A La Ronde is somehow unique from the other National Trust properties in Devon. The story of the Parminter Cousins- trailblazing female travellers before their time- definitely has something to do with it. The 18th century souvenirs crammed into glass cabinets galore is also rather intriguing. And then there’s the house itself, all sixteen quirky sides of it. Decorated with shells and feathers galore, it’s mad, it’s beautiful and it’s full of the character of the Parminters.
Here’s the full story of these remarkable ladies, and how to visit A La Ronde- one of the most interesting National Trust properties in Devon.
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The Grand Tour – Yesterday’s Gap Year
Maybe you’ve heard about the ‘Grand Tour?’ Not the TV show folks. This Grand Tour was a sort of 18th century gap year, during which eligible British bachelors gallivanted around Europe. Kind of like a gap year, it was seen as a rite of passage, and allowed young gentlemen to sow their wild oats across the continent before they settled down with a wife. (Think Colin Bridgerton, heading off to Greece instead of marrying. Nice one, Col.)
Popular itineraries at the time included cities like Rome, Venice, Dresden, Paris and Vienna, and the young bachelors sometimes stopped to study for a few months or years at a university; soaking up all the art, science and history at each location they ticked off the checklist.
Who says women can’t travel!?
Female travellers were practically unheard of in the 18th century. In fact the only way it was generally considered acceptable for a woman to travel was if she accompanied a male relative already on his own Grand Tour. But there were some females brave enough to go it alone, and two of these women were Jane and Mary Parminter, cousins from Devon in England.
These strong-willed ladies were true independent women, before being an independent woman was even a thing. Destiny’s Child, eat your heart out.
The unmarried cousins were in their late teens and early twenties when they inherited a pile of money and decided it was about time they saw the world. In 1784 they embarked on their own Grand Tour, accompanied by Jane’s sister Elizabeth, and a friend from London named Miss Colville. (I’m sure she had a first name too, but unfortunately we’ve only got diaries to rely on and they loved the formalities back then, didn’t they? Miss Colville it is.)
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The group headed across to Paris, stopping in at Versailles– where they spotted Marie Antoinette from afar- and then glimpsed the King of Prussia in Dijon. Miss Colville left early on in the journey, and Elizabeth a few years later, but Jane and Mary had caught the travel bug. The duo travelled across Europe for around ten years.
I don’t just like their style: I absolutely blooming love it! Jane and Mary were clearly my kind of gals, with a strong urge to explore this wonderful world.
From Devon to the mountains and beyond
The Parminters travelled through France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and possibly Spain and Portugal, taking in all the tourist sights. Only diaries from the first six weeks of their journey remain, describing forests riddled with bandits and dirty inns with “extravagant charges and haughty maids.” I’ve had my own fair share of extravagant charges and haughty maids; I’m sure we can all sympathise with the cousins on that note.
And their thirst for adventure was clearly a little larger than some of their male Grand Tour counterparts. Mary, Jane and Elizabeth became the first women to climb a mountain peak over 3000m, when they scaled Mont Buet in the Alps. Their legacy lives on in Mont Buet’s affectionate nickname ‘Parminter Peak.’
A La Ronde- the most eccentric house in Devon
Although most of the cousins’ diaries are lost, one amazing memento is still here: the house they built and filled with souvenirs and curiosities upon their return.
After ten years of travelling together, Jane and Mary made their way back to Devon. But it goes without saying that these well-travelled ladies needed somewhere befitting of their lifestyle- which, for a woman in those days, was definitely not the norm. If anything, it could be described as having been a little eccentric. And a simple scrapbook was obviously not sufficient to hold the thousands of mementos they’d collected from their travels.
They built A La Ronde, a sixteen-sided house with diamond-shaped windows, which was inspired by an octagonal chapel they had visited in Italy. This beautiful house is bursting at the seams with trinkets and treasures. Curiosity cabinets are packed with souvenirs from their escapades in 18th century Europe. Postcards and pictures from the places the cousins visited adorn the walls, interspersed with silhouette portraits of the family in wigs and ballgowns, and papercut work of the Parminters themselves.
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Not content with just displaying souvenirs, the cousins made some extreme decor decisions inspired by everything they’d seen on their adventures. The walls of the Drawing Room are decorated with feathers, stuck on in intricate patterns, and on the top floor is the Shell Gallery- an entire room covered in a mosaic of real shells.
Jane and Mary moved into A La Ronde in 1799, and both cousins continued to defy the societal norms of the time by remaining unmarried for the rest of their lives. Jane died in 1811, and Mary lived on until 1849, leaving some controversial but truly girl-poweresque instructions in her will. The most intriguing of all being that A La Ronde could only be inherited by unmarried women in her family.
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The Parminter cousins were ahead of their time in more ways than one, not just trailblazing their way unaccompanied across Europe, but also paving the way for more independent women to follow suit. Feminists before feminism existed, these ladies were clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Eventually A La Ronde was given to the National Trust, earning it the crown for one of the most eccentric National Trust properties in Devon. I’m pretty glad this happened, as this house is a true treat for the eyeballs.
How to visit this stunner of a National Trust property
How to get there: The easiest way to reach A La Ronde is by car, and parking is available on site. The closest train station is about 40 minutes away on foot, in Exmouth. Book train tickets and check times at South Western Railway.
Opening times: The house is currently closed (May 2021, ta pandemania), but in the meantime it’s possible to go on a virtual tour on the National Trust’s website.
Ticket entry: Adult entry is £10.50 per person. For National Trust members, entry is completely free of charge, woohoo! Foreign visitors who are planning on visiting several National Trust properties during your stay: it’s definitely worth buying a National Trust Touring Pass in advance. At a mere £33 for a week’s membership, it’s an absolute steal I tell you.
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