Tapeley Park is a country house

English country house

The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...

 located near the village of Westleigh

Westleigh, Devon

Westleigh is a civil parish and village in North Devon in the English County of Devon.Tapeley Park, a country house is located within the parish.-External links:*...

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

William Clevland

William Clevland (king)

William Clevland was an Anglo-Scot who became King of the Banana Islands.William Clevland was the son of Commodore William Clevland, a Scotsman who settled at Tapeley Park, near Bideford, Devon. His brother was John Clevland, Secretary of the Admiralty....

, who went on to become King of the Banana Islands

Banana Islands

The Banana Islands lie south west of the Freetown Peninsula in Sierra Leone. The two main islands, Dublin Island and Ricketts Island, are linked by a causeway. Dublin Island is known for its beaches while Ricketts Island is best known for its forests...

 grew up here.

The house was acquired by the Christie family in the mid 19th century, who already owned Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...

 in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

. Later owners included John Christie, the founder of Glyndebourne Opera Festival.

John Christie left Tapeley to his daughter, who passed it onto her nephew Hector Christie, who turned it into a hippie commune. In 2011, Tapeley Park was the subject of a Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 television documentary presented by hotelier Ruth Watson

Ruth Watson

Ruth Watson , is an English hotelier, broadcaster and food writer.-Early life and career:Born in London, Ruth Watson was educated in London and at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire...

 as part of her Country House Rescue

Country House Rescue

Country House Rescue is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand....

series. By this time Hector Christie had put his hippie past largely behind him, and was concerned to restore the house and put it onto a sounder financial footing.

The garden is open to the public on a regular basis. It features Italianate terraces, a working kitchen garden

Kitchen garden

The traditional kitchen garden, also known as a potager, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden - the ornamental plants and lawn areas...

 and a permaculture

Permaculture

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...

garden.