Kilver Courts three and a half acre gardens were created at the beginning of the 1900’s by then owner Ernest Jardine (1859 – 1947). A progressive industrialist, Jardine ran a lace-making factory on the Kilver Court site and created the gardens as a recreational space for his employees. Jardine’s ‘model factory’ became known as ‘Jardines Park’ and were used as a place of recreation and relaxation for the busy, factory workforce.

By 1907, Jardine had employed 128 people and produced machinery for his lace-making business. The mill became a real community, with Ernest providing recreation rooms for his workers, as well as introducing a pub, the Ship Inn, to the site and even a schoolhouse for the workers’ children to attend. The old school house is today recognisable as the Mulberry Factory Outlet shop. At the back of the factory, Jardine restored the existing mill pond, transforming it into an ornamental lake with a small rowing boat for the employees. Fruit and vegetables were grown to provide lunchtime meals and allotments were created to encourage workers to grow their own food.

The Showering family have made cider in Shepton Mallet for over 200 years, and set up their first brewery at the former Ship Inn which sits at the front of the Kilver Court site. Part of the original brewery in Kilver Street still remains and is used for cider making. The Great Grandfather of the present Showering generation acquired the land on Kilver Street in 1843 and Francis Showering joined the family business in 1929, producing the experimental drink ‘Babycham’ in 1947

The success of the new drink prompted massive expansion and Showering’s acquired the Kilver Court buildings that sat alongside the River Sheppey to have as a production site.

Jardine’s Park and mill, which were lying empty, were obtained during further expansion in the late 1950’s. Francis Showering oversaw the landscaping of the gardens and in 1961 based his designs on the Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winning garden by Mr Whiteleg – who came himself to oversee the project.

Our rockery is based on the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning rockery by George Whitelegg is a bold and modern design statement. It is a mature rockery built using sandstone boulders from the Forest of Dean to edge a man-made stream and waterfall.

Conifers provide the larger geometric blocks, featuring Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’, mid-green Picea abies ‘Albertiana Conica’ and the golden columns of Taxus baccata ‘Standishii’. Japanese acers show seasonal variation from delicate spring greens to deep autumnal rusts and purples (look out for the burgundy-leafed palmatum dissectum).

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After a good nights sleep we made our way downstairs for breakfast. Once in the breakfast room we found that a table for three had been set up in a prime location for stunning views over the garden towards Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Tor. The breakfast was every bit as superb as it was on our previous visit last July.

Over breakfast we, with a little help from the lady who served breakfast, we decided on our first port of call for the day; Montacute House. We arrived just as the house opened and decided to go into the house straight away. This proved to be a good choice, we missed the later queues for entry to the house and the inside the house was relatively quiet and easy to get around and appreciate. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Long Gallery which is claimed to be the longest in England.

When we had finished viewing the house, we spent time in the gardens and grounds. By the time we had finished it was time for lunch. The food options were a bit limited but once again we beat the rush and found a table so we could sit and enjoy our choices. After lunch we called in briefly at the shop and then considered our options for what to do next. There was another National Trust property nearby but were minded to do something completely different. After a little bit of research via maps and Google we decided on Kilver Court Gardens which is just 6 miles outside Wells. The garden sounded small but interesting. When we arrived there, the entrance didn’t look promising, but we bought a ticket and went into the garden. We were pleasantly surprised to find that garden, although small, was quite delightful.

After the garden visit we browsed around a bric a brac store that had some interesting gift ideas before heading back to Stoberry House. We started to explore the garden at Stoberry but the windy weather deterred us from exploring it to its full extent. We retreated to the warmth of Stoberry House where I had a nice relaxing bath and got ready for our evening meal in Goodfellows. The meal was excellent. I chose pollock with pancetta, soya beans and mixed mushrooms on a bed of mashed potato – it was delicious.

After the meal as we drove up the road from the bottom of the property to Stoberry House we were once again delayed by sheep lying across the road. We could see their breath as they exhaled in the cool night air. After some gentle persuasion, the sheep moved to the grassy area to the side of the road allowing us make our way up to Stoberry House where we enjoyed a nightcap before retiring for a good night’s sleep.