at the University of Reading

9.30am, Friday 13 July

After the success of last year’s inaugural symposium, the second will take place on Friday 13 July as part of the annual conference at the University of Reading.

The GHS is pleased to welcome speakers from Hong Kong, the United States and the UK whose papers offer us a programme that spans the 18th and 19th centuries:

Leslie Diane Hunter (MA 18th Century British History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas),
on The Secrets of the Hampton Court Maze;

John Hemingway (MPhil West Midlands History, University of Birmingham),
on An Interim Study of the Influences of William Shenstone on Other Gardens in Eighteenth-Century England;

Anne King (Independent Researcher),
on Thomas Main, Gardener: Changing the U.S. Landscape, a Washington, DC perspective, c.1812;

Winnie Chan (DPhil, Institute for Chinese Studies, University of Oxford),
on Looking for Antiquity and the New: The Chinese Hong Merchant Gardens of Guangzhou in the Nineteenth Century;

Elaine Taylor (MA Landscape, Heritage and Society, University of Chester),
on A Garden for Lord Leverhulme: Roynton Cottage, near Bolton, Lancashire.

It is encouraging to note that the postgraduate programme in West Midlands History at the University of Birmingham is once again represented.

Although attendance at our Graduate Symposium is free, it forms part of our AGM and Annual Summer Conference Programme and you should probably look at the Booking Form for that for more information.

This post was submitted by webberr.

Two of the methods I choose in promotion of the Compton Verney landscape are through blogging and Twitter. Creating blog posts allows me to focus on specific aspects of the garden, the landscape, individual plants and so on, and the time spent pulling the articles together helps in my own education and understanding. Twitter is somewhat different in that it allow one to post ‘tweets’ which are up to 140 characters in length, and can include photographs and or links to websites. Using these forms of social media helps me to communicate with anyone and everyone who shares a similar interest. Various professional and amateur people follow me and read my posts, and my growing network of people is very easy to contact.

Whilst I don’t think blogging or tweeting is ideal as a sales tool, it does offer much in terms of connecting with people who may share an interest in any given field. If therefore you have a garden whose profile needs raising, I’d suggest looking to blog or tweet. If you have garden staff, encouraging them to engage in social media can help them to develop contacts and, if managed properly can help in raising the profile of your garden or project. I believe it is a fantastic way to connect with potential visitors and supporters. It is however only effective if the individuals engage with this medium effectively – it isn’t for everyone and needs time to understand – I’m still learning after three years!

Many people are beginning to blog and tweet now, and there are many fascinating conversations to be had. It’s not a fad and is set to continue growing and evolving, and as a garden focused chap, I find its use fascinating. I can tweet a photo from my mobile camera in a few seconds, and can therefore tell my followers of the first flower to open, the progress on an interesting project for example, or even provide a link to my latest blog post.

If you’ve been wondering what twitter, blogging or social media is all about, do take a look at my latest blog post by following link below, which will take you to my free blog or website. Blogger – my chosen site offers a host of individual posts and self taken photographs about gardens and much more. You can even connect with me through twitter via my blog. It is self edited, so please forgive any mistakes, but do take a look, and it would be lovely to hear from you, or even your gardeners!

http://gardener-gary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/delightful-plantations-ice-house.html

This post was submitted by Gary.

The University of Buckingham is introducing as part of its London Programme a new research MA in Garden History which offers a unique opportunity to study the subject.

Interest in British gardens and their history has never been greater than now.  Historic gardens and designed landscapes are a major part of the nation’s heritage, appreciated by more visitors than ever before.  Culturally as well as economically they are important national assets that need to be understood for what they are: works of art that document changing ideas and fashions, and which express the social, intellectual and aesthetic values of those who created them, and for whom they were created.  They are also constantly changing, something that makes them especially rewarding to study as over the course of time they may have been refashioned and reinterpreted by successive generations, and are constantly evolving.  Garden history is not only about the past.  British designers lead the world in contemporary landscaping and gardening, while magazines and television programmes continuously remind us of how important gardens are to us, and of the part they a play in our modern society.  Historians of gardens and landscape architecture draw on different kinds of evidence – visual, literary and intellectual, as well as on what there is on the ground – to explore the ideas, attitudes and approaches which any design contains within it.

The course

This is a unique and innovative MA by Research which combines original research with training in the methods, materials and approaches garden history involves.  The Course Director is Professor Timothy Mowl FSA, who is internationally renowned as a leading scholar and writer on the history of gardens, designed landscapes and architecture.  He is supported by Dr Katie Campbell, Michael Liversidge FSA and Marion Mako who have each published original research in the subject, as well as by a panel of tutors and, for special research seminars, invited guest lecturers who represent at its best the vitality and vigour of current scholarship and thinking in garden history and related areas

This post was submitted by webberr.

This post was submitted by Glynis Shaw.

www.gardenhistorymatters.com

Please do come take a look and hopefully you’ll be interested enough to join. Also, any ideas for posts and/or feedback most appreciated.

This post was submitted by Toby Musgrave.

This post was submitted by Katie.

This post was submitted by Glynis Shaw.

As part of the reorganisation of the Society’s conservation and planning work, we wish to appoint a part-time Deputy Conservation Officer for England.

The Deputy Conservation Officer will work in close association with the Principal Conservation Officer and the Conservation Casework Manager in planning casework.

The Deputy Conservation Officer will also be involved in developing and updating the Society’s generic conservation advice (known as Planning and Conservation Advice Notes), and will be closely involved in training and support for county gardens trusts and other local and national amenity societies who are undertaking conservation and planning work.

Details of this part-time post are available from the Society’s office, by emailing a request or if writing for details, please address to Administrator (address  below) and enclose an SAE.

Closing date: Friday 13th January 2012.

The Society’s offices are closed over the Christmas and New Year period.

CONSERVATION CONSULTANTS (ENGLAND)

We are also looking to appoint a panel of appropriately experienced and qualified Consultants upon whom the Society can call to deal with specific conservation cases. Consultants should be members of the Society, but Trustees are ineligible for this role. This freelance work would be undertaken on the basis of a standard inclusive case fee.

Download a .pdf version of the GHS Conservation Jobs advert

Expressions of interest in covering letter and c.v. may be lodged at any time.

Working Together

The Working Together Feasibility Study Group, comprising GHS, AGT, the Garden Museum and the Parks & Gardens database (P&GUK), continues to discuss a possible way forward towards closer co-operation between its members.

A prime motive for undertaking this study, which has strong support from English Heritage, is the prospect of reduced Government funding for historic parks and gardens, and particularly the likelihood of a reduction in financial support from English Heritage for our work in 2012–13.

Facing the prospect of reduced public funding as well as potentially harmful changes in national planning policy, we know that our current individual resources will not be sufficient to address threats to the parks and gardens about which we all care.

As part of the Study, each organisation has also undertaken a thorough review of its activities and the way in which each organisation operates. This has included a critical analysis of each others’ operations. The conversation has been wide-ranging and occasionally challenging, but also stimulating.

It is already impossible for the GHS alone to respond to all planning threats to our parks and gardens. Collectively, and by building on our respective strengths and expertise, we stand a much better chance of making our views known to, and understood by, national and local government.

The Study Group has concluded that uniting our skills and resources will give us a more effective voice and avoid confusion as to which body is giving what advice. Giving County Gardens Trusts’ membership more ability to get involved with direct conservation action underpins this thinking. These conclusions have been welcomed by English Heritage.

Future GHS Conservation Activity

During October, following recommendations from the Conservation Committee, GHS Council decided to implement a reorganisation of conservation practice within the GHS.

Jonathan Lovie will remain as Principal Conservation Officer and Policy Adviser in England; Linden Grove’s role as Casework Manager (England), and the Casework Log are unaffected by this reorganisation. In Scotland, Alison Allighan remains as Conservation Officer; and a Casework Log, similar to that operating in England, will also now be created and maintained. As part of this process, three of our existing Conservation Officers in England will be redundant from 4 April 2012.

The way forward

Under the Principal Conservation Officer, a new post of Deputy Conservation Officer (England) has been created; you can see an advertisement for this post elsewhere in this section, and an invitation for expressions of interest from individuals wishing to be Conservation Consultants in England. The freelance Consultants will be commissioned to deal with specific conservation cases, complementing the work of the Principal and Deputy Conservation Officers in England. Our current Conservation Officers may, of course, apply for both the advertised roles.

Planned changes to the Society’s conservation operation include:

• Moving away from a geographical structure for responding to consultations.

• Reinvigorating the Society’s role as a campaigner for Parks and Gardens.

• Providing support and training for county gardens trusts and others to engage in more conservation work, especially where this affects sites on which they are the undoubted experts.

• Ensuring, with the help of the Society’s colleagues in the CGTs, that local government recognises the importance of Parks and Gardens when drafting local plan policies.

The Society also intends to concentrate resources on responding to changes in Government policy affecting Parks and Gardens; and responding to the major cases and generic threats which face Parks and Gardens.

The site of the house and garden at Sayes Court — John Evelyn’s London residence by the then Royal Dockyard at Deptford — is currently subject to a planning application from a property developer which would see the site of the garden built over. A small group of concerned locals has mounted a campaign to conserve the site with a view to seeing it re-emerge as a public garden or park, integral to the riverfront residential development envisaged by the developers. At present, the entirety of the Sayes Court estate lies under an apron of concrete, but it is believed that garden archaeology could reveal much of its layout; the cellars of Evelyn’s house survive and have already been subject to some archaeological investigation. The site of Sayes Court takes up about one-sixth of the area to be developed, now known as Convoys Wharf. The proposal from developers Hutchison-Whampoa is for 3,514 residential units, 80% of them one- and two-bedroom flats, in three tall blocks of 32-, 38- and 46- storeys, plus a variety of smaller blocks typically between 8–18 storeys; one of the blocks is directly over the site of the principal parterre of the garden.

The masterplan gives some idea of the scale of the intended development, see http://www.sayescourtgarden.com/campaign.html for more.

The GHS supports this campaign and is adding its voice to those suggesting that Lewisham Council looks favourably on the idea of conserving the site of Sayes Court as part of an overall development plan when the application is considered by Lewisham’s planning committee in either January or April. A revised plan would potentially mean the construction of approximately half the number of residential units, with a greater mix of commercial, community, artistic and other uses at the site, as well as the integration of green space on the footprint of the old garden.

The garden at Sayes Court (see Garden History 25:2, Winter 1997) was laid out by Evelyn from 1653 and included an oval garden, a terrace walk or mount, an orchard and the grove, which contained more than 500 specimens of standard oak, ash, elm, service, beech and chestnut. Numerous unusual and exotic spice and citrus plants were grown here (the proximity of the docks playing its part) and there was also a substantial kitchen garden of 38 beds laid out systematically. Other attractions included a banqueting house and an island reached by a drawbridge. All of this is well delineated in Evelyn’s own plan of the garden, held by the British Library and viewable in the online gallery section of its website.

Wooden model of Sayes Court made by George Carter in 1988, for the V&A Garden exhibition. The (originally) Thames side walk to the right of the model can still be detected on aerial photos of the site today. Picture by Tim Richardson.

Charles II visited the garden on several occasions, though the most celebrated story was the time when Peter the Great of Russia, who leased the house for a period, ruined some of Evelyn’s prized holly hedges having been pushed around the garden in a wheelbarrow for fun.

After Evelyn’s death in 1706 Sayes Court was used as a poor-house for 125 years. By the end of the 19th century both the house and garden were in disrepair. The old dockyard was transformed into the Foreign Cattle Market, leading to the conversion of a great double-arched slipway cover into cattle sheds. This is now a Grade II listed structure and must remain as part of any future development. The house itself was slightly damaged during the Second World War by a V1 rocket and was subsequently demolished. The local activists suggest that the great arched structure could be used again as a boatyard for the construction of historic wooden ships, and to that end they have teamed up with historic ship experts who have submitted their own detailed proposals based on other schemes which have been successful, not least as tourist attractions, in France and the Netherlands.

Today the surrounding local area is taken up by light-industrial units and low-rise residential blocks, but John Evelyn and the garden at Sayes Court is commemorated in local street names and remains very much a part of the folk memory of Deptford. Sayes Court has even been ‘saved’ on one previous occasion, when a descendant of John Evelyn mounted a campaign in the 1880s with the help of Octavia Hill (prior to her creation of the National Trust) to turn it into a public park. The campaign was successful and Sayes Court Park remained a public amenity until the First World War, when 3/4 of the park was absorbed into the Dockyard and never returned. The remainder of the park was remodelled in the 1950s.

In 2000 Lewisham Council commissioned a report on Sayes Court, its significance and the impact of development. Prof Burdett’s report recommended the reinstatement of the complete area of John Evelyn’s garden as part of the scheme and highlighted the role of the wharf area as a historically important site in terms of both ship-building and horticulture.

For more information see: www.sayescourtgarden.com and londonslostgarden.wordpress.com

See our Events pages for April 2012 Study Day info.

This post was submitted by alanophrys.

A previously unrecorded scheme by James Pulham & Son has recently come to light on the estate of Craigengillan, near Dalmellington in East Ayrshire, formerly home of the McAdam family of ‘tarmacadam’ fame. Confirmation of its date and authenticity comes from the diary of one time Pulham employee Fred Rickett, whose diary records three separate visits to Craigengillan, spread over several years. What Rickett refers to as a ‘rock and water garden’ for Mrs. McAdam occupied him on three separate occasions between 1910 and 1915.

The diary was discovered by Claude Hitching, whose eagerly awaited book on The Pulham Legacy is now due to be published in the New Year.

Owner Mark Gibson shows some of the Pulham rockwork recently unearthed at Craigengillan. Photo by the author

Owner of Craigengillan Mark Gibson has now begun the gradual process of unearthing the scheme, which includes a mixture of natural and artificial stonework. The garden having become almost entirely obscured by several decades accumulation of soil, leaf litter and vegetation, its large extent is only now becoming apparent as work progresses. It is hoped that, in time, the rock garden will be fully revealed, and the water supply to the cascades and pools will be restored once more.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded funding of £12.4m to six parks in London, Felixstowe, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Merseyside and Dunbarton. HLF and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) have also jointly awarded £3.5m to two further parks in Godalming, Surrey and Nottingham. All parks can now begin major redevelopment work, with opportunities for volunteering and training tied into most awards

Walpole Park, Ealing, London: grant of £2.4m

Pitzhanger House, at the heart of Walpole Park. By courtesy of the Trustees of the Sir John Soane Museum

Walpole Park’s gardens and lawns are the backdrop to the Grade I listed Pitzhanger Manor (above). Sitting in the heart of Ealing town centre, the park has a number of historic features including a Grade II* listed rustic bridge, a Portland stone bench and a lodge building. The park was opened to the public in 1901. HLF’s grant will help restore the park to its original beauty and improve its visitor facilities. The park will undergo major conservation to recreate the Regency planting and reinstate the kitchen garden.

Other awards were made to:

Raphael Park, Romford, Essex: £1.7m;

Felixstowe Seafront Gardens, Suffolk: £2.1m; Exhibition Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: £2.4m; Victoria Park, St. Helens, Merseyside: £3m;

Dalmuir Park, Dunbartonshire: £859,600.

Also joint HLF/BIG funding of £3.5m to: Nottingham Forest Recreation Ground: £3.2m &

Phillips Memorial Park, Godalming, Surrey: £335,000

Initial Lottery support and development funding totalling £725,427 has also been awarded to the following 10 parks across the UK: Boultham Park, Lincoln; West Hackney Recreation Ground, London; Alexandra Road Park, Camden, London; Plashet Park, Newham, London; Wharton Park, Durham; Castle Vale Park and Coronation Park, Berwick-upon-Tweed; Moor Park, Preston; Westgate Gardens, Canterbury; Lightwoods Park, Sandwell; Belleisle Park, South Ayrshire.

For more information