In 2009, because of lack of space, the Courtney Library at The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro decided they could no longer keep the Trust’s collection of books. Because the Trust has no storage space of its own, the collection has now been dispersed. Many of the current reference books are on loan to Duchy College, and some others were donated as raffle prizes during the year.
Paid-up Trust members can access, free of charge, the research materials at the Courtney Library: these include maps and engravings, collections of Cornish historic photographs from mid-19th century, and substantial collections of documents relating to Cornish estates and families. The Courtney Library is a private members’ reference library but books and materials cannot be taken out on loan.
The library is open 10.00am to 1 pm and 2pm to 4pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays by appointment only. It is closed on Mondays, Thursdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. It is located at the Courtney Library and Cornish History Research Centre, Royal Institution of Cornwall, River Street, Truro TR1 2SJ. Telephone 01872 242786
www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk/courtney-library/
Our annually published The Journal contains a number of reviews of current books covering a wide range of topics, but all with the central theme of gardens and landscapes. Previous reviews can be viewed by using the adjacent links.
- A Flora of Cornwall
- The Gardens of Venice and the Veneto
- CORNWALL’S GREAT HOUSES AND GARDENS
- Follies: Fabulous, fanciful and frivolous buildings
- Fern Fever
- HORTICULTURE ON THE ISLES OF SCILLY
- GARDENS OF EARTHLY DELIGHT: The history of deer parks
- EDWARDIAN COUNTRY LIFE
- PHOTOGRAPHING TREES
- WHAT ARE GARDENS FOR? – Visiting, Experiencing and Thinking About Gardens
- THE PAPER GARDEN: Mrs Delaney Begins Her Life’s Work at 72
- WILDLIFE GARDENING FOR EVERYONE: Your Questions Answered by the RHS and the Wildlife Trusts
- BATHING HOUSES AND PLUNGE POOLS
- CAPABILITY BROWN AND THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE GARDEN
- GARDENS OF CORNWALL
- WRITING THE GARDEN: A Literary Conversation across Two Centuries
- THE VENETIAN CITY GARDEN: Place, Typology, and Perception
- GREAT GARDENS OF BRITAIN
- GERTRUDE JEKYLL AND THE COUNTRY HOUSE GARDEN
- WHY EVERY MAN NEEDS A TRACTOR AND OTHER REVELATIONS IN THE GARDEN
- CHAMPION TREES OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND: The Tree Register Handbook
- BRENDA COLVIN: A Career in Landscape
- THE WELL-CONNECTED GARDENER: a biography of Alicia Amherst, founder of garden history
- HOW TO READ GARDENS: a crash course in garden appreciation
- HOW TO GROW A SCHOOL GARDEN: a complete guide for parents and teachers
- DEAR CHRISTO: Memories of Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter
- GARDENING WOMEN: their stories from 1600 to the present
- THE GARDENS OF ENGLISH HERITAGE
- BOTANIC GARDENS: Modern-Day Arks
- IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS
- THOUGHTFUL GARDENING: Great Plants, Great Gardens, Great Gardeners
- GARDEN WISDOM
- THE BEAUTIES OF A COTTAGE GARDEN & LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS GARDENS
- SPIRIT: Garden Inspiration
- A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF WESTONBIRT
- FLOWER HUNTERS
- NINFA
- The IDENTIFICATION of DECIDUOUS BROAD-LEAVED TREES and SHRUBS in WINTER
- A RAGE FOR ROCK GARDENING
- THE POTTING SHED PAPERS
- GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS: GARDENERS of the ENGLISH LANDSCAPE
- GARDENS FOR FREE: A PROPAGATION HANDBOOK
- LUDGVAN: A CENTURY OF HORTICULTURE 1903 – 2003
- THE CORNWALL GARDENS GUIDE
- PICTURING PARADISE: STUDIES IN EIGHTEENTH TO TWENTIETH-CENTURY GARDENS AND GARDEN DESIGN
- THE LIE OF THE LAND: ASPECTS OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE DESIGNED LANDSCAPE IN THE SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND
- WANDERINGS IN THE GARDEN OF THE MIND; PETER MITCHELL AND THE MAKING OF GLYNN
- THE LASKETT – THE STORY OF A GARDEN
- THE ENGLISH GARDEN: A SOCIAL HISTORY
- A THING IN DISGUISE: THE VISIONARY LIFE OF JOSEPH PAXTON
- GARDENING ON THE EDGE
- THE PLANTS THAT SHAPED OUR GARDENS
- THE PLEASURE GARDEN: An Illustrated History of British Gardening
- LOST GARDENS OF ENGLAND
- AFTER THE GARDENERS BOTHY
- FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
- GLENDURGAN: A PERSONAL MEMOIR OF A GARDEN IN CORNWALL
- PASSION FOR PLANTS: THE TRESEDERS OF TRURO
- NATIVE TREES AND SHRUBS FOR YOUR GARDEN
- THE SECRET LIFE OF TREES: How They Live and Why they Matter
- TREES THAT SHAPE THE WORLD
- TRESCO ABBEY GARDEN: A PERSONAL AND PICTORIAL HISTORY
- STRANGE BLOOMS: THE CURIOUS LIVES AND ADVENTURES OF THE JOHN TRADESCANTS
- ICONS OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY LANDSCAPE DESIGN
- THE VICTORIAN GARDENER: The Growth of Gardening and the Floral World
- THE ENGLISH GARDEN
- THE GREAT EDWARDIAN GARDENS OF HAROLD PETO
- THE ARCADIAN FRIENDS: Inventing the English Landscape Garden
- HERITAGE GARDENS: The World’s Great Gardens Saved by Restoration
- THE HEART OF A GARDEN
- HOW TO READ AN ENGLISH GARDEN
- CAMELLIAS: The Gardener’s Encyclopedia
- THE HEAD GARDENERS: Forgotten Heroes of Horticulture
- CREATIVE GARDENERS
- VISTA: THE CULTURE AND POLITICS OF GARDENS
- HELIGAN: FRUIT, FLOWERS AND HERBS
- HISTORY OF KITCHEN GARDENING
- HISTORIC GARDENS OF CORNWALL
- GARDEN ARCHAEOLOGY: A HANDBOOK
- SOVEREIGNS, MADAMS AND DOUBLE WHITES
- PLANTS FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: NEW EXPLORATIONS IN THE FAR EAST
- THE NAMING OF NAMES: THE SEARCH FOR ORDER IN THE WORLD OF PLANTS