Price: To Be Established

Publication Date: Spring 2008

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Summary:

This research unravels the cultural meanings inherent in parkland. Using case studies in south-west England, the work shows how the creators of 18^th-century parks used the physical landscape as a canvas on which selected elements were erased, some retained, and others added. These parks are shown to have made explicit references to deer parks, which were known to be ancient and to have had elite associations. 18^th-century parks thus incorporated appropriated, altered and added historic meanings and can be considered fictitious, or pseudo-historic landscapes. The outcomes of this research are discussed in terms of the socio-economic and cultural implications of parks, and their role in validating the status and supporting the imagined identities of their owners. Examples from other areas of England demonstrate that the results reflect a more or less ubiquitous phenomenon. The work concludes by observing that analogous fabrications in the historic landscape are widespread in the present-day.

The Author:

Adam Wainwright grew up in Tring, a small market town in Hertfordshire. After dropping out of university he trained as a gardener on a Scottish landed estate. He practiced this trade for around 30 years, latterly in south-west England. In 1998 a severe back condition prompted him to consider his options and he returned to higher education, this time with more success. His studies continued to reflect his engagement with ornamental landscapes and gave scope to explore their meanings in ways which had not previously been possible. Adam Wainwright lives with his wife in Devon, and works as a freelance researcher.