A manor house transported piece by piece to Devon is for sale at £6m

Across the summer months of 1924 and 1925, the British Empire Exhibition was held at Wembley Park, London. They spent £12 million building the Empire Stadium — now Wembley Stadium — plus a new station and hundreds of Empire-themed exhibits. It attracted 27 million visitors, putting Wembley firmly on the map.
Nestled away in the Palace of Engineering, the largest exhibition building, was a Kentish Wealden-style manor house, erected by the Federated Home Crown Timber Merchants Association. Timber-framed with plaster infilling, Falconers was built as an exhibit to demonstrate the traditional use of English oak for construction and other native wood for the interior decoration. It was marked as the finest example of a 15th-century house, with a slightly pitched plain-tile roof, large brick chimney stacks and sweeping arched beams.
It caught the eye of Decima Moore, an English actress and honorary commissioner at the exhibition. She fell so in love with it that she purchased it, found a spot in the countryside and had it taken apart piece by piece and shipped to Devon to be rebuilt — in its exact image.
The eight-bedroom grade II listed property has changed hands a few times since then, although it has stayed in the same seven-acre spot in Salcombe. For 25 years it has belonged to the present owners.
“They’ve been amazing custodians of the property, looking after it beautifully, preserving it beautifully while updating it sensitively and reflecting its listed status,” says Prunella Martin, founder of Signature Spaces and listing agent for Falconers. They have extended the west wing to emphasise the symmetry of the home, but other than that, the property remains true to its original, as showcased in Wembley 100 years ago.
The grounds include a four-acre paddock and a helipad — for a quick dash to London. “There is also a large percentage of manicured gardens which are beautiful, with flowers, lovely trees, beautiful paths and red brick walled gardens,” Martin says.
A paved terrace extends from the drawing room, with southerly views over the lawns and a water feature. Steps lead down from the terrace to the lawn, which has plenty of private relaxation spots created by a yew hedge and mature trees. Wisteria adds colour to the rear of the house in summer, and a scattering of bulbs throughout the gardens ensures vibrancy all year round.
“When you come around the corner and open the gate there are two drives, one lined with lime trees, so it’s like going through a Devon lane, and you don’t really know what you’re going to find. Then all of a sudden, you go through the second gates and the property emerges, almost magical in its appearance, because it’s stunningly different and it takes your breath away,” Martin adds.
Upon entry, you are faced with a dramatic great hall with a central truss ascending all three stories, exposed beams and a galleried landing above. A large open fireplace attracts the eye with a dominating red-brick chimney.
Also on the ground floor is a study, office, kitchen and sitting room with wooden beams and polished flooring. On the first floor are five bedrooms — the main one with a private balcony — and two bathrooms. On the second floor are three more bedrooms and two bathrooms.
All the windows are wooden mullion casements with either diamond or square leaded panes, in 15th-century style. “The stained-glass windows are a particularly special feature of the house, and every window has got something different. In one of the bedrooms, which could be a child’s, there’s a little boy playing with a hoop, and in another there are family crests,” Martin says.
Salcombe is a popular sailing location on the Kingsbridge estuary, on Devon’s south coast. It is in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 24 miles southeast of Plymouth. £6 million, Signature Spaces