Leigh | April 1, 2016 | 0 Comments
2016 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of England’s greatest gardener, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. To mark the occasion there will be a year-long celebration of the life and work of ‘Capability’ Brown. He changed the face of eighteenth century gardening, designing country estates and mansions, moving hills and making serpentine rivers, and cleverly used ha-ha’s to create a perspective of endless land.
Brown was responsible for some of England’s most famous landscapes; Blenheim Palace, Buckingham Palace, Richmond Park and St James’s Park to name a few. In fact you can still visit some 150 of the 260 gardens and landscapes he designed during his prolific life.
In 2013 works began at Belvoir Castle to clear 500 acres of woodland, and during this process a discovery was made in the Castle’s archives. Previously thought lost in a fire at the Castle in 1816 a collection of plans drawn up by Brown in 1780 were discovered by chance. The current Duchess of Rutland decided to bring these plans and designs into fruition, and has managed to secure funding to complete Browns unfinished garden. As part of Brown’s 300th birthday celebrations Belvoir Castle will open areas of the estate not previously open to the public, offering stunning views and vistas that Brown originally planned nearly 250 years ago.
To find out more about the life of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and events celebrating his body of work visit http://www.capabilitybrown.org/.
