Broadway Manor Cottages

My casual interest in gardening grew after obtaining an RHS Certificate in Horticulture which then led me to a qualification in Garden Design in 2005. During my studies I studied many great British garden designers including Alfred Parsons, Gertrude Jekyll (who was famous for her herbaceous borders and greatly influenced by the Arts & Crafts Movement), Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, landscaper Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Rosemary Verey to name a few. I was also fortunate to visit many of the gardens which were originally designed by these great designers, many of which are located in the Cotswolds. I now live in the picturesque village of Broadway in the North Cotswolds which was also home to Alfred Parsons in the late 19th century.

Alfred William Parsons, English landscape painter, watercolourist and illustrator was born on 2nd December 1847 in Laverton near Frome, Somerset. Alfred was the second of seventeen children of Dr Joshua Parsons and Letitia Harriet Parsons (née Williams). His father was a doctor with a keen interest in growing alpines which no doubt sparked Alfred’s early interest in plants and gardening.

Although Parsons started work in 1865 as a clerk in the Post Office after 2 years he left to pursue studies at the Kensington School of Art. Parsons went on to become well known as a fine botanical painter, engraver and painter of English rural landscapes exhibiting at various galleries including the Royal Academy (1887), the Grosvenor and the New Gallery.

Whilst living in London, Parsons shared his home with Edwin Austin Abbey and they painted alongside each other in adjacent studios. It is through his friendship with Abbey and Francis Davis Millet (Frank and Elizabeth Millet named their youngest son John Alfred Parsons Millet after both Parsons and John Singer Sargent) that Parsons moved to Broadway becoming a member of the Broadway Colony of artists in residence in Broadway in the late 1880s. Parsons also met Henry Harper through the Broadway Colony which led to him illustrating several editions of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine (Harper’s Magazine). Parsons also worked with his good friend Abbey on illustrations of Robert Herrick’s poems and supplied illustrations for Henry James’ essays on Broadway. 

Parsons’  fine watercolours for botanist Ellen Ann Willmott and illustrations for William Robinson, author of The Wild Garden, encouraged Parsons interest and passion in garden design. Parsons had always been an avid gardener and horticulturist and was once a judge at the Chelsea flower show.  Parsons went on to design several great gardens including Great Chalfield Manor, an Arts and Crafts garden near Melksham, Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton and Lamb House, Rye, home of Henry James from 1898 to 1916. Parsons also designed several gardens in Broadway including Court Farm, home of Mary Anderson (de Navarro), Broadway Court with its wonderful yew topiary, Bell Farm home of the pianist and composer Miss Maud Valerie White and eventually his own at Luggershill.

Parsons became President of the Society of Painters in Water Colour in 1905 and full RA in 1911 on the acceptance of his diploma work, the oil painting Orange Lilies, which Parsons probably painted in his back garden at Luggershill.

Parsons died at Luggershill, Broadway, Worcestershire, on 16th January 1920.

©Extracts from Essays by DJTW Designs 2005

Broadway Manor Cottages - self catering Cotswold holiday cottages in the grounds of a Cotswold Manor House, Broadway, the Cotswolds.

April 2010, originally uploaded by Broadway Manor Cottages.

On Saturday 10th April 2010 we welcomed three new residents to Broadway: Mrs Pepperpot (a Speckledy hen), Amber (a Cotswold Legbar) and Clara (a White Sussex). The girls have settled in well and we hope to be supplying our Cotswold holiday cottages with their eggs in the not too distant future.

An exciting and unique exhibition of the work of John Singer Sargent RA and the Broadway Colony will be taking place in Broadway in the North Cotswolds during the 2010 Broadway Arts Festival.

The Exhibition will be held at Trinity House, 67 High Street, Broadway, from Friday 11th to Sunday 20th June 2010. Exhibits will include paintings, sculpture and letters, including a dozen or more works by Sargent and his fellow artists (Francis Davis Millet, Edwin Austin Abbey, Alfred Parsons, Phil May, Henry Boughton and Fred Barnard) who made Broadway their home during the late 19th century. Many of the paintings that will be exhibited have never been on public display before.

The Exhibition which will include 2 preparatory drawings of Dorothy and Polly Barnard (the daughters of Fred and Alice Barnard) on loan from Tate Britain. These drawings were used by Sargent in his iconic work Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose which was painted in the gardens of Farnham House and Russell House, Broadway, during the summers of 1885 and 1886. Three watercolours, on loan from Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, will also be exhibited. One of watercolours is a portrait of Mrs Barnard and her daughter Dorothy.

This exceptional exhibition is not to be missed this summer. The Exhibition will be an ideal and interesting way to while away a few hours whilst staying in a Cotswold holiday cottage.