Ladies make Music & Dance in the mid 18C French Garden

The artist here is Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle, 1717-1806. French artist who also designed several gardens, including the jardin anglochinois Parc Monceau, Paris (1773–8), with its many diversions including "ruins," a "Dutch windmill," a "Tartar tent," and similar fabrications. One of its most unusual features was the Bois des Tombeaux (Wood of Tombs) containing forms of tombs (pyramids, etc.). Thomas Blaikie, the Scots landscape-gardener, was brought in (c.1781) to simplify Carmontelle's somewhat overladen scheme, but the work was an important catalyst in the adoption of the garden, embellished with monuments, into the 19C cemetery.

Mme de Meaux, Mlle de Meaux and Mr de Saint-Quentin, 1758

Madame la Comtesse Alexandre de Damas, 1784

Mme la Vicomtesse de Rochechouart, 1760s

Mlle Lani, 1765

Mme la Barone d'Holbach, 1766

Mme la Comtesse d'Auxy, c 1758

Mlle Chevalier, of the l'Académie Royale de Musique, c. 1760

On the Garden Terrace...

Mme de Villaumont and Mme Des Cours, c. 1760

Mesdemoiselles Royer, 1760

Mme la Barone de Talleyrand, 1765 

Mme la marquise de Rumain, la Comtesse de Polignac and Mademoiselle de Rumain,1768

Madame Moreau and Mademoiselle de Flinville, 1780s

Portrait of Ladies, c. 1780

1700s Foods at Markets & in Kitchens

Adriaan de Lelie (Dutch artist, 1755-1820)

Jan Antoon Garemijn (Dutch painter, 1712-1799) The Market in Bruges 1778

Johann Zoffany (German-born English painter, 1733-1810) Florentine Fruit Stand

John Atkinson (British artist, fl 1770-1775) British  Girl Bundling Asparagus 1771

John Atkinson (British artist, fl 1770-1775) Kitchen Scene

John S C Schaak (British artist, fl. Westminster 1761-1769) Tavern Interior 1762

Justus Juncker (Dutch artist, 1703-1767) In the Kitchen

Justus Juncker (Dutch artist, 1703-1767) The Maid in the Kitchen

Justus Juncker (Dutch artist, 1703-1767) Working in the Kitchen

Pehr Hilleström (Swedish artist, 1732-1816) A Lady at the Hearth

Molly Milton, the pretty oyster Woman Carington Bowles 1788

Unknown artist, Curds and Whey Seller c 1725-35

Sausage Woman at Covent Garden Robert Sayer 1772

Abraham van Strij (Dutch artist, 1753-1826) Cleaning up in the Kitchen

1766 Dutch Garden

Johannes Janson (Dutch artist, 1729-1784) A Formal Garden, Dutch, 1766

1758 Gardens & Grounds at Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire

1758 Reverend Richard Byron (British artist, 1724-1811) East View of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, and the Great Garden

Garden - 1736 The sad story of Hornby Hall and Castle

1736 Arthur Devis (English artist, 1712-1787) Hornby Hall and Castle

In the garden can be seen a young couple, Thomas Bennison & Ann Dowbiggin, being presented with a bouquet by the estate gardener on the occasion of moving into their new house. Bennison was a Protestant & his wife Ann was a Catholic. Shortly after the picture was painted Bennison died, & his vast fortune passed to his 11 year old daughter Ann, who had been brought up as a Catholic. In 1752, Ann married John Fenwick of nearby Burrow Hall. Discovering that he was in dire financial straits, she legally passed over to him her fortune & the deeds of Hornby Hall. In a cruel twist of fate he died shortly afterwards, &, according to the law of Hanoverian England, the estate was successfully claimed by Thomas Fenwick, his Protestant brother. Only many years later did Ann Fenwick succeed in retrieving part of her fortune, in recognition of which she erected St Mary's Chapel, Hornby. Interestingly, only when the painting was recently restored were the figures of Ann's parents & estate gardener revealed, having been painted out 250 years ago by Thomas Fenwick who could not have wished to be reminded of his ill-gotten gains.

Arthur Devis is principally known as a painter of the "conversation piece," or informal portrait in domestic surroundings. This picture, however, was painted very early in his artistic career in the years immediately following his apprenticeship to the landscape painter Peter Tillemans (1684–1734), & shows Hornby Hall shortly after it was built in 1735.

18C Royal Gardeners

François-Hubert Drouais, (1727-1775)  The Prince (1736-1818) and Princess (1737-1760) Condé Dressed as Gardeners 

Not exactly a garden Orangerie...

I am always scouring images to find garden designs & components. Today I came upon this engraving which seems to have little to do with a formal garden, although it does purport to be about an Orangerie as well as the "fatigues of planting."

The Orangerie; - or - the Dutch Cupid reposing after the fatigues of Planting  James Gillray, 1756-1815, engraver, Published by Hannah Humphrey, London, 1796

This British cartoon seems to be a commentary about William V, Prince of Orange, 1748-1806, who began to rule in 1766. The position of the Dutch during the American Revolution was one of neutrality; however, William V actually lead the pro-British faction within the government.  The French, led by General Charles Pichegru, ended William's reign in January 1795, when they invaded the Netherlands.  In 1795, William V fled the Netherlands for the safety of England.  James Gillray (British artist & engraver, 1756-1815) caricatured William's reported dalliances during his English exile, depicting him as an indolent Cupid with bags of money, surrounded by pregnant lovers. Here an apparently exhausted William V, Prince of Orange, rests reclining on a garden platform of grass & flowers while depending on a bag of money marked 24,000,000 ducats to maintain his position. In the foreground are a number of orange plants in pots with each orange bearing something of a genetic likeness of the prince. In the background are many seriously pregnant women, about to deliver their little orange plants,  including a milkmaid, a fishmonger, a house maid, & several farm women.

Johann Friedrich August Tischbein (1750-1812) William V, Prince of Orange-Nassau

A little Over-indulgence in the Garden

Aert Schouman (Dutch artist, 1710-1792) Drinking Party in a Garden 1739.

18C Use lobsters for catching garden insects...

1793 James Sowerby (English artist, 1757-1822) Lobster

"Procure the hollow claws of Lobsters, Crabs, &c. and hanging them in different parts of the garden, the insects creep into them, and are easily taken; but the claws must be often searched." 
The Complete Vermin-Killer: A Valuable and Useful Companion for Families, in Town and Country, (London, 1777).

Early 18C 1712 English Gardens - Badminton the Seat of the Duke of Beaufort Brympton in Somerset, England

Brympton in Somerset Leonard Knyff (1652-1722) &  Johannes Kip (1653-1722)  1709 Folio. Copper Plate Engraving 1709 London for Britannia Illustrata Or Views of Several of the Queen s Palaces also of the Principal seats. Detail

Thomas d'Evercy purchased the estate in 1220 from the Chilterne family. The d'Evercy family derived their name from Evrecy, a village near Caen in Normandy. Thomas d'Evercy was part of the retinue of the Norman Earl of Devon, which is the reason he left the family estates on the Isle of Wight to reside in Somerset. D'Evercy represented Somerset & South Hampshire at the first Parliament of England. Following Thomas d'Evercy's death family records are scarce until the time of the last d'Evercy, Sir Peter, who twice represented Somerset in Parliament, under Edward II. The church next to the house, St Andrew's, dates from this period. Sir Peter founded a chantry at Brympton d'Evercy in 1306, endowing a priest with a messuage and 40 acres in the parish.  Sir Peter died in 1325, when the estate was described as "a certain capital messuage, with gardens and closes adjoining." The village at this time consisted of 17 smallholders, & three tenant farmers. In 1343, the estate was recorded as: "..a manor house sufficiently built with a certain garden adjoining planted with divers and many apple trees, the whole covery some two acres" the record notes forty householders all charged to serve their lord as "village blacksmith, drover or domestic servant."

 Sir Philip Sydenham, 3rd Baronet (1676–1739) owner of Brympton at the time of this engraving.


English Heritage tells us that the property subsequently passed through several hands before being sold in 1430 to John Stourton, who acquired it as part of the dowry for his daughter Joan, who in 1434 married John Sydenham.  Joan Sydenham outlived her husband, & at her death the estate passed to her grandson, John Sydenham II. Brympton remained the property of the Sydenham family until 1722; & during this period successive owners rebuilt & developed the medieval manor house. In the late 17C century, Sir John Posthumous Sydenham (d 1696) built a new garden or south facade in a style reportedly influenced by Inigo Jones &  John Webb, & perhaps inspired by similar work at Hinton St George, his wife’s family home. This facade, together with formal gardens comprising a terrace, bowling green, wilderness, & ponds, is shown in an early 18C view by Knyff.

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1701 Bavarian Views with Gardens Numchen Michael Wening (Bavarian artist, 1645-1718)

Michael Wening (1645-1718) was a Bavarian engraver known for his many depictions of cityscapes & views of stately homes, castles & monasteries in the Bavaria of his day.  His concept was to publish a visual account of Bavaria’s 4 districts called Historico-Topographica Descriptio. He began in 1696, & had finished more than 100 drawings within the first 2 months.  The 1st volume appeared in 1701, but work on the other 3 volumes was delayed by Austria’s occupation of Bavaria.  At least 1 volume was published after his death in 1718. 

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1700 M. Diesel, Bavarian engraver. Prospect of the Baron Meyrischen Cascaden and Lusthaus zu Harlaching together with Munich as seen from midnight.

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1700 M. Diesel, Bavarian engraver. M. Prospect der Nyche zu End der Bosque des Hochfürstl. Lustgarten Mirabell.

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1700 M. Diesel, Bavarian engraver. Prospect eines herrlichen Canals mit Anhang einer kostbarn Casade so zu Anfang oder End eines Garten kann gebauet werden.

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1701 Bavarian Views with Gardens Berchtenstain Castle Michael Wening (Bavarian artist, 1645-1718)

Michael Wening (1645-1718) was a Bavarian engraver known for his many depictions of cityscapes & views of stately homes, castles & monasteries in the Bavaria of his day.  His concept was to publish a visual account of Bavaria’s 4 districts called Historico-Topographica Descriptio. He began in 1696, & had finished more than 100 drawings within the first 2 months.  The 1st volume appeared in 1701, but work on the other 3 volumes was delayed by Austria’s occupation of Bavaria.  At least 1 volume was published after his death in 1718. 

Early 18C 1712 English Gardens - Williamstrip the Seat of Henry Ireton Esqr

Williamstrip the Seat of Henry Ireton Esqr Leonard Knyff (1652-1722) and Johannes Kip (1653-1722) 1709 Britannia Illustrata 1724 ed pub by Joseph Smith

Henry Ireton (c.1652-1711), of Williamstrip, was a grandson of Oliver Cromwell.  Ireton, the son of one of Cromwell’s generals, was a grandchild of the Lord Protector through his mother. Though his father, a regicide, had died in 1651, perhaps before Henry's birth, the family estates were confiscated after the Restoration & vested in the Duke of York.  After the Revolution of 1688, Ireton was taken into the royal household as an equerry to the King, with whom he served throughout the war in Holland.  Upon the death in 1692 of his father-in-law, the ex-Speaker Henry Powle, he acquired the manor of Williamstrip & other nearby properties not far from Cirencester.

Early 18C English Gardens - Easington the Seat of Nathaniel Stevens Esq.

Easington the Seat of Nathaniel Stevens Esq. Johannes Kip (1653-1722) The Ancient & Present State of Gloucestershire, pub by Sir Robert Atkyns 1712.

Early 18C English Gardens - Coberly the seat of Jonathan Castelman Esq.

Coberly the seat of Jonathan Castelman Esq. Johannes Kip (1653-1722) The Ancient & Present State of Gloucestershire, pub by Sir Robert Atkyns 1712.

Bird's eye view of Coberley Court, Gloucestershire; includes church, stables, &  other buildings within walls of the grounds. The river Churn runs behind.  Alleys lead to the seat.  The geometrically arranged gardens are primarily used to raise vegetables & fruits. There are 4 parterres for recreational walking, recreation, relaxation, & sport. The walls are espaliered around the recreational area. The parish of Coberley contained 2 manors at the time of the Domesday survey.  One manor which lay in Rapsgate hundred, & is mentioned as belonging to Berchelai, continued in the Berkeleys, (a family distinct from the barons of the castle), till by marriage, in the reign of Hen. IV. it passed to Sir John Brtigg, the ancestor of the Chandos family, from whom it passed, at the beginning of the 17C, to the Duttons, of Sherbourne, &  was given in dower by John Dutton, Esq. with Lucy his daughter, to Sir Thomas Pope, Earl of Down. The Castleman family were afterwards proprietors by purchase, &  in 1720, Jonathan Castleman, Esq. sold it to the father of John Howe, first Baron Chedworth. See The History of the County of Gloucester Volume 1. 1803 

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1700 M. Diesel, Bavarian engraver. Prospect deß Vorderen theil und Eingang deß hochfürstlichen Garten zu Hellebrunn.

Early 18C English Gardens - Upper Dowdeswell the seat of Lionel Rich Esq.

Upper Dowdeswell the seat of Lionel Rich Esq. Johannes Kip (1653-1722) The Ancient & Present State of Gloucestershire, pub by Sir Robert Atkyns 1712.  Bird's eye view of the manor house at Upper Dowdeswell, Gloucestershire; with formal gardens, vegetable gardens, & orchards.  A road passes to the right with a steep drop down to stream to the right.

Upper Dowdeswell was evidently the manor at Dowdeswell that Richard Beauchamp, perhaps the heir of Lord Beauchamp of Powicke, sold to John Carpenter, bishop of Worcester, in 1463 or 1464. The bishop's purchase was presumably part of his scheme for the re-endowment of the college of Westbury-onTrym, which held Upper Dowdeswell at the Dissolution. In 1544, the Crown granted it with the other property of Westbury college to Sir Ralph Sadler who sold it in 1549, to Richard Abington. Richard died in 1593, and his son Edmund in 1605, but Edmund's son Anthony had possession of the whole or part of the estate by 1588 and had a conveyance from his father in 1589. Anthony (d. 1631) was succeeded by his son John Abington, who in 1649, when under sequestration for royalist activities, sold the estate to Edward Rich, a lawyer. Edward died in 1681, and the estate was possibly retained by his widow Martha (d. 1684). Edward's grandson Lionel Rich held it in 1687, and at his death in 1736, was succeeded by his grandson Edward Gilbert Rich (d. 1753).

Early 18C Barrington (Park) in Cambridgeshire, the Seat of Edmund Bray, Esquire

1708-1715 House & Gardens at Barrington (Park) in Cambridgeshire Barrington the Seat of Edmond Bray Esq. Johannes Kip (1653-1722) The Ancient & Present State of Gloucestershire, pub by Sir Robert Atkyns 1712. 

Bird's eye view of Barrington Hall (Park), in Cambridgeshire, with extensive grounds enclosed by wall; a river in foreground.  British History Online tells us that four estates in Barrington were enumerated in the Domesday Survey. The estates of Llanthony Priory in Barrington formed the manor of Great Barrington, (which the priory retained until the Dissolution. The priory was granted free warren there in 1292.  The Crown granted the manor in 1540 to John Guise of Elmore, who sold it in 1553 to Richard Monnington of Barrington and his son-in-law, Reginald Bray of Northmoor. The manor descended in the male line of the Bray family until 1735, passing from Reginald to his son Edmund (d. 1620), to Edmund's grandson Sir Giles (d. 1641), to Giles's son Sir Edmund (d. 1684), to Sir Edmund's son Reginald (d. 1688), to Reginald's son Edmund (fl. 1720).

In the mid-17th century c. 35 people, including the owners of freeholds that had never been part of Great Barrington manor, held land in the open fields of Great & Little Barrington.  The open fields north of the river were two in the 16C, called Combe field & Slowe field,  and were supervised by two overseers.  Barrington Park had apparently been formed out of the open fields by 1412, when there were complaints by the copyholders that the Prior of Llanthony had deprived them of land and animals.  There may have been a deer-park as early as 1327, when an inhabitant of Great Barrington was surnamed 'at the leapgate.' One tenant was inclosing land in Great Barrington in 1567, & there appears to have been piecemeal inclosure during the next century & a half, including (to judge from the lines of former walls) the enlargement of the park. In 1704 there were still two open fields, but the process of inclosure was completed fairly soon afterwards.

Early 18C Bavarian Gardens & Grounds

1700 M. Diesel, Bavarian engraver. Prospect of a splendid pleasure and garden building, of which part can be used for a gallery, but the upper part can be used at will.

Early 18C English Gardens - Shipton Moyne

Shipton Moyne the Seat of Walter Estcourt Esq Johannes Kip (1653-1722) The Ancient & Present State of Gloucestershire, pub by Sir Robert Atkyns 1712.