Funky design team visit Rousham House & Gardens The gardens at Rousham Park are unique. They are the only gardens designed by William Kent that remain - nearly three hundred years later - much as he planned them. Kent also contributed to the gardens at Stowe, Chiswick, Claremont, Badminton, and Chatsworth. It is only at Rousham that he conceived the whole garden. We are lucky. In 1760, Walpole described Rousham as "the most engaging of all Kent’s works". William Kent (1684 - 1748) was among the most influential artists of his time. A painter in his early life in England and Italy, he later worked as an architect, a designer of interior decoration, furniture and theatre sets, and as a literary illustrator. Late in life - from around the age of 40 he designed only a dozen or so gardens. At Rousham, Kent was asked to redesign gardens already formed by others, including Bridgeman and, possibly, Pope. Bridgeman's designs were mainly formal and largely symmetrical, but they did reflect something of the contemporary trend to greater informality and "naturalness". In 1737 General Dormer invited Kent to Rousham to work on the design of the house and its 25 acre garden - a modest size compared with Stowe and with an unusually steep slope to the River Cherwell and pastoral and rural views.                         |
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CategoriesEnglish HeritageFunky Garden inspiration Gardens of England Gardens of Morocco Kew Garden Design Inspiration Natural landscapes of the U.K RHS Gardens |
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