Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fishing Temples 1 : the earliest survivals

Posted on 27/08/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Its August and I’ve been sitting admiring my lake – how’s that for showing off? It’s about an acre in extent and stuffed full of hideous fat carp. It’s an attraction for local fishermen and there’s often one sitting on … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Capability Brown, Chatsworth, Chinoiserie, Fishing, John Gerard, Mediaeval, National Trust | Leave a comment

Welwitschia mirabilis: “the ugliest plant in creation”?

Posted on 20/08/2016 by The Garden History Blog

What a mouthful that is! Even worse when you realise it’s the Latin name of a bizarre plant ‘discovered’ by a man born in the Austrian Empire of Slovak origin, who worked for the Portuguese monarchy in one of their African … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged kew, Namibia, South Africa | Leave a comment

Artificial Stone 4: Post-Coade potteries

Posted on 13/08/2016 by The Garden History Blog

While Eleanor Coade’s factory was the dominant player in the artificial stone market in the late 18th and early 19thc there were others. A few using their own magic mixtures and from the 1820s onwards others began using the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Castle Ashby, Coade, John Bacon, John Blashfield, Mark Blanchard | 1 Comment

Artificial Stone 3: Coade broken

Posted on 06/08/2016 by The Garden History Blog

In two earlier posts we have seen the rise and triumph of Eleanor Coade’s artificial stone business. [Catch up on them at: http://wp.me/p4brf0-vR6 & http://wp.me/p4brf0-vR8 ] Eleanor was a successful entrepreneur dominating the market in architectural decoration and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cemeteries, Coade, John Bacon, john nash, john sealy, Sir John Soane, statues, willaim croggan | Leave a comment

Beer and Skittles … but mainly skittles

Posted on 30/07/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Games where you roll or throw something at some sort of target to make it fall over are documented since at least medieval times, maybe even in ancient Egypt. Such games have only evolved marginally since then! Whether its kegel, … Continue reading →