This introductory Garden History day course with Laura Mayer provides an overview of the eighteenth-century landscape garden, one of Britain's greatest cultural exports. By focusing on the work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and his Regency successor, Humphry Repton, the course charts the rise and fall of the idealised English parkscape.
Competing ideas in garden design were then, as they are today, shaped by changes in prevailing fashion, economic pressures and even political discourse. We shall therefore consider how a revolutionary shift in landscaping style - driven by Brown and his contemporaries - overthrew the formal, geometric gardens of centuries past, in favour of the natural, and eventually the wild.
Our home for the day will be the stunning surroundings of Pennard House, a Grade II listed manor house nestled in the idyllic Somerset countryside. The friendly team at Pennard will ensure you are well looked after throughout your visit with a beautiful 2-course lunch and refreshments, not to mention a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.
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Laura Mayer is an independent lecturer, writer and researcher. She has an MA in Garden History and a PhD in eighteenth-century patronage, both from the University of Bristol. Originally an Art Historian with a side of Spanish, she accidentally fell into garden history whilst working at the Alhambra in Granada. Laura has published extensively – particularly on Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton – as well as on the historic gardens of Cambridgeshire.
Click here to find out more about Laura Mayer and her other available courses -
Pennard House is a Grade II listed Manor House with a homely feel. There are grand reception rooms, luxury bedrooms and a converted Coach House event venue ideal for all manner of parties. All set in 4 acres of lush gardens and surrounded by 180 acres of meadows, woodlands and apple orchards. There’s a croquet lawn, tipis in the garden and even a freshwater swimming lake. At Pennard they have the makings for the perfect event in a quintessentially English setting.
There is free parking on site.
The postcode is BA4 6TP
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Pen & paper if you wish to take notes, and an open mind!
