Excavation Unearths Traces of 16th-Century Mansion in England

EXETER, ENGLAND—Devon Live reports that excavations in southwestern England have uncovered traces of the sixteenth-century Columbjohn mansion on the grounds of the Killerton estate, which once belonged to the Acland family. Unused musket balls found at the site may have belonged to the troops loyal to King Charles I who were garrisoned there during the English Civil Wars. The mansion was later taken over by Parliamentarians, who used it as a headquarters during the siege of the city of Exeter between December 1642 and January 1643. Oliver Cromwell is thought to have stayed in Columbjohn in October 1645. After 1680, the Acland family moved from Columbjohn to nearby Killerton, which became the main house on the estate, and was renovated in the Georgian style in the eighteenth century. Columbjohn was demolished in the 1840s. For more on the English Civil Wars, go to "After the Battle."