Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was born in 1716 in Kirkharle, Northumberland. He became the most renowned landscape designer of his time after training under William Kent and designing over 170 parks and estates across Britain. Brown got his nickname "Capability" because he would tell wealthy clients that their land had great capability for landscape improvements. A recently discovered long-lost plan by Brown for improvements to Kirkharle challenges the previous assumption that he did not learn his skills in landscape design until after leaving Northumberland.

1. ENGLISH 4 LISTENING
THE NATURAL WORLD
LANCELOT ‘CAPABILITY’ BROWN
1716 -1783
FROM : GARDENER’S QUESTION TIME, 29 JANUARY 2010
Eric Robson chairs the horticular
forum. Pippa Greenwood, Bob
Flowerdew and Matt Biggs are
guests of the North East Hardy
Plant Society in Newcastle.
.
1 But now we’ve got a request for a man who was known as England’s greatest landscape
2 gardener and the Shakespeare of gardening. The landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’
3 Brown was born not far from here in Kirkharle, Northumberland in 1766. Eventually, he
4 moved to Stowe in Buckinghamshire where he trained under William Kent and became the
5 most sought-after1 landscape designer of his generation. He was responsible for more than
6 170 parks, landscapes and some of the grandest houses in Britain. He got his nickname
7 because he told his well-heeled2 clients that their estate had a great capability for landscape
8 improvement. Until recently it was thought that Brown had learned his landscape skills long
9 after he had left Northumberland but that was before the discovery of a long lost Capability
10 Brown plan for Kirkharle itself.
1. sought-after : adjective, wanted by many people and usually of high quality or rare At the age of seventeen she is
already one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses.
2. well-heeled : (informal) adjective, rich His family was very well-heeled.
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PHOTO :
http://www.capability-brown.org.uk/life
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