Estate Landscapes Research Articles

Future-proofing estate landscapes

Climate change and urbanization have substantial ramifications for the management and protection of cultural-historical landscapes. This is especially true for historical estate landscapes – landscapes whose character is defined by several historical castles, country houses (along with their gardens and parks), and landed estates – where climate change adaptation constitutes a major task. Issues of concern include an excess or shortage of water and changes to vegetation as a result of rising temperatures. That pressure is compounded by increasing urbanization and the associated recreational needs. These landscapes are also susceptible to spatial fragmentation due to urbanization, changes in ownership, changes in function, and so on. Combatting these pressures calls for a future-oriented design approach that deals sensitively with historically valuable landscape characteristics. It involves safeguarding the spatial quality of estate landscapes by striking a new balance between utility value (economic exploitation), amenity value (identity and familiarity), and future value (ecological sustainability). Such is the complexity of the task that a regional perspective is required in order to fully comprehend the cohesion and systemic relations between individual country estates and to develop a common basis for collaboration.
 This article proposes a landscape-based regional design approach aimed at understanding and designing future-proof estate landscapes. It details a preservation-through-development strategy based on spatial development in sympathy with historical landscapes structures in a process of meaningful stakeholder involvement. Key to this process is collaboration and co-creation with owners, experts, policy advisers and others. Design-based research is employed as a method for addressing the complex spatial tasks facing estate landscapes in an integrated and creative manner. Spatial design, at every level of scale, becomes a instrument for working out development strategies and principles for context-specific landscape formation. But also for highlighting possible solutions that can contribute to the protection and development of historical estate landscapes. In other words, this is not about opposing change or locking up the existing landscape, but about creating new landscape qualities through well-designed new developments. This coincides with a collaborative process in which stakeholders jointly weigh the pros and cons, learn and come up with solutions. The combination of substance, involvement and process makes the landscape-based regional design approach a powerful method for increasing the resilience and adaptability of the estate landscape and in so doing making this landscape future-proof.

Preface

to the theme issue 'Estate Landscapes'

Estate landscapes in Gelderland

The Province of Gelderland has long boasted a large number of country houses and landed estates, which over time coalesced into estate landscapes around the historical capitals of the Duchy of Guelders quarters of Nijmegen, Arnhem and Zutphen.
 Rapidly increasing urbanization from the end of the nineteenth century onwards threatened the coherence and accessibility of these landscapes. Gelderland’s largest cities, Arnhem and Nijmegen, watched in dismay as many country houses and landed estates fell victim to subdivision and development. In response they started to buy up portions of that estate landscape to ensure that they would remain available to city dwellers. In addition, the ‘safety net’ provided by newly established nature and landscape organizations, in particular Natuurmonumenten and Geldersch Landschap & Kasteelen, also contributed to preservation and permanent accessibility by offering landed families the opportunity to keep their estate intact, albeit no longer under their ownership.
 Similar motives – the need to preserve attractive, accessible walking areas for the increasingly urbanized society – underpinned the government’s introduction of the Nature Conservation Act in 1928. The Act was invoked more frequently in Gelderland than in any other province. It promoted the opening up of private properties as well as the preservation of the cultural value of the kind of ‘natural beauty’ to be found on landed estates.
 After the Second World War, in addition to resorting to the Nature Conservation Act, the owners of country houses and landed estates could avail themselves of an increasing variety of grants aimed at preserving (publicly accessible) nature, landscape and heritage, although the emphasis was firmly on nature. Estate landscapes like the Veluwezoom and the County of Zutphen were eventually safeguarded by a patchwork of different government regulations.
 In the twenty-first century, government policy shifted towards providing financial support for both public and private contributions to nature, landscape and heritage by country houses and landed estates. This in turn has stimulated interest in estate landscapes. Instead of individual heritage-listed estates, the focus is now on areas with multiple country house and landed estates where there are spatial tasks waiting to be fulfilled: not just the preservation of natural beauty for outdoor recreation, but also spatial articulation, climate change adaptation, increased biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. Interest in design, both past and present, has burgeoned thanks to this development.

Estate landscapes in the Netherlands

In the past, country house research was mainly concerned with individual houses and gardens. Yet, as early as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, so many country houses were being built around the major cities that they came to define the landscape. Genuine estate landscapes took shape along several rivers (Amstel, Vecht), along the inner edge of coastal dunes, and on newly reclaimed land. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the rivers were augmented with a network of barge canals and soon they too were lined by a belt of country houses. The greatest density of country houses was to be found around Amsterdam, but other big cities in the provinces of Holland and Zeeland had their fair share as well. Access was mostly by water, but in some areas, especially in Zeeland, country roads performed this role. The majority of country houses were built on or next to a farm, which generally continued to exist and, in many cases, survived the country house. In a few areas, the evolving density of country houses has been traced in a detailed chronological record. In most cases it reveals progressive growth towards a high point in the first half of the eighteenth century, after which a gradual decline sets in. However, in a number of areas growth was much more rapid, in particular along the River Vecht. Sustained growth was followed by decline. In the final decade of the eighteenth century and the first decade of the nineteenth, large numbers of country houses were demolished and in many instances the land reverted to agriculture production. It appears that the decline set in earlier in Zeeland than in Holland, but regional differences in decline are not yet entirely clear.
 The second quarter of the nineteenth century saw the construction of a new generation of country houses, especially in the undulating sandy areas of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and the southern part of the Veluwezoom, where railway lines provided access. The owners of this new crop of country houses laid out their gardens in the English landscape style. They also bought up vast, neighbouring heathlands from local councils or farmers and planted them with trees. As a result, these country houses are quite different in character from those of the earlier period.
 In the past the concentrations of country houses dominated the landscape and even today, wherever they have survived to a substantial degree they continue to represent an important landscape quality. As such, protection and management should not be confined to individual country houses but should extend to groups of country houses and their interrelationships (in the form of visual axes, for example). In recent years, a number of provinces have already set a good example by formulating policies for country house biotopes and linear estate landscapes.

Methods of historicization of estate landscapes of Moscow

The object of this research is the methods used in design practices of post-Soviet time to give historical appearance to landscapes of former estates of Moscow region, which faded away, i.e. the methods of historicization. The landscapes under review are being protected by the government as the objects of Moscow cultural heritage, and designated as museums (reserve museums) and public parks. The subject of this research is disclosure of the essence of these methods and their assessment from the perspective of alignment with historical primary sources, implementation, proliferation, and attractiveness. The author conducts systematization of methods in accordance to the degree of conformance to the historical realities, and divides them into the following groups: 1) that provide accurate reproduction of historical forms, 2) that create similarities, 3) that create new forms. Each group is divided into subgroups. By frequency of application, the leading place belongs to the methods of first group, which are aimed at reproduction of the shapes of buildings and structures. The rest two methods focus on reviving the memory of the past. The application is attributed to new construction, which can be assessed as landscape evolution and a modern artistic phenomenon. The methods of second group lead to landscape development in spirit of historicism, while the methods of third group – to the development of territory based on modern vision of the past. The conducted analysis is valued for the general outlook upon the process of preservation of one of the most complex types of cultural heritage of Moscow.

In view and under foot: the hidden story of fallow deer, knuckle-bone floors and British estates

SUMMARY: The chance discovery of an 18th-century knuckle-bone floor at the National Trust property of Belton House in Lincolnshire prompted a review of all known post-medieval knuckle-bone floors in Britain to examine their date, context of creation and species composition. The identification of fallow deer bones within the Belton floor became the focus of genetic analysis to examine the relationship between ancient and modern deer from the estate and how these deer related to other medieval/post-medieval populations. This paper argues that both fallow deer and knuckle-bone floors were important elements of post-medieval estate landscapes and that more could be done to present their significance to the public.

Condition of the Landscape of Housing Estates Constructed in the Second Half of the 20th century, on the Example of the Grunwald Estate in Szczecin

After the period of system transformation in Poland the spatial city planning at a national, regional and local level was only marginal, and a comprehensive program for the revitalization of housing estates built in the second half of the 20th century was and still is not even considered. The results of contemporary privatization may cause not just the decomposition of the initial design of the estate, but also influence the future structure of the urban agglomeration. The objective of the present paper is to conduct an analysis of spatial changes that occurred after 1989 in the structure of housing estates constructed in the second half of the 20th century, on the example of the Grunwald Estate in Szczecin. The analysis of the process of changes will allow us to formulate a diagnosis of the present state, and valorisation of the landscape of the investigated estate. The research conducted demonstrated that the main effect of the property divisions within housing estates after 1989 is the loss of the possibility of appropriate development of these areas into recreational, sports and leisure grounds. Current state of estate landscapes leads to counterurbanization of the urban space and contradicts the spatial policy of the city of Szczecin, as set in the its study for conditions and spatial development trends of the city. In the consequence of secondary property divisions, the residential areas no longer foster the shaping of individual character of the place, which doesn’t encourage identification of the residents with their residence locations.

Tourism-driven urbanisation in China's small town development: Yiren Town, China

The tourism industry has emerged as a new dynamic impetus for urbanisation in China. Many small towns in the peripheral regions of China are experiencing urbanisation, especially in places where distinctive tourist attractions are located. However, little has been done to explore the role of tourism real estate development in Chinese urbanisation and its consequences. This paper addresses this gap through examining the process of tourism-driven urbanisation as a development strategy of small towns in China. The role of tourism real estate and its socio-economic consequences are also explored. The findings from a case study of Yiren Town, Yunnan Province, Southwest China, which is a newly-built destination, reveal that tourism real estate development has transformed Yiren from a sleepy small town into a place with diverse real estate landscapes. The construction of replica old towns alongside leisure properties constitutes a new pattern of urbanisation, suggesting that tourism developers and policy-makers should reconsider the large-scale development of tourism real estate and its impacts on the environment and adjacent communities.

A Landscape of Improvement: The Impact of James Loch, Chief Agent to the Marquis of Stafford, on the Lilleshall Estate, Shropshire

In 1810 some farms on the Lilleshall estate had achieved a degree of consolidation; however, many remained fragmented, dispersed and intermixed in the old enclosed Shropshire landscape. In contrast within ten years a complete reorganisation and consolidation of farm holdings had been achieved by rationalising field boundaries, constructing access roads, improving drainage and replacing traditional farm buildings with new model farms. Building on emerging agendas concerning estate landscapes, this article examines the improvement of farms on the marquis of Stafford's Lilleshall estate in Shropshire, providing a case study of the transformation of the rural, agrarian landscape. Focusing on the impact of James Loch (1780–1855), chief agent to the marquis of Stafford, it seeks to test the thesis that there was a professionalisation of agents reflected in the improved management of landed estates and the growth of a rural elite. Moreover, in assessing the farming economy of the diverse estate locale and the transition which the landscape underwent to a planned, improved condition, it informs debates surrounding the agricultural revolution, and high farming as its local manifestation, including the adoption of specific farming practices and technical innovations, whilst acknowledging the wide-ranging historical continuities evident in the landscape.

Estate Landscapes: Design, Improvement and Power in the Post‐Medieval Landscape – Edited by Jonathan Finch and Kate Giles

Estate Landscapes: Design, Improvement and Power in the Post‐Medieval Landscape – Edited by Jonathan Finch and Kate Giles

Jonathan Finch, and Kate Giles, eds, Estate Landscapes: Design, Improvement and Power in the Post-Medieval Landscape, Woodbridge, Boydell and Brewer, 2008. 248 pp. 9781843833703.

Jonathan Finch, and Kate Giles, eds, Estate Landscapes: Design, Improvement and Power in the Post-Medieval Landscape, Woodbridge, Boydell and Brewer, 2008. 248 pp. 9781843833703.