Easter is a difficult time for bloggers, especially if you’re not someone of faith, so having looked at Easter lilies, Easter eggs, even bunnies I was running out of obvious things to cover. Of course the central theme of the Christian festival is resurrection so I hope no-one will be offended if I take that for my theme in a more secular sense.
I took a party of my research students to Eltham Palace recently and at first I thought I’d do a piece about how, like so many other historic sites Eltham is always on the lookout for ways of making money and bringing in a new audience and how Easter is a good time to do that with Easter egg trails etc, even though it often impacts badly on the site.
Then I had a brainwave, and it wasn’t to do with these Easter events but instead it was about the resurrection of this former mediaeval royal palace and its gardens, not once but twice in less than a hundred years.
Postcard from a private collection, showing the approach to the palace c1900
Take a close look at these images. What are they? How, when and why were they drawn? Who thought of drawing them in the first place?
Benington Lordship wears its long history with a welcoming smile. Lived in by the same family for well over a hundred years it has actually been inhabited since Saxon times. It still boasts the remains of a mediaeval castle as well large chunks of a mock one, a Queen Anne house with Edwardian extensions, extensive rural views, beautiful wildlife friendly gardens and what it’s particularly famous for, vast carpets of snowdrops.
I’ve discovered I’m a snob. Not so much about people but about plants. I suppose I’d always known that I had that tendency but my trip last week to the Orchid Festival at Kew bought it home in no uncertain terms.
The Garden History Blog 
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