History
Jan Mosbacher had held the vision that Bowden House would become home to a community for over ten years. When in the second half of 2004, there was a possibility to purchase Bowden House, Jan, supported by many helpers seen and unseen, worked tirelessly to make her vision real. Many people were attracted to the place and vision of Bowden but, to start with, not enough to purchase the house and grounds together. When Jan eventually bought Bowden House on her own in February 2005, it was with the clear intention of finding ways of attracting enough people to co-create the developing community who would also be able to purchase a lease on one of the many existing or potential residential units and thus going from sole-ownership to co-ownership which we are now, in summer 2008, in the process of realizing.
On what has gone before….
In Tudor times, Bowden House was three times the size of the present building and belonged to the richest man in Devon. It continued to be owned by the landed gentry until the Second World War when it was requisitioned by the American army and later used as a children’s home. During a relatively short period of neglect, it became derelict and was rescued from demolition in the early 1960’s. It was so badly maintained that the walls of the Tudor Hall had fallen down and a tree was growing in the middle of the floor.
The Peterson family who owned the property until 2001 used it as 11 residential units and a tourist attraction with a photographic museum and car boot sales on Sundays. They also intended to build six holiday lets and to add another staff flat in the museum.
In 2001, Bowden House was bought by Richard and Maggie Taylor who saw it as a way of “giving something back”. They intended to convert it into a Health Spa, which would generate enough income to serve those in need. We are very grateful to them for the work, the love and the vision that they have put into the estate. They have made our job much easier. Richard and Maggie didn't buy the property to make a profit, so they generously agreed to sell it to us for a price that doesn't reflect all the money they've spent on it and the hard work they have done. We feel blessed by their support. We would also like to acknowledge the ancestors of Bowden who built and cared for it over the centuries. There is a lot of work to do here but it would be a lot harder if we were starting from scratch.
In order to make Bowden House viable, these recent owners had attempted to turn it into a photographic museum and an exclusive spa. If either plan had succeeded there would have been only restricted access for local people. Our aims are more closely related to those of Dartington Hall. We actively encourage participation from local residents and provide opportunities for people to be involved.
We are benefiting from the labour laid down in the past and are continuing the work of preserving Bowden House for present and future generations. Traditionally, many people lived and worked at Bowden House for the benefit of one family. We are reinstating a similar sized population, but with the equality and co-operation appropriate to the opportunities and challenges of the twenty-first century.