Who was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown?

1716

Early years

Born in August 1716, Lancelot grew up in Kirkharle near Wallington in Northumberland. In 1732 and at the age of 16, he was taken on as an apprentice on the estate, where his father was the agent. 

1739

Employment at Stowe 

In 1739, Brown moved south and got a job as Lord Cobham’s under-gardener at Stowe. He then rose up the ranks to become its Head Gardener in 1741. At Stowe, he not only worked on the gardens under Lord Cobham’s direction, but also oversaw the removal or construction of various garden buildings to the parkland.

Arguably his greatest creation at Stowe was the Grecian valley, a ground breaking realisation of an Arcadian vision of Ancient Greece. Here, 24,000 cubic yards of soil – equivalent to the volume of 1,631 London double-decker buses – had to be dug out by hand from former farmland using spade and barrow and horse-drawn cart. 

In 1744, Brown married Bridget Wayet at the Stowe Parish Church and went on to have nine children.

1751

Work at Croome

Brown finally left Stowe in 1751, aged 35, to become a freelance designer and landscaper. He was commissioned by Lord Coventry at Croome the same year.

His work at Croome involved remodelling the house into the fashionable Palladian style, removing the formal gardens and replacing them with natural-looking parkland, and creating a new lake and river.

He even dismantled the local village and rebuilt it further away, disguising it with trees to protect the views from Croome.

1750s–60s

Managing the freelance workload

Brown was very committed to his work and would travel between all his sites, initially on horseback and later by carriage. Unable to be everywhere at once, ‘Capability’ employed a team of foremen, assistant surveyors and landscapers to map the ground, manage the labourers and contractors and implement his designs.

1770s

Important clients 

‘Capability’ had many high profile clients. He worked at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire for politician and former Mayor of London, Thomas Harley. Through his connections he gained further important clients including nearly all of the House of Lords.

1783

His work lives on

Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown died shortly after returning home from dining with Lord Coventry. He is buried at Fenstanton Parish church near Cambridge.

Today his work endures and continues to amaze and inspire.