The years 1920-1939 in England can be considered two decades of new thinking and surprising vibrancy and vision despite their setting of the aftermath of war, financial crises, unemployment, the abdication of King Edward VIII and the imminent threat of a Second World War. It was an age of consumerism, unprecedented development and suburban expansion and one in which ‘modern’ concepts of design from Europe and the United States of America began to be more widely seen in architecture, interiors and domestic goods. This talk examines the extent to which modern ideas from abroad also influenced interwar gardens, in contrast to nostalgia for the romantic, plant-focused gardens in fashion before the First World War. It also considers how far ownership of a house and garden represented the countryside idyll, with an emphasis on traditional village life and a desire for fresh air.
Barbara Simms is a garden and landscape historian with a particular interest in the history, conservation and interpretation of gardens of the 20th and 21st centuries. She has qualifications in garden history, garden design and the conservation of historic landscapes, has completed projects for heritage organisations and was chair of the London Parks & Gardens Trust 2002-8. Dr Simms has written a number of articles and two books, Eric Lyons and Span (ed.) (RIBA Publishing, 2006) and John Brookes. Garden and Landscape Designer (Conran Octopus, 2007). From 2014 she was course director for the MA in Garden and Landscape History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, until the course closed in 2022. She is editor of Garden History, the Journal of the Gardens Trust, and also the new annual academic journal of the Sussex Gardens Trust.
This Gardens Trust online lecture is one in a series on the 20th Century Garden. Tickets £30 for series or £5 each. Register HERE through Eventbrite. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
