Christmas Carols at Coombe Trenchard

Coombe Trenchard in the Snow

For those of you who have yet to experience the winter splendour that is Christmas at Coombe Trenchard, there is no better time for you to see it than for our annual Christmas Carols evening on December 18th. The house and gardens shine in the winter, as a truly picturesque yet inviting feature in the Devonshire countryside. Christmas Carols, mulled cider and mince pies are exactly what these chilly pre-Christmas days are all about! This event really inspires the Christmas spirit of giving, and encourages donations to the Children’s Hospice South West.

The Children’s Hospice South West play a vital role in supporting and creating precious memories for families whose children are living with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. With very little government funding, they rely on the generosity of donations from individuals that really make a difference to the families the hospice provides for.

Image taken from Children Hospice South West Pinterest

The hospice was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell who experienced first hand the deficit of resources, previously having to travel over 4 hours to provide their two Children with life-limiting conditions to obtain the care they needed. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, now having grown to a chain of 3 hospices, providing much needed care all over the South West, but its dependence on donations means continuing support is invaluable.

Coombe Trenchard is delighted to once again support the Children’s Hospice South West with our 2015 Christmas Carol evening. To take a look at the Hospice's website to see what fantastic activities they are up to at the moment, click here.

Join Sarah and the team at Coombe Trenchard to indulge in the festivities, support this worth while cause and experience Coombe Trenchard at its most magical…we would love to see you there!

Historic Daffodils of the Tamar Valley March 25th 2014

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In March we were joined by Dr. Frances Howard as she shared her passion for the historic daffodils of the Tamar valley. Tickets for this event had sold out very quickly, and those that were lucky enough to secure a place, were treated to a humorous and engaging illustrated talk from Frances. 

Several people had brought along samples of daffodils from their own gardens for Frances to identify, and we had a beautiful and varied selection of native Narcissus gracing the tables at Coombe Trenchard.

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After a well received two course lunch, guests were invited to walk around the gardens with Frances and myself, giving them them a rare opportunity to see the Spring flowers at Coombe Trenchard. Frances was able to identify many historic varieties, including one named Van Sion (The great double daffodil) which can be dated back to 1620. This pseudo narcissus has the double petaloids neatly within the trumpet or explodes as a shaggy puff.

Entertaining Antiques February 28th 2014

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On the last day of February we played host to a fund raising evening in support of The Children's Hospice South West. 

CHSW fundraising is enthusiastically championed by Judy Pride. Judy and her wonderful team of local volunteers give up a huge amount of their precious time to raise funds for 'Little Harbour' the Children's hospice based at St. Austell, Cornwall.

Coombe Trenchard supported CHSW in 2013 when we hosted a traditional Edwardian tea party,  which was a huge success.

On this occasion, it was decided that an antiques evening would be very much in keeping with the venue, and we were delighted to have the support of Andrew Thomas from Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood of Exeter.

Andrew brought along a number of antiques, all dating from around the early 1900's and some of the Arts & Crafts in style. The guests were given a sheet with details of the items, and they were asked to try to guess their values. Later in the evening Andrew staged an auction, encouraging bids from the guests for donated items.

Guests were treated to a delicious supper of potage & trifle, and a wonderful evening was had by all. We were delighted to hear that this event raised £1117 for CHSW.

This summer CHSW will be joining us at our Home & Garden Show on May 31st & June 1st, serving delicious Pimms, and staging an Edwardian croquet match. Please do come along and support them.