The Spreacombe Valley has long been a place of peace, nature and quiet human connection.
Today, it’s a tranquil haven for walkers, wildlife-lovers and holiday guests, but its story stretches back thousands of years. From Iron Age earthworks to 20th-century conservation efforts, Spreacombe holds layers of North Devon’s past beneath its calm surface.
An Ancient Landscape
There’s evidence that people have lived in and around the Spreacombe Valley since prehistoric times. The nearby Iron Age hillfort in Spreacombe Chapel Wood hints at early settlements, while the name ‘Spreacombe’ itself is thought to derive from Saxon roots.
The valley’s ancient hedgerows, woodlands and gently rolling fields reflect centuries of stewardship. The land has always been shaped by those who lived close to it — working with the landscape, not against it.
A Farming and Wildlife Tradition
For generations, Spreacombe was home to a small, close-knit farming community. Traditional mixed farming with livestock, arable land and careful hedgerow management supported both people and nature.
Unlike more intensively developed parts of the country, Spreacombe’s gentle approach meant wildlife continued to thrive. Many of the birds, insects and mammals you see today, from buzzards to bats, are here because the valley avoided overdevelopment.
Spreacombe, meaning "brushwood valley" ..
...is mentioned in the doomsday books.
We have very little information about the early days, save from the fact that a chapel, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was built in the grounds of the Manor. This would have been a Catholic chapel and provided living quarters for the priest (2 small rooms) as well as the formal area for the congregation.
The sign, photographed, is positioned alongside the chapel ruins, just a short walk from our cottages.
A link with royalty
We visited the records office in Cornwall and were very excited to find a (very) tenuous link to royalty.
A 19th-century note states that 'The manors of Sprecombe and Gratton were afterwards (10th July 1525) settled on Sir Thomas Arundell, 2nd son of Sir John Arundell, upon his marriage with Margaret Howard, daughter of Sir Edmund Howard, sister of Queen Katherine Howard. Vide no. 145; Inq.p.m. [Inquisitions post mortem] Sir John Arundell'.
Another ancient deed of the "feoffment in trust for jointure, Elizabeth Arundell" rather romanticallly states the following
Lease for term of lessor's wife's life (feoffment in trust, for jointure)
Rent: a red rose at Nativity of St John Baptist, for all services and demands.
1800's
We believe that the current Manor House was built in the early 1800's, with it's predecessor being nearer to the Chapel. The “New” owners, the family of which built the current house, were reputed to have won the Estate on a card game.
Easy come, easy go; Over the next generations the hedges were apparently all ripped out of the valley to enable horse racing from one end to the other but unfortunately one bet too many allegedly forced a swift transfer of property to a luckier recipient.
In these times the Estate would have included Middle Spreacombe and Higher Spreacombe, residences along our peaceful valley.
Spreacombe Today – Rooted in the Past
While today’s visitors enjoy wildlife spotting, coastal walks and time to switch off, they’re also connecting with a landscape shaped by generations. The woodland paths, dry-stone walls and field boundaries carry the memory of those who came before.
It’s a place to slow down, reflect, and feel part of something older and deeper than the everyday.
