Paul Rabbitts is Head of Parks, Heritage and Culture with Watford Borough Council. In this online talk, hosted by Friends of the Botanical Gardens, Paul will provide a fascinating insight into the history of one of our greatest ever institutions: the great British public park.
We have all enjoyed public parks at some time in our lives but what do we really know about them? What are their origins? Did they really start in the Victorian period or do they go even further back?
This talk illustrates their origins, looks at the need for parks, their Victorian heyday, and what makes a great park – with examples of lodges, lakes, bandstands, fountains, and floral displays.
Paul will also examine their great decline in the 1960s and 70s and the subsequent revival, which has led to a major shift in interest in our parks and their importance – particularly evident during the pandemic.