0:00:02 > 0:00:03Today on Songs of Praise,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07I'm marking the 300th anniversary of the birth of Britain's
0:00:07 > 0:00:11most famous landscape gardener, Lancelot "Capability" Brown.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15The beautiful grounds here at Ashburnham Place in Sussex
0:00:15 > 0:00:17look so natural, but they were in fact
0:00:17 > 0:00:20meticulously designed by this humble pioneer,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23who transformed hundreds of landscapes across the country.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Aled is tasting beers with a biblical twist over in Sheffield.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36And Claire McCollum hears from soul singer Dana Masters
0:00:36 > 0:00:39who, when she's not leading worship at church,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41has been performing on the big stage.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43# Here we are... #
0:00:51 > 0:00:53And just like this landscape,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56there's an array of music to inspire you.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58We've hymns that celebrate the beauty of nature.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02And we begin with this childhood favourite.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14The father of landscape gardening, Lancelot "Capability" Brown
0:04:14 > 0:04:19began his career as a humble cabbage planter, rising to royal gardener.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24He left his mark on over 250 different English landscapes.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29His most famous surviving works include the parklands at
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey,
0:04:34 > 0:04:36and Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40The unusual nickname of Capability
0:04:40 > 0:04:42was given to Brown during his lifetime
0:04:42 > 0:04:44because he would enthusiastically describe
0:04:44 > 0:04:49the landscape as having great capability for improvement.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55His signature features include
0:04:55 > 0:05:00the grand sweeping drive, with glimpses of the house beyond,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02the use of imported cedars of Lebanon
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and decorative garden buildings, like temples and follies,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09that others were quick to copy.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14He spent more than a decade overseeing the design
0:05:14 > 0:05:17of the Ashburnham parkland and gardener Jay Ashworth has studied
0:05:17 > 0:05:20how Brown transformed this Sussex landscape.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21One of the key elements
0:05:21 > 0:05:24that Capability Brown used so well was water.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26There was a very small mill pond here,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28but nothing like this amazing lake
0:05:28 > 0:05:30that he put in along with two others further up the property
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and that's one of his classic things is to have
0:05:33 > 0:05:36a serpentine series of lakes that you can't see the end of
0:05:36 > 0:05:38so there's a sense of mystery, a sense of you don't know
0:05:38 > 0:05:41what's around the corner so you want to keep walking to find out.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Yeah.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It's incredible to think now that he did all of this
0:05:46 > 0:05:48without machinery, without diggers.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50What a labour of love it must have been!
0:05:50 > 0:05:51I know, absolutely.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54There were men hand-digging these lakes out with shovels.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55I know, it's astonishing.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58And we also have records of a local man being employed
0:05:58 > 0:06:00to bring his oxen in to puddle the clay at the bottom of the lake
0:06:00 > 0:06:02to form a lining.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11So, what inspired Brown and what did he want to achieve?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I think he was really inspired by the English countryside
0:06:13 > 0:06:16that he grew up seeing and being part of and I think
0:06:16 > 0:06:19what he was trying to achieve was an idealised version of that.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22He called himself a gardener and a placemaker.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It wasn't just about putting a back garden in for somebody.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It was about creating a place, a space,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31something completely different than what had gone before,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35much more inspired by the English nature and much more reflecting it,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37but a real idealised version of it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45It does make you wonder if this love of creation that he had
0:06:45 > 0:06:47was a fruit of his spiritual life.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Yes, I think you cannot but be amazed by creation
0:06:51 > 0:06:54when you're working in it in the way that he did and I hope and imagine
0:06:54 > 0:06:55that that's what he felt.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58It's certainly what I feel when I'm working here cos it's just
0:06:58 > 0:07:02so obviously to me pointing to creation and to the creator.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Today, a community of Christians live at Ashburnham Place
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and thousands of visitors also come on retreat.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15But individuals can find sanctuary here, too,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18sometimes at difficult times in their lives,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20like volunteer Wendy Gregory.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24I'm not as good as you are. You seem like a natural out here.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Oh, I think it's a work in progress! I haven't always done this.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I was a teacher for over 20 years.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I thought I was going to be doing that forever,
0:07:36 > 0:07:42but I had a lot of things going on - coming to terms with
0:07:42 > 0:07:48a marriage that had broken up and learning how to be
0:07:48 > 0:07:53a single mum and I found I just couldn't teach any more.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I became very ill.
0:07:56 > 0:08:03It kind of came to a head where I had a complete breakdown.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Fortunately,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08a good friend of mine was able to phone the emergency services
0:08:08 > 0:08:10who picked me up,
0:08:10 > 0:08:17took me to hospital where I stayed for nearly two months.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23'A year and a half on, Wendy finds that being here
0:08:23 > 0:08:26'has been an important part of her recovery.'
0:08:27 > 0:08:33For me, I think just rediscovering gardening has just reminded me
0:08:33 > 0:08:38of the little things in life and how they can anchor you
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and just give you so much more fulfilment.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46You know, I'm somewhere between having a faith
0:08:46 > 0:08:50that had kind of crumbled for a long, long time,
0:08:50 > 0:08:56that door was firmly closed for many years, but since working here,
0:08:56 > 0:09:01I get a sense of there being a much bigger idea out there.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03I feel very humble being part of that,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- but I feel quite comforted by it, too.- Yeah.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47We all have things we like to do to relax,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50like being at a retreat like this one.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53But some people like to pop to the pub for a pint
0:11:53 > 0:11:56so what if that pint came with a religious message?
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Aled's in Sheffield to meet a man who's marrying his faith
0:12:00 > 0:12:02with his passion for a good pint.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08So I see a selection of bottles in front of me here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09It's got Jesus on the front,
0:12:09 > 0:12:14- but they've also got biblical-esque names.- Yes.- Take us through them.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18So the core range consists of Oh Hoppy Day, Jonah and the Pale
0:12:18 > 0:12:22and we've just done this American one called Glory, Glory - Aleluia.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23- Good work!- Thanks.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Nick Law has been brewing Bible-inspired beers since 2014.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I got into it a few years ago just as a way
0:12:35 > 0:12:39of trying to express my own personal faith in Jesus
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and bringing a passion that I love together of brewing beer
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and I found that obviously when you start brewing beer,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49you have to put labels on it and stuff
0:12:49 > 0:12:51so I just came up with this brand Emmanuales
0:12:51 > 0:12:55and I just found that it was a really great conversation opener.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Is it a way of evangelising your faith, then?
0:12:57 > 0:13:02I mean, yeah, on one level, yes, but our vision is to brew beers
0:13:02 > 0:13:06of biblical proportions and spread the good news one beer at a time.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09You've used that line before!
0:13:09 > 0:13:13But I'm not trying to force religion down people's throats,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16yet if you find something more in that and it makes you start
0:13:16 > 0:13:20a conversation about religion or spirituality or just love
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and what's going on in the world, then great.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31A lot of people will say what's Christian about it?
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Well, there is quite a large heritage in the church history
0:13:35 > 0:13:39over thousands of years of Christians brewing beer
0:13:39 > 0:13:42so if you think about the Trappist monks,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45they effectively industrialised the brewing of beer
0:13:45 > 0:13:49so you get these monks in monasteries throughout Europe
0:13:49 > 0:13:52brewing this beer to welcome pilgrims on their journeys,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55partly because it was safer to drink than drinking water
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and partly they used it to fund the work of the monasteries.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08What do you say to those who maybe find the vision of Christ
0:14:08 > 0:14:11on a bottle of beer offensive?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Jesus' first miracle, recorded in the Gospel of John,
0:14:14 > 0:14:19is to turn water into wine and I think one of the things that
0:14:19 > 0:14:21I really believe is that Jesus loves everybody
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and I love on the logo that it's the open arms.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- It's the all-encompassing welcome of Jesus.- Right.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30- I suppose we should try one, shouldn't we?- Absolutely.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- What have I got here? - So, that's Jonah and the Pale.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35I'd better get trying. Cheers!
0:17:07 > 0:17:12Later in the programme, we'll find out how one trainee vicar
0:17:12 > 0:17:15came to inherit Ashburnham Place
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and its Capability Brown-designed landscape.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Our next hymn celebrates creation and renewal,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27comparing each new dawn to that first day in the Garden of Eden.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Next up, Claire McCollum is catching up
0:19:48 > 0:19:50with singer-songwriter Dana Masters.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Originally from America,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55she's made a new home in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59# Your love that breaks every chain... #
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Dana is one of the pastors at the Lagan Valley Vineyard Church
0:20:02 > 0:20:06in Lisburn, County Down, but when she's not leading the worship there,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10she's performing to thousands at events like the BBC Proms.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12# And here we are, here we are
0:20:12 > 0:20:15# In heaven, baby... #
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Dana only moved to Northern Ireland eight years ago
0:20:20 > 0:20:22and both she and her husband
0:20:22 > 0:20:24were two of the founding members of the church.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Andrew oversees the vision and direction
0:20:27 > 0:20:30while Dana is involved with the music.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Music is obviously a very important part of the service here
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- so what are the acoustics like? - You know, this is a warehouse.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39It wasn't built necessarily for...
0:20:39 > 0:20:44No, it was a pet food shop so, yeah,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47it was definitely not designed with music in mind,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49although I think it works.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It works OK, we have to just be really careful with the sound
0:20:52 > 0:20:55and how loud things are and our drum kit is in, like,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58a little cage with a top on it.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I feel so bad for our drummer, he probably feels like a hamster,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- but, yeah, so...- It works.- Yeah.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07# I found a dream... #
0:21:07 > 0:21:08Since coming to Northern Ireland,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Dana's music career has taken off,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12playing with names like Sir Van Morrison.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16# When I am lonely as I can be
0:21:16 > 0:21:21# I know that God shines his light on me... #
0:21:21 > 0:21:24# Burning ground
0:21:24 > 0:21:27# Please, please let it take me down... #
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I don't think I expected any of this, really,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32when we first moved here.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34I always sort of say to people
0:21:34 > 0:21:37my music career is sort of a happy accident.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40It's amazing, I feel super blessed.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Do you feel God is always close to you when you're singing
0:21:43 > 0:21:44wherever that may be?
0:21:44 > 0:21:49It's funny because I definitely feel God with me when I'm in church,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53but there's a special way that I feel God's presence
0:21:53 > 0:21:56when I get to do it outside of church.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Like, God isn't hiding in church buildings
0:21:58 > 0:22:00and so when I'm in a room full of people,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04be it a dingy pub or a theatre or whatever,
0:22:04 > 0:22:09I feel a very sweet sense of God's presence.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Thank you so much. Thank you.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28# Lift every voice and sing
0:22:28 > 0:22:33# Till earth and heaven ring
0:22:33 > 0:22:41# Ring with the harmonies of liberty
0:22:41 > 0:22:45# Let our rejoicing rise
0:22:45 > 0:22:49# High as the listening skies
0:22:49 > 0:22:55# Let it resound loud as the rolling seas
0:22:57 > 0:23:01# Stony the road we trod
0:23:01 > 0:23:05# Bitter the chastening rod
0:23:05 > 0:23:13# Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
0:23:13 > 0:23:17# Yet with a steady beat
0:23:17 > 0:23:21# Have not our weary feet
0:23:21 > 0:23:27# Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
0:23:29 > 0:23:33# Sing a song
0:23:33 > 0:23:38# Full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
0:23:38 > 0:23:41# Sing a song
0:23:41 > 0:23:48# Full of the hope that the present has brought us
0:23:48 > 0:23:56# And facing the rising sun of our new day begun
0:23:56 > 0:24:04# Let us march on till victory is won
0:24:04 > 0:24:09# God of our weary years
0:24:09 > 0:24:13# God of our silent tears
0:24:13 > 0:24:21# Thou who has brought us thus far along the way
0:24:21 > 0:24:25# Thou who has by thy might
0:24:25 > 0:24:29# Led us into the light
0:24:29 > 0:24:36# Keep us forever on the path, we pray
0:24:36 > 0:24:41# Facing the rising sun
0:24:41 > 0:24:45# Of our new day begun
0:24:45 > 0:24:53# Let us march on till victory is won
0:24:53 > 0:25:04# Let us march on till victory is won. #
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Today, visitors come to Ashburnham Place
0:25:16 > 0:25:18here in Sussex for spiritual retreat.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Someone who was fortunate enough to grow up in the grounds
0:25:22 > 0:25:25designed by Capability Brown is Richard Bickersteth.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30Richard, how did your father come to inherit Ashburnham Place?
0:25:30 > 0:25:33My father John Bickersteth was a trainee vicar in London
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and he got a phone call in the middle of the night
0:25:36 > 0:25:40saying, "You've inherited an 82-room mansion, 8,500 acres,"
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and that's the good news.
0:25:43 > 0:25:50The less good news was that he had a 70% death duty tax to pay
0:25:50 > 0:25:52and the house was full of dry rot
0:25:52 > 0:25:54so they said nobody will ever live in this house again.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57So, it was a pivotal moment for the house and the gardens
0:25:57 > 0:26:02- and your father had some important decisions to make.- Yeah, he did.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03He had to sell, effectively,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06the whole of the contents of the house
0:26:06 > 0:26:08as well as half of the estate
0:26:08 > 0:26:11in order to raise the money for the death duties
0:26:11 > 0:26:16and he then wrestled before God for about five years
0:26:16 > 0:26:20to work out what to do, why God had given him this house
0:26:20 > 0:26:23when he wanted just to be a quiet vicar somewhere
0:26:23 > 0:26:25in a nice country parish.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29- And he got his answer.- He did. By the end of those five years,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31he kept coming across verses that really spoke to him very clearly
0:26:31 > 0:26:34from the Bible and two in particular
0:26:34 > 0:26:39from a minor prophet called Haggai that talk about...
0:26:39 > 0:26:41"The silver is mine and the gold is mine,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45"says the Lord God Almighty, and the glory of the latter house
0:26:45 > 0:26:47"will be greater than the glory of the former."
0:26:47 > 0:26:52And so my father took that as a really strong promise for him
0:26:52 > 0:26:55in this place and so, in 1960,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59he gave the house and the 220 acres of Capability Brown grounds
0:26:59 > 0:27:00around it to a Christian charity
0:27:00 > 0:27:02called the Ashburnham Christian Trust
0:27:02 > 0:27:05that he and my mother then ran for 40 years.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09And that's a big move and he did it on the 1st of April
0:27:09 > 0:27:12cos he said it would be very foolish in the world's eyes.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So, now, lots of people can come and enjoy this amazing space,
0:27:15 > 0:27:21but for you personally, Richard, do you often go out in it wandering?
0:27:21 > 0:27:25I do. I love walking round the grounds and the lakes
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and obviously I've spent many, many times walking with my father
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and I loved doing that and now that he's gone to Heaven,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36I do the same with my heavenly father
0:27:36 > 0:27:38and I think it's a very special place,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41not just for me but for many others -
0:27:41 > 0:27:45a place of peace where God speaks to you through his creation,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49through this amazing ground that Capability Brown designed.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51It's just wonderful.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40There's something so peaceful about this place.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43It's been a real treat to experience the legacy
0:30:43 > 0:30:45of Capability Brown's landscape here.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Next week, I take to the highways and byways to talk to members
0:30:49 > 0:30:54of the traveller and gypsy community about how they live out their faith.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Until then, our final hymn is one of praise. Thanks for watching.