Accessing the Archives - William Andrews Nesfield: Kensington Garden

This five-part online series is presented in partnership with the Garden Museum, to celebrate the Museum’s acquisition of the archives of the eminent landscape designer William Andrews Nesfield (1793–1881). The extensive papers were previously held by the designer’s descendants in Australia.

A former soldier and skilled watercolourist, Nesfield was the first to describe himself as a landscape architect. He designed over 250 sites, characterised by formal, Italianate parterres, grand fountains and intricate statuary near the house, with more naturalistic landscapes beyond. By 1840 the gardening journalist JC Loudon was praising his painterly landscape designs as so successful ‘that his opinion is now sought out by gentlemen of taste in every part of the country.’ With changing fashions, his popularity fell away - but the acquisition of his archives gives us chance to consider again the artistry of his style and the significance of his designs.

Four talks, rich with archive material, will explore some of Nesfield’s most important commissions across the country. The series will conclude with a roundtable discussion reconsidering Nesfield, and how his archives can help us dig deeper into his importance and relevance today.

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This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for the other individual session via the link below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £35 via the link here. (Gardens Trust members £6 or £26.25).

Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link, please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

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Week 1. 16 September: The Nesfield Gardens at Regent’s Park, London. First in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 2. 23 September: Revisiting William Andrews Nesfield at Castle Howard: A 21st-century perspective. Second in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 3. 30 September: The Rise, Fall and Revival of Nesfield's 'Monster Work' at Witley Court in Worcestershire. Third in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 4. 7 October: A Tricky Commission: the RHS Kensington Garden. Fourth in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 5. 14 October: Round Table: Reconsidering Nesfield. Last in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

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Week 4. 7 October: A Tricky Commission: the RHS Kensington Garden, with Fiona Davison

This talk, illustrated with plans, drawings and photographs from the RHS Lindley Library will look at the challenges William Andrews Nesfield faced when commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society to design its new garden at the heart of the ‘Albertopolis’ cultural quarter in Kensington. The talk will look at the conflicting agendas and personalities of the many people Nesfield had to work with and the factors influencing the design and planting choices eventually settled on. Although the garden was only in existence for forty years, it had far-reaching consequences for Nesfield, the RHS and horticulture generally.

Fiona Davison has been Head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS since 2012. Prior to that she worked in museums for more than 20 years, including Hackney Museum and the Museum of London. She has published two books on garden history: Hidden Horticulturists: the working-class gardeners who shaped Britain’s gardens (Atlantic Books, 2019) and An Almost Impossible Thing: pioneer women gardeners (Little Toller, 2023). She regularly gives talks on garden history at the Lindley Library and external venues.

Image: William Nesfield, End of Canal – Terra Cotta Columns with Festoons of Creepers, sketch for the Kensington Garden, March 1861, courtesy RHS Lindley Collections