Elisabeth Whittle

Elisabeth Whittle
The recreated Tudor garden at Tretower Court designed by Whittle
EducationMaster of Arts
Occupations
Years active1993–present
Known forGarden historian
Notable workBook: Historic Gardens of Wales: An Introduction to Parks and Gardens in the History of Wales

Elisabeth Whittle is a garden historian from Wales. A former president of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and a trustee of the National Botanic Garden of Wales, her published works include studies of the historic gardens of Wales and of the history of Glamorgan and Gwent. She is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Career

For twenty-one years Whittle worked for Cadw, the Welsh historic environment agency as their Inspector of Historic Parks, Gardens and Landscapes. She retired in 2014.[1][2] She is a former president of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and is a trustee of the National Botanic Garden of Wales.[1] Whittle, the holder of a Master of Arts degree and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London,[3] lived in Usk, Monmouthshire for many years,[2] but moved to Wilburton, Cambridgeshire in 2019.[4] Following her relocation, Whittle took on the chair of the Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust.[5]

Whittle was a member of the Garden History Society from the early 1980s and between 1989 and 1997 co-edited, with Jane Crawley, their journal Garden History.[6][7] She has a particular interest in Tudor and Stuart gardens.[8] In 1991 she re-created the 15th-century garden of Sir Roger Vaughan at Tretower Court in Powys, Wales.[9] She also discovered evidence of the 17th-century appearance of the gardens at Raglan Castle, now destroyed, which has been published in the Cadw guidebook.[10]

In 1994 Whittle led work on the compilation of the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales to assist owners, developers and planners to manage the country's landscape heritage.[11] She became a trustee of the Hobson's Conduit Trust in 2018 and vice-chair in 2020.[12] John Newman, author of the Gwent/Monmouthshire volume in the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, recorded his debt to Whittle in the foreword to his work.[13]

Selected works

  • Historic Gardens of Wales: An Introduction to Parks and Gardens in the History of Wales (1992) ISBN 9780117015784 (OCLC 60058597)[14]
  • Guide to Ancient & Historic Wales: Glamorgan and Gwent (1992) ISBN 9780117012219 (OCLC 30739843).[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Elizabeth Whittle". Botanicgarden. National Botanic Garden of Wales. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Sally (9 April 2014). "Tudor estates paved the way for prized gardens of Monmouthshire". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Area Committee Grant 2016 Application Form - Nelson Garden Preservation Trust" (PDF). Monmouthshire Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  4. ^ "New CGT Chair". Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Council of Management". Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  6. ^ Garden History Society (2003). News. Garden History Society. p. 4. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Journal". The Gardens Trust. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  8. ^ Whittle, Elisabeth (2016). "The earliest recorded tomato in Britain, in Wales". Australian Garden History. 28 (2): 21–23.
  9. ^ Landsberg, Sylvia (1 January 2003). The Medieval Garden. University of Toronto Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-8020-8660-0. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Guide book recreates the lost gardens of Raglan Castle". WalesOnline. 25 October 2003. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Local crop of parks, Gardens". South Wales Echo. 10 May 1994. p. 14.
  12. ^ "Trust". Hobson's Conduit Trust. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  13. ^ Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. Pevsner Architectural Guides. London: Penguin Books. Foreword. ISBN 9780140710533. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ Whittle, Elisabeth (1992). The historic gardens of Wales : an introduction to parks and gardens in the history of Wales. Cardiff: Cadw. ISBN 9780117015784. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  15. ^ Guide to Ancient & Historic Wales: Glamorgan and Gwent. Cardiff: Cadw. 1992. ISBN 9780117012219.