Unveiling intrigue, whispers, and rumors that breathe life into the English landscape gardens in ways you've never fathomed before.
In a refreshing departure from traditional garden histories, Tim Richardson's book The English Landscape Garden: Dreaming of Arcadia delves into the cultural and artistic significance of the English landscape garden tradition. The large-format book, published by Frances Lincoln and available for £40, offers a captivating exploration of 20 of the finest surviving examples of 18th-century landscape gardens.
The book serves as a comprehensive guide, shedding light on lesser-known insights about the gardens. It presents the garden as a dreamscape or Arcadian ideal, reflecting not just landscape design but also 18th-century philosophical and aesthetic aspirations about nature, beauty, and harmony.
Gardens during this period were heavily influenced by literature, poetry, and classical ideals. They served as living landscapes inspired by pastoral and mythological themes rather than simply collections of plants. Richardson highlights this connection, making a compelling case for gardens as expressions of personal taste and social status.
Subtle design elements like carefully placed follies, sculptures, and views were used to craft an experience that invited reflection and emotional response. The book also reveals the role of the garden in shaping and reflecting a national identity, linking England’s countryside aesthetic to ideas of Englishness during a time of political and cultural transformation.
Some of the gardens discussed in the book include Stowe, Chiswick House, Petworth, Wrest Park, Rousham, Castle Hill, St Paul's Walden Bury, Blenheim Palace, and Hawkstone Park. Each garden offers a unique perspective, showcasing the diversity and complexity of the English landscape garden tradition.
The garden of Studley Royal, created by John Aislabie after being accused of financial misdemeanors, culminates with a view down and across the ruins of a Cistercian abbey. Richardson enthuses that Studley Royal is 'perhaps the most transcendentally beautiful landscape garden of all'. On the other hand, Henry Hoare's creation of Stourhead is said to not be influenced by landscape artist Claude's oil painting of Aeneas at Delos, contrary to the oft-accepted notion.
Hawkstone Park, designed by the Lewis family, is described as a dreamy and utterly immaculate valley garden, designed to elicit a thrill of fear in visitors as they traverse rocky precipices and encounter live hermits. West Wycombe Park, created by Sir Francis Dashwood, is another highlight, appreciated by Richardson as a riposte to the hypocrisy and self-aggrandizement of the time.
The landscape of Blenheim Palace was intended to evoke the plan of the Battle of Blenheim, with alignments of 'soldiers' in battalions of trees and a 'triumphant' five-storey bridge. The book also covers the Picturesque Hs: Hackfall, Hawkstone, and Hafod.
Stephen Parker, a garden historian, lecturer, author, and design curator, serves as the reviewer of the book. He expresses that the book has reignited his imagination, interest, and passion for the gardens of the 18th century. The book, with its ISBN 978-0711290921, is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and cultural significance of the English landscape garden tradition.
The book provides insights into the literary and classical influences that shaped the landscape of 18th-century gardens, such as Stowe, Chiswick House, and Stourhead. The garden of Studley Royal, despite its creator's financial misdemeanors, is lauded as one of the most beautiful landscapes, offering a unique perspective. Home-and-garden enthusiasts and history buffs alike may find inspiration in Richardson's exploration of these gardens and their roles in reflecting 18th-century lifestyle, philosophy, and national identity, as outlined in books like 'The English Landscape Garden: Dreaming of Arcadia'.
