Hestercombe Gardens
Hestercombe Gardens is a garden complex situated on the grounds of Hestercombe House in the southwestern English county of Somerset. The entire garden complex comprises three individual gardens from different stylistic periods. Notably, the Edwardian Garden from the early 20th century holds national significance as the first collaborative effort between gardener and artist Gertrude Jekyll and architect Edwin Lutyens. Today, Hestercombe Gardens stands as one of the most important listed gardens of the 20th century and is under the ownership of the Hestercombe Garden Trust.
Location
Hestercombe Gardens is located close to the English village of Cheddon Fitzpaine, north of the town of Taunton, within the Taunton Deane area of the English county of Somerset. The estate is encompassed by the Quantock Hills. The terrain slopes gently to the south, giving sweeping views of the Taunton Valley and the Blackdown Hills.History
During the 16th century, the English Warre family, led by Richard Warre, built a country house where Hestercombe Gardens currently stands. Later, Richard's son married Judge John Popham's daughter. Ownership of the estate and its surrounding lands was transferred to Coplestone Warre Bampfylde in the 18th century, who was a friend of Henry Hoare. The country house was enlarged and a Georgian landscape garden was laid out under Bampflyde's guidance. In 1873, the estate was acquired by Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman, who made significant changes to both the house and the garden between 1873 and 1878, resulting in the current Victorian-style appearance of the main building. E.W.B. Portman, the estate's owner and the eldest son of the 2nd Viscount Portman, enlisted Gertrude Jekyll and Edward Lutyens to redesign the garden in front of and beside the house. This project was undertaken between 1904 and 1909.The house and gardens remained under the ownership of the Portman family until 1944. During the Second World War, the British Army utilized the building for various purposes. Part of the 8th Corps headquarters was situated here, responsible for the defense of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Bristol. In preparation for the Normandy invasion, the 398th General Service Engineer Regiment was stationed on the premises, and an American hospital was established following D-Day. In 1951, both the house and the land were acquired by Somerset County Council. The council repurposed the building for administrative functions and, to this day, it serves as the headquarters for the Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. The whole site has since passed into the ownership of the Hestercombe Garden Trust, of which Somerset County Council is now the tenant.
During the 1970s, an extensive restoration project was undertaken to revive the house and gardens' deteriorating state. These restoration efforts were initiated due to their ruinous conditions during that period. While the restoration of the perennial beds initially could not adhere strictly to Jekyll's intricate planting plans, a simplified adaptation was carried out, still capturing Jekyll's distinctive style and approach.
In 1992, the 18th-century landscape garden, which had fallen into obscurity over time, was rediscovered, unearthed, and restored based on original illustrations. As the 21st century began, a portion of the site was designated as a "Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest." This designation was prompted by the presence of a rare bat species, specifically the lesser horseshoe bat , which resides in the area.
The Georgian landscape garden
The English landscape garden from the second half of the 18th century stands as the earliest garden within Hestercombe Gardens. This garden was crafted between 1750 and 1786 under the stewardship of the estate's then-owner, Coplestone Warre Bampfylde. Covering just over 16 acres, the Georgian landscape park is situated in a valley to the north of the manor house. Bampfylde himself envisioned and designed the landscape garden, drawing inspiration from the contemporary "Arcadian style", which was highly fashionable at the time. In these gardens, the emphasis was less on ornamental plants and more on creating specific atmospheres and viewpoints that harmonized with the surrounding landscape. Trees and shrubs were employed to evoke moods and vistas. The landscape garden included features like a cascade waterfall, seating areas at scenic spots, a small temple, as well as artificial ruins resembling a Greek-style temple and a mausoleum.The landscape garden fell into disrepair over time and was eventually forgotten by the late 19th century at the latest. It was not until 1992 that the garden was rediscovered and its features brought to light once again. The restoration process, which incurred relatively substantial costs, primarily focused on revitalizing the architectural structures within the garden. Funding from the National Lottery was secured to support these restoration efforts. The watercolors of the landscape garden, preserved by Bampfylde himself, who was also a painter, proved to be invaluable resources for ensuring an authentic restoration.
As an 18th-century landscape garden, however, the site held a rather modest significance. It cannot be equated with landscape gardens of the same era, such as the notable Stourhead located nearby.
The Victorian Garden
The Victorian Garden also referred to as the Victorian terrace or south terrace, is situated in front of the manor house and above the Great Plat. The first Viscount Portman likely commissioned the layout of this garden by architect Henry Hall between 1873 and 1878, during the major alterations to the house. The terrace offers expansive views over the formal garden of the Taunton Valley. The Victorian Garden is bordered by a rose garden to the west and a rotunda to the east.Lutyens and Jekyll also added the so-called Grey Walk to the south terrace. This is a densely planted herbaceous border that extends the entire length of the building. It features scented perennials in hues of blue, silver, and white, including lavender, rosemary, catnip, and baby's breath.
The Edwardian formal garden
was commissioned in 1903 to design a formal garden for Hestercombe House. His initial task in developing the design concept for the approximately 1.5-acre site was to consider the house itself. During that period, the Victorian architecture of the house was considered unattractive and lacking in elegance The land in front of the house gently sloped to the south, offering an unobstructed view of the Taunton Valley. Lutyens strategically positioned the center of the garden to the south, directly in front of the house's façade. This layout aimed to divert the visitor's attention away from the house and towards the central grounds. Furthermore, the expansive view extended over the East Devon landscape, across Tornton Dean, to the Blackdown Hills. Additional sections of the newly designed formal garden extended diagonally to the east of the house.Lutyens dedicated a total of five years to the creation of the formal garden. During this time, he held the overall planning role as an architect and was also responsible for planning various architectural aspects, such as the selection of building materials and the design of water features, the orangery, and decorative and practical elements within the garden. Collaborating with him on horticultural aspects, as they had in previous joint projects, was Gertrude Jekyll. She formulated the planting plans for borders and beds and coordinated the selection of plants with the existing structural characteristics of each area.
The Great Plat
The centerpiece of the central garden section is the Great Plat, an intricate design of lawns and flowerbeds. In crafting this area, Lutyens drew inspiration from the stylistic elements seen in gardens of the Tudor period and the Italian Renaissance gardens. This particular garden is classified as a sunken garden, characterized by its expansive sunken parterre featuring both lawns and planting and a concluding pergola at the southern end.The parterre garden is located below the house and is laid out in a square. It is bordered on the north side by a boundary wall made from quarry stones, connecting to the house's elevated level. The original plan did not include a direct pathway connecting the house with this garden area. Instead, a horizontal double border precedes the house, with a central lawn path in between.
The relatively large area of the Great Plat was geometrically structured and broken up by Lutyens primarily through a diagonally running wayside cross. This cross is composed of stone bands embedded within the grass and framed with slate, demarcating the four broad lawn pathways. At the end of each pathway, a quarter-circular staircase has been created. Encircling the parterre on three sides are robust walls made from sturdy rubble stone, crafted from fragmented slate slabs, and adorned with plantings.
The Great Plat area is divided into four triangular beds, with natural stone slabs and bands of planted Bergenia cordifolia forming the edges. Lutyens drew inspiration from the principles of "parterre de pièces coupées pour des fleurs" and "parterre à l'angloise." This means that the flower borders are not between gravel but between lawns and paving. Contrary to the principles of Renaissance and Baroque gardens, these borders are adorned with organic plant ribbons. Common elements in the design of the individual beds of Jekyll are the double borders and the planting of the retaining walls.
Lutyens built a low wall with a terminating pergola along the entire 72-meter length of the south side of the Great Plat. This serves both as a closure of the terrace to the south and, at the same time, through its construction, as a transparent link of the garden to the landscape beyond. Furthermore, it also connects the two water basins situated on the terraces adjoining the central parterre. Crafted from locally sourced quarry stones, the pergola boasts a rhythmic arrangement of rounded and angular columns. The pergola is richly adorned with various climbing plants, including climbing roses, clematis, wisteria, honeysuckle, and grapevines.
Planting plans by Jekyll show that she used various vertical accents in the plantings to counteract the depth of the sunken parterre. For instance, she strategically placed tall grass perennials as focal points, visually connecting the Great Plat with the three elevated sides of the garden.