25 Feb Fri 2022

This event is fully booked

Join us for an intellectual evening as we host our annual Bampfylde Lecture - held each year on the anniversary of the birth of former owner Coplestone Warre Bampfylde - with guest speaker Marcus Chilton-Jones MA, Curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater.

Marcus will deliver a lecture on the restoration of RHS Garden Bridgewater, one of the largest gardening projects undertaken in Europe in recent years. This lecture will give audiences the chance to hear more about the transformation of this 154-acre green space, and much like Hestercombe, how green spaces that embrace a site's heritage enrich the lives of local communities and protect the environment for the future.

If you would like to enjoy a Supper with us before the lecture, consisting of two-course and a small glass of wine, please add this in addition to your ticket(s).

Marcus Chilton-Jones MA

Marcus Chilton-Jones started in the new role of Curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater in January 2017. He joined the project from the Dorothy Clive Garden in North Staffordshire, where he worked as Curator for eight years.

After I finishing his apprenticeship with National Trust he worked on a restoration project at Morden Hall Park in southwest London. He then moved on to Berryfields, former location of BBC Gardeners’ World.

Marcus is passionate about his role in creating a garden on a site that has a history of gardening that's been lost for over 100 years and his personal ambition "for Bridgewater is that it becomes the number-one garden in the north west of England".

The person he admires most in the gardening world is "Lancelot Capability Brown. He was the leading landscape architect of his day and his legacy 250 years on is massive - there are more than 190 'Capability Brown' landscapes across Britain".

Tickets

This is an event aimed at raising funds for Hestercombe's continuing restoration and preservation work.

Tickets are priced at £10 for non-members and £8 for members. Members will be given priority booking before remaining tickets are released widely.

Book tickets

Help us continue our important restoration work

Membership at Hestercombe

Join today and enjoy unlimited access to Hestercombe for a whole year

Described as “one of the top twenty gardens to visit in the country”, Hestercombe is always beautiful throughout the year. Join today and enjoy great value: unlimited access to Hestercombe with prices from £4.21 per month.

Your membership includes:

Unlimited access to Hestercombe Gardens for a year from date of joining for the Member, guests and children according to membership type
Unlimited 'bring a guest' privileges during March and September
Half price entry for visitors accompanied by a Member of Hestercombe (one visitor per member)
Free children's trails available throughout the year
Special members’ discounts on many of our events throughout the year
Our 'members first approach' with members receiving 24 hours priority booking for our most popular events, such as Mother's Day, The Bampfylde Lecture, workshops and most importantly, our winter events such as the Christmas Market, Father Christmas and ILLUMINATE
Half price entry to our partner attractions: Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Forde Abbey Gardens(half price garden entry only), The Bishop’s Palace, Wells(available for full membership only), The Garden House, Dartington Trust Gardens, Exmoor Zooand Glastonbury Abbey(half price garden entry only).