Historic estate opens its gardens for hospice care

6th June 2026

Enjoy the gardens of Flete Estate

There’s a rare opportunity to enjoy the glorious gardens and grounds of historic Flete House on Sunday, when the estate, near Modbury, welcomes visitors to raise funds for St Luke’s.

The stunning 12 acres of elegantly landscaped parkland grounds, include charming Italianate gardens, a well-stocked shrubbery, water gardens, and a host of impressive specimen trees that take pride of place on the garden map, and there are panoramic views of the picturesque South Hams countryside.

St Luke’s Open Gardens

Part of St Luke’s spring and summer Open Garden series, sponsored by NFU Mutual Plymouth, it is a golden opportunity for anyone who loves beautiful historic landscapes, and a nostalgia trip for those born at Flete House when it was Plymouth’s maternity hospital for a period during and after the Second World War.

The gardens and grounds will be open from 12 noon to 5pm on Sunday 28 July, with plenty of parking available close by, toilets on site and guide dogs only allowed.  Admission is £6 per person and under 16s go free. Teas, coffees and fresh homemade cakes will be on sale.

Thank you

For a separate charge, a strictly limited number of guests will also be able to enjoy a guided tour of the grand reception rooms of the gothic-style Grade I listed manor house – once owned by the aristocratic Mildmay family and now divided into 29 private leasehold apartments.

Wayne Marshall, St Luke’s Open Gardens coordinator and new partnerships lead said: “Huge thanks to everyone at Flete House for allowing our visitors to experience the unique gardens and raise funds to support St Luke’s important work in the local community.”

The next date on the Open Gardens calendar is Sunday, August 4, when the owners of usually hidden private gardens in the Dartmoor village of Horrabridge will give St Luke’s supporters an exclusive peek of their plots between 11am and 4pm, with maps available at St Luke’s stall in the Weir Park Village Centre.

Open Gardens 2024

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