John Claudius Loudon viewing a romantically picturesque landscape 

John Claudius Loudon: an Appreciation

Jane Loudon wrote of John Claudius Loudon that: 'nothing was more common than for him to find persons taking the merit to themselves of inventions which he had suggested years before. When this happened, he was frequently urged to assert his prior claim; but he always answered, that he thought the person who made an invention useful to the public had more merit than its original contriver.'

The 'inventions' Jane had in mind, we do not know. But here is a list of Loudon's  innovations:

1. Loudon conceived the idea of planning for clean air in urban areas through the creation of concentric Breathing Zones

2. Loudon initiated what has become a dominant principle in planting design: the use of exotic species in picturesque (ie naturalistic) compositions. ‘Gardenesque’ was his name for this principle, a shortening of garden-picture-esque.1. The idea of writing a systematic world history of gardens with engravings integrated into the text (graphically and thematically).

3. The idea of retrofitting cities with circular promenades as a contribution to’ the greatest happiness of the greatest number’. In the nineteenth century this led to parkways. In the twentieth century it led to the use of green belts, to prevent the coalescence of urban areas. Utilitarianism became a tenet of urban planning through Loudon's friendship with Jeremy Bentham.

4. Loudon designed the world’s first parks in public (municipal) ownership. Their predecessors, like the royal parks of London, Paris and Berlin, had been owned by kings. The Derby Arboretum was funded by a donor and given to the city council.

5. Loudon invented the system of glass and steel construction used to build the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton. In the twentieth century the use of glass supported by cast and wrought iron became dominant in the construction of large buildings.

6. Loudon borrowed the English term ‘landscape architecture’ from its inventor (Gilbert Laing Meason) and launched it on a new trajectory by using it, mysteriously, in the title of his edition of Humphry Repton’s collected works. Through the mediation of Calvert Vaux and Andrew Jackson Downing it was adopted by the founder of what is now the landscape architecture profession: Frederick Law Olmsted.

7. Loudon extended the scope of his 'landscape profession' way beyond 'landscape gardens.' In 1806 he declared that wanted to be use ‘landscape improver’ as a professional title, presumably for his work in the design of gardens, town plans, public parks, greenways, roads, forestry and cemeteries. As presented in The Claudians, he viewed this enlarged field of professional activities as 'landscape architecture.'

8. Loudon called for the planning of roads and railways to be done on a rational basis by public authorities, with engineers and landscape designers working together.

9. Loudon saw that the commercial use of canals to carry goods was declining and called for this to be succeeded by amenity uses. This is what has happened in the UK.

10. In the last book published in his lifetime, Loudon published a pioneering work on the design of cemeteries.  This was after thinking about the subject for 30 years. When he died, in 1843, Loudon is believed to have written more words than anyone who lived before him. 

Summary of Loudon's achievements

Loudon should be remembered as the grandfather of the world's landscape architecture profession. He made highly significant contributions to the development of modern architecture, engineering, town planning and garden design. In his short life he wrote more words than anyone who lived before him. Had they been fewer, he would be more famous than he is.

Loudon designed undertook a great many design projects. See his Gardenvisit.com biography for information about those that survive. We do know what happened to his other projects. The likely reasons for this are (1) his drawings and design reports do not seem to have survived (2) many of large-scale projects do not seem to have been implemented (3) it is likely that many of his projects were fairly small planting-design projects and that his profit on these came largely from supplying the plants.

As a young man, Loudon's design style was Picturesque. From perhaps 1828 to 1843 his design style was Gardenesque. The similarities and differences between these styles is shown on the Gardenvisit.com Style Diagrams. and they are shown in context on the Gardenvisit.com Garden History Style Chart.

Quotations about John Claudius Loudon’s character

Here are two quotations from Jane Loudon concerning John Claudius Loudon’s character and achievements.

Loudon’s Character

‘I do not attempt to give any description of the talents or character of my late husband as an author; his works are before the world, and by them he will be judged; but I trust I may be excused for adding, that in his private capacity he was equally estimable as a husband and a father, and as a master and a friend. He was also a most dutiful son and most affectionate brother.’

Loudon’s achievements

‘It is curious, in turning over his memoranda, to find how many improvements suggested themselves to his active mind, which he was unable, from various circumstances, to carry into effect at the time, but which, many years afterwards, were executed either by himself or by other persons, who, however, were unaware that he had previously suggested them. Throughout his life similar occurrences were continually taking place; and nothing was more common than for him to find persons taking the merit to themselves of inventions which he had suggested years before. When this happened, he was frequently urged to assert his prior claim; but he always answered, that he thought the person who made an invention useful to the public had more merit than its original contriver; and that, in fact, so long as the public were benefited by any invention of his, it was perfectly indifferent to him who had the merit of it. There never lived a more liberal and thoroughly public-spirited man than Mr. Loudon. He had not a single particle of selfishness in his disposition, and in all his actions he never took the benefit they would produce to himself into consideration. When writing a book, his object was to obtain the best possible information on the subject he had in hand; and he was never deterred from seeking this by any considerations of trouble or expense.’

Garden design, landscape architecture and Loudon's reputation

The best treatment I know of the historical relationship between garden design and landscape architecture is in Norman T Newton’s 1974 book Design on the Land: The Development of Landscape Architecture. The title of Chapter 15 (pp 221-232) is ‘Transition to public service’ and is crucial to the theme of the book but, regrettably, Newton’s assessment of Loudon, though understandable, is mistaken. 

Frank Clark, who introduced me to landscape history at the University of Edinburgh, told us that Loudon was largely responsible for the ruination of the once-great art of designing landscape gardens. I liked and admired Frank. 

The probable explanations for Newton’s and Clark’s ‘Great Mistake’ are (1) they likely did not know that Gilbert Laing Meason invented the term ‘landscape architecture’ or that Loudon was an enthusiast for the term's wider use (2) with Loudon’s publications equal in length to about 75 copies of The Bible, and over 99% of them devoted to gardens and plants, they probably did not notice the words that Loudon devoted to what we know call ‘landscape architecture’ (3) despite the philosophical clarity behind Loudon’s invention of the term ‘Gardenesque,’ he subsequently published several confusing accounts of the idea. This let it come to mean ‘Victorian Garden’ (4) just as the style of mid-eighteenth century landscape gardens became wildly unpopular as the century drew to a close, so the style of mid-nineteenth century gardens suffered a similar fate by the end of the century. Victorian architecture and Victorian Gardens were despised by functionalist-modernist designers. 

This is what Newton wrote: ‘It is often incorrectly assumed that Humphry Repton and J. C. Loudon, in England, had earlier used the title “landscape architect”; both men styled themselves “landscape gardeners” (a title that Olmsted rejected), whereas by their infrequently used term “landscape architecture” they referred only to buildings in the landscape’ (Newton page xxi). The errors are (1) Repton died in 1818 and never used the term ‘landscape architecture’ - it did not exist (2) Gilbert Laing Meason invented the term ‘landscape architecture’ ten years later and used it to discuss the relationship between buildings and their surroundings. He believed much could be learned about this relationship from ‘the great paintings of Italy’ (3) Loudon continued to call himself a ‘landscape gardener’ but from the time of his first major book (the 1806 Treatise on Country Residences) thought the term misleading. He probably continued to use it because his clients understood and used it. 

Newton also wrote that: ‘Loudon was the self-appointed spokesman for something he chose to call the “Gardenesque School of Landscape.” This “school” was indicative of the lamentable state of affairs into which matters had slumped after Repton’s passing, with emphasis now given exotic plants, single specimen trees, and other botanical and purely horticultural interests of the country’s practical head gardeners’ (Newton p.218).

Loudon was in fact sharply critical of Repton in the first decade of the nineteenth century. He did not explain why he subsequently changed his mind but the possibilities are (1) he admired the concern for the public welfare, expressed in Repton’s Sketches and hints (1794) (2) he came to appreciate that Repton was a powerful advocate of what I call The Landscape Style (with a transition from foreground to middleground to background). Not having realised that Loudon appreciated this until recently, I am very understanding of Newton having made the mistake I made for about 40 years. 

Newton also wrote that: ‘Despite its unhappy deterioration under Loudon and his followers, the landscape gardening movement was included, some twenty years after Repton’s death, in an epochal shift from private to public service. This event, of great significance to the then imminent profession of landscape architecture, came at a moment when two historic streams of progress were converging.’ This is a valuable point and Newton highlights it in Design on the land . But it is also Newton’s most significant error about Loudon. As Jane Loudon emphasises in her Life of her husband, Loudon had a total dedication to the public service from the start of his professional career in 1803 to its untimely end in 1843.

Arthur L. Herman's book on How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It (2001) does not mention Loudon and one may think Herman overstates his case. But the book is a valid account of the philosophical, economic, social and political concepts Loudon encountered at the University of Edinburgh. They are the substrate to Loudon’s little-known pamphlet on Reform and include a dedication to the public interest. 

Generally, I believe we should appreciate Loudon as Melanie Simo describes him: ‘ a meticulous designer, a sound theorist, an eminent horticulturalist, and a charitable, sometimes charming man. Imaginative and far-sighted, he was often the first to propose an innovation that would later be developed by others.’ Loudon and the Landscape: From Country Seat To Metropolis, 1783-1843: (Yale Publications in the History of Art, 1989).

But we should also use the correct dates for John Claudius Loudon's life. As Doggget proved, in a 2024 article, John Claudius Loudon was born in 1782, not in 1783.