The Leasowes, Halesowen, near Dudley

Picturesque views of the principal seats of the nobility and gentry in England and Wales (London, [1786-1788]), unnumbered plate. The garden at The Leasowes was designed by the poet William Shenstone from farmland between 1743 and his death in 1763, forming a diverse landscape of wooded valleys, open grassland, lakes and streams. The garden, famous in his lifetime, represents the beginning of the picturesque English landscape movement. The owner at the time this plate was drawn had pulled down Shenstone's house in 1776 and built the house seen here. Also visible in the image is the folly the Ruined Priory and the Priory Pool.