MEM23040 - Gardener's Tool Shed at White Rock Cottage (Building)

Summary

The building may have served as the main tool shed for the head gardener of Simonsbath House and was likely built in the 1820s or 30s.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

An inventory of 1833 records a 'Gardeners Tool House'. This, otherwise known as a Wood Shed, may have bene built in the 1820s or 30s. It is next to the meat store and may have had a semi-circular window. The building contained a wide range and large number of gardening tools and presumably supplied equipment for more than just White Rock Garden. It seems likely that this was the tool house for the head gardener of Simonsbath House and, presumably, his team of under gardeners as this would then explain the requirement for as many as nine dung forks and five rakes. [1] White Rock Cottage, the Tool Shed and the Grotto were part of the designed landscape and formed a focal point for both the Garden by the River and for White Rock Garden, which were both approached by terraced walks and paths from Simonsbath House. [2] A reconstruction drawing of the building as it would have appeared in the 19th Century was commissioned in 2017. [3]

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <1> Report: Garrett, C.. 2004. An Enviable Possession: The Somerset Seat of the Knight Family. ii, 15, 16, 19-20, 21.
  • <2> Report: Riley, H.. 2014. Metric survey of part of John Knight's gardens and pleasure grounds, Ashcombe, Simonsbath. 1, 11, 21.
  • <3> Artwork: Faulkner, A.. 2017. White Rock Cottage, Simonsbath, c.19th Century. Pencil.

External Links (0)

Other Statuses/References

  • Local List Status (Unassessed)

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 7734 3940 (7m by 7m)
Map sheet SS73NE
Civil Parish EXMOOR, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Mar 27 2017 9:24AM

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