Killerton House is the focal point of a substantial estate given to the National Trust in 1944 by Sir Richard Acland. The Aclands settled in this part of the country in the 16th century and earned the hereditary title of baronet by their loyalty to the King in the Civil War. The present flat-topped, pink-washed house was built in 1778-9 by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 7th Baronet, to the design of John Johnson, and was originally intended as a temporary residence while something grander was being built on the hill behind. In the end, the house became a permanency. Extra rooms had to be added to suit the needs of later generations and it is a series of these extensions which visitors first see when they approach Killerton today. Killerton’s chief glory is the marvellous grounds laid out in the 1770s by the Scotsman John Veitch.
The Killerton collection consists of several separate and distinct collections including the Acland family collection within Killerton house, a large and fascinating collection of 18th to 20th century dress and accessories, including the Paulise de Bush collection, the contents of Markers Cottage and Clyston Mill.
