How to spot a ‘Capability’ Brown landscape

A lake at dawn or dusk with a grand house reflected in it, surrounded by tall green reeds and trees — The lake and house at Petworth, West Sussex | © National Trust Images/John Miller

Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s designs swept away formality in favour of natural-looking landscapes. His obituary even remarked that ‘so closely did he copy nature that his works will be mistaken’. So how can you spot an original Brown work of art? Here are clues to help – and some of the places to test your capability.

Cedars of Lebanon

One of Brown’s trademark features, cedars of Lebanon were a popular imported tree in the 18th century. With their distinctive horizontal shape, these majestic evergreen conifers are often the first telltale sign that you’re approaching a landscaped parkland.

Other signature trees to look out for are large-leaved London planes, often used by Brown to punctuate the landscape, and evergreen oaks.

Spot cedars of Lebanon at:

Charlecote Park
Croome
Petworth

Two dog walkers with their dog on a lead walk away from the red brick gatehouse at Charlecote Park — Cedar trees near the Gatehouse at Charlecote Park | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

The serpentine lake

Brown loved water in the landscape, especially in great expanses that usually formed a curving, serpentine lake. He typically placed these in the middle distance, often with a clump or island of trees at one end, to give the impression that the lake went on forever. Smooth grass ran down to the edges of the water.

Admire the serpentine lakes at:

Berrington Hall
Croome
Hatfield Forest
Petworth
Prior Park
Stowe
Wimpole Estate

View over the lake with surrounding trees towards the house at Petworth, West Sussex — The serpentine lake in front of Petworth House | © National Trust Images/John Miller

Monuments, temples, rotundas and follies

Decorative garden buildings are a hallmark of grand 18th-century gardens. Brown’s monuments, temples, rotundas and follies were often in the Gothic or Neo-classical style and typically set against a background of evergreen trees. Many were inspired by classical buildings visited by landowners on Grand Tours across Europe.

Explore garden buildings at:

Clandon Park
Croome
Ickworth
Petworth
Stowe
Wallington
Wimpole Estate

A gothic tower folly and connecting 'ruins', set in grassland with a blue sky above — The Gothic tower folly on the Wimpole Estate, built in 1774 | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

The picturesque stone bridge

Bridges and Brown go together. Many of his entrance drives crossed his lakes via an ornamental stone bridge, often designed in a classical or Gothic style.

Walk over stone bridges at:

Croome
Prior Park
Stowe
Wallington

The Palladian Bridge at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, spanning the Octagon Lake which is created to look like a river. The arches of the bridge are reflected in the water with a backdrop of green trees. It is one of only four Palladian Bridges in the world and the only one which allowed a carriage to be driven over. — The Palladian Bridge at Stowe | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

The ha-ha

The ha-ha was one of Brown’s favourite devices. Named after the exclamation of surprise uttered by unsuspecting visitors on finding them, these sunken walls were designed to keep livestock away from formal areas of the garden.

Ha-has are invisible from the house, giving the impression that the lawn stretches seamlessly into the grazed parkland beyond, garden and nature merging harmoniously together.

Discover a ha-ha at:

Berrington Hall
Charlecote Park
Croome
Petworth
Stowe

A grand house overlooks a bright green grass lawn with a stepped dip with a stone wall (the ha-ha) attaching the higher level ground to the lower level ground. — The ha-ha at Berrington Hall | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Clumps of trees

Look out for clumps of trees planted on a hillock or grouped in open parkland. In the 18th century, young trees were encircled by a fence that was removed once the trees had matured, allowing livestock to graze underneath. Deer or cows eating the lower branches created a distinctive ‘grazing line’ which you can still see today.

Find clumps of trees at:

Ashridge Estate
Croome
Dinefwr
Petworth
Stowe

A view of open parkland at Dinefwr in low sunlight, with a clump of tall trees in leaf on the horizon — A clump of trees in the parkland at Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

The grand, sweeping drive

Originally designed for horse-drawn carriages, the sweeping drive offered glimpses of different views at every twist and turn. A monument on the skyline, a distant view of the house, then the lake, perhaps a grand bridge and the house revealed again, getting closer.

The drive was carefully designed to impress, showing off the extent and beauty of the owner’s private world.

Follow the sweeping drives at:

Ashridge Estate
Basildon Park
Berrington Hall
Croome
Dinefwr
Ickworth
Wimpole Estate

The sweeping driveway at Dinefwr in summer, curving round to the right, bordered by green trees and grass — The driveway leading to Dinefwr in Carmarthenshire | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

The woodland belt

It may simply look like a narrow expanse of woodland bordering the main road but the woodland belt was principally designed to enclose the private world within the garden and provide shelter and cover for game shooting.