History - History of Garden Design - Centre Based

Tunbridge Wells

The aim of this course is to discover more about the history of garden design from the earliest known records to the present day.
This course is a general introduction to the history of garden design and will introduce you to the principles that have governed style and development in this area throughout history. We will consider the religious and symbolic nature of ancient and classical gardens and discover how the key style elements of these gardens made their way into the gardens of the western European aristocracy and gentry. We will trace the development of English garden design from the Tudor period, through the Picturesque, the Gardenesque and the Arts and Crafts Movement to the twentieth century and examine the patterns emerging in garden design today. We will look at several example gardens, including those of the House of the Golden Bracelet in Pompeii; the Chahar baghs of Persia; the gardens of the Taj Mahal; Hampton Court Palace; Scotney Castle; Standen and Munstead Wood.
The course will consist of four sessions of illustrated classes with student participation, discussion and debate encouraged throughout. Week five will be an opportunity for each student to demonstrate their knowledge in a short, individual presentation on an historic garden, garden style or garden designer of their own choice.
No prior or technical knowledge of gardening or design is required.
By the end of this course:
All students should be able to name one or more prominent historic garden styles or garden designers and give one or more examples of those styles or designers’ works.
Most students should be able to identify and describe one or more stylistic elements in garden design and give one or more example gardens to demonstrate these characteristics.
Some students should be able to discuss the evolution of garden design through history and evaluate design influences from different periods upon each other.