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When
Herbert Whitley died in 1955, he made provision that his trusted assistant Gladys Salter should have a lifetime interest in Primley House, being able to live out her days there. She converted the entire house to a home for the elderly – including provision for herself, and in 1956 this became
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spent considerable time and effort growing a collection of animals and plants in the extensive outbuildings of the house, before extending his collection onto estate land on the other side of the Totnes Road. That collection was eventually opened to the public and became
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was the fourth son, but he took much control of
Primley House, in particular taking over the sixteen large greenhouses adjoining the house, filling them with a wide variety of exotic plants and animals, with a particular interest in specimens which were blue.
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His collection eventually outgrew the greenhouses, and he started building on estate land on the far side of the Totnes Road. This collection became larger and more exotic, before being opened to the public as
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The final
Belfield in residence was John Finney Belfield, who left abruptly in 1870, simply walking out of the house, and away from his prominent profile in Paignton, and moved unannounced to
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At the beginning of the 18th century, the estate was acquired through marriage by the
Bellfield family, whose predecessors had moved to Paignton from Lancashire in 1554.
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138:, Devon. Built in the 18th century by the Belfield family, it stayed in family hands until the early 20th century when it was sold to the Whitley family.
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On
Whitley's death, the house was left to his assistant Gladys Salter, who converted it to a home for the elderly, which it remains to the present day.
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and
William completed their studies before setting about acquiring significant land in Devon, both at Paignton and around Dartmoor.
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After the
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The
Belfields were active in the community, including providing land from the estate for local allotments.
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Hero of the fleet : two World Wars, one extraordinary life : the memoirs of centenarian
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In 1904 Isabella and four of the children moved to Devon, fearful of tuberculosis. The brothers
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During the 1870s, the house formed the boundary of the foot messengers from
Paighton for the
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The
Whitley family were wealthy and prominent in Liverpool. The then-head of the household,
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465:"Our Story: From one man's private collection to a world renowned zoo and botanical garden"
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Little is known about the early history, although by 1709 a John Elliot was paying
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543:"Millionares, Mysteries and Menageries: The surprising history of Primley House"
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on the building, commemorating both the Belfield family and Herbert Whitley.
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In 1967 the association purchased the freehold of the house from the
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for the house (while a Mr Furneaux paid rates for 'Primley Garden').
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Davies, Owain (Autumn 2018). "Hunting through the generations".
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The family held the estate through a number of generations.
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The house was originally named Prim-Legh, based on the
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237:brewery dynasty and five children.
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650:Grade II listed buildings in Devon
607:National Heritage List for England
521:. FA Thorpe, Anstey. p. 201.
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361:Primley House and Herbert Whitley
272:the Primley Housing Association.
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289:Notable residents have included
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482:. No. 1. pp. 44–46.
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330:. SJH Publications, Paignton.
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363:, Torbay Civic Society, 2005
328:Chimps, Champs and Elephants
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586:. British Listed Buildings.
134:is a large estate house in
100:Belfield Family (1709–1870)
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257:Primley Zoological Gardens
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635:Historic estates in Devon
602:"Primley House (1293135)"
305:Primley House has been a
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235:Greenall Whitley & Co
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515:Whitley, Edward (1993).
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556:Stone, William (2010).
411:"Post Office Telegraph"
223:Lord Mayor of Liverpool
167:for "morning meadow".
73:50.430806°N 3.581670°W
518:Gerald Durrell's army
447:"Social and Personal"
259:, and later known as
207:Lord and Lady Wenlock
326:Baker, Jack (1988).
267:Home for the elderly
227:Member of Parliament
78:50.430806; -3.581670
453:. 2 September 1899.
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545:. Paignton Zoo.
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611:. Retrieved
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284:blue plaque
165:Old English
105:(1904–1955)
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51:Coordinates
629:Categories
528:0708987354
375:"Paignton"
337:1870910001
313:References
295:Royal Navy
291:Bill Stone
61:50°25′51″N
502:"History"
488:2515-9437
480:Hound Tor
231:Liverpool
64:3°34′54″W
640:Paignton
613:25 April
297:sailor.
136:Paignton
242:Herbert
154:History
110:Website
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301:Status
200:Exeter
433:Globe
229:from
172:rates
97:Owner
615:2023
564:ISBN
523:ISBN
484:ISSN
332:ISBN
225:and
92:1709
123:.uk
121:.co
117:www
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
