In the spring of 2017, we held two lectures at Pocklington Arts Centre offering people the chance to find out more about the history of Burnby Hall Gardens. The first was conducted by Jim Ainscough, co-author of The Stewarts of Burnby Hall, who provided a talk on Major Percy Stewart: A man of his times, which delved into stories from his childhood and world tours to understand the experiences that may have shaped him.
Our Second Lecture was given by Peter Goodchild, Garden Historian on the history of the Backhouse Nurseries, who were renowned horticulturists of the period.
The Backhouse’s of York designed the Rock Garden at Burnby Hall for the Stewarts in 1910, and this lecture explored the founders of the nurseries, the Backhouse brothers, and told the story of these highly regarded nurserymen.