The Bishop's Palace and Gardens
Free RHS Member days
9 January–March, November and December, Mondays and Fridays; April–October, Friday only (excluding special events)
About the garden
Hidden within the ramparts of The Bishop’s Palace in Wells, and surrounded by a moat, lies a 14-acre Grade II-listed garden. Often described as a “hidden treasure”, there is evidence that a garden existed here before Bishop Jocelin began work on the Palace around 1206, as well as a formal 18th-century Dutch-style garden. While little remains of these earlier designs, the gardens have been developed to reflect that historic past. Here visitors can also discover the springs rising into the well pools, which give the city its name.
The garden features specimen trees, flamboyant climbers, bold and luxuriant planting of shrubs and perennials. These contrast with the contemporary Garden of Reflection, where prairie planting combines grasses and perennials with a grove of silver birch trees. Highlights include the Phelps Garden, the arboretum, less formal outer gardens and the Wells border, originally planted by plantswoman Mary Keen. Home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years, the Palace buildings and Chapel are also open to the public.
Facilities
- Children’s play area
- Dogs welcome
- Plant sales
- Refreshments
- Toilets
Key features
- Sculpture
- Sub-tropical garden
- Herbaceous border
- Glasshouse (open to public)
- Arboretum
- Pond or lake
- Autumn colour
- Prairie/naturalistic planting
- Water garden
- Winter garden
Get involved
The RHS is the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants to grow - nurturing a healthier, happier world, one person and one plant at a time.