BIOGRAPHY: The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) [Fee Based] : Free Oxford DNB

[David P. Dillard]

BIOGRAPHY:
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) [Fee Based] :
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Content Sample:

Biography Excerpt

Brown, Lancelot [known as Capability Brown] (bap. 1716, d. 1783),
landscape gardener and architect, was baptized on 30 August 1716 at
Kirkharle, Northumberland, the fifth of the six children of William Brown,
a yeoman farmer; his mother's name is not known. Two of their other
children, John and George, married into the gentrythe Fenwick and Loraine
families respectively; the former became the agent at Kirkharle, the
latter the mason and architect at the neighbouring estate of Wallington.

Education and early career

Brown was educated at the village school in nearby Cambo and then began
work for Sir William Loraine, who had extensive formal gardens west of his
house at Kirkharle. Brown's plan for remodelling this landscape survives,
but may have been drawn for a later campaign. He left Kirkharle in 1739,
but his movements over the next two years remain unclear. He may have
worked for Bennet Langton in December 1739 on the enclosure of Mareham in
Lincolnshire, close to Tumby, the home of Bridget Wayet (d. 1786), whom he
was to marry in 1744. John Penn later asserted of this period that the
first piece of water that he formed was at Lady Mostyn's [Kiddington] in
Oxfordshire (Penn, 33), and it seems likely that his work there attracted
the notice of Lord Cobham.

Following the departure in March 1741 of William Love, the head gardener
at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Brown was employed by Lord Cobham, and rapidly
assumed responsibility for the execution of both architectural and
landscaping works under the supervision of Lord Cobham himself and his
designers, principally William Kent and James Gibbs. In addition to
presiding over the buildings of the 1740s, particularly the Grecian
temple, the queen's temple, and the Cobham monument, Brown's work at Stowe
included the south lawn (which replaced the parterre off the south front
of the house), alterations to the lakes, the excavation of the Grecian
valley, and the transplantation of trees to turn avenues into more
irregular vistas, as well as planting on a prodigious scale.

While at Stowe, Brown established himself as an independent designer and
contractor with a number of major landscaping commissions, including
Croome Court, Worcestershire (from 1750); Packington Hall, Warwickshire
(from c.1750); Petworth, Sussex (from c.1750); Wakefield Lodge,
Northamptonshire (c.1748); Warwick Castle (from 1749); and Wotton,
Buckinghamshire (from 1750). In the autumn of 1751, shortly after Lord
Cobham's death, Brown left Stowe and moved with his family to the Mall,
Hammersmith.

In the decade to 1760 Brown undertook more than forty large commissions.
His turnover, as recorded by his account at Drummond's Bank, rose to an
average of over 8000 per year, with over 10,000 in 1759. His reputation
was already such as to make current his nickname, Capability, first given
him for his habit of referring to the capabilities of the places at which
he was consulted. However, an attempt by several of his clients to obtain
a royal appointment for him at Kensington in 1758 was unsuccessful, and it
was not until 1764 that a second application secured his appointment as
master gardener at Hampton Court and Richmond, and gardener at St James's.
From 1764 he lived at his official residence, Wilderness House at Hampton
Court.

In the 1760s Brown undertook more than sixty-five commissions; these
included Blenheim, Oxfordshire (from 1764), which is generally regarded as
his masterpiece. Although he had a number of emulators by this time, among
them Richard Woods (1715/161793) and William Emes (17291803), he had no
real rivals, and indeed Brown seems to have been content to let his
foremen, such as Thomas White the elder (17361811) and Nathaniel Richmond
(1723/41784), set up on their own account. During this decade his turnover
at Drummond's fluctuated considerably, but still averaged over 15,000 per
annum. Although the number of his large new commissions fell to about
fifty in the 1770s, giving him an average turnover of 9000 per annum,
there is no evidence that his style had fallen out of fashion.

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Title Oxford dictionary of national biography : in association with the
British Academy : from the earliest times to the year 2000 /
edited by H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison.
Imprint Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Well with that, I must put on my oxfords and head to work.

Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
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