32-831: Ilford Park Polish Home is a residential and nursing care home in Stover , Devon, in England run by the Ministry of Defence . The site was one of 45 resettlement camps established by the National Assistance Board in the late 1940s to cater for Polish veterans entitled to remain in the UK under the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 . Ilford Park is the last of the camps to remain in operation and can cater for around 100 residents. In 1992 residents were housed in
64-718: A Polish delicatessen and chapel. At least 30 per cent of the staff are bilingual in Polish and English and the site works closely with the Polish Embassy, the Polish Catholic Mission and other Polish groups. As with other care homes in England the site is subject to inspection by the Care Quality Commission . In 2020 the freehold of the care home was bought by Ilford Park Care Ltd, owned by Mohamed Amersi . The home's manager, Clare Thomas,
96-727: A new home built on part of the site, the former camp remained derelict for a period but, as of 2022, some of the site has been redeveloped into a caravan site. Many Polish forces fought for the Allies in the Second World War and a significant portion serving with the Polish Armed Forces in the West were based in the United Kingdom. In the aftermath of the war former prime minister Winston Churchill singled out
128-549: A new home on a 9-acre (3.6 ha) portion of the site. The foundation stone of the new home was laid by Oliver Eden, 8th Baron Henley in November 1991 and he returned to open the home on 16 December 1992, accompanied by the Polish Consul General. The home now provides care for up to 98 residents split between an 81-bed care wing, a 14-bed nursing wing and three independent living bungalows. The site also hosts
160-508: A small part of Ilsington . The name Teigngrace derives from the name of the river and Geoffrey Gras, who held the manor in 1352. Geoffrey was a kinsman of 'John called Gras', (meaning 'the fat one'), who was a canon at Torre Abbey in 1351. The parish church , dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, has a 15th-century foundation, but was rebuilt by the Templer family out of local grey limestone (not granite as reported by Ewans ) in 1787 and
192-552: A year later. Harold St. Maur moved to Kenya where he died in 1927, leaving three sons. In 1932, Major Richard St. Maur leased Stover House and part of the grounds to Stover Girls' School, which had previously occupied premises in College Road in Newton Abbot . As of 2022, the school is coeducational and still occupies the site. The land immediately south of the school was the site of the 1952 Royal Show . The house
224-584: Is a Grade II* listed building . Since 1932 the house and part of the former estate have been occupied by a private school. 114 acres of the former estate situated south of the A38 now forms Stover Country Park , a nature reserve owned and managed by Devon County Council and open to the public. James Templer (1722–1782) was born in Exeter, the son of a tradesman. He made a fortune in India and married Mary Parlby,
256-480: Is a historic estate in the parish of Teigngrace , about halfway between the towns of Newton Abbot and Bovey Tracey in South Devon , England. It was bought by James Templer (1722–1782) in 1765 and passed through three generations of that family before being bought by Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset in 1829. The Georgian mansion, sometimes called Stover House, was built by the first James Templer. It
288-484: Is north of the house. His eldest son and heir, James Templer (1748–1813), built the Stover Canal in 1792. In 1786, together with his two brothers, he rebuilt St Peter and St Paul's Church, the parish church of Teigngrace, as a memorial to his parents, which contains many mural monuments to the Templer family. He married Mary Buller, the third daughter of James Buller . George Templer (1781–1843) inherited
320-628: The Ilford Park Polish Home has housed former Polish Second World War veterans and their dependents. It is run by the Ministry of Defence . In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Templer family lived on the Stover estate which had its centre in the parish, but extended northwards as far as Dartmoor. The estate was purchased in 1765 by James Templer (1722–1782), who had made his fortune erecting government buildings. He built Stover House between 1776 and 1780 out of Dartmoor granite. His son James Templer (1748–1813), built
352-497: The Ministry of Defence . Ilford Park is the last of the Polish camps operating in the UK and the last residential or care home operated by the Ministry. Its residents are drawn from across the country and include those who were unable to resettle from the camps as well as those who initially resettled but returned to the camp in later years. The original care home on the site fell into disrepair and ministers agreed, in 1987, to fund
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#1732798641631384-399: The feudal barony of Berry Pomeroy , the caput of which was Berry Pomeroy Castle , also in south Devon. In around 1830 a large porte-cochere of Portland stone was added to the south face of Stover House; it contains under a classical portico of Doric columns a curved double flight of balustraded stairs. The grand entrance gate to the estate has Doric columns and was probably built at
416-505: The 2001 census, its population was 235, compared to 190 a century earlier. The western boundary of the parish mostly runs along the A382 road ; its short northern boundary along the A38 ; and its eastern partly along the rivers Bovey and Teign . It comes to a point at its southern extremity, near Newton Abbot Racecourse . The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey , Kingsteignton , Newton Abbot and
448-505: The Admiralty , Member of Parliament for Okehampton and for Totnes , and as Lord Lieutenant of Devon . He married Georgiana Sheridan , a woman considered by his relatives to be beneath his social station. Since he was predeceased by both his sons, the dukedom passed under law to his younger brother Archibald Seymour, 13th Duke of Somerset , who had described his elder brother's wife as a "low-bred greedy beggar woman, whose sole object
480-451: The Poles for their contribution to victory and stated that Britain "will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops who have served them so valiantly". The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 , also known as the "Winston Churchill promise", made the National Assistance Board responsible for the care of qualifying Poles and their dependants. The Board established 45 resettlement camps across
512-567: The Stover Canal and rebuilt St Peter and St Paul's Church, the parish church of Teigngrace. His son George Templer (1781–1843) built the tramway from Haytor, but encountered serious debt problems, and was forced to sell the estate to Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset in 1829. The Stover estate remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Somerset until it was sold in 1921. In 1932 the house and 64 acres of grounds became Stover House School,
544-779: The Stover estate on his father's death. He built the Haytor Granite Tramway to ease the carriage of granite from his quarries to the canal. During his tenure, George founded the South Devon Hunt , with kennels based at Stover. However, he was not a successful businessman and in 1829 was forced to sell Stover House, the canal, the tramway and most of the rest of the family's considerable estates to Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset . Edward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset (1775–1855) purchased Stover in 1829. His ancestor Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593) had acquired
576-456: The blocks and, until 1973, no central heating. For a period a Young's Seafood factory operated on the site, employing 40-50 residents and making the world's first mass-produced scampi . The camp evolved from its original purpose, of assisting veterans and their dependants to resettle elsewhere, into a residential and care home for the elderly. The National Assistance Board's role at the 41-acre (17 ha) site ended and responsibility passed to
608-464: The country to cater for these people. Ilford Park opened in 1948 at Stover Camp, a hospital built in anticipation of American casualties suffered during the Invasion of Normandy. At its peak it hosted 600 Poles, leading to the area to become known as "Little Poland". The camp facilities were basic with bare breeze-block walled barrack blocks and a shared central hall; there were initially no toilets in
640-702: The death of his grandfather the 12th Duke. He was Master of the South Devon Foxhounds for many years and in 1894 created a golf course on the Stover estate, now the Stover Golf Club. He was the Seymour family historian and author of Annals of the Seymours (1902). At the start of World War I , Stover House was opened as a hospital for injured soldiers with Mrs St Maur, being a former nurse, acting as Lady Superintendent; but it closed just
672-665: The grounds. In the garden today are a small classical temple and a grotto . The principal seat of the Seymour family had been Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire, but it now became Stover, and here the Duke housed his valuable "Hamilton" art collection that had been brought to the family by his wife Lady Charlotte Hamilton, a daughter of the 9th Duke of Hamilton, as her marriage portion. The collection included paintings by Rubens, Lawrence and Reynolds. Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset (1804–1885), KG , son and heir, served as First Lord of
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#1732798641631704-501: The route of the Haytor Granite Tramway and the Stover Canal , both built by the Templer family of Stover for the purpose of exporting granite quarried on Dartmoor. 50°33′22″N 3°38′28″W / 50.5560°N 3.6411°W / 50.5560; -3.6411 Teigngrace Teigngrace is a civil parish centred on a hamlet that lies about two miles north of the town of Newton Abbot in Devon , England. According to
736-483: The same time as the porte-cochere, to which it is similar in style. Today it is unused and stands at the side of the busy A38 main road . Another major addition of around 1830 was the Clock House, a large neoclassical stable block built around a quadrangle to the west of the main house: it replaced the Templer stables to the north. Before 1834, St Maur had consulted with James Veitch about making improvements to
768-529: The sister of his business partner Thomas Parlby in 1747. In 1765 he purchased the estate of Stover which included a ruinous house known as Stoford Lodge. Between 1776 and 1780 he built a new house, probably to his own design, on an elevated site about half a mile from the ruins. The house, named Stover House or Stover Lodge, was constructed of granite from the quarries at Haytor . A stable block in Italian Baroque style , dated 'J.T. Built 1779',
800-500: The site—with the approval of most of the residents—claiming that it was a haven for wildlife including the rare cirl bunting . The complaints resulted in Environment Secretary, John Prescott , putting the plans on hold pending a public enquiry which was held in 1998. During the enquiry, errors were discovered in the clay company's flood flow predictions, which resulted in it withdrawing its application. Since 1948
832-632: The village from 1876 to 1959. The parish lies at the edge of the geological formation known as the Bovey Basin and some of the extensive ball clay deposits that exist here have been mined within its boundaries. In 1997 one of the clay mining companies, Watts Blake Bearne (now part of Sibelco [ nl ] , wanted to divert parts of the rivers Teign and Bovey to gain access to new resources of quality ball clay deposits which they said would provide much employment and would last for 100 years. However about 80 environmental campaigners occupied
864-479: Was restored in 1872. It contains a number of 18th-century monuments. Within the parish are several reminders of the area's industrial heritage : the Stover Canal and the Haytor Granite Tramway —both built by the Templer family—run through the parish, as does the single-track line of the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway , which is still occasionally used for freight. Teigngrace Halt served
896-722: Was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 Birthday Honours for her services to care at the home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until at least 2008 the old camp structures remained standing, though dilapidated, and signs warned trespassers of the presence of asbestos . As of 2022, part of the site has since been developed into Regency Court, a static caravan site. 50°33′31″N 03°39′11″W / 50.55861°N 3.65306°W / 50.55861; -3.65306 Stover, Teigngrace Stover
928-544: Was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1986, and several other buildings and structures on the site are also listed. From the time of the first James Templer, many trees were planted around the estate. This continued into the 20th century, when the Forestry Commission acquired the woodland around Stover Lake for commercial timber production. In 1979 about 114 acres (46 ha) of the land, comprising woodland, heathland, grassland, marsh and Stover Lake,
960-481: Was sold to Devon County Council for use as a country park, now known as Stover Country Park , and a Site of Special Scientific Interest . Since 1995, the parkland and gardens have been Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . The Templer Way is an 18-mile-long public footpath and cycleway between Haytor on Dartmoor and Teignmouth on the south coast, which follows
992-568: Was the 12th Duke's son-in-law Lord Henry Thynne, son of the Marquess of Bath , who sold much of the Stover estate and all of the Hamilton treasures while the beneficiaries were still under-age. Harold St. Maur (1869–1927), of Horton , Chipping Sodbury , Gloucestershire, was the eldest but illegitimate son of Edward Seymour, Earl St Maur (1835–1869), son and heir apparent of the 12th Duke, whom he predeceased. Harold inherited Stover in 1885 on
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1024-462: Was to get her hands on the property and leave it away from the direct heirs". Due to this family rift, the 12th Duke deprived him of as many material possessions as possible and bequeathed Stover and its priceless contents, including the Hamilton treasures, in trust for his illegitimate grandson Harold St Maur , which caused uproar on the part of the 13th Duke, who considered the treasures to be family heirlooms which should have passed to him. The trustee
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