A La Ronde

About this place

Near Lympstone, on the outskirts of Exmouth in Devon, stands a sixteen-sided cottage built in 1796.

A la Ronde was commissioned by two spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter, after they returned from a ten-year Grand Tour of Europe.

The interior is crammed with their handiwork, including a shell-encrusted gallery and rooms decorated with feathers, seaweed and paper cut-outs.

The National Trust looks after the house and its grounds today.

History

Jane and Mary Parminter commissioned the house in 1796 on their return from a Grand Tour that had lasted around a decade, drawing inspiration from the Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The cousins also built the nearby Point-In-View chapel, school and almshouses, all of which share Grade I listed status with the main house. Ownership passed through descendants of the Parminter family before the property came to the National Trust.

Architecture

The house is a striking example of a cottage orné, its unusual sixteen-sided plan arranged around a central octagon lit from above, with rooms radiating outward like slices of a wheel.

Worth knowing

The interior decoration is almost entirely the work of the two women who lived there, including a shell gallery so fragile that visitors can now only view it by video link rather than in person.

Gardens & grounds

The grounds are Grade II listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, with views across the Exe estuary from the surrounding parkland.

Facilities