Trains on the Tarka Line stop at Portsmouth Arms, in the Taw valley in North Devon, only when a passenger asks. About a hundred yards further along the A377, opposite the car park of the Portsmouth Arms pub, a private drive runs three quarters of a mile up to Northcote Manor, a Grade II listed stone manor house in the parish of Burrington that first took in hotel guests in 1972. Every wedding here takes the whole house: the lounges, the restaurant, all 16 bedrooms and suites and 20 acres of gardens and woodland, from noon on the wedding day until 11am the next morning. Guests can arrive by road, or by the branch line from Exeter.
Monks, a Tudor courtier and the house of 1716
Northcote’s story begins around 1000 AD, when the site was a sanctuary for Benedictine monks and friars, and one of the murals in the main lounge shows monastic life there. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 the manor became Crown property. Henry VIII owned it for 21 years and leased it to the courtier Thomas de Soulemont, after which it was granted to John Lord Russell. It passed by marriage through the Russell, Hankford and Pollard families before it came to Richard Babbage.
The house that stands today has its origins in the late 17th or early 18th century, and a plaque above the entrance to the restaurant commemorates the new manor house of 1716. In the late 19th century it was remodelled and considerably enlarged in Tudor style, with an asymmetrical gabled wing and an imposing entrance porch. The walls are unrendered stone rubble under slate roofs and tall chimney stacks, and most of the windows are stone mullioned. The main doorway is a large four centred arch with an original studded door and a heraldic stone crest above it, and the Latin motto on the coat of arms over the front door translates as “I follow the light”. The house was first listed in 1952.
The grounds take in a walled garden, a water garden with a bridge, apple orchards and woodland, with views over the Taw valley and the surrounding countryside.
Vows in the Oak Room or the Conservatory
Both licensed ceremony rooms are inside the house, so the ceremony never depends on the weather. The Oak Room, also known as the quiet lounge, is one of the original rooms of the 18th century manor. It is decorated in Regency style, with a log burner and large windows, and couples take their vows in its bay window in front of up to 60 guests.
The Conservatory is the larger choice: a light room with views across the North Devon countryside and room for up to 100. For the civil ceremony, the hotel’s list of wedding suppliers points couples to the North Devon register office, alongside florists, cake makers, musicians and photographers. Photography is not part of the packages, though the wedding planner can recommend local photographers.
Dinner beneath the murals
After the ceremony the house changes over for dinner, speeches and the evening. The kitchen holds two AA Rosettes and serves wedding dinners for up to 120 guests during the day, and the evening reception can take up to 180. Round tables for the wedding breakfast are laid beneath the large painted murals of the restaurant. The Run of the House package lays a banqueting set for up to 55, with tablecloths, napkins, cutlery, wine and toast glasses and Cheltenham chairs, and a tea and coffee station follows the meal. More day guests are added at a price per head on the food package.
The bar is fully licensed and takes cash only. For the evening, the kitchen can send out homemade nibbles, bacon butties, homemade pizzas or a full buffet. Couples who would rather have a hog roast or a fish and chip van can book a self contained caterer for the evening, provided it carries its own public liability insurance and does not need the hotel’s kitchens; the wedding breakfast itself is always cooked in house. Fireworks are allowed through Sonic Fireworks, a company that has completed the risk assessments for the grounds.
Stafford or Gracey
Among the house’s former residents were Sir Stafford Northcote MP, the Melhuish family and Colonel Gracey, and the two wedding food packages are called Stafford and Gracey. Stafford, at £7,150, begins with Prosecco and four canapés, then a three course meal with one dish chosen for each course, two glasses of wine, a glass of Fournaise Dubois Champagne for the toast and a buffet for the evening guests. Gracey, at £10,450, begins with a Kir Royale, pours premium wine and Joseph Perrier Champagne for the toast, and offers a choice of up to two dishes at each course, ordered in advance.
The menus draw on Devon and Cornwall. The Stafford menu includes a terrine of Heal Farm Tamworth ham hock with apple chutney, roast sirloin of North Devon Red Ruby beef with Yorkshire pudding, Cornish cod with creamy mash, and sticky toffee pudding with Devon clotted cream. The Gracey menu moves on to chilled Cornish white crab with avocado, tenderloin of Heal Farm Tamworth pork with a Calvados sauce, and tournedos of Red Ruby beef. Both list Northcote Manor’s own ice cream and sorbet among the puddings, and every menu can be tailored to dietary requirements.
Sixteen rooms, and the night before
Every bedroom and suite is part of the wedding, with breakfast served between 8am and 10am, and together they sleep 32 guests; sofa beds in some of the suites take a few more at extra cost. No two rooms are alike. Tavistock, one of the largest suites, has a grand canopy bed and a roomy lounge and is offered as a honeymoon suite, with side facing views that keep it private. Manor has Chinese themed decor, a mirrored canopy over the bed and a marble bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath. Dragonfly and Wisteria are in the walled garden lodge, each with a crystal chandelier and a terrace, and Heron, which looks over the walled garden, has a free standing bath in the room. Honeysuckle is fully accessible, with a wet room, and 14 of the 16 rooms take dogs.
The Run of the House package also gives the couple bed and breakfast in a suite the night before, and two 60 minute treatments in the spa the day before. Wedding guests staying the night before can use the spa too: a heated 12.5 metre pool, a sauna, a steam room, a hot tub and a gym, with views over the River Taw and Exmoor. It took Bronze for Spa and Wellbeing Experience of the Year at the 2025 Devon Tourism Awards. Guests who cannot stay in the house can book the Portsmouth Arms, the pub opposite the end of the drive, or the Rising Sun, both on the hotel’s list of outside accommodation. Wedding guests check out at 11am.
The branch line at the end of the drive
Portsmouth Arms station opened in 1855 on the railway between Exeter and Barnstaple. It takes its name from the pub, which was named in honour of the 4th Earl of Portsmouth, who built the turnpike road between the two towns. Since 2001 the route has been called the Tarka Line, after Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter, and it crosses the Taw several times on its way to Barnstaple. Only a few trains a day call at Portsmouth Arms, so guests coming by rail need the timetable, and the hotel can arrange taxis from the station if they are booked in advance.
By road, the house is reached from junction 27 of the M5, along the A361 towards Barnstaple and through South Molton to the A377. Satellite navigation should be set to the Portsmouth Arms, EX37 9ND, because the hotel’s own postcode takes a roundabout route through the lanes. Parking at the house is free for guests and entertainers, and Exeter Airport is about 45 minutes away by car. For another West Country wedding, read our Edit on Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall, or browse wedding venues in Devon.
One day, or two in summer
The date is the decision that shapes a wedding at Northcote Manor. For 2026 and 2027 the Run of the House package costs £7,000 for a low season wedding between October and April and £9,000 in the high season, each set for up to 55 day guests and taken with one of the two food packages. From May to September, a Friday, Saturday or Sunday wedding must book two days of exclusive use, at £20,000, which keeps the house for the wedding party across two days. Any other date keeps the whole house for one day and one night. Read the Northcote Manor profile and check your date.
