So I was passing today and decided to go and have a look for myself I parked up the works van and headed across the field. What an astonishingly beautiful building this is up close. It seems strange that it is constructed of Doulton type sand stone when the local stone is so red. A real shame that it has been so badly neglected and mullered by chavs.
There is loads of information on the tinternet about the history of the site below is a brief history
There is loads of information on the tinternet about the history of the site below is a brief history
“Hill House was built on a prominent new site c.1730 by John Periam. At Periam's death in
1755 the estate passed by marriage to Thomas Lethbridge, whose grandson, John II (from
1804 Sir John, 1st Baronet), renamed it Sandhill Park in the 1780s, and in whose family it
remained until the estate was sold in 1913. In 1919 the nucleus of the park and pleasure
grounds was purchased by Somerset County Council who used the property firstly as a home
for girls in need of care and subsequently, from 1925, as a hospital for the mentally
handicapped. The hospital was used as a military hospital from 1940 and leased to the
American Government in 1942. The hospital continued to develop with the creation of selfcare
flats but the establishment was sold by the NHS in 1991. A development of 50 executive
houses was built to the east of the mansion in the 1990s on the site of former hutted wards.â€
(Ref Tauntondeane.gov.uk)
1755 the estate passed by marriage to Thomas Lethbridge, whose grandson, John II (from
1804 Sir John, 1st Baronet), renamed it Sandhill Park in the 1780s, and in whose family it
remained until the estate was sold in 1913. In 1919 the nucleus of the park and pleasure
grounds was purchased by Somerset County Council who used the property firstly as a home
for girls in need of care and subsequently, from 1925, as a hospital for the mentally
handicapped. The hospital was used as a military hospital from 1940 and leased to the
American Government in 1942. The hospital continued to develop with the creation of selfcare
flats but the establishment was sold by the NHS in 1991. A development of 50 executive
houses was built to the east of the mansion in the 1990s on the site of former hutted wards.â€
(Ref Tauntondeane.gov.uk)
Not a massive report as it has been done but a few images to share. The fire engine has gone
.
Same shit different times
I plan to go back to photograph the ponds. thanks for looking.
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