Some of you will have seen this before, but I thought it deserved another outing; ideal for Becky’s #GeometricJanuary.
We came upon it a few years ago when visiting National Trust stately home, Berrington Hall, in Herefordshire. It is the work of installation artists Heather and Ivan Morison; their interpretation of the Georgian garden pleasure principle, which included all manner of temporary structures for dining, conducting assignations, or communing with the great outdoors. It’s called Look, Look, Look!
In the 18th century, Britain’s landed rich expended their often questionably-gotten gains in the creation of pleasure parks around their grand houses. These were places for promenading, a little sporting activity (fishing, sailing, archery), for re-enactments of famous naval battles (if you had your own lake); there were ‘eye-catcher’ summer houses, grottos, fake ruins, and classical temples. It was also the era of wholesale removal of villages from the sight-lines of the gentry in the ‘big house’. Garden tunnels were also dug so the horticultural workforce could go about their labours largely unseen. Above all, these gardens were ‘show off’ places, and if you wanted the best, you employed the likes of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to design it.
Another show-off item was exotic fruit, especially the pineapple whose possession, in the flesh, produced in your own very expensive-to-run hot house, or as architectural motifs about the house, demonstrated your wealth and prestige. At Berrington Hall there are both pineapple allusions, and the surviving landscape contrivances of Capability Brown. The park is magnificent, and Brown’s last endeavour as a garden designer. There is currently an extensive garden restoration project which aims to recover his original groundworks.
Inspired by the pineapple, detail from a Berrington Hall bed quilt
*
N.B. You can find full details of the Pink Pineapple’s construction, with architectural plans HERE.
Quite a sight! Never heard of this one but will put on list of must see!
oh my goodness – fruity geometric creations. Never expected this this month!
🙂 🙂 🙂
The wisteria walk will be beautiful. The pineapple folly… well, it’s a talking point, and it works well for Squares.
I’m very much liking the NT’s commitment to garden restoration. I usually prefer the grounds the houses.
I’m inclined to agree, though I don’t have much recent experience xx
Love the name, Capability Brown!
It’s certainly something to live up to 🙂
There were children’s books here that incorporated a character named Encyclopedia Brown. I like Capability better. I might have to steal that as a character name for a future story. If I can have your permission to do so and if I can remember it when the time comes. Memory is becoming a big challenge these days.
No problem about using Capability in a story 🙂 Now you’ve got me wondering how exactly he acquired the nickname. His Christian name was Lancelot. Also a name to conjure with.
It looks like an origami creation.
Doesn’t it just.
very unique
Ooh, I’ve never been here. I’m missing out.
The parkland is fabulous for walks.
👍
What an eye catcher Tish. A pink pineapple! That competes with the red rabbit sculpture hanging in the baggage section of a terminal at the Sacramento International Airport. Every time I see it, I wonder “WHY?”
Now you’ve piqued my curiosity, Anne. A pendant red rabbit, eh.
A huge red rabbit!! Why????
Huge, even. Mm. Indeed a puzzle.
👍
I had to have a look, and it truly is unappealing, and too huge, and cost $800,000. And even the person who commissioned it seems to have a dozen different ideas about WHY? One of them appears to be about creating a Sacramento identity…Hm.
Yes, why? But there it is! The airport has grown since its installation, so depending on which terminal you arrive at, you may not have to see it. Unless it has had babies!
Heavens! Babies. That would be awful.
😎
Well that’s a sight to behold. We often visited Berrington, great walks around the park and they were starting to do a lot of work in the walled garden before we left Shropshire. I don’t think we ever went into the house though.
I’m assuming, it’s no longer in the walled garded. And yes the park is well worth visiting. Didn’t care much for the house, although there was a fab dressing-up room and a lovely exhibition of textiles and silk waistcoats when we were there.
That’s certainly eye-catching and very definitely geometrical! It reminds me of origami 🙂
Yes, giant origami 🙂
A stand out structure and gorgeous colour too.
Wow!