Discovering Neroche

An ancient landscape

While much of the settlement pattern visible today across the Neroche area originated in the medieval period, when dispersed hamlets and farmsteads were a characteristic feature of the upland landscape, during the Prehistoric period the Blackdown Hills would have been covered with dense woodland. The early settlers created clearings on the plateau, to make way for settlements, livestock and farming. Evidence of these settlers survives in the form of burial mounds (Robin Hood’s Butts) and occasional finds of flint implements. Later activity during the Iron Age is dominated by the hillforts at Castle Neroche and Orchard Wood with their commanding views over the Tone Valley and North Somerset.

Although not mentioned in Domesday, the Forest of Neroche was probably a royal forest prior to the Conquest, being associated with King Ina’s palace at South Petherton. Following the Conquest Robert, Count of Mortain held the Forest of Neroche as part of the ‘Great Fee of Mortain’. He built Castle Neroche, the Norman motte and bailey on the western edge of the Forest.

The concentration of deer parks in the area is notable (Staple Park, Poundisford Park). Although deer parks tend to be located on wasteland, they are commonly found near royal forests – not only would there be an element of prestige but also a plentiful supply of deer!

The Portman family, whose grandly landscaped Orchard House, now lies under Taunton Racecourse, dominated the north-east of the area. The Portman’s were once one of the richest families in England, their wealth being primarily derived from the purchase of land in Marylebone, London following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

The variety of field patterns reflects the different phases of enclosure on the Hills, with the small, irregular shaped fields and large hedged banks in the valleys (Dommett, Clayhidon) reflecting earlier piecemeal enclosure while the open regular fields on the plateau reflect the later 1830s parliamentary enclosure of the remaining common lands (Buckland Hill).

Culmstock Beacon was built along with other fire beacons on prominent hilltops across the Blackdown Hills and East Devon to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada in the C16th. Wellington Monument, built to commemorate the ‘Iron Duke’, is currently undergoing an assessment to determine the extent of the structural damage. It survives as the fifth tallest freestanding obelisk in the world.

The plentiful supply of iron rich deposits in the Greensand of the Blackdown Hills resulted in a thriving ironworking industry.

Curland was once renown for its whetstone production. Mills and limekilns were also once a regular feature in the landscape

Key twentieth century features in the landscape include RAF Culmhead (Tricky Warren), which was used by Spitfire squadrons and the unfinished Reservoir at Quants Wood.

The area also contains a variety of vernacular and secular structures, a number of which such as the early Norman church at Thurlbear are listed buildings.