More tickets available for Illuminate show at Hestercombe Gardens

Hestercombe Gardens said they have released more tickets for after Christmas due to demand for their Illuminate show.

A message from Hestercombe Gardens Facebook page read: “Due to demand, we are pleased to announce that we have released another few hundred tickets for after Christmas (27th to 30th December) for our magical lights trail, Illuminate.

“Be quick as tickets are selling fast and we only have limited availability left.”

A message on Hestercombe Gardens' website explained: "The first reference to a garden at Hestercombe is from a medieval document of 1249 which records ‘my Lord of Hestercombe’s garden’.

"The next reference is from the estate accounts of Sir Francis Warre for, ironically, pulling down a garden hedge in 1698.

"In 1731 John Bampfylde, MP for Exeter, who had married Sir Francis’s daughter Margaret in 1718, commissioned plans for a garden from a Mr Brown of London."

It also added: "Since October 2003, the gardens have been managed by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. Somerset County Council transferred the freehold of the house, Formal Garden and visitor centre to the Hestercombe Gardens Trust, under the Community Asset Transfer Scheme, thereby reuniting the house with its historic landscape for the first time in more than 60 years."

In September 2018, thanks to a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Hestercombe Gardens Trust was able to acquire land totalling 320 acres, securing the world-class, Grade 1 heritage landscape, gardens, and buildings for future generations, the website also explained.

Update 

Hestercombe Gardens has shared the following update after the latest weather forecast.

A message on their website read: "Wednesday 27 December - Due to poor weather conditions at Hestercombe the gardens and house will be closed today.

"The restaurant will remain open. The forecast is due to improve significantly from early afternoon, so Illuminate is taking place this evening as planned."