Introduction
Coombe Lodge (listed Grade II) is surrounded by a 1930s garden with the vestiges of an earlier layout.
The main house (listed Grade II) was built for the Wills family (W.D.& H.O. Wills) and is a large Gothic mansion with bronze-framed windows. The windows have stone mullions. There are also lead rainwater pipes. The entrance is into an octagonal ante-chamber.
The house and garden are surrounded by mature woodland. Behind the house, to the south, are some very large Turkey oaks and to the west there is a cedar. Steps lead from the balustraded terrace down to the main garden at the north of the house. There is a level lawn which is now used for putting. This used to be a croquet and tennis lawn.
There is an ornamental pond, now dry, surrounded by a yew hedge. At the north-west of the site is a tennis court and at the south-west is a swimming pool. On the south-eastern corner of the house is a rectangular area surrounded by a hedge. This is now a nursery garden. In the time when John Wills was resident it was a sandpit for his children.
Perhaps the most interesting area of the site is the two acre walled kitchen garden. This is entered through an arch by a building which was once a dairy. The beds are trimmed with small formal box hedges. An archway of fruit trees goes down the centre of the first area.
Within the second area is a Victorian-style greenhouse which unfortunately suffered damage in some gales. Fruit bushes, trees and vines are maintained on most walls.
The third kitchen garden area has a small round pond in it. The gardeners' potting shed here is interesting in that gardeners since 1900 have signed their names and written messages on the main beam supporting the roof.
The fourth kitchen area leads to the gardener's cottage, and is used by him as his own garden.
The original front drive to the house goes through the wood full of primroses, anemones and bluebells.
Coombe Lodge grounds are well-maintained.
(2013) The garden is described by the current conference venue owners as: 'The house is set amidst 15 acres of tastefully landscaped gardens. In spring, carpets of primroses, daffodils, bluebells and orchids cover the grassy banks and shady woodlands. Whilst summer sees the rhododendrons ablaze with colour, a mellower autumn transforms the hues of the trees to a warm gold.'
Description checked by Avon Gardens Trust 22/5/2012. Further information added by Avon Gardens Trust 13/2/2013 from www.coombelodge.co.uk
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Access contact details
The site is now a venue for weddings and conferences.
Directions
Coombe Lodge is on the A368 road between Bath and Weston-super-Mare.
Other Websites
- History
The present house was built between 1930 and 1935 for the Wills family (W.D. & H.O Wills), with no expense spared. The original building was much older and perhaps not so grand.
The garden originally had many herbaceous borders and flower beds, but these have been removed as garden staff numbers have been reduced.
In the north-west of the garden there was once a Victorian water garden, but the site is now a tennis court. There is also the remains of a ha-ha, probably part of the grounds of the original house.
Along the western perimeter of the garden there was a double fence. One fence was to keep out cattle and the second was a rabbit fence. These were erected in the 1930s and replaced in the mid-1980s. During the process, it was discovered that the ‘larch' posts supporting the rabbit fence were in fact concrete imitations. Several were left in along the boundary as a curiosity.
The walled vegetable garden certainly pre-dates the house. The last surveyor of this site was told that there used to be a further vegetable garden in the farm across the road.
From 1960, Coombe Lodge was leased as a Further Education Staff College. It is now a weddings and conference centre.
Period
Early 20th Century (1901-1932)
- Associated People
- Features & Designations
Designations
The National Heritage List for England: Listed Building
- Reference: Coombe Lodge
- Grade: II
Features
- Steps
- Description: Steps lead from the balustraded terrace down to the main garden at the north of the house.
- Tennis Lawn
- Description: There is a level lawn which is now used for putting. This used to be a croquet and tennis lawn.
- Terrace
- Description: Steps lead from the balustraded terrace down to the main garden at the north of the house.
- Ornamental Pond
- Description: There is an ornamental pond, now dry, surrounded by a yew hedge.
- Pool
- Description: At the north-west of the site is a tennis court and at the south-west is a swimming pool.
- Kitchen Garden
- Description: There is a walled kitchen garden.
- Dairy
- Description: The walled kitchen garden is entered through an arch by a building which was once a dairy.
- Greenhouse
- Description: Within the second area of the walled kitchen garden is a Victorian-style greenhouse which unfortunately suffered damage in some gales.
- Potting Shed
- Description: The gardeners' potting shed here is interesting in that gardeners since 1900 have signed their names and written messages on the main beam supporting the roof.
- House (featured building)
- Description: The main house is a large Gothic mansion with bronze-framed windows. The windows have stone mullions. There are also lead rainwater pipes. The entrance is into an octagonal ante-chamber.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Hedge
- Description: Yew hedge
- Key Information
Type
Garden
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Commercial
Period
Early 20th Century (1901-1932)
Survival
Extant
Hectares
5
Open to the public
Yes
Civil Parish
Blagdon
- References
Contributors
Avon Gardens Trust
E.J. Spiller