Recorded Talk: A History of Gardens 2 - Between Kings

For those who missed the second series of A History of Gardens, which originally ran in September 2024, this is a chance to access the recordings of four of the talks. Unfortunately, due to contractual obligations we are unable to provide what was originally talk 2.

You can buy a ticket for the whole recorded series, or for any of the individual sessions. The recordings will all be available from 19th July to 31st Aug 2025. You will also receive the short reading list produced for the original run of the series.

A History of Gardens from the Gardens Trust is suitable for anyone curious about gardens and their stories – whether absolute beginners or those with some garden history knowledge. It aims to help participants recognise important eras, themes and styles in mainly British garden history from the earliest times to today, grasp something of the social, economic, political and international contexts in which gardens have been created and find greater pleasure in visiting historic gardens.

We will be offering access to recordings of talks from the subsequent series over the next few months.

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A History of Gardens 2 - 17th-Century Gardens

What is a garden? Why were they created as they were? What influences were at play in garden making, and how have gardens evolved and developed over time? These are the questions we will explore as we traverse the history of gardens through the ages.

Following on from our opening talks on early gardens, this second series will examine how gardens developed during the 17th century, before the tumultuous impact of the English civil wars on gardens and gardening from the 1640s. The second part of the century saw the rise of extravagant, dramatic styles, now known as baroque gardens and exemplified by the work of André Le Nôtre for the Sun King at Versailles. We will explore these gardens through an analysis of the work of Le Nôtre and his contemporaries in France, and the series will end with a talk scrutinising how the European baroque style played out in England.

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This ticket is for this individual talk and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions via the links below, or you may purchase a ticket for the second series of 4 talks in our History of Gardens 2 Course at £28 via the link here (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 4 for £21).

Tickets will be released on 19th July and the recordings will be available to view until 31st August 2025. The Zoom links will be in the confirmation email sent directly after booking, if you do not receive that email, please contact us

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Recording 1: EARLY 17th-CENTURY PLANTS AND GARDENS with David Marsh. First in a series of 4 online lecture recordings, £8 each or all 4 for £28 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 4 for £21)

Recording 3: BETWEEN KINGS: GARDENS OF THE MID 17th CENTURY with Jill Francis. Third in a series of 4 online lecture recordings, £8 each or all 4 for £28 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 4 for £21)

Recording 4: THE FRENCH BAROQUE GARDEN with Gabriel Wick. Fourth in a series of 4 online lecture recordings, £8 each or all 4 for £28 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 4 for £21)

Recording 5: THE BAROQUE IN ENGLAND with David Marsh. Last in a series of 4 online lecture recordings, £8 each or all 4 for £28 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 4 for £21)

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Recording 3: BETWEEN KINGS: GARDENS OF THE MID 17th CENTURY with Jill Francis

After decades of relative peace and prosperity in Britain, the mid-17th century saw the country plunged into civil war, resulting in almost twenty years of turmoil, instability and uncertainty. This talk will examine the effect that this had on gardens as their owners returned - from the wars, from exile, from prison – and retreated to their neglected estates. With no role to play in the new Commonwealth regime, they turned to rebuilding, improving and in some cases, creating wonderful new gardens, such as the ones built by John Evelyn at Sayes Court and Wotton House. These gardens, and the fascinating stories behind them, will be the subject of this talk.

Dr Jill Francis is an early modern historian, specialising in gardens and gardening in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She has taught history at the universities of Birmingham and Worcester and still contributes to the programme of activities for both the Centre for Midlands History and Winterbourne House and Gardens. She is currently involved with delivering the online lecture programme for the Gardens Trust and also works at the Shakespeare Institute Library in Stratford-upon-Avon. Her book, Gardens and Gardening in Early Modern England and Wales, was published by Yale University Press in June 2018.

Image: The portico at Wotton House, designed by John Evelyn c.1650, photo ©Jill Francis

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We’re grateful to Wooden Books, sponsor of the first five series of A History of Gardens.

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