The late 1760s saw a number of French aristocrats remake their gardens ‘à la manière anglaise’, a naturalistic taste characterised by all the ‘bizarreness so dear to that nation’. The epidemic of Anglomanie that followed the Seven Years War produced some of the most extravagant landscapes of the age – meandering rivers, mysterious woods, rocky outcrops and cascades, false ruins, philosopher’s huts, all often confined within compact suburban sites. You may purchase a ticket for this March 28 Gardens Trust lecture, costing £5, by clicking HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after the session and will be available for 1 week.
On Christmas Eve 1770 France’s political order was upended when Louis XV exiled his de facto chief minister Choiseul and his ruling clique. The urbane and wily statesman was sent from Versailles to distant Touraine and his country estate of Chanteloup. Forbidden from politics and intrigue, the duc reinvented himself as a gentleman farmer, much to the bemusement of his allies and enemies. Chanteloup boasted ‘marble’ stables, a model farm and crop yields that were celebrated in the opposition press. In 1773, he liquidated his collections and Paris properties to build a garden in the new Anglo-Chinese taste. At its heart was a towering Sino-Doric pagoda, loosely modeled on that of Kew. An improbable survivor, this costly monument to factionalism is the only trace of Chanteloup to survive. The extensive correspondence of his allies and reports in the newsletter press, however, offer remarkable insights into this opposition domain.
