Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century. His first name is often incorrectly rendered "Humphrey".

Biography

Early life

Repton was born in Bury St Edmunds, the son of a collector of excise, John Repton, and Martha (née Fitch). In 1762 his father set up a transport business in Norwich, where Humphry attended Norwich Grammar School. At age twelve he was sent to the Netherlands to learn Dutch and prepare for a career as a merchant. However, Repton was befriended by a wealthy Dutch family and the trip may have done more to stimulate his interest in 'polite' pursuits such as sketching and gardening.

Returning to Norwich, Repton was apprenticed to a textile merchant, then, after marriage to Mary Clarke in 1773, set up in the business himself. He was not successful, and when his parents died in 1778 used his modest legacy to move to a small country estate at Sustead, near Aylsham in Norfolk. Repton tried his hand as a journalist, dramatist, artist, political agent, and as confidential secretary to his neighbour William Windham of Felbrigg Hall during Windham's very brief stint as Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Repton also joined John Palmer in a venture to reform the mail-coach system, but while the scheme ultimately made Palmer's fortune, Repton again lost money.

Repton

Coordinates: 52°50′17″N 1°32′56″W / 52.838°N 1.549°W / 52.838; -1.549

Repton is a village and civil parish on the edge of the River Trent floodplain in South Derbyshire, about 4.5 miles (7 km) north of Swadlincote. Repton is close to the county boundary with neighbouring Staffordshire and about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of Burton upon Trent.

The village is noted for St Wystan's Church, Repton School and the Anglo-Saxon Repton Abbey and medieval Repton Priory.

History

Christianity was reintroduced to the Midlands at Repton, where some of the Mercian royal family under Peada were baptised in AD 653. Soon a double abbey under an Abbess was built.

In 669 the Bishop of Mercia translated his see from Repton to Lichfield. Offa, King of Mercia, seemed to resent his own bishops paying allegiance to the Archbishop of Canterbury in Kent who, while under Offa's control, was not of his own kingdom of Mercia. Offa therefore created his own Archdiocese of Lichfield, which presided over all the bishops from the Humber to the Thames. Repton was thus the forebear of the archdiocese of Lichfield, a third archdiocese of the English church: Lichfield, the other two being Canterbury and York. This lasted for only 16 years, however, before Mercia returned to being under the Archbishopric of Canterbury.

Repton (Louisville, Kentucky)

Repton is a historic house at 314 Ridgedale Road in Louisville, Kentucky that was designed by one of Louisville's leading architect J. J. Gaffney. The current Classical Revival structure was rebuilt in 1902, using the walls and foundation of the original structure which burned in approximately 1895. The original structure was the home of Norbourne Galt. The property was later owned by inventor Thomas W. Moran who built the current 1902 structure. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

References

Repton (disambiguation)

Repton may refer to:

Places

People

In religion