Gillian Mawrey was born in London and now lives on the South Bank with her QC husband. After reading English at Oxford, she worked as a children's books editor and then studied art history and began writing about historic gardens. She lectures in the UK and abroad and has served on prize juries in Belgium and France. In 1995 she set up the Historic Gardens Foundation and is its current chairman. Linden Groves fell in love with gardens after working with Gillian Mawrey on her magazine Historic Gardens Review. Ten years later, she now has a Masters degree in Garden History and is still part of the Review's editorial team. Linden is the author of Historic Parks and Gardens of Cheshire (2004, Landmark Publishing), and editor of Eyecatcher, the newsletter of the Association of Gardens Trusts. She has also written for The Garden, Building Design, Footsteps and Kunapipi. English Heritage has recently commissioned Linden to research and write the history of children's play in public parks. She also works as a conservation officer for the Garden History Society. Linden lives in Muswell Hill, London with her husband and two small children, both of whom are discerning garden visitors!

Introduction Timeline Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire Text Box on Langham Kirby Hall, Northamptonshire Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire Boscobel House, Shropshire Old Wardour Castle, Wiltshire Text Box on Richard Woods Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight Wrest Park, Bedfordshire Text Box on letters Chiswick House, London Text Box on William Kent Marble Hill House, London Audley End, Essex Text Box on Capability Brown Osborne House, Isle of Wight Bayham Old Abbey, Sussex Kenwood, London Text Box on Humphry Repton Belsay Hall, Northumberland Text Box on garden note Witley Court, Worcesterhshire Text Box on William Andrews Nesfield Brodsworth Hall, South Yorkshire Text Box on accounts Down House, Kent Battle Abbey, East Sussex Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire Eltham Palace, Greater London Walmer Castle, Kent Contemporary Heritage Gardens Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight Gazetteer Acton Burnell Castle, Shropshire Bishop Auckland Palace Deer House, County Durham Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk Denny Abbey, Cambridgeshire Finchale Priory, Durham Gorhambury, Hertfordshire Great Yarmouth Row Houses/Middlegate Gardens, Norfolk Hill Hall, Essex Lyddington Bede House, Rutland Northington Grange, Hampshire Roche Abbey, South Yorkshire Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire Rushton Triangular Lodge, Northamptonshire Stokesay Castle, Shropshire Wenlock Priory, Shropshire Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire Index Acknowledgements