Manuscript Journals of Travel in England in the Eighteenth Century: Can they reshape and add to our understanding of garden history?

Cousins, Michael (2022) Manuscript Journals of Travel in England in the Eighteenth Century: Can they reshape and add to our understanding of garden history? Doctoral thesis, Institute of Historical Research.
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Garden history is a multi-disciplinary subject. It encompasses art, architecture, philosophy, politics, social history, literature, religion, botany, horticulture, agriculture, archaeology and science; and thus can be open to many varied approaches. It is in the eighteenth century, the period which concerns this thesis, that all these disciplines are present to some degree (which is not so evidently the case with other periods) and investigations that reveal new knowledge and fresh understandings are particularly fruitful given such possibilities. What follows demonstrates new findings that, in their differing ways, fit into this broad framework, taking a founding step to resolve the lack of research into travel accounts with respect to their contribution to garden history.

The review of known studies within this field confirms the deficit of application of this source material to our knowledge base. Fundamental for this research was the creation of a database to provide a benchmark tool to conduct analysis – facilitating a data-driven examination of parks and gardens visited and chronological mapping of stylistic change as recorded by visitors. The magnitude of source material available shaped the focus of this research: geographically centred on England and concentrating on made parks and gardens (i.e. those shaped by man). Travel narratives also provide an important social dialogue, and the contextual background underpinned the ability to make visits and how fashionable influences became important when deciding what to see.

Several themes surface that have received little study before, including the symbiotic relationship between owner/visitor (evolving into an early commercialism); and operational aspects of garden design, creation and maintenance. The thesis concludes with two case studies that exemplify the contribution of personal descriptions, permitting 1) historical development of an otherwise poorly-documented site to be established; and, 2) reconsideration of the timeline of a particular garden fashion or movement.

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