MEM23038 - White Rock Garden, Ashcombe, Simonsbath (Monument)

White Rock Garden had three hotbed frames, used to force plant growth and protect out-of-season or tender plants and these may be shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map as a small rectangular area of cross hatching. The garden is mentioned in an 1833 inventory of White Rock Cottage with the Gardener's Tool Shed, suggesting it may be where the gardener propogated plants or prepared specimens for planting elsewhere. It may otherwise have been for cultivating fruit and vegetables. The garden appears to have been formed on two levels, connected by steps and with a path leading south from it to the main road. [1] A garden to the south of White Rock Cottage is shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. The western part has been recently levelled but the eastern part contains several features relateable to the 1st Edition map. A hollow marks a path that linked the Cottage, the Tool Shed and the Grotto before the school was built in 1857 and led from Simonsbath House to White Rock Cottage. A wall separated the garden from an orchard. [2]