Description
A collection of family and professional
material relating to the English landscape gardener, architect, and author Humphry
Repton.
Background
Humphry Repton (1752-1818) was one of England's leading landscape gardeners. Repton was
born in Bury St. Edmonds, England, and was originally meant to become a merchant in the
textile trade but he was not a success. He married Mary Clarke in 1773 and, together, they
had four children. After the death of his parents in 1778, Repton moved the family to a
small country estate at Sustead, Norfolk, to be near his sister Dorothy (Repton) Adey and
her husband John Adey, a solicitor. While living in Norfolk, Repton was encouraged to study
botany and gardening by a childhood friend, but with his capital dwindling, he moved to a
cottage near Romford in Essex. At this time, Repton decided to combine his talented
sketching skills with his limited horticulture knowledge and begin a career as a
professional landscape gardener, a term he coined himself. To help clients visualize his
designs, Repton produced 'Red Books' (so called for their binding) with explanatory text and
watercolors with a system of overlays to show 'before' and 'after' views. Repton went on to
become the most celebrated landscape garden designer of the eighteenth century.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.