Didworthy House

History of Didworthy House

Although the major portion of the house was built in the early nineteenth century it is known that a building existed on the site some two hundred years earlier.

In the 1830's it was owned by Charles Woodley, a member of a prominent local family originating from the old Halshanger Manor near Ashburton, whose ancestry can be traced to 1438.

In 1848 his son, Augustus John Woodley (a Captain in the Royal Navy) married Emily Jane Vyvyan an alleged illegitimate relative of Queen Victoria and they resided at Didworthy House until the 1890's where they raised no less than thirteen children. Their other interests are not recorded!

At the turn of the century the Devon and Cornwall authorities decided, because of the special quality and purity of the air at Didworthy, that it should become the location of a Sanatorium for chest illnesses, and in 1902 the House was purchased to become the administrative centre for the Hospital that was created in the vicinity.
The Hospital had an excellent reputation not only for its record of successful recoveries but also the very happy environment that existed within the Hospital. It is a strange fact that both residents and visitors speak of the remarkable calming effect and tranquillity that pervades the valley.

The Hospital closed in 1968 and Didworthy House was eventually sold into private ownership when it reverted to a family home once more but with the approved addition of three self-catering holiday apartments in the wing of the house.