About

Join Dr Stella Butler for a talk and dive into the fascinating history of the making of Charlton House Gardens from 1607-1925.

Charlton House was built for Sir Adam Newton, a prominent figure in the court of James VI and I between 1607 and 1612. Its 100-acre park and gardens were landscaped in a style fit for Stuart royalty with a parterre, terraces, walks and mulberry orchard. Newton and his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Puckering introduced many species of trees rare in seventeenth century England. A century later the Perceval family re-designed the garden, removing many trees, introducing new walks creating a more relaxed feel. From the 1780s, successive generations of the Maryon-Wilson family extended the gardens “with considerable taste” introducing statuary from their grand tours, shrubberies, rose gardens and glass houses appropriate to an aristocratic residence. After the First World War, when the estate was taken over for military purposes, Charlton House and its park were sold to Greenwich Borough Council. Stella Butler links the changing fortunes of the gardens and their owners to three centuries of social and economic change which ultimately brought this important estate into public ownership. Since 2020, volunteers have been transforming parts of the garden, creating pockets of paradise for visitors to enjoy.

Dr Stella Butler was University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds from 2011 until she retired in 2021 and is now Librarian Emeritus. Before that she was Head of Special Collections at the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester. Between 2015 and 2021, she chaired the Arts Council panel responsible for awarding to collections across England the important kite mark ‘Designated of national significance’. She has a doctorate in the history of science and is currently Honorary Research Fellow at University College London exploring the lives and achievements of the first eleven women to be elected to the Royal Society. Soon after retiring she began volunteering at the Old Pond Garden, Charlton House, helping to restore its former glory. In 2023 she became Chair of the Charlton and Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society. She has recently been investigating the early history of the gardens at Charlton House to help understand better their scope and importance.