Village in Capable hands

Buildings where Brown lived now house workshops

A living memorial to Capability Brown, the 18th Century landscape gardener, has been created in the village where he was born.

Craftsmen in Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland have been encouraged back to the Kirkharle estate where Brown first worked as an apprentice gardener.

The surrounding parkland has been restored to attract visitors to an area where agricultural incomes have been flagging since the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Landowner John Andersen has received funding from the Countryside Stewardship for farm diversification.

Capability Brown (1716 - 1783)

Mr Andersen was among the first farmers to sign up for the agreement with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 1992.

In his land stands Kirkharle Tower - once home to the Brown family's employers - Sir William and Lady Anne Loraine.

Lancelot "Capability" Brown was first employed to work on Sir William's vegetable garden.

The farm buildings Brown worked in now house an exhibition on his life - which gave England's country houses such as Blenheim Palace and Longleat some of their finest landscapes.

Small businesses have now moved in - a potter, sculptor, photographer and furniture designer.

Some of the farm's arable land has been reverted to pasture, echoing Brown's move from formal to natural landscapes.

'Attractive landscape'

Mr Andersen has plans for the rest of the site after renewing his Stewardship agreement for another ten years.

"We want to marry the old, traditional homestead with the parkland to create a living memorial to Capability Brown.

"It's important if we want to attract more visitors that we have an attractive landscape for them to enjoy and Stewardship is helping us to achieve that.

"It's a good initiative as it enables people to take advantage of financial support to protect the countryside - work which can be very expensive."