Capability Brown Festival

Lytham Hall has been chosen as the venue to host the Capability Brown Festival launch in the North West. Set for Wednesday 16 March, the historic country house will host a full day of talks and tours, which will be of interest to all people interested in garden history.

Keynote speaker Dr David Jacques, author of Georgian Gardens: The Reign of Nature will talk about “Lancelot Brown, Gardener to His Majesty at Hampton Court” in the morning. The day is organised by the Lancashire Gardens Trust in association with Heritage Trust for the North West, the charity that manages Lytham Hall.

John Miller, Chief Executive of HTNW said: “There are not many gardens in Lancashire that had any direct work done by Capability Brown, as the west side of the country was less well developed than the east side, where Capability Brown was involved in a lot of gardens, but his ideas inspired many regional garden designers. Dr David Jacques is a real expert on Capability Brown and we are delighted he has agreed to be our keynote speaker.”

The keynote lecture will be followed by a buffet lunch in the historic dining room at Lytham Hall. In the afternoon guests will be able to follow 2 different talks and tours around Lytham Hall, where they can focus on trees, land reclamation, Clifton history or other topics of interest. Booking is essential. Please phone the estate office on 01253 736652 to be sent a form, or look on www.lythamhall.org.uk or Lytham Hall’s Facebook page to download the form direct.

The cost of a full day, including buffet lunch and tea and scone is £35, with all proceeds after expenses to go to the restoration of Lytham Hall Park. If you’d just like to attend the morning lecture and lunch, you pay £25 for half a day.

The Capability Brown Festival in the North West will run through 2016 with a variety of speakers at different venues, as organised by the Lancashire Gardens Trust. For more information, please look at their website http://www.lancsgt.org.uk/