Castle Hill, Barnstaple, North Devon, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

An early 18th century formal landscape with structures and water features laid out by Earl Clinton around a mansion designed by Lord Burlington, altered to a more natural form and extended in the mid 18th century by Matthew, Lord Fortescue. Further 19th century developments include early 19th century structures and pleasure grounds around the house and extensive late 19th century ornamental planting across the estate.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Castle Hill is situated about 3 kilometres north-west of the town of South Molton and 0.5 kilometres north-east of the village of Filleigh. The site is crossed south of the house by a minor road, formerly the A361, which runs from South Molton to Barnstaple, while the North Devon Link Road follows the line of the mid 19th century railway about 1 kilometre north of the house. The site occupies about 1550 hectares, which comprises some 20 hectares of gardens and pleasure grounds, 225 hectares of parkland, and a further 1300 hectares of agricultural land and ornamental plantations, is generally enclosed by traditional hedges and banks. The River Bray flows in a north/south valley about 0.5 kilometres east of the house, while a tributary stream flows in a shallow west/east valley south of the house, with the land rising to Oxford Down west of the house, and north to the Castle. South of the former A361 the land rises to a wooded ridge which forms the horizon from the house and park. The early 18th century formal plan from which the later landscape has evolved is evident in a complex series of inter-related vistas, particularly to the south, east and west of the house, while from the Sham Castle there are extensive views in all directions.

REFERENCES

J Fortescue, Essays, and discourses, etc, in prose and verse, 2 vols (1759)

W Gilpin, Observations on the Western Parts of England (1798), pp 174-175

D and S Lysons, Magna Britannia: Devon II, (1822), p 240

Gardeners' Chronicle ii, (1884), pp 651-652

Country Life, 75 (17 March 1934), pp 272-277; (24 March 1934), pp 300-305; 165 (4 January 1979), pp 18-21

A Rockley, Historic Gardens of England (1938), pp 168-169

E R Delderfield, West Country Houses I, (1968), p 24

P M Synge, Gardens of Britain I, (1977), pp 31-33J Harris, The Artist and the Country House (1979), pp 180-181, 230

Garden History 13, no 2 (1985), pp 102-125

B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Devon (1989), pp 247-249

M Batey and D Lambert, The English Garden Tour A View Into the Past (1990), pp 209-214

Castle Hill: Summary and Evaluation of History, (Colvin and Moggridge 1991)

S Pugsley (ed), Devon Gardens (1994), pp 42-58

T Gray, The Garden History of Devon An Illustrated Guide to Sources (1995), pp 68-70

Maps

Field Map of the Castle Hill Estate, 1763 (1262M/E22/5), (Devon Record Office)

W Hole, Map of the Barton of Castle Hill ? the lands of Matthew Lord Fortescue, 1765 (private collection)

B Donn, Map of the County of Devon, 1765

Field Map of the Castle Hill Estate, 1790 (1262M/E22/2), (Devon Record Office)

Tithe map for Filleigh parish, 1838 (Devon Record Office)

Map of Castle Hill Barton ? Filleigh, Devon, 1859 (Devon Record Office)

Map of the Parish of Filleigh, Devon, 1880 (Devon Record Office)

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1886

    2nd edition published 1904

Illustrations

J Wootton, Castle Hill from the south, 1735-1740 (private collection)

J Lange, Castle Hill from the south, 1740 (destroyed), (in Country Life 1934)

J Lange, Castle Hill from the Sham Castle, 1740 (destroyed), (in CL 1934)

Feary, Castle Hill House from the South West, c 1785 (private collection)

J Watts, Castle Hill House from the South West, 1785 (private collection)

Archival items

The Fortescue of Castle Hill Collection, including estate accounts, instructions for improvements to the house and grounds, correspondence concerning landscape improvements and buildings, C18 and C19 is held at the Devon Record Office (1262M/E 1-29).

Travels of Dr Richard Pococke, Bishop of Osary in 1764, 2 vols (Add MS 14, 260(1), British Library)

The second Earl Fortescue's MS description of the Park from 1854, continued by the third Earl to 1885 (private collection)

Description written: January 1999

Amended: March 1999; July 1999

Edited: July 2000