Person    | Male  Born /8/1716  Died 6/2/1783

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

Categories: Gardens / Agriculture

Landscapte architect. Baptised in Northumberland. The 'Capability' came from his habit of declaring estates to have 'capability' for improvement, rather than being a description of his skills. Nowadays it would be 'Potential', or Potty to his friends, possibly. Worked on hundreds of gardens, turning down work in Ireland because he had not yet finished England. A skilled user of the ha-ha. The gardens at Blenheim Palace are a good example of his work.

Worked with the architect Henry Holland and then from about 1771 with his son, also Henry who, in 1773 married Brown's daughter,Bridget (1744–1828).

Lived at The Mall, Hammersmith from 1751 - 1764 when he moved to Wilderness House, where the plaque is, and where he died, possibly. Reading Wikipedia and the Oxford Dictionary of National Bigraphy one gets two stories of his death. The other being that he died at Bridget's house in Hertford Street.

2016: English Heritage's post - Capability Brown: the man who changed English landscapes forever.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

Commemorated ati

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, 1716 - 1783, landscape architect lived here, 176...

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King George's Fields Foundation

King George's Fields Foundation

After the death of King George V the Lord Mayor of London set up a committee to decide on a suitable national memorial. It was decided to erect just one statue and create a number of playing fields...

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Harold Ainsworth Peto

Harold Ainsworth Peto

Born in Suffolk, son of Sir Samuel.

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The Royal Hospital Chelsea

The Royal Hospital Chelsea

A retirement and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age. They are popularly known as ‘Chelsea Pensioners’. Female pensioners were first admitted i...

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2 memorials