Holiday Accommodation in South Devon
Old Castle
Our Situation
Our Aim
Our aim is to make you especially welcome and comfortable and to do everything we can to help you make the most of your holiday in this beautiful part of south Devon.
Old Castle
Situated in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty on the outskirts of the ancient and very picturesque village of Ringmore, Old Castle stands in six acres of its own grounds with views over rolling farmland to the sea and, to the north, Dartmoor. Much of the land between Ringmore and the sea, including the nearest beach Ayrmer Cove, is owned by the National Trust.
Reached by a long driveway heading off a quiet lane Old Castle offers peaceful seclusion. At night the loudest noises are the wind in the pine trees in the garden and the hooting of owls and yet many of the area's best beaches and activities are only a few minutes drive away.
Historical note
The origins of Old Castle, the former Ringmore parish rectory, date back to a sixteenth century convent which was sacked by a troop of Cromwell's forces in the Civil War when they landed in Ayrmer Cove to engage and outflank the royalist rector of Ringmore who, although defeated, apparently succeeded in escaping to France.
By the early 19th century a Regency building occupied the site but in the mid to late 1800's it was extensively remodelled in its current Victorian Gothic style by the then rector, historian and part-time architect The Rev. F.C. Hingeston-Randolph who added the big bay-windowed west end of the house and the castellated tower on the eastern aspect. Hingeston-Randolph was succeeded as rector by two generations of his family until Old Castle passed into private hands shortly after the second world war.