| Charles Bridgeman |
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Information About ™Charles Bridgeman |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CHARLES BRIDGEMAN | |
| 1690 births | |
| bridgeman, charles | |
| 1738 deaths | |
| english gardeners | |
| landscape architects | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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Little is recorded of the early life of Charles Bridgeman. He was born in 1690 and raised in modest circumstances. His father was a gardener who is reported to have worked at Wimpole in Cambridge for the Earl Of Oxford . The younger Bridgeman entered the landscaping profession by working for the Brompton Park Nursery. By 1714 he had begun working with Henry Wise , with whom he later shared the title of Chief Gardener for the royal gardens (Strong, 1992, 39). Bridgeman married Sarah Mist in 1717 [http://www.brookmans.com/environment/gobions/ch3.shtml . An early proponent of a less-structured garden design, Bridgeman was a pioneer in the landscaping trend that spread throughout much of Europe in the 18th century and came to be known as the '' Jardin Anglais '' {Link without Title} (Jellicoe, et. al., 1986, p. 72). A contemporary of Bridgeman’s, , geometrically shaped lakes and pools, and kitchen gardens. Transitional elements in his designs included lawns, amphitheatres, garden buildings and statues, winding paths through wooded areas to viewing points and the use of ''ha-has'' [http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/period_georgian1.shtml - features are some of the progressive ideas he helped bring into favor (Jellicoe, 1986, p. 72). Bridgeman made a name for himself among the artisans of the day with his often-dramatic redesigns of the estate gardens belonging to wealthy English nobles. He laid out the extravagant garden of Lord Cobham, which compiled temples, pillars, finely carved stone statues, summer houses, and a miniature replica of an Egyptian pyramid (Amherst, 1896, p.251). Bridgeman participated in the design of a garden at {Link without Title} [http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~helphand/englishpgsone/englishpg5.html , [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/apope.htm] wrote of Bridgeman’s creations at Stowe as being the "work to wonder at" (Batey, et. al., 1990, p. 168). However, Bridgeman perhaps remains best known for his tenure as Royal Gardener for Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark. He was promoted to this position, which he held for ten years, upon the retirement of his mentor, Henry Wise. As Royal Gardener, Bridgeman tended – and in many cases, redesigned – the royal gardens at , St. James's Park and Hyde Park {Link without Title} . EXTERNAL LINKS
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