National Trust - Killerton — Attraction in East Devon

Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortable home. On display in the house is a collection of 18th- to 20th-century costumes, originally known as the Paulise de Bush collection, shown in period rooms.

The estate covers some 2590 hectares (25.9 km2, 6400 acres). Included in the Estate is a steep wooded hillside with the remains of an Iron Age Hill fort on top of it, also known as Dolbury which has also yielded evidence of Roman occupation, thought to be a possible fort or marching camp within the Hill fort.

Killerton House itself and the Bear's Hut summerhouse in the grounds are Grade II* listed buildings. The gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The manor of Columb John in the parish of Broadclyst was purchased by Sir John Acland (d.1620), MP and High Sheriff of Devon. The adjoining estate of Killerton was purchased a short time thereafter from Sir Thomas Drewe (d.1651) of The Grange, Broadhembury, Sheriff of Devon in 1612, by his nephew Sir Arthur Acland (d.1610) of Acland in the parish of Landkey as jointure for his wife Eleanor Mallet. The present Georgian Killerton House was built by Sir Thomas Acland, 7th baronet in 1778. The chapel was built in 1738 to the designs of Charles Robert Cockerell.

The garden was created in the 1770s by John Veitch, one of the leading landscape designers of the time. It features rhododendrons, magnolias, herbaceous borders and rare trees, as well as an ice house and early 19th-century summer house. The surrounding parkland and woods offer a number of circular walks. Plans attributed to William Sawrey Gilpin (1762-1843) for a new drive from Killerton to Columbjohn (1820) were not implemented; a short play about of the meeting between Veitch and Gilpin was commissioned by The National Trust in the gardens of Killerton in mid 2016.

Killerton was given to the National Trust by British politician Sir Richard Dyke Acland, 15th Baronet and in September 2015 The National Trust commissioned a short drama to be staged on the site entitled The Gift, written by Eileen Dillon, telling the story of Sir Richard's decision to hand over his estate.

In 2016 an archeological dig discovered what is believed to be a footprint of an intended replacement home to the current Killerton. Reports believe that this is what has been known in history as the lost house of Devon, of 240 years, designed by architect James Wyatt. It is a shortish walk from the current site, but still within the grounds, and its existence was obscured by a copse that looks to have been deliberately planted to hide it. Killerton have placed woodwork in all four corners of what they believe would have been the corners of the intended property above the footprints found. They have also placed a door and frame on what they believe would have been the entrance to the intended billiard room. Killerton’s information boards on the site state that there is an intention for further archeological digs...

We arrived at Killerton fairly early so we stayed in the car park till we could go in. We went to the loos, then went down into a courtyard area and got a bit lost. We weren't sure where to go and so headed through a gate that led us towards the house. This confused us as we always checked in a visitor reception, but it wasn't obvious where it was. We decided to linger in the courtyard, and a door opened up, which we discovered was the back entrance to the Visitor Reception. We had a lovely chat with he staff in there and talked about the National Trust and the properties in the area. We also picked up a pin badge

We then went into the shop, which I'm afraid to say the experience wasn't great. Don't get me wrong, the shop was lovely. However, the staff didn't interact or show any interest in us at all. There were 2 of them in there and no other visitors, so it wasn't like they were talking to other visitors. I even tried to make conversation with the staff member behind the till, but they just wouldn't talk back, which made it quite an awkward experience. This is definitely not the norm at National Trust properties, and it really wasn't a great start to the day. Anyway, we got the fridge magnet and left quickly.

We headed towards the chapel first, which was the best thing at Killerton by far. The window at the front was amazing. It was so spectacular, but it was even better indoors. All the stain glass was beautiful, but the circular front window was gorgeous. I can see why it's their property's pin badge.

The house still wasn't open, so for some reason we decided to hike up the large hill to see a view. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so neither was the view. We decided this wasn't a great idea, but that was our fault, not the property's.

We made it down the hill towards the house. We passed many gardens that were passed their best for the year, so I'm sure it was much prettier earlier in the year. We went into the coral pink coloured house and were greeted by very friendly house volunteers. Though the house volunteers were very enthusiastic and had some great stories, especially the painting with the ghost, we weren't too interested in this house as we have been with other National Trust properties. We went upstairs to the clothing exhibition, which was mildly interesting but nothing we really cared about.

We left the house and then left the property. It really wasn't a very interesting property, and in fact, at every other National Trust property Visitor Reception team we spoke to down in Devon agreed, though that may be property bias. We may come back when more plants are in bloom, but there are much better properties nearby, so...

A place that will surely take you back in time, very well run and filled with helpful staff. Even from the start they offer you the map of the estate, explaining the routes which you can take. Also, depending on the season, they organise activities for children, where they have to find clues, hidden objects which if they succeed in locating them, they receive a sticker at the end. This Christmas they had the theme of the Snow Queen, and the entire house was decorated following this impressive story. Their grounds were also decorated and the kids had to tick in the book they were given, clues found outside , on the Snow Queen path. They have quite a big car park, lovely cafe, a small restaurant and even a dairy cafe, great open space parks, suitable for kids, long walks and running. The house is exquisite, lots of history inside, you can feel the aristocratic air. What impressed me incredibly was the chapel, build not far from the house, build with the most interesting dark red stone. If you want to spend some nice, quality hours exploring the corners of the property, breathing fresh air and having a decent meal, this is the...