Date and Time
Dr Laura Mayer will speak on GARDEN BUILDINGS, GROTTOES AND ENTERTAINMENTS AL FRESCO at Bath Royal Scientific and Literary Institute, Queen Square Bath. BA1 2HN. Commencing 2.30pm in the Elwin Room.
For all its aesthetic ideals and painterly compositions, the English landscape garden was ultimately intended for recreation. Follies, tea temples and other small-scale garden buildings encouraged architectural experimentation, whilst practically supplying shelter and shade for picnics and an exciting destination for drinking and dining.
Set apart from the country house, hermitages and classical pavilions provided privacy, seclusion and a sense of retreat within the landscape, encouraging study and quiet contemplation. At night, shadowy grottoes were illuminated by candlelight, and fireworks launched – often disastrously – from lodges or other purpose-built structures.
This lecture explores the role of architectural features within eighteenth-century garden design, and considers how they were used and enjoyed in all weathers and throughout the seasons.
Biography: Dr. Laura Mayer
Laura Mayer is an independent lecturer, writer and researcher. Originally an art historian with a side of Spanish, she accidentally fell into garden history whilst working at the Alhambra in Granada. She has an MA in Garden History and a PhD in eighteenth-century architectural and landscape patronage, both from the University of Bristol. Laura has published extensively – particularly on Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton – as well as on the historic gardens of Cambridgeshire. Laura lectures regularly for Cambridge University Botanic Gardens and the Gardens Trust, and works as a conservation consultant for the National Trust and Land & Heritage. Laura lives in Bristol, in a lilac-and-blue Georgian house which she wishes had Granada’s weather – and a proper garden.
Full details will be published in due course.
