This five week online course from the Gardens Trust will be suitable for anyone curious about gardens and their stories – whether absolute beginners or those with some garden history knowledge. Running from April 14 – May 14, the course aims to help participants recognize important eras, themes and styles in mainly British garden history from the earliest times to today, grasp something of the social, economic, political and international contexts in which gardens have been created and find greater pleasure in visiting historic gardens. You can sign up for whole series or dip into individual talks. There will be opportunities to discuss issues with speakers after each talk, and short reading lists for further exploration.
Week Three on April 30 is Medieval Gardens with Katie Campbell. Little archaeological evidence remains of the gardens created between the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of the Renaissance a millennium later; luckily, illustrated prayer books and calendars from the period provide lush and detailed images which can teach us much about the medieval garden. While utilitarian plots of the peasantry focused on root vegetables and cereals, religious institutions like the ninth century St Gall monastery provided medicinal herbs and flowers for the altar as well as food for paupers and pilgrims. Meanwhile royals cavorted in pleasure grounds like those at Woodstock where Henry II wooed his mistress amid elaborate labyrinths and water gardens. This talk will explore the range and evolution of the medieval garden.
Katie Campbell is a writer and garden historian. She lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities; she writes for various publications, and leads art and garden tours. Her most recent book, Cultivating the Renaissance (Routledge, 2021) , explores the evolution of Renaissance ideas and aesthetics through the Medici Tuscan villas. Her previous book, British Gardens in Time (Quarto, 2014), accompanied the BBC television series. Earlier works include Paradise of Exiles (Francis Lincoln, 2009), looking at the late nineteenth century Anglo-American garden-makers in Florence, Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design (Frances Lincoln, 2006) and Policies and Pleasaunces (Barn Elms, 2007), a Guide to Scotland’s Gardens.
For tickets, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk Ticket holders can join each session live or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25) 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 2 weeks.
