Using Locally Sourced Hamstone In Garden Design

Posted 10th September 2025

In Garden Design, Landscaping, Uncategorised

Somerset is associated with a great many good things. Cider, Glastonbury Tor, incredible scenery, and enticing tea rooms, but nothing encapsulates the county of Somerset quite as much as the beautiful buildings created from locally sourced Hamstone. Which is why I include it in the palette of landscaping materials in as many garden design projects as possible.

Hamstone buildings in the pretty town of Ilminster

What Is Hamstone?

At first glance, you might not guess that Hamstone is a type of limestone. It has a beautiful honey-gold colour and a unique furrowed texture not normally associated with limestone. This is because when Hamstone was formed, some 180 million years ago, its main components were seashells and corals mixed with sand and clay. Believe it or not, at that time Somerset was submerged beneath a shallow, tropical sea. The sand and clay give the stone its distinctive colour and aging pattern, whilst the limestone lends it great durability and wear resistance.

Hamstone is found only in Somerset. It’s mainly quarried near Ham Hill and Chiselborough Hill, both of which are local to the are where SilverBirch Gardens works. Historians believe that Ham Stone has been used for building since Roman times. Which is doubtless why it features in so many characterful and historic buildings including the Elizabethan Montacute House.

The ancient and enigmatic Ham Hill

If you’re interested in geology and landscaping materials, It’s well worth visiting the Ham Hill Centre and taking a wanderaround the country park where you can soak up it’s history and ecology and enjoy the magnificent views. I can personally recommend the Prince of Wales Pub near the top of the hill for a tasty meal to replace all the calories you burned off while exploring.

Why use Hamstone In Garden Design?

I won’t lie, HamStone isn’t something you’ll find in B&Q or Jewsons, which is what makes it all the more appealing to my garden designer mentality. This stuff hasn’t been imported from half way around the world, neither is it man-made. It’s straight from nature and just about as local as could be.

That local provenance will give any Somerset garden a sense of being grounded in it’s surroundings. Plus it will give you the comfort of knowing you are supporting local jobs in the ancient local quarrying industry.

But what I love the most about Hamstone is its wonderfully warm colour. Even on the bleakest of days, it looks comforting. And on a summers evening it seems to have a soft, gentle glow about it. Of all the hard landscaping materials I use in garden transformations, Ham Stone definitely holds a special place in my heart.

unique garden water feature made from an old millstone surrounded by local ham stone

A beautiful water feature created using local Hamstone and an old millstone that was found in the garden. Hamstone is also used to create the retaining walls surroundng the terrace.