On Thursday 18 July at Juniper Hall, Mickleham, Dorking
Surrey Gardens Trust will be hosting a day
in Celebration of the life of the
Revd William Gilpin (1724-1804), Pioneer of the Picturesque

The Revd William Gilpin, parson/schoolmaster at Cheam School in Surrey from 1752 to 1777, devoted many of the school holidays to travelling in Britain.  He recorded what he saw in a series of books which pay particular attention to Picturesque scenery.  In his Essay on Prints (1768) Gilpin defined the Picturesque as the kind of beauty that would look well in a picture.  The idea of the Picturesque continues to have a profound influence on garden design to this day.

Norbury Park seen from meadows on the road from Leatherhead. Watercolour on pencil by John Hassell, 1822. Reproduced by kind permission of Surrey History Centre.

During this day celebrating 300 years since his birth, Michael Symes will introduce us to the man and his ideas; Cherrill Sands will illustrate the day excursion that he made in August 1768 from Cheam to the Rookery at Wescott, describing the places he passed along the way; Martin Higgins will talk about Betchworth Castle, now a Picturesque ruin; and Brenda Lewis will discuss Norbury Park and its links to Juniper Hall through Fanny Burney.

SGT Members/Guests: £45 to include morning and afternoon tea/coffee and biscuits, a seated cold buffet lunch plus a copy of Surrey Garden Trust’s publication In Pursuit of the Picturesque and the chance to explore Juniper Hall, owned by the National Trust and leased to the Field Studies Council as an educational centre.

Maximum: 45 people
Bookings deadline: 24 June