Hosted by the Southeast Chapter
As we continue our survey of the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens, this week we visit Hestercombe House and Garden near Taunton, Somerset. Hestercombe is comprised of extensive gardens and the current manor house which was built in the 16th century, which since has seen numerous expansions and renovations.
The estate includes a mix of three historic gardens and is like walking through a timeline of garden history. The gardens include, the late 18th century Georgian landscape garden, the 1870 Victorian shrubbery garden, and the 1904 formal Edwardian garden designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens with the planting schemes by Gertrude Jekyll.
The Lutyens/Jekyll garden includes the Great Plat, a formal parterre that is set between raised terraces with planted water reels on each side and framed by a pergola that spans the width of the garden. A feature of the estate is the Lutyens designed Orangery (1904-1909). This sophisticated building that makes perfect use of the local yellow hamstone found in South Somerset grows out of the local slate providing a link between the informal lawns and the Formal Gardens.
The Hestercombe Gardens Trust recently restored the gardens, working from Gertrude Jekyll’s original planting designs, some found onsite stuffed in a drawer for 70 years, and others that are housed at the University of California – Berkeley Environmental Design Archives, Gertrude Jekyll Collection.
~The Process~