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 »
Posts By: Helen Langley
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.
Authorship, Memory & Manuscripts Seminar Series
Seminars curated whilst at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, included the ‘Authorship, Memory & Manuscripts’ series, which ran from 2010 to 2014.
Views from the Orangery: the gardens of Sir Philip Sassoon
This research returns to the topic of gardens as ‘living documents’. It uses the orangery at Trent Park, Enfield as the starting point for an exploration of the gardens created by Sir Philip Sassoon (1888-1939). The two gardens examined (Port Lympne, Kent being the second) are ‘living documents’; cultural landscapes connected to the worlds of politics, the arts, and design and significant meetings in both world wars.
Sir George Scharf & the Orangery at Knole Park
Helen has long been interested in the history of orangeries, and so was delighted to act as one of the advisers on the re-instatement of the orangery at Knole Park in late 2009/early 2010. The position brought unexpected archival dividends for her research into historic orangeries, and prompted further research using the sketch books and diaries of Sir George Scharf as a manuscript source. This article gives a first outline of some of her findings.
Lectures to Oxfordshire Gardens Trust
Lectures to Oxfordshire Gardens Trust:
Historic gardens in Oxfordshire: place and power
For the University of Oxford, Department of Continuing Education Helen devised and taught a five week ‘taster’ course, ‘Place and Power’.