It is still a mystery as to what extent his designs were executed, if at all, and this is the focus of much of the research nationwide in this celebratory year.
He created Red Books* for:
• Barton Hall
• Courteenhall
• Finedon Hall
• Milton Park (now in Cambridgeshire).
He produced a report for Norton Hall; watercolours and correspondence relating to Harlestone and Laxton; and a letter with accounts relating to Aynho has been discovered.
Research is currently being undertaken within the county to discover to what extent the designs within these beautiful Red Books were carried out.
We were proud to launch our Celebrating Humphry Repton in Northamptonshire exhibition at the Chichele Garden Fair, Higham Ferrers, on Saturday 26 May 2018.
Stephen Radley is a PhD student at Nottingham University. These observations are part of his continuing research into the cultural geography of Northamptonshire gardens from 1750–1830.
The way Repton presented his landscape designs was a key part of his success. He produced ‘Red Books’ or folios of his plans, drawings, maps and a description of the improvements he proposed to make. They famously include watercolour paintings with overlays showing ‘before’ and ‘after’ views of the estate.
The books did not all have red covers until he realised that this was a good selling point. Repton did not create Red Books for every place where he worked and they did not include all his work. He also made drawings and plans in other formats, such as notebooks. The Red Books show Repton’s vision for the landscape and his view that landscaping was an art.
Extract from The Gardens Trust website
Humphry Repton's Red book for Ferney Hall, Shropshire
Header image courtesy of Northamptonshire Records Office, NRO map 2861