of the priory is still in existence. In 1872 it was recorded that the gatehouse, kitchen and refectory were still in good condition. Richard de Redvers (died 1107) was granted the feudal barony of Plympton, based at Plympton Castle, by King Henry I (1100–1135), of whom he was a most trusted supporter. The de Redvers family later became Earls of Devon. Their lands, including Plympton, and titles were later inherited by the Courtenay family, feudal barons of Okehampton. The ancient Stannary town remains dominated by its now ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle and it still retains a cohesive medieval street pattern. A number of historic buildings in the local vernacular style of green Devon slate, limestone and lime-washed walls, with Dartmoor granite detailing, attest to all periods of its history. Before the Reform Act 1832 the town was one of the rotten boroughs, and sent two MPs to the unreformed House of Commons. The town was the birthplace and early residence of the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) who became the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts. He was mayor of Plympton in 1773. His father was headmaster of Plympton Grammar School which is a historic building in the centre of the town. Former pupils were Benjamin Haydon and Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, PRA, who were respectively first director of the National Gallery and first president of the Royal Photographic Society. Many of Reynold's paintings were purchased by his friends the Parker family of local Saltram House, now owned by the National Trust, and are still on public display there. Architecture Plympton has 68 listed buildings in the database of Historic England. Of these, one is Grade I (Plympton House, St Peter’s Convent), six are Grade II* and 61 are Grade II. Historic estates The manor of Boringdon in Colebrook was a seat of the Parker family formerly of North Molton, which later acquired Saltram. Loughtor (after c.1718 renamed Newnham Park) was the seat of the Selman family, of whom several were MPs. William Selman II was five times MP for Plympton Erle between 1420 and 1429. The estate was later a minor seat of a cadet branch of the Courtenay family. Newnham was a manor that was the seat of the Strode family, whose monuments exist in St Mary's Church. Churches Plympton has two churches. The Church of St Thomas at Plympton St Maurice (also known as the