£139,200 development funding has been awarded to the Capability Brown 300 Celebration and Festival, led by the Landscape Institute (LI), in a Stage 1 bid pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop planned national projects including celebrating designed landscape heritage and championing traditional skills
HLF writes:
The bid is led by the Landscape Institute on behalf of a partnership which includes the Association of Gardens Trusts, NADFAS, English Heritage, the Garden History Society, the Historic Houses Association, the National Gardens Scheme, Natural England, Parks & Gardens UK, Visit Britain, Visit England, Kolab and the National Trust. They plan to bring the beauty and importance of Brown’s landscapes to a wider audience and celebrate the legacy of one of history’s most influential landscape architects with the Capability Brown 300 Celebration and Festival.
Known as the ‘father of landscape architecture’, Brown’s surviving landscapes include the World Heritage Site at Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle (the location of the ITV series Downton Abbey), Alnwick, Chatwsorth, Syon Park and Compton Verney. Capability Brown changed the face of the nation and created a landscape style which forms the backdrop for most people’s picture of the quintessential English countryside.
Gilly Drummond, Chair of the Capability Brown 300 Steering Group, said: “Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund and a marvellous partnership we can now give Capability Brown, England’s greatest landscape artist his due recognition and spread the understanding and enjoyment of his genius for sustainable landscape design to a much wider audience, both nationally and internationally. We will move at speed to ensure that Capability Brown’s Birthday Celebrations and Festival 2016 will delight and inform as many people as possible all over the country. With the help of owners and managers and the support of volunteers, we hope to be able to have a huge number of Brown’s parks and gardens open to the public in 2016.”
The 300th birthday of Capability Brown in 2016 is an opportunity to understand his legacy and to increase appreciation and enjoyment of his landscapes.
Aims
- To celebrate Capability Brown as an artist and landscape designer
- To encourage an increased number of people to visit, learn about and enjoy Brown’s landscapes
- To encourage a greater appreciation of our designed landscape heritage
Objectives
- To open as many Brown landscapes, houses and features as possible during 2016 including sites that are not usually open to the public
- To engage volunteers in all aspects of the 2016 celebrations
- To promote the understanding of Brown’s art and designs and his influence through supporting and encouraging the development of television programmes, books, and exhibitions
- To stimulate new research
- To encourage and stimulate conservation projects
- To champion and develop conservation skills
Capability Brown 300 Celebration: LINK
HLF news: LINK
