Plympton

Plympton boasts one of Devon’s grandest mansions, Saltram House (National Trust). Built during the reign of George II for the Parker family, this sumptuous house occupies a splendid site overlooking the Plym estuary. In the 1760s, Robert Adam was called in, at enormous expense, to decorate the dining room and ‘double cube’ saloon, which he accomplished with his usual panache. There are portraits of the Parkers by the locally born artist Sir Joshua Reynolds,and amongst the fine furniture, a magnificent four-poster bed by Thomas Chippendale. Other attractions include the great kitchen with its fascinating assortment of eriod kitchenware, an orangery in the gardens, and the former chapel, now a gallery displaying the work of West Country artists. The garden is mainly 19th century and contains several follies as well as some beautiful shrubberies and imposing specimen trees. The shop and gallery offer work for sale by contemporary local artists. Saltram House appeared as Norland House in the 1995 feature film of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant.

From the village, the Plym Valley Railway (see panel on page 186) carries passengers on a short length of restored track, part of a Great Western Railway branch that ran from Plymouth to Launceston via Tavistock. Travelling in rolling stock redolent of the 1950s and 1960s, passengers are conveyed to local beauty spot, Plym Bridge.

To the north of Plympton is a fine Georgian mansion that is often overlooked, Hemerdon House, which is still occupied by the original family. It contains family and other portraits, silver, books and period furniture. The house is open on a limited basis.