Lying just half a mile from Paignton town centre, Oldway Mansion is a local landmark. This Grade II listed building first came into the hands of the Singer Family when it was bought by Issac Merritt Singer in 1871. After his death, one of sons remodelled Oldway Mansion using the Versailles Palace and the "Place de la Concorde" in Paris as inspiration. On your visit, you'll see the marble grand staircase and the gallery with its miniature Hall of Mirrors, an idea borrowed from Versailles. You can also tour the gardens which surround the mansion in some 17 acres which were originally laid out by Duchesne, a French Landscape Architect. You'll be able to visit the Grotto Gardens with its little waterfalls and the Maze Garden which will delight the horticulturally inclined. Another key attraction in the garden is the Rotunda which was originally built as a riding pavillion but when on to serve as a hospital in WWI.