Garden celebrates 300 years of landscape design

Wrest Park unveils plaque to celebrate 300th anniversary of Lancelot "Capability" Brown's birth PNL-160523-132649001

Three hundred years ago, the man who revolutionaised the country home garden - Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was born.

And in one of his most famous Bedfordshire creations a plaque has been unveiled to mark the beginning of a series of events to get people gardening.

English Heritage head of gardens and landscape John Watkins and Principal of Debois Landscape Survey Group John Phibbs, unveiled the plaque at Wrest Park, near Silsoe.

Wrest Park is just one of the many grand country houses Brown worked on, creating landscapes which looked completely natural but in fact were carefully designed.

Wrest Park unveils plaque to celebrate 300th anniversary of Lancelot "Capability" Brown's birth PNL-160523-132702001

Jemima, Marchioness Grey, and her husband Philip, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, worked with Brown at their home Wrest Park - his involvement in the gardens began in 1758 and spanned a period of over 20 years.

Visitors can see where Brown created a manmade series of lakes that look like one flowing river, best seen from the Bath House, where the new commemorative plaque has been placed.

Three newly installed interpretive panels installed by Wrest Park’s visitor centre tell the history of Brown’s work with the De Grey family at Wrest Park, and other nearby properties where you can view Brown landscaping. In the the woodlands visitors can discover the Capability Brown Column - a rare monument dedicated to Brown, built in 1770 to celebrate the involvement of the family in the garden’s design and Brown’s assistance.

For more information about the events, running on Saturday, June 11 to Sunday, June 12; Saturday, July 9 to Sunday, July 10; and Saturday, August 13, to Sunday, August 14.