Philip White
It is hard to believe as recently as 1995, the spectacularly picturesque eighteenth century Landscape Garden at Hestercombe was a hidden valley entirely engulfed by trees. Even the sluggish stream that crept through the valley bottom was barely visible. Now it is one of the foremost gardens of its period in the country and is an acclaimed tourist attraction.
The miraculous transformation has taken place thanks to the dogged determination of one man, Philip White, who is now the Chief Executive of the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. Quietly spoken but with a steely vision, he recalls how the dramatic restoration project began:
"I was based at Hestercombe when I worked for the Somerset Wildlife Trust back in the early 1990s, having given up my previous life as a dairy farmer, and during my lunch hour I would walk through the overgrown valley behind the house. It had been planted up with commercial trees by the Crown Estate in the 60s but had become sadly neglected.
Gradually I began to notice remnants of what was once an eighteenth century landscape garden, designed by a former owner of the house, Coplestone Warre Bampfylde.
You could just make out the disused cascade waterfall, the remains of architectural seats, the tumbled down pillars of a temple and I just became consumed by the idea of restoring the landscape to its original glory. Somehow I knew that I had been brought here for this express purpose, and that if I did not undertake this challenge, then no one else would."
Initial support for this project was not forthcoming from outside sources, so Philip began his campaign alone. He begged and badgered to obtain some backing and he himself funded an exhibition of Bampfylde's paintings, mostly of the garden, at Christie's which generated a huge amount of interest. Then in April 1997 (without telling his wife!) he re-mortgaged his own house to finance the dramatic felling of trees and the dredging of lakes. Thousands of tonnes of soil were removed and hundreds of trees cut down to re-create the scene that was clearly illustrated in one of Bampfylde's watercolours.
Slowly, step by step the ancient eighteenth century features were uncovered, and bit by bit the elegant structures that once graced the garden were either restored or re-created with the aid of detailed archaeological evidence. Today, visitors can enjoy virtually the whole of the original circular walk around this eighteenth century Arcadian landscape dotted with a range of classical and rustic buildings including a temple, mausoleum, Gothic Alcove and spectacular cascade. The walk offers stunning views to Taunton and the Blackdown Hills beyond as was originally intended in Bampfylde's day.
After only fifteen years, the Landscape Garden sits proudly beside the other two gardens on the site - the world famous Edwardian Garden, designed by Edwin Lutyens and planted by Gertrude Jekyll; and the Victorian Terrace. Together they make Hestercombe, not only one of the foremost historic garden sites in Britain, but also a major tourist attraction.
Now run as a charity, the Hestercombe Gardens Trust, has benefited from a wide range of grants from various sources including a Heritage Lottery Fund that funded the stylish multi million pound Courtyard that offers excellent visitor facilities.
Other funding from HLF and Viridor Credits assisted greatly in the recently completed £1.6m restoration of the Watermill and Woodland Barn - another piece in jigsaw of the Hestercombe story.
Hestercombe has come a long way over recent years, and largely thanks to Philip White, it is now firmly entrenched on the tourist map of the region.
In true Philip White style though, he comments,
"... there is still much to do!"
