Devon Gardens Trust Council of Management Meeting 15th July 2014
Proposal for a Devon Garden History Forum
Context
During discussions regarding the Devon History Society strategy for development one of the aspects identified was that of ‘encouraging and co-ordinating historical research among the membership’. This is partly being achieved by a series of historical seminars focussing on research methods. Included in this series was a seminar given by myself, Clare Greener of the DGT, on researching garden history. One of the issues raised as a result of this seminar was that there are several groups and individuals in Devon working on garden history, some as part of a ‘Friends’ group, some as members of local history societies,as well as individual researchers.These include Wembury (Langdon Court), The Stowford Archives Group (Stowford Mill Garden), Eastcliff (Circular Garden), Yelverton (The Garden House), Chagford (Castle Drogo), Devon Buildings Group (Haldon Belvedere), Lupton House Friends Group, Angela at Great Ambrook and so on. Following the meeting, I was approached by Julia Neville of the Devon History Society with the suggestion that there might be some merit in a joint initiative between the DGT and the DHS to develop the systematic study of garden history in Devon. Following discussion we arrived at an outline proposal below.
Proposal
A Devon Garden History Forum should be established for those interested in the history of gardens, gardeners, designers and plants in Devon.
The Forum should, initially, be co-hosted by Devon Gardens Trust and Devon History Society.
Participation in the Forum would be open to individuals and groups with an interest in Devon garden history, including members of the societies mentioned above and non-affiliated groups and individuals, including those working in historic properties as gardeners, curators or archivists and planning and conservation officers.
The aims of the Forum would be:
To share information about research in progress
To develop skill and expertise in garden history research
To identify priorities for future research topics (e.g. icehouses, nurseries)
To design and undertake research on priority topics.
A first Garden History Forum, with a key-note speaker, should be arranged for January/February 2015 to determine whether there is sufficient interest to make this a recurrent event.
The resources required to establish the Forum would be those of identifying and communicating with potential participants, organisation of the event including arranging the venue and booking a speaker, costing and charging participants for their attendance. This work would be shared by the host organisations,for example, DHS might send out a joint letter of invitation, the DGT to book venue and speaker.
Recommendation
The establishment of a Garden History Forum would be in line with the work of the Research and Recording Group, but, by working with other groups and individuals, could massively increase our access to garden history research within the county. Therefore the Council of Management are asked to support the holding of a first Devon Garden History Forum in partnership with Devon History Society and its future continuation if sufficient interest is shown.