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Apprenticeship In 1739 educated and now with experience of estate work and its management he moves on to Walton, the property of Sir Richard Grenville, where he caught the eye of his son-in-law Lord Cobham, whose family house was Stowe Park, a great estate in Buckinghamshire. One year on and Lancelot Capability Brown is the new under-gardener at Stowe, one of England’s great estates. Here he acquires the knowledge on growing exotic fruits and vegetables, and pleasure gardens. Lord Cobham was very active politically and socially, keeping up with all the latest trends and ideas for his estate grounds and buildings, as numerous of the social elite were regularly entertained here. Vanbrugh and Bridgeman had worked on the estate and in 1730 William Kent had worked his brand of inspiration on the estate grounds. Working from a classical background, trying to achieve perfection of nature, landscaping on a large scale using hills, water and trees, mossy cavern, sham ruins (garden follies) to create a picture landscape of classical but "natural" results. Lancelot Brown must have been influenced by these new trends, away from the formality and taking the whole estate as a theme. Lancelot Browns inspiration was to move it onto an even bigger scale. Instead of dividing up areas of an estate to different areas of interest, he took the entire grounds area to create entire woodlands with huge lakes, more rivers, and with the ha-ha he could bring the vista right to the doorstep of his client. Sitting him in perfected countryside, with all the comforts of a warm fire and home about you, but with spectacular views only a window away. This was a revolution in gardening though, compared with Italian Renaissance, Tudor knot gardens, the influence of France, with formal fountains, cascades, canals, and evergreens clipped to perfection. The Tuileries and Versailles could not be more removed from what was now taking shape under the guiding hand of Lancelot Brown. The formal goosefoot design of Mallet, a half circle with 5 formal avenues radiating from it, as in Hampton Court. The Dutch influence, with William of Orange favouring topiary, cones, globes, and pyramids. All these were the complete opposite of this new gardening direction. Lancelot Capability Brown thrived in the environment at Stowe, adding his own ideas to the themes introduced by William Kent. As he advanced through the gardening hierarchy, acquiring knowledge all the way, to become Head Gardener. Now accompanying the famous and influential on their tours of the grounds, impressing them with his extensive knowledge and visions of what could be. Lancelot was then offered the opportunity to submit ideas for work on the neighbouring estate of the Duke of Grafton. With Lord Cobham's blessing Brown embarked on a redevelopment of the Wakefield Estate, where he first displayed the style for which he would become famous. |
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