Join us in the stunning surroundings of Pennard House for a delicious 2-course lunch prepared using the very best local, seasonal ingredients. Then, after lunch, we’ll be joined by garden historian Laura Mayer for a fascinating lecture about arguably one of the most influential authors of all time and her deep relationship with the gardens of England.
2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. Just like the English landscape garden, her novels have become one of Britain’s greatest cultural exports and made her one of the world’s most celebrated authors. Austen is justly famous for her sharp social satire, however, as this lecture will demonstrate, she was also highly attuned to the shifting sensibilities surrounding landscape.
Nature and landscape – whether real or imagined – and her characters response to these inform all of Austen’s novels, from Pride & Prejudice’s wickedly funny take on the Picturesque, to the lampooning of Humphry Repton in Mansfield Park. She was, after all, a writer who recognized that ‘to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment’.
Come and discover more with us this September!
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Laura Mayer is an independent lecturer, writer and researcher. She has an MA in Garden History and a PhD in eighteenth-century patronage, both from the University of Bristol. Originally an Art Historian with a side of Spanish, she accidentally fell into garden history whilst working at the Alhambra in Granada. Laura has published extensively – particularly on Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton – as well as on the historic gardens of Cambridgeshire.
Click here to find out more about Laura Mayer and her other available courses -
Pennard House is a Grade II listed Manor House with a homely feel. There are grand reception rooms, luxury bedrooms and a converted Coach House event venue ideal for all manner of parties. All set in 4 acres of lush gardens and surrounded by 180 acres of meadows, woodlands and apple orchards. There’s a croquet lawn, tipis in the garden and even a freshwater swimming lake. At Pennard they have the makings for the perfect event in a quintessentially English setting.
There is free parking on site.
The postcode is BA4 6TP
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Pen & paper if you wish to take notes, and an open mind!
