Hestercombe, near Taunton, is delighted to have been named as a winner in the European Garden Award.
Under the category Best Development of a Historic Park or Garden, Hestercombe won the title beating the other finalists Schlosspark Ludwiglust (Germany) and the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.
Last year’s winner was the Herrenhäuser Gärten in Hannover, Germany.
Collecting the award in Germany, Oliver White of Hestercombe, said: “It’s such an honour to be accepting this award on behalf of everyone who works so hard to keep the house, gardens and gallery at Hestercombe thriving and growing year after year. We celebrate 25 since Hestercombe was rediscovered next month, so it’s timely to be winning this accolade now, and we are humbled to have been picked over such strong competition.”
The aim of the European Garden Heritage Network EGHN is to support the preservation, enhancement and creation of high quality parks and gardens in Europe, their wider use and sustainability in the context of policies to foster urban, regional, cultural and landscape development.
Christian Gruesson, who managed the awards, said: “The increase of public awareness for the cultural, economic, environmental and social values and resources of parks and gardens is also a key objective of the European Garden Award. We hope that the award combined with a further gain of publicity and image will support the finalists and winners in the future development of their concepts.”