The County Gardens Trusts were started in 1989 to promote the conservation of historic parks and gardens, Dorset being one of the first. The Trusts are registered charities and come under the umbrella of The Gardens Trust, which acts on their behalf when dealing with central government and national bodies. The Gardens Trust was formed in July 2015 by a merger of the Association of Gardens Trusts and the Garden History Society.
Devon Gazetteer of Parks and Gardens of Local Historic Interest
One of the Trust’s main aims is to build up a picture of parks, gardens and designed landscapes of historic interest in Devon. Over twenty years ago, the Trust commissioned Dr Todd Gray of the University of Exeter to undertake research of archival sources of Devon’s garden history and the results were published as The Garden History of Devon; An illustrated guide to sources in 1995.
The Gazetteer evolved from the Register Review Project that English Heritage commissioned the Trust to carry out in 1999.