The Circuit and the Eighteenth-Century English Garden

In eighteenth century England some landscape gardens included a circuit in or of the garden. Some circuits were of a ferme ornée or were planted with shrubberies. Other circuits were imposed later for the convenience of visitors or tourists. Today the most popular eighteenth century circuit form may be the specialised circuit garden. This dissertation considers the cultural origins of circuit gardens and addresses questions concerning the route and content of a circuit in order to define the circuit garden in the context of other circuits. It argues that categorising a circuit in a garden is not necessarily straightforward. It offers a more flexible way of understanding the relationship between circuit gardens and the other eighteenth century English circuit types that recognises that many circuit gardens contain forms more often associated with other types of circuit.