Cafe & Guest House
Welcome to!
Woodleigh
Coach House
Since
1896
About Us
Woodleigh Coach House
Woodleigh Coach House is a Grade II Listed building built between 1896 and 1898 by a London Brewer, the once owner of Woodleigh Hall and all the land then known as the Woodleigh Estate
The building is constructed from local Drewsteignton stone with Cornish granite quoins. The Drewsteignton stone was brought from the local quarry by a private railway line built under order of the London Brewer for the sole purpose of supplying the construction with whatever it needed from the quarry. The Cafe, situated in the East wing, used to be the stables, the open arched doorways now being the windows. Above the cafe was the hayloft which is now private accommodation. The centre of the building is where the coaches themselves were stored and unloaded; access was via the large arched doorway at the front of the building.
The London Brewer and his company went Bankrupt in the year 1904 and the entire Woodleigh Estate was sold off. The second owner of the property lived in Woodleigh Hall and used the Coach House as servants quarters.
During the second world war the Coach House was used as a shelter for the children evacuated from the cities during the blitz. The children also attended lessons at Woodleigh Hall under private tuition (as far as we can tell, a teacher in Cheriton Bishop wanted to ensure they were still educated and so took the role on herself).
Between this point and the early 1980’s not much is known about what happened to the Coach House but eventually some new owners moved in and saw that the building had potential in the food and service industry and so opened up the main area as a restaurant. Shortly afterward (no specific date known as of yet) it was the victim of a devastating fire that threatened to be the end of the Coach House. Luckily, however, the fire was controlled.
After a quick rebuild, the Coach House changed hands again and this time the owners thought that a roadside cafe would be more successful as a business. They were right. The cafe remains to this day and is extremely popular with both locals and regular travelers to and from the Western country.
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Join us for one of our famous breakfasts or relax with a tea or coffee and a slice of one of our delicious home made cakes.
We offer a full breakfast menu all day, a range of lunches with hot food being served until 3pm. As you might expect in Devon we also serve delicious homemade cream teas. We have 40 seats inside and a lovely sheltered terrace with a further 60 seats outside.