Announcing a Royal Oak lecture: Painshill Park and the English Landscape Tradition by Cherrill Sands, Garden Historian with a special introduction by Lady Alexander of Weedon, Chairwoman of Painshill Park Trust Monday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. Union League of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad Street Admission: $25 lecture only, $75 lecture and dinner. Formal business attire required at the Union League. Advance Registration Required: (212) 480-2889, ext. 201; royal-oak.org By the early-18th century, writers and English garden designers advocated moving away from the formalized, symmetrical garden plans prevalent in preceding centuries to an informal and naturalistic approach to the English landscape. Purposefully designed to create an idyllic pastoral view of nature, this English Landscape movement was influenced by the influx of ideas brought back from the Grand Tour of Europe, a part of every high-born gentleman’s education. One such gentleman was the Honorable Charles Hamilton, who, after returning from his Grand Tour, was inspired to purchase 250 acres of land just outside of London in 1738. Though the land was described as “a barren heath, cursed hill,” over the course of 35 years Hamilton designed Painshill as a romantic landscape aligned with the emerging and popular naturalistic style. Like other great gardens of its time, Painshill included imported plants from the great John Bartram of Philadelphia, a Federalist and plantsman who travelled from Florida to the Great Lakes collecting exotic plant specimens. In this lecture, garden historian Cherrill Sands will explore the history and design of Painshill and discuss the reaction by contemporary visitors who were inspired by its exotic beauty, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; and Princess Dashkova, Catherine the Great’s envoy and confidante. She will also discuss the events that led to Painshill’s gradual dereliction and its near fatal destruction during World War II. Lady Alexander of Weedon, Chairwoman of Painshill Park Trust, will introduce the lecture and explain the current efforts and plans to restore the garden to its former glory.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:23:29 +0000
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