About
Hestercombe Gardens is one of the most celebrated and complete examples of the Arts and Crafts garden tradition in Britain, encompassing three distinct historic landscapes created across three centuries in the foothills of the Quantock Hills near Taunton. Together they form an unparalleled survey of garden design history, from the informal Georgian landscape of the 1750s through a dramatic Victorian shrubbery and terraced landscape to the masterwork of the Edwardian age: a formal garden created between 1904 and 1906 through the collaboration of two of the greatest names in English gardening, architect Edwin Lutyens and plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll.
The Lutyens and Jekyll garden is the centrepiece and the primary reason Hestercombe is known across the world. Lutyens designed the architectural structure — a series of formal terraces, rills, pergolas, raised walks and a great plat — with the precision and playfulness that characterise his finest domestic work. The water rill that runs through the garden, the precise stonework of the paths and walls, and the interplay of levels and vistas reflect his genius for creating spaces that feel both grand and intimate. Jekyll's planting schemes brought the structure to life with drifts of perennials, climbers, shrubs and roses in the muted, harmonious colour palette she pioneered: greys, silvers, soft blues and purples building to warm pinks and oranges at the centre of each border before retreating again to cooler tones at the edges.
The Victorian Terrace Garden of the 1870s adds a contrasting character, with dramatic topiary, formal bedding and the remains of a Victorian conservatory range. The Georgian Combe, created by Coplestone Warre Bampfylde from the 1750s, is a naturalistic landscape in the Picturesque tradition, complete with a lake, cascades, bridges, temples and a pumphouse. All three gardens have been meticulously restored by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust since 1997 and are maintained to the highest horticultural standard.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Visit in late June or early July for the peak of the Lutyens/Jekyll borders, when the climbers on the pergola are in full flower and the herbaceous borders are at their finest.
- The gardens are rewarding in all seasons — winter visits reveal the architectural clarity of the Lutyens stonework and the structure of the Victorian topiary most effectively.
- Allow at least 2.5 hours to explore all three historic gardens properly. The Georgian Combe alone takes 45 minutes at a leisurely pace.
- Pre-book a mobility scooter if you have limited mobility — the formal garden is largely accessible but the Combe is hilly and paths can be uneven in places.
- The plant sales area is excellent — plants propagated from the actual Hestercombe planting are sold at reasonable prices, including some Jekyll cultivars not easily found elsewhere.
- The Stables Café is dog-friendly on the outdoor terrace, making Hestercombe an excellent outing for dog owners.
- There is no regular bus service — own transport is essential. Book a taxi from Taunton station in advance if arriving by train.
Highlights
The Lutyens and Jekyll Formal Garden
The masterwork of the Edwardian garden movement and the primary reason visitors come to Hestercombe from around the world. Designed in 1904 by architect Edwin Lutyens and plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll for the Portman family, the formal garden is structured around a great plat — a sunken central lawn — flanked by deep herbaceous borders and a pergola walk.
Lutyens's stone architecture provides strong geometric structure while Jekyll's planting creates the celebrated 'painterly' effect of colour graduating from cool to warm through the borders.
The garden has been painstakingly restored to Jekyll's original 1904 planting plans.
The Great Plat and Pergola
The heart of the Lutyens garden is the Great Plat — a large sunken rectangular lawn set below the main terrace — approached through a series of steps and balustraded terraces that demonstrate Lutyens's mastery of creating drama and surprise through changes of level. The flanking pergola walk, constructed in local Ham Hill stone, is clothed in climbing roses, wisteria and other vigorous climbers selected by Jekyll, creating a spectacular tunnel effect in early summer.
The Plat's central water features and the rill running along its axis are among the most-photographed garden elements in Britain.
The Jekyll Borders and Colour Schemes
Gertrude Jekyll's restored planting schemes along the main terraces and in the formal borders demonstrate her revolutionary approach to garden design, in which borders are planted with the sensibility of a painter working with living colour. The characteristic Hestercombe scheme builds from silver and grey foliage at the border edges through soft mauves, blues and pinks to warm oranges and reds at the centre, then retreats to cooler tones again.
Jekyll worked with Lutyens on over 100 gardens but Hestercombe is among the finest survivals of their partnership, with the planting faithfully restored from her original watercolour plans held at the RHS Lindley Library.
The Victorian Terrace Garden
Created in the 1870s for Edward Portman, the Victorian terrace garden immediately south of the house presents a very different character from the Edwardian formality below. Dramatic clipped topiary, seasonal bedding displays, a restored orangery range, and terraced walks looking out over the Somerset Levels exemplify the High Victorian aesthetic of horticultural abundance and geometric control.
The Victorian garden has been restored to its 1870s appearance and provides an instructive contrast with the more naturalistic Lutyens/Jekyll approach.
Collections
Hestercombe holds one of the most complete archives of Lutyens and Jekyll garden material outside national collections, including original plans, photographs and correspondence relating to the 1904 commission. The gardens themselves constitute a living collection of historic plant varieties, with particular emphasis on the cultivars Jekyll used and advocated.
The Trust maintains restoration documentation for all three garden phases, and the archives are available to serious researchers by appointment.
The restored gardens are internationally recognised as an outstanding example of heritage garden stewardship and attract garden historians from across the world.
Three Gardens, Three Centuries
The self-guided garden trail covers the Georgian Combe, Victorian terrace garden and Edwardian Lutyens/Jekyll formal garden, with interpretation panels and audio guide at key points.
Heritage Room
Small exhibition in the visitor centre covering the history of the estate, the Bampfylde and Portman families, and the Lutyens/Jekyll collaboration with original design material.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.