Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham , within the former hundred of Exminster , Devon , about south of the city of Exeter and mile ( 0 . 4 km ) north - east of the village of Kenton , where the main public entrance gates are located . It is situated on flat , formerly marshy ground on the west bank of the River Exe estuary where it is joined by its tributary the River Kenn . On the opposite side of the Exe is the small village of Lympstone . At some time after 1390 the mediaeval core of the present structure was built by Sir Philip Courtenay ( d . 1406 ) , the 5th or 6th son of Hugh Courtenay , 2nd Earl of Devon ( d . 1377 ) . The Earls of Devon were seated at Tiverton Castle until 1556 , and their cousins of this cadet line known as " Courtenay of Powderham " continued to exist in parallel , not always on amicable terms , as prominent county gentry , arguably the leading and most prestigious gentry family of Devon , actively engaged in the local administration of Devon as JP ' s , sheriffs and MP ' s . From 1556 on the extinction of the senior line of Courtenay of Tiverton , the Courtenays of Powderham had become retrospectively , as was decided by law in 1831 , " de jure " Earls of Devon , and became " de facto " Earls from 1831 when the title was confirmed to them in law . They had however shortly before obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords when created Viscounts . The Castle remains in 2013 the seat of the Courtenay family , Earls of Devon . The castle was expanded and altered extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries , most notably by James Wyatt in the 1790s . Origin of the name . The manor of Powderham is named from the ancient Dutch word polder , and means " the hamlet of the reclaimed marsh - land " . History . The original building on the site was a fortified manor house , the appellation " castle " was added probably no earlier than the 17th century . The building has never been a true castle , that is to say with a keep and moat , although it did possess a curtain wall and yard on the east side ( now the rose garden ) as shown in the 1745 engraving by Buck . Leland mentioned a barbican or bulwark in this area , but these were demolished as part of the 18th - century landscaping works designed to provide an uninterrupted view from the lower rooms towards the Exe Estuary . Many castle - like elements on the west front ( main entrance ) were added in the 19th century . The gatehouse was built between 1845 - 7 to a design by Charles Fowler . The tall rectangular structure beyond with a tower to the north is essentially the original fortified manor house . The projection from the lower storey to the north in lighter stone with two Gothic - style windows is the Victorian dining hall , designed by Fowler . Wars of the Roses . During the Wars of the Roses the enemies of the Courtenay Earls of Devon of Tiverton Castle were the Bonville family of Shute . Their distant cousin at Powderham , Sir William Courtenay ( d . 1485 ) married Margaret Bonville , daughter of William Bonville , 1st Baron Bonville ( 1392 – 1461 ) , which confirmed Powderham as a Bonville stronghold against the Earls of Devon . On 3 November 1455 Thomas de Courtenay , 5th Earl of Devon ( 1414 – 1458 ) , at the head of a private army of 1 , 000 men , seized control of Exeter and its castle and laid siege to Powderham for two months . Lord Bonville attempted to raise the siege and approached from the east , crossing the River Exe ; he was unsuccessful and was driven back by the earl ' s forces . On 15 December 1455 the Earl of Devon and Lord Bonville met decisively at the Battle of Clyst Heath , where Bonville was defeated and after which the earl sacked and pillaged Shute . Civil War . During the Civil War Powderham Castle was garrisoned by 300 Royalist soldiers under the command of Sir Hugh Meredith . In December 1645 a Parliamentarian detachment under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax tried , without initial success , to capture it but it fell on 25 January 1646 to Col . Robert Hammond . The castle was badly damaged in the assault and remained , in places , open to the elements until the early 1700s when it was repaired by Sir William Courtenay , 2nd Baronet ( d . 1735 ) . Description of interior . The house is centred around the 14th - and 15th - century thickly - walled double - height rectangular building formerly comprising from north to south the withdrawing room , great hall , screens passage and kitchens , which are now represented in the same orientation by the ante - room , staircase hall , marble hall and Victorian kitchen . Marble hall . The marble hall , named from its black and white marble floor , was completed in 1755 and forms the lower and southern part of the former mediaeval great hall , which was divided by an internal wall in the early 18th century into staircase hall and marble hall . Originally it was double height , as high as the staircase hall to the north , before the ceiling was added in the 18th century to form bedrooms above . At the same time the staircase was inserted into the upper part to form the staircase hall . The screens passage was located in this end of the hall . The timber screen which formed the north side of the screens passage was demolished at the time of the partition , but three mediaeval Gothic - arched doorways through the south stone wall of the screens passage into the kitchen remain . A single more flatly arched doorway remains high up on the south wall , which formed the entrance to the wooden minstrels ' gallery overhanging the great hall . The marble hall is used as a sitting room which has an 18th - century fireplace . Contents of the room include a high longcase clock made about 1745 by William Stumbels of Totnes ; a large 17th - century Brussels tapestry with rustic farm - yard scenery after Teniers above the fireplace ; and a 1553 carved wooden over - mantel decorated with the Courtenay arms . Two portraits of the present Earl of Devon and his wife hang on the north wall above the wooden panelling . Staircase Hall . The hall has an impressive mahogany staircase decorated with carved heraldic beasts and intricate plasterwork . Music Room . The spectacular Music Room , designed by James Wyatt in 1788 for the flamboyant 3rd Viscount of Devon , has a splendid Axminster carpet made by the original Axminster Carpets Ltd . Other . The house has a mixture of medieval features and fine 18th - century decoration . Upstairs the original solar has a collection of toys . There is also a collection of paintings and family portraits by many notable artists . Memorial chimneypiece in Dining Hall . William Courtenay , 11th Earl of Devon ( d . 1888 ) installed a heraldic chimneypiece in the Dining Hall in memory of his grandfather Reginald Courtenay ( 1741 – 1803 ) , Bishop of Exeter from 1797 to 1803 , and of his parents . The Dining Hall was built by his father William Courtenay , 10th Earl of Devon ( d . 1859 ) between 1847 and his death in 1859 , and the 11th Earl completed the internal decorations in 1860 , including the linen fold panelling containing several dozen ancestral heraldic shields . It is copied from the mediaeval chimneypiece in the Bishop ' s Palace , Exeter , installed c . 1485 by Peter Courtenay ( d . 1492 ) Bishop of Exeter , a younger son of Sir Philip Courtenay ( 1404 – 1463 ) of Powderham . The armorials on the lowest row are from left to right : A further copy of the Courtenay Exeter Bishop ' s Palace chimneypiece can be found , in Italian grey marble , at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk , bearing the arms of the Clopton and Logan families . Modern times . Powderham Castle has been a Grade I listed building since 1952 , and recognised as an internationally important structure . The staircase , hall , music room and master bedroom of the house were used as locations for the 1993 film " The Remains of the Day " . The house was also used as a setting for a recent film comedy , " " . The castle ' s licence to host wedding ceremonies was revoked with effect from 1 January 2009 after Hugh Courtenay , 18th Earl of Devon , refused a gay couple use of the building to hold their civil partnership ceremony because it did not fit with his religious beliefs . It is still used as a venue for wedding receptions . On 29 September 2009 , the Earl auctioned 113 treasures from the castle , at Sotheby ' s in London , in order to cover debts accrued in running the 14th - century home . The sale of family silver , furniture , antiques and paintings made a total of £1 , 013 , 638 .