Capability Brown – a Downton Abbey connection

Wrest Park has another Downton Abbey connection – Capability Brown, who designed landscapes for many estates — including Highclere Castle, which stands in for Downton Abbey in the TV series and the two films, also had a hand in shaping the landscape of Wrest Park. Similar to the monument at Highclere Castle to honor Capability Brown, Wrest Park has a memorial dedicated in part to him, which gives his proper name as Lancelot Brown. The column is inscribed: "These gardens, originally laid out by Henry Duke of Kent, were altered by Philip Earl of Hardwicke and Jemima, Marchioness Grey with the professional assistance of Lancelot Brown Esq. in the years 1758, 1759, 1760."