‘CAPABILITY’ BROWN AT BOWOOD

Lancelot Brown (1715–1783), fashionable 18th-century landscape gardener, was nicknamed ‘Capability’ owing to his ability to see the *capabilities* of his clients’ parklands. He first visited Bowood in 1757 and was commissioned five years later, by the second Earl, to redesign the park.

Brown's scheme involved removal of the earlier garden and the final layout was much as it is today. The work was done by labourers under a local foreman during the 1760s when major works were also being undertaken on the house. The aim was to construct an idyllic, gentle landscape in which the house would appear as a feature of the rural scene. This was partly achieved by the construction of a sunk fence or haha near the house – allowing grazing animals to keep the grass down without getting too close to the house, while views from the windows would be uninterrupted.

The principal element of Brown's landscape was a lake, with a dam northeast of the house. The road to Bath was re-routed to the south and the village of Mannings Hill was flooded, leaving only one cottage on the far side of the new water. Foundations of the abandoned houses were found by a local diving team last year. Much draining and levelling work was undertaken on the slopes between the house and lake but the earlier viewing mound was left untouched.

Areas of woodland were removed and new plantations and drives established in a belt encircling the park. Lord Shelburne purchased ‘curious seeds and trees’ for Brown to plant in the new Pleasure Ground behind the walled garden. It was here that the Doric temple originally stood; it was moved to its present site beside the lake in the 19th century.

THE 18TH-CENTURY GARDEN AT BOWOOD

The Bowood Estate, once part of the royal Forest of Chippenham, was purchased in 1754 by the 1st Earl of Shelburne. The early Georgian house, with stables and offices to the rear, is illustrated in the painting above (No.1), was built by Sir Orlando Bridgeman, MP for Calne (1715-22). The contemporary semi formal garden was lost to 'Capability' Brown's improvements in the 1760s but it is traceable in maps (see No. 2 (1755) and No. 4 (1763)).

The 1st Earl employed architect Henry Keene to make the house look grander, and to construct an E-shaped office wing and a walled garden behind it (see drawing, No. 3 and map, No. 4). On his death in 1761, his widow commissioned the Adam Brothers to build a mausoleum in the park for his remains (see No. 7).

The 2nd Earl spent a fortune on improving Bowood House and Park. He asked the Adams to redesign the important rooms, and to hide Keene's office courtyards from the house with a new façade, inspired by the Roman Emperor Diocletian's palace at Split. This wing now forms the south front of the present-day house; the original layout comprised a library, an orangery and a small zoo for wild animals. In the 1770s a great drawing room was constructed, joining the 'Big House' to the offices or 'Little House' (see watercolour, No. 6).

During the 1760s, while the Adams' work on the mausoleum and house was underway, 'Capability' Brown was employed to redesign the park. The earlier garden was swept away, a dam was constructed across a stream, and the land beside the house was levelled to slope gently down to a newly created lake. A Pleasure Ground for interesting trees and shrubs was developed behind the house and walled garden, protected from grazing animals by a ha-ha or sunk fence.

Some twenty years later, a 'Picturesque' rockwork garden was formed at the head of the lake. A valley of caves and rocky paths is now dominated by a stunning cascade of water using the dam outflow. This more naturalistic garden makes a striking contrast with Brown's idealised landscape close by.

# THE PICTURESQUE GARDEN AT BOWOOD

Towards the end of the 18th century, there was a strong movement against the gentle landscapes created by 'Capability' Brown, which were considered rather dull and lacking in the vitality and drama of real nature as portrayed by fashionable painters such as Claude Lorrain, Nicholas Poussin and Salvator Rosa.

Protagonists of the 'Picturesque' school of gardening, such as Sir Uvedale Price and Richard Payne Knight, demanded wildness and rustic irregularity in a garden, preferably with a ruin or gothic building to add atmosphere.

Lord Lansdowne (Lord Shelburne was created Marquess in 1784), decided to follow fashion and create his own 'Picturesque' garden at Bowood. Together with his friend and adviser on garden matters, the Hon. Charles Hamilton of Painshill, he designed a rocky valley below the dam at the head of the lake. Josiah Lane of Tisbury was commissioned to create the rockwork, including the cascade, numerous caves, a dark and deliberately scary tunnel, and a hermit's cave whose vault is decorated with fossils. The work was completed in about 1785.

Lord Lansdowne (Lord Shelburne was created Marquess in 1784), decided to follow fashion and create his own 'Picturesque' garden at Bowood. Together with his friend and adviser on garden matters, the Hon. Charles Hamilton of Painshill, he designed a rocky valley below the dam at the head of the lake. Josiah Lane of Tilsbury was commissioned to create the rockwork, including the cascade, numerous caves, a dark and deliberately scary tunnel, and a hermit's cave whose vault is decorated with ossoliths. The work was completed in about 1785.