Sandhill Park in the parish of

Bishops Lydeard Bishops Lydeard () is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, north-west of Taunton in the district of Somerset West and Taunton. The civil parish encompasses the hamlets of East Lydeard, Terhill, and East Bagborough, and had a ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

is a derelict

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

built in about 1720. It was used in the 20th century as a prisoner of war camp, a home for handicapped children and later as a military and civilian hospital.

History

The estate was originally known as "Hill". In St Mary's Church, Bishops Lydeard, is a monument inscribed as follows: :"In a vault near this place lyeth the body of Elizabeth Periam, relict of John Periam of Hill, Esq, and dau(ghter) of John Southey of Fitzhead, Esq. ...she ....died lamented May 14, 1767, aged 68 ... Sarah, dau of John Periam of Milverton and heir to her brother John Periam of Hill, married 1719 died 21 June 1771 aet 74 wife of Thomas Lethbridge". John I Periam (1657-1711) of Milverton was the father of Sarah Periam, the wife firstly of Thomas Lethbridge (d.1734), a lawyer of Clement's Inn and secondly of George Bere of Taunton, a Doctor of Physick. In St Michael's Church, Milverton, is a

ledger stone A ledger stone or ledgerstone is an inscribed stone slab usually laid into the floor of a church to commemorate or mark the place of the burial of an important deceased person. The term "ledger" derives from the Middle English words ''lygger'', '' ...

inscribed as follows: "Here lyeth the body of John Periam, Gent., who dyed Sept. 19 1711 aged 54". The mansion was built in 1720 by John II Periam, the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

, and named "Hill House". It was afterwards lived in by the Lethbridge family from 1767 to 1913. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was used as a

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

for

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Officers. In 1919 it was converted by

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

into a home for handicapped children. It was requisitioned by the military in August 1940 and became the 41st General Military Hospital, providing accommodation in tents and huts. From 1941 the hospital was leased to the Americans as a

neurological Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

hospital for over 1,000 patients in 32 new wards which were completed in 1943. In 1943, the US Army 127th General Hospital moved in caring for patients and preparing to follow the invasion forces. In May 1944, the 127th was replaced by the 185th General Hospital that continued to staff the hospital until July 1945. See 185th General Hospital. The hospital remained in military use until 1945. The psychiatric hospital reopened under the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948 and further buildings were constructed. The hospital was sold in 1991 and housing built on part of the area. It is included in the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

produced by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The derelict building was badly damaged by fire on 22 November 2011, which was caused by arson. The east wing gutted along with more modern additions to the rear. The main house suffered extensive damage, the roof and top floor being lost and significant secondary damage caused by fire water. The west wing and orangery appear to have been untouched by the fire. In 2013 Sandhill Park was purchased by local developer Strongvox Homes. After years of decay and the serious fire in 2011 the only viable way to save the mansion house was for a sympathetic development of new houses in the grounds. Strongvox Homes worked closely with the planning department and English Heritage and in 2012 planning permission was approved for 28 detached houses and the conversion of the mansion house into 26 apartments.

References

External link

{{coord, 51.061816, -3.205433, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane Taunton Deane Houses completed in 1720 World War I prisoner of war camps in England World War II prisoner of war camps in England Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset Country houses in Somerset Grade II* listed houses in Somerset Lethbridge family 1720 establishments in England