Summary
Small thatched timber summerhouse built c1830, on lower wooded slopes south of selworthy Beacon.
Identification Images (0)
Monument Types
- SUMMERHOUSE (Early 19th C to Unknown - 1830 AD?)
Description
A small thatch and timber summerhouse set on lower wooded slopes to south of Selworthy Beacon, on small platform cut into the hillside with wide views of the Vale of Porlock. Built c1830 as a summerhouse for Lady Lydia Acland, by her husband, the 10th baronet, and named after Mitcham, Surrey, her family home. Many subsequent repairs: 1874, 1887, 1905, 1995. The house is single cell with verandah. It is in poor repair. Important features are: external appearance with thatched roof and porch, split roundwood walls, hexagonal plan with porch, seat and other timbers with graffiti (two names in pencil: E Kent 1874 and W Kent 1874.). [1]
This small thatch and wood pleasure hut should be listed. It consists of a porch and a seating area, the latter sheltered on three sides by vertical poles. The supports for the roof are larger round poles, set in the earth, and the floor is cobbled. A sketch of a very similar hut, by Sir Thomas (Xth Baronet) is thought to have commemorated one in the garden at Mitcham Grove, Lady Lydia’s home before her marriage. It is possible Sir Thomas proposed there, as he had two built around 1828 when Lydia’s father, Henry Hoare, died and Mitcham Grove was sold. One was placed on Dolbury Hill at Killerton, but has not survived. The other is below Holnicote Plantation, set so that the views of the Bay of Porlock and the cliffs can be seen. It was renovated in 1887 and again in 1995-6. [2]
References
- SZN48156 - Vernacular Building Survey: National Trust. 1995. VBS: Mitcham Seat, Holnicote. [Mapped feature: #181343 ]
- SZN48220 - Unpublished document: Isabel Richardson. 2001. Holnicote Estate Archaeological Survey, Somerset. 115235.
Designations
None Recorded
Other Statuses and References
- HER/SMR Reference (External) (Exmoor NP HER): MEM24635 Exmoor National Park HER
- National Park (Exmoor)
Associated Events
- ENA3149 - Field Survey, Archaeological Survey of the Holnicote Estate 2001
- ENA10577 - Heritage Assessment, Vernacular Building Surveys within the Holnicote Estate, 1991-1997
Associated Finds
None Recorded
Related Records
None Recorded