he house and garden of Henry Winstanley, Littlebury, Essex

摘要

The remarkable House of Wonders, erected in the later seventeenth century by Henry Winstanley, the designer and builder of the first Eddystone Lighthouse, is examined, perhaps for the first time by a landscape historian. It is concluded that its usually accepted date is eighteen to nineteen years too early and that it was actually built in 1695-6, probably to help finance the construction of the lightouse. The remains of Winstanley's garden are also analysed, showing that it had a complex history spread over some forty years. New light is shed on Winstanley's life, interests and intentions repealing that he was not the wild eccentric genius he has been considered hitherto, but was fully in touch with contemporary thinking.