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Summary

Possible site of 18th century folly mentioned in records of the Killerton estate. An 18th century oil painting by William Tomkins shows an octagonal brick tower on a mound below Columbjohn Wood which may be the folly referred to in the documents.

Location

Protected Status

• Registered Park or Garden (II*) 1000694: KILLERTON HOUSE

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS90SE/142

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• FOLLY (Early Medieval to XVIII - 1066 AD to 1800 AD (Between))

Full description

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV118515.

Des=the national trust/killerton estate archaeological survey: part 1: the park + garden/(2000)78/copy in smr.

National Trust, Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV52.

Possible site of c18 folly mentioned in records of the killerton estate. An c18 oil painting by william tomkins shows an octagonal brick tower on a mound below 'columbjohn wood' which may be the folly referred to in the documents (nt).

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

A small mound is depicted.

Environment Agency, 2005-2012, LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution), LIDAR SS9600 Environment Agency DTM 19-DEC-2005 (Cartographic). SDV357033.

A low mound is visible within a slight hollow.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2014-2015, East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV356883.

A mound circa 16 metres in diameter was visible as an earthwork on a hill to the west of Killerton House, on digital images derived from lidar data. The mound was surrounded by a shallow hollow up to 15 metres wide that joined with a possibly hollow way that approached the mound from the south. The earthwork corresponds with a mound despicted on the Ordnance Survey 25inch first edition map. It is probable that the mound was the location of the former folly recorded in Killerton Gardens.

Papworth, M., 2019, Killerton Folly: Archaeological Excavation (Report - Excavation). SDV362912.

In July 2017, the roof of Killerton House was under repair and this limited access to the house for visitors. To compensate, Killerton property staff developed events that would provide visitor interest in the wider landscape. From this, the ‘Lost Killerton’ project was initiated which included fieldwork to coincide with the annual Festival of British Archaeology. During this time National Trust with South West Archaeology Ltd carried out archaeological research on the Killerton Estate.

Two key sites in the Estate’s historic landscape were investigated. These were the 18th-century footings of the aborted grand Neoclassical Killerton House and the undated Mount Pleasant Folly. Both pieces of work involved National Trust staff and local volunteers. Mount Pleasant or Folly Hill which lies 470 metrees south-west of the Wyatt House site. From this position there are clear views out into the surrounding landscape and a building here would be a significant local landmark.

Mount Pleasant or Folly Hill (SS96390 00060) which lies 470 metres south-west of the Wyatt House site. From this position there are clear views out into the surrounding landscape and a building here would be a significant local landmark.

A mound 20 metres in diameter and 1.8 metres high can be seen on the hill top. Jutting from the contours of this mound were fragments of brick and stone believed to be the footings of an 18th-century folly shown as a white tower on a painting by William Tomkins (1730-1792). This undated painting is located at the head of the main staircase within Killerton House. As this is the only image of the structure it was photographed at high resolution and is reproduced in the report.

The painting depicts three sides of a white tower with long windows in the centre of each side. This suggested that the folly was six to eight sided in plan. The excavation revealed that the folly consisted of two concentric hexagons; a brick hexagon, which revetted the lower mound, and an upper stone hexagon, representing the remaining structure of the folly tower.

The tower was of local Killerton volcanic stone, with dressed ashlar quoins linked by rubble stone walling; the lower hexagon was built of brick in Flemish bond and also had Killerton stone quoins. The upper hexagon had sides 3.1m long with the distance between opposing corners 6.2m and the distance between opposing sides 5.5m. The lower hexagon had sides 7.7m long, the distance between opposing corners 15.5m and the distance between sides 13.3m. The distance in plan between the exterior faces of the upper and lower hexagons was 3.8m (see fig 25).

The investigation work took place on the 25th and 26th July. This was enough time to understand the outline of the site but not to fully reveal its structural history.

First the scrub was removed and then areas of topsoil and turf were cut to investigate the upper plan of the site, particularly around the external face of the northern half of the hexagon. In addition to this the external faces of the southern and south-western lower hexagon walls were revealed and some investigation was carried out to understand the southern mound.

After the scrub was cleared, the angled quoin stones were seen to protrude from the turf and the north-eastern and northern faces of upper hexagon were uncovered to reveal the intervening walls.

The investigation of the folly has demonstrated that the footings of the white tower are an important element of Killerton’s historic landscape. It seems to have been built as a monument to enable the Acland family look back towards their historic roots at the site of the Columbjohn manor house. This link is reinforced by the chapel that remains at Columbjohn and the processional avenue of trees that once linked the two places.

The Folly’s construction dates to the period 1680 to 1740 and perhaps included elements of the old house. A parallel has not been found for the Mount Pleasant Folly’s double hexagon design.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV118515	Migrated Record:
SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV356883	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2014-2015. East and Mid Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV357033	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 2005-2012. LiDAR DTM data JPEG image (1m resolution). Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SS9600 Environment Agency DTM 19-DEC-2005. [Mapped feature: #97728 ]
SDV52	Migrated Record: National Trust.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6530 - The East and Mid-Devon Rivers Catchment NMP project (Ref: ACD613)

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