Poundisford Park north of Pitminster

Pitminster

Pitminster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The village has a population of 929. The parish also includes the villages of Angersleigh, Blagdon or Blagdon Hill and Staplehay...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England is an English country house

English country house

The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...

 that typifies progressive house-building on the part of the West Country

West Country

The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...

 gentry

Gentry

Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....

 in the mid-16th century. The main house was built for William Hill around 1550 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

In addition to several buildings the park contains formal gardens which were originally laid out in the 17th century set within a medieval deer park

Medieval deer park

A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...

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Poundisford was an appendage of the episcopal Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane is a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council is based in Taunton.The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District,...

 estate, belonging to the Bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

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