Hestercombe Blog

Chapter Two: The Portman’s & the Church of St. Mary, Hestercombe “I remember well how, when I came to St. Andrews (Taunton) in 1947, I was faced with a very large and run-down parish, & no curate . . . and no car. You can perhaps imagine how I thought when I was told that I was expected to take services for an old lady in her private chapel, which was not even in my parish!!”  The Revd. Prebendary, 19 Feb. 1984   In December of 1895, the Somerset County Gazette reported that:  ‘the Hon. E. W. B. Portman is having an iron church erected in Hestercombe Park, near the mansion.’   The modest timber-framed structure that resulted was to play an important role in Estate life over the coming decades. The Church of Saint Mary’s, Hestercombe, stood not in front of the House as the Warre chapel had up until...

This weekend was a busy one for events, a big wedding on Saturday and Father's Day BBQ on Sunday. Even though the weather wasn't perfect we still had some stalwarthy folk who came along to enjoy the food and games on Sunday. Here is a lovely photo of two young members who got married in 2010 here and have been members ever since!  Here is: Gary and Hannah Kennard with their beautiful daughter Elsie who is 20 months old!     "We came to Hestercombe today to celebrate Fathers day in the cafe and to enjoy the BBQ. We have been members of the gardens since we got married here on the 3rd September 2010. We had our ceremony in the Orangery and then enjoyed drinks and canapes on the lawn.  We love coming up for walks around the gardens, feeding the ducks and showing Elsie where we got married. Her...

Memories of Hestercombe - The Portman Chapel - criticism from a variety of media & magazines... Characters that no reader will forget . . . prose as clean and strong as any Legate has yet laid down . . . and a drop-dead evocation of a time and place that will mark this article as a classic slice of Edwardiana -- Prague Post The plot surges forward, pulling us along as we turn those pages a mile a minute. – New Zealand Herald Kim Legate is nothing if not an ambitious writer, and his latest article, The Portman Chapel, represents his boldest project to date… Legate has managed to write an accessible and fascinating page turner… seeing these events through the eyes of well-drawn characters is an engaging history lesson, much more compelling than any documentary or textbook could be -- Literary Review Legátus Ez az egyik fene nagy író –...

Today Hestercombe is open under the National Garden Scheme. This means that takings from today's visitors will go towards supporting the NGS charity (see previous blog about NGS) A good friend of mine is opening her garden to the NGS for the first time on June the 30th and I highly recommend that you visit. Not only will you meet my fabulous friend Gaye (always the hostess with the mostess so you are guaranteed a warm welcome) but you get to see her beautiful garden. Gaye is, among other things, an artist and this really shows in her planting. The colour and the textures are playful and lively. The borders are crammed and abundant with all sorts of plants. In less than an acre she has fitted in a jungle walk, the Himalayas, a cottage garden and a meadow. It is one of the most inspiring spaces I have ever been...

It was Hannah's birthday at the beginning of the month.  We have a 'cake rule' in the mess room- if it is your birthday you bring in cake. This also applies if you go on holiday, get married, have a baby, get a new job, new car, new boyfriend, new tattoo/piercing etc etc... we are obsessed with cake... so Hannah made us these beautiful flowery cakes in silicon cases that looked like plant pots... and I can confirm that they tasted as good as they look. Today Rosie is celebrating her one year anniversary as a gardener at Hestercombe so she made this gorgeous chocolate cake.. Thanks girls... .... Chris has just had 3 days off. ... so far no cake.... disciplinary?  ...