Thursday 4 May 2017

Dunster's Secret Garden

This sheltered walled garden is located at the back of St George's Church in Dunster.  It can be accessed through a gate in the wall on Priory Green just opposite the dovecote. It was formerly the cloister garden of Dunster Priory and in 1953 it was passed to the church by Mr Geoffrey Luttrell, to be dedicated to all the men of Dunster who had given their lives in past conflicts.  It was renamed the Dunster Memorial Garden.

The original garden plan was to create a space for reflection.  Mr Dunlop, the Church Prebendary in 1953, said it should be a place for "peace, fragrance and quiet memories."

The garden is free to visit and has a number of seats.  It is a beautiful and tranquil place to sit and just "be" for a while.  I think most visitors to Dunster are unaware of its existence, as I have been there on several occasions but it has never been busy.

Simon Jenkins, author of England's Thousand Best Churches, said this about the garden: "Surely the most delightful church garden in England."

Memorial Garden in summer

St George's Church from the garden

Looking towards the Dovecote

War Memorial Plaque
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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous17 September 2022 at 01:10

    We found this lovely walled garden when visiting Dunster on a lovely sunny day in June a few years ago. I was very taken with the beautiful upright bright purple flowers that were blooming throughout the flowerbeds and had to look them up as soon as I got home. They're Gladiolus Byzantinus and I'm going to plant some this autumn. It will be a lovely reminder of our walk round Dunster.

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