my large ceanothus seems to have died,the leaves are brown,what could be the problem?

have you looked at the base of the stem/roots for trouble eg rabbit damage or fungal infections-- it doesn't look well!

This happened to a large one I'd had for several years, and I read somewhere (?) that it is a relatively short lived shrub. I don't know whether anyone has heard of this. Very disappointing though.

yes indeed, mine died after about 8 very happy healthy years. very sad, but its true they can be short-lived

Oh dear, I have a lovely ceanothus over my pond, it was well established when we moved in over 5 yrs ago so maybe it also won't be around much longer.

I'm afraid that's right, they are one of the short lived shrubs, though they can survive up to 20 years sometimes. An extra cold winter is sometimes enough to finish them off suddenly. I'd say this one is definitely an ex ceanothus.

Mine did this - suddenly half of it just died! I wielded my pruning saw, and the rest has survived for two years, now...is there any life left in yours??