25 Facts About Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century.

Humphry Repton was born in Bury St Edmunds, the son of a collector of excise, John Humphry Repton, and Martha .

Humphry Repton was not successful, and when his parents died in 1778 used his modest legacy to move to a small country estate at Sustead, near Cromer in Norfolk.

Humphry Repton tried his hand as a journalist, dramatist, artist, political agent, and as confidential secretary to his neighbour William Windham of Felbrigg Hall during Windham's very brief stint as Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Humphry Repton joined John Palmer in a venture to reform the mail-coach system, but while the scheme ultimately made Palmer's fortune, Humphry Repton again lost money.

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Humphry Repton was given access to the library of Windham to read its works on botany.

Since the death of Capability Brown in 1783, no one figure dominated English garden design; Humphry Repton was ambitious to fill this gap and sent circulars round his contacts in the upper classes advertising his services.

Humphry Repton was at first an avid defender of Brown's views, contrasted with those of Richard Payne Knight and Uvedale Price, but later adopted a moderate position.

Humphry Repton's first paid commission was Catton Park, to the north of Norwich, in 1788.

Humphry Repton, with no real experience of practical horticulture, became an overnight success, is a tribute to his undeniable talent, but to the unique way he presented his work.

Humphry Repton's overlays were soon copied by the Philadelphian Bernard M'Mahon in his 1806 American Gardener's Calendar.

Where Humphry Repton got the chance to lay out grounds from scratch it was generally on a much more modest scale.

The original site that Humphry Repton so transformed was later built on in the construction of the short-lived Watkin's Tower, intended to be taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Early in his career, Humphry Repton defended Brown's reputation during the 'picturesque controversy'.

Humphry Repton re-introduced formal terraces, balustrades, trellis work and flower gardens around the house in a way that became common practice in the nineteenth century.

Humphry Repton designed one of the most famous 'picturesque' landscapes in Britain at Blaise Castle, near Bristol.

At Woburn Abbey, Humphry Repton foreshadowed another nineteenth-century development, creating themed garden areas including a Chinese garden, American garden, arboretum and forcing garden.

At Stoneleigh Abbey in 1808, Humphry Repton foreshadowed another nineteenth-century development, creating a perfect cricket pitch called 'home lawn' in front of the west wing, and a bowling green lawn between the gatehouse and the house.

Humphry Repton designed the central gardens in Russell Square, the centrepiece of the Bloomsbury development.

The square was to be a flagship commission for Humphry Repton and was only one of three within the central London.

On 29 November 1811 Humphry Repton suffered a serious carriage accident which often left him needing to use a wheelchair for mobility.

Humphry Repton died at age 65 in 1818 and is buried in the graveyard of the Church of St Michael, Aylsham, Norfolk.

Humphry Repton published three major books on garden design: Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening, Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, and Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening .

Humphry Repton contributed to the Transactions of the Linnean Society, xi.

Humphry Repton produced designs for the grounds of many of the foremost country houses in England, Scotland and Wales:.

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