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The site was originally occupied by 'Stanage Castle'. The present building is a Regency rebuild by Sir Humphrey Repton and his son John Repton.

Its castellated battlements and roof-line give it the appearance of an ancient stronghold nestled into a dramatic valley in the Radnorshire hillside. The gardens and park were landscaped by the Reptons, and a lake was created to the south of the house. Terraces, fountains and a large kitchen garden add together to make a romantic ensemble which dramatically illustrates the English fashion for the 'Picturesque' in the early 19th century. Derived from an appreciation of the paintings of Claude and Poussin, the 'Pictureque' was dependent for its effects upon roughness and irregularity.

Stanage Park was owned for a time by Uvedale Price (1747 - 1829), whose; 'An Essay on the Picturesque' (1794) was so influential in the field of landscape design at that period. The grounds remain now much as they would have looked, or have been intended to look, when they were originally conceived. The effect depends upon a certain degree of wildness which is only sacrificed to the neatness of paths flower beds nearer the house. It could be argued that is only now, in the late 20th century, that the effect is complete.

 

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