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 Terrace Seat, the newest addition to the Landscape Gardens, looks out towards the Mausoleum across the Pear Pond, and is the 11th seat to be installed at Hestercombe.
Commissioned in 2021, the seat was completed and put in place on September 9th and completes a crucial part of Bampfylde’s vision.
Designed by architect Robert Battersby who has worked with Hestercombe for many years, the seat mirrors the archway of the Mausoleum, and has been created in the shape of a clam shell, which represents birth, or new beginnings - fitting perfectly with the journey around the Landscape Garden.
The creation of the seat was all down to Joe Blathwayt of Boat Building Academy, based in Lyme Regis, who had built the seat using one piece of English oak, and copper and steel rivets.
Joe worked for 8 weeks in his workshop to create the Terrace Seat and estimates that 750 to 800 copper ’nails and roves’ were used to create the rivets.
Joe said: "It’s great to think of all the visitors to Hestercombe who can use the seat, and enjoy it. Hopefully for years to come. It is a privilege to be a small part of the landscape and story of Hestercombe.
"This is the first time I’ve had a commission for a build of this type in a formal or landscape garden setting. My work is usually for individual clients, whether that be for a boat or a building. I have been involved with builds for exhibitions and festivals in the past, as well as projects in the education and commercial sectors, but this project was unique in lots of ways, and very rewarding.
"The seat was jointed and fastened together just like a traditional clinker boat - and it has the look of a traditional boat about it - but the build process was really quite different, much more like making furniture.
A boat usually has a centreline structure and temporary moulds around which the structure can be formed; in the case of the seat, I had to make each component individually, and assemble over a rod (rod = full size drawing on plywood)."
Joe's favourite part of the build was steaming the oak framing. He added: "I have been steaming timber for years and it never ceases to amaze me. It is very satisfying and extremely atmospheric as a process, and you can make wonderful things with the wood!"
There is no known description or image of the original Terrace Seat, so the seat is an evocation rather than a restoration, built on the original foundations.
