The gardens and most of the shops at Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet are set to close as the Saul family has sold the site.

Writing a farewell message on the Kilver Court website, Roger, Monty and Freddie Saul say they have sold the freehold and everything there will close in about three weeks time, apart from three stores.

Mulberry, Toast and Yves Delorme will all stay open at the site, which was bought by the Saul family a quarter of a century ago.

The message said: "We bought Kilver Court 25 years ago as the headquarters for Mulberry and we have had the most incredible journey with the site, from the first steps of opening the Mulberry Factory Shop in 1996, right through to the creation of the very special destination we now have, which brings more than 100,000 visitors a year to Shepton Mallet and the local area.

"We are enormously proud of the efforts that our team and our brand partners have put in over the years to help us create such a special destination.

"We have restored and developed the gardens, opened multiple designer brand stores, held hundreds of very special weddings, and offered our local, national and international audience of customers a unique chance to shop and eat at what has become an award-winning destination.

"However, with all the challenges of the last 18 months that every one of us have felt so acutely, we have made the difficult decision that the time is right for us to hand the reigns of Kilver Court to someone new.

"Having sold the freehold, unfortunately that means that the businesses that we operate directly onsite, such as the Great House, Fashion Emporium, Plant Nursery and Garden Entry, and Garden Kitchen Restaurant, will all close in around three weeks' time.

"The stores of Mulberry, Toast and Yves Delorme will continue to remain open on site, so please carry on supporting these business as they begin a new chapter. We wish them nothing but the best.

"We would like to thank you, our very special customers, for all your interest and support over the last 10 years. You, along with our amazing staff, have helped Kilver to become such an incredible destination.

"We plan to run a series of fantastic bargain sale opportunities in our stores over the next few weeks, and very much hope you will come and join us for one last time."

It has not been revealed who has bought the site, and therefore it is not known whether the gardens will be opened again for the public in the future.