A weird house in Somerset.

Derelict Places

Help Support Derelict Places:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Wow. Just found this page by accident and can't believe the state of the house and grounds. I know it's all gone now and some fancy houses there but I was there in the early days when it was all being built (mid to late 80s). I have a photos and video from back then which I can add on here to show the contrast if there's interest. My friends owned the house before this person so I know if from their ownership and all through his.

I'd be keen to find out if anyone has any other pictures or videos before it was demolished.
always interesting to see
 
Wow. Just found this page by accident and can't believe the state of the house and grounds. I know it's all gone now and some fancy houses there but I was there in the early days when it was all being built (mid to late 80s). I have a photos and video from back then which I can add on here to show the contrast if there's interest. My friends owned the house before this person so I know if from their ownership and all through his.

I'd be keen to find out if anyone has any other pictures or videos before it was demolished.
I really hope you do post your pics and vids, I'm sure many here would like to see them.
 
I'll find them out this weekend all being well. Here's a quick one of the pool and the monkeys @Ellalouise mentioned. The male peed on you if you went close, Bonus was his name :LOL:.

198x-pool-small.jpg

198x-monkeys-small.jpg


Also, a quick screengrab from a video of the aquarium room that was showed as all panelled on the original post. Newly built and decorated. The bay window pond was to the left and the door ahead into the dining room with the impressive staircase you saw leading up to the minstrels gallery.

198x-fishtanks.jpg


Behind these tanks, to the right, was the owners video collection room @Ellalouise hinted to. He was a real film buff and recorded every film he could from TV broadcasts. Hundreds if not thousands of VHS tapes. One of my first jobs here was to watch every one of them and label the contents. I never saw any adult stuff so assume he kept the business away at that time. The room was later converted to another kitchen.
 
Last edited:
The grounds were constantly being built on and ranged from impressive roman columns and expensive marble statues to a breeze block mini pub, quite varied to say the least. One of the early ideas was a 'Mini Africa' where a 100x30x20 foot hole was dug to house a tropical garden type of environment. I don't believe it ever got beyond a concrete base and walls and was covered over some years later with plans to build more on top of the hole. Planning permission was rarely considered and a team of full time builders worked there to bring ideas to life.
 
Am drawn back to this post again! My other half came from the Frome area and knew a lot of bizarre and extrovert types, but he doesn't remember 'Anthony'. Always interesting to see the new updates, looking forward to the next batch of photos …
 
Apologies for not coming back sooner. I have 2 videos to share but was hesitant in posting as both really don't show the place off to it's best and my original intent was to show some contrast. I've yet to get into the loft and find the photos of it's 'heyday'.

Video 1 was filmed around 1988 when the last owner first purchased it. It's a mess of a building site and although it may not show much context, some notable bits include the living room, the white bay window 'fish tank', the large staircase and the original pool area shown in earlier posts. Also, interesting to see the huge hole I mentioned for the 'mini Africa' and a collection of classic Bentleys under wrap, just sat on a pile of excavated soil. Get ready for some shaky content!


Video 2 was filmed in 2008 when the owner was living in the tiniest of caravans in a small Gypsy camp he had created at the top of the land. He'd fallen out of love with the house and main living area and left it to fall into disrepair. The large hole is now covered over and you'll see a breeze block building being assembled. A Rolls Royce sits in an outdoor shed, a once immaculate and well maintained car, again left unloved. Some interesting statues and building work shown nonetheless.


I'm determined to show some photos of the period between these 2 videos as it really was a fantastic place to spend time around. Eccentricity pushed to the max and for those that do know the place, hopefully some memories. If there's anything you spot in the videos you have questions about. Let me know.
 
That the owner seemed to have sufficient money for his or her own needs - while all those cars were left to stand under those wraps - is indeed eccentric.
Each to one's own?
 
Back
Top