Would you expect to find a dragon in a Richmond Garden? A greyhound on a pole in Westminster? Or a griffin lurking in a hedge in Bexley? To say nothing of a dolphin on a staircase in Kensington or an English leopard who once lived on a French camping site at Hampton Court? Probably not: but all those beasts and many more lived in the the gardens of Tudor royal palaces and aristocratic mansions. Find out how and why in this lecture explores one of the most visually spectacular aspects of late 15th and 16thc England.
Views: 368 | Enquiries: 0I've been lecturing "live" and on-line about every aspect of the history of gardens, landscapes, as well as plant hunting /plants/botany for more than 25 years to gardens clubs, U3A groups, and to museums like the V&A & across higher education. I discovered the subject because after a career as a head teacher I took very early retirement and went back into education full time on my own account. I did a four year diploma course in Garden History which led on to an MA in Historical Research and then a PhD at Birkbeck College, University of London on The Gardens and Gardeners of Later Stuart London.
I was a trustee of The Gardens Trust, the national campaigning body for the protection and support of our historic parks, gardens and designed landscapes and chaired their education committee from 2016 until 2023. I also write a weekly blog for them which you can find at thegardenstrust.blog
I've run courses on the history of gardens [and many other things] at Birkbeck and City Lit. I'm currently an honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham and run a Masters Course in Garden History as well as offering supervision to PhD students.
If all that sounds posh - rest assured I'm not!
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