Buckinghamshire

Wednesday, June 4, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Gardens on Film: The Most Filmed County in England, Online

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Historic parks and gardens play a frequent – and frequently tantalizing – role in films and on TV. Where is the 18th century landscape that forms the background to scenes in Bridgerton? Which English country estate serves as Paris for both James Bond and Sherlock Holmes? Is that really a world heritage site being flooded for a scene in The Secret Garden?

Join The Gardens Trust on Wednesdays in May for behind-the-scenes at some of the locations used in costume dramas, children’s adventures, murder mysteries and much else. We’ll hear from a location manager on choosing the right gardens for shoots and from a garden historian on films in her own county, as well as the experience of three major players who regularly manage film crews in their historic landscapes – the National Trust, the Royal Parks and English Heritage. This ticket costs £35 for the full series of five talks or you may purchase a ticket for individual talks, costing £8. To sign up, visit Eventbrite UK HERE. Ticket holders can join each session live and/or view a recording for up to 2 weeks afterwards. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk.

Buckinghamshire has been described by VisitEngland as the ‘most filmed county in England’. The range of productions in which the county’s historic parks and gardens can be seen is certainly extraordinary, ranging from the perhaps predictable Midsomer Murders and a number of James Bond films, to the less expected, such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Home to 46 registered parks and gardens, including Stowe, West Wycombe and Cliveden, Buckinghamshire does have some fabulous material on which to draw. This June 4 talk will identify some of the many film locations across the county, and explore the featured gardens, along with some garden history and wider context to this county that’s always ready for its close-up.

Dr. Victoria Thomson’s professional background is in town planning and historic conservation, and her work has included stints in local and national government, a government agency, academia, and the third sector. Her personal and research interests are very much focused on historic parks and gardens, and particularly on their protection. A trustee of the Gardens Trust, and a member of the Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust, she’s been interested of late in how often her home county appears on screen.

Tuesday, January 10, 10:00 am GMT – Garden Archaeology – Stowe Landscape Gardens, Online

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This is the first lecture in the Gardens Trust’s third series of talks exploring how archaeology helps the garden historian find vital evidence on the ground which then informs future restoration projects and garden management plans. Our distinguished and popular speakers will be reporting mainly on current and on-going archaeology at various sites and with an emphasis on water features. On January 10, Stephen Wass will discuss Stowe Landscape Gardens. Any property as vast as Stowe is will always have something going on that demands an archaeological eye keeping on it and the past twelve months have seen three major investigations that are reported on in this talk. Firstly having been postponed for the last couple of years work began on the refurbishment of Bell Gate Lodge. Two large scale projects involved works on the massive dam below the Eleven Acre Lake with a huge cut through the dam to insert a bypass pipe and the controlled partial dismantling of the cascade that took the overflow from the lake to create a secret waterfall hidden within a chasm lined by collapsing masonry. The lecture begins at 10 am Greenwich Mean Time, which is very early here in the US, but Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week. £5 through Eventbrite. Register HERE.