Landscape management: The conservation of a capability brown landscape — Harewood, Yorkshire

Abstract

The conservation of Brown's landscapes, because of their “natural” style and vast scale, presents particular problems of identification, preservation and adaptation. One of Brown's finest designs at Harewood, Yorkshire, is taken as representative of the problems facing many other English 18th century landscapes. Using surveys and correspondence preserved in the Harewood Archives, the contribution of Brown is distinguished from that of other consultants, and the importance of the coordinating role of the owner, Lascelles, and his agent, Popplewell, is emphasized. The design intent in the laying out of plantations and pastures, landform and water, is defined with quotations from the 18th century correspondence. The original management intent and the question of combining beauty and profit is discussed. The preservation of the historic landscape is a major goal of the present Earl of Harewood and his agent; but a tension exists between the preservation policies and the requirements of commercial land management. The reduction in the size of the estate as a result of death duties and the rising cost of maintenance have required a commercial attitude to the woodlands and farmland. The adaptation of the 18th century design to meet these needs is analyzed using data supplied by the Estate. After nearly 200 years a major replanting programme was necessary and this presented difficult silvicultural decisions, in the choice of species, design of planting blocks and planning of management operations. The parkland is now an integral part of the Estate's “agribusiness” operations, the “uniform verdure” replaced by a pattern of fields providing fodder for a capital intensive dairy enterprize. The issue of beauty or profit in the 20th century landscape emphasizes the relevance of 18th century concepts of land stewardship.