
Barrington Court
Ilminster, Somerset
The Tudor House and seventeenth century stable block (Strode House) were restored in 1920s by Colonel Lyle. The formal walled gardens were inspired by Gertrude Jekyll’s work while the model farm buildings were built by the Lyles as a working medieval estate.

Bishop’s Palace, Wells
Wells, Somerset
Adjacent to Wells Cathedral, Bishops Jocelin began building the Palace c.1210. Originally surrounded by a deer park, the gardens were laid out in 1820s by Bishop George Law who was an advocate of the picturesque and created a reflecting pond near the springs.

Clevedon Court
Clevedon, Somerset
Built by Sir John de Clevedon in c.1320, the house has been added to over the years. Clevedon was bought by Abraham Elton in 1709, and he and his son restored the house and created the terraced garden.

Forde Abbey
Chard, Somerset
Forde Abbey was founded as a monastery in the twelfth century and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries was leased by the Crown to Richard Pollard. It was not lived in until it was bought in 1649 by Edmund Prideaux who later became Oliver Cromwell’s Attorney General.

Fyne Court
Bridgewater, Somerset
Fyne Court is inextricably linked with its nineteenth century owner, Andrew Crosse. A great British eccentric, Crosse dedicated his life to Physics and used the rooms of his house as laboratories and the trees surrounding his property as part of his experiments.

Hestercombe
Taunton, Somerset
Hestercombe is a combination of three styles of gardening: Arcadian, Victorian and the Edwardian designs of Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens. Beautifully restored, there are lakes, temples, terraces, formal gardens and breathtaking views over the Vale of Taunton Dean.

Lytes Cary
Somerton, Somerset
Described by Christopher Hussey as ‘a necklace of garden rooms strung on green corridors’, the National Trust has skilfully restored the gardens.

Montacute
Montacute, Somerset
A prodigy house built by Edward Phelips at the end of the sixteenth century, Montacute also has two surviving banqueting houses in the East Court.

Prior Park
Bath, Somerset
Created in the eighteenth century by Ralph Allen, Prior Park includes one of only four Palladian bridges of this design in the world. Set in a valley, the garden includes grottoes, a cascade, serpentine lake, a Gothic Temple and The Cabinet.

Tintinhull
Yeovil, Somerset
In 1930s, Phyllis Reiss redesigned the garden using walls and yew hedges to divide the area into ‘rooms’ in the Arts and Crafts style. The garden includes Eagle Court, Middle Garden, Fountain Garden and Pool Garden.

Tyntesfield
Bristol, Somerset
The property was transformed in the nineteenth century by William Gibbs whose company had made its money from making fertilizer by imported guana from South America.