Quantock Hills National Landscape

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Holford Combe

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  • AA0004

    A print taken directly from the original quarter plate glass negative, before it was trimmed as a postcard, showing whortleberry (wild blueberries) pickers somewhere on the Quantocks. With the arrival of the train links to London…

  • GF0005

    Combe House Hotel, showing the water wheel.

  • GF0012

    View from Lower Hare Knap showing the ‘clump’ (of pine trees), the white cottage behind the roofs is “Whistler’s Hollow” at the ‘triangle’ and on Stowey Lane

  • GF0013

    Combe House before the tennis court and showing the ‘shed’ at the right hand end of the building where a new wing was later built

  • GF0015

    At Combe House, showing the grindstone and boot polishing machine (believed to be operated by Frank Seymour-Sweet), both of which were driven by the water wheel.

  • GF0017

    Combe House, showing the water wheel and the grindstone.

  • GF0020

    A pastel of Combe House Hotel.

  • GF0022

    A watercolour of “White Cottage”, painted by William Wiehe Collins RI in 1922 with some artistic licence!

  • GF0024

    “Garden Reach” near Combe House Hotel. This cottage was demolished and replaced by another “Garden Reach” in 1990.

  • GF0033

    View over Hayman’s pond and up Holford (Butterfly or Tannery) Combe.

  • GF0035

    View over Hayman’s Pond down the combe towards Holford. The pond was a controlled mill pond feeding the large water wheel at Combe House.

  • GF0036

    A hand-coloured picture of Tannery (or Butterfly or Holford) Combe.

  • GF0038

    View down Butterfly Combe towards Holford, probably taken at ‘the bumps’ near Hayman’s Pond

  • GF0039

    View of Hayman’s Pond in Butterfly Combe. Note the spacing of the trees in this winter picture. This could be the result of coppicing for charcoal and tannin.

  • GF0040

    View of ‘Hayman’s pond’ in Tannery Combe (also called Butterfly, Haymans and Holford Combe). The pond was a man made mill pond to provide water to the overshoot water wheel at Combe House

  • GF0041

    Hayman’s pond in Butterfly/Tanners/Haymans/Holford Combe

  • GF0043

    Picture of the Holford Weavers cottage. The figure is believed to be Cedric Dickinson. This end cottage, called “Quarry House” had a large room upstairs and was frequently used for village events before a village hall…

  • GF0044

    A view of “Quarry House” which, at the time, was inhabited by weavers. Picture taken from the grounds of Combe House.

  • GF0045

    Part of the garden at Combe House Hotel

  • GF0046

    A view of Combe House Hotel. The large water wheel can be seen projecting from the roof of the building to the left

  • GF0047

    An early image of Combe House Hotel. Note the absence of trees on Lower Hare Knap

  • GF0048

    View of Combe House Hotel from the ‘strawberry field’. Note the absence of trees, above the hotel, on Lower Hare Knap.

  • GF0049

    Combe House Hotel, in Holford (Butterfly) Combe not in the Glen.

  • GF0050

    The front of Combe House Hotel in Holford (or Butterfly) Combe. The water wheel visible towards the end of the buildings is believed to be the largest overshoot water wheel in Somerset.

  • GF0051

    Combe House, with the large overshoot water wheel in the foreground. As well as powering the nearby grindstone and a shoe polishing machine, the wheel also generated electricity and powered a rock grinding machine for the…

  • GF0052

    Combe House Hotel in Holford (or Butterfly) Combe, not the Glen.

  • GF0053

    Combe House in Butterfly Combe (also known as Tannery, Hayman’s or Holford Combe) probably before it became a hotel.

  • GF0054

    Combe House Hotel

  • GF0055

    “Garden Reach” in the combe, just before Combe House Hotel. This building replaced the original “Garden Reach”.

  • GF0056

    “White Cottage” with its original thatch. One of the scots pine groups (always called ‘firs’ locally) can be seen above.

  • GF0059

    “White Cottage”, Holford with Lower Hare Knap behind.

  • GF0060

    A very small (amateur?) photo of “White Cottage”

  • GF0078

    Combe House Hotel with its large, overshoot water wheel. This wheel replaced an earlier wheel in 1893 and at various times provided power for pumping water and tan from the tannery pits, stone crushing, chaff cutting,…

  • GF0079

    A view of Combe House Hotel, with Lower Hare Knap in the background.

  • GF0093

    An early picture of Combe House and its associated cottages in the combe also known as Butterfly and Holford Combe. The tannery at Combe House was closed in 1900. Note the quarry on the left which…

  • GF0094

    An early picture of Combe House and its associated cottages in the combe also known as Butterfly and Holford Combe. The tannery at Combe House was closed in 1900. Note the quarry on the left which…

  • GF0095

    Combe House and its associated cottages in the combe also known as Butterfly and Holford Combe. The tannery at Combe House was closed in 1900. Note that the viaduct carrying water from the leet to the…

  • GF0096

    A view up the combe past Combe House Hotel. Note the lack of trees on the hills.

  • GF0097

    View taken from Lower Hare Knap looking towards the ‘triangle’. The side-on white cottage in the background (left of centre) is “Whistlers Hollow”. The nearer small white cottage seen through the trees (to the right) is…

  • GF0099

    A view from Lower Hare Knap with the thatched roof of “White Cottage” in the bottom left corner, facing towards “The Spinney”. The two attached cottages towards the right are “Bourne Stream” and “Bourne Cottage.

  • GF0100

    “The Spinney”, which was the bakery, on the left and the roof of “White Cottage” in the foreground.

  • GF0101

    A view of Combe House and its associated cottages in Tannery Combe (later Butterfly Combe). The tannery closed in 1900.

  • GF0102

    Combe house and its workers cottages in Tannery Combe (later Butterfly, then Holford Combe). The taller cottage to the left is “Quarry House” which had a ‘big room’ which was used as a village hall from…

  • GF0103

    Combe House, in Holford Combe, at about the time when the tannery closed. “Quarry House” (the building at the back on the left) has not been rendered and painted white at this time.

  • GF0104

    Combe House and its associated cottages.

  • GF0105

    A hand coloured print of Combe House in Butterfly (later Holford) Combe.

  • GF0106

    View from the side of Lower Hare Knap. The first cottage from the right is “Bourne Cottage”.

  • GF0108

    View down from Lower Hare Knap showing (right to left) “Bourne Cottage”, “Bourne Stream”, “Brackenside” and “Heathercot”.

  • GF0110

    View showing “White Cottage” (almost hidden on the left). The cross in the road would be outside “Century Cottage” and “Rose Cottage”.

  • GF0111

    View showing “The Spinney” on the left, up to “Bourne Cottage”. The conspicuous path in the foreground is now (2017) a much less used bridlepath which goes down behind “White Cottage”.

  • GF0113

    Aerial photograph of Dowsborough Hillfort (top left) and Woodlands Hill. A39 on bottom left. Hectors pond bottom, middle and Hayman’s Pond to the north east. Holford combe heading north from bottom of photograph seen by coppice…

  • GF0115

    Holford village view taken from behind “White Cottage” looking towards “The Spinney” which was the village bakery. Hand coloured.

  • GF0116

    “The Spinney” on the left and the thatched roof of “White Cottage” front right.

  • GF0117

    Cottages, left to right, “Heathercot”, “Brackenside”, “Bourne Stream”.

  • GF0118

    The nearest cottage in full view is “The Spinney”.

  • GF0146

    This hand-coloured image of Butterfly/Tannery/Holford Combe shows how open the hills were in the early 20th C.

  • GF0147

    Tannery/Butterfly/Holford Combe.

  • GF0148

    An early picture of Combe House. Note the absence of trees on the hillside behind.

  • GF0149

    Combe House Hotel in Holford Combe (then Butterfly Combe).

  • GF0150

    “White Cottage” in Holford Combe and ‘The Clump’ (of pine trees) on Lower Hare Knap. Note the lack of other trees and the thatched roof.

  • GF0152

    A view up the combe also known as Butterfly, and today Holford, Combe. The white building is Combe House (now an hotel) and the building on the left of the group is the end of “Combe…

  • GF0158

    A view up Holford Combe with Combe House just visible to the right and Combe Cottages in the centre. Note the distant views allowed by the relative absence of trees.

  • GF0160

    A view of Combe House Hotel in Holford Combe.

  • GF0162

    Holford Combe looking upstream

  • GF0171

    The ‘Bumps’ in Holford Combe. The village is behind the photographer and ‘Pepper Combe’ is to the right. The bank of the drained mill pond (which supplied power to the water wheel in Combe House) can…

  • GF0172

    Looking from the side of Lower Hare Knap, over the road in Holford Combe, towards the ‘Strawberry Field’ (unfortunately no longer worthy of the name) towards Woodlands Hill.

  • GF0175

    The path up to the ‘Strawberry Field’ from ‘the Bumps’ in Holford Combe.

  • GF0176

    Snow at ‘The Bumps’ in Holford Combe on 20 Jan. 2013. The combe has also been known locally as Tanners Combe and Butterfly Combe.

  • GG0006

    Butterfly Combe looking up stream

  • GG0007

    Holford Combe in February.

  • GG0009

    The path down from Hare Knap to an open area (known locally as Spaghetti Junction) at the top end of Holford Combe (on the left). Spaghetti Junction is the meeting point of Holford Combe, Lady’s Combe…