An excellent illustrated talk by Nicky Pink, senior archives assistant of the Hampshire Records Office on 18th century country houses and gardens, with examples from Hampshire. Hosted by the Dever Valley History Society, this focused on the craze for classical houses and looked at what inspired the rich to adopt these expensive fashions.
The neo-classical achitectural styles were inspired by grand tours of Greece and Italy, and inspiration from further afield was also sought. Those who came into money, upgraded the facades of their country houses to impress others, and expanded them to house collections of antiquities and paintings that had been aquired during their expeditions. It was thought that only the ruling elites who had a good enough education including study of the classics could appreciate the architecture, landscapes and sculptures contained within the country houses and estates. Gardens were frequently re-landscaped so they could emphasis the size of the estates stretching into the distance in all directions, and to demonstrate the superiority and liberalism of the English versus the French Baroque style of garden design.
Existing buildings and landscapes were substantially changed, especially with the landscapes inspired by Capability Brown. Working people laboured to divert and shore up rivers and create great artificial lakes and were often evicted from the land they worked through enclosure.
Perhaps most shockingly of all, the villagers of East Stratton were forcibly removed from their homes, which were knocked down to improve the outlook from Stratton House in Repton's redesign of the estate. The village was moved to the south but the church was retained, so the villagers had a much longer walk to church. The course of the main road was also altered, so as to reduce the amount of dust thrown up by passers by.
