0:00:02 > 0:00:06These are some of the most magnificent landscapes in England.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09They were designed by the person regarded by many as
0:00:09 > 0:00:11the first landscape architect,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15and England's most famous landscape designer.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18He travelled the length and breadth of the country,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22improving more than 200 of the greatest estates in the land,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26for some of the most influential people in the 18th century.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30300 years ago, he was baptised Lancelot,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34today he is better known as Capability Brown.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37His skill and his nickname came from seeing
0:00:37 > 0:00:41what he called the "capabilities" of the landscape.
0:00:43 > 0:00:48But there is one estate that never even reached the drawing board.
0:00:48 > 0:00:5315 years before he died, he bought the estate at Fenstanton in Cambridgeshire.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57It is the only land that he ever owned.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59It is where he and his family are buried.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I'm Bunny Guinness, I'm a gardener and a landscape architect
0:01:04 > 0:01:09and, in this programme, I'll discover what Brown might have done to his own land.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Oh, don't I love the view! Fantastic!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16We'll find out why he was so successful.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19It's absolutely typical and you cannot see the end.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21That could go on like that for ever.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25We'll hear why he wasn't always appreciated.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27I think Brown was a vandal.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29I think he was a very visionary vandal.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34'It's a story of ambition, debt, scandal and mystery.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:38She's thought to be the illegitimate daughter of Brown.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42A great estate like this would shelter all sorts of goings on
0:01:42 > 0:01:46that wouldn't necessarily be known about in the wider world.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Capability Brown was Lord of the Manor here, so this was the first
0:01:50 > 0:01:55piece of land that he could create his own landscape for himself.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59I don't know any landscape designers that don't relish the chance
0:01:59 > 0:02:01to get their hands on their own piece of land,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04and Fenstanton seemed to be perfect for him.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09But he died before he could carry out his plans.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Today, it is a piece of flat land bisected by a dual carriageway.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18To understand what he might have created, I'm travelling the country
0:02:18 > 0:02:22to search for clues in some of his best-loved landscapes.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28'I'll use rediscovered plans, rarely seen treasures,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32'and the latest technology to show what his garden would look like
0:02:32 > 0:02:35'as a completed Capability Brown landscape.'
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Whoa!
0:02:37 > 0:02:39This is really exciting!
0:02:40 > 0:02:44I'll reveal the man himself and create a picture
0:02:44 > 0:02:47of what could have been his missing masterpiece -
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Capability Brown's unfinished garden.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I'm starting my journey at Blenheim Palace.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04This is a classic Lancelot Brown landscape.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07He framed views with trees
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and improved the setting of the huge bridge.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Dominating the landscape is the great body of water,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19two lakes beneath the stone bridge.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23300 years after Brown, the gardens are mature and look pretty natural,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26but they are entirely man-made.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Grand estates were influenced by the fashions of the day.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Before Brown, gardens featured formal sections with clipped hedges
0:03:36 > 0:03:41planted in complex patterns, like these more recent versions.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45In the 18th century, the fashion had changed from formal
0:03:45 > 0:03:49to natural, and Brown was the man to do it.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Pictures found in the Blenheim Palace archives and private collection
0:03:55 > 0:03:59reveal how Brown was able to sort out a mess left by others.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05This is a pre-Brown plan and it's an absolutely beautiful plan,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10drawn in 1719, of the gardens as they existed at that time,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14so the original gardens were designed and executed by Henry Wise,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18who was also the main gardener to royalty,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and his main work was to the south of the palace.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25So this little object here, which puts it all in perspective, is the palace,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and you have an enormous flower parterre,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30then the great parterre here.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It was box, yew and holly and all the little intricacies
0:04:33 > 0:04:36were absolutely symmetrical, but what they did build -
0:04:36 > 0:04:39you can just see the outline of it in red -
0:04:39 > 0:04:43was a raised walkway, so that you could take your exercise and air
0:04:43 > 0:04:45and look down on the beauty of it all.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Because it would have looked much better from above than in it.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- Absolutely.- It would have been overwhelming almost.- Yes.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And the amount of gardeners they would have had to maintain this all?
0:04:54 > 0:04:55An enormous number.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02The formal gardens had had their day and Brown laid the great south lawn
0:05:02 > 0:05:05on the site of the former parterre,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09but Brown's main challenge was to give the existing bridge
0:05:09 > 0:05:12a setting it deserved.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15It's interesting to see this formal canal network underneath
0:05:15 > 0:05:19the great bridge, so that was all here before Brown came.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23It was. Well, the architect was John Vanbrugh.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25He did not see eye-to-eye with the first Duchess,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and he had created this huge bridge, which she didn't particularly like,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and generated quite a lot of criticism at the time.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35She had a canal that went under the bridge and she built
0:05:35 > 0:05:38a beautiful cascade under the bridge,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41then the canal system came out, heading towards the west.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44And this is Brown's plan, and where did you find this?
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Well, it was actually found rolled up in a box by a historian
0:05:48 > 0:05:52called David Green who came to write the definitive book of history
0:05:52 > 0:05:57on Blenheim and it clearly hadn't been seen for many, many years,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and so had been beautifully preserved, all rolled up.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And this is Brown's, I think reasonably quick,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08plan of what he intended to do just with the water.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12So Brown came along, he solved it, he flooded the bridge,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- and it does look a lot better. - It does look exquisitely beautiful.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Seeing what Brown did to improve the landscape here at Blenheim
0:06:21 > 0:06:25will help with ideas for his land at Fenstanton.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27He runs a complicated business, but he's still a genius.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29I mean, all you've got to do is look at that...
0:06:29 > 0:06:32For more insight, landscape historian Tom Williamson
0:06:32 > 0:06:34is showing me around the Blenheim parkland.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38What would you say is Brown's main design criteria?
0:06:38 > 0:06:44Well, I think one of the things he's doing is he is looking at
0:06:44 > 0:06:48almost the raw topographic form, the shape of landforms and the contours,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52and he's taking those and he's accentuating them where necessary,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54I think that's how I would put it.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- He's embellishing the natural landscape?- Is bringing out the...
0:06:58 > 0:07:01the sort of inner truth of the landscape,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05I suppose he might say, and so, with something like this,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08almost the point of the lake is to show you the shape of the land.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12There's nothing like the edges of a lake to show you the actual shape of the landform.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15You wouldn't pick that up in the same way as a valley,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19so it's taking natural landforms, accentuating it where necessary.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24So he reveals the capabilities of the Blenheim parkland
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and improves a half-finished landscape
0:07:27 > 0:07:30that others had not or could not complete.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34This is sort of typical for a lot of Brown in that,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36when we look at a landscape like this,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38we're not just looking at Brown,
0:07:38 > 0:07:43Brown is working for the richest people in the land,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47the real top people, and they have, generally speaking -
0:07:47 > 0:07:49not always, but generally -
0:07:49 > 0:07:54seats, country estates which have already been worked on by the best,
0:07:54 > 0:07:55so, in this particular case,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57the house by John Vanbrugh,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59the bridge by John Vanbrugh.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Without the bridge, this scene,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04wonderful though it is, would not be the same,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06but Brown doesn't design the bridge, that's there,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09that's already quite an old structure, actually.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13The bridge had been completed around 1730,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17but the lakes we see today did not exist until Brown came along
0:08:17 > 0:08:19more than 30 years later.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23He used hundreds of men to dig out the valley and line it with clay
0:08:23 > 0:08:29to make it waterproof, and he made it look like a wide, natural river.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It's absolutely typical and you cannot see the ends,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I mean, that's critical for Brown.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37So the imagination makes it even bigger.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40That could go on like that for ever, that's the genius of it.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44His genius is acknowledged in his nickname - Capability.
0:08:44 > 0:08:50It was an affectionate term used only by Brown's clients, never by himself,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54and his reputation soon spread amongst the wealthy dukes and earls.
0:08:55 > 0:09:00Brown - he's the brand, he's the big star of this and, partly,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04no doubt, that's because of his amazing ability as an artist,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07partly though it's his ability as a businessman.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13Brown corners the market of the big, influential political elite,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16the clique, if you like, that's running the country
0:09:16 > 0:09:20and he works that network and he's recommended through those people.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23To keep water in the lake,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Brown built a dam at the bottom end of the valley,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30but it had to look natural, so he concealed the engineering and made
0:09:30 > 0:09:35a feature of it in a surprise view, which is another of his themes.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Brown's designs are made to be explored either on foot
0:09:41 > 0:09:45or in an open-topped carriage of some kind.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48This is almost like a film,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52with things, vistas, opening and closing
0:09:52 > 0:09:56and things being revealed and sometimes surprises.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59And I can hear a surprise around the corner.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14It is supposed to evoke ideas of Italian landscape painting.
0:10:16 > 0:10:17But it also has a functional purpose,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19it's the outflow from the lake.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24That is the level of the lake at the top,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28and you can see just the beginning of the edge of the dam there,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30and they had to have some way to get the water out,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33because the water's coming in at the top end of the river,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35so this is one way, the main way,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39but they also have underground tunnels coming underneath the dam
0:10:39 > 0:10:43to take it off at times of excess flow, cos the last thing you want
0:10:43 > 0:10:47is the entire dam being washed away in flood.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53It shows how good he was at water management and engineering.
0:10:53 > 0:10:59Absolutely, and that to me is one of the amazing things about Brown,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03that, on the one hand, as we saw where we were standing earlier,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05it looks completely natural
0:11:05 > 0:11:08yet, to achieve that effect, it's highly engineered.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17Blenheim Palace has some wonderful clues for Brown's unfinished garden
0:11:17 > 0:11:20which I'm going to gather and take back to Fenstanton.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24A lake is a must, and the key is how Brown uses a serpentine view
0:11:24 > 0:11:28so the valley and lake appear to go on for ever.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34And I'm inspired by his water engineering skills.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46The Cambridgeshire fens are flat and very watery.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49In the middle of the Fenstanton estate is a modest stream.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54As we saw at Blenheim, Brown was a master of water technology,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57so he could use this in his design.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Not on the scale of Blenheim,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03but using the same idea and technique to create a lake.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08But where? We don't have a lot to go on.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10There are few records or drawings,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14but there is a map of the Fenstanton estate.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17It was drawn after Brown bought the land, and it shows the
0:12:17 > 0:12:21original stream and a small pond in the middle of an area of grassland.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26In Brown's day, this piece of grassland
0:12:26 > 0:12:28would've been much, much bigger.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32And, in order to understand where Brown might have put the lake,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I need to understand where he would have lived.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38There are two manor houses here.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Both survived from when he bought the estate.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46If this was his retirement project, he would have chosen the house
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to be part of the composition of his design.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Because he died before he retired,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56we don't know which he'd have chosen for his home.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Hi, Nigel, I'm Bunny. Lovely to meet you.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03'The Manor House is in the centre of Fenstanton village,
0:13:03 > 0:13:07'and the current owner is sure that Brown stayed here.'
0:13:07 > 0:13:09So, do you think Brown actually lived here?
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Well, whether he did or he didn't, we don't know.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But what is clear is he would have had to have somewhere to have
0:13:14 > 0:13:16actually done his parishional business.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17He was the Lord of the Manor,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20he now had buildings and land that need managing.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22And this would have been his offices.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25So, when he was actually visiting Fenstanton as his parish,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27as Lord of the Manor, this is where he would have come.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- And it wouldn't have looked quite like this.- No, not at all.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35These partitioned walls either side of here wouldn't have been here. This would have been one large room.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37The house was designed as a yeoman's house.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40And as a yeoman's house, this is where the yeoman, or the Lord of the Manor,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44did his business when he was actually visiting the parish.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'And there is evidence in the garden that Brown owned the house.'
0:13:48 > 0:13:51So these are the apple trees that we, the historians,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54believe were actually planted by Brown.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56They certainly look gnarled enough, don't they?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58They do look old, without a doubt.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01But do they look 300 years old, do you think?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04We have a receipt for their purchase.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07So this is a receipt from the nursery in Madingley,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11where Brown's gardener bought a number of trees for his garden.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14So we've got 19 apple trees here.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18We've got an apricot, which I think is actually quite unusual for those days.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19Some damsons.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And so the apples that are mentioned here could well be the apples
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- that are in the garden now. - I wonder.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29300 years old? Possibly.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Possibly. I mean, there are better people than me who think they are.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36'I don't know. But it's a lovely story.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41'We know Brown visited here, but would he have chosen this for his home?
0:14:41 > 0:14:43'I think the key clue is the church.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47'It is the dominant landmark in the village.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50'If Brown's designs could not incorporate views of the church,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53'then the Manor house would be ruled out.'
0:14:53 > 0:14:55You can see the church from the garden.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Yeah, it's actually just over there.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01But because there's no clear vista of the church, and knowing how Brown
0:15:01 > 0:15:04liked to create gardens with that type of view,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09obviously always planting follies if he didn't have something he could
0:15:09 > 0:15:13focus on, it makes you wonder if he ever really intended to retire here.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21'There is another house where he might have lived.'
0:15:21 > 0:15:23- Hiya, Bunny.- Hi, Ian. Lovely to meet you.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25'It's about a mile away from the village and
0:15:25 > 0:15:28'has perfect views towards the church.'
0:15:28 > 0:15:30So you like the view, huh?
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Oh, don't I love the view? Fantastic.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Waking up to that every morning.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39It's delightful, especially when you come down the stairs in the morning.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44And the sun is streaming down across the garden. And into that hall.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46You can see that this might be somewhere that Brown would
0:15:46 > 0:15:48have loved to have lived.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51When you consider the view that would have been,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54if he'd lived longer, the view across there,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57there would have been a lot of water,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and, right the way around to here, there would have been some water.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05- You have a stew pond there.- Yes. - And then that's very marshy there.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09So you've got two or three really good elements that he loved.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12So, in your heart of hearts, do you think Brown would have lived here?
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Do you think he did live here?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I think his first choice would have been here.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22I think, to overlook the village that he had bought,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25he would have loved to have lived here.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'A plaque from the Sun Fire Office on the side of the house was
0:16:29 > 0:16:33'registered to Brown and shows that he even insured the property.'
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Do come in.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39So, we know that Brown owned the place, because we've seen the insurance plaque.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Have you anything else that will
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- tell us anything about his involvement?- Only these maps.
0:16:45 > 0:16:52The map at the top is the one that was done by Brown's surveyor.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56He mapped out everything that Brown owned
0:16:56 > 0:16:58once he'd bought all of the properties.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03All these houses, all these plots of land. So he had, what, 145...?
0:17:03 > 0:17:07- They're fields.- Fields. Wow! That's quite a package, isn't it?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- It really is.- It's one hell of a package.- And there's his house.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15- Your house.- That's this house, yes. - And the church, then, is up there. - Over there.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Wow. And this beautiful expanse of your wonderful views.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22And that's the view that Brown would have had
0:17:22 > 0:17:25as he walked up or down the stairs in the morning.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27So he's gone to a lot of trouble, hasn't he?
0:17:27 > 0:17:30To get this surveyed. He was going to do something with it,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32- wasn't he? He really was. - Indeed he was.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35But he didn't get around to it, and that kind of annoys me a bit.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37THEY LAUGH
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So I think that place is Brown's lake,
0:17:41 > 0:17:46somewhere along the line between the house and the church.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Probably with some undulations around it.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52And maybe even a bridge over it.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I'm happy that we know where the lake should be
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and where he would have lived.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01But there's another feature in the view that
0:18:01 > 0:18:03he would have had to consider -
0:18:03 > 0:18:05the village of Fenstanton.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12To see what he might have done with that,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15I'm going to Dorset and another Brown masterpiece.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22This estate is so huge.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25It's a real luxury to have a car, for me. Whereas poor old
0:18:25 > 0:18:30Brown just had his feet and a horse, or maybe a horse and carriage.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33But it is vast, this is just one of three valleys,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37so he must have spent an awful lot of time purely travelling.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45It's about three miles from end to end and more than 2,500 acres.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51The three valleys around Milton Abbey were once described as
0:18:51 > 0:18:53a barren landscape.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Brown was brought in to create a grand scheme for the new and
0:18:57 > 0:19:02very wealthy Lord Milton and his recently built mansion.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06He created a series of walks, one such as this, that, as you round
0:19:06 > 0:19:11the corner, you see your first glimpse of the fantastic abbey.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Lord Milton's new mansion was built on the old monastic ruins.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23All that is left from the original abbey is the church.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28You have no idea what you're heading towards...
0:19:28 > 0:19:32'Brown planted thousands of trees around the edges of the valleys
0:19:32 > 0:19:34'to create an idyllic landscape.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37'He also made walks through the woodland to make the most of
0:19:37 > 0:19:39'the existing landmarks,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42'especially the Abbey Church and a medieval chapel on the hillside.'
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Fabulous building, isn't it? When does it date from?
0:19:45 > 0:19:4812th century, so it's the first building on the site.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Isn't it stunning? I can quite see what he was doing.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59'John Phibbs is a landscape architect and biographer of Brown.'
0:19:59 > 0:20:03So, if you stand, you can see that the access,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06if you run your eye down from the tower right along the top, is running up to this.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08So that's the monastic arrangement.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Wherever you go around this huge landscape,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20you see the church now behind, just out of the wood. Somehow or other,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24they're always framed by hills on both sides coming down.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28To see the church in a great dish of green grass running all the
0:20:28 > 0:20:32way around. So the trees keep coming in from the side, as trees will.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And that was unusual for Brown, because, normally,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39- he would focus it about the house. - Yeah. Yeah.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42It's unique, I think, probably, isn't it, when you think about it?
0:20:42 > 0:20:46He's cut the house out and he's just giving you the church.
0:20:46 > 0:20:47Because he's recognised that
0:20:47 > 0:20:50the church is the key building in the landscape.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Linking the chapel and the Abbey Church is
0:20:54 > 0:20:59a grass staircase believed to have been designed by Brown.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04It is more ornamental than practical and is known as The Great Stare,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07which gives an insight into Brown's character.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13Brown was noted for his habit of making really bad puns.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17And The Great Stare is a really bad pun.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Because it's the great staircase, great staircase that you climb up,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and it's also the great "stare", where you stand and stare out at the view.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29- It is The Great Stare. So, it's sad, isn't it? - Very funny. Good joke.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30THEY LAUGH
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Behind the abbey, there used to be a market town called Middleton.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40It can be seen on the right in his engraving from 1733.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46The town was in the valley directly below me.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It was huge, it stretched for a quarter of
0:21:48 > 0:21:50a mile right up to the abbey.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55But Lord Milton really did not want 500 people living on his doorstep,
0:21:55 > 0:22:00so he decided to remove them and put some lakes there instead.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Brown did not complete the lake,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07but he did design the layout of the new village of Milton Abbas.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12- Lord Milton wanted to remove old Middleton by the abbey.- Yes.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14And Brown, in consequence, was required to build
0:22:14 > 0:22:18a new village here for all the people who lived in the abbey.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23And Sir William Chambers, the architect, he made the basic unit,
0:22:23 > 0:22:28these units here, and they look like handsome gentleman's residences.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30But in fact, each one was a tenement.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So you went in the front door and then the house divided into two,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36or even four. So people were crammed in, in fact.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38But they looked rather grand.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42And my feeling is that Brown then created the whole village
0:22:42 > 0:22:46and, to do that, he had to cut away the whole slope at the back here
0:22:46 > 0:22:47- on that side...- Big stuff.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51..in order to fit in this serpentine, beautiful serpentine,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53with the church running down at the pivot.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56And so that's what makes the village so beautiful today,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00it's the way each house is set a little bit back from the next one.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06In Fenstanton, Brown would have made the most of the church,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and he had the village to consider as well.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14It is unlikely Brown would want, or could afford, to move Fenstanton village.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20But there's another idea here in Dorset that he used to make the most
0:23:20 > 0:23:26of an existing village that shows Brown's love of natural landscapes.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31My theory is that Brown took a look at what he'd done, and he'd made
0:23:31 > 0:23:35this amazing village, and he thought, "This hasn't got it.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38"This is not right, this is not what I'm trying to do."
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Even though today everyone films and loves Milton Abbas and it's
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- so beautiful. - It was just too picture perfect.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Too picture perfect, that's exactly right, yes.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51So he goes to this other village,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54confusingly called Hilton, Hilton and Milton.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Anyway, Hilton is on the edge of the estate.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00This is, I think, in the late 1770s, towards the end of his time,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and he ornaments now the Hilton valley.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08And he plants these woodlands around the edge, incorporating and
0:24:08 > 0:24:10embracing the village of Hilton.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15And the village of Hilton he leaves completely unaltered.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19And they're all built at odd angles, hugger-mugger, complete muddle of a village.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24To me, it's as if he saw Milton Abbas, which was his own work,
0:24:24 > 0:24:26and he said, "This isn't right.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30"Actually, the old English village, that's the really beautiful thing."
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And I think Brown was the first person to really see that.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Incorporated it in his landscape and said, "This is England."
0:24:37 > 0:24:41And this process, this is how we see England today.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45We see villages, we see that village of Hilton and it's beautiful.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52I can see exactly what John Phipps means now.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55The trees really embrace the village and sort of bed it
0:24:55 > 0:24:57into the landscape.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Something he might well have done at Fenstanton.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07With the valleys and the village in Dorset, I'm getting
0:25:07 > 0:25:12a picture of the possibilities for Brown's garden in Cambridgeshire.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15But there's something that puzzles me.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Why did he choose this flat landscape in the Fens?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Fenstanton has no hills or valleys to sculpt,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29but Brown spent years trying to buy it.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Why was he so keen?
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Part of the reason is here at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Brown's reputation was already established
0:25:40 > 0:25:43by the time he started at Castle Ashby.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46He'd been an independent designer for more than a decade and had
0:25:46 > 0:25:49worked at some of England's great estates,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52including Longleat and Chatsworth.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56The Earl of Northampton also wanted a Brown landscape and commissioned
0:25:56 > 0:26:00him to improve Castle Ashby's park and its garden buildings.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06Avenues were laid out, lakes created and the ice house rebuilt,
0:26:06 > 0:26:11in the words of Brown, in a very expensive manner.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15It all cost rather more than the Earl, Lord Northampton,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17could afford.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And that meant that he owed thousands of pounds to Brown,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22a sizeable fortune.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27When Brown was working here, he heard about the Fenstanton estate
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and he asked Lord Northampton if he could buy it.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38'Philip Compton is a distant relative of the eighth Earl of Northampton.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41'He's also the archivist for Castle Ashby.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44'The current Lord Northampton has given me permission to see
0:26:44 > 0:26:49'correspondence between his ancestor and Lancelot Brown.'
0:26:49 > 0:26:53- "Most obligingly, our most obedient servant."- Lancelot Brown.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Lovely seal, isn't it, there? Wonderful seal.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01- Yeah, you can see the B for Brown. - 'It is a rare and generous offer.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06'And I feel honoured to be able to see letters from the great man himself.'
0:27:06 > 0:27:111766. Brown to Lord Northampton.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15"Mr Fullerton was the land agent at Fenstanton.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18"Informed me that you and Mr Drummond had not agreed about the
0:27:18 > 0:27:20"Huntingdon estate.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24"If no other person is in treaty with Your Lordship,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27"I should be glad to have the refusal of it.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31"Your Lordship shall have very little trouble with me upon it."
0:27:32 > 0:27:35'I didn't expect Brown to be so direct.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37'This is extraordinary.'
0:27:37 > 0:27:42So, this is Capability Brown speaking. "I have taken the liberty twice before this to beg to know of
0:27:42 > 0:27:46"Your Lordship, whether you intend parting with the Huntingdon estate."
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- Pressurising. - Yeah, very much pressurising...
0:27:50 > 0:27:53'These letters showed just how determined
0:27:53 > 0:27:56'he was to buy the Fenstanton estate.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58'I wonder what else we'll discover.'
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Looks, he says at the beginning, "I have received a part of the
0:28:01 > 0:28:04"papers and surveys relative to Fenstanton estate
0:28:04 > 0:28:06"from Mr Partington."
0:28:06 > 0:28:08'When Brown bought the estate,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'he was living with his wife and children at Hampton Court.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15'He was Royal Gardener and a house came with the job.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17'Brown owned no property,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21'so this was his chance to look ahead to his retirement.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24'Buying the estate cleared the debt owed to him and gave him
0:28:24 > 0:28:26'a rental income from his tenants.'
0:28:26 > 0:28:29He'll be interested to know what's his return on investment.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32- Yes, that's a very good point, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35The financial viability of it all.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40'They finally agreed a price of £13,000,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43'part of which was settlement for the debts owed to Brown for
0:28:43 > 0:28:45'his work at Castle Ashby.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51'So the income is one reason for Brown buying Fenstanton.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53'But there may be another motive.'
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Brown's connections with Fenstanton are peppered with mysteries.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03We know he was buried somewhere here, but not exactly where.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07We don't know exactly what sort of landscape plan he would have drawn up,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11and we're not entirely certain which house he might have lived in.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13And there's yet another mystery.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28Here we have this magnificent stone memorial to Lancelot Brown.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Tests on the stone show it was put up shortly after his death.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36And I love the crenulations along the top. He would have approved of that.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41He used them in many places and liked that detail very much.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48And this is the other mystery. The memorial to Mary Elizabeth Cowling.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51She's thought to be the illegitimate daughter of Brown.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58And on the stone is also mentioned Mary's son, Peter Lancelot,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01presumably named after Mary's father.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09So it looks like Brown had a mistress whose name we don't know.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11And Mary was their illegitimate child.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16They are buried here, next to Brown,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19but we don't know where they lived.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Maybe Brown was seeing them whilst his wife and THEIR children
0:30:25 > 0:30:30stayed in London. After all, Brown spent weeks away from home,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34visiting estates in almost every county in England.
0:30:39 > 0:30:40I've been visiting Brown sites,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44travelling with speed and comfort by car.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46But this is how Brown would have travelled, at best,
0:30:46 > 0:30:51and don't forget the roads weren't nearly as smooth as this in his day.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53Often, though, he would have gone by horseback,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57travelling up and down the length of the country.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05About half a day's ride north of Fenstanton is Burghley House,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07one of Brown's longest-running projects.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17His work at Burghley gave him,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20in his own words, "25 years of pleasure".
0:31:22 > 0:31:25It could be one of his puns. Pleasure of work
0:31:25 > 0:31:29and pleasure of seeing his mistress and daughter here.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39He created views using clumps of trees
0:31:39 > 0:31:42to appear like natural openings,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45and designed to be best seen from a horse and carriage.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Maybe this was why he was so good at assessing the landscape,
0:31:54 > 0:31:58he really felt part of it, travelling through it like this.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05And there it is.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Fantastic.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Jane Brown is a biographer of Lancelot Brown.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23She's no relation, but does have an insight into his family.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28I realised that we knew so much about his parks, and everyone
0:32:28 > 0:32:31talked about his parks, but we didn't know anything about him.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36In the research for her book, Jane found a manuscript that appears
0:32:36 > 0:32:42to confirm that Mary Elizabeth is Brown's illegitimate daughter.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45In the church records at Fenstanton,
0:32:45 > 0:32:51where the church architect wanted to find someone to pay for
0:32:51 > 0:32:56the repair of the monument, Brown's tomb monument,
0:32:56 > 0:33:03about 100 years ago, and he drew out a family tree of the children,
0:33:03 > 0:33:09and he drew a dotted line out to the side to connect Mary Elizabeth.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And they're all buried together.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17So I just feel that she must have been connected, yes.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Do you think Brown's coming here was connected to
0:33:20 > 0:33:22his affections with Mary Elizabeth Cowling?
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Well, I think it's quite possible that she was connected to
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Burghley, because if he had this...
0:33:29 > 0:33:32if Mary Elizabeth Cowling was his daughter,
0:33:32 > 0:33:36he presumably wanted to see her, and presumably her mother as well.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41He would have come as virtually a bachelor, because his wife,
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Biddy, she had no desire to leave home and of course there was
0:33:45 > 0:33:49no place for her in the society of his clients.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56A great estate like this can encompass all kinds of lives
0:33:56 > 0:34:00and it would shelter all sorts of goings-on that wouldn't
0:34:00 > 0:34:02necessarily be known about in the wider world.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Here at Burghley, we can also see Brown's skills as an architect.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13He altered the house as well as the landscape.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24And inside we can learn more about his personal life.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Here, overlooking his magnificent work in the great park,
0:34:35 > 0:34:37is a rare portrait of Brown.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41He's looking very relaxed and pleased with himself.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45And this tells us something of his status in his later life.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50When this was painted, he'd bought Fenstanton,
0:34:50 > 0:34:55so he was lord of his own manor, had completed more than 130 projects
0:34:55 > 0:34:59and was still working on some of the biggest states in the land.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02He was in demand from rich and influential people who
0:35:02 > 0:35:06wanted a Capability Brown landscape.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11This picture shows he was more than a garden designer,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14he was what we would term a celebrity.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18Brown got on so well with his client here at Burghley,
0:35:18 > 0:35:23the 9th Earl of Exeter, that he was given his own quarters in the house.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Here we've got an inventory,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30and this inventory shows that Brown actually stayed here.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32More than that, he had his own room.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35It says, "Mr Brown's room" in the Bachelor's Gallery.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38And it details exactly what was there.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43A green bed, a green bedspread, quilt,
0:35:43 > 0:35:47a lot of green furnishings, he obviously loved green.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49It shows us two things.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53It shows us that he was obviously very welcome here and that
0:35:53 > 0:35:56he liked the colour green - not really a surprise.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Lady Victoria Leatham is a descendant of the Earl who
0:36:00 > 0:36:03commissioned Brown at Burghley.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05The Earl was a most interesting man.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Brown would have been dealing with a man who was fizzing with ideas
0:36:08 > 0:36:11and bursting to impart knowledge and absorb knowledge,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13so the two of them would have bounced off each other.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15And I think that's what's so interesting.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17The Earl would have been fascinated
0:36:17 > 0:36:20by what Brown was discovering about trees and shrubs and how they worked
0:36:20 > 0:36:23and what his idea was for angles and vistas.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27- And architecture, and how to make it a most fantastic home.- Yes, quite.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29And he did more than just the gardens here.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31He did. He moved into the house.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Erm, and in fact the room we're sitting in, this library, has one
0:36:34 > 0:36:38of the wonderful plaster ceilings which was attributed to him.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42I think it was a period of enormous expansion and excitement
0:36:42 > 0:36:43in the 18th century.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Why do you think the Earl wanted Brown here in the first place?
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Well, I think he had seen great landscapes when
0:36:49 > 0:36:52he was travelling in Europe, that was the first point.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Second point is that I think he knew that the fashion was changing.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58And he'd inherited something from his ancestors that wasn't
0:36:58 > 0:37:00absolutely his mix.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02The 17th-century stuff would have been looking
0:37:02 > 0:37:04a bit dowdy by the time he came along,
0:37:04 > 0:37:05because there were a couple of earls in between
0:37:05 > 0:37:07who had no money, so they hadn't done much.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11And I think he thought the moment had come to rejuvenate Burghley.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13I mean, he really wanted to put a bit of welly into it
0:37:13 > 0:37:16and get it going. And Brown was the man of the moment
0:37:16 > 0:37:18and so he would have approached him
0:37:18 > 0:37:20and Brown would have seen his chances.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22He was an ambitious and effective operator.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25He'd have moved in here, using the earl's social contacts
0:37:25 > 0:37:28to make new contacts for himself,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31and new jobs popping up here and there.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35These drawings show the park before Brown started
0:37:35 > 0:37:38with formal pleasure gardens near the house.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42The very magnificent formal gardens that were here before Brown,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44you see engravings of them,
0:37:44 > 0:37:47they were very extensive - 25 gardeners.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50- And then all went away. - All went away.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51And how do you feel about that?
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- I think Brown was a vandal. - SHE LAUGHS
0:37:54 > 0:37:56I think he was a very visionary vandal
0:37:56 > 0:37:59and I think that he was a man who incorporated a landscape
0:37:59 > 0:38:01like nobody else could have done,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04but he was doing it from a very male-centric point of view,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07which is my beef with him.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Women like flowers, they like walking amongst flowers,
0:38:10 > 0:38:11and there were no flowers here.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14And what Brown was used to doing was riding about looking at vistas
0:38:14 > 0:38:17and looking at views and thinking of the grand scheme of things
0:38:17 > 0:38:19and strategy for the future, which he was brilliant at.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Brown managed to make it float in its landscape,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26and it is set like a jewel in the middle of this green expanse.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33He achieved the floating effect by the use of a ha-ha.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36The ha-ha is a trademark of Brown,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39a wall designed to keep livestock off the lawns
0:38:39 > 0:38:44whilst avoiding a visible barrier looking from the house to the park.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Here at Burghley, it had two functions.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50As well as enhancing the view of the house,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53he used it to help with the drainage of the land.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56And I have no doubt that he would have used a ha-ha
0:38:56 > 0:38:58around his own house.
0:39:00 > 0:39:05Here, Brown designed buildings as well as the landscape
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and that will give me clues for the Fenstanton estate.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11The orangery uses his favourite motif
0:39:11 > 0:39:14of crenellations along the top of the walls.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20But the building I want to find most is his fabulous summerhouse.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24I'm hoping it could add some unexpected drama in his garden.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30The approach is along small paths through bushes,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33which obscure any views.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38This is the entrance to Brown's summerhouse,
0:39:38 > 0:39:41a very grand entrance.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43It raises your expectations,
0:39:43 > 0:39:47but then you open the door and all is revealed.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02The view is all made by Brown.
0:40:05 > 0:40:06The lake was new,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10the hills were improved using earth dug out from the lake
0:40:10 > 0:40:13and Brown's favourite trees, cedars of Lebanon,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15offer views through their boughs.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Everything is placed for maximum effect.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24So, there are three wonderful ideas here
0:40:24 > 0:40:28that could really make a difference at Fenstanton -
0:40:28 > 0:40:32the big reveal provided by the summerhouse,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36the use of trees to frame and conceal views...
0:40:38 > 0:40:42..and the ha-ha, which incorporated a drainage system
0:40:42 > 0:40:45and would have helped with the flat, wet fen.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Brown's projects made the most of natural features and improved them.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58Only occasionally did he face a landscape without hills or valleys,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00like his own land at Fenstanton.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Cambridge is also flat,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10so the city can give me more clues for his unfinished garden.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19This is one of the most photographed views in Cambridge -
0:41:19 > 0:41:22looking across some wet and very flat paddocks
0:41:22 > 0:41:26at the back of the university colleges along the river.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28It is known as the Backs.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35In the 1770s, the chancellor of Cambridge University
0:41:35 > 0:41:39invited Brown to design some alterations for the Backs.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44St John's had already asked Brown to work on their land
0:41:44 > 0:41:49and he had designed a wilderness with trees and grassland.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Then Brown was commissioned to make changes to the Backs as a whole.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00I'm doing what thousands of students and tourists love to do -
0:42:00 > 0:42:04enjoying this stretch of lazy river,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07being punted beneath beautiful bridges over the River Cam.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13But if Brown had got his way,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16these bends would have been straightened out,
0:42:16 > 0:42:18the bridges would have gone.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21This historic park would have looked very different.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24And without the bridges,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28the punters' history talks wouldn't be the same.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30So, we're coming in through Clare College now,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32coming underneath the oldest bridge left on the river.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35This actually predates the English Civil War.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37When Oliver Cromwell took charge of Cambridge,
0:42:37 > 0:42:39he kept this as the only bridge standing,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42so that it would remain as the strongest bridge we'd have left.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45The bridge survived Cromwell,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48but Brown would have knocked it down.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53The colleges each had their own identity
0:42:53 > 0:42:55and their own formal gardens.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Brown proposed that the single landscapes
0:42:58 > 0:43:02be unified into one park with four separate paddocks,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05widening the river to create a lake
0:43:05 > 0:43:09and removing formal avenues, bridges and boundaries.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Not many of Brown's plans survive,
0:43:14 > 0:43:16but his design for the Cambridge Backs
0:43:16 > 0:43:19is still in the university's library.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26This is interesting and very exciting.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30A rare chance to see one of Brown's own plans.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33"A plan presented to the University of Cambridge
0:43:33 > 0:43:36"for some alterations by Lancelot Brown."
0:43:36 > 0:43:38We've got the Gibbs' building here,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41the big new building that he wants to big up.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45And then you can see the river, straight along as it is now,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48but, wow, he's taken out that kink.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50And then Clare College.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Where is Clare College and where are Trinity?
0:43:53 > 0:43:55They've got quite a bit of tree-planting in front of them,
0:43:55 > 0:43:59so he's definitely playing them down.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01And then, on the other side of the river,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04we've got very typical Brown-type planting.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08We've got some quite sizeable clumps of trees that are quite open
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and then the odd scattering of individual trees.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15I'm interested in this scalloping round
0:44:15 > 0:44:17that frames the whole landscape.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20It just wraps around the back.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Very informal, winding its way there.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28And then the strong formality, axial design, behind that.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30So, there's quite a contrast.
0:44:30 > 0:44:35And, obviously, when you view the Gibbs' building and the chapel,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38you'll have broken vistas and then it will be revealed.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40So, you've got the typical-type Brown approach -
0:44:40 > 0:44:43now you see it, now you don't.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45And how was it all to be maintained?
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Well, in his notes here, it said,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51"The lawn is to be fed with sheep and cattle."
0:44:51 > 0:44:55Together, you've got a perfect combination for wonderful lawns.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Today, the lawns are grazed by geese
0:45:00 > 0:45:04rather than the sheep that Brown had imagined in his proposed park.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08It would have meant radical changes to these views.
0:45:09 > 0:45:14The resulting parkland landscape was to be focused on King's College,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17one of the newest and biggest buildings on the river.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20It was to be Brown's centrepiece.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25This is the Gibbs' building at King's College.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29Imagine it as the mansion in a grand estate.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31King's appears to be the most important,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35framed by trees which hide the other colleges,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38and, in effect, relegates them to the equivalent
0:45:38 > 0:45:40of the stable blocks in Brown's composition.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45That may be the reason why the scheme was rejected.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50So, more ideas for his unfinished garden -
0:45:50 > 0:45:55gentle curves instead of these sharp bends in the river,
0:45:55 > 0:45:59paddocks with sheep, just one bridge,
0:45:59 > 0:46:05and trees to mask unwanted buildings and soften the edges of the view.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Because Brown's plans never happened here,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14we can only imagine how it would have looked.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18It would be a dramatic change to today's views,
0:46:18 > 0:46:23but this would have become a closer match to his other landscapes.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26So, as I return to Fenstanton,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30I'll reflect on all the places I've visited.
0:46:33 > 0:46:34At Blenheim Palace,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37I saw how he created views along the lake
0:46:37 > 0:46:40that made it seem as though it had no end,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43and heard about his water engineering skills.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49At Milton Abbas in Dorset, he used the existing landmark
0:46:49 > 0:46:52of the abbey church as a focus for his views.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58He moved one village, but embraced another into the landscape.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03At Burghley, he showed his love of a big reveal,
0:47:03 > 0:47:08planting trees in front of the house so it emerges on the approach.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11And he used the summerhouse
0:47:11 > 0:47:14to create a dramatic surprise view of the lake.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20And at Cambridge, his flattest but unbuilt project,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22he wanted to have open water,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25and used trees to mask unwanted buildings
0:47:25 > 0:47:27and soften the edges of the view.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34It's time to return to Fenstanton to put these ideas together.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40I've visited some of Brown's best-known and important landscapes.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44I've got to know Brown the person and Brown the designer,
0:47:44 > 0:47:48and, with that knowledge, I've put together a plan which I think
0:47:48 > 0:47:52would be Capability Brown's unfinished garden.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57But have I gathered enough evidence?
0:47:57 > 0:48:00So, this is the house that befits the Lord of the Manor.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04'My three experts - Jane Brown, Tom Williamson and John Phibbs -
0:48:04 > 0:48:07'have joined me at Capability Brown's house
0:48:07 > 0:48:10'to agree the final design.'
0:48:10 > 0:48:14So, I've taken my life in my hands with three experts.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19You might well have some views. So, here's Brown's house.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Views straight through to the church up there.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26The village, I've embraced with clumps of trees.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29I've then got a long view down here
0:48:29 > 0:48:34with typical scalloped-edge planting to a focal point there.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37I've increased the watercourse somewhat
0:48:37 > 0:48:40to make these sinuous, serpentine lakes.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44And the approach from the church coming down and round
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and back like that to the house like that.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49So, what do you reckon?
0:48:49 > 0:48:52You have to think very carefully about where the bridge is,
0:48:52 > 0:48:54because the bridge is going to be a leading feature.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Currently, you've got the bridge more or less in line...
0:48:56 > 0:48:57- BOTH:- With the church.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00And you've got to wonder about, "Well, do I want it there
0:49:00 > 0:49:03"or do I actually want the bridge somewhere round here?"
0:49:03 > 0:49:07To me, the main part of the water has to be the bit that connects,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10visually, the house to the church, which is this section here.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13- So, I would tend to want to make that wider.- Bigger.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15- So, I should widen this?- Yeah.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17But don't lose the river style of the lake.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20We don't want too much thickening of the water.
0:49:20 > 0:49:21And I think this is a bit suspect.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24- That contradicts Johnny, though, doesn't it?- I'm afraid it does.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26- Well, no.- I think Johnny's wrong.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28No, it must look like a river, which means...
0:49:28 > 0:49:30It must look like a river is what I'm saying.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34'So, the bridge moves and the water widens a bit.'
0:49:34 > 0:49:38I really like these, the sinuous edges of the belt,
0:49:38 > 0:49:41and I love the clumps along here.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46'Tom is worried about the flatness of the site and the water.'
0:49:46 > 0:49:48I think the green is there,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51because the rest of the parish is effectively ploughed up,
0:49:51 > 0:49:53and this is the bit they've left, cos they can't cultivate it,
0:49:53 > 0:49:56and they can't cultivate it, because it is basically a sink
0:49:56 > 0:49:58where the water is flowing in.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02And that, to me, is one of the key problems you've got.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- But he was a master of water management.- Absolutely.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07No, no, absolutely right,
0:50:07 > 0:50:09but he has got to deal with the real world
0:50:09 > 0:50:12and this is quite a serious challenge.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15I can't think of a case where Brown did a landscape
0:50:15 > 0:50:18that had serious drainage problems that he didn't manage to solve,
0:50:18 > 0:50:23and he did take on some cracking difficult problems in the process.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26These wonderful lakes he designed,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30you've got earth coming out of that which you could use,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32and the question is how you use it,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34because they look pretty big and they're going down...
0:50:34 > 0:50:36- Well, what are you going to take them down? Any idea?- 4ft.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38- A normal amount.- Yeah, OK. - Yeah, what he did.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42Well, 4ft worth of soil from those spread across here
0:50:42 > 0:50:45is probably going to raise the whole area 6 inches, I guess.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47- Maximum.- Max. - One wouldn't do the whole.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49No, that's really the point.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51Are you going to be sort of selective
0:50:51 > 0:50:53and perhaps raise the clumps?
0:50:53 > 0:50:57And, for certain species, you may well need to do that.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00'OK, I think we are agreed.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03'Brown WOULD have been able to build these lakes.'
0:51:03 > 0:51:07So, I'll use earth dug from the lake to raise the clumps of trees,
0:51:07 > 0:51:11which will help give them impact while they are growing.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13So, I really like this bit.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15I really like this valley-like effect.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19I would think about trying to bring it round the corner,
0:51:19 > 0:51:22so the valley effect might appear to be running on indefinitely
0:51:22 > 0:51:24- and you can't quite see it. - That's a good idea.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28So, I could just take the planting round there and remove the column.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32'Now the valley appears to go on forever,
0:51:32 > 0:51:34'similar to Brown's lake at Blenheim.'
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Well, if he didn't retire and rest on his laurels,
0:51:38 > 0:51:42I think this would be an enchanting landscape to implement
0:51:42 > 0:51:48and it would be great fun to do it, and you've made a lovely job of it.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Thank you very much.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53'I think we've all managed to agree,
0:51:53 > 0:51:57'so I'm taking the experts' advice and amending my design.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Now I'm eager to see what it would look like
0:52:01 > 0:52:04moving through the landscape as Brown always intended,
0:52:04 > 0:52:08so I've come to London to enlist the help of a designer
0:52:08 > 0:52:11who can turn my plan into three dimensions
0:52:11 > 0:52:13without lifting a shovel.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16- I've sent you the drawings and the sketches.- Excellent.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19- But have you managed to bring it to life?- Yes, we have.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21- I'll walk you through what we've done.- Oh, yeah.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Really exciting to see how it's progressed.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28- We've taken your plan... - Yeah.- ..into 3-D space.
0:52:28 > 0:52:34This is really exciting, because Capability's clients,
0:52:34 > 0:52:35they didn't have this facility.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38They just had to take that massive leap of faith
0:52:38 > 0:52:41and wait 50, 100 years to see what you're going to show me,
0:52:41 > 0:52:43hopefully, today. Wow!
0:52:43 > 0:52:45And, essentially, what we've done
0:52:45 > 0:52:48is try to build up some various elements.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51So, you can see we're adding fields here.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56And these trees you've represented with wireframe, do you call this?
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Yes. At the moment, it's like a working model,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01so we can edit it, move things around,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03and then, when we're happy with all the objects,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05we'll work on the lighting and the texturing,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and then we'll render it out.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10I can show you some early renders here.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Well, we've tried to just model some of the main elements
0:53:12 > 0:53:15to get a sense of the scale and the design,
0:53:15 > 0:53:17and hopefully try and flesh out what it might have looked like.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20And we can turn the camera right round
0:53:20 > 0:53:24and see the view from the house.
0:53:24 > 0:53:25And see the church!
0:53:25 > 0:53:31Wow, that's dramatic, isn't it, with the lake/river snaking through?
0:53:31 > 0:53:34'Jane was adamant the lake should be river-style,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37'and that serpentine shape works really well.'
0:53:37 > 0:53:39And there's that view, isn't it?
0:53:39 > 0:53:43- So, that long view across the narrow length of the site.- Yeah.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48'That view reminds me of the valleys at Milton Abbas, as John suggested.'
0:53:48 > 0:53:52It's really helpful. Do you think it's very flat?
0:53:52 > 0:53:56It is flat, so we can change that and work on the landscape
0:53:56 > 0:53:58and get it to exactly how you want.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02So, we could just subtly mould it, do you think?
0:54:02 > 0:54:06- Yeah, we can very easily texture the landscape.- Ooh, show me some moulds.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08- This is lovely. - So, we can just look that up.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11- Just give it some differential... Whoa, that's clever.- Too high?
0:54:11 > 0:54:15No, that's good. I don't think so. I don't think so.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18- So, I'll move up slightly. - Whoa, whoa, bring him down.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23He was very subtle and gentle. Lovely. That's fine. Brilliant.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26'I can see that Tom was right about putting the trees on mounds
0:54:26 > 0:54:29'to disguise the flatness of the land.'
0:54:29 > 0:54:31So, I've just rendered that out now.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34- There we go.- Whoa!
0:54:34 > 0:54:37It's amazing to see the landscape brought to life.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40The reflections in the water are really convincing,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43the way it bounces light around. It's lovely.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46And to see those trees and be able to manipulate them,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48it really gives you a good feel.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52There's the summerhouse. That's great.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56So, from the summerhouse, you would then be away from the house
0:54:56 > 0:55:00and see wonderful views, obviously, across the water.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02This really reminds me of Burghley
0:55:02 > 0:55:04where you come into the back of the summerhouse -
0:55:04 > 0:55:07what you think is the front, but, actually, it's the back -
0:55:07 > 0:55:10and then you see out at the front
0:55:10 > 0:55:14and you see this amazing view of the water and the valley.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16You could never tire of that view,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19however often you used that summerhouse.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37The 3-D animations really give a sense
0:55:37 > 0:55:40of how the garden would have looked.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44It's so exciting to compare the existing landscape
0:55:44 > 0:55:45with what might have been.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06There is still one last question -
0:56:06 > 0:56:09would even Brown have been able to do this?
0:56:11 > 0:56:15So, here we are. Here's the green.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17It is very flat.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18There's the church.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22Do we think it could make a Brown landscape?
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Well, I think he must have dreamed about it,
0:56:24 > 0:56:28and it is an enchanting and innovative design.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31This is clearly a wonderful site for water,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35which he would have loved, and making a watery sequence
0:56:35 > 0:56:37of river-style lake across it, as you've done.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43But Tom has concerns that part of the site was common land,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46which could have restricted Brown's scheme.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49When Brown owns the manor,
0:56:49 > 0:56:52this whole area is an area of common land.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54And although he's the Lord of the Manor,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56that doesn't mean he can do what he likes with it.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00A lot of people in Fenstanton have rights to use this,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03so to create an elaborate, designed landscape
0:57:03 > 0:57:07with that degree of public access from people so close
0:57:07 > 0:57:08would be problematic.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10So, could he have done anything about it?
0:57:10 > 0:57:13He could have done. He could have done two things.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15He could have bought out all the other commoners
0:57:15 > 0:57:18or he could have brought about a parliamentary enclosure himself.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Of course, if Brown's clients faced a similar problem,
0:57:22 > 0:57:24they could afford to move the village,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27as happened at Milton Abbas in Dorset.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Most of the people that he is working for,
0:57:30 > 0:57:33they have large estates. They're very wealthy people
0:57:33 > 0:57:35who have already enclosed their common land.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38They don't have these kind of patches of common
0:57:38 > 0:57:41literally on their doorstep, in this particular case.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45We have to hope that Brown's negotiation skills
0:57:45 > 0:57:48would have found a compromise with the villagers.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50I think it's got a lot of potential. I think...
0:57:50 > 0:57:54Your two big features are the church, obviously,
0:57:54 > 0:57:56and then I would be looking, standing here looking out
0:57:56 > 0:57:58and seeing this, your valley idea,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02because I think you've already got big trees going round the village,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04and then leading the eye off in this direction.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07And where you've got those big, tall poplars,
0:58:07 > 0:58:10that's where the valley was going to run away, the valley effect.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13And I think that could be really good.
0:58:13 > 0:58:19It is sad that Brown never made Fenstanton his own masterpiece,
0:58:19 > 0:58:23but I think we have created something that we can justify
0:58:23 > 0:58:27calling Capability Brown's unfinished garden.