Capability Brown

Capability Brown

Blenheim Palace (Source: Chuck)

Croome Court (Source: National trust)

The name Capability Brown refers to a famous English landscape designer who lived from 1716 to 1783. Although his real name was Lancelot Brown, they called him Capability Brown because he would talk about how an estate had great ‘capability’ for his architectural design. He emphasized the English Garden Design which did not use carved stone or obvious patterns, but used still ponds of water, clumps of trees, and green rolling hills (Garden Visit).

In Tom Stoppards, Arcadia the name Capability Brown and his architectural style surface throughout the play. In Act 1 Scene 1, the garden in Sidley Park is discussed as Richard Noakes, the architect, is in the process of redesigning the garden to look more gothic. However, Lady Croom, disagrees and says, “But Sidley park is already a picture, and a most amiable picture too. The slopes are green and gentle. The trees are companionably grouped at intervals that show them to advantage” (Stoppard 16).  This argument between Lady Croom and Noakes continues throughout the play. The passage demonstrates how the garden style in Sidley Park is the English Garden Design, influenced by Capability Brown. The architectural design also arises in the next scene, where Bernard and Hannah are in the present time period. Hannah is in the process of writing about the history of the parks architecture and she argues that Capability Brown’s design was not actually as original as people thought. It simply copied past French, Italian and Greek architecture. In Hannah’s history of  Sidley Park garden she writes, “By 1760 everything had gone – the topiary, pools, terraces, fountains, an avenue of limes – the whole sublime geometry was ploughed under by Capability Brown” (Stoppard 31). This line reflects the history of Capability Browns design where he used natural looking clumps of trees and ponds instead of engraved stone work and obvious patterns.

            References to Capability Brown reveal prominent themes in Arcadia. Using the English Garden Design, Stoppard questions the idea of what is ‘natural’. While Capability Brown’s architecture looks natural, it is quite the opposite, and every tree and bush has been placed in its rightful position. The architectural reference brings up the idea of how something that looks randomly put together, could be planned, or the other way around. This idea connects with how Hannah and Valentine dig up information about the past, and they try to figure out, historically, what has been strategically placed and what is simply a coincidence. The reference also shows the passage of different time periods as the garden goes through architectural transformations involving the romantic and classic time periods. This theme also connects to how Stoppard combines different generations into one play and shows their similarities and differences.

Works Cited

Chuck, and Claire. "European Adventures." : Blenheim Palace, Woodstock. Google Blogs, 5 June 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Garden Visit. "Lancelot 'Capability' Brown." Gardenvisitcom. Nightingale Garden Company, 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

National Trust. "Treasure Hunt." Treasure Hunt. National Trust Collections, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia. London: Faber and Faber, 1993. Print.