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Woodway House

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Woodway House is in Teignmouth, South Devon. It was originally a farm on lands held by the Bishop of Exeter. In around 1830 a thatched 'cottage' in the style of Horace Walpole's (1717-1797) Thames-side villa, Strawberry Hill was built here by Captain Thomas Spratt R.N.

Walpole built his villa at Twickenham in around 1747 and set a fashion for rural romantic Gothic-style retreats. A number were built by retired colonial administrators and military men who liked verandahs, spacious lawns and the sunny climes of Devon. Woodway House is a classic example of this romatic 'chocolate Box' style of architecture.

An 1825 view of Woodway House when Captain Thomas Spratt was living here


Captain Thomas Spratt

Thomas was born at Woodway House and lived here for 40 years. He joined the Royal Navy and gained fame for his exploits at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, aged 32. He was a master's mate on Captain Durham's ship, the 74 gun HMS Defiance. The ship was attempting to board a French ship, the Aigle. After the first attempt the log records that "A certain Mr.Spratt, an active young master's mate, took his cutlass between his teeth, called to the boarders to follow, lept over board and swam to the Aigle, followed by a few men; he got in at the stern port, and was met by some of the crew, who resisted. He succeed in cutting his way up and hauled down the Frechmen's colours, and in the act of doing so, was shot through the leg, 'He dragged himself to the side of the ship, and holding his beeding limb over the railing, called out, Captain, poor Jack Spratt is done up at last! Captain Durham was able to warp alongside, and Spratt was slung on board.

Spratt, who was badly hit, refused to have his leg amputated, and the surgeon, feeling the operation was essential, asked the Captain for a written order to authorise him to take the leg off. This was refused, though Durham promised to argue the matter with Thomas. Spratt held out his other leg, which was a very good one, and said: Never; if I lose my leg, where shall I find a match for this? Spratt was made a lieutenant after the action, and did not in fact lose his leg, but he was 17 weeks in hospital in Gibraltar (Warner 1965). He later served in HMS Albion in North America from 1813 to 1814. In 1853 Spratt surveyed the Nile Delta.

He spent the years 1848-50 studying the movements of the Bar sands at Teignmouth and published a book on the subject, dedicated to Sir William Reid, Governor of Malta. The book was entitled 'An Investigation of the Movements of the Teignmouth Bar' and he gave all his data to the "Teignmouth Harbour Commission". At this time the commission were struggling to relieve the local trade from an umjust tax, levied annually by the town of Exeter (Spratt 1856). A Mr.Bell, an Assisting Engineer on the South Devon Railway spent some months confriming the accuracy of Spratt's observations.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel lived at Watcombe for a time and he congratulated Captain Thomas Spratt on his scheme to improve the promenade and the harbour entrance at the same time; "I never read a more sensible, concise and practical discussion of such a subject" (Trump).

Bits and Pieces

Minadab at Holcombe is another Strawberry Hill style cottage, but of altogether a more eccentric construction. It was built in 1820 by Robert Benjamin Young, born in 1773. He was one of Admiral Lord Nelson's captains and he built his cottage to resemble a ship as much as possible, the east side being the fore end and the west side the after end. The upper floor was reached by means of a rope ladder. It has a round cellar with with places for storing casks of rum. Young was a lieutenant in 1795 on the Bonne Citoyenne at the battle of St.Vincent in 1797 and he was in command of the frigate cutter Entreprenant in 1804 and fought on her at Trafalgar and later at the blockade of Brest (Warner 1965). The Minidab was a French ship, but the significance of the ship is not known.

Old Cotmaton Cottage in Sidmouth is another example of a 'Strawberry Hill' romantic gothic-style construction (Evans & Green 1982).

References

  • Evans, Tony & Green, Candida Lycett Green (1982). English Cottages. Pub. London.
  • Spratt, Thomas (1856). An Investigation of the Movements of Teignmouth Bar. Pub. London.
  • Warner, Oliver 1965). Nelson's Battles. Pub. Newton Abbot. ISBN 0-7153-5169-9
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