To launch this series in honour of The Alnwick Garden's 10th anniversary, we are delighted to present two special events in partnership with The Maltings Theatre and Cinema. Take this rare opportunity to hear from two people who have been visionary in designing in extraordinary gardens.
Sir Roy Strong: 'Visions of England'
1st September, 3pm
The Maltings, Berwick
Sir Roy Strong in conversation with Her Grace, the Duchess of Northumberland
2nd September, 3pm
The Alnwick Garden
Tickets for each talk are £11-12.50pp. Combined tickets to both talks are £20pp.
Please purchase your tickets at Garden admissions on arrival.
About Sir Roy Strong
Sir Roy Strong was born in 1935 and educated at Edmonton County Grammar School and the University of London. He joined the National Portrait Gallery in 1959 and became its Director in 1967. In 1973 he became Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, a post which he resigned in 1987 to pursue a freelance career in the media and as a writer and consultant. He was knighted in 1983. Over the years he has written extensively on the country's history and culture as well as on garden design. His more recent books include The Laskett, The Story of a Garden, Coronation, A Little History of the English Country Church and Visions of England.
About The Laskett Gardens - created by Sir Roy Strong and Julia Trevelyan Oman
In 1973 the recently married Roy Strong and Julia Trevelyan Oman purchased The Laskett, an early Victorian house midway between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, set in the corner of a four acre triangle of land. Garden fever seized them early on and with little money and labour at their disposal, but with a cornucopia of ideas, they set out to make the garden you see today. It was one that was inspired by the great gardens of the pre-1914 era, by Italian gardens like the Villa Lante and by those of Tudor and Stuart England. As a result strong architectural structure abounds, underpinned by the emphasis on dramatic vistas and on surprise as a central concept.