The Hestercombe Gardens Trust was established in 1996 to oversee the restoration of the gardens and to protect them for the future.
Sunday 22nd December - the gardens and house will remain closed to daytime visitors due to the high winds, however the Stables Restaurant and Gift Shop will be open as usual. Our Father Christmas and Illuminate events will be taking place as planned.
The Trust’s charitable objective is: to reclaim, restore, preserve, enhance and develop for the education and benefit of the public, the landscape, gardens and buildings of heritage, horticultural or architectural interest associated with Hestercombe and in support of this objective, to undertake educational work and preserve and maintain archives and collections.
Sir Andrew Burns KCMG
Philip White MBE
Looking at Hestercombe today, it is hard to believe that back in 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 the founder and former chief executive of what has now become the Hestercombe Gardens Trust.
