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Landscape Designer
A New Beginning The Brown family now moved to the village of Hammersmith, beside the Thames, on the outskirts of London in the early 1750s. This enabled Capability Brown to meet with landowners during their visits to London, and have the market gardens for which the area was renown close to hand. The nearby area of Brompton and Fulham had many nurseries of good repute, small-scale nurseries were also situated at near by Hoxton, Lambeth, Whitechapel, and Hackney, with one of the most extensive nurseries of the day at Kensington; Robert Furber was the owner. James Lee was also well thought of at the Vineyard nursery at Hammersmith, now the site of Olympia; Lee issued catalogues of plants, introducing American plants to England. In Fenchurch Street there was a seed shop with specimens from all parts of the world owned by nurseryman James Gordon, who set up Mile End in 1645. Material was also becoming available to these outlets from large estates that were actively propagating plants for sale outside of their own requirements. Royal gardener to Queen Anne, Harry Wire, and his nursery partner George Ladon founded the hundred acre Brompton Park nursery in 1681, using plants from here both to fulfil the royal requirements, as well as other private contracts, along with supplying retail to other garden designers. Capability Brown did not become involved in running a nursery, as many in his position had already done on leaving estates, but decided not only continue with his landscape designs, but to go on to create overall themes for estates which included major building works as well. Luckily he become good friends with Henry Holland, a master mason living nearby in Fulham, the two finding much common ground, and the families becoming not only good friends, but fruitful business associates. With Browns desire for an overall theme in his designs, it is thought Holland may of helped or encouraged him into this new area of design. Although never regarded as a brilliant architect it did help with the overall scheme if buildings were sympathetic to the end result Capability Brown was trying to achieve. Also with the requirement for follies etc, Henry Holland became in charge of Capabilities building works. Brown would negotiate only with Henry, who then became responsible to oversee the subcontracting of carpenters, plasterers’ etc. His first client as an independent designer was Lord Coventry in 1751, for his residence and grounds at Croome Worcestershire. For this project he was not only a designer, but landscaper, engineer, and architect as well, a real trial by fire.
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