Hestercombe Gardens

About the garden

Owned by

Hestercombe Gardens Trust

Designed By
Gertrude Jekyll

Hestercombe's famously restored gardens span three centuries of garden design. Sir Edwin Lutyen’s hallmarks are everywhere: iris-choked rills, pergolas, seats, relieved staircases and pools where reflections twinkle on recessed apses. Gertrude Jekyll’s planting is bold and simple, which adds vigour. The combination of Lutyen's design and Jekyll’s plants is extremely photogenic: Hestercombe is a highly rewarding garden to learn about symmetry, balance and proportion.    

The secret landscape garden, which Coplestone Warre Bampfylde laid out in the late 18th century, is a fair match for the Edwardian area: 40 acres of lakes, temples, combes and woodlands that lay undiscovered for more than 100 years.    

Add to this arcadia, the centrepiece of Hestercombe House and you will see a reunited estate. Open to the public for the first time in more than 200 years, Hestercombe House offers a fascinating contemporary art gallery, a second-hand bookshop and well-stocked gift shop. In the Visitor Centre, you'll find a small yet bountiful plant centre, and a recently refurbished restaurant and café serving tasty homemade brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. 

Please note: this garden is partially accessible.