Why So Special? - FOLAR & the Gardens Trust
The Bull at Alton West, Image Elain Harwood
FOLAR and the Gardens Trust are delighted to present a series of weekly online talks reviewing the 21 recently registered post war landscapes and gardens and their designers.
The purpose of the series is to focus attention on the ideas, ingenuity and quality of each of these 20c designs. With a brilliant array of speakers including the original designers, academics, landscape architects, historians and researchers plus further insights from head gardeners, residents, site managers and users, we aim to reveal more detail about the design, the designer, how the landscape/garden works, how it has endured over the years, and what its future is like even with Historic England (HE) listing. We also want to discuss availability and access to drawings and papers related to the projects.
These landscapes and gardens range from private gardens to vast reclamation projects. Throughout the UK many C20 designed gardens and landscapes are at great risk from being unnoticed or under-valued, or they are maintained without any awareness of the original concept, such that sites get swept away, ‘improved’ or built over. We hope that this series of talks will help to change this.
The series runs from 7 September 2021 to 29 March 2022, grouped by subject and with a week’s break between topics. [and nothing in December] All talks are on Tuesdays from 18.00-19.15pm We hope you will join us!
Why so special programme
New Town Parks
7 September: Harlow Town Park with by David Allen and Alison Fox
14 September: Campbell Park Milton Keynes with Neil Higson and Brian Salter
Commercial Landscapes
28 September: Stockley Park with Bernard Ede and Claire Watson
5 October: Broadwater Park with Karen Fitzsimon
12 October: Cummins Engine Factory with Jane Amidon and Matthew Benians
19 October: Cadbury Factory with Ed Bennis and Rob Belcher
Public Housing
2 November: Alexandra Road Park with Neil Davidson
9 November: Brunel Estate with Colin Moore
16 November: Golden Lane Estate Elain Harwood and Clem Cecil
23 November: Churchill Gardens with Dominic Cole and Jenifer White
30 November: Alton East and West with Elain Harwood
Public and Semi-Public Parks and Gardens
11 January: Improvement Garden Stockwood Park with Kate Harwood
18 January: Roper’s Garden with Ed Bennis
25 January: Kennedy Memorial with Annabel Downs
1 February: St Catherine’s College with Tim Richardson
Private Housing
15 February: Fieldend with Jan Woudstra
22 February: Burwood Place Water Gardens with Dominic Cole and Jan Woudstra
Private Gardens
8 March Beth Chatto with David Ward
15 March Denmans Garden with Barbara Simms and Gwendolyn van Paasschen
22 March York Gate Garden
29 March Shute House with Kate Felus