The Birkbeck Garden History Group (BGHG) was founded in 2002 by students of the Birkbeck College’s Garden History courses which began in 1995. We now have over 170 members with a variety of study backgrounds.
We organise lectures and study days on garden history topics, visits to gardens of historical interest, and occasional gallery tours or library visits and private views of garden history relevance. Members receive a newsletter three times a year. We support garden history education through occasional small grants and have also published three collections of postgraduate research papers in garden history: Grand Gardens and Green Spaces (2006); Fantasy, Form and Function (2010); and Digging Deeper (2019). See BGHG Publications
Garden Visits
The garden visits are organised monthly between April and October. Many of our visits are to gardens of particular interest not normally open to the public, or that are difficult to access by public transport. Visits frequently include a guided tour by the owner or head gardener. Our visits are usually taken by private coach, leaving from central London at 8.30 am.
The reputation of BGHG is such that it can attract high profile speakers of national or even international repute at its annual Study Day, with a different theme each year. The Study Day takes place in late February or early March.
See BGHG Study Day for details of this year’s Study Day.
Lectures, seminars, library/gallery visits and AGM
From November to March BGHG organises various events which usually combine a lecture with the opportunity for members to socialise. Visits to libraries and gallery tours or private views may be included. The Annual General Meeting, usually held in February, also includes a lecture and social gathering after concluding brief official business.
Our newsletter, issued to members three times a year, reports on recent visits and other activities, gives details of forthcoming BGHG events and lists news, courses and events of other organisations relating to garden history. Some past issues of our Newsletters are available here.
BGHG Constitution
A new BGHG Constitution was agreed at the Annual General Meeting held on 21 February 2019.
BGHG Privacy Policy
This BGHG Privacy Notice sets out how BGHG will store and use the information you provide to the organisation in relation to the operation of your BGHG membership.
BGHG Donations Policy
From time to time BGHG will lend support to some organisations or projects that align with our aim to promote and develop interest in the history of gardens. Such donations are agreed according to the BGHG Donations Policy which can be seen here.
