Down where Birch Court now stands, and where the Gardeners’ Arms stood until 1998, was an intriguing building called the Great House.
This shows on old maps made before the mid 1800s but it was only in 2000/01 that an archaeological excavation revealed that it was a moated medieval house, going back to at least the 12th century: maybe the original Wonford Manor House.
The house had extensive grounds and an orchard. Stretches of Heavitree Stone wall along Wonford Road and Hope Road are probably the remains of the boundary walls of the house.
Source:
- Our own ready-made Heavitree Stone Trail 1: Heavitree.