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Summary

A deer park at Poltimore is mentioned in the 16th century and was still extant in 1892. The 19th century deer park was almost twice the size of its Tudor predecessor.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Tree ring, part of the designed landscape of Poltimore Park

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX99NE/9/3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• DEER PARK (First mentioned, XVI - 1501 AD to 1600 AD)

Full description

Dean, R., Land at Poltimore House, Poltimore, Geophysical Earth Resistance Survey (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV357252.

The geophysical survey was undertaken to further investigate the potential archaeology highlighted by another gradiometer survey. A total of 45 resistance anomaly groups were identified as representing possible archaeological deposits or structures.
One group of anamolies (group 40), has a position and orientation that suggests it may be related to the Deer Park boundary shown on the 1809 Margary map.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, SX99NE13 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV115451.

NMR, Untitled Source (National Monuments Record Database). SDV115443.

Poltimore Park, mentioned in Saxton's map, has an area of 280 acres with a fence consisting of iron handles and paling, and has a natural water supply from a stream running through the park. Other details: Citing 'Deerparks of England'.

Shirley, E. P., 1867, Some Account of English Deerparks, 91 (Monograph). SDV314505.

Poltimore Deerpark mentioned in Saxton's map (16th century). Still extant in 1822.

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

Poltimore Park Deer Park marked.

Gallant, L., 1986, Deer Parks and Paddocks of England (Un-published). SDV656.

Poltimore acquired by Bampfyldes soon after 1303. House shown inside park on Speed's map of 1610.

Cherry, B. + Pevsner, N., 1989, The Buildings of England: Devon, 688-90 (Monograph). SDV325629.

Sainsbury, I. S., 1990, RCHME Field Investigation (Report - Survey). SDV115452.

NMR, 1990, Visit by RCHME (Site Visit). SDV115444.

A former deer park. The area of the park as delinated on OS 1907, shown by green line on OS 1:2500 is approx 83ha (205 acres) not 280 acres as stated by Shirley. The area is now predominantly arable and pasture fields. Other details: Citing Salisbury.

Pugsley, S, 1994, Devon Gardens, 6,92,94,125-9 (Monograph). SDV672.

Gray, T., 1995, The Garden History of Devon: An Illustrated Guide to Sources, 179-80 (Monograph). SDV671.

Swete visited Poltimore in 1800 and wrote that 'the grounds or Park, which lies in front [of the house] extended into unvarying flat, having few, if any circumstances of local or adventitious beauty to recommend it'. White (1850) noted a beautiful park. The parkland and a lodge survive as does the 19th century stables. See entry for further details.

Devon Gardens Trust, 1999, Devon Local Register, 113 (Un-published). SDV170167.

English Heritage, 1999, Poltimore (Site Visit). SDV115445.

Now comprises pasture and arable fields. No obvious signs of former use as deer park and no surviving lengths of pale noted.

Salvatore, J. P., 1999, Poltimore Deer Park (Poltimore) (Un-published). SDV348420.

Site visit 15th April 1999. The deer park is shown on Saxton's map of the 16th century, Donn's map of 1765 and the Ordnance Survey map of 1889. it had an area of about 83 hectares and was described as being enclosed by an iron fence and paling. Poltimore House, a large late Georgian mansion is currently unoccupied and in a ruinous state following fire damage. It passed out of private ownership at the beginning of the 20th century and was maintained as a private hospital, later taken over by the National Health Service. At some stage during its ownership by the National Health Service the deer park was sold off for farm land and it now comprises pasture and arable fields. There are no obvious signs of the former use of the land as a deer park and no surviving original lenghts of pale were encountered during the Monument Protection Programme field investigation. Not recommended for scheduling.

Clark, J. + Richardson, D., 1999, Poltimore House (Un-published). SDV357690.

Land Use Consultants + Lambert, D., 2001, Poltimore House: historical landscape survey (Report - Survey). SDV321966.

From 1780 there was a gradual deformalisation of the garden which was laid out formally in 1670. An english landscape park was created and by 1850 it had been considerably enlarged & improved. The mid 19C also saw the establishment of a 'Pinetum'. By 1920 the deer park had suffered through loss of trees & land to agriculture.

Cunningham, P., 2010, Buttons, Bullets and Berry Head (Article in Serial). SDV360824.

Poltimore House was also the centrepiece of a polite landscape, a grand country residence embedded within parklands and gardens that were intended for pleasure and visual impact. Five hectares of the house's surroundings are owned by Poltimore House Trust and comprise a multi-phase landscape including ornamental canals and water features, designed avenues, an aviary/menagerie, rich historic garden architecture and a former deer park.

Greenwood, L., 2012, Poltimore Community and Landscapes Project. Test Pit Report: Trench 3 (Report - Excavation). SDV361008.

Test pit excavation located in an area of high resistence identified by a resistivity survey. The excavation revealed large flat stones of a former road surface. Finds (63 in total) included glass including pieces from a 17th century onion bottle, bone fragments, clay pipe, metal, flint and pottery including pieces of 17th-18th century ridge tile.

Wright, D., 2012, Poltimore Community and Landscapes Project: Test Pit Report Trenches 4-6 (Report - Excavation). SDV361010.

Three test pits excavated located in an area of high archaeological potential as indicated by geophysical survey. A possible linear feature running east-west was revealed in Trench 4. Finds mostly comprised pottery of which some coarse gritty ware may be of medieval date. No features were recorded in Trench 5 or Trench 6. Finds from both trenches comprised mainly pottery, mostly of post medieval date. Some clay pipe fragments were also recovered.
The finds of medieval pottery are particularly noteworthy, as they may indicate the location of the medieval manor house, the predecessor of the present house. The relative absence of medieval pottery from fieldwalking on the estate suggests that it was not given over to agriculture at this time but was already a medieval deer park.

Singleton, J., 2012, Poltimore Park, Poltimore House, Exeter, Devon: Results from a Fieldwalking Survey (Report - Survey). SDV361005.

Poltimore Park was used as a deer park from at least the Tudor period. The area surveyed lay on the west side of the park and contained two farm buildings until the 19th century when they were demolished to make way for an enlargement of the park.

Devon Gardens Trust, 2013, Devon Gazetteer of Parks and Gardens of Local Interest (Reg/Local list of Historic Parks and Gdns). SDV354335.

Creighton, O. + Cunningham, P. + French, H., 2013, Peopling Polite Landscapes. Community and Heritage at Poltimore, Devon (Article in Serial). SDV361004.

The deer park at Poltimore was in existence by the late 16th century and is shown on Saxton’s 1575 and Speed’s 1610 maps of Devon. There may have been an earlier pre-Tudor park attached to an earlier manor house but no documentary evidence has been found to support this. The Tudor park was surrounded by a timber pale on an earthwork bank, vestiges of which were recorded by geophysical survey. The house lay on the northwest side.
The park reached its greatest extent in the 19th century by which time it was about twice the size of the original Tudor park.
As a result of the park’s expansion in the 1830s, following the enoblement of the Bampfylde family in 1831 and the creation of the first Baron Poltimore, two farms on its south side were abandoned (a scatter of building materials from one of the farms was found during a fieldwalking survey). A road that formerly ran broadly north-south through the park was diverted to skirt the eastern edge of an enlarged park and a new lodge built [Threepenny Lodge] by a new private driveway to the house from the north-east. The intention seems to have been to create vistas of rolling parkland, removing the working parts of the estate from view of the house; the stables and garden complex to the northeast of the house were also abandoned and a new stable block and kitchen garden built to the northwest accessible from the village by a newly built road.
The park was further expanded to the south circa 1850 leading to the abandonment of Pit Farm. In 1870 a new carriageway was built from the southeast corner of the park, its curving course designed to showcase the house and park. A new lodge was built at the entrance. The park is described in 1892 as covering 280 acres surrounded by iron hurdles and paling with a herd of 150 deer.
The breakup of the estate during the 20th century left a park of only 13 acres by 1976.

Clark, J. + Richardson, D., 2013, Poltimore House (Un-published). SDV357691.

Poltimore was recorded as a Deer Park in 1575.

Poltimore Estate Research Society, 2014, Poltimore Estate Heritage Sites, G20 (Un-published). SDV361001.

In 1801 the size of the park was only about 67 acres (27 hectares). There was a gateway, and possibly a lodge, on the parish road about 400 metres from the house. At an unknown date between 1801 and 1835 the entrance was relocated nearly 600 metres from the house. A lodge was provided at this new entrance and the park extended southwards to include it. The extended boundary also took in some land to the east of the main park, and some fields to the north of the lane serving Bargain Farm. However, the farmstead and immediately adjacent land remained excluded, within a new curved boundary.
Built between 1835 and 1838 the new by-pass provided a logical boundary for the east side of the park, which was extended to it. The old parish road and the lodge then became redundant. The direct link to Poltimore House from the by-pass was constructed with a replacement lodge (“Old Lodge” on plan). A small addition was made to the park on the north side of this link. A second direct link was formed to connect to the existing lane serving Bargain farmstead. The extension of the gardens to the northwest of the house left a triangular area of former agricultural land (including the site of the new stables) between the gardens and the park. This was also added to the park. These changes increased the size of the park to 105 acres (42½ hectares) by 1838.
During the mid 1840s the park was extended to the south, increasing its size by 80% to 189 acres (76½ hectares). There had been 3 farmsteads to the south of the park, Bargain and Pitt within Poltimore Parish, and Addlehole (aka Worsley) within Broadclyst Parish. The three holdings were absorbed within the park and all three farmsteads, together with the lodge, were demolished. A cottage and a smithy on the main road were also cleared. All the lanes serving these farms (including the by-pass link to Bargain farmstead) and all the internal field boundaries were removed. However, many hedgerow trees were retained as part of the new park landscape. New straight boundaries were formed for the southwest corner of the new park. In addition, several circular clumps of trees were added. The site of the Symons smithy, which had occupied a prominent position in the landscape, was replaced by “Moonhill Copse”, although the adjacent field was probably not included within the park boundary. The stream dividing it from the remainder of the park would have formed a more natural enclosure for the deer.
In 1870 a new gently curving entrance drive was constructed across the park with a lodge (“New Lodge”) 150 metres from the Exeter – Cullompton road.
In 1908 a Chinese Water Garden was constructed within the park (see G30).
Following the sale of the bulk of the estate in 1921, virtually the whole park is now in agricultural production.
The completed park (apart from the Chinese Water Garden) is shown on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey, surveyed in 1903 as an update of the 1st edition of 1886. Additional data was drawn mainly from the 1801 Ordnance Survey draft (georeferenced by the British Library), the January 1835 plan of the proposed eastern by-pass, tithe maps of Poltimore Parish 1838 and Broadclyst Parish 1841, and an Ordnance Survey revision of 1962.

University of Exeter, 2024, Poltimore Display Boards (Interpretation). SDV366062.

Poltimore had a deer park from at least the 1500s. In the early 1800s Lord Poltimore diverted the road to create a larger, more private park. Farms were also removed, trees planted and a new driveway built.
The park was later used for sporting events. When the house became a school in the 1920s it was used for playing cricket. Whipton Cricket Club also had their ground here in the 1940s. It was subsequently used as allotments but has now reverted to parkland for grazing.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV1674 - Unnamed Event
• EDV1675 - Poltimore House: historical landscape survey
• EDV6594 - Geophysical Earth Resistance Survey, Land at Poltimore House, Poltimore (Ref: 120702)
• EDV8037 - Fieldwalking Survey in Poltimore Park
• EDV8045 - Test Pit Excavation at Poltimore House
• EDV8048 - Test Pit Excavation at Politmore House
• EDV8059 - Test Pit Excavation at Poltimore House

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