Philip Southcote
Encyclopedia
Philip Southcote created an early example of the English
landscape garden at Woburn (sometimes Wooburn) Farm, near Addlestone
, Surrey
. It was the original ferme ornée
("decorative farm"), a term invented by Stephen Switzer
in 1741 http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/c3s3.html.
Southcote bought the small property in 1735. Woburn Farm's grotto
and architectural garden follies
, arches and gateways, some features designed by William Kent
, including the existing rusticated entrance that marks the entrance from the public road, soon attracted stylish visitors who made the serpentine circuit of the garden, passing from feature to feature: "all my design at first was to have a garden on the middle high ground and a walk all round my farm, for convenience as well as pleasure" Southcote wrote http://www.apl.ncl.ac.uk/coursework/IThompson/Informal_2.htm. A feature of Woburn Farm was a walk planted with broom
, rose
s, lilac
, columbine
, peonies
and sweet william, which wound its way through the fields, for it remained a working farm http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/c3s3.html.
Like William Shenstone
's Arcadian garden, the Leasowes
, Woburn Farm was highly influential in disseminating the landscape garden
; it received an extended description in Thomas Whateley's Observations on modern gardening. In a letter in 1751, Horace Walpole wrote rather peevishly of Capability Brown
's landscaping at Warwick Castle
, "The castle is enchanting; the view pleased me more than I can express, the river Avon tumbles down a cascade at the foot of it. It is well laid out by one Brown who has set up on a few ideas of Kent
and Mr. Southcote." Later in life, summing up his thoughts in his Essay On Modern Gardening, Walpole divided types of gardens in the "modern" naturalistic style into three: "into the garden that connects itself with a park, into the ornamented farm, and into the forest or savage garden". To Southcote, Walpole gives the credit for the idealized farm. http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/w9.htm.
Southcote was a friend of leading writers and gardeners of his day, including Pope
, Lord Burlington
, Lord Petre
, and William Kent
. His house is now occupied by St. George's College, and some features survive.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
landscape garden at Woburn (sometimes Wooburn) Farm, near Addlestone
Addlestone
Addlestone is a town in the borough of Runnymede in the county of Surrey, England.Immediate surrounding towns and villages include Weybridge, Ottershaw, Chertsey, and New Haw. It is near Junction 11 of the M25 motorway and is served by Addlestone railway station on the Chertsey Branch Line. It also...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It was the original ferme ornée
Ferme ornée
The term ferme ornée as used in English garden history derives from Stephen Switzer's term for 'ornamented farm'. It describes a country estate laid out partly according to aesthetic principles and partly for farming. During the eighteenth century the original ferme ornée was Woburn Farm, made by...
("decorative farm"), a term invented by Stephen Switzer
Stephen Switzer
Stephen Switzer was a garden designer and writer on garden subjects, an early exponent of the English landscape garden who admired and emulated the formal grandeur of French broad prospects and woodland avenues, finding in the state of horticulture an index of cultural health, in Augustan Rome as...
in 1741 http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/c3s3.html.
Southcote bought the small property in 1735. Woburn Farm's grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...
and architectural garden follies
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
, arches and gateways, some features designed by William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, including the existing rusticated entrance that marks the entrance from the public road, soon attracted stylish visitors who made the serpentine circuit of the garden, passing from feature to feature: "all my design at first was to have a garden on the middle high ground and a walk all round my farm, for convenience as well as pleasure" Southcote wrote http://www.apl.ncl.ac.uk/coursework/IThompson/Informal_2.htm. A feature of Woburn Farm was a walk planted with broom
Broom (shrub)
Brooms are a group of evergreen, semi-evergreen, and deciduous shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae, mainly in the three genera Chamaecytisus, Cytisus and Genista, but also in many other small genera . All genera in this group are from the tribe Genisteae...
, rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
, columbine
Aquilegia
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...
, peonies
Peony
Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America...
and sweet william, which wound its way through the fields, for it remained a working farm http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/c3s3.html.
Like William Shenstone
William Shenstone
William Shenstone was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes.-Life:...
's Arcadian garden, the Leasowes
The Leasowes
The Leasowes is a 57 hectare estate in Halesowen, historically in the county of Shropshire, England, comprising house and gardens....
, Woburn Farm was highly influential in disseminating the landscape garden
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
; it received an extended description in Thomas Whateley's Observations on modern gardening. In a letter in 1751, Horace Walpole wrote rather peevishly of Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
's landscaping at Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
, "The castle is enchanting; the view pleased me more than I can express, the river Avon tumbles down a cascade at the foot of it. It is well laid out by one Brown who has set up on a few ideas of Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
and Mr. Southcote." Later in life, summing up his thoughts in his Essay On Modern Gardening, Walpole divided types of gardens in the "modern" naturalistic style into three: "into the garden that connects itself with a park, into the ornamented farm, and into the forest or savage garden". To Southcote, Walpole gives the credit for the idealized farm. http://www.gardenvisit.com/t/w9.htm.
Southcote was a friend of leading writers and gardeners of his day, including Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
, Lord Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork PC , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork...
, Lord Petre
Baron Petre
Baron Petre , of Writtle, in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1603 for Sir John Petre. He represented Essex in parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex...
, and William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
. His house is now occupied by St. George's College, and some features survive.