MEM21905 - Hollam House, Dulverton (Monument)

Hollam House was rebuilt in Victorian times on the site of an older building. After World War Two, it was partly pulled down and much altered in size and shape. [1] A small land holding at Hollam (Holme) is mentioned in the Gheld Inquest (1084) and Domesday Survey (1086), implying a possible small settlement. The residence is also mentioned in the 1327 lay subsidy. Any early settlement or farmstead is likely to be on or close to the site of the post-medieval Hollam House. [2] Hollam House, once the site of a Saxon holding, has been preceded by many different buildings and has been owned by several different families, including the Sydenhams, Beagues and Mildmays. In 1940, a Catholic school was evacuated to Hollam House. [3] Hollam House is depicted and labelled on the Tithe Map for Dulverton, centred at c.SS 9192 2844 and within land parcel 1618. At that time, the land was owned by the Reverend Richard Bowdon Beague and occupied by Robert Catford. [5] By the time the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, the house is shown much enlarged to the west and south. It is not clear from the mapping evidence whether the house was demolished and rebuilt or alternatively, extended to provide a new frontage (it appears a new vista may have been created to the south at the same time). It is also possible that several outbuildings to the west were incorporated into the structure, although these may also alternatively have been demolished (MEM24990). [6] The house is similarly depicted on the 25 inch 2nd Edition map to the layout shown on the 1st Edition. [7] Since the 2nd Edition map was surveyed, the house appears to have been reduced in size to the west. [8]