New Canaan Library is pleased to present one of its most popular annual lectures, the Susan McDaniel Memorial Lecture. Guest lecturer this year will be stone artisan and horticulturist Andrew Pighills, comparing, contrasting and considering the evolution of stone walls and structures of England and New England. The event takes place on Thursday, July 12 at 6:30 p.m., preceded by a light reception at 6 p.m. Please register for the lecture online at newcanaanlibrary.org.
Here in New England, a unique historical record exists in the drystone walls and structures, available to view by simply driving or walking many the roads of the region. Andrew Pighills will discuss both the similarities and differences between the geology, building styles and techniques, and follow the development and evolution of stone walls and structures in England and New England, from colonial times to present day. Pighills will take the topic a step further by explaining how they fit into the garden and wider landscape, past and present.

Born in Yorkshire, England, Andrew Pighills is an accomplished stone artisan, gardener and horticulturist. He received his formal horticulture training with The Royal Horticultural Society at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate Yorkshire. Today, Andrew is one of an ever growing number of US-based professional members of The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. His stone work has been featured on British and American television, and in Jeffrey Matz’s Midcentury Houses Today, a study of residential modernism in New Canaan, Connecticut.