Editing William Kent (section)

==Landscape architect==
[[File:Chiswick_House_322.jpg|thumb|Cascade in gardens of Chiswick House]]
As a landscape designer, Kent was one of the originators of the [[English landscape garden]], a style of "natural" gardening that revolutionised the laying out of gardens and estates. His projects included [[Chiswick House]],<ref>Clegg, 1995. p. 47</ref> [[Stowe Gardens|Stowe, Buckinghamshire]], from about 1730 onwards, designs for [[Alexander Pope]]'s villa garden at [[Twickenham]], for [[Caroline of Ansbach|Queen Caroline]] at [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], and notably at [[Rousham House]], Oxfordshire, where he created a sequence of Arcadian set-pieces punctuated with temples, cascades, grottoes, Palladian bridges and [[exedra]], opening the field for the larger scale achievements of [[Capability Brown]] in the following generation. Smaller Kent works can be found at [[Shotover Park]], Oxfordshire, including a faux Gothic eyecatcher and a domed pavilion. His all-but-lost gardens at [[Claremont Landscape Garden|Claremont]], Surrey, have recently been restored. It is said that he was not above planting dead trees to create the mood he required.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rotherham|first1=Ian D.|title=Trees, Forested Landscapes and Grazing Animals: A European Perspective on Woodlands and Grazed Treescapes|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=Oxon|isbn=978-0415626118|page=387|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDoTAAh8QpAC}}</ref>

Kent's only downfall was said to be his lack of horticultural knowledge and technical skill<ref>{{cite web|title=Development of the English Garden|url=http://la.agsci.colostate.edu/people/brad-goetz/land120/development-of-the-english-garden/|website=Colorado State University|access-date=14 September 2015}}</ref> (compared to those such as [[Charles Bridgeman]], whose impact on Kent is often underestimated).<ref name="jane own">{{cite news|last1=Owen|first1=Jane|title=William Kent's English landscape revolution at Rousham|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0333f618-adc3-11e3-9ddc-00144feab7de.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0333f618-adc3-11e3-9ddc-00144feab7de.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=Financial Times|date=21 March 2014|access-date=14 September 2015}}</ref> Nevertheless, his naturalistic style of design was his major contribution to the history of landscape design.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wrigley|first1=Richard|title=The Flâneur Abroad: Historical and International Perspectives|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|isbn=978-1443860161|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qj9QBwAAQBAJ}}</ref> Claremont, Stowe, and Rousham are places where their joint efforts can be viewed. Stowe and Rousham are Kent's most famous works. At the latter, Kent elaborated on Bridgeman's 1720s design for the property, adding walls and arches to catch the viewer's eye. At Stowe, Kent used his Italian experience, particularly with the Palladian Bridge. At both sites Kent incorporated his naturalistic approach.