Castle
Uncover different routes around the Blaise Estate; depending on the path you take, you may encounter the woodsman’s cottage, the ruined mill, the house or the castle.
The pleasure of the Picturesque can be found in the discovery of visual forms in space and time, rather than a static surface. At Blaise Castle Estate, Nash developed his experiments between architecture and landscape, giving importance to the journey as well as the destination.
Producing the Picturesque experience at Blaise Castle – not really a castle, but a mock-Gothic folly, and a popular attraction since its completion in 1766 – involved close collaboration with landscape gardener George Repton. Repton was responsible for the grounds of the mock castle; his design involved altering the route through the property, through a crenelated gate house and a long drive. Rather than coming directly off the road from Bristol, Georgian Blaise Castle House would now be approached from the further London road – taking in Picturesque views along the way.
The House is first seen behind the ‘foreground’ a woodsman’s cottage. Rather than taking a direct route to the house, the drive takes a much longer and more scenic route, through hanging woods and past a ruined mill. These ‘anchor points’ in the landscape were intended to surprise the viewer, delaying the desire to reach the castle and its extensive view. Instead, Nash and Repton’s confections produce sequences of visual rewards, building a sense of enjoyment in the carefully composed, but seemingly naturalistic landscape.
