LONDON.- A sketch by Lancelot Brown, commonly known as Capability Brown, showing his plans for part of the landscape at Blenheim Palace is to be sold at Bonhams Old Master Paintings sale in London on 8 July. It is estimated at £70,000-100,000.

Brown’s sketches hardly ever appear at auction, most remaining in the private collections of those who commissioned them, making this example extremely rare. It shows the view north-east across the lake from Blenheim Palace towards the town of Woodstock. Its purpose was to show the effect of Brown’s proposal to Gothicise the existing perimeter wall – much as a CGI image might be used by an architect today to illustrate a design to a client.

The sketch is in pen, grey ink and watercolour on laid paper. It is detailed and appears to be accurate – a very similar view can be experienced by visitors to the grounds of the Palace today though this particular scheme was never realised. The main buildings are inscribed with letters and identified in a key at the bottom left of the sketch – A The Church, B Triumphal Arch, C The Revd Mr Holloways, D Miss Cotterells, E The Cock Pit, F, Mr Turners.

Blenheim Palace and its grounds were designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough between 1705–1722. Capability Brown was brought to Blenheim in 1764 by the 4th Duke to develop the gardens and created there what has been described as the quintessential English stately home garden. Brown naturalised the landscape of the 2,000 acres, planting trees and installing man-made undulations to soften the contours. His most enduring and famous change, however, was the creation of the great lake which appears in the foreground of the sketch. He dammed the River Glyme and flooded the lower storeys of Vanburgh’s incongruously enormous bridge, said to hold 30 rooms, and in the process brought it into proportion with the house and the rest of the gardens.

Brown’s sketch remained in the Marlborough family until the 10th Duke made a gift of it to the town of Woodstock in the 1930s.

Capability Brown
Born in Northumberland in 1716 Lancelot, ‘Capability’ Brown was a landscape architect who has been described as ‘England’s greatest gardener’. He created over 170 parks and gardens for some of the country’s grandest houses and many of these still exist in one form or another. In addition to Blenheim Palace, Brown’s work can be seen at Warwick Castle, Harewood House, Bowood House, Milton Abbey and Croome Court, where he also designed the house. His emphasis on naturalism – albeit carefully crafted – defined the English style. Although his reputation declined in the 19th century it revived during the 20th and his name is instantly recognisable to gardeners and non- gardeners alike. He died, wealthy and successful in 1783.