English
Landscape Gardening
One garden design style dominated the 18th Century Landscape - that of the English Landscape Garden. The best known landscape designer of this period was Lancelot 'Capability' Brown but don't be decieved by the realistic effects of this parkland landscape, there was a lot more friction over this garden design style than many others in garden history...
English Landscape Gardening in the 18th Century
The three phases
There were three main phases in the development of English Landscape Tradition. First, came the ideas of William Kent, Alexander Pope and Charles Bridgeman, of mising the formal and informal - with statues and garden buildings. The second phase was dominated by 'Capability' Brown and focused on a simple, idealised park landscape, with naturalistic contours, lake and rivers. The third phase... Read more »
William Kent 1685-1748
Famous British Garden Designers
William Kent was a famous British Architect, furniture designer and landscape architect. Kent was one of the originators of a natural garden design style that came to be know as the English Landscape Tradition. Read more »
The Ha-Ha
Infinity views
The Ha-ha was one of the most important contributions to the English Landscape Tradition and the creation of naturalistic parkland. The ha-ha created an invisible barrier that allowed uninterupted views of the countryside, whilst keeping livestock at bay. The ha-ha was important because of the way in which it allowed the garden and the landscape to blend seamlessly together Read more »
Follies and Eyecatchers in Garden Design
Temples and Ruins
Key to the creation of the painterly, idealised landscape of the English Landscape Tradition was the inclusion of follies, eyecatchers and temples. These created a focal point in the 'living painting' and were usually distributed throughout the estate. These buildings also offered shade and shelter for visitors touring the grounds, and were often used for entertaining visitors. Read more »
Lancelot "Capability" Brown 1716-1783
Famous British Garden Designers
Lancelot Brown, more commonly know as "Capability Brown' was a famous English Landscape Architect best known for his contribution to the English Landscape tradition Read more »
The Picturesque
A plea for a little wildness
By the 1790's, many garden designers were begining to rebel against the idea of the perfect landscape proposed by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. The Picturesque was the idea that the garden composition needed to be more rugged, and wild, so as to express a romantic landscape. Read more »
Humphry Repton 1752-1880
Famous British Garden Designers
Humphry Repton was a British Landscape Architect famous for his 'Red Books'. These 'Red Books' were a revolutionary way of depicting garden design ideas and they showed illustrations of his proposed landscapes as overlays of the existing landscape. Read more »
