Sunday was a glorious sunny day and we visited Hestercombe House and Gardens, north of Taunton with Neil’s sister Carole and our friend Liz. The Hestercombe Gardens Trust was set up in 1997 to restore these world famous garden to their full glory. The oldest part of the house dates back to 1280. It was owned by the family of Sir John de Warre for 500 years and went through quite a transformation in that time. After Elizabeth Warre died the estate was bought by the 1st Viscount Portman and was later lived in by the Hon Teddy Portman, his grandson. Teddy Portman died in 1911 but his wife continued to live in the house until her death in 1951 aged 96.
In 1953 the newly formed Somerset Fire Brigade rented the house as its new headquarters and continued there until 2006. In November 2013 the Hestercombe Gardens Trust acquired the freehold of the house and formal gardens and opened the house to the public in May 2014 for the first time in over 800 years. The inside of the house has a contemporary art gallery and a 2nd hand bookshop.
Outside the gardens are lovely with a number of lakes and a hydro electric plant. Over one of the lakes is a steep bridge which Neil posed on.
With still water and beautiful sunshine the reflections in the lake were splendid.
The Landscape Garden was built in the 18th century and throughout the garden are various seats, each with a view like a landscape painting.
We stopped a fellow walker and asked them to take a picture of all 4 of us.
This is the house from the garden.
And I just loved this single water lily.
The Portman family commissioned Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll to create the Edwardian Formal Garden in 1903 which took 5 years to complete.
All in all it was a great visit, with a stop for tea and cake. Easily reached from Lodge House B&B. If you fancy a visit, come and stay with us www.lodgehousebandbsomerset.co.uk
