| This dissertation examines ways in which during the long eighteenth century the English urban landscape functioned in a manner similar to that of English country estates. The primary focus is on London, but Bath and Bristol are examined to see if the phenomenon was shared by provincial cities and towns, as well. During the late seventeenth century and throughout the period studied, England's elite spent increasingly longer periods in cities and away from their rural estates. Despite the often written about attractions of the city, most of the gentry and nobility missed traditional polite rural pastimes while in town. Over the course of the long eighteenth century these elite used their significant influence to change the course of development and entertainment in cities.; The study begins by examining the differences between life in the Stuart city and enduring traditional aspects of life on the country estate. Eighteenth-century London is then investigated as the location of increasingly common elite rural pastimes. These include, among others, walking, fishing, hunting, riding, and cricket. Attention is then turned to the venues for these activities, such as the Royal Parks, open land surrounding the city, pleasure and tea gardens, and residential squares. In order to use and enjoy the urban landscape as a surrogate country house most effectively, the elite employed numerous strategies, such as the appropriation of the landscape in distant views and physical, social, economic, and psychological exclusion of unwanted persons and other aspects of the urban environment. Also important was the building of many unified and uniform terraces and crescents, with crescents, in particular, often fronting a broad and deep unbuilt landscape, making the form of the building, as well as its siting, resemble a large country house.; The landed classes saw themselves as having a relationship to the landscape that was very different from that of the commercial and less wealthy segments of society. Based upon architectural writings, letters, diaries, and journals, it is clear that, through shared interests and values, by the early nineteenth century England's landowning elite had successfully transformed parts of some of the country's towns and cities, particularly London and Bath, into fragmented, shared, and more familiar settings for enjoying the lifestyle that had traditionally set them apart from the masses. |
