The National Trust has more than 500 places to visit in England, including historic houses, castles, archaeological monuments, gardens, parks and nature reserves. We’re taking a closer look at some of the beautiful houses owned by the Trust in Somerset, each one unique and remarkable in its own way.
Somerset has some notable National Trust properties – huge country houses that stand out for their architecture, history and glorious gardens, but there are also hidden gems that aren’t so well known, perhaps because they’re smaller or tucked away off the beaten track. Join us on a round up of the best ones to visit whether you live nearby or are down in the glorious West Country on holiday.
Tyntesfield, Wraxhall, Bristol
Tyntesfield stands in all its Victorian Gothic splendour at the heart of extensive parkland just a few miles from Bristol. There is so much to take in here, so allow plenty of time and go about the house slowly, noticing the details, thinking what life was like for the family who lived here.
Stroll through the gorgeously Gothic cloister entrance, the library that holds thousands of books on its shelves, the oak ceilinged dining room, the Grand Hall with its enormous fireplace soaring to the lantern roof, and the ornate chapel, modelled on Saint Chapelle in Paris. The lavishness of the Victorian age for the wealthy is evident in the rich décor, the furnishings, and collections of world famous paintings and ceramics.
See the blacksmiths and carpenters workshops, take a saunter around the grounds because they too are lovely – wide, open lawns, formal terraces, herbaceous borders bursting with colour, an orangery, and a working kitchen garden. In true NT style there’s a café, restaurant, gift shop and secondhand book shop.
Montacute House, Montacute, Yeovil
Montacute House is a dream of spectacular Elizabethan Renaissance architecture, with its towering glass walls and golden Hamstone that glows when the sun falls on it, hewn from local quarries just over the hill. Wander through the rooms, looking up down and all around, see the Library, the Drawing Room, the Hall Chamber, the Crimson Chamber, Lord Curzon’s Bedroom, and The Long Gallery – which at 52m is the longest surviving long gallery in the country, once used for indoor exercise. The house has significant collections of Tudor and early Stuart portraits (on loan from the National Gallery), antique furniture,rare tapestries and samplers.
Outside, Montacute boasts one of the few remaining Elizabethan compartmentalized gardens in the country, with lawns, flower borders, and wibbly-wobbly clipped yew hedges. Stroll about, stride along the lime avenue, amble through the apple orchard.
As you’d expect, there’s a café, gift shop, bookshop and play area.
The upper floors of the house are closed for 2025 while renovation works are carried out.
Barrington Court, Barrington, Ilminster
Barrington Court is known for its beautiful gardens, designed by Gertrude Jekyll, laid out in a series of walled garden ‘rooms’, each with a different theme, like the Lily Garden, the White Garden, and the Rose and Iris Garden. There are surprises round every corner, including the walled kitchen garden with espaliered fruit trees, a pumpkin patch and ornamental gourdes hanging from climbers that scramble over iron arches.
The house itself is actually two houses in one – the Hamstone Court House built in 1559 and the red brick Strode House finished in 1674, originally a stable block; the whole was remodelled in the 1920s and highlights today include The Great Hall, the historic and modern bathrooms, and The Long Gallery.
As always, there’s a café, gift shop and used bookshop.
At the time of writing only the ground floor of Strode House is open to the public while a renovation programme is underway.
Priest’s House, Mucheleny, Langport
This is a little gem, tucked away in the peaceful village of Muchelney on the Somerset Levels. It’s a classic example of a medieval hall house, built in 1308 for the parish priest of the church across the road, and little changed in design and structure since. Notable features for those with a passion for history, are the Gothic doorway, the double height tracery windows and an enormous 15th century stone fireplace.
The Priest’s House is tenanted, or looked after by the resident ‘guardians’, who give guided tours. It won’t take long, so make the most of your visit to the village by popping into the church (the barrel ceiling was gorgeously painted in the 17th century with bare breasted angels) and to Muchelney Abbey (English Heritage).
Dunster Castle, Dunster, Minehead
Not just a fairytale castle, but also a country home, standing high on a hill top above the picturesque village of Dunster within Exmoor National Park. Needless to say, expect astonishing views over the Somerset countryside and the Bristol Channel. Inside Dunster Castle are over 1,000 years of history, stand outs are the exquisitely carved Grand Staircase, the Leather Gallery with its rare painted leather hangings (the only ones in the UK), the Secret Passage in the King Charles Room, the Crypt and the Dungeons.
The gardens have different microclimates giving a unique feel to each area; the subtropical garden has glasshouses where bananas are grown, the South Terrace has a Mediterranean feel and lovely Victorian flower beds, and then there’s the cool and damp wooded river garden; stroll on a little further and you’ll come to a working watermill.
Obligatory café, tea room, gift shop and second hand bookshop.
Treasurer’s House, Martock, Yeovil
Another of the NT’s smaller properties, but well worth a pokey round all the same, The Treasurer's House was built from the local Hamstone in Medieval times and was once lived in by the treasurer of Wells Cathedral. It’s been changed about over the years but of note are the Great Hall, 15th century , books, kitchen and unusual wall paintings. The house has quite a claim to fame – it’s the second oldest house in Somerset (the first is Bishop’s Palace in Wells).
Lytes Cary Manor, Somerton
Lytes Cary is a smaller manor house, dating back to medieval times with gorgeous Arts & Craft style gardens that have beautiful herbaceous borders, topiary a croquet lawn and an orchard. Of note are the Niewe Herbal translated by Henry Lyte who lived here in the 16th century, an embroidered mirror, and a pair of Delft tulip vases. See the Chapel, go for an amble along the River Cary, browse the book barn, stop for cake in the tea room, let the kids loose in the wooded play area.
Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey, Bridgwater
The Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived in this humble cottage for a few years in the late 19th century, when he spent many a contented hour wandering the Quantock Hills with William Wordsworth, who lived nearby at Alfoxden. Explore the rooms to find out how Coleridge and his wife lived here, see Sara Coleridge’s kitchen, the pretty cottage garden and wildflower meadow; try writing with a quill, browse the books in the Reading Room, and have a Poet’s Lunch in the tea room.
Large Holiday Houses In Somerset