Current jobs related to Hestercombe at War - Taunton, Somerset - Hestercombe Gardens

  • Hestercombe at War

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **1940-42**: In July 1940, the British Army established 8th Corps to take responsibility for all British troops in the South West of England, and Hestercombe became the division’s rear HQ. In early 1941 the first six barrack blocks were built with brick bases, concrete block walls and roofs covered with asbestos slates. **1943-44**: The British 8th Corps...

  • Taunton Literary Festival

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **Brendon Books of Taunton presents the Taunton Literary Festival 22nd to 30th September 2012 Hestercombe hosts a special day of lectures by eminent authors in Hestercombe House. Lecture tickets are £6.50 each. Booking is essential. Pop in for lunch at the Stables Restaurant & Coffee Shop before or after the lecture. Coffee, tea and cake will be available...

  • From The Archives: Memories of Hestercombe

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    The Hestercombe archives are bursting at the seams with facts, pictures and accounts of the history of Hestercombe and those who lived and worked here. In this installment of Memories of Hestercombe we hear about the Grand Ball which took place in January 1897 - and the star studded Taunton guest list in attendance. _Written by Kim Legate, Archivist_ - On...

  • Where Function Ends: Responses to The Architecture

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **Alex Hartley, Liz Nicol and Oliver Sutherland Where function ends: Responses to the architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens. Hestercombe Gallery, Taunton, 14 July - 27 October 2019. To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944), Hestercombe Gallery presents new work by three artists that responds to the legacy of the man whose...

  • Bank Holiday Weekend

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    Woo hoo! Another long weekend... it will be great to see some more people at Hestercombe this side of half-term. And in true Hestercombe style, Kevin's putting on a BBQ in the courtyard on Bank Holiday Monday. Freshly cooked meat over the Hestercombe charcoal and a delicious variety of crispy salads. And as May draws to an end we're all getting busy. Herb...

  • Memories of Hestercombe: The Honourable E. W. B

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **Part 2 - Sport, Eating, Hospitals and Tragedy.**: - Mr. and Mrs. Edward Portman will give a ball about January 11 to celebrate the coming of age of Mr. Ivo Vesey, Mrs. Portman’s eldest son by her first husband, Captain Eustace Vesey... To Mr. Portman, indeed, everything connected with dancing is more or less of a bore. He prefers hunting, shooting, or...

  • History

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **Hestercombe has a rich and diverse history; the first written record of the estate is from an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682.**: **Gardens History**: **Restoration**: **Hestercombe at War**: **Somerset Fire Brigade**: **Archives**: **Coplestone Warre Bampfylde**: **The Water Garden**: **The Terrace Seat**: The earliest remaining medieval feature of Hestercombe...

  • First Ever Traditional Summer Fete

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    Hestercombe’s first ever good **olde fashioned fete** will be held on Saturday June 1st, 11am - 6pm. All sorts of attractions for the family. If you fancy tug of war, whacking a rat or simply eating a jolly tasty BBQ in the glorious setting of the Orangery Lawn then come on down! Normal garden admission applies and all the extras are thrown in (small...

  • Memories of a Much-loved Aunt

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **By Rosemary Pease née Portman** The wonderful thing about Hestercombe is that so many people love the placethe spirit of those beautiful gardens and the feeling (that I’ve often picked up when talking to visitors and to the wonderfully enthusiastic staff) that part of it belongs to them personally as well as to thousands of others. - Mrs. Portman with...

  • International Women's Day

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    Today is International Women's Day and I thought this was a great opportunity to celebrate some magnificent women in horticulture. And where better to start than with Gertrude Jekyll who designed the planting in the formal gardens at Hestercombe. Gertrude was born in 1843 and died in 1932. She had a very artistic start in life and her skills included...

  • Nature - Nowhere Else to Go

    3 months ago

    Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

    **A guest blog from Artist Peter Stiles, whose work is showing as part of Changing Atmospheres**: - Artwork: Peter Stiles- Artwork: Peter Stiles_ The premise behind the exhibition “Changing Atmospheres” at Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset is that living through the pandemic has given many people, including artists, new opportunities to connect with...

Hestercombe at War

3 months ago

Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time

1940-42:


In July 1940, the British Army established 8th Corps to take responsibility for all British troops in the South West of England, and Hestercombe became the division's rear HQ.

In early 1941 the first six barrack blocks were built with brick bases, concrete block walls and roofs covered with asbestos slates.


1943-44:


The British 8th Corps departed Hestercombe on January 12, 1943 and Hestercombe was established as the HQ of the United States 19th District supply services.

Joshua Jaffe was transferred to 19th District HQ in March 1943. 'JJ' lived in one of the barrack blocks in the woods. Each soldier slept in a 'cot' and kept all their personal possessions in a blue 'barrack bag'. The cots were steel beds with flat springs and a thin mattress._ "19th District was hub of all directions of the American Military in South West England" Joshua Jaffe_


In early 1944, the US 398th General Service Engineer Regiment started constructing 16 additional barrack blocks - the 'Hestercombe Camp Addition'.

On the evening of June 5, the eve of D Day - Joshua Jaffe sat on the haha on the edge of the drive and watched as planes and gliders in their hundreds flew over his head towards the south coast.

"The sky was black."

1945-46:


Corporal Esmé Lane and Private Vera Alsop were ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) Girls based in Taunton, attached to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) At the end of the war in August 1945, the girls were billeted to Hestercombe.

In the winter the huts were very cold - they had concrete floors and no insulation of any kind. There was a single central stove in each building and it took all evening to produce any warmth.

"Our time at Hestercombe was not very comfortable" Vera Alsop.

:


With the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, the War Department no longer required the use of Hestercombe House and Stables.

The rest of 'Hestercombe Camp' was retained by the War Department and used as billets for military personnel until 1946.

Today, the ruins of just one building are all that remain of the camp of 1940 to 1946. The building has been stabilised to prevent its collapse.


This building is the last physical reminder of all the men and women who served at Hestercombe during WWII, and is dedicated to their memory, and contains a series of display boards illustrating the history of the Army at Hestercombe.