Tag Archives: Henry VIII

Hever

Posted on 28/06/2025 by The Garden History Blog

A couple of weeks ago I led a small party of French visitors round some of the gardens of London, Kent and Sussex.  One of those I chose was Hever Castle which I hadn’t visited since lockdown. We were all … Continue reading →

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A Young Man Among Roses

Posted on 12/06/2021 by The Garden History Blog

I’m sure that you’ll recognise this picture.   Its custodian, the V&A, says it “is perhaps the most famous of English miniatures. It epitomises the romantic Elizabethan age and is a masterpiece of miniature paintings by its greatest exponent, Nicholas Hilliard. … Continue reading →

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The Glastonbury Thorn

Posted on 22/12/2018 by The Garden History Blog

One of the things that historians like to boast about is their devotion to evidence.  Facts without corroboration are merely assertions. Good stories without witness statements or documentary support are just that: good stories.  The further back in time one … Continue reading →

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The Beasts of Bexley…

Posted on 26/10/2014 by The Garden History Blog

Would you expect to find a large red dragon in a garden in Bexley? Or a griffin lurking behind a hedge at a castle near Cardiff?  To say nothing of  a dolphin on a staircase in Kensington or an English leopard in a French camping site? … Continue reading →

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Elephants and the royal menagerie…

Posted on 17/07/2014 by The Garden History Blog

After a look at mechanical elephants in our parks and gardens I thought perhaps I should look at the place of the real thing there as well.   Garden menageries have a long history: the earliest recorded in Britain from the … Continue reading →

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