MEM23040 - Gardener's Tool Shed at White Rock Cottage (Building)

An inventory of 1833 records a 'Gardeners Tool House'. This, otherwise known as a Wood Shed, may have bene built in the 1820s or 30s. It is next to the meat store and may have had a semi-circular window. The building contained a wide range and large number of gardening tools and presumably supplied equipment for more than just White Rock Garden. It seems likely that this was the tool house for the head gardener of Simonsbath House and, presumably, his team of under gardeners as this would then explain the requirement for as many as nine dung forks and five rakes. [1] White Rock Cottage, the Tool Shed and the Grotto were part of the designed landscape and formed a focal point for both the Garden by the River and for White Rock Garden, which were both approached by terraced walks and paths from Simonsbath House. [2] A reconstruction drawing of the building as it would have appeared in the 19th Century was commissioned in 2017. [3] The heritage asset was assessed for inclusion on the Exmoor Local Heritage List in February 2024. It was noted that the site has a strong association with the Knight estate, served as a school for the wider community, and as an outdoor education facility. Now in use by a local Trust as a community centre. It was decided to add the asset to the Local Heritage List. [4]