The Manor House
Cockington Court Manor House (grade II*) is situated some 350 metres to the west of Cockington village. The ground floor now houses art galleries and a Tea Room and is open to the public all year with free entry. The Stable Yard, to the rear of the House, is home to a thriving Craft Centre.
The earliest fabric of the Manor House is almost certainly medieval, there has been a building here since the 10th century, but the exact age of the Court is unknown and early construction is concealed by subsequent changes and alterations.
Parts of the Tudor house do survive – the southwest wing is dated 1577; but the house was extensively remodelled by the Mallocks c.1673 within twenty years of their takeover of the Cary estate, and again around 1820 when the entire top floor was removed and the interior remodelled.
The house has two projecting end-bays either side of the ashlared main front, otherwise it is built of roughly-coursed local stone rubble with dressings of Beer stone from the earlier period, and later ones of 19th century brick. The chimney shafts are in red sandstone.
The seven-bay front has replacement 20th century transom-and-mullion windows, whilst the northeast wing still contains the original late 16th century windows, one with leaded glass.
The interior retains many features from each period, such as stairs, fireplaces, panelling and moulded plaster ceilings.
A sad-looking ghost is said to haunt Cockington Court. The ghost is thought to be Sir Henry Cary, a staunch Royalist during the Civil War who was knighted by King Charles I. The war left him a ruined man and, to pay fines imposed by Oliver Cromwell after the war, he was forced to sell his ancestral home.
