Skip to content
The Great Britain Guide

Museums · South West England

Hestercombe House

♿ Wheelchair accessible

Hestercombe House — Grade II* listed building in Cheddon Fitzpaine, Somerset, England, UK.

Hestercombe House, museums in South West England

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1.5 h–3 h
Best time of year
Year-round
Nearest railway station
Taunton · 3.6 km
  • Family-friendly
  • Wheelchair accessible

About

Hestercombe House is a museum in the United Kingdom. Heritage designation: Grade II* listed building. Wikidata describes it as: "Grade II* listed building in Cheddon Fitzpaine, Somerset, England, UK". Coordinates: 51.0531°, -3.0842°.

Photo gallery

Heritage listing

Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of Cheddon Fitzpaine in the Quantock Hills, near Taunton in Somerset, England. The house is a Grade II* listed building and the estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Originally built in the 16th century, the house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War. Somerset County Council assumed ownership in 1951 and use the property as an administrative centre. Hestercombe House served as the Emergency Call Centre for the Somerset Area of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service until March 2012.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Hestercombe House SSSI
  • National Nature Reserve: SOMERSET WETLANDS

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Hestercombe House is a historic country house in the parish of Cheddon Fitzpaine in the Quantock Hills, near Taunton in Somerset, England. The house is a Grade II* listed building and the estate is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Originally built in the 16th century, the house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War. Somerset County Council assumed ownership in 1951 and use the property as an administrative centre. Hestercombe House served as the Emergency Call Centre for the Somerset Area of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service until March 2012. Hestercombe House is surrounded by gardens which have been restored to Gertrude Jekyll's original plans (1904–07) and have made it "one of the best Jekyll-Lutyens gardens open to the public on a regular basis", visited by approximately 70,000 people per year. The site also includes a 0.08 hectare (8,600 sq ft) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 2000. The site is used as a roost site by lesser horseshoe bats.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

In the 11th century Hestercombe was owned by Glastonbury Abbey. Sir John Meriet founded a chantry in the 14th century and in 1392 it passed to John La Ware by marriage and stayed in his family for almost four hundred years. The current house is a Grade II* listed country house which was originally built in the 16th century for the Warre family. Sir Richard Warre (d. 1601) bequeathed it to his son Roger who married Elinor, daughter of Sir John Popham. When their descendant Sir Francis Warre, Bt. died in 1718 he left the estate to his daughter, Margaret, who transferred it to her husband John Bampfylde (1691–1750). Following his death in 1750 it was inherited by the couple's son, Coplestone…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.0531, -3.0842
District
Somerset
Parish
Cheddon Fitzpaine
Postcode
TA2 8LF
Parliamentary constituency
Taunton and Wellington
Nearest railway station
Taunton3.6 km
Official site
www.hestercombe.com

Sources

Other places nearby

Loading nearby places…

Nearby

More museums in this region

Frequently asked questions

Where is Hestercombe House?
Hestercombe House is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode TA2 8LF), in the parish of Cheddon Fitzpaine.
Who owns Hestercombe House?
Hestercombe House is owned by | designation1 =National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Is Hestercombe House a listed building?
Hestercombe House is officially recognised as Grade II* listed building listed.
Is Hestercombe House a protected site?
Yes — Hestercombe House is part of the Hestercombe House SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the SOMERSET WETLANDS National Nature Reserve.
How do I get to Hestercombe House?
The nearest railway station is Taunton, about 3.6 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode TA2 8LF.