The articles in this section are intended to give newcomers to the subject of historic parks, gardens and designed landscapes a good foundation from which to start in terms of understanding the history of these important places, who was involved in creating them and how they are looked after and protected.
Influential designed landscapes in the UK
Designed landscapes have played a key role in the landscape for centuries. While many people associate them with country houses of the 18th and 19th centuries, they have in fact a much more complex history which links them with the visual arts such as painting and sculpture as well as literary traditions and authors, such as Jane Austen, with whom the 18th-century heyday of the country house and its parkland landscape has become synonymous.
The people who have shaped historic landscapes across the UK
Writers, poets, painters and philosophers as well as gardeners, designers, owners and horticulturalists have helped to shape the UK’s historic parks and gardens over the last 1000 years.
Many of the landscapes that they inspired or created can still be enjoyed today, and where they have disappeared their historic legacy lives on.
How are historic parks and gardens protected?
Protection of historic landscapes in the United Kingdom.