Category Archives: English Gardens

The Chinese Fret in Oiserie Design

1. The Chinese fret is a key theme in Chinoiserie design and its principles are not always obvious. This series of images attempts to explain its design principles. It is based on a Chinoiserie bridge design published by Becker in … Continue reading

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The Gardens in Hamilton New Zealand: Part 1. Introduction

Part 2. The Picturesque Garden The Enclosed Gardens in Hamilton, New Zealand, are one of the most exciting creations I have seen in Australia and New Zealand. There seems to be nothing quite like it anywhere else. Unlike the Chaumont … Continue reading

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park. Part 4. The Chinese Bridges

There was also, it seems, a Chinese bridge that went with the ‘house’ or temple. I can’t seem to find any primary sources for this. This is long gone. There is today a Chinese bridge nearby made of brick and … Continue reading

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park. Part 3. Chinese Elements, Function, Typology and Sources

Chinese Elements There is not much Chinese about the fabrique. It has a dragon on the pinnacle, which was easy to miss in 2013 (Fig. 4), but must be much more conspicuous now that it has been gilded (Fig. 13). … Continue reading

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park, Part 2. Form and Style

The Status of the Current Version The relationship between the Chinese fabrique she built and Wrest Park and the 20th century structures is not completely clear to me. Apparently the stone base is original,[1] but Conner writes that ‘the pavilion … Continue reading

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park, Part 1. History

Wrest Park has an interesting Chinoiserie fabrique (Fig. 1) which is of interest because it has recently been restored (not for the first time) which allows us to come to grips with the structure. I examined it in June 2013 … Continue reading

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The Weirdness of the Topography of ‘The Favourite’

The Favourite is set in about 1705-1711 in London, at presumably, notionally, Kensington Palace, Queen Anne’s principal residence, where, according to Wikipedia, the final falling out between Queen Anne and the Duchess of Marlborough took place. The setting could, however, … Continue reading

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Chinoiserie Fabriques Part 2: William Kent

William Kent, Design for Chinoiserie garden temple, showing plan and detailed elevation with bamboo porch, c. 1730–1735. Pen and brown ink and brown wash on paper. London, Victoria and Albert Museum, E.384-1986. (Fig. 1)   English Chinoiserie pavilions explored a … Continue reading

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Pavilions, Fabriques, and the Reverential Copy

[This paper discusses a category of building that is related to, and sometimes overlaps with, the pavilion: the fabrique. The fabrique is not to be confused with the folly, although both are found in parks and gardens and the terms … Continue reading

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Schloss Trautmannsdorf Meditations I: the Problematic of Gardens for Lovers

The garden at Schloss Trautmannsdorf is a kind of Eden Project, a new garden created from 1995 and opened in 2001 (Fig. 1). The castle, which has had a sorry history, contains the provincial tourism museum, or Touriseum, which is … Continue reading

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