Guide to the Alan Chadwick Papers
UCSC OAC Unit
The University Library
Special Collections and Archives
University Library
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California, 95064
Email: specoll@library.ucsc.edu
URL: http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/
© 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Alan Chadwick Papers
Collection number: MS 202
The University Library
Special Collections and Archives
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
- Processed by:
- UCSC OAC Unit
- Date Completed:
- December 2004
- Encoded by:
- UCSC OAC Unit
© 2005 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Alan Chadwick papers
Dates: 1935-1977
Collection number: MS 202
Creator:
Chadwick, Alan
Collection Size:
1 document box
Repository:
University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library.
Special Collections and Archives
Santa Cruz, California 95064
Abstract: This collection includes manuscript and typescript pages of poems, plays and stories by Chadwick. Also included are publicity
shots and copies of theater reviews from Chadwick's theater days in South Africa.
Physical location: Stored offsite at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access to the papers.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permission to publish or to reproduce the material, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Alan Chadwick papers. MS 202. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of
California, Santa Cruz.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Bernard Taper and Stephen Crimi in February 2004.
Biography / Administrative History
The English born Alan Chadwick came into the world on July 27, 1909. Born into the upper class of Edwardian society, Alan
was exposed at a young age to a variety of aesthetic pursuits, gardening being chief among them. As a youth the mystic Austrian
philosopher Rudolph Steiner heavily influenced him. Steiner's theories, though largely disregarded by the wider academic
community, found a stronghold in the mind of young Alan. Later in his life Chadwick would combine what he learned from Steiner
with French gardening techniques to develop his own brand of biodynamic horticulture. Chadwick's passion for the arts led
him to the Shakespearean theater where he performed professionally for thirty two years. However his life pursuit of beauty
was violently interrupted by the Second World War, which he described as having "capsized my attitude to civilization." After
the war he moved to South Africa where he continued to act and to garden. In 1967, Chadwick was persuaded by his friend Countess
Freye von Moltke to take a position at the burgeoning UC Santa Cruz. During his time at the University, Chadwick labored to
construct a showcase garden employing his biodynamic techniques. While working the soil, he taught the students his philosophy
based on a clear understanding of the rhythms of nature in creating a thriving botanical environment, as well as about the
role of the garden in human culture. Chadwick was an extremely magnetic individual who attracted a large following to his
lectures and a large number of devoted volunteers, whom he worked hard in the garden. Though a charming person, Chadwick
was also quick to anger and notoriously difficult to get along with at times. This aspect of his personality, along with
disputes over the direction of his ambitious farm project, led to his leaving the University in 1973. In the final seven
years of his life, Alan continued to work in his signature style helping to create several gardens around America. He died
on May 25, 1980.
Alan Chadwick remains highly regarded by the agricultural community and is seen as the forerunner to the Center for Agro-ecology
and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) that exists today at UC Santa Cruz. The original garden remains an island of peace within
the bustling University and is now named in his honor.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection includes manuscript and typescript pages of poems, plays and stories by Chadwick. Also included are publicity
shots and copies of theater reviews from Chadwick's theater days in South Africa.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Chadwick, Alan--Archives
Theater--South Africa
Organic gardening--California--Covelo
Round Valley Garden Project
Other Finding Aids
Round Valley Garden Project collection, 1977-1981, MS 203
Container List
Box:Folder 1:1
Correspondence,
1955
1970
Box:Folder 1:2
Poems and Fairy Tales of Alan Chadwick - manuscript and typescript pages, poems, notes,
1935-1977
Box:Folder 1:3
Theater reviews - photocopies of scrapbook pages,
ca. 1936-1954
Box:Folder 1:4
1 CD with 6 images of publicity shots - theater days in South Africa,
ca. 1940s-1950s
Box:Folder 1:5
Alan Chadwick - head shot,
ca. 1948
Box:Folder 1:5
Alan Chadwick and two unidentified men at UCSC Garden,
ca. 1970s
