Hestercombe House
Encyclopedia
Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of West Monkton
in the Quantock Hills
, near Taunton
in Somerset
, England. Its restoration to Gertrude Jekyll
's original plans (1904–07) have made it "one of the best Jekyll-Lutyens gardens open to the public on a regular basis", visited by approximately 70,000 people per year. The estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
.
The site also includes a 0.08 hectare
(8,600 sq ft) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 2000. The site is used as a roost site by Lesser Horseshoe Bat
s.
The house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War
, and has been owned by Somerset County Council
since 1951. It is used as an administrative centre for Somerset County Council and is also the Emergency Call Centre for the Somerset Area of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
.
The house is a Grade II* listed country house which was originally built in the 16th century for the Warre family. Richard Warre
(d. 1601) bequeathed it to his son Roger who married Elinor, daughter of Sir John Popham.
The house was enlarged and altered in the 18th century, but this work is no longer visible beneath the refronting and enlargement works carried out around 1875 for Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman
, who had acquired it in 1873. The house remained in the Portman family until 1944 when it was accepted in lieu of death duties by the Crown Estate
, however Mrs Portman remained at the house until her death in 1951.
The house today appears an assemblage of several architectural styles popular during the Victorian era
. While the overall design and air could be described as Italianate
, also present in the same entrance facade
are examples of high Victorian Gothic
, such as an Italianate seigneurial tower confused in design with a campanile
tower. This tower complete with a glazed loggia
is crowned by a French-style mansard roof with oversized chimneys masquerading as Renaissance
ornament. The centre piece of the same facade is a porte-cochere
designed in a heavy neoclassical
style.
A visitor centre opened in the Victorian stables in 2005. Most of the cost of the conversion was funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
.
, the house and gardens were used by the British Army
as part of the headquarters for the 8th Corps, which was formed to command the defence of Somerset, Devon
, Cornwall
and Bristol
. The 8th Corps HQ was at nearby Pyrland Hall, and the Rear HQ established at Hestercombe House, with Personnel and Logistics staff.
Hestercombe was the headquarters of the American army
398th General Service Engineer Regiment from July 1943 to April 1944. Eisenhower
visited Hestercombe on 18 March 1944 to meet General Gerow and inspect the troops. The Engineers were joined by the 19th District Headquarters of the US Supply Services in July 1943, which stayed until July 1944.
Early on 28 March 1944, a few minutes after midnight, a Junkers Ju88
crashed on the drive to the house after being shot down by cannon fire from a de Havilland Mosquito
of No. 219 Squadron
Royal Air Force
.
Hestercombe was the American 801 Hospital Centre after D-Day
until the end of the war.
A total of 33 barrack huts (various Nissen hut
s, Romney huts and MOWB (Ministry of Works brick huts) were constructed at Hestercombe during the war. Many were demolished in the 1960s by the Crown Estate, and only one is left standing, in Rook Wood.
When the house and gardens were inherited by Coplestone Warre Bampfylde
(1720–91) in the 18th century, a Georgian landscape garden was laid out, containing ponds, a grand cascade, a gothick alcove, a Tuscan temple arbour (1786), a mausoleum, and a rustic "witch house". Bampfylde
, an amateur architect of talent, designed a Doric temple for the grounds, 1786. A Victorian formal parterre was added near the house by Henry Hall
in the 1870s. A new 1.5 hectare
The Edwardian garden was laid out by Gertrude Jekyll
and Edwin Lutyens
between 1904 and 1906 for the Hon E.W.B. Portman, resulting in a garden "remarkable for the bold, concise pattern of its layout, and for the minute attention to detail everywhere to be seen in the variety and imaginative handling of contrasting materials, whether cobble, tile, flint, or thinly coursed local stone". The "Great Plat" combined the patterned features of a parterre
with the hardy herbaceous planting espoused by Miss Jekyll. Lutyens also designed the orangery
about 50 m east of the main house between 1904–09, which is now Grade I listed, as are the garden walls, paving and steps on the south front of the house.
Since October 2003, the landscape and gardens, extending to over 100 acre (0.404686 km²), have been managed by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust, a charity set up to restore and preserve the site with a Heritage Lottery Fund
grant of £3.7M.
The gardens featured on BBC
TV's Gardens Through Time series, and cover more than 40 acres (161,874.4 m²), with three different styles of garden ranging from woodland walks to lakes and ponds to formal gardens. The Georgian
landscape, Victorian
shrubbery and terrace and the formal Edwardian gardens combine to create biodiversity
and interest for visitors.
s (Rhinolophus hipposideros) as both a breeding and wintering roost site. Numbers of Lesser Horseshoes at this site are only exceeded by one other site in southwest England. The bats use roofspaces in a former stable block as a maternity site. It has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation
(SAC).
West Monkton
West Monkton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The parish includes the hamlets of Monkton Heathfield, Bathpool, Burlinch and Coombe, and had a population of 2,663 at the 2001 census.-History:The charter for West...
in the Quantock Hills
Quantock Hills
The Quantock Hills is a range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The Quantock Hills were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty being designated in 1956 and consists of large amounts of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land.The hills run from...
, near Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. Its restoration to Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
's original plans (1904–07) have made it "one of the best Jekyll-Lutyens gardens open to the public on a regular basis", visited by approximately 70,000 people per year. The estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
In England, the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by English Heritage under the provisions of the National...
.
The site also includes a 0.08 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(8,600 sq ft) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 2000. The site is used as a roost site by Lesser Horseshoe Bat
Lesser horseshoe bat
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat , is a type of European bat related to but smaller than its cousin, the Greater Horseshoe Bat...
s.
The house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and has been owned by Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county.-Area covered:...
since 1951. It is used as an administrative centre for Somerset County Council and is also the Emergency Call Centre for the Somerset Area of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the counties of Devon and Somerset, including the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay, in South West England...
.
House
Richard Warre
Richard Warre was an English civil servant. He was under-secretary to a succession of Tory Secretaries of State: Viscount Preston , the Earl of Nottingham Richard Warre (c. 1649 – January 1730, Winchester) was an English civil servant. He was under-secretary to a succession of Tory Secretaries of...
(d. 1601) bequeathed it to his son Roger who married Elinor, daughter of Sir John Popham.
The house was enlarged and altered in the 18th century, but this work is no longer visible beneath the refronting and enlargement works carried out around 1875 for Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman
Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman
Edward Berkeley Portman, 1st Viscount Portman , was a British Liberal politician.Portman was the son of Edward Portman, of Bryanston and Orchard in Dorset, and his wife Lucy, daughter of Reverend Thomas Whitby. He was a descendant of Sir William Portman, Lord Chief Justice of England between 1555...
, who had acquired it in 1873. The house remained in the Portman family until 1944 when it was accepted in lieu of death duties by the Crown Estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
, however Mrs Portman remained at the house until her death in 1951.
The house today appears an assemblage of several architectural styles popular during the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. While the overall design and air could be described as Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, also present in the same entrance facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
are examples of high Victorian Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, such as an Italianate seigneurial tower confused in design with a campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
tower. This tower complete with a glazed loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
is crowned by a French-style mansard roof with oversized chimneys masquerading as Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
ornament. The centre piece of the same facade is a porte-cochere
Porte-cochere
A porte-cochère is the architectural term for a porch- or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a horse and carriage can pass in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.The porte-cochère was a feature of many late 18th...
designed in a heavy neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style.
A visitor centre opened in the Victorian stables in 2005. Most of the cost of the conversion was funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
.
World War II
During the early years of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the house and gardens were used by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as part of the headquarters for the 8th Corps, which was formed to command the defence of Somerset, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The 8th Corps HQ was at nearby Pyrland Hall, and the Rear HQ established at Hestercombe House, with Personnel and Logistics staff.
Hestercombe was the headquarters of the American army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
398th General Service Engineer Regiment from July 1943 to April 1944. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
visited Hestercombe on 18 March 1944 to meet General Gerow and inspect the troops. The Engineers were joined by the 19th District Headquarters of the US Supply Services in July 1943, which stayed until July 1944.
Early on 28 March 1944, a few minutes after midnight, a Junkers Ju88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
crashed on the drive to the house after being shot down by cannon fire from a de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
of No. 219 Squadron
No. 219 Squadron RAF
No. 219 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1957 after four separate periods of service. During the First World War it served as a coastal defence unit, and through most of the Second World War and the 1950s it operated as a night fighter air defence...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
.
Hestercombe was the American 801 Hospital Centre after D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
until the end of the war.
A total of 33 barrack huts (various Nissen hut
Nissen hut
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...
s, Romney huts and MOWB (Ministry of Works brick huts) were constructed at Hestercombe during the war. Many were demolished in the 1960s by the Crown Estate, and only one is left standing, in Rook Wood.
Gardens
Coplestone Warre Bampfylde
Coplestone Warre Bampfylde was a British landowner.Bampfylde was the only son of John Bampfylde by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet, and was educated at Blundell's School and Winchester...
(1720–91) in the 18th century, a Georgian landscape garden was laid out, containing ponds, a grand cascade, a gothick alcove, a Tuscan temple arbour (1786), a mausoleum, and a rustic "witch house". Bampfylde
Coplestone Warre Bampfylde
Coplestone Warre Bampfylde was a British landowner.Bampfylde was the only son of John Bampfylde by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet, and was educated at Blundell's School and Winchester...
, an amateur architect of talent, designed a Doric temple for the grounds, 1786. A Victorian formal parterre was added near the house by Henry Hall
Henry Hall, 4th Viscount Gage
Henry Hall Gage, 4th Viscount Gage was Viscount Gage of Firle Place through much of the 19th century.-Biography:Henry Gage was born on 14 December 1791. He inherited the Viscountcy on 29 January 1808....
in the 1870s. A new 1.5 hectare
The Edwardian garden was laid out by Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
and Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
between 1904 and 1906 for the Hon E.W.B. Portman, resulting in a garden "remarkable for the bold, concise pattern of its layout, and for the minute attention to detail everywhere to be seen in the variety and imaginative handling of contrasting materials, whether cobble, tile, flint, or thinly coursed local stone". The "Great Plat" combined the patterned features of a parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
with the hardy herbaceous planting espoused by Miss Jekyll. Lutyens also designed the orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
about 50 m east of the main house between 1904–09, which is now Grade I listed, as are the garden walls, paving and steps on the south front of the house.
Since October 2003, the landscape and gardens, extending to over 100 acre (0.404686 km²), have been managed by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust, a charity set up to restore and preserve the site with a Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
grant of £3.7M.
The gardens featured on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV's Gardens Through Time series, and cover more than 40 acres (161,874.4 m²), with three different styles of garden ranging from woodland walks to lakes and ponds to formal gardens. The Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
landscape, Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
shrubbery and terrace and the formal Edwardian gardens combine to create biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and interest for visitors.
Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest
The site is used by Lesser Horseshoe BatLesser horseshoe bat
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat , is a type of European bat related to but smaller than its cousin, the Greater Horseshoe Bat...
s (Rhinolophus hipposideros) as both a breeding and wintering roost site. Numbers of Lesser Horseshoes at this site are only exceeded by one other site in southwest England. The bats use roofspaces in a former stable block as a maternity site. It has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
(SAC).
External links
- Conferencing & Corporate Event Facilities at Hestercombe Gardens - Video
- Educational Opportunities at Hestercombe Gardens - Video
- YouTube video — commemoration of WW2 activity, views of gardens.
- Hestercombe Gardens
- Hestercombe House
- Parks & Gardens UK: Hestercombe, Taunton, England Bibliography.