Hestercombe at War

**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...

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...

**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...

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...

**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...

**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...

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...

**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...

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...

**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...