Working at The Bishop’s Palace and Gardens

The Bishop’s Palace: Our Commitment

The Bishop’s Palace is dedicated to equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion. We value the strengths that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances.

Join Us

If you are excited by the prospect of helping shape the future of one of Somersets most iconic historic sites,  we would love to hear from you. Become part of a team that celebrates heritage, fosters community, and believes in making a lasting difference.    

Step into history—and help us write the next chapter.

Looking for a Voluntary role?  We often have volunteering opportunities too which you can find here. 

Assistant Gardener (Maternity Cover - fixed term)

30 hrs per week
£20,982   (FTE-£25,877pa)  

Join the team caring for one of Somerset’s most remarkable historic gardens. The 800-year-old Bishop’s Palace is set within 14 acres of RHS Partner Gardens and welcomes more than 140,000 visitors each year. As an independent charity, The Palace Trust works to conserve and share this special place for everyone.

This is an exciting opportunity for a practical, enthusiastic gardener to help our beautiful and varied gardens thrive. Working with the Garden team, you will care for the grounds, support our dedicated volunteers and help create a memorable experience for visitors. The role is fixed-term maternity cover for up to 12 months from November 2026.

What you’ll do

• Care for lawns, borders, trees, shrubs, greenhouse plants, kitchen gardens and garden features to an exceptional standard
• Work alongside our volunteers and contribute to established and new garden projects
• Use and maintain machinery safely and follow good health and safety practice
• Help keep the gardens welcoming in all conditions and engage positively with visitors and event attendees

About You
You will bring at least one year’s practical gardening experience, good knowledge of plants and kitchen gardening, and experience of working with volunteers. You will enjoy working as part of a team, take pride in doing a job well and offer excellent service to visitors.  You will have a horticultural qualification, heritage or visitor-attraction experience.

Why join us?
You will be part of a friendly and dedicated team working in a unique and beautiful setting, helping to protect and share The Bishop’s Palace for the benefit of visitors, communities and future generations. You will be able to build experience across all areas of gardening in a creative and varied environment. There is also a competitive benefits package - details below.

How to apply

To apply, please complete the application form and submit this along with the Equality & Diversity form.

Please complete the application form along with equality & diversity form  and send to [email protected]
Please note that CVs will not be considered for this role.

Job description and person specification: Assistant Gardener (Maternity cover) job description

Closing date for applications: midday on 28 October 2026

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 4 November  2026, with an anticipated start date mid-late November.

Application notes - word version and PDF version

How to apply

To apply for any role please first review the job description and person specification.   For roles which ask for an application form to be completed you can access the application form here:  Application Form

Equaliy & diversity monitoring form - we request that applicants complete an equality and diversity monitoring form.   You can access this here:  Equality & Diversity monitoring form 

Application notes - you can find further details to help submit you application and understand the recruitment process here:  Application notes (word) or Application notes (PDF)

We reserve the right to close any roles early if sufficient applications are received.  If one of our roles is of interest please apply immediately.

Employee Benefits

You will be working for an independent charity whose main aim is to share, preserve and protect the 800-year Bishop’s Palace, with its medieval buildings, moat and spectacular gardens. We reinvest in the team and the site and work with local community groups and organisations as part of our community engagement.    

• We are a real living wage and a Disability Confident employer.
• We provide an induction and training plan for each employee from day one.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and long service holiday rewards
• Wellbeing support and access to the organisational Employee Assistance Programme
• A positive, supportive, inclusive, and collaborative working environment
• Family-friendly policies
• Staff social events
• Free admission for yourself and a guest ticket
• Free event tickets and staff discounts
• Opportunity to join the Palace Trust Pension scheme (min of 12% basic pay contribution)
• Opportunity to support the local community through volunteer days
• The chance to make a meaningful impact in the preservation and celebration of local heritage

Accessible recruitment

Usually our job applications ask for an Application form to be completed or request a CV and cover letter. Check the role for the application details.    If any applicants are unable to apply via email then you are welcome to apply in the following ways: 

By post - If you wish to send your application by post please address to:  Recruitment, The Bishop's Palace. Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD 

In Person -  If you are local to Wells and wish to deliver your application just drop into the Ticket Office / Shop during our opening hours,  addressed to Recruitment.

By Phone - if you are unable to submit electronically or by post and would prefer to provide details of your experience over the phone you can call 01749 988111 and we can arrange a time for a member of the team to contact you.