Peter D. A. Boyd's Home Page

Welcome to peterboyd.com

Peter D. A. Boyd

Home Page

This site is intended to provide access to web versions of popular articles and academic papers written by Peter Boyd over a number of years.

The subjects have included Charles Darwin, GIS (Geographical Information Systems), museums, Pteridomania (the Victorian Fern Craze), Scots Roses, lifelong-learning, heritage websites, garden history, geology, micropalaeontology, palaeoecology, environmental archaeology, ceramics, Victorian decorative arts and local history.

The places have included Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Devon, the Inner Hebrides, Essex, the City of London and rose gardens in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and California.

Colour versions of the original illustrations and, in some cases, additional ones may be added to complement the published version. Some items may be 'published' here for the first time.

However, the main idea is to provide web versions of items that have already been through some form of 'peer review' through traditional publication. You may therefore have some confidence in the reliability of the information provided.

The website will be started with a list of published items. Some of the items listed are lengthy academic papers while others are quite short contributions to newsletters or similar almost ephemeral publications.

Peter Boyd is Museums Collections Manager for Shrewsbury Museums Service. The creation and development of the Darwin Country lifelong learning website has been a major feature of his work since the year 2000. Latterly, an online collections management system, ShrewD Online, is under development from Darwin Country and Shrewsbury Museums Service database, ShrewD.

He has written a number of articles about Charles Darwin and the Darwin Family in Shrewsbury - where Charles was born and educated. He has lectured in Britain and California about Charles Darwin (including a Darwin Day lecture at Stanford University in February 2008).

In his life outside the museum, Peter Boyd is writing a book on Scots Roses (cultivars and hybrids of Rosa spinosissima) which were first developed in Scotland in the late 18th century. They were most popular between about 1820 and 1835 when hundreds of varieties were available. His own collection of Scots Roses has been awarded National Collection status by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG). He has advised on the naming of Scots Roses and other Pimpinellifolias at the Europa-Rosarium at Sangerhausen in Germany (the largest collection of rose species and hybrids in the World) and at the Roseraie du Val-de-Marne at l'Haÿ les Roses near Paris in France (the oldest surviving specialist rose garden).

Peter Boyd is a Member (representing Northern Europe) of the Heritage Rose Committee of the World Federation of Rose Societies and is a Member of Council (representing Shropshire) of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).

He has written articles on Scots Roses and other Pimpinellifolias which have been published in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Finland and the USA (see Scots Roses and other Pimpinellifolias ). He has lectured in Britain, France, Denmark and California about Scots Roses.

This website will continue to be developed with the occasional addition of illustrated articles and subsequently updated as necessary.

Career

Publications

What's New

Some short-cut links to Peter Boyd's publications on particular subjects - see Publications for all his publications

Charles Darwin and Darwin Country

Botany, Plants and Garden History

Environmental Archaeology and Palaeoecology

Ferns and Pteridomania

Museum or Heritage Websites and GIS

Scots Roses and other Pimpinellifolias

Web versions of published and other contributions:-

Article for Rosa Mundi journal of the Heritage Rose Foundation: Rosa spinosissima, Scots Roses and the North American connection

Article for OGR & Shrub Journal of the American Rose Society: Scots Roses - past and present

Full text of article on the Victorian Fern Cult in South-west Britain: Victorian Fern Cult

Article for The Scottish Garden magazine Ferns and Pteridomania in Victorian Scotland

Paper for The Plantsman (RHS) Scots Roses then and now

Summary of presentation to International Heritage Roses Conference at Chaalis, France June 2007 published in Rosa Gallica Scots Roses and other Pimpinellifolias: their rediscovery and conservation

Paper for NCCPG Shropshire Group Newsletter 'The Darwin Family and their Plants at The Mount in Shrewsbury' Darwin Family Plants at The Mount

Paper for Plant Heritage (NCCPG) The Search for Lost Scots Roses

Paper for Roses et Roseraies on 'Rosiers Pimprenelles, Pimpinellifolias ou Scots Roses':-

Rosiers Pimprenelles, Pimpinellifolias ou Scots Roses (Version française)

Rosiers Pimprenelles, Pimpinellifolias or Scots Roses (English version)

Paper for Rosenjahrbuch 2005 on 'A Personal Crusade in Search of Scots Roses' / 'Ein persönlicher Kreuzzug auf der Suche nach Dünenrosen'. Scots Roses in Rosenjahrbuch 2005

Paper for PlantNetwork Newsletter on 'In Search of lost Scots Roses'. Lost Scots Roses

Paper for NCCPG Shropshire Branch Autumn Newsletter 2004 on 'Scots Roses in Europe and the Europa-Rosarium at Sangerhausen in Germany' Scots Roses in Europe

Paper for the RNRS Historic Rose Journal on 'Mary McMurtrie, painter of Scots Roses' Mary McMurtrie 1902-2003

Paper for the RNRS Historic Rose Journal on 'Scots Roses: a new look at an exuberant group of old roses' Scots Roses 3

Paper for NCCPG Shropshire Branch Spring Newsletter 2003 on 'Scots Roses, Scotch Roses, Burnet Roses - by any other name would smell as sweet!' Scots Roses 2

Paper for Darwin Day Program on 'Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Birthplace of Charles Darwin and Darwin Country'. Charles Darwin and Shrewsbury

Abstract of paper on 'ShrewD Access' for 'Joined-up users' for mda 2002 Conference 'Common Threads' . ShrewD Access for Joined-up Users

Paper for Vine on 'Multi-disciplinary Content Management in Darwin Country'. Multi-disciplinary Content Management in Darwin Country

Paper for Spectra on website creation and content management in 'Darwin Country': Spectra paper on content management

LITC/LAMIT Conference presentation on Content Management in Darwin Country: Website Content Management

Scots Roses - cultivars of Rosa pimpinellifolia: Scots Roses

Humphrey J. Welch (conifer expert) obituary: Humphrey J. Welch 1908-2001

MDA 2000 Conference paper: 'Darwin Country - Cradle of Science, Technology and the Better Life!' - a case study

AGI Conference 2000 GIS paper: Heritage UK plc - a portal to space and time through web GIS

AGI Conference 1999 GIS paper: GIS in Museums - a case study

Darwin's Garden at The Mount, Shrewsbury article: Darwin Garden Project

Sale of Darwin's Garden at The Mount, Shrewsbury: Sale of The Mount 1866

Garden History in Darwin Country Website: Garden History in 'Darwin Country'

Shropshire cultivated plants article: A register of Shropshire-related cultivated plants

Ferny antiques article: Pteridomania - the Victorian passion for ferns

Victorian Fern Cult in South-west Britain: Victorian Fern Cult

British Pteridological Society article: North Devon Field Meeting 1992

Palaeoecology and environmental archaeology in medieval London: Medieval River Fleet