Peoples Parks

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A 6-part online lecture series exploring our parks with Paul Rabbitts on Weds @ 6pm. £42 for all or £8 each (GT members discount applies)

Ticket sales have closed at Eventbrite for this series, but you can still purchase tickets for the individual talks. If you wish to view the whole series please contact the Organiser. NB Recordings are available for a week after a talk.

People’s Parks are one of the finest legacies of the Victorian age. Designed and bequeathed to the masses as part of a movement encouraging green spaces and recreation, the public park came to symbolise one of the greatest contributions of the era.Opened in increasing numbers in the industrious nineteenth century, by the end of the twentieth century many of our parks had become sadly neglected. But today they remain outdoor places for everyone to enjoy, acting as children’s play areas, sports grounds and even concert venues and have grown in popularity since the global pandemic. But what do we really know about them?This series of talks explores some of these outstanding public spaces – from the Royal Parks of London to the great designers of the era, to what makes them great parks – their parkitecture, the bandstands that proliferated, to remnants of once great estates. A lively series of talks that tells this great story. Image: Postcard of Battersea Park, from Paul’s own collection.....Please scroll down below the links to see the full details of each talk, and about Paul Rabbitts. This ticket is for the entire course of 6 sessions. or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8 via the links below. [Gardens Trust members may purchase tickets at £31.50 for the series or £6 each talk].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 1 week.Apple users may no longer be able to purchase this ticket from the Eventbrite iOS app. Please use a web browser on desktop or mobile to purchase or follow the link <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/checkout-external?eid=852833737667" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/checkout-external?eid=852833737667" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here.</a>…..

<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-a-concise-history-tickets-852858451587" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-a-concise-history-tickets-852858451587" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 1. 17 April: People’s Parks - a Concise History</a>. First in a series of 6 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-londons-royal-parks-tickets-852876234777" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-londons-royal-parks-tickets-852876234777" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 2. 24th April: London’s Royal Parks</a>. Second in a series of 6 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-great-parks-great-designers-tickets-852882503527" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-great-parks-great-designers-tickets-852882503527" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 3. 1st May: Great Parks, Great Designers. </a>Third in a series of 4 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-parkitecture-the-essence-of-what-makes-a-great-public-park-tickets-852890527527" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-parkitecture-the-essence-of-what-makes-a-great-public-park-tickets-852890527527" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 4. 8th May: Parkitecture – The Essence of what makes a Great Public Park</a>. Fourth in a series of 4 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-cassiobury-the-ancient-seat-of-the-earls-of-essex-tickets-852896665887" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-cassiobury-the-ancient-seat-of-the-earls-of-essex-tickets-852896665887" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 5. 15th May: Cassiobury – The Ancient Seat of the Earls of Essex.</a> Fifth in a series of 6 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)<a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-bandstands-history-decline-and-revival-tickets-852898260657" title="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peoples-parks-bandstands-history-decline-and-revival-tickets-852898260657" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Week 6. 22nd May: Bandstands – History, Decline and Revival.</a> Last in a series of 6 online lectures, £8 each or all 6 for £42 (GT members £6 each or all for £31.50)…..

<h4>Week 1. 17 April: People’s Parks - a Concise History</h4>This really is a fascinating insight into the history of one of our greatest ever institutions - our Great British Public Park - People’s Parks. We have all enjoyed them at some time in our lives but what do we really know about them? their origins? did they really start in the Victorian period or do they go back even further? This talk illustrates their origins, the need for parks, their Victorian heyday, what makes a great park, with examples of lodges, lakes, bandstands, fountains and floral displays, to their great decline in the sixties and seventies. However, the subsequent revival has led to a major shift in interest in our parks and once again we are much in love with them. This is also a highly illustrative talk accompanied by slides with examples of parks from across the UK and their designs and architecture. This is a particularly popular talk and always goes down well as we can nearly always recount our own experiences with our own local park.This first session will follow the blossoming of the amazing 2,000-year-old story of why we have gardens at all. This is a fascinating tale of how they grew in the Roman world to become so much more than a productive space by a house. As the Empire expanded and the ordinary people aspired to have show-off homes, the gardens rapidly became a work of art in themselves. Now, for the first time in history, they became the personal creative spaces we know and love today. You’ll be astonished at how much the Romans have shaped our modern gardens today: from practical suppliers of food to homely open spaces and grand vistas and landscapes. They all have fascinating ancient roots that reveal how gardens came to be our own social, spiritual and physical spaces. Greenery, space, status, pleasure and fun, places of togetherness and of meditative solitude … all these aspects have truly ancient roots.Image: Postcard of Victoria Park, London, from Paul’s own collection…..

<h4>Week 2. 24th April: London’s Royal Parks</h4>London's royal parks are among its most beautiful and beloved spaces: just as much as the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace or St Pancras Station, the mere mention of Hyde or Regent's Park is enough to evoke the capital in all its glory for residents and tourists alike. They have a grand history - some were royally owned as far back as the Norman conquest, others were acquired by Henry VIII during the Reformation - and since being opened to the public during the eighteenth century, they have hosted some of London's great events, including the Great Exhibition and innumerable jubilees and celebrations. This talk tells the story of all eight of the parks from the point when they were acquired by the monarchy until the present day, including the major historic moments and events with which they are associated.Image: Plan of Regent’s Park, from Paul’s own collection…..

<h4>Week 3. 1st May: Great Parks, Great Designers</h4>Capability Brown, Humphry Repton, William Kent, great landscape gardeners we love and admire. They have designed some of the most impressive landscapes we can still enjoy to this day. Yet most of us will use our local park at some stage. There are 27,000 of them across the UK, and we take them for granted. They are designed landscapes and have emanated from the hands of such people as Joseph Paxton, JC Loudon, John Nash. Yet what about the great municipal designers, nurserymen, parks superintendents, landscape architects such as Sexby, Pettigrew, Sandys-Winsch, Vertegans, Mawson, Marnock, Milner, Kemp and Gibson – so many important parks delivered at their hands – from Birkenhead Park to Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Eaton Park in Norwich to West Park in Wolverhampton – these were great parks delivered to us by great designers.Image: Engraving of the official opening of Birkenhead Park, from Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain…..

<h4>Week 4. 8th May: Parkitecture – The Essence of what makes a Great Public Park</h4>So what makes a great park? what are the ingredients of these great institutions? what is it that we enjoy so much when we visit them? The legacy of our great Victorian parks includes the fantastic features within them - drinking fountains, bandstands, park lodges, palm houses, boating lakes, cafes, bridges, mansions, museums, glorious gates, statues, monuments and sculpture. I call this 'Parkitecture'. The architecture of the park. And what of the challenges facing those who have to manage these historic spaces and features when they no longer become relevant. Join me on a journey through some of Great Britain's finest public parks and enjoy the feast of features within them - parkitecture!Image: Postcard of Drinking Fountain in Wandsworth Park, from Paul’s own collection…..

<h4>Week 5. 15th May: Cassiobury – The Ancient Seat of the Earls of Essex</h4>One of the remnants of the great lost estates, Cassiobury Park is now the largest park in Hertfordshire, and the principal park of Watford, covering an area twice the size of Hyde Park. But this is no ordinary park. In 1661, Arthur, the 2nd Baron Capel, was made the Earl of Essex and, by 1668/69, he had moved to Cassiobury. By 1707, Cassiobury was a significant estate, and Charles Bridgeman was employed here in the 1720s. In 1800, the 5th Earl of Essex employed James Wyatt to rebuild the house along with Humphry Repton. The landscape was captured by Turner in many paintings.By the beginning of the twentieth century, large areas of the park had been sold off to the council for public parkland. By 1921, the lease was surrendered and, in 1927, Cassiobury House was demolished. Much of the remaining land was bought by the council becoming further parkland for the expanding town. This talk tells the significant story of a remarkable estate, family and park.Image: Cassiobury, ©Paul Rabbitts…..

<h4>Week 6. 22nd May: Bandstands – History, Decline and Revival</h4>An entertaining talk on that icon of public parks - the Victorian and Edwardian bandstand, so common once upon a time. This lecture covers their origins from the mid-18th century Pleasure Gardens to their heyday during the Victorian park making era, and includes the impact of a small number of Scottish foundries, to the plethora of brass bands that grew up across the country. We also cover the subsequent decline post World War Two and why we lost so many of them. Their history is fascinating and covers not just brass bands but also cites Bowie, the Bay City Rollers and Dire Straits as users of these least cynical of public spaces. And what about the recent revival of the bandstand in our public parks? This is a highly illustrative talk that engages many and fascinates the listener and has had excellent feedback from those who have heard it.Image: Postcard of Town Moor Recreation Ground, Newcastle, from Paul’s own collection…..

Paul Rabbitts has over 35 years of experience in designing, managing and restoring urban parks across the UK. A landscape architect and current parks manager for Norwich City Council, he is also a a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and chair and founding member of the Parks Management Association. He is a director and trustee of the Gardens Trust and a member of its Conservation Committee.Since his first book, Bandstands (Shire Publishing), in 2011, Paul has published over 34 titles, including further books on bandstands, public parks, the royal parks, park designers, parkitecture and biographies of Grinling Gibbons and architects Decimus Burton and Sir Christopher Wren. His latest book, People’s Parks – The Design and Development of Public Parks in Britain (John Hudson Publishing, 2023), is THE definitive book on public parks.A frequent lecturer on public parks, the royal parks and bandstands for various universities, the U3A, Gardens Trusts, and National Trust associations, he has appeared on BBC4, Radio 2, local radio and has featured in many newspapers and magazines. Paul is currently studying for his PhD at the University of East Anglia on his favourite subject – the bandstand!<a href="https://www.paulrabbitts.co.uk/" title="https://www.paulrabbitts.co.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.paulrabbitts.co.uk</a>…..

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