The Oxhill News

This months News

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Garden Club

On Thursday 21^st April some forty members, visitors and guests were given an architectural, rather than floral, guide through some of the most notable ‘Historic Gardens of Warwickshire’ by Diane James, co-author of the book of the same name (ISBN 9781908326010).

Diane, who professes to be a perpetual student, has visited, researched, and written about an amazing number of our County’s great houses albeit these, in their day, were often country retreats for the well-to-do who spent most of their time in London.

Drawings and paintings of properties and plans of estates, some landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, were matched to more recent photographs of buildings still extant and the vistas that they now command.  Some once notable edifices have been raised to the ground and replaced by more modern habitations but their gardens and associated features survive to this day.

Diane told us of a memorable visit to Virginia where she was able to see a grand mansion comprising major elements of three different English ‘houses’ from the Stratford area -transshipped to America stone by numbered stone, married into a composite whole but retaining the original architectural features of each.

So many chapters of English history have been made in rural Warwickshire and, for a small area, we certainly have far more than our quota of fascinating historic houses and celebrated gardens.   Diane brought many of the best of these to our attention and more than convinced us that we should sally forth this Summer and experience what they have to offer.

The above meeting was the last speaker event in our 2015/16 programme.  We have our popular annual plant sale at 7pm on Thursday 19^th May and, related or not, hope that villagers will consider having  a red, white and blue floral display in their front gardens as part of the Queen’s Birthday celebrations planned for the weekend of the 12^th and 13^th June.  Please note that when the 2016/17 speaker programme starts in September meetings will be held on the second Thursday of the month rather than the third as has been the case previously.  We look forward to welcoming friends old and new.

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Last modified: May 01, 2016