Hastings Botanic Garden

02/06/2026

On Sunday June 21st, discover an amazing array of female explorers from the past and present!

The festival is named after the Scottish photographer and traveller Isabella Bird (1831-1904), who shared much of the determination of her direct contemporary Marianne North (1830-1890) - becoming the first female member of the Royal Geographic Society (1892) and a member of the Royal Photographic Society (1897). Her travels ranged from Hawaii to the Rockies (where she was reputed to be “able to tame mountain men”), Japan (Ainu areas of Hokkaido), South East Asia, Kashmir and Iran.

Isabella Bird & Friends
21st June 2026
10-6pm
University of Westminster
Tube: Baker Street, London

Hosted by:-
Professor Pippa Catterall Professor of History and Policy
University of Westminster

Dr Jacki Hill-Murphy
Author: Adventuresses, Rediscovering Daring Voyages into the Unknown

Festival Programme

10.00 Arrival and coffee

10.20. A few words from the hosts

10.30 Film: ‘More than a Mountain’ introduced by Jo Bradshaw

11.00 Catherine Edsell, Rosemary Brown and Jo Bradshaw in
conversation with Pippa
Topic: Bravery, Fear and Loneliness

11.45 Coffee and silent film: Through Ethiopia - Peace and War,
1935-36 by Violet Cressey-Marcks

12.00 Alice Hunter Morrison and Q and A
‘Adventuring and Filming Sustainably’.

12.45. A poem by Hannah Edsell read by Catherine Edsell
12.50 Siffy Torkildson on pre-recorded video from Japan - Annie
Smith Peck

1.00. Lunch and browse

2.00. David Baker and the legacy of Lady Florence Baker

2.30. Elise Wortley to introduce her film: The Bride of Mont Blanc

3.00 Poem: The Call of the Amazon, written for Violet Cressy-
Marcks by Charles L Graves, 1928, read by Jacki

3.05 A Bird on a Yak 15 mins

3.20 Alexander Wilberforce to talk about the Marianne North Centre in Hastings

3.30. Coffee and browse

4.00. Discussion and Q and A with Alice and Elise
Topic: Do we compare to them?

4.55 Jacki to talk about her exhibition ‘The Female Gaze’

5.00 Claire Cope to introduce her album inspired by stories of
women explorers

5.10 Music, wine, nibbles and dance performed by Gabrielle (we hope!)

6.00 Close

30/05/2026

For tickets, scan QR code or follow this link:

https://store.westminster.ac.uk/product-catalogue/social-sciences-and-humanities/isabella-bird-and-friends/isabella-bird-and-friends

30/05/2026

ISABELLA BIRD & FRIENDS

FESTIVAL OF FEMALE EXPLORERS

Join us in three weeks’ time at the University of Westminster (tube: Baker Street) for this day devoted to amazing female explorers through the ages.

Programme:

Isabella Bird & Friends
21st June 2026
10-6pm

Organised and hosted by:-
Professor Pippa Catterall Professor of History and Policy
University of Westminster

Dr Jacki Hill-Murphy
Author: Adventuresses, Rediscovering Daring Voyages into the Unknown

Festival Programme

10.00 Arrival and coffee

10.20. A few words from the hosts

10.30 Film: ‘More than a Mountain’ introduced by Jo Bradshaw

11.00 Catherine Edsell, Rosemary Brown and Jo Bradshaw in conversation with Pippa
Topic: Bravery, Fear and Loneliness

11.45 Coffee and silent film: Through Ethiopia - Peace and War,
1935-36 by Violet Cressey-Marcks

12.00 Alice Hunter Morrison and Q and A
‘Adventuring and Filming Sustainably’.

12.45. A poem by Hannah Edsell read by Catherine Edsell

12.50 Siffy Torkildson on pre-recorded video from Japan - Annie Smith Peck

1.00. Lunch and browse

2.00. David Baker and the legacy of Lady Florence Baker

2.30. Elise Wortley to introduce her film: The Bride of Mont Blanc

3.00 Poem: The Call of the Amazon, written for Violet Cressy-
Marcks by Charles L Graves, 1928, read by Jacki

3.05 A Bird on a Yak

3.20 Alexander Wilberforce to talk about the Marianne North Centre project in Hastings

3.30. Coffee and browse

4.00. Discussion and Q and A with Alice and Elise
Topic: Do we compare to them?

4.55 Jacki to talk about her exhibition ‘The Female Gaze’

5.00 Claire Cope to introduce her album inspired by stories of women explorers

5.10 Music, wine, nibbles and dance

6.00 Close

For tickets, scan QR code or follow this link:

Isabella Bird and Friends event registration fee

19/05/2026

A day of pilgrimage in Dungeness, less than an hour away from Hastings. First stop, the 12th century church of St Clements with its distinctive pink gated pews(painted by Disney as a film set in 1963).

Then, outside the graves of trailblazing artist, filmmaker and lifelong gardener Derek Jarman, and his companion Keith Collins.

Finally, Prospect Cottage, bought by Derek in May 1987, lovingly tended by Keith after Derek’s death in 1994 - and finally bought for the nation in 2020 (now run by Creative Folkestone).

Derek once said “Every flower is a triumph. I’ve had more fun from this place than I’ve had with anything else in my life”.

Despite the windswept location, that joy continues today.

With thanks to Jonny Bruce and the Garden Museum

20/04/2026

"CHERRY" INGRAM TALK AT GREAT DIXTER

Two days ago (Saturday April 18th), we were honoured to host an inspiring and thought-provoking talk by Naoko Abe, author of “‘Cherry’ Ingram, The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms”, at Great Dixter.

Much like Marianne North, Collingwood Ingram (1880-1981) never attended school. Instead, he developed a love for Nature.

A passion for Japan took him there twice in the first decade of the 20th century - latterly on his honeymoon.

In 1919, Ingram bought a large house called The Grange in Benenden (15 miles from Hastings) and created the largest private collection of cherry trees in the UK.

His third visit to Japan came in 1926, as Tokyo was recovering from the Great Kanto Earthquake (in 1923). He was shown a scroll depicting a variety of cherry which hadn’t been seen for 130 years and was believed to be extinct - only to realise he had the same Taihaku (Great White) species in his own Kent garden!

A few days later, Ingram gave a speech to the Japan Cherry Society, openly criticising the lack of interest in traditional varieties and the loss of biodiversity compared to pre-War Japan.

On Ingram’s return to England, it took five years to devise a successful way of returning Taihaku scions to Japan - via the Trans Siberian railway rather than ship - using the humble potato to maintain humidity.

As WW2 approached, the cherry - for centuries a symbol of love and renewal - was co-opted by militarism in Japan. Planting concentrated on the cheap and short blooming Somei-yoshino variety. Young kamikaze pilots were sent to certain death waved off by school children brandishing cherry blooms to encourage them to “fall like blossoms” for their country.

Defeat in WW2 led to a partial rejection of the Somei-yoshino. Meanwhile, recent research has discovered traditional varieties hidden in the mountains.

After serving in the local Dad’s Army contingent, Ingram brought out the book “Ornamental Cherries” in 1948. He lived to over 100.

Interest in the UK in ornamental cherries has grown in recent years with the planting in 2008 of the 329 Taihaku tree orchard at Alnwick in Northumberland — the largest collection in the world — and other initiatives.

Two years ago, Naoko published a second book, “The Martyr and the Red Kimono” about a gift of cherry trees to Poland from Japan.

Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a group of Japanese atomic bomb survivors — and, in recognition of this book, Naoko was invited to meet the head of the Nobel Prize Committee.

Now, she is planning to send cherry trees to Ukraine to support its independence.

During the Q&A session, Fergus Garrett added that Ingram had supplied plants to Great Dixter and knew Christopher Lloyd personally.

Alexander Wilberforce then gave an update on the progress of our project and presented Naoko-San with a copy of a book about Marianne North, who visited Japan in 1875.

In conclusion, our deep thanks go to Naoko Abe for her wide ranging presentation and her husband Paul Addison; to Linda Jones of the Friends of Great Dixter for organising this event, our volunteers Pallavi Devkota, Lucy North, RJ Fernandez and Tony Birch for all their help with the catering, electronics and sound; and to Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener and CEO of Great Dixter.

With the tulips a riot of colour outside, this was a truly memorable evening.

Photo Credits:
Nos 1, 3 & 4 - RJ Fernandez
Nos 2 & 5 - Alexander Wilberforce

10/04/2026

Check out these exhibitions in London - two at Kew and one at the Garden Museum - before they close!

Flora Indica delves into Kew’s extensive collection of Indian botanic drawings, uncovering the local artists employed by the Company in Calcutta and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The colourful Singh Twins exhibition alongside explores the worldwide networks carrying plants back to the UK and between colonies.

Lastly, the exquisite Seeds of Exchange show at the Garden Museum introduces the Cantonese botanists who helped document the flora of Southern China for the local East India Company agent. One visited London in 1774, was painted by Joshua Reynolds - and was received by learned societies.

Flora Indica
Botanical Tales & Seeds of Empire, Singh Twins

Both close this Sunday April 12th
Kew Gardens

Seeds of Exchange,
Garden Museum until May 10th

23/03/2026

Thank you to the Monday Community Group at St Mary Star of the Sea Church on the Bourne for hosting our introductory talk about Marianne North - and for the lively discussion which ensued! As someone who has yet to visit the Caribbean, it was fascinating to hear about cooking with the ackee plant (known to Marianne as “akee”). Also, very impressed to hear that one of the group knows Brindavan Gardens near Mysore in South India!

25/01/2026

Thank you to HVA’s Community Nature Connections team for yesterday’s colourful World Environmental Education Day (W**D) celebration in the Atrium at Priory Meadow.
 
W**D dates back to the International Workshop on Environmental Education held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) from October 13–22, 1975. Organized by UNESCO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the event resulted in the “Belgrade Charter” (see https://www.eusteps.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Belgrade-Charter.pdf). The Charter aimed at creating a new economic order through a new kind of education for young people, balancing respect for the environment with a better quality of life.
 
In her own way, 19th century Hastings-born botanic artist Marianne North (1830-1890) embodied these principles, travelling round the world, aiming to educate her contemporaries with paintings of (then unknown) plants while drawing attention to habitat loss. This truly makes her worthy of permanent recognition here.
 
Ironically, early designs for Priory Meadow also labelled the Atrium “Winter Garden”!
 
Finally, thank you to our volunteer Pallavi Devkota () for her beautiful stamp printing workshop -and to all those who signed up for updates on our project.
 





mariannenorth
Hastings
regeneration

31/12/2025

Recalling a memorable year during which we were blessed by growing support for a garden/centre to commemorate Marianne North in her birthplace.

In particular, our thanks go to the 700 people who attended our Hastings Garden Festival in mid-September- now a fixture on the annual calendar - and to all those who made it possible, starting with Hastings Museum and Art Gallery and including the brilliant Dr Rosa Vasquez Espinoza, whose talk about the Amazon left the audience transfixed. The event demonstrated that culture - and science - can be fun.

In 2026, we look forward to progressing our project further - and to developing new local and international ties.

Happy New Year to all!