Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown

Our window to the Georgian period is seen through the likes of Gainsborough, Constable and Turner who give us an insight to English countryside and landscapes. In 1716 a man named Lancelot Brown was born in Kirkharle, Northumberland. Lancelot was a keen gardener and got most of his inspiration from the Kirkharle estate where his mother worked in service there.

He got his first job there tending the grounds at the age of sixteen and left when he was aged twenty three. During his years at Kirkharle he became head gardener and with his experience and knowledge from others he left and took on other positions in Lincolnshire and Oxfordshire where his first project was to be the grounds and surroundings of Kiddington Hall.

His confidence and reputation grew along with his passion which led him to stately homes across the country. At the time most wealthy Georgians were very enthusiastic about their gardens and they were very particular about the style. Most stately homes at the time had the common greenery and grounds which included mathematical patterns and symmetrical features. These were fashionable Elizabethan features which had stayed fashionable for some time.

However, Lancelot’s style was completely different. Many people criticized his work but many loved how more natural to the surroundings his style was. He planted plenty of cedar trees and oak trees creating woodland areas and used stately homes and parish buildings as a focal point surrounded with woodland and greenery. He created lakes and large ponds by draining water from different parts of pasture land which became one of his popular features and this can be seen in many places today like Holkham Hall in Norfolk. His clients were absolutely thrilled with what they saw and a common phrase he would use to his clients Capability Brown 27 was “there is always room for Capability and Improvement.” The phrase gained him the nickname “Capability Brown”. Most of his clients were very wealthy people who owned large acres of land and it was through these clients that his reputation grew. However, it was when King George III appointed him as his master gardener to manage and take care of Hampton Court gardens he became one of the top landscape architects at the time. In his lifetime he took care of around two hundred and fifty estates all over the country. He met his wife Bridget Wayet and they had eight children together and they lived a comfortable lifestyle.

Lancelot purchased the manor of Fenstanton in Huntingdonshire. This house came with two manor houses, two villages and 2,668 acres of land. A man who worked to the very end when in February 1783 he came from London to stay with his eldest daughter Briget and her husband Henry Holland when Lancelot got out of his horse and carriage he suffered a major heart attack and fell to the ground. A few minutes after being taken inside he died inside his daughter’s home. A monument is dedicated to Lancelot and his wife in the local church to where he lived.

So the next time you visit a stately home around the country such as Audley End, Blenheim Palace, Kew Gardens, Sherborne Castle, Langley Park, Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey is set,and many more stately homes the chances are Capability Brown was the landscape architect behind the tall trees, large lakes and large open landscapes which give us the beautiful views we see today.