A History of English Gardens from the Tudors to the Stuarts
A ten part recorded course
This course was originally taught live in 2024, each recording is approximately 1.5 hours long.
An introduction to English gardens, this course will run in tandem with research for a new publication for Penguin, Random House: The Best 500 Gardens of England. It’s the perfect time to study, in-depth the stories and the development of some remarkable English gardens.
The first half of the course will focus on Tudor and Elizabethan Gardens and the great ephemeral entertainments that took place in the landscape. We will use archival materials to investigate the lost gardens and my recent visits to discover what remains.
Some of the gardens we’ll be studying will include: Hampton Court Palace, Godolphin, Kenilworth, Lyvden New Bield & Theobalds. Moving on from the Elizabethan entertainments we will also examine, Jacobean and Stuart Gardens, the influence of Italy and the court masques of Inigo Jones. The designers of this period will include Salomon de Caus, Isaac de Caus, Inigo Jones and Costantini de' Servi and their gardens such as Greenwich Palace, Wilton House and Hatfield House.
Course highlights
John Gerard, Barber-Surgeon and head gardener to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. His Herball was accused of having more than a touch of plagiarism
Francis Bacon's Essay Of Gardens 1625 and his country houses in Twickenham and Gorhambury
The Enstone Marvels, Thomas Bushell (protégé of Bacon) and his garden of Renaissance style water tricks.
John Tradescant, head gardener to 1st Earl of Salisbury at Hatfield House, nursery owner and collector of a cabinet of curiosities
How lost landscapes are presented to today's garden visitor.
Information
A recorded course of 10 videos each of 1.5 hours.
Once purchased, we will send you a link via email to our complete recordings. Our links will last for two months.
