{"id":1381,"date":"2023-10-26T17:31:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T16:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/?p=1381"},"modified":"2023-10-26T17:36:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T16:36:08","slug":"stowe-landscape-gardens-through-the-ages-our-october-2023-evening-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/muwaga-events\/stowe-landscape-gardens-through-the-ages-our-october-2023-evening-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Stowe Landscape Gardens through the Ages: our October 2023 Evening Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About 50 members and guests of MUWAGA were entertained by specialist archaeologist Stephen Wass who was quick to introduce himself indeed as an archaeologist rather than a gardener. But he assured us that the two roles had a compatibility! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His expert  knowledge of Stowe Gardens was highly entertaining and informative, highlighting many of the changes at Stowe dictated by fashion over centuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Stephen is a specialist in historic gardens. He introduced his work at Stowe as a long-term project with a great deal of work commissioned by the National Trust.  This involves a watching brief to advise on placement of new cables or buried gas tanks, plus archaeological and structural surveys and the creation of historical records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stowe Gardens Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The landscape here is sensitive from both the horticultural as well as historical point of view. These points were developed as Stephen took us through the various projects he has undertaken. In doing so, he covered in his talk some insights into the function and significance of the various monuments which have decorated the landscape over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his introduction Stephen also reminded us of the geology of the area, dominated by a kind of rough limestone with the soil above this a narrow and unforgiving band of mostly glacial sand and clay.  Good, he said ironically, for pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An outline map of the site showed streams going East to West and North to South to create bodies of water. Each with their own functions \u2013 and challenges \u2013 over time. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the areas covered were the Bourbon Fields where excavations yielded a flint hand axe, maybe 10 to 15,000 years old. But for various reasons no Roman evidence was found.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Temple of Ancient Virtue<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Looking at individual monuments, we were able to understand a little of the historical development from the early 1700s until the later stages of Stowe\u2019s history, particularly during the ownership of the three generations of the Cobham family. The Cobham Era (1697\u20131749) saw garden designer Charles Bridgeman and architect Sir John Vanbrugh working on the garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen highlighted the huge changes in fashion for the large-scale picturesque gardens championed by Capability Brown. This did much to obscure or remove entirely, any evidence of previous formal gardens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viscount Cobham died in 1749 and the estate passed on to his nephew Richard Grenville, Earl Temple, in 1752.  It was during Earl Temple\u2019s ownership that he naturalised Stowe, softening the edges of woodlands and reshaping lakes. Various monuments were moved, including the Lake Pavilions and the Fane of Pastoral Poetry. Meanwhile, both Oxford Bridge and the Corinthian Arch were added to the landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A timeline of the history of Stowe Gardens is available here<\/a> including<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n