A PROJECT to recreate a 200-year-old garden in the former Royal Forest of Exmoor, near Simonsbath, got underway on Monday following major funding from the Western Somerset LEADER programme and Exmoor National Park Authority.

The garden was once the vision of wealthy businessman John Knight, who in 1818 purchased a vast area of remote, uninhabited wilderness formerly used by the Crown for hunting and largely untouched since the Bronze Age.

He set about building a grand mansion amidst an elaborate “Picturesque Landscape” – a concept central to the Romantic Movement focused on harnessing natural beauty to enhance the sense of drama in the landscape.  For reasons that are not well understood, his dream was never finished.

Now a team of volunteers hopes to bring the gardens back to life through work to reopen one of the original picturesque walks and restore historic buildings that formed part of the original garden. They are working alongside the Simonsbath Programme Steering Group and Exmoor National Park Authority.

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