Layers of Time: The Gardens of Hestercombe

Layers of Time: The Gardens of Hestercombe

Set within the rolling landscape of Somerset, Hestercombe Gardens is a place shaped by centuries of design, creativity, and care. The images in this exhibition explore an estate whose gardens reflect changing tastes and ideas over more than 300 years.

Renowned for the survival of four distinct garden styles — a 17th-century Water Garden, an 18th-century landscape garden, a Victorian terrace, and an early 20th-century formal garden — Hestercombe offers a rare opportunity to experience multiple periods of garden history within a single landscape.

The Landscape Garden: An 18th-Century Vision

The foundations of Hestercombe’s landscape were laid in 1751, when the estate was purchased by Copplestone Warre Bampfylde, a gifted amateur architect and designer, and a contemporary of Capability Brown.

Bampfylde shaped the natural combe into one of England’s earliest picturesque landscape gardens. Sweeping lawns, woodland paths, cascades, and carefully framed views were designed to blend architecture, planting, and scenery, creating a dramatic and carefully composed experience of the landscape.

The Portmans and the Formal Garden

In 1873, Hestercombe was acquired by the Portman family. In the early 20th century they commissioned one of the most celebrated partnerships in garden history.

Between 1904 and 1908, architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll created the Formal Gardens. Lutyens designed terraces, walls, steps, and water features, while Jekyll introduced planting schemes renowned for their subtle colour harmonies and seasonal rhythm. Hestercombe remains one of the finest surviving examples of their collaboration.

Decline and Rediscovery

During the 20th century, particularly following military and institutional use during and after the Second World War, the gardens fell into serious decline. Planting was lost, structures deteriorated, and historic views became obscured.

The revival of Hestercombe began in the late 20th century. A crucial early phase of the Formal Garden restoration was supported by the Fire Brigade, whose work helped clear and stabilise terraces, water features, and key architectural elements at a time when the garden was at risk of permanent loss.

Restoration and Hestercombe Today

Renewed attention was also given to the Landscape Garden, led by Philip White, founder of the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. Through woodland management, restored paths and water features, and the reopening of long-lost vistas, Bampfylde’s original design was gradually revealed once more.

Today, Hestercombe is a Grade I listed site of international importance. Its gardens continue to evolve through research, conservation, and sensitive management — a living landscape shaped by time, vision, and the dedication of many hands.