The chair of Haddenham Village Society, Prof Sir Roderick Floud, will be giving a talk on Tuesday 12th November, at 6.15 for 6.30pm in the Youth and Community Centre, Woodways, HP17 8DS.
His short lecture is entitled 'Legacies of English Gardens: Lakes, Central Heating and the Shard' and marks the publication, by Allen Lane, of his book 'An Economic History of the English Garden' (£25).
Roderick says of his book: "It began as an attempt to answer a simple question, posed as I walked round a beautiful garden: "It's lovely, but how much did it all cost?" None of the thousands of books on garden history give an answer, so I set out to discover it for myself. The result is a history of the garden industry since 1660."
"It covers the royal gardens, the enormous gardens of the aristocracy, the designers and nurserymen who catered for their wishes – seen as businessmen as well as plantsmen, the technology of gardens, the growth of the suburbs and the kitchen garden as a fashion statement. It's written for a general readership. I've greatly enjoyed the ten years or more that it has taken me to write the book and I hope it will give equal pleasure to those who read it."
In his illustrated lecture, Sir Roderick will discuss how gardening has transformed our landscape, our townscape and our lives. The technologies of dam-building, of central heating and of metal and glass buildings all have their origins in the gardens of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Gardening creates beauty but also alters the way we live.
The talk will be followed by drinks, and signed copies of his book will be on sale.
Tickets cost £6, plus a 95p booking fee, to include a glass of wine, (under 15s free). Book online at www.turnend.org.uk/new-events, or buy tickets at the door.
Proceeds from the evening will go to Turn End Trust.
