Claremont Landscape Garden, just outside
EsherEsher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the London commuter belt, is largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross.Esher lies on the A307, Portsmouth Road...
,
SurreySurrey 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...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind — still featuring its original 18th century layout. Originally created for
Claremont HouseClaremont is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust....
, it represents the work of some of the best known landscape gardeners, such as
Charles BridgemanCharles Bridgeman was an English garden designer in the onset of the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres and avenues to a freer style that incorporated formal, structural and...
,
Capability BrownLancelot 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...
,
William KentWilliam Kent was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.-Education:...
and Sir
John VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard...
.
Work on the gardens began around 1715 and by 1727 they were described as "the noblest of any in Europe".
Claremont Landscape Garden, just outside
EsherEsher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the London commuter belt, is largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross.Esher lies on the A307, Portsmouth Road...
,
SurreySurrey 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...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is one of the earliest surviving gardens of its kind — still featuring its original 18th century layout. Originally created for
Claremont HouseClaremont is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust....
, it represents the work of some of the best known landscape gardeners, such as
Charles BridgemanCharles Bridgeman was an English garden designer in the onset of the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres and avenues to a freer style that incorporated formal, structural and...
,
Capability BrownLancelot 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...
,
William KentWilliam Kent was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.-Education:...
and Sir
John VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard...
.
Work on the gardens began around 1715 and by 1727 they were described as "the noblest of any in Europe". Within the grounds, overlooking the lake, is an unusual turfed amphitheatre, which used to form the centrepiece of an annual event called the Claremont
Fête champêtreA Fête champêtre was a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century, taking the form of a garden party. This form of entertainment was particularly popular at the French court where at Versailles areas of the park were landscaped with follies, pavilions and temples to accommodate such...
. Hundreds of visitors descended on Claremont, most in costume (each year has a different theme) to enjoy four days of music, theatre and fireworks.
Also within the grounds is the Belvedere Tower, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for the
Duke of NewcastleThomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protege of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
. The tower is unusual in that what appear to be windows, are actually bricks painted black and white. It is now owned by Claremont Fan Court School, which is situated alongside the gardens.
In 1949 the landscape garden was donated to the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
"for safe keeping". A restoration programme was launched in 1975 following a significant donation by the Slater Foundation.
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