MSO7042 - Tom's Hill Farm, Great Tom's Hill (Monument)

Tom's Hill model farm was built in 1850 and occupied until the beginning of World War Two, when it was requisitioned for use as a practice target. The remains are visible as heaps of rubble and wall footings.

At Tom's Hill Farm there are three ranges of buildings grouped around a yard, open on the southern side. The eastern range is composed of mortared walls, 1.5 metres high, with some surviving roof timbers and posts supporting internal divisions. It measures 27 paces by 7 paces. The northern range was the farmhouse, but has been shelled rather than allowed to decay. Remains include roof timbers and black glazed ridge tiles, but is a mound of rubble. The western range is best preserved with walls up to 3.5 metres high with a porch remaining. The internal divisions can be seen, and the range measures 27 paces by 7 paces. [1] The substantial banks topped with beech hedges delimit a western enclosure, with sub-divisions suggesting garden plots. [2] Tom's Hill is shown on the 1962 Ordnance Survey map. [3] The farm was built by the Knight family in 1850, at a cost of £512, with land totalling 300 acres. It was requisitioned in the 1940s as an artillery range. [4] The remains of Tom's Hill farmhouse are at SS 8114 4305. They consist of heaps of stone rubble and wall footings, with collapsed roof timbers visible in places poking up through the debris. The farm was built in the mid 19th Century by the Knight family and was occupied until the beginning of World War Two, when the area was requisitioned by the army for artillery practice, and the farmhouse used as a target. Tom's Hill comprised a model farm with the farmhouse forming the north side of a courtyard. Ranges of outbuildings formed the west and east sides, and the south was formed by the adjoining lane. The west range is best preserved, with walls still standing to 1.6 metres high. [8] In the 1860s shepherds and their families lived in the farm, as they had been brought from Scotland by Frederic Knight. [10] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [11] The site is depicted and labelled on the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. [12] The heritage asset was assessed for inclusion on the Exmoor Local Heritage List in February 2024. It was noted that it has distinctive design being similar in design to other Knight farms on Exmoor with house at one end of a courtyard of outbuildings. It has high historical association with known occupants and links to Knights. It is also deemed to have high social communal value being a well known site on Exmoor, located on a well-used public footpath. It has high collective value with other buildings on the Knight Estate. It was decided to add the asset to the Local Heritage List. [13]