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J.C. Loudon and the term Landscape Architecture 

'”Landscape gardener” is what I called myself at the time I left Edinburgh. But three years later, when I wrote a book on Country Residences, I described my profession as a ‘landscape improver’. This title includes all aspects of landscapes, farms, roads, forests and towns. But other people don't seem to understand the term. So for the last two years I’ve been thinking about 'landscape architecture.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024). 

John Claudius Loudon’s Influence on the Development of Landscape Architecture

John Claudius Loudon praised Gilbert Laing Meason’s book On the Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy (1828). In the 1833 Encyclopedia of Architecture Loudon republished a set of Meason’s illustrations and wrote that ‘The preceding vignettes are taken, with some slight alterations and additions, from the work of G. L. Meason (of which only a very few copies were printed); and we may state that they were taken with the author's permission; since, in a correspondence with him in the spring of 1831, just before his departure for Italy, he consented to our making whatever use of his work we pleased. Mr. Meason, at the same time, proposed to us to edit a new edition of his Landscape Architecture, incorporating with it a great variety of new matter, which, we hope, will not be lost to the public.’ Loudon did say what was meant by ‘ a great variety of new matter.’ But unless Loudon was to join in writing this ‘new matter’ there would have been no reason for him to help ‘edit a new edition’.

Loudon uses the term ‘landscape architecture’ three times in his book The Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphrey Repton, Esq: Being His Entire Works on These Subjects. The first two are on the title page. The third, on page vii, is in this paragraph: ‘The smooth, bare, and almost bald appearance, which characterised Kent's School, soon gave rise to one distinguished by roughness and intricacy, which may be called the Picturesque School; and the principles of which will be found in the writings of the Rev. W. Gilpin and Mr. Uvedale Price. These writings are full of the most valuable instruction for the gardener, relative to the general composition of landscape scenery, and landscape architecture; and may, very properly, form another volume of the series.’ The last sentence in this paragraph is ambiguous. The interpretation used in The Claudians is:

  • The last sentence refers to Loudon’s interpretation of Gilpin and Price (ie their advocacy of a design style inspired by a picturesque view of nature)
  • Loudon is making a distinction between ‘landscape scenery’ and ‘landscape architecture’, without specifying what he means by ‘landscape architecture’.
  • The reference to ‘another volume’ refers to the fifth volume in his projected series (as set out in the Afterword to The Claudians, this would have been a book on urban landscape architecture)
  • This can be assumed to refer to the use of landscape compositional skills in relation to urban development. Loudon had lived in Leith Terrace (where Leith Walk meets Princes Street in Edinburgh) and had a high opinion of the layout of Edinburgh New Town. He was well aware of the similarities and differences between garden design and the activity of designing a New Town

Other interpretations are possible.

The Impact of John Claudius Loudon’s Terminology on Modern Landscape Architecture

John Claudius Loudon was instrumental in shaping the modern concept of landscape architecture. Initially identifying himself as a "landscape gardener," Loudon later adopted the term "landscape improver" to encompass his broader approach to design, which included farms, roads, and urban areas. His eventual preference for "landscape architecture" reflects his commitment to a more comprehensive and systematic approach to designing and planning landscapes. Loudon's endorsement of Gilbert Laing Meason’s "On the Landscape Architecture of the Great Painters of Italy" and his own use of the term in his works highlight his role in evolving the field. By integrating principles from the Picturesque School and advocating for detailed landscape planning, Loudon significantly influenced the discipline, setting a foundation for contemporary practices in landscape architecture.

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Moray Place Edinburgh on the west fringe of Edinburgh New Town

Princes Street in Edinburgh, with the Old Town on the left and the New Town on the right

Moray Place Edinburgh