New lifestyle destination to open in Somerset
Roger Saul, founder of designer label Mulberry and owner of cult British food label Sharpham Park and boutique hotel Charlton House, is to unveil his latest venture – Kilver Court – in Somerset in July 2008.Formerly the Mulberry Head Quarters, Roger Saul has developed Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet to present the very best Somerset has to offer. With breathtaking, historical gardens as the focal point, this stylish lifestyle destination will feature the Sharpham Park Shop, Harlequin Café and Wellness Consulting Rooms, all showcasing the best in organic and sustainable living.
The Sharpham Park Shop, situated in The Great House, will bring together the very best of local, seasonal organic food, health and beauty products from a 50-mile radius including a wide range of spelt food and beauty products sourced from the Sharpham Park organic estate. There will be a professional butcher ready to explain the origins of the meat available with advice on specific cuts and the best way to prepare them. The bakery counter will sell a wide range of Sharpham Park signature spelt products (suitable for those with wheat intolerances) with recipes enabling customers to make the most of them. All products offered will promote sustainability and environmental best practice.
Alongside the Sharpham Park Shop will be the Harlequin Café serving a menu inspired by the produce sold in the shop taking fresh and local ingredients to offer a constantly evolving menu.
The Wellness Consulting Rooms will provide an eclectic range of organic, complimentary treatments including osteopathy, reflexology, beauty acupuncture, Bach Flower remedies, Emotional Freedom Technique and nutrition. There will also be a variety of exercise disciplines on offer from pilates, Chi Gung and meditation to salsa dance training.
The Gardens were first created by Ernest Jardine as a recreational space for factory workers of Kilver Court in the 1800s and were known as Jardine’s Park and Vegetable Gardens. In the 1960s they were restored and developed by the Showering family of Babycham fame, who commissioned Charles Whiteleg to recreate his Gold medal winning Chelsea Flower Show rockery garden within the setting. At the time the garden was a bold and modern design statement. Since then the Gardens have been a hidden secret for the past 25 years.
The Gardens feature a millpond and boating lake as well as rolling lawns, parterres and herbaceous borders. But probably the most staggering feature of this Secret garden is the backdrop - a vast Grade II listed viaduct built for the Somerset and Dorset railway in the 1800s and which now acts as a link to the rolling Somerset countryside beyond. In addition, following the success of the vegetable garden at Sharpham Park, Jardine’s concept of model fruit and vegetable cultivation will be reinstated with the establishment of a sustainable bio-dynamic system both for education and to supply organic produce to the Shop and Café.
Further developments at Kilver Court are planned for later in the year such as the Kilver Court Nursery - a stylish garden retail space selling plants found in the Gardens, together with garden accessories. There will also be the Jardine’s Ballroom - a new home for live performances, concerts, gigs, weddings and parties - and the Jardine’s Tea Rooms providing somewhere for visitors to the Gardens to rest and eat. In addition there will be a wide variety of meeting and conference spaces including the original Showerings Directors’ Suite.
As part of the educational remit of Kilver Court, there will be baking and cookery courses, garden design workshops, sustainability seminars and a Rare Breeds Centre linked to Sharpham Park developed on the adjacent farmland.
Kilver Court
Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5NF
Web - Kilvercourt.com
Opens July 2008
