Elizabeth Craven, Capability Brown and Henry Holland

What are the links between Elizabeth Craven, Capability Brown the landscape gardener and Henry Holland, the great Georgian architect who designed Carlton House and Brighton Pavilion for the Prince Regent?
Coombe Abbey, North side to which a classical facade was added in the Restoration period.

Craven first met Capability Brown when he was hired to re-landscape the grounds of Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire, a home owned by her husband, Lord Craven. Soon afterwards, another of the Craven homes, Benham Valence, burnt down, and Brown and his young colleague Henry Holland were commissioned to build a new house and transform the estate. 




This time they worked closely with Elizabeth who had her own strong ideas about houses all her life and added to that a passion for gardening. She learnt a lot from Capability Brown, and found that her ideas and tastes chimed perfectly with those of Henry Holland.


Under her supervision he incorporated many details inspired by the Palladian villas of Italy, such as this tribune.

Capability Brown planted clumps of fine trees and diverted the waters of the river Kennett to create a lake in which the house is pleasingly reflected on a fine day. Behind the house, there was a formal garden and a Greek theatre. 

The original house did not have the top storey which was added in Victorian times.

To find out more about the famous people Elizabeth Craven invited to Benham and which of her plays were performed there, read



https://thecountryseat.org.uk/2017/06/17/a-hollandaise-source-henry-hollands-benham-park-berkshire/

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