MEM24560 - Post-medieval tunnel northwest of Ashley Combe (Building)

A tunnel lies to the northwest of Ashley Combe at 285651, 148239, where it forms part of a complex of tunnels which take several drives and paths from the house into the woods. The roof of the tunnel has collapsed but stonework and the lower courses of the brick arch survive at the west end to a height of 2 metres. The tunnel is blocked to the east by a concrete block wall, but it continued for a further 31 metres to take Drive 1 (MEM24554) to the north side of Ashley Combe. The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map [1] shows most but not all of the 19th Century drives and paths between Ashley Combe and Culbone; the tunnels are also depicted on the map. Documentary evidence suggests that the drives were laid out in the 1840s and perhaps largely completed by the early 1850s, when Lord King travelled abroad following his wife’s death in 1852. [2]