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Historical commentary on Greenwich Park
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(see Additional photographic commentary) |
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The Tudor palace of Placentia, with an enclosed garden, stood on the bank of the Thames at Greenwich. To its south, 200 acres land was imparked, in 1433, to keep deer. The palace had a renaissance garden. The painting below shows a view of Placentia from the deerpark. The photograph shows approximately the same view from One Tree Hill. The plans to the left show a layered approach to the policy of
'creative conservation'
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The Queens House was built at the meeting point of park and garden. Like an Italian villa, it had views of private space and of a natural landscape. After 1660, a shaft of space was projected into Greenwich Park and a remarkable diamond of avenues was laid across the escarpment.
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After 1660, a shaft of space was projected into Greenwich Park and a remarkable diamond of avenues was laid across the escarpment with one of its apexes outside the park boundary. Le Notre designed the grass parterre inside the deerpark to the south of the Queen's house.
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Greenwich Park was, comparatively, neglected during the eighteenth century. Le Notreís grass parterre was neglected. Avenues lost their popularity and people came to admire serpentine spaces of the kind designed by Lancelot Brown.
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During the nineteenth century park managers further encouraged the evolution of Greenwich Park towards the 'landscape style' of Lancelot Brown. The avenues became public footpaths. The old deer park was transformed into a public park, separated from the Queen's House and the Royal Naval College. Municipal features were introduced in the areas marked by red dots.
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A creative synthesis should be achieved between the best elements of each historical layer. This policy, of Creative Conservation, could extend to the addition of a new layer, taking its design inspirtion from the Greenwich Meridian and the Millennium Tree Line. A large compass was built on the line in the spring of 2000.
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