Description:Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower and 1st Marquis of Stafford (1721-1803) continued to make improvements to the gardens at Trentham throughout the 1750s. He consulted the landscape gardener and architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown who produced the ‘Plan for the Intended Alterations at Trentham’ which is featured above.
Sue Gregory writes that Brown increased the size of the lake at Trentham, which can be seen in figure M on the plan, referred to as the ‘piece of water’. Brown also planted trees to increase the privacy and seclusion of the gardens.
This artistic plan shows Trentham Gardens in great detail. References on the plan allow us to identify features including the Rotunda, the Ice House and the bowling green. New features which Brown intended to construct such as the stone bridge and gravel walk can be seen at figures K and L. The coach road through the park is also featured.
John Phibbs refers to the ‘effortless coherence’ of Brown’s landscape designs. Phibbs suggests that Brown’s ‘principal device’ for creating this effect was his use of the ‘sunk fence’ which can be seen at figure H on the plan above. The sunk fence created an impression that separate areas of parkland in Trentham formed one coherent Garden.
Contextual Information about Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown from John Phibbs, ‘Brown, Lancelot [Capability] Brown (bap. 1716, d. 1783)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3635]
Contextual Information featured on pages relating to Trentham Gardens has been provided by Sue Gregory who has been instrumental in the research and selection of documents for this section. Sue has been part of the management team of Staffordshire Gardens & Parks Trust since its creation in 1992 and has over fourteen years of experience researching Trentham Gardens in the Sutherland Papers.