Guildford Museum shares special object with British Library for new exhibition
Guildford Museum shares special object with British Library for new exhibition
A special object from the Guildford Museum collection is on display in a new exhibition at the British Library in London. A pair of boots owned by Gertrude Jekyll, one of the 20th century’s most influential garden designers, are featured in ‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening’ exhibition.
Cllr Catherine Houston, Lead Councillor for Commercial Services, says: “We’re pleased to share this important item with the British Library and visitors to their exciting exhibition this summer. Gertrude Jekyll created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and US, and would have worn these gardening boots as she worked on her inspiring designs.
“Guildford Museum is home to a selection of artefacts associated with Gertrude’s life and work, including a beautiful sketchbook filled with drawings created when she was only 12 years old. We also display many traditional ‘Old Surrey’ household items and objects donated by Gertrude herself to Surrey Archaeological Society in 1907.”
Gertrude Jekyll lived in Surrey for most of her life, growing up in Bramley and later moving to Munstead Wood. In addition to garden design, Gertrude was a horticulturist, writer, photographer, artist and craftswoman.
Maddy Smith, lead curator of at the British Library, says: “Gertrude Jekyll transformed people’s expectations about what a garden should be, and we are so pleased to have borrowed the gardening boots she wore for over forty years from Guildford Museum for our ‘Unearthed’ exhibition.
“Drawing on her background as an artist, Jekyll focused on the colour, texture and habits of individual plants and her gardens were designed to be colourful and interesting throughout the year. We hope visitors enjoy seeing Jekyll’s boots alongside a rich array of contemporary materials, historic manuscripts, artefacts, and artworks to discover the transformative, enriching, and at times radical power of gardening in Britain.”
‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening’ is open at the British Library until Sunday 10 August. Visit the British Library website for more information and to book tickets.
Guildford Museum, in Quarry Street, is open Wednesday to Saturday, 12noon to 4.30pm with last entry at 4pm. Admission is free. You can find more information on Guildford Museum and our other heritage attractions on our website.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Information from the British Library:
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.
We have millions of books, and much more besides. Our London and Yorkshire sites hold collections ranging from newspapers and maps to sound recordings, patents, academic journals, as well as a copy of every UK domain website and blog. Our public spaces provide a place to research, to meet friends, to start up a new business or simply to get inspired by visiting our galleries and events. We work with partners and libraries across the UK and the world to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to use and explore our collections, events and expertise. And we’re always open online, along with more and more of our digitised collection.
Images:
Image 1: Gertrude Jekyll’s boots, shared by Guildford Museum with the British Library for their ‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening’ exhibition.
Image 2: Gertrude Jekyll’s sketchbook, part of the collection at Guildford Museum.
Image 3: Guildford Museum, home to a selection of artefacts associated with Gertrude’s life and work.
Press contact: Emma Watson – e-mail emma.watson@guildford.gov.uk