Lancelot Brown - Summary
Otherwise:
Brown 'Capability'
Date of Birth: 1716
Date of Death: 06/02/1783
Gender: male
Nationality: English
Occupation: Designer
Narrative:
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was an English gardener, landscape designer and architect active in the 18th century. He was born in 1716 at Kirkharle in Northumberland, England. He was eductaed at the school in the nearby village of Cambo and later worked for Sir William Loraine in Kirkharle. Brown was employed by Lord Cobham at Stowe in 1741. He took responsibility for both landscaping and architectural works, establishing himnself as an independent designer and contractor. Several large commissions followed (more than 40 between 1750 and 1760), and his reputation earned him an average of £8,000 per year. He gained an appointment as master gardener at Hampton Court and Richmond in 1764, and through the 1760s he undertook more than 65 commissions. He worked at Blenheim from 1764, and this is generally thought of as his masterpiece.
Brown died suddenly on 6 February 1783. He was buried at Fenstanton in Huntingdonshire, England where he had owned a small estate purchased in 1767.
Sources:
Colvin, Howard, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects: 1600-1840, 3rd edition (London and New Haven: Yale University Press), pp. 165-167.
Hadfield, Miles et. al., British Gardeners: A Biographical Dictionary (London: A. Zwemmer, 1980), pp. 47-51.
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