Oxfordshire Gardens Trust, 20 September 2019.
The talk explores connections between the two great estates in the twentieth century.
Posts By: Helen Langley
A talk at Cliveden: ‘Lady (Nancy) Astor (1879-1964) and Cliveden’s political landscape’
A talk, at Cliveden, in August 2018 on ‘Lady (Nancy) Astor (1879-1964) and Cliveden’s political landscape’ to members of the volunteer research group preparing for the National Trust marking the centenary of Lady Astor’s election to parliament in 1919. The talk drew on research in 2017 in the Astor archives held in the Museum of… Read more »
Honor Balfour’s career as a journalist and broadcaster
I always believed Honor Balfour (1912-2001) was too modest about her life but even so I’ve been blown away by discovering the extent and range of her broadcasting career…
The struggle for equal pay for women
‘A home should be the centre of a woman’s life, not its boundary’ (Irene Ward).
Waldorf and Nancy Astor at Cliveden
Inspired by the depth and breadth of the Astors’ archive at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), University of Reading, my current project focuses on Waldorf and Nancy Astor’s years at Cliveden and some of the less familiar stories.
Power in Place?
February 2016 brought an invitation to return to an old favourite topic: houses and gardens with modern political associations. Discussions with a potential publisher updated the list of properties to be considered. Hughenden, Cliveden, The Wharf, Garsington, Trent Park and Port Lympne; Chartwell, Wallington, Sissinghurst, Birch Grove House, The Manor House, Hell Corner Farm, and… Read more »
Botanical interlude
“A big, cream and white wooden structure shaped like a giant flower pedestal but with a human-size door was utterly intriguing.”
Irene Ward – Doughty Parliamentarian and Campaigner
Dame Irene Ward’s life is the main focus of Helen’s research in 2015, following on from her March 2015 lecture at Westminster.
The Quest for Reggie Cooper
This research grew out of a study of the gardens created by Sir Philip Sassoon (1883-1939). Intrigued by what had once been – and may in the future be again – a very attractive building, the quest for its amateur architect, Reginald (Reggie) Cooper began in earnest in 2014.
Irene Ward, Disraeli & the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations
2015 brings… a lecture on Irene Ward MP, a paper on Disraeli to the Oxford University TORCH symposium and plans for a seminar series marking the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations.