Page 16 - cn - fg- The Assembly of Time - Studio Brochure - flickbook e- presentation_Neat

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George William Coventry {later 6 Earl} inherited Croome Court and surrounding estate in
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1751 when he was 30. The 6 Earl’s intention was to transform the 1640’s house into a fash-
ionable Neo-Classical mansion in the form of Palladian style built between 1752-62, includ-
ing the surrounding land, much of which was water logged and a virtual mire, and creating a
parkland and pleasure garden, the first and most innovative of its time.
Two men key to the project’s success were commissioned, namely; Lancelot ‘Capability’
Brown, who came from Stowe Park in 1752 at the age of 32 and Robert Adam in 1760.
Brown first remodelled the house, with some suggestions being made by the Gentleman Ar-
chitect Sanderson Miller who was a friend of the Earl. A considerable construction of drain-
age systems was carried out in order to drain the surrounding raised land and direct the water
into a man-made river course. The existing church of St Mary Magdalen was demolished and
rebuilt by Brown in the Gothic style to the north east on raised ground.
The composition captures the wider estate and aligns the church of St Mary Magdalen, the
southern elevation of Croome Court and the man- made river course including the Chinese
Bridge built in 1750-51 designed by William Halfpenny. The scene celebrates and stands as
a statement to Brown’s initial vision and the resultant effect of some 300 years of maturity.
The time of year is October with the season’s autumn tints and deepening tones of late after-
noon light; adding a sense of transience’- yet the scene of distant cattle sets an arcadian scene
becoming a reminder of the vision of the idyll so often depicted in Claude Lorrain’s paint-
ings, which was the inspiration for so many parkland settings at that time.
In a way this is borne out by the fact that Croome Court and Parkland survived especially
through the Second World War, when RAF Defford was created with runways and military
buildings for the purpose of developing radar technology. Once again Croome stands trium-
phant as an arcadian setting saved for the modern world.
The original tapestries for Croome Court now hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York.

Croome, Worcestershire.

139378 View to Croome Court from the Park.
301/8 x 601/8 inches -o/c