Exploring British heritage: A Spitfire pilot and his Devonshire home

When Matt Jones wanted to buy a beautiful Grade II listed house set in rolling countryside in the Devonshire village of Gittisham, he did something no other prospective buyers could. After discovering that a member of the family selling the property was in aviation, Matt took to the skies in a Spitfire, flew over the top of the house and took a photo of it over the wing of the legendary fighter plane, which he submitted with his offer. 

The stunt paid off and Matt, his partner, their son and two stepsons have lived happily at Pomeroy House since December 2017. The six-bedroom property was originally built in 1647 for its first owner, John Pomeroy, and extensively remodelled in the late Georgian period. “It’s an interesting mix,” Matt says. “When I first saw it in the brochure, I didn’t realise it had a thatched roof – I just saw the Georgian windows and thought: ‘it’s gorgeous.’” 

Restoring Pomeroy House: A historic Devon manor reimagined 

Over the years, he and his partner have refurbished and enhanced the 4,736 sq ft house, restoring an elegant orangery and installing a chic, country-style kitchen with an electric AGA. They have also landscaped the grounds, which extend to over four acres, and built a heated outdoor swimming pool and tennis court in what was previously an overgrown walled garden. 

Just as restoring a Spitfire requires a great deal of care and attention to ensure that both the design and materials used match the originals, Matt brought the same level of detail to the renovation of a listed building. “The same processes and materials need to be used in order for it to retain its integrity, otherwise it starts to evolve into something it isn’t,” he says. “Unfortunately, in both cases this attention to detail can be costly – but the results are certainly worth it!” 

Décor-wise, the mostly orange walls that greeted the family when they first arrived have been replaced with a calming palette of muted neutrals and gentle greens. The drawing room is an elegant greyish blue, with five pencil drawings of Spitfires on the wall by the French aviation artist Romain Hugault offering a clue to Matt’s profession – and passion. 

A pilot’s legacy: around the world in a Spitfire 

Matt started flying while in the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force at Exeter School. After studying civil engineering at Newcastle University and working for eight years at an investment bank in London, he returned to aviation, flying private jets and helicopters before co-founding Spitfires.com, the first company to win worldwide approval to fly passengers in the iconic planes, which were critical in defeating Luftwaffe air attacks during the Battle of Britain in 1940. 

“I think every pilot in the UK loves the Spitfire, while millions of people also associate this plane with Britain’s greatest time,” says Matt who, as a young boy, would regularly walk past the window of a model shop in Torquay. “It had the biggest remote-control Spitfire and I’d just stare at it, thinking that one day maybe I’d be able to fly a remote-control plane like that – never knowing that I’d end up flying the real thing.” 

In 2019, Matt led the first ever round-the-world flight in a restored silver 1943 Supermarine Spitfire known as G-IRTY, which had flown 51 missions during the Second World War and brought 13 men safely home. Over 75 years later, she didn’t let Matt and his two crewmates down, either – between them, the trio flew 22,138 nautical miles in a voyage that took four months and reached 24 countries. “Sharing the Spitfire with people who had only heard of this mythical aeroplane was a huge honour,” Matt says. 

A new chapter for the Jones family 

Matt and his family are reluctantly selling Pomeroy House because it is too far from the boys’ school. “We really don’t want to leave – it’s such a beautiful place with a lot of potential, including the opportunity to turn the barn into a separate dwelling or even a games or party barn,” says Matt, who has also been granted planning consent to add a new, larger kitchen to the eastern elevation of the property, overlooking the main garden. 

“Whenever I’m in a Spitfire around Devon, I fly over the top of the house and I look down and see the boys and my other half standing there waving – that’s an amazing feeling.” 

Pomeroy House is for sale with a guide price of £2,500,000. Please contact florence.biss@knightfrank.com with any enquiries. Follow @knightfrank on Instagram to see more from Matt and Pomeroy House