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A Garden before the Garden: Landscape, History and the National Botanic Garden of Wales

A Garden before the Garden: Landscape, History and the National Botanic Garden of Wales AbstractThe National Botanic Garden of Wales at Middleton Hall in the parish of Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire is a recent creation in the landscapes of West Wales, but it contains within its bounds the earthworks and historical ecology of two previous designed landscapes. One consists of the extensive parklands and remnant buildings of an important Picturesque landscape created by William Paxton at the end of the eighteenth century. The other was the location of the original Middleton Hall and its formal gardens, laid out in the early seventeenth century, probably on a previous medieval site and reduced to earthworks by the Paxton creation. This article presents a new plan of those early formal gardens together with a brief summary of small-scale excavations, and seeks to place them in the wider context of the Carmarthenshire historic landscapes. Perhaps, however, the most important element of the historic narrative for the future of the Botanic Garden is the role of the Middleton family in the early exploitation and trade in plants from the other side of the world as founder captains of the East India Company. This resonates well with the Botanic Garden’s long-term aims, and the historic landscape is now a key element of new developments in this nationally important institution. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Landscapes Taylor & Francis

A Garden before the Garden: Landscape, History and the National Botanic Garden of Wales

Austin, David; Thomas, Rob
Landscapes , Volume 13 (1): 25 – Jun 1, 2012
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© David Austin and Rob Thomas 2013
ISSN
2040-8153
eISSN
1466-2035
DOI
10.1179/lan.2012.13.1.003
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThe National Botanic Garden of Wales at Middleton Hall in the parish of Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire is a recent creation in the landscapes of West Wales, but it contains within its bounds the earthworks and historical ecology of two previous designed landscapes. One consists of the extensive parklands and remnant buildings of an important Picturesque landscape created by William Paxton at the end of the eighteenth century. The other was the location of the original Middleton Hall and its formal gardens, laid out in the early seventeenth century, probably on a previous medieval site and reduced to earthworks by the Paxton creation. This article presents a new plan of those early formal gardens together with a brief summary of small-scale excavations, and seeks to place them in the wider context of the Carmarthenshire historic landscapes. Perhaps, however, the most important element of the historic narrative for the future of the Botanic Garden is the role of the Middleton family in the early exploitation and trade in plants from the other side of the world as founder captains of the East India Company. This resonates well with the Botanic Garden’s long-term aims, and the historic landscape is now a key element of new developments in this nationally important institution.

Journal

Landscapes – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jun 1, 2012

References

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