Daily Archives: January 31, 2023

Tuesday, February 14, 10:00 am – 11:30 am GMT – The Vyne, Online

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This talk is the last in the Gardens Trust series exploring the role of archaeology for garden historians. On February 14 Stephen Wass will discuss The Vyne.

A series of watching briefs on lengthy runs of pipework together with attendance on-site during the dismantling of the old concrete spillway at the lower end of the lake to the north of the house has revealed some major new buried features. Making sense of them whilst working under some of the most difficult and dangerous conditions we have ever encountered has proved to be a particularly challenging task, but it looks as if we will have plenty to say about the early layout of water features within the park.

Dr. Stephen Wass is a researcher and has just completed his D. Phil. on the subject of seventeenth-century water gardens. In addition, he works as a commercial archaeologist. In this capacity most of his projects involve historic gardens and he is currently occupied with a series of archaeological investigations connected with the latest programme of restoration at Stowe Landscape Gardens near Buckingham. He is also working to set up a new research programme alongside the Oxfordshire Gardens Trust into the ‘lost’ Tudor and Jacobean gardens in the county.

Thursday, February 9, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Norah Lindsay: The Life and Art of a Garden Designer, Online

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In the years between the world wars Norah Lindsay (1873-1948) greatly influenced the course of garden design and planting. Her commissions ranged from the gardens of quiet English manor houses to royal gardens across Europe. She designed the great English gardens at Hidcote with Lawrence Johnston, as well as his extraordinary Mediterranean garden, Serre de la Madone on the French Riviera. She designed gardens for Nancy Astor and Edward VIII, exchanged garden ideas with Vita Sackville-West, vacationed with Edith Wharton, and dined with Winston Churchill.

This entertaining online Gardens Trust lecture on February 9 at 2 pm follows ten years of research traveling in the footsteps of Norah Lindsay. It chronicles the life of Norah Lindsay, including her circle of friends, the gardens that she designed, and her primary design principals. It is based on Ms. Hayward’s biography of Norah Lindsay, and includes many archival images, as well as information from private letters, diaries, and family scrapbooks.

Allyson Hayward is a landscape historian, lecturer, and author who writes and lectures extensively on topics related to gardens and their history. For several years she served as Chairman of the New England Garden History Society. Allyson was awarded a Gold Medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for her work in promoting New England’s garden history. Allyson’s published works include the biography, Norah Lindsay: The Life and Art of a Garden Designer (Frances Lincoln, 2007) and Hill-Stead: The Country Place of Theodate Pope Riddle in Farmington, Connecticut(Princeton Architectural Press, 2009). She has also written articles for several periodicals and scholarly journals. Allyson lives in Palm Springs, California with her two beagles and a cat named Norah. She is a member of the Garden Club of Santa Barbara.

Register (£5) on Eventbrite HERE. 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.