Colway Manor Lyme Regis

Colway Manor is an imposing detached residence steeped in history and set in this private, yet convenient, position in Lyme Regis. The original manor was a Saxon longhouse but the present house was built around 1596. Previous incumbents include Lord Cobham, who owned the land eastwards down to the sea. Cobham unwisely supported the Lady Annabelle Stewart, pretender to the throne on the death of Elizabeth and lost all of his lands as a result. Colway Manor then was passed to the Henley family who, during a siege of Lyme in 1644 (English Civil War), supported the royalists and the house was used as a royalist headquarters. When the besiegers crept away defeated, it was said anything found in the house was thrown out through the windows and an impromptu auction held on the lawn. Around 1850 the house declined into a farm and a serious fire in 1921 destroyed all the ground floor but leaving the Tudor porch with its collection of initials carved over generations. The current dwelling is of stone elevations underneath a slate roof and is simply bursting with character. The property has been in the ownership of the same family for some 40 years and as such is now in need of modernisation and possibly some reconfiguring. Despite its obvious historical interest and charm Colway Manor is not a listed building. In addition to the main house there is a stone barn which can lend itself to a variety of uses, subject to relevant consents. The property is set in its own private grounds totalling approximately 1.3 acres and is very much a hidden gem, offering the purchaser the opportunity to not only buy a piece of history but also to create a fabulous family home.