Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the leading Scottish horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the

Gardenesque The term ''gardenesque'' was introduced by John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) in 1832 to describe a style of planting design in accordance with his 'Principle of Recognition'. Definitions Loudon was worried that picturesque planting could be ...

school of landscape gardening.

Life

Before he came to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, Marnock worked as the head gardener in Bretton Hall (now the

Yorkshire Sculpture Park The Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is an art gallery, with both open-air and indoor exhibition spaces, in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It shows work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barb ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

between 1829 and 1833. He was appointed by the Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Society in 1833 to design and lay out the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, at an annual salary of £100. Marnock designed the

in the then fashionable Gardenesque style. He became the first curator of the Gardens in 1836. A major restoration of the Gardens, completed in summer 2008, reinstated elements of Marnock's design. In 1839, Marnock moved on to lay out the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society of London in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

and was appointed as the gardens' curator of the advice of

John Claudius Loudon John Claudius Loudon (8 April 1782 – 14 December 1843) was a Scottish botanist, garden designer and author, born in Cambuslang in 1782. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, co ...

. He left this post in 1863 but continued to practise in his profession as a landscape gardener until 1879, during this time he returned to Sheffield for two commissions, Thornbury in 1865 and

Weston Park Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire ...

in 1873. In the 1860s, Marnock worked for Louis Huth on the park and garden of Possingworth Park, Sussex. Another of his achievements was the landscaping in the 1870s of the grounds of

Avenue House Avenue House (also known as Stephens House) is a large Victorian mansion (Grade II listed) situated on East End Road in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. Built in 1859 on land formerly known as Temple Croft Field, it was acquired in 187 ...

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

, north London, the property of ink magnate and local MP

Henry Charles Stephens Henry Charles "Inky" Stephens (2 February 1841 – July 1918) was an English businessman and Conservative Party Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, Sunday, 3 July 1887 "Election Intelligence" politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1887 to 1900 as ...

. After Stephens' death in 1918 they became a public park, renamed Stephens House & Gardens in February 2014. Since then, the estate has benefited from

National Lottery National Lottery may refer to: *National Lottery (Ireland), the state lottery of Ireland *National Lottery (United Kingdom), the lottery franchise in the United Kingdom *South African National Lottery, established in 2000 *A number of countries con ...

money to restore Marnock's designs to their original grandeur. Marnock was editor of ''The Floricultural Magazine'' for four years. One of the best preserved examples of his work is Dunorlan Park in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

which has recently undergone a £2.8 million transformation to restore it to the original Marnock design. The park is now on

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

{{R from move ...

Life

References

Notes