- Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse (b.
20 November 1929 ,Moyola Park ,Castledawson ,Northern Ireland ) is a garden writer, designer, lecturer and television presenter.Background
Born Penelope Chichester-Clark into an
Anglo-Irish family she is the daughter ofJames Lenox-Conyngham Chichester-Clark and a sister of Lord Moyola and Sir Robin Chichester-Clark. [Debrett's entry]Education and career
She was educated at
North Foreland Lodge andGirton College, Cambridge , [Debrett's entry] graduating with a BA in economics in 1951. She went on to be a garden writer and designer, publishing many books on the subject. Until 1993 she was in charge ofTintinhull House gardens inSomerset .In 1996 she hosted a television series for
House and Garden Television in the USA. Her publications include; Colour in Your Garden, Plants in Garden History, Penelope Hobhouse on Gardening, Penelope Hobhouse’s Garden Designs, and Penelope Hobhouse’s Natural Planting.She has designed gardens in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. They include a garden for
Elizabeth, the Queen Mother , atWalmer Castle in Kent, ‘The Country Garden’ for theRoyal Horticultural Society at Wisley, a renaissance-style garden inItaly and a garden for the fashion designer,Jil Sander , in Germany.She is an associate editor of "Gardens Illustrated" magazine.
In 1993 Penelope Hobhouse received an Award of Excellence for her book, "Gardening Through the Ages" from the "Garden Writers Association of America".
In December 1996 she received the Royal Horticultural Society "Victoria Medal of Honour", the highest award given by the RHS to British Horticulturists.
In November 1999 she received the "Life Time Achievement Award" from the "Guild of Garden Writers".
She has an honorary degree from
Birmingham University and has taught at theUniversity of Essex .Family
Penelope Hobhouse married firstly,
17 May 1952 Paul Rodbard Hobhouse (d 1994), son of SirArthur Hobhouse (d 1965), ofCastle Cary ,Somerset ; this marriage was dissolved in 1983. By Paul Hobhouse she has one daughter, Georgina Dehra Catherine (b 9 March 1953) and two sons, Niall Alexander (b 29 Aug 1954) and David Paul (b 9 Sept 1957). She married secondly, in 1983, Prof John Melville Malins (d 1992).Known still as Penelope Hobhouse she lives in
Bettiscombe ,Dorset .References
External links
* [http://www.penelopehobhouse.com/ penelopehobhouse.com]
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