
The main part of the house was built in about 1550 by John Haydon, a local lawyer, who married the de Cadhay heiress in 1527.
The house was built to the standard plan of a hall block flanked by projecting wings. In 1587 the estate was inherited by John Haydon's great-nephew, Robert. He added a new range with an Elizabethan long gallery which joined the ends of the two wings. This created a charming courtyard which was further embellished in 1617. Since this period Cadhay has remained the same.
In the late-17th century the fortunes of the Haydon family declined and in 1737 they sold Cadhay to William Peere Williams. He remodelled most of the rooms and gave the entrance front its dignified Georgian appearance.
When Cadhay subsequently passed through the female line, the furniture and pictures were dispersed. The house was finally divided into two dwellings.
In 1909 the property was purchased by Dampier Whetham, a scientist and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He cleared the farm buildings from the present gardens and engaged H.M. Fletcher to carefully restore the house. The estate was sold to Major William-Powlett in 1935 and members of the family still live at Cadhay today.
The house is approached from the east along an avenue of lime-trees. The first part of the house to be glimpsed is the mid-16th century east front, constructed from Salcombe sandstone. In the centre of this is a gabled polygonal projection for a staircase.
The plain south front dates from the late-16th century and overlooks the 20th century gardens. The mid-18th century entrance front (facing north) has sash windows and a pedimented doorway. This was the 16th century hall range.
Today the visitor approaches this part of the house through the garden entrance in the south range and across the courtyard.
The courtyard has an ornate chequerboard pattern in small blocks of stone and flint. Above the doorways in niches are carved figures of Tudor monarchs, dating from 1617.
The Hall is entered through a vestibule on the site of the 16th century screens passage. This room was originally open to the roof but was but the present coved plaster ceiling was installed in the mid-18th century. The stone chimneypiece with a frieze of shields over a flat pointed arch was part of John Haydon's house and was uncovered during the 1910 restoration.
The rooms in the east range were once parlours leading off the Hall but these were altered in the mid-18th century. The rooms have white-painted panelling and 18th century furniture.
The Library next to the Hall has a 16th century chimneypiece. A mid-16th century spiral staircase leads to the first floor. From here a passageway leads to the Gallery (which links the two ends of the house) and then to the room over the Hall. In this room the open timber roof of John Haydon's Hall can clearly be seen.
The fine arch-braced roof dates from about 1420 and was retained from the Great Hall of an earlier house on the site.
Cadhay is set among meadows and surrounded by well-tended gardens. There are herbaceous borders and yew hedges and splendid views over the medieval fish ponds.
May-Sept 2008: Friday only 14:00-17:30 (last admission 16:30); Also open late Spring and Summer Bank Holiday Sat, Sun & Mon
Tel: 01404 812999 Cadhay Website
