Creating the Picturesque - Soho Landscape
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The wooded landscape around Soho House so vividly depicted by John Phillp's drawings was created by Matthew Boulton. When he leased the land in 1761, Soho was set in an unattractive treeless heath, but he was determined to develop the landscape as ambitiously as he developed his businesses.
| Left: Watercolour of the Soho Pool by John Phillp, 1796 |
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Before he moved in, in 1766, Boulton had over 2000 conifers planted. Huge numbers of plants were bought from nurserymen. Brunton & Forbes of Quinton supplied ‘200 evergreen and flowering shrubs’ and ‘300 fine herbaceous plants’ in 1788 alone. Drives, wooded walks and lawns were created, pools were enlarged and waterfalls added. Buildings and statues were erected, including the hermitage, the Temple of Flora, and the sphinxes. Further landscaping in 1795 hid the Soho Manufactory and nearby roads to create the impression of a wooded rural estate.
In June 1801, while Boulton was at Cheltenham, the household agent William Cheshire was moved to write “it is to be regretted that you are not here...Your plantations and lawns are now more picturesque than ever”. After forty years of work, Soho had been transformed. |
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Above: Soho Manufactory,
shown from behind, by F.C. Calvert |
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Above: Sketches of the Shell Pool, Temple of Flora and Cascade Building by John Phillp, c1799 |
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