MA Garden History

About the course

The University of Buckingham’s Master’s programme in Garden History offers the opportunity to pursue research at Master’s level in any one of a wide range of garden- and landscape-related topics: from explorations of individual sites; their designers, gardeners and owners; to studies of the social and political use of gardens, or aspects their of conservation, botany, ecology, horticulture, archaeology, buildings – and much else besides.

While Individual research topics are closely focused, the approach of the course is to encourage students to take a broad view of the links between gardens and landscape, and of history and culture more generally. The choice of subject area is ultimately the student’s own.

The Master’s degree can be taken either full-time and completed in a single academic year, or taken part-time and extended over two years. Although original research it the prime focus of the programme, there is also a strongly collegial aspect to the course, as all research students meet regularly throughout the year for a series of early-evening seminars by some of the most distinguished scholars working in the history of early-modern England. The seminars are held at the University of Buckingham’s London offices at 51 Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6HJ, and provide an opportunity for students to meet and debate with the visiting speaker. Each seminar is followed by a working dinner at which discussion continues. (The full seminar programme is given below.)

The MA is awarded solely on the basis of the dissertation (there are no ‘exams’), and the relationship between the student and supervisor is therefore at the heart of the course.

The maximum length for the MA dissertation in the School of Humanities is 25,000 words (or approximately 75 pages at line-spacing of 1.5), excluding notes and references. Student and supervisor meet regularly on a one-to-one basis to discuss, plan, and review the dissertation as it develops through the year.

The University of Buckingham MA programmes are intended to impart all the skills necessary for the student to work as an independent researcher and writer – skills that are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. But the MA can be undertaken just as fulfillingly as an exercise in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and as a means of exploring areas of enquiry that are of particular interest to the student.

The academic year begins in October with classes on how to undertake archival research, how to plan and structure a dissertation successfully, and on the many online resources that are available to assist in historical research on the Tudor and Stuart periods. Specialist classes are also offered on paleography (the study of historic handwriting) to enable students to read contemporary manuscripts with speed and accuracy.

Tutorials and classes will normally take place at The University of Buckingham’s London offices at 51 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, WC1E 6HJ, very close to the British Museum.

DEFINING A SUBJECT FOR RESEARCH

Some students know from the outset the precise subject on which they intend to work. For most, however, the definition of a research proposal is usually a gradual process, with the student starting with a general area of interest, and then focusing on a more closely defined topic as a result of further reading and consultation, usually with the Course Director. Most students do not arrive at the final title of their dissertation until towards the end of the first Term, before Christmas.

The Course Directors Dr Twigs Way and Dr David Marsh are available to offer advice to prospective students who would like to discuss possible subjects for their research before they apply. They can be reached directly by email at twigs.way@buckingham.ac.uk and david.marsh@buckingham.ac.uk

RESEARCH SEMINARS

Private research and supervision are complemented by a rich programme of seminars which give students direct access to some of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished scholars in the field of garden history. These seminars, which are chaired by the Course Directors take place at 51 Gower St (as above) or occasionally online.

The seminar meets regularly between October and March. All seminars begin at 6:30 pm with the talk by the visiting speaker, and this is followed by a question session and discussion. There is usually a drinks reception for the speaker and students after the seminar. The programme aims not only to offer a stimulating intellectual experience, but one which is an enjoyable sociable experience as well.

The seminars are of course academic events, with a talk by a visiting expert; but they also have a social dimension, bringing research students and senior scholars together to discuss matters of common interest in an informal and congenial atmosphere.

This coming year’s seminars will include a series of case-studies of important gardens, organised chronologically, and led either by academic garden-historians or, in some case, by their owners or managers. These seminars will explore not only the history of the site, but also what is involved in their management and conservation.

In addition to the seminars, there will be a series of online background lectures on wider garden and landscape history for each period, and a number of site visits.

SEMINARS AND EVENTS 2024-25

Please note that, unless otherwise stated, all seminars take place at The University of Buckingham’s offices, 51 Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6HJ. Events marked with an asterisk take place online. All seminars, progress meetings, and online lectures start at 6.30 pm.

Saturday 5 October
Course Introduction Day

Thursday 10 October
Dr Stephen Wass (Polyolbion Archaeology), ‘Garden Archaeology’

Saturday 12 October
Visit to Stowe House, led by Stephen Wass (Polyolbion Archaeology)

*Thursday 17 October,
Dr David Marsh, ‘Medieval Gardens’ (online)

Thursday 24 October
Deborah Evans (Gardens Trust), ‘Issues in Garden Conservation’

*Thursday 31 October
Dr David Marsh, ‘Tudor Gardens’ (online)

Monday 4 November, 10:30-17:00
Faculty Induction Day, at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BE

Thursday 7 November
John Watkins (Head of Gardens, English Heritage), ‘Kenilworth Castle: a Tudor Case Study’

*Thursday 14 November
Dr David Marsh, ‘Early Seventeenth-Century Gardens’ (online)

Saturday 16 November
Visit to Lyveden House

Thursday 28 November
Pam Smith (Senior Gardens Advisor, National Trust), ‘The National Trust and the Management of Historic Sites’

*Thursday 31 November
Dr David Marsh, ‘Later Seventeenth-Century Gardens’ (online)

Thursday 5 December
Nick Lane Fox (Owner and gardener), ‘Bramham Park: a Baroque Case Study’

Thursday 12 December
Progress Reports Meeting

*Thursday 9 January
Dr David Marsh, ‘Early Eighteenth-Century Gardens’ (online)

Thursday 16 January
Georgie Guernsey (Viscountess Guernsey, owner), ‘Packington Hall: a mid-Eighteenth-Century Case Study’

*Thursday 23 January
Dr David Marsh, ‘Chinoiserie and other Quirks’ (online)

*Thursday 30 January
Dr David Marsh, ‘The Landscape Garden’ (online)

Thursday 6 February
Dr Oliver Cox (Head of Academic Partnerships, V&A), ‘Case Studies: the Eighteenth-Century Garden’

*Thursday 13 February
Dr David Marsh, ‘The Picturesque’ (online)

*Thursday 20 February
Dr David Marsh, ‘Humphrey Repton’ (online)

Thursday 27 February
Dr Mick Thompson (Estate Manager), ‘Ashridge Park: an early-Nineteenth-Century Case Study’

*Thursday 6 March
Dr David Marsh, ‘Gardens and the Victorians’ (online)

Thursday 13 March
Toby Beasley (Head Gardener, Osborne House), ‘Osborne: A Victorian Case Study’

Saturday 15 March
Visit to Wrest Park, led by Dr Twigs Way

*Thursday 20 March
Dr David Marsh, ‘Twentieth-Century Gardens’ (online)

Thursday 27 March
Fergus Garrett (Head gardener, Great Dixter), ‘Great Dixter: a Twentieth-Century Case Study’

Thursday 3 April
Tim Richardson (former gardens editor, Country Life), ‘Contemporary Gardens’

Thursday 10 April
Progress Reports Meeting

Saturday 7 (or 14) June (TBC)
Visit to Eltham Palace, led by Christopher Waddell (Senior Gardens Advisor, English Heritage)

STUDY PERIOD

The usual period of Master’s degree research is one year for the those who engage in full-time study. Part-time study is also available, with students completing the dissertation in two years.

RESEARCH SUPERVISION

Every Master’s student in School of Humanities is supported by two supervisors. There is a First (or Principal) Supervisor, who is the student’s regular guide during his or her research, and with whom the student meets regularly throughout the year. There is also a Second Supervisor, whom the student may consult on a more limited basis where a ‘second opinion’ on a particular draft chapter may be helpful. Full-time students see their supervisor for one-to-one supervisions not less than twice a term.

The University has an extensive group of scholars available to undertake supervision in the field of Garden History. The two Course Co-Directors are:

Dr David Marsh was awarded his PhD for a study of the ‘Gardens and Gardeners of Later-Stuart London’ and has been lecturing and supervising research in Garden History ever since. He was co-convener of the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes seminar at Institute of Historical Research, University of London, from 2011-2022. He was a trustee of the Gardens Trust and chaired their Education Committee from 2015 to 2023. He set up the Gardens Trust’s successful on-line lecture programme and is the author of their weekly blog about Garden History.

Dr Twigs Way is a researcher, writer and lecturer with particular interests in the role of women in garden history, working class gardens, and the cultural overlap between gardens, art and literature. Twigs Wag originally graduated from UCL (Institute of Archaeology) and went on to complete her PhD at Cambridge on the relationship between parkland and power dynamics in landscape. From 2005-2024 Twigs was a consultant in historic designed landscapes, specialising in the creation of Parkland Management Plans (PMPs) and Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) for clients including Historic England, Natural England and private landowners. She has trained conservation volunteers across several county gardens trusts and is a guest lecturer for the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens. She has published on a range of topics including the histories of specific plants in art and culture, wartime gardening, allotment gardens, and ‘A Nation of Gardeners’ with the Museum of Garden History.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS

Toby Beasley gained a BSc in Horticulture from Writtle and worked at Osborne House before becoming head gardener at Down House, the former home of Charles Darwin. In 2008 he returned to Osborne as head gardener where he manages a team of ten staff and 65 volunteers.

Dr Oliver Cox is a historian by training and teaches architectural and cultural history with a focus on the eighteenth century. Formerly a British Academy Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, he is now Head of Academic Partnerships at the Victoria and Albert Museum, leading on the strategic development of new academic partnerships that build on the V&A’s track record in innovative, interdisciplinary teaching and research.

Deborah Evans is an historian, writer and educator who became a Head Gardener, Chartered Landscape Architect and heritage professional, Deborah has worked for the National Museum and Galleries of Wales, the National Trust, Historic England and specialist landscape practices before establishing DE Landscape & Heritage in 2015. She is a trustee of the Gardens Trust, and chairs their Conservation Committee.

Nick Lane Fox is the owner of Bramham Park, a Grade-I listed house near Leeds where he is overseeing a large-scale restoration project of the early eighteenth-century gardens and parkland. Bramham lies at the centre of a 2,265-hectare agricultural estate where, in addition to farming and forestry, he has helped develop an events programme including the Bramham Horse Trials and the Leeds Music Festival.

Fergus Garrett is an English plantsman and horticultural educationalist. He studied horticulture at Wye College,and worked for Beth Chatto and in private gardens before joining the Great Dixter team. He became Christopher Lloyd’s Head Gardener in 1993 and is now and Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust.

Georgie Guernsey (Viscountess Guernsey) lives at Packington Hall with her husband, James, and three young children. Having studied Garden Design at KLC School of Design, she now oversees various restoration projects across the Estate. Her current focus is on the reinstatement of the Walled Garden and the maintenance of the ‘Capability’ Brown pleasure grounds. Packington Estate is situated at the centre of the country, between Birmingham and Coventry.

Tim Richardson is a garden-writer, historian and critic, and an advisor to the National Trust on gardens. His many books include The Arcadian Friends, Avant Gardeners, and The New English Garden. He regularly contributes to the Daily Telegraph and Country Life.

Pam Smith is the National Trust’s Senior National Consultant for gardens and parklands, with responsibilities for garden history, management and interpretation across the Trust’s 222 gardens and over 200 historic parklands. She is a horticulturist with over 35 years’ experience working across the public park, botanic and historic garden sectors.

Mick Thompson was until his retirement the estate manager at Ashridge for nearly 30 years. He is vice-chair of Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust and is in the final stages of work on his PhD dissertation.

Dr Stephen Wass is a professional archaeologist and consultant specialising in historic gardens. Much of the work he has undertaken has been for the National Trust including such major sites as Chastleton House, Packwood House, Croft Castle, and most recently Stowe Landscape Gardens. He is the author of The Amateur Archaeologist and Seventeenth-century Water Gardens and The Birth of Modern Scientific Thought in Oxford: The Case of Hanwell Castle.

John Watkins has been Head of Gardens and Landscape at English Heritage since 1999, and has worked on the a number of major garden and landscape projects, including Chiswick Park, Down House, Eltham Palace, Wrest Park, Bolsover Castle, Witley Court and Kenilworth Castle. He is on the management board of Plant Network and is a Trustee of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust.

Christopher Weddell has been Senior Gardens Advisor at English Heritage since 2008, setting and monitoring the standards of garden presentation and curation at English Heritage’s garden sites, advising and supporting garden teams and property staff, and supporting garden projects at (among other places) Eltham Palace, Walmer Castle, Marble Hill, Wrest Park, and Witley Court. He has also worked for the National Trust, for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and for the Royal Horticultural Society.

ASSOCIATE STUDENTS

For those who wish to attend the seminars and to join the post-seminar dinners with the visiting speakers, it is possible to join the programme as an Associate Student (what is known as an Audit Student in the United States). Associate Students do not enrol for the MA and do not have to submit any written work, but they are otherwise full members of the seminar and free to take part in discussion. There is also a substantially reduced fee.

For further information, please contact humanitiespg-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk