Charles Hamilton
Life in Elmbridge
Hamilton acquired land in Cobham in 1738 and it is this which he developed into Painshill. Having undertaken the Grand Tour (twice) he wanted to produce a memento of the sites he had seen.
As a second son he did not have enormous wealth at his disposal but received generous loans from former school friends Henry Hoare (of Stourhead) and Henry Fox.
The land was said to be 'unpromising' but through a variety of techniques Hamilton improved the soil.
Hamilton's creation was among the earliest to reflect the changing fashion in garden design prompted by the Landscape Movement, which started in England in about 1730. It represented the move away from geometric formality in garden design to a new naturalistic formula.
One of the first areas which Hamilton developed at Painshill was a vineyard of five acres. The vines were mature enough to produce wine by 1848. Initial attempts were disappointing but with the assistance of David Geneste, a Huguenot refugee from the wine growing region of Clairac in South West France, fine wines were later produced.
The park was landscaped and a serpentine lake and series of architectural features added, including a Grotto, Gothic temple, Chinese bridge and Hermitage. Painshill flourished and was greatly admired by Walpole, Defoe and other visitors, who hailed Hamilton's creation as a masterpiece.
The enormous cost of developing the estate eventually forced him in 1773 to sell Painshill to settle his debts. In a letter to George Montagu, Horace Walpole wrote that Hamilton had made 'a fine place out of a most cursed hill'.
Life outside Elmbridge
Sir Charles was born in Dublin, the ninth son of James, 6th Earl of Abercorn, and his wife Elizabeth.
He was educated at Westminster School and Oxford, and went on two Grand Tours, one in 1725 and a further one in 1732.
He was the MP for Truro between 1741 and 1747 under the patronage of the Prince of Wales. Sir Charles' sister, Lady Archibald Hamilton was the mistress of the Prince.
He retired to Bath after the financial difficulties which had forced him to sell Painshill. He continued gardening during his retirement in Bath, growing rare plants and vines on the Lansdown slope (what is now Northampton Street). There is evidence that he advised on gardens and estates around Bath including Beckford and Bowood. He died aged 82 years, still gardening.