Kington has been a border market town for around a thousand years and has changed little in size, with a population of about two thousand.

The estate goes back over seven hundred years.
The original manor house, Hergest Court dates from 1267. It was built by Hwyel ap Meurig and occupied by the Clanvow and Vaughan families until bought by W.H. Banks in 1912. It is reputed to be haunted by a great black hound, "The Black Dog of Hergest".

The Gardens - circa 1898

Richard Banks (1791-1871) came to Kington from Kent in 1814, buying a half-share in a legal practice from James Davies, whose niece Esther, he married. James Davies was an early nineteenth-century entrepreneur who made a considerable fortune, which was left to Richard Banks' three sons, the second of whom, Richard William, inherited Ridgebourne and the land on which Hergest Croft now stands.

Dorothy Banks with Rosa and Peggy

Richard William Banks (1819-1891) moved to Ridgebourne in 1857. He was a distinguished geologist. He planted some of the earliest exotic trees.

The Rockery

William Hartland Banks
(1867-1930), his son, was a banker, traveller, photographer, gardener and passionate plant collector. In 1895 with his wife Dorothy Alford, whom he met at Cambridge, began Hergest Croft house and garden. The Banks family lived in the house until 1940 when the government requisitioned it for World War II refugees. In 1974 the family converted it into flats and the tearoom and shop.

The Avenue Of Crates

W.H. Banks and his wife laid out the gardens and Park Wood. They used no professional designer but were much influenced by the writings of William Robinson especially "The English Flower Garden". The first decade of the twentieth century was one of the most exciting in the history of plant collecting. The most notable collector was Ernest "Chinese" Wilson. Many of the trees and shrubs are amongst the earliest plantings of these species in Britain. After W.H. Banks' death in 1930, his widow, Dorothy who died in 1937, looked after the garden.

His son Richard Alford Banks (Dick) (1902-1997) came back to live at Ridgeboume in 1953 with his first wife, Jane. He was an industrialist and Director of lCI. He planted a huge number of trees and shrubs. His interest in maples and birches is reflected in the range of these genera , which now form National Collections. His widow, Rosamund continues to care for Park Wood.

Lawrence Banks (b 1938) and his wife Elizabeth (b 1941) took over full responsibility in 1988. He is a former Treasurer of the Royal Horticultural Society and she is a noted landscape architect. The tradition of planting continues and the new introductions of Chinese plants in the Maple Grove rival those of W.H. Banks in the first decade of the century. Stephen Lloyd who started work in the garden in 1980 is now Head Gardener.