An early proponent of a less-structured garden design, Bridgeman was a pioneer in the landscape style that spread throughout much of Europe in the 18th century and came to be known as the jardin anglais.English Landscape Gardens A contemporary of Bridgeman's, Horace Walpole, describing his colleague's design style in his essay On Modern Gardening, wrote: "though he still adhered much to strait walks with high clipt hedges, they were only his great lines; the rest he diversified by wilderness, and with loose groves of oak, though still within surrounding hedges" (Amherst, 1896, p. 249). Bridgeman’s approach to landscaping can be summarised in three terms: formal, transitional and progressive. His landscapes displayed formal elements such as parterres, avenues, geometrically shaped lakes and pools, and kitchen gardens. Transitional elements in his designs included lawns, amphitheatres, garden buildings and statues, winding paths through wooded areas to viewing points and the use of ha-has; these features are some of the progressive ideas he helped bring into favour.
