Our Great British Parks

We have all enjoyed them at some time in our lives but what do we really know about them?

Their origins? Did they really start in the Victorian period or do they go even further back?

Paul Rabbits will illustrate their origins, their Victorian heyday and the decline in the sixties and seventies. He will also explore what makes a great park, with examples of lodges, lakes, bandstands, fountains and floral displays. We are currently experiencing a revival in interest in our parks and once again we are much in love with them. Paul will use examples from across the UK but with a particular emphasis on Norwich’s own splendid park tradition.

Paul Rabbits is currently Parks and Open Spaces Manager for Norwich City Council but has worked in Jersey, Carlisle, Middlesbrough, Watford and Southend on Sea. A published author of 35 books, lecturer and historian, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Trustee of the national Gardens Trust and member of their Conservation Committee.