Product Description

This book explores the history of the Hampton Court Palace landscape. Among the many themes it addresses are the role and impact of patrons, designers and estate workers; planting and horticultural techniques; statuary, fountains and other garden ornaments; and maintenance and conservation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #792360 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
Todd Longstaffe-Gowan is Gardens Adviser to Hampton Court Palace and Vice Chairman of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust. He lectures on landscape history and is a regular contributor to publications including Country Life, the Times, The Sunday Telegraph and World of Interiors. His book The London Town Garden 1700-1840 was published by Yale University Press in 2001. Vivian Russell is a writer and photographer. Her books include Gardens of the Riviera, Monet's Garden (which won two Garden Writers' Guild Awards), Monet's Waterlilies, Monet's Landscapes and Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens. She was a regular contributor to Gardens Illustrated for many years and now writes and photographs for The Daily Telegraph gardening supplement.

Customer Reviews

Five centuries of gardening. The gardens & parks of Hampton Court Palace
A well organised and attractively produced book giving a scholarly account of the history of these magnificent and much loved Gardens. Hampton Court Palace is the finest of English Renaissance gardens and of great importance to any student of horticulture and garden or landscape history.
The avenues and the venerable ancient trees of the parks along with the even older pruned and pleached trees of the formal gardens are among the treasures of the gardens. Along with the newly restored privy garden, the statuary and the architecture these are well illustrated with photos and drawings ancient and modern

A STUNNING JOURNAL OF GARDENS AND PARKS

Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, Gardens Adviser to Hampton Court Palace and Vice Chairman of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, and photographer Vivian Russell have combined their considerable talents to offer readers, most especially garden enthusiasts, a stunning journal of the gardens and parks at Hampton Court Palace.

Not only is Hampton Court an historic landscape covering 2,000 acres, bounded on its south and east sides by the River Thames, it is also a site of great antiquity indicating that there were settlements in the site dating back to the Bronze Age. However the estate began to form very much as it is seen today in 1086. It was in 1514 that Hampton Court was leased by Cardinal Wolsey, until he became persona non grata at court and was forced to leave by Henry VIII.

As soon as the estate was under his care Henry began a 20 year building, the like of which had not been seen. Since that time various royals have left their marks upon the estate as it has been used as a guest house. Queen Victoria declared that the palace "should be thrown open to all her subjects without restriction, and without fee or gratuity of any kind.." While this order was not deemed wise by many, the palace did become a popular vacation resort.

The gardens were neglected during World War I, but by 1919 improvements were being overseen by a committee of horticultural and landscape garden experts. Since the early 1990s major restoration work has taken place within the palace which has been coordinated with landscape improvements. Today, the estate stands as a "great emblem and monument of English history," and attracts over a million visitors every year.

Thanks to Longstaffe-Gowan and Russell for making it also available to armchair travelers.

- Gail Cooke

Best Book on Hampton Palace/Gardens
A hard earned lesson I have learned is when traveling to Europe or Asia notice all of those gorgeous hardbound books for sale everywhere & then buy them when returning home from websites. I used to ship them all home & still enjoy them when I need a "fix" but I finally got smart!

Especially now with luggage being weighed & having to pay the price (the worse is on inter-Europe flights!!) ....this book was one I saw in the gift shop at all of the British Palaces & it is fantastic. The photography is the best & I highly recommend it. I visited with my daughter & cousin & this captures forever my wonderful day at the royal's Disneyland!!! Even has costumed people strolling around speaking a la 1500 English.....