Talk: Health and the City

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In 1722 Thomas Fairchild promoted the creation of garden spaces in the city because they would increase the ‘Quiet of Mind’ of residents. His argument that gardens were needed in cities to support human wellbeing has been a common one.

From John Evelyn’s 1661 idea of a circle of scented plantations surrounding London to Ebenezer Howard’s 1898 Garden City model, gardens and parks in cities have been seen as a way to ameliorate health problems, both physical and mental, believed to be created by urbanization. This talk by Dr Clare Hickman will look at the various ways designed green spaces have been considered essential for improving the wellbeing of city populations. It will take a long view from seventeenth century ideas of using plants to scent the air, through the Victorian movement for public parks, the use of gardens in hospitals and asylum settings, to the Edwardian open-air movement with its tuberculosis sanatoria and garden cities.

Image: Part of the Bedford Park estate in Chiswick. Colour lithograph by S.N. Trautschold, 1882 © Wellcome Library, London.

Additional info
Entry includes the opportunity for a late evening viewing of the public library and the exhibition “The City Gardener” exploring nearly 300 years of urban gardening, starting with the first practical guide written by Thomas Fairchild in 1722.

Find out more about Lindley Library exhibitions and events