John Claudius Loudon leaves home at 14 to study in Edinburgh. After a romantic setback, he is inspired by his professor to become a landscape improver. Seeking fame and fortune, he moves to London. John Claudius Loudon leaves home at the age of 14 to advance his education in Edinburgh, at the Commercial Academy, as an apprentice in a plant nursery, and as a student of agriculture at Edinburgh University. He lodges with his mother’s relatives and falls for a girl whose family think him too low-born. This spurs an ambition for self-improvement. His father wants him to be a farmer. His mother wants him to be a success, like his cousin. His professor, at the university, inspires him with the vision of becoming a landscape improver. He gives him letters of introduction to famous men and estate owners. Loudon decides to follow Buchanan’s example by seeking fame and fortune in London.

Joseph Banks Soho Square - 

Loudon's first article, on Public Squares in London -

Kerse Hall Gogar -

Edinburgh Old Town and New Town -

Commercial Academy 20 South Bridge Street, Edinburgh - 

North Bridge Edinburgh -

Dr Andrew Coventry -

A ‘land’ in Edinburgh's Old Town -

Grassmarket and Lawnmarket -

Dean Mills Village -

Botticeli Birth of Venus -

Moray Place Edinburgh -

Humphry Repton Sketches and Hints -

Claudians Chapter Index Pages Introduction, Chapter 1: Somers and Buchanans, Chapter 2: Loudons, Chapter 3: Indian Mission, Chapter 4: Picturesque Gardens, Chapter 5: Farming Landscapes, Chapter 6: Prussian Gardens, Chapter 7: Russian Gardens, Chapter 8: Buchanan’s Destiny, Chapter 9: Italian Gardens, Chapter 10: Gardenesque Gardens, Chapter 11: Utilitarian Landscapes, Chapter 12: Marriage, Chapter 13: Landscape Architecture, Chapter 14: Family Reunion, Chapter 15: Loudon’s Zenith, Chapter 16: Valedictory, Afterword.