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Summary

The Glen, formerly known as White Cliff Glen, is depicted on late-19th century maps but not on the Tithe map. Documentary evidence indicates a construction date of 1867-8. Local tradition has it that the house had a military use during the Second World War.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SY28NW/21

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MANSION HOUSE (XIX - 1841 AD (Between) to 1890 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

No building is depicted in this location on the Tithe map.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Large house and garden named as White Cliff Glen on 1880s-1890s 25 inch Ordnance Survey map.

Gosney, E., 1968, Seaton, 1785-1842, 354 (Article in Serial). SDV348469.

Gosney records that the Mansion House, later known as Whitecliffe, was built in 1806. This is likely to refer to the White Cliff, formerly The Mansion House (MDV42533), not the Glen.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Marked as The Glen on current mapping.

Philpott, A., 2022, The Glen, Seaton Hole area (Personal Comment). SDV364991.

The Glen probably dates to 1867- 1868, when Thomas Fox Alexander Byles, a brewer of Henley, took on a 99 year lease of the house and land soon after the opening of the Seaton and Beer Railway, as the town of Seaton started to expand along 'Old Beer Road'. It was built in a corner of the meadow named Beer Brooks (plot 918 on the Tithe map). Farmer Thomas Aplin at Couchill had previously been leasing the land from the Rolle/Clinton estate, and received compensation.
There is a local 'legend' that The Glen was used by the Admiralty during WW2, possibly for storing explosives, because of the type of building materials discovered during conversion. No documentary evidence for this has yet been found, and it seems unlikely given that between 1943 and 1945 a speculator divided the original 'mansion' into a block of 9 flats. Perhaps it served as accommodation for officers attached to the nearby camp on Beer's New Road (MDV106474).

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV346129	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2011. MasterMap. Ordnance Survey. Map (Digital). [Mapped feature: #82064 ]
SDV348469	Article in Serial: Gosney, E.. 1968. Seaton, 1785-1842. Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 100. Hardback Volume. 354.
SDV349431	Cartographic: Devon County Council. 1838-1848. Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848. Digitised Tithe Map. Digital.
SDV364991	Personal Comment: Philpott, A.. 2022. The Glen, Seaton Hole area. Email.
	Linked images:1

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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