The University of Buckingham’s Master’s programme in Garden History offers the opportunity to pursue research at Master’s level in any one of a wide range of garden- and landscape-related topics: from explorations of individual sites; their designers, gardeners and owners; to studies of the social and political use of gardens, or aspects their of conservation, botany, ecology, horticulture, archaeology, buildings – and much else besides.
While Individual research topics are closely focused, the approach of the course is to encourage students to take a broad view of the links between gardens and landscape, and of history and culture more generally.
Recent papers on these themes have included a survey of travellers’ accounts of garden-visiting in the eighteenth century; gardeners as philanthropists in the nineteenth century; the links between garden sculpture and imperialism; horticultural knowledge in seventeenth-century Holland; men’s fashion and flowers; and reappraisals of several garden-makers. A suggestive list of topics can be seen on the ‘Symposium’ page of the Gardens Trust website.
The choice of subject area is ultimately the student’s own.
The MA is awarded solely on the basis of the dissertation (there are no ‘exams’), and the relationship between you and your supervisor is therefore at the heart of the course. The maximum length for the MA dissertation recommended by the School of Humanities is 25,000 words (or approximately 75 pages at a line-spacing of 1.5), excluding notes and references. Student and supervisor meet regularly on a one-to-one basis to discuss, plan, and review the dissertation as it develops through the year.
Defining a subject for research
Some students know from the outset the precise subject on which they intend to work. For most, however, the definition of a research proposal is usually a gradual process, with the student starting with a general area of interest, and then focusing on a more closely defined topic as a result of further reading and consultation, usually with the Course Director. Most students do not arrive at the final title of their dissertation until towards the end of the first Term, just before Christmas.
The Course Directors, David Marsh and Twigs Way would be happy to offer advice to prospective students or to discuss possible subjects for their research before they apply. They can be reached directly by email at david.marsh@buckingham.ac.uk and twigs.way@buckingham.ac.uk
The Seminar Programme
Private research and supervision are complemented by a rich programme of seminars and lectures which give students direct access to some of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished scholars in their field. Seminars will generally take place in the university’s London base in Bloomsbury, but background lectures will often be online.
The seminars are of course academic events, with a talk by a visiting expert; but they also have a social dimension, bringing research students and senior scholars together to discuss matters of common interest in an informal and congenial atmosphere. Each seminar starts at 6:30 pm, with an illustrated presentation by the visiting speaker and is followed by a question-and-answer session. Particular events will be marked with a drinks reception at the end of the seminar, where students and faculty-members can mix informally.
This coming year’s seminars will include a series of case-studies of important gardens, organised chronologically, and led either by academic garden-historians or, in some case, by their owners or managers. These seminars will explore not only the history of the site, but also what is involved in their management and conservation.
In addition to the seminars, there will be a series of online background lectures on wider garden and landscape history for each period, and a number of site visits.
Seminar and lecture dates 2024-2025
The programme for 2024-25 is as follows. Please note that all seminars and lectures will take place at The University of Buckingham’s offices at 51 Gower St, Bloomsbury, unless otherwise stated. Students will be emailed via their university email address of any changes, which will also be noted on this website.
October
Saturday 5: Introduction and Research Skills Day at Gower Street
Thursday 10: Garden Archaeology: Stephen Wass, Polyolbion Archaeology
Saturday 12: Day visit to Stowe or Hanwell Castle with Stephen Wass
Thursday 17: Online lecture: Medieval Gardens
Thursday 24: Seminar: Issues in Garden Conservation : Deborah Evans, Chair Gardens Trust Conservation Committee
Thursday 31: Online lecture: Tudor Gardens
November
Monday 4: Buckingham Induction Day
Thursday 7: Seminar: Tudor Case Study: Kenilworth Castle : John Watkins, Head of Gardens, English Heritage
Thursday 14: Online lecture: Early 17thc Gardens
Saturday 16: Day visit to Lyveden and Kirby
Thursday 21: Seminar: Managing Historic Gardens: Pam Smith, Senior Gardens Advisor, National Trust
Thursday 28: On-line lecture: Later 17thc Gardens
December
Thursday 5: Seminar: Baroque Garden Case Study: Bramham Park with the owner Nick Lane Fox,
Thursday 12: Feedback and Progress Reports – to be held at Gower Street
January
Thursday 9: Online lecture: Early 18thc gardens
Thursday 16: Seminar: Early 18thc Case Study – details to be confirmed
Thursday 23: Online lecture: Chinoiserie and Other Quirks
Thursday 30: Online lecture : The Landscape Garden
February
Thursday 6: Seminar: Later 18thc case study: Stourhead : Oliver Cox, Head of Academic Partnerships at the V&A
Thursday 13: On-line lecture: The Picturesque
Thursday 20: On-line lecture: Humphry Repton
Thursday 27: Seminar: Early 19thc Case Study: Ashridge: Mick Thompson, former Estate Manager
March
Thursday 6: Online lecture: The Victorian Garden
Thursday 13: Seminar: Victorian Garden Case Study: Osborne House : Toby Beasley, Head Gardener
Thursday 20: On-line lecture : Twentieth Century Gardens
Sunday 23: DAY VISIT to Wrest Park
Thursday 27: Seminar: Twentieth Century Case Study: Great Dexter: Fergus Garrett, Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust
April
Thursday 3: Seminar: Contemporary Gardens: Tim Richardson
Thursday 10: Feedback and Progress Reports to be held at Gower Street
June
Saturday 7 or 14 (TBC): Day visit to Eltham Palace with Christopher Weddell, SeniorGardens Advisor, English Heritage
Venues
Seminars
The programme for 2023-24 is as follows. Please note that all seminars and lectures will take place at the University of Buckingham’s offices at 51 Gower St, Bloomsbury, unless otherwise stated.
Tutorials
Tutorials will take place online or at The University’s offices in Bloomsbury (51 Gower St, London, WC1E 6HJ).
Additional support
In addition to the seminar programmes and students’ one-to-one meetings with their supervisor, the programme also offers specialist classes on thesis-writing, referencing, and on how to use archival and on-line research resources. For those who need to work with manuscripts (from the Tudor period and later), there is also a series of classes on palaeography (the reading of early handwriting) that will enable students to acquire fluency in the reading of manuscript sources.
Opportunities to take the MA research to PhD level
Students who wish to take their research further have the opportunity, at the end of their year of MA studies, to extend their studies to doctoral level. Where the topic and the related evidence is appropriate, students are permitted to treat their year of Master’s research as the first year of the three required for PhD study. If approved for ‘upgrading’ to doctoral study, they may submit their expanded dissertation for the PhD degree after a further two years of writing and research.
Programme Directors
Dr David Marsh
David Marsh was awarded his PhD in 2005 for a study of the ‘Gardens and Gardeners of Later-Stuart London’ and has been lecturing and supervising research in Garden History ever since. He was co-convener of the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes seminar at Institute of Historical Research, London University, from 2011-2022. He was a trustee of the Gardens Trust and chaired their Education Committee from 2015 to 2023. He set up the Gardens Trust’s successful on-line lecture programme and is the author of their weekly blog about Garden History.
Dr Twigs Way
Twigs Way is a researcher, writer and lecturer with particular interests in the role of women in garden history, working class gardens, and the cultural overlap between gardens, art and literature. Twigs originally graduated from UCL (Institute of Archaeology) and went on to complete her PhD at Cambridge on the relationship between parkland and power dynamics in landscape. From c2005-2024 Twigs was a consultant in historic designed landscapes specialising in the creation of Parkland Management Plans (PMPs) and Conservation Management Plans (CMPs) for clients including Historic England, Natural England and private landowners. Twigs has trained conservation volunteers across several county gardens trusts and is a guest lecturer for the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens. She has published on a range of topics including the histories of specific plants in art and culture (Chrysanthemum 2020, Carnation 2016), wartime gardening, allotment gardens, and ‘A Nation of Gardeners’ with the Museum of Garden History.
Speakers
Toby Beasley
Toby gained a BSc in Horticulture from Writtle and worked at Osborne House before becoming head gardener at Down House, the former home of Charles Darwin. In 2008 he returned to Osborne as head gardener where he manages a team of 10 staff and 65 volunteers.
Dr Oliver Cox
Dr Cox is a historian by training and teaches architectural and cultural history with a focus on the eighteenth century. Formerly a British Academy Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, he is now Head of Academic Partnerships at the Victoria and Albert Museum, leading on the strategic development of new academic partnerships that build on the V&A’s track record in innovative, interdisciplinary teaching and research.
Deborah Evans
An historian, writer and educator who became a Head Gardener, Chartered Landscape Architect and heritage professional, Deborah has worked for Cadw, National Museum and Galleries of Wales, National Trust, Historic England and specialist landscape practices before establishing DE Landscape & Heritage in 2015. She is a trustee of the Gardens Trust, and chairs their Conservation Committee.
Nick Lane Fox
Nick Lane Fox is the owner of Bramham Park, a Grade-I listed house near Leeds where he is overseeing a large-scale restoration project of the early eighteenth-century gardens and parkland. Bramham lies at the centre of a 2,265-hectare agricultural estate where, in addition to farming and forestry, he has helped develop an events programme including the Bramham Horse Trials and the Leeds Music Festival.
Fergus Garrett
Fergus Garrett VMH is an English plantsman and horticultural educationalist He studied horticulture at Wye College, and worked for Beth Chatto and in private gardens before joining the Great Dixter team. He became Christopher Lloyd’s Head Gardener in 1993 and is now and Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust.
Tim Richardson
Tim Richardson is a garden-writer, historian and critic, and an advisor to the National Trust on gardens. His many books include The Arcadian Friends, Avant Gardeners, and The New English Garden. He regularly contributes to the Daily Telegraph and Country Life, as well as being the Director of the Chelsea Fringe Festival, an extremely successful ‘alternative’ garden event, celebrating the more quirky horticulture that does not appear in the Chelsea Flower Show.
Pam Smith
Pam is the National Trust’s Senior National Consultant for gardens and parklands, with responsibilities for garden history, management and interpretation across the Trust’s 222 gardens and over 200 historic parklands. Pam is a horticulturist with over 35 years’ experience working across the public park, botanic and historic garden sectors.
Mick Thompson
Mick was, until his retirement, the estate manager at Ashridge for nearly 30 years. He is vice-chair of Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust and is in the final stages of gaining his PhD.
Dr Stephen Wass
Stephen Wass is a professional archaeologist and consultant specialising in historic gardens. Much of the work he has undertaken has been for the National Trust including such major sites as Chastleton House, Packwood House, Croft Castle and most recently Stowe Landscape Gardens. He is the author of The Amateur Archaeologist and Seventeenth-century Water Gardens and the Birth of Modern Scientific Thought in Oxford: The Case of Hanwell Castle.
John Watkins
John has been Head of Gardens and Landscape at English Heritage since 1999, and has worked on the a number of major garden and landscape projects, including Chiswick Park, Down House, Eltham Palace, Wrest Park, Bolsover Castle, Witley Court and Kenilworth Castle. In 1999 he led the Contemporary Heritage Gardens project, incorporating the work of six contemporary designers at English Heritage sites. Formerly Senior Lecturer at Hadlow College in Kent, he has worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Edinburgh and Kew, the National Trust for Scotland and the RHS at Wisley and Hyde Hall. He is on the management board of Plant Network and is a Trustee of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust.
Christopher Weddell
Christopher Weddell has been Senior Gardens Advisor at English Heritage since 2008, setting and monitoring the standards of garden presentation and curation at English Heritage’s garden sites, advising and supporting garden teams and property staff, and supporting garden projects at (among other places) Eltham Palace, Walmer Castle, Marble Hill, Wrest Park, and Witley Court. He has also worked for the National Trust, for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and for the Royal Horticultural Society.
The minimum entry level required for this course is as follows:
- a first or upper second-class honours degree from a recognised university or,
- a recognised professional qualification with relevant work experience.
In cases where candidates are applying on the basis of work experience, they may be asked to complete a short written assignment and/or attend an interview as part of the applications process.
Mature students
Age is no barrier to learning and we welcome all applications from suitably qualified students. Due to their flexibility, our London-based MAs by research attract a wide variety of applicants from a range of backgrounds, including people in full-time employment and retirees. Our current students range in age from 21 to 75.
International students
We are happy to consider all international applications and if you are an international student, you may find it useful to visit our international pages for details of entry requirements from your home country.
The University is a UKVI Student Sponsor.
English levels
If English is not your first language, please check our postgraduate English language requirements. If your English levels don’t meet our minimum requirements, you may be interested in applying for our Pre-sessional English Language Foundation Programmes.
Associate Students
Those who wish to attend the talks and dinners, but who do not wish to take a degree, may join the course as Associate Students (in US usage ‘Audit Students’). This status will enable the student to attend the ten guest seminars and dinners, join the field trips, and to meet the guest lecturers, but does not require the submission of written work. Associate Students are not registered for the MA degree.
Selection process
Candidates apply online, sending in their supporting documents, and will be assessed on this basis by the Programme Director. The Programme Director or Admissions Assistant will be happy to answer any enquiries, email admissions@buckingham.ac.uk.
Student Contract for prospective students
When you are offered a place at the University you will be notified of the student contract between the University and students on our courses of study. When you accept an offer of a place on the course at the University a legal contract is formed between you and the University on the basis of the student contract in your offer letter. Your offer letter and the student contract contain important information which you should read carefully before accepting an offer. Read the Student Contract.
The MA does not offer systematic instruction in the facts; instead, the emphasis is on independent thought and research.
At the heart of the Buckingham MA is the close working relationship between student and supervisor. While the final thesis must be an independent work, it is the supervisor who offers advice on refining the topic (if necessary), on primary sources, on secondary reading, on research techniques and on writing the final text (which should be not less than 25,000 words). Supervisors and students will meet frequently throughout the year, and not less than twice a term; and the supervisor shall always be the student’s primary contact for academic advice and support.
The University’s Course Directors, students’ supervisors, and the Research Officer and Tutor for Graduate Students are available to discuss students’ post-graduation plans and how they may utilise most effectively the skills acquired during their studies.
The fees for this course are:
Start | Type | 1st Year | Total cost |
---|---|---|---|
Sep 2024 Full-time (6 Months) Associate | UK | £3,433 | £3,433 |
INT | £5,493 | £5,493 | |
Sep 2024 Full-time (1 Year) | UK | £10,300 | £10,300 |
INT | £16,480 | £16,480 | |
Sep 2024 Part-time (2 Years) | UK | £5,150 | £10,300 |
INT | £8,240 | £16,480 |
The University reserves the right to increase course fees annually in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI). If the University intends to increase your course fees it will notify you via email of this as soon as reasonably practicable.
Course fees do not include additional costs such as books, equipment, writing up fees and other ancillary charges. Where applicable, these additional costs will be made clear.
** Please be aware that the 6 month option relates to the associate course only
Please note that The University of Buckingham has four terms per year. Students will pay the same termly fee for the duration of their studies, unless studies are interrupted and resumed later. The tuition fee quoted is therefore the total cost of the degree.
Postgraduate loan scheme
A system of postgraduate loans for Masters degrees in the UK is available with support from the UK Government. The loan is available for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas. The loans can be used for tuition fees, living expenses or both.
Scholarships
Details of other scholarships can be found on our main Bursaries and Scholarships page. You should make an application to study at the University and receive an offer letter confirming our acceptance of your application before applying for a scholarship.
You may also find it useful to visit our External Funding page.
Apply directly
You can apply directly using our online application form – all you need to do is click the ‘apply’ button at the bottom of this page.