When did Powderham Castle first open to the public?

At the turn of the century the castle was occupied by tenants, and the aged 13th Earl, Revd Henry Reginald resided in the Powderham rectory. Upon his death in 1904, Powderham passed to his eldest grandson, Charles Pepys, the 14th Earl, who returned to the castle and set about a program of modernisation – introducing electricity, running water, and building an indoor tennis court and squash court at the stables for his girlfriend, who subsequently absconded with another, leaving the hapless 'Uncle' Charlie to die unmarried in 1927.

He was succeeded by his bachelor brother, Henry Hugh, who was the rector of Powderham and became the 15th Earl. He lived at Powderham during the years of the Depression.

The Countess of Devon. Photo: Powderham Henry also died unmarried in February 1935, leaving his younger brother Frederick Leslie, mayor and rector of Honiton to inherit as the 16th Earl. However, Frederick enjoyed precious little time as Earl, dying just four months later in June 1935. Powderham and the title thus passed once more to his young son, Charles Christopher, aged just 19, becoming the 3rd Earl that year. His youth is accountable for his long tenure, as he both enjoyed and endured 64 years as Earl of Devon. 

Christopher was educated at Winchester College and then Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards. In summer of 1939, he married Venetia, recently divorced from Christopher’s cousin, the Earl of Cottenham. Venetia moved to Powderham with her two young daughters; Ladies Rose and Paulina. The ignominy of marrying a divorcee had seen Charles resign his commission, but his absence lasted mere months, as he returned to service when the country found itself at war that autumn. Active at Dunkirk and later North Africa, he rose to the rank of Captain, before his service ended with an honourable discharge after an errant bullet pierced his helmet, missing his head by millimetres. 

The helmet worn by Christopher, the 3rd Earl. Photo: Powderham The Second World War savaged Exeter. The bombings that demolished hundreds of buildings in Exeter, mercifully missed Powderham. Recently discovered wartime letters between Venetia and Christopher reveal life at the time, with tales of enemy aircraft using the estuary as a flightpath to the city, and the evacuation of young children to relatives nearby. They are letters of love, of struggle, and of parenting. The war years were also fruitful, as despite misery and uncertainty, Venetia bore two children: Katherine in 1940, and Hugh Rupert in May 1942, born in the State Bed while Exeter was subjected to its worst day of blitz. 

Having survived the wars, the family had to ensure Powderham could survive the peace. With triple death duties from the deaths of Charlie, Henry and Frederick, inflating maintenance costs, materials in short supply, and the reduction in people looking for domestic employment, managing the house became increasingly challenging. 

The Earl of Devon. Photo: Powderham By the 1950s country houses were being demolished at an alarming rate. Expense had outpaced even the wealthiest who owned them and,. midway through the decade, more than one country house was being lost every week. Christopher and Venetia had to find a way to make Powderham pay. 

First they began a finishing school for girls, which ran for several years, welcoming small groups of girls from upper-middle-class backgrounds. Lessons were given in cookery, cleaning, equine care and household skills. The girls who came made special friendships and connections, and cleaned the castle, but it was unprofitable. 

Love letters between Venetia and Christopher during the war were discovered at Powderham. Photo: Powderham In 1957, the family made the pivotal decision to open Powderham Castle to the public -– a bold move at the time. Strangers wandered through private spaces that had, for generations, been inhabited solely by the family and their staff. But the appetite for visiting Britain’s great houses was growing, and with careful curation, Powderham began to share not just its architecture, but its story.

The 1960s and ’70s were a transformative period. Guided tours, exhibitions, and seasonal events slowly found space alongside traditional estate functions as the primary means of supporting the property. Powderham’s sustainability now rested in part on its ability to engage the public. The Courtenays adapted, balancing openness with stewardship, and the castle began to evolve.

Hugh and his bride Diana were married in 1967, and made their home at Powderham in the 1970s, with Hugh gradually taking responsibility for the management of the estate. Their home grew with the arrivals of Rebecca, Nell, Camilla, and Charles. A new generation born into a changing Powderham, shifting from private domain to shared public heritage.  Weddings and concerts began to occur, with well-known artists such as Status Quo and Shirley Bassey headlining during the 1990s.

After Christopher died in 1998, Hugh inherited the Earldom of Devon, becoming in 1999 last hereditary peer to make a maiden speech in the House of Lords by right. His passions though were less political, and he devoted his life to estate management. Applying skills and knowledge gained from his professional background to managing the Powderham Estate and its farms, while increasing access to its treasured heritage as the millennium came to a close.