Tag Archives: ruins

Beaudesert: “a desert beautified”

Posted on 27/07/2019 by The Garden History Blog

Beaudesert is/was an enormous estate in Staffordshire’, its name probably coming from the French for the surrounding landscape – “beautiful wilderness”. It has a reasonably well recorded architectural and contents history up to the demolition of the great Elizabethan mansion … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antiquarian, historic revivalism, hothouse, Humphry Repton, james wyatt, kitchen garden, Plas Newydd, Red Book, ruins, William Emes | 1 Comment

Visiting a Duke 18thc style…

Posted on 09/02/2019 by The Garden History Blog

At the end of last year I wrote about the travel journals of John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington. His diaries are, unlike most 18thc published writing, quite informal in style , probably because he had no intention of putting his … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antiquarian, grimsthorpe, Humphry Repton, John Byng, John Vanbrugh, monastery, ruins, rustic, Topiary, tourism, travel, William Stukeley | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baring-gould, celia fiennes, christianity, Christmas, Cornwall, hawthorn, Henry VIII, Joseph of arimathea, king arthur, monastery, ruins, Turner, vandalism, Virgin Mary, William Blake, William of Malmesbury | 4 Comments

Mrs Delany’s Petticoat

Posted on 07/07/2018 by The Garden History Blog

I write about all sorts of strange things on this blog but can’t think of much more obscure than this week’s starting point which is a Georgian firescreen which turns out not to be just a firescreen but part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged auricula, botanical art, Chinoiserie, embroidery, fashion, flowers, geranium, honeysuckle, Mrs Delany, parterre, Roses, ruins, William Kent | 1 Comment

Park Hill from Tate to Today

Posted on 16/12/2017 by The Garden History Blog

Last week’s post told the first part of the story of Park Hill, a Victorian estate in Streatham in what is now south London. In 1873 the house was put up for sale after the death of its builder William … Continue reading →