Post by Dave on Sept 13, 2010 17:37:31 GMT
Killerton House 24th July 2009
Our visit to Killerton house, completed our hat trick of National Trust properties this week. I should say our membership has already paid for itself a few times over this year and we would have had to have spent out nearly £60 this week alone, had we not been members.
As was the case at Saltram House, you do not see the house as you drive up the driveway and into the car park, this was not the case at Knightshayes Court, as you drive up the drive to that property, it looks down on you from its high spot and you are instantly impressed with the house.
But much like Knightshaye at Killerton you park close to the old stable building that is someway away from the main house. Here you pay but will also find a shop and those very over priced cafes. Still as the coffee so far at the other two was so strong and bitter, we did this time take a flask and also a nice packed lunch.
As you get your first sighting of the house it really does not look very impressive, but there may be a good reason for that and you will find out about that latter. While the owners of Saltram were trying to make the statement “we are very rich” Killerton just says we are a family living in this house..
You really do get that feeing once inside the house, there is nothing really grand as such, even the few marble pillars are false, made out of some material or other and just painted to look like marble. But in this house the information sheets in each room, tell of the family living there and soon you can imagine all the kids running around and the fun that went on in the house.
Pride of place in the interior is the Killerton costume collection. The first floor of the house is given over to the collection, which displays a fresh set of 7000 items each year. I loved the dress worn by Queen Victoria, not sure what one, but she shrank over four inches in her old age to just four foot eight inches tall, I hope that does not happen to me.
There is also a delightful chapel a short walk from the house, all the estate workers etc had to attend services and a true sign of the times saw the men and the woman not attending at the same time. The ladies went to the morning service and the men went to the evening service.
The estate at Killerton, as well as that at Holnicote, was given to the National Trust by Sir Richard Acland in 1994, whose left-leaning political beliefs precluded his ownership of such a vast tract of land.
House
The Killerton estate is first mentioned in 1242. It is believed that the name originated with a family named Kildrington. In the Elizabethan period the estate was sold to the Acland family, who owned the adjoining property at Columb John. In the late 18th century Sir Thomas Acland, the 7th Baronet, decided to move the family seat to Killerton.
The architect of the new house was John Johnson, who was instructed by Sir Thomas to build a temporary residence until a more elaborate home could be built on he hill above the site. As it turned out, Sir Thomas's son died shortly after, in 1778, and he abandoned plans for a second mansion. The house was remodeled and expanded several times over the subsequent centuries, but it is essentially the same building that Johnson planned. The estate is immense, stretching to over 6400 acres, including working farms and 240 cottages. Of these, almost 30 are of medieval origin, including Marker's Cottage.
GARDENS
An 18 acre hillside garden within 4000 acres of woods, originally created at the time the house was built by Scotsman John Veitch. Veitch was an interesting character; the story goes that he walked from Edinburgh to London to look for work. He found employment as a nurseryman, and Sir Thomas Acland asked him to create a garden at Killerton, improving on the natural landscape.
Veitch and his son James created a network of woodland paths and planted varieties of foreign trees and shrubs, including Wellingtonia. Because of its mild climate Killerton was used as something of a trial ground for plants brought back from all corners of the globe, and many plants which are now found throughout the British Isles were first planted at Killerton.
Later the influential Victorian garden writer William Robinson had a hand in the design of the Killerton gardens. Killerton is famous for trees and shrubs. There are a series of terraced beds, with dwarf shrubs and copious rhododendrons. Circular walks through the woods provided a very enjoyable outing.
Above the house and some distance away, is a "clump" or hillfort dating to the Iron Age. The hill, also known as Dolbury, is reputed in folklore to be protected by the Killerton Dragon, which every night flies between Killerton and Cadbury Hill to keep safe a hidden treasure. You do have to use your imagination at the hillfort, as there are no real signs to see what it was. I understand that no aetiological dig has ever been carried out on the site, but I bet there must be treasures buried there.
