Somerset Houses & Gardens

 A proud tradition for planting formal gardens can be traced back many generations in Somerset where there are some superb examples of classic design.  In many cases there is the added advantage of an inviting house to wander round as well.
The National Trust owns Montacute House - a Grade 1 Listed Elizabethan mansion in local Ham stone boasting the longest gallery of its kind in England with more than 60 portraits of the period and beautiful gardens. Nearby National Trust properties include Barrington Court, Tintinhull Gardens and Priests House, Muchelney.
As well as imposing mansions, the county has intimate manor houses such as Lytes Cary and Cothay.  It has charming cottages in spades like the award winning Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey and a whole estate of chocolate box thatched homes at Holnicote on Exmoor.
More than 300 years of garden design can be found in the wonderful treat that is Hestercombe, near Taunton which has been lovingly restored over the last 20 years and is now open all year to show off one of the finest Jekyll and Lutyens collaborations in the UK.


Along with Abbeys, Priories and Castles usually come superb gardens and Somerset claims its fair share of these as well as Walled Gardens, Botanic Gardens, Cottage Gardens and even Secret Gardens. These wonderful retreats have lakes, parterres, cascades, follies and in one case a viaduct. Several are designed by world famous names.
You can find some of England’s finest historic houses and gardens. Fans of costume dramas should recognise them as they are favourites among TV producers and Film makers. We have Elizabethan Montacute House with the longest Long Gallery and Barrington Court, a Tudor manor house with a garden inspired by Gertrude Jekyll. Both are owned by the National Trust.
Jekyll’s magic touch can be detected at Hestercombe, 50 acres of quintessential Somerset gardens, near Taunton where Georgian Landscape Victorian Shrubbery and Edwardian Formality are all represented.
Another fine garden is at East Lambrook where Margery Fish brought her expert plantsmanship to bear on a cottage garden or you could visit the small but beautifully formed garden at Tintinhull.