An Introduction to Garden History: Medieval Gardens to the 18th Century

Immerse yourself in garden history with our brand-new introductory course, led by historian Francesca Murray.

In Part One of the course we delve into gardens from the Middle Ages up to the 18th Century, with the help of the RHS Lindley Library collections.

Join us for all three sessions in this course, or sign up for a single session ticket:

Week 1 - Medieval Gardens and the Renaissance

Week 2 - Early Modern and Baroque Gardens

Week 3 - 18th Century and Landscape Gardens

Want to learn about the Victorians, Edwardian Gardens and the 20th Century?

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Monday 7 October 2024: Medieval Gardens and the Renaissance

What plants and tools did Medieval gardeners use to heal the sick?

How did Renaissance fountains entertain and make music?

Explore the gardens of the Medieval and the Renaissance periods, where we find the origins of many horticultural techniques that we still use today. Discover how religious doctrine influenced every aspect of the craft of gardening, and how the gentry enjoyed the grandest pleasances for both recreation and food production.

The image in the banner for this session is a hand-coloured woodcut from New kreüterbuch, Leonhart Fuchs, 1543. Find more inspiration with the RHS Digital Collections.

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Monday 14 October 2024: Early Modern and Baroque Gardens

‘Yet I perswade my selfe, that Gentlemen of the better sort and quality, will provide such a parcel of ground to bee laid out for their Garden’ - John Parkinson’s Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris, 1629

What did the Sun King see out of his window at Versailles with his morning café?

Unpack the strict rules of the Baroque style, which aimed to impose order over nature. Delve into the world of landscape designer Andre Le Notre, and his iconic designs of the ornamental gardens and fountains of Versailles. Discover the English development of grottos and contrast how fruit and kitchen gardening was in fact the most masterful of all cultivation.

The image in the banner for this session is the title page of Paradisus terrestris by John Parkinson, 1656. Find more inspiration with the RHS Digital Collections.

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Monday 21 October 2024: 18th Century and Landscape Gardens

Unbounded freedom rules the wandering scene; No fence of ownership crept in between To hide the prospect from the gazing eye; Its only bondage was the circling sky. - John Clare (1793-1864)

What have the works of Pliny got to do with cultivating English soil?

Why not put a temple and a ha ha in your garden?

Pack your sunglasses we are going to explore the Greek and Roman inspired gardens of Stowe, Chiswick and Painshill where architecture, politics and landscape are joined together in allegorical harmony. Take note to compare the eye-catching conceits of the English Landscape movement, transformed by armies of gardeners, with the enlightened networks of global plant exchange who were engaging in some rigorous classification principles.

The image in the banner for this session is an engraving of Burghley House, from The seats of the nobility and gentry, engraved by W. Watts, 1779. Find more inspiration with the RHS Digital Collections.

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Workshop Leader

Francesca Murray - Francesca studied horticulture and garden design at Berkshire Agriculture College before running her own garden design business. Francesca has an MA in Garden History and is currently in her fourth year of a PhD at Queen Mary’s University of London, researching nineteenth-century gardeners and nurserymen. She is a trustee of the Gardens Trust and speaker for Perennial.

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Event Details

Tickets for this event are required, with the ticket cost supporting the RHS Lindley Library. Tickets are £40 for all three sessions in Part 1, or £15 for a single session.

The RHS Lindley Library opens at 10.00am, with the session beginning at 11.00am. This session will take place between the Library and the Council Chamber.

Please note that due to the nature of the Edwardian building, it is necessary for participants of the event to be able to independently manage stairs.

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Contact

For any questions, including accessibility enquiries, please email [email protected]

Discover more about the RHS Lindley Library via our website, social media and our new Digital Collections.

Host or Publisher RHS Lindley Library