Cassiobury: The Ancient Seat of the Earls of Essex

Dr Paul Rabbitts has over 35 years of experience in designing, managing and restoring urban parks across the UK. As a qualified Landscape Architect, he is also a published author and regular contributor to journals and periodicals. As well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, he currently works full time for Norwich City Council as their parks manager. He is an author of books on architects Sir Christopher Wren and Decimus Burton as well as Regent’s Park, Richmond Park, Hyde Park, the wider Royal Parks and that icon of public parks, the Victorian and Edwardian bandstand, on which he is acknowledged as a UK expert and which was the subject of his PhD at the University of East Anglia. He lectures frequently on all things parks and can be contacted via his website www.paulrabbitts.co.uk. He lives in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

Sarah Kerenza Priestley is curator of Watford Museum, the largest repository for art and information on Cassiobury. With a BA Honours degree in Medieval and Modern History from the University of London, a PGCE in Secondary History from the University of Durham and an Associateship of the Museums Association, she has carried out extensive and original research into the history of the Cassiobury estate for over twelve years. Watford-born Sarah is an acknowledged and recognised expert on the subject, and was responsible for the fundraising and acquisition of A View of Cassiobury Park, by John Wootton in 2002 – the largest single purchase in Watford Museum’s history.