t' ,/ i >■■ / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Research Library, The Getty Research Institute http://www.archive.org/details/fragmentsontheorOOrept FRAGMENTS ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ianliscape (garlienina. FRAGMENTS ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF INCLUDING SOME REMARKS ON GRECIAN AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, COLLECTED FROM VARIOUS MANUSCRIPTS, IN THE POSSESSION OF THE DIFFERENT NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN, FOE WHOSE USE THEY WERE ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ; THE WHOLE TENDING TO ESTABLISH FIXED PRINCIPLES IN THE RESPECTIIE ARTS. BY H. REPTON, ESQ. ASSISTED BY HIS SON, J. ADEY REPTON, F.A.S. LONDON : PRINTED BY T. BENSLEY AND SON, Bolt Court, Fleet Street ^ FOR J. TAYLOR, AT THE ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, HIGH HOLBORN. 1816. TO THE PRINCE REGENT, WITH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S MOST GRACIOUS PERMISSION, THIS VOLUME IS HUMBLY INSCRIBED BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S MOST FAITHFUL, OBEDIENT, AND HUMBLE SERVANTS, H. AND J. A. REPTON. Hare-street, near Roniford, J lilt/ 1816. PREFACE. Many years have elapsed since the production of a former Work, under the title of Observations on the Theortf and Practice of Landscape Gardening ; during which, the Author's attention has been called to such variety of subjects, such interesting Scenery, and such novelty of expedients, that a second volume under the former title might have been expected ; (the whole of two editions of that Work are entirely sold, and the volume is become very scarce). The contents of the present Volume, which appears under a new title, will be found neither to be a continuation nor a contradiction of the former Observations ; but, from the subject's being elucidated by new and more beautiful examples, the Author's former principles in the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening will be confirmed. The followino- Fraoments havins; been selected from more than four hun- dred different Reports in MS. an occasional repetition of the same remark will unavoidably, though not frequently, occur ; and for this it is hoped, that the varic ty and beauty of the subj( cts may compensate, by giving new and more striking examples and elucidations. The Art of Landscape Gardening (which more peculiarly belongs to this country) is the only Art which every one professes to understand, and even to practise, wilhout having studied its Rudimenls. No man supposes he can paint a Landscape, or play on an instrument, wilhout some knowledge of Painting and Music; but every one thinks himself competent to lay out grounds, and sometimes to plan a House for himself, or to criticise on what Vlll others propose, without having bestowed a thought on the first principles of Landscape Gardening or Architecture. That these two Sister Arts are, and must be inseparable, is obvious from the following consideration. The most beautiful scenes in Nature may sur- prize at first sight, or delight for a time, but they cannot long be interesting, unless made habitable ; therefore, the whole Art of Landscape Gardening may properly be defined, The pleasing combination of Art and Nature adapted to the use of Man. During the last ten years, the Art of Landscape Gardening, in common with all other Arts which depend on Peace and Patronage, has felt the in- fluence of War and War Taxes, which operate both on the means and the inclination to cultivate the Arts of Peace; these have languished under the impoverishment of the Country, while the sudden acquirement of Riches by individuals has diverted Wealth into new channels ; men are solicitous to increase property rather than to enjoy it; they endeavour to improve the Value rather than the Beauty of their newly purchased Estates. The Country Gentleman, in the last century, took more delight in the sports of the field, than in the profits of the Farm ; his pleasure was to enjoy in peace the venerable home of his ancestors ; but the necessity of living in Camps, and the habit of living in Lodgings or Watering-places, have of late totally changed his character and pursuits; and at the same time, perhaps, tended to alienate half the ancient Landed Property of the Country. It is not therefore to be wondered at, that the Art of Landscape Gar- dening should have slowly and gradually declined. Whether the influence of returning Peace may revive its energies, or whether it is hereafter lo be classed among the " Artes perditce," the Author hopes its memory may be preserved a little longer in the following pages. TABLE OF CONTENTS. FRAGMENT PAGE I. Rural Ai'chitecture 1 Exemplified in Gothic and Grecian — adapted to Scenery. II. Symmetry 5 Exemplified in Central Entrance into Houses. III. Fences near the House 7 Exemplified in Terraces — Ballustrades — Gothic Parapets. IV. Cobham HaU 10 Exemplified in Garden surrounding the House — Park seen over it. V. Dates of Buildings ^ 13 Exemplified in Gothic Cottage and Garden near Wobum — Details in Gothic should be attended to. VI. Castles I9 Exemplified in Irregularity of Outline — A Castle proposed. VII. Unity of Character 21 Exemplified in Harlestone Park, Northamptonshire — Remarkable effect of Wind. VIII. Blenden HaU 03 Exemplified in general treatment of a Villa — Effect of removing tall Trees — A Garden more profitable than a Farm. IX. Windows 29 Exemplified in Barningham-hall— Elizabethan Window. X. Gothic Outline 33 Exemplified in a place near Ludlow — abstracted from a Report, undtr the heads > of Character, House, and ground about the House — all executed, but not by name. XI. Beaudesert 40 Extracted from the Report under heads of Character and Situation — Trees — Water — The Interior — Old Garden restored. b X FHAGMF.NT PAGE XII. Of Colours 49 Experiments with a prism — Neutral tints — Practical Remarks on Colouring Landscape. Xm. Of Interiors 52 Example of Conservatories — Mirrors — Houses in Town or Country — Effects of light in rooms — Contrast of the Ancient Cedar Parlour and Modern Living Room. XIV. Wingerwortli 59 Extract under heads of Character and Situation — Vipw from the House— The Water — Approaches, &c. XV. Planting single Trees 65 Exemplifying effect of different Trees in the foreground. XVI. Of ViUas 70 Extract from a Report of Streatham — Earl Coventry's recommending a Garden rather than a Farm. Extract from a Report of a Villa near a Common ----.-.--74 Extract from a Villa in Epping Forest --------- --.-77 Extract from Ealirlg Park — of breaking Brown's Belts --------80 Exemplified in Richmond Park — Garden to Lord Sidmouth's House - - - - 83 XVII. Garden in Portugal 86 Exemplifying the manner of altering the Surface, with its mechanical process. XVIII. Uppark 91 Extract from the Report concerning the Entrance, Sec. XIX. Of Combinations 94- Exemplified in buildings of different Characters Parish Church Cemeteries, &c. XX. Contrasts 97 Exemplified in Style of Growth — Opacity and Transparency — Repose of Colour — Texture — Size — Cloud and Sunshine. XXI. Frome House 101 Exemplified in Manor House — Characteristic Situation. XXII. Aspects and Prospects IO6 Exemplified in Walvvood House in Essex. XI FRAGMENT p^^^ XXIII. Variety 112 Example of much done to little purpose. XXIV. Longleate jl_5 Extract— Character and Situation— The Water sunk— The House raised— The Park not locked up. XXV. A Plan explained J24 Example of Magnificent Interior — Vinery, &c. XXVI. A Villa near the Capital jgn Example of Geometric Garden compared with the Modern Style— Le Notre and Browne XXVII. Gardens of Ashridge 13y Adapted to the Style of Architecture— Fifteen different kinds of Garden- Water Fences miscalled, invisible. XXVIII. Woburn Abbey „ . . 148 Extract from the Report — Character and Situation— Shape of Ground— View from the House — The Water— Bridges and Via-ducts — Origin of Grecian and Gothic — Principles of Pressure — Approaches — Pleasure- ground — Evergreen Drive — Gardens — The Park — Belts and modes of planting. XXIX. Luxuries of a Garden ji^y Adapted to age and infirmity— Strawberry and other raised beds— Care in gathering fruit, &c. XXX. Lodges and Cottages i84 And some Remarks on Gates and Gateways. XXXI. Water Fences _.. iss Example from Sir Thomas Neave's— Reflections in Water. XXXII. Improvements jril Exemplified in new enclosed Land— Value preferred to Beauty — Effects of Modern Riches XXXIII. Sherringham Bower I95 Situation— The Sea— The Woods — Plantations — Site of the House — Various considerations — The Village — Walks, Drives, and Stations — Interior. xu FRAGMENT PAGE XXXIV. Endsleigh 213 Exemplified in Cottage on the Tamar — The River — The Bridge — Of the Picturesque — The Weir— The Style of Building — Pleasure Ground — Terrace Garden — Children's Cottage. XXXV. House of Industry 22? Extract of Plan proposed— Comforts for the Poor — Economy the leading object — Example of a Gothic School-house. XXXVI. Hare Street - 232 Example from the Author's home — View of Mankind — Effect of Landscape Gardening in soothing the Mind, confirmed by the testimony of the good and wise. FRAGMENT I. ON RURAL ARCHITECTURE. Notwithstanding the numerous volumes on Grecian Archi- tecture from the days of Vitruvius to the present time, to which may be added all that have appeared within the last century on the subject of Gothic Antiquities: little or no notice has been taken of the relative effects of the two styles, compared with each other; nor even of those leading principles by which they are to be distinguished, characterised, and appropriated to the scenery of nature. It would seem as if the whole science of Grecian Architecture consisted in the five orders of columns, and that of Gothic in pointed arches and notched battlements. To explain this subject more clearly, and bring it before the eye more distinctly, I will refer to the following Plate, 2 containing three different characters of Elevations, supposing each made apphcable to a house of moderate size, not exceed- ing a front of sixty feet, consisting of three stories, with five windows in a fine. This is first represented quite plain, as at A, and afterwards with the surface broken by horizontal lines, as at B, and by vertical or perpendicular lines, as at C. We may observe, that without introducing any order of columns, or any pointed arches, the eye seems at once to class the former with the Grecian, and the latter with the Gothic character; and this is the consequence merely of the contrasted horizontal and perpendicular lines. Let us now proceed one step farther: we must suppose the same building to be taken from the hands of the mere joiner and house carpenter, and conunitted to the architect to be finished, either in the Grecian or the Gothic style. For the former, recourse is had to the best specimens and proportions of columns, pilasters, entablatures, pediments, &c. represented in books of architecture, or copied from remains of ancient fragments in Greece or Italy: but, unfortunately, these all relate to temples or public edifices, and consequently, to make the dwelling habitable in this climate, modern sash win- dows must be added to these sacred forms of remote anti([uity. Thus some Grecian or Roman tenq^le is surprised to find itself transported from the banks of the Ilissus or the Tiber, to the shores of the Thames, or to the tame margin of a modern stag- nant sheet of water. If the Gothic character be preferred, the architect must p-l 1 m ^ ■i] m m I 1 < 5^ N K Q 3 seek for his models among the fragments of his own country: but again, unfortunately, instead of houses, he can only have recourse to castles, cathedrals, abbies, and colleges; many of which have been so mutilated and disfigured by modern repairs, b}^ converting castles into palaces, and changing convents into dwelling houses, that pointed arches and battlements have be- come the leading features of modern Gothic buildings. The detail of parts is studied, but the character of the whole is overlooked. No attention is given to that bold and irreg'ular outline, which constitutes the real basis and beauty of the Gothic character; where, instead of one uniform line of roof and front, some parts project, and others recede: but wherever the roof is visible over the battlements, it seems as if it rose to proclaim I he triumph of art over science, or carpentry over architecture. The elevation D represents one of these spruce villas^ surrounded by spruce firs, attended by Lombardy pop- lars, profusely scattered over the face of the country. That at F may be supposed the fragment of some ancient castle or manor-house, repaired and restored, to make it habitable; and that at E is something betwixt the two, which will be further noticed. The remaining part of this subject more peculiarly belongs to the Landscape Gardener, whose province it is to consider the eifect of Nature and Art combined : let us examine the two different styles in the two Landscapes in the next Plate. Li the quiet, calm and beautiful scenery of a tame country, the elegant forms of Grecian art are surely more grateful and 4 appropriate tlian a ruder and severer style; but, on the con- trary, there are some wild and romantic situations, whose rocks and dashing- mountain-streams, or deep umbrageous dells, would seem to harmonize with the proud Baronial Tower or Mitred Abbey, " embosom'd high in tufted trees," as tending to asso- ciate the character of the building with that of its native accom- paniment. The outline of a building is never so well seen as when in shadow, and opposed to a brilliant sky; or wlien it is reflected on the surface of a pool: then the great difference l)etwixt the Grecian and Gothic character is more pec idiarly striking. 1=1 1=1 « H FRAGMENT II. RELATING TO SYMMETRY. The elevations in the first Plate will serve to elucidate some remarks on Architecture, not to be expected in treatises which relate merely to the five orders, and their sjanmetrical arrange- ment. Such works give a very inadequate idea of that art which teaches to adapt the habitation of man to rural scenery, uniting convenience with beauty, and utility with ornament. The houses A, B, and C, represent that sort of plain front which may be extended to any length, even till it reaches the dimen- sions of a barrack or an hospital. But in all such fronts, a certain degree of symmetry is deemed essential ; and therefore we expect to see the door in the centre of the building-. This arrangement, in small houses, tends to destroy interior comfort, by dividing from each other those principal rooms which a family is now supposed to occupy. If the principal rooms command a south-east aspect (which is doubtless the most desirable), the entrance in the centre, with a hall or vestibule, destroys that uniformity of temperament, so obviously useful to the comfort of an English dwelling ; and therefore, in at least one half of the houses submitted to my opinion, I have found it necessaiy to change the hall into a saloon, or the vestibule into an anti-room ; making the entrance 6 either in tlie .side, or at the back of the house, and converting the hiwn to the south into pleasure ground or flower garden, or a broad terrace dressed with flowers. This of course makes a total change in the arrangement of all those appendages, in which I he comfort of houses in the country diflers so much from those in a town: in the latter, the ofiices of every description are under ground ; and the various court-yards, &c. for which there is no space (as in the country), must be provided for in areas and cellars under the street. If the centre of a building be marked by a portico, or such a visible entrance as invites the stranger to approach it, some impediment or obstruction becomes necessary to counteract the habitual respect for symmetry, and prevent our inclination to drive up to a door, which is no longer the principal entrance ; and this requires a fence, to indicate that it is the garden front, and not the entrance front. As this is a subject which will be explained farther, I shall for the present only mention, that the hint at D and F describes the diflerent styles of Fences retpiisite for Grecian and Gothic Mansions. ^ ■? ^ n fe FRAGMENT III. ON FENCES NEAR THE HOUSE. If there be any part of my practice liable to the accusation of often advising the same thing at different places, it will be true in all that relates to my partiality for a Terrace as a fence near the house. Twenty years have, at length, by degrees accom- plished that line of demarkation betwixt art and nature, which I have found so much difficulty in establishing, viz. a visible and decided fence betwixt the mown pleasure-ground and the pastured lawn; betwixt the garden and the park; betwixt the ground allotted to the pleasure of man, and that to the use of cattle. So many different modes of producing the same effect may be suggested, that I shall hope to be useful in describing some of them. First, where the ground falls from the house in an inclined plane, the distance of the fence can only be ascertained by actual experiment on the spot, and of course, the steeper the descent the nearer or the lower must be the terrace walk The eye sees the ground over the fence at A, but if carried to B, all view of the ground will be lost. 8 If the orroiind l)e flat, as at C, or rises from the house, as at D, h T- Floor Line wmmmmM the fence will admit of being placed much farther from the house, without obstructing the view of the lawn.* The neces- sity of a fence to protect the house from cattle seems to have been doul^ted by the followers of Brown, who generally used the Ha! Ha! supposing that the fence ought to be invisible. On I lie contrary, it cannot surely be disputed, that some fence should actually exist between a garden and a pasture ; for if it is invisi])le, we must either suppose cattle to be admitted into a garden, or flowers planted in a lield ; both e{[ually al)surd. There is no fence more garden-like than that with an open trellis. But if the house be architecturally Grecian, and the terrace at no great distance, there is no fence so beautiful and proper as an open balbistrade (like that at Lord Foley's at A\itley Court, Worcestershire). And even if the house be Gothic, an open ballustrade may be suited to it ; of which an instance will be subjoined under the Fragment concerning Cobham. * In some cases the ground may be sunk near the wall, which should be two or three feet high, with an open fence of two or three feet, or more, if it be a fence against deer. But in Gothic buildings the wall may be much higher, and the fence on the top may be wholly omittetl. 9 In speaking of Ballustrades, I cannot omit some remarks on the use to be made of them in different situations ; such as a defence for a platform, or the parapet of a roof: the latter should be of stone, but the former may, in many cases, be an iron-rail- ing ; and in the parapets of bridges, the dimensions ought to relate to those of man, rather than to that of the building* A magnificent Palace ought not (like many that might be mentioned) to stand in a grass field, exposed to cattle, which are apt to take shelter near the building, and even to enter it, where there is no fence to prevent them ; but a terrace or bal- lustrade marks the line of separation. The inside of the inclosure may be decorated with flowers ; and we feel a degree of security for them and for ourselves, by knowing that there is a sufticient fence to protect both. This, which I consider a very import- ant part of my own practice, with regard to the fence near a house, will be found elucidated by many of the sketches relating to other matter, in the course of these Fragments. * It has often occurred to me, in walking along Westminster Bridge, that this has not been sufficiently attended to. The large lofty Ballustrade is so managed, that the swelling of each heavy balluster exactly ranges with the eye of a foot passenger ; and from a carriage, the top of the ballustrade almost entirely obstructs the view of the river. Thus one of the finest rivers in Europe is hid, for the sake of preserving some imaginary proportion in Architecture, relating to its form or entablature, but not applicable to its uses as a defence for safety, without impeding the view. If it be urged that we should judge of it from the water, we should consider that this bridge is seen by an huncked persons from the land to one from the water. By the aid of an open upright iron fence, the most interesting view of the river might be obtained, with equal safety to the spec- tator. I have sometimes seen a drive or walk brought to the edge of a precipice, with- out any adequate fence ; but good taste, as well as good sense, requires to be satisfied that there is no danger in the beauties we behold. We do not caress the speckled s'.iake or spotted panther, however we may admire them. C 10 FRAGMENT IV. CONCERNING COBHAM. Whether we consider its extent, its magnificence, or its com- fort, there are few places which can vie with Cobham, in Kent, the seat of the Earl of Darnlej-; and none which I can mention, where so much has been done, both to the house and grounds^, under my direction, for so long a series of years : yet, as the general principles in the improvements originated in the good taste of its noble Proprietor, they may be referred to without incurring the imputation of vanity. It is now^ twenty-five years since I first visited Cobham, where a large and splendid Palace, of the date of Queen Elizabeth, formed the three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth side being open to the west. The centre building had been altered by Inigo Jones, who had added four pilastres, without any attention to the original style, and without extending his improvements to the two long sides of the quadrangle. The interior of this mansion, like that of most old houses, however adapted to the customs and manners of the times in which they were built, was cold and comfortless, compared with modern houses. A large hall, anciently used as the dining- room, occupied more than half the centre; and the rest belonged 11 to the buttery and oflices, in the manner still preserved in old colleo-es. The two wings contained rooms inaccessible, but by passing- through one to the other ; and the two opposite sides were so disjoined by the central hall, that each was entered by a separate porch. The great hall at Cobham has been converted into a music- room of fifty feet by thirty-six, and thirty feet high ; and is one of the most splendid and costly in the kingdom. The rest of the central building forms the library, or general living room; which, instead of looking into an entrance-court, as formerly; now looks into a flower garden, enriched with marble statues and a fountain, forming an appropriate frame or foreground to the landscape of the park. The entrance has been removed to the north front, under an archway, or Porte Cochere, over which a walk from the level of the picture gallery (which is up stairs) crosses the road, in the manner described by the annexed sketch, representing the north front, as it has been restored to its original character. In this vie^v is also the bastion, by which the terrace-walk terminates with a view into the park. But no drawing can describe the change made in the comfort of the place, since the improvements were first planned, and which, by the help of the map, may be rendered more intelligible. This venerable pile is situated in a valley in the middle of a large park, and was formerly exposed to the cattle on every side, except towards the east, where a large walled garden intervened. The operations were begun by enveloping the whole of the premises in plantations, shrubberies, or gardens; 12 and these, after the growth of twenty-five years, have totally changed the character of the place. The house is no longer a huge pile, standing naked on a vast grazing ground : its walls are enriched with roses and jasmines ; its apartments are per- fumed with odours from flow ers surrounding it on every side : and the animals which enliven the landscape are not admitted as an annoyance. All around is neatness, elegance, and com- fort ; while the views of the park are improved hy the rich foreo-round, over which they are seen from the terraces in the garden, or the elevated situation of the apartments. On the whole, Cohham furnishes a striking example of arti- ficial arrangement for convenience in the grounds, immediately adjoining the house, contributing to the natural advantages of its situation and scenery, and enriched by the most luxuriant foliage and verdure. The home views give a perfect idea of what a park ought to be, without affecting to be a forest ; for although its extent of domain might warrant such character, there is a natural amenity in the face of the country, that is more beautiful than romantic, more haliitable than wild ; and though in the valleys the view is not enlivened by water, which in a chalk soil is not to be expected, yet from the elevated points of the park the two most important rivers of England, the Thames and Medway, form part of the distant prospect. GARDENS OF COBHAM HALL, KENT, A SEAT OF THE EARL OF DARNLEY. PARK to North East. PARK to South East. eg an PARK to North West PARK to South West. A the Entrance Court, now a Flower Garden, over which the Park is seen from the Music Room, Library, Dining-rooms, Hall, &c. By two wings a quadrangle is formed about 200 feet on each side ; that to the South contains the Family and Private Apartments ; that to the North, the Dining-room, Chapel, and State Bed below stairs, and over them the Picture Gallery on the level of the Terrace Garden. — B the Court of Offices. — C Stables. — D Melon and Forcing Garden — .E TrelHs Garden. — F Irregular Modern Flower Garden. — G Fruit and Kitchen Garden. — H Menagerie. — I Regular Antique Terrace Garden. — K Private Garden, over which the Park is seen from the Pri- vate Apartments raised on a Terrace. — L Soutterein Walk passing under the back road. M the present Entrance by an arched Porte Cochere, over which the Walk passes to the Terrace Garden. — N the Direction of principal Approach from whence the View is taken. O the direction of the back road crossing the Soutterein. — S S Shrubbery and Planta- tions surrounding the whole, and placing it in a Garden. '^ N fe ^ I I f*; 13 FRAGMENT V. ON DATES OF BUILDINGS. A COTTAGE or Keeper's House was deemed necessary at Aspley Wood, about three miles from Woburn Abbey. The Duke of Bedford (to whom I am indebted for numerous opportunities of displaying his good Taste) one day observed, that out of the numerous Cottages called Gothic, which every where pre- sent themselves near the high roads, he had never seen one which did not betray its modern character and recent date. At the same time his Grace expressed a desire to have a Cottage of the style and date of buildings prior to the reign of Henry VHI, of which only some imperfect fragments now remain. Adjoining to this building, an attempt has been made to assimilate a garden to the same character, and the annexed Plate will furnish an example of both. A communication of some curious specimens of Timber- houses was made to the Society of Antiquaries in 1810, which was ordered to be engraved and printed for the Archaeologia. But this building does more than any drawing, to exemplify many of the parts which have been thus rescued from the effects of time. To admirers of genuine Gothic forms, the following Note 14 may prove acceptable, as shewing the authorities for all the detail of this Cottage. • Note by J. A. R. This Cottage serves as a specimen of the Timber houses which prevailed in England from about the year 1450 to 1550; that is, from the reign of Henry VI to that of Henry VIII. As few buildings of this date remain entire, and every year reduces their number, the general plan of this Cottage is not copied from any individual specimen, but the parts are taken from the most perfect fragments of the kind, some of which have since been destroyed. The hint of the lower story, being of stone, is taken from a building near Eltham Palace; except that the windows are here executed in oak instead of stone. In some buildings, both of brick and of stone, it is not uncommon to see oak windows used, as at Wolterton Manor House, East Barsham, Norfolk, and at Carhow Priory near Norwich. Stone and brick corbels, supporting beams, may be found at Lynn Regis and at Ely. The brick-nogging between the timbers is copied from a curious Timber-house in Lynn Regis, built by Walter Conys in the reign of Henry VI or Edward IV. The hint of the upright timbers being orna- mented with small arches (over the centre building), was taken from a timber-house near Kelvedon, Essex, which has since been destroyed. The gable-board is copied from a house at St. Edmondsbury, and is not uncommon. The form of the pinnacles (of which few specimens now remain, being the parts most exposed to the weather) is taken from some in brick or stone: the only one I have ever found carved in oak is at Shrewsbury. The square flag is copied from one at Hornchurch, Essex. The project- ing bow is taken from a window in Norwich, but the tracery of it is not uncommon; a specimen in oak is still to be found at Knowle, in Kent. The tracery of the lower win- dow is taken from a timber-house in Coventry, but this also is not uncommon. Tlie windows are all taken from an earlier date than the end of the reign of Henry VIII; that is, before they were divided by a cross-bar, which did not prevail in wood till the reio-n of Edward VI, Elizabeth, and the early part of the seventeenth century. The desi"-n of the porch is a hint from various specimens of open porches, and particularly the cloisters of old alms-houses, or short galleries leading to dwelling-houses, as at Clapton, near Lea-bridge, since destroyed, &c. The design for the door of the Cottage is taken from one remaining at Sudbury, in Suffolk. The chimneys are copied from those at Wolterton Manor House, at Barsham, Norfolk, published in the fourth volume of the I... ; 111. I I I L roE V®fSA!Lm.AT .kF^\M^l^^ M£:i.iiweiwG TO the IDitke of BEIDFOmiD). J-emi/tvi yV^Awirt/ iy J Ta»&r. J^ei>. 2 .jOtA- 15 The hints for this Garden liave l^een suggested by various paintings and engravings of the date of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth : and even the selection of flowers has been taken from those represented in the nosegays of old portraits of the same period, preserved in the Picture Gallery of Woljurn. This attention to strict congruity may appear trifling to such as have never considered, that good taste delights in the harmony of the minutest parts to the w^liole ; and this Cottage, ho^vever small, compared with modern mansions, is a tolerably fair spe- cimen of the style and size of private houses three hundred years ago : for although the castles and collegiate buildings were large, some of the dwelling-houses of respectable persons did not much exceed this Cottage in dimensions or comfort, when one living room was often deemed sufficient for all the family. The change in customs during three or four centuries makes it very difficult to build such dwelling-houses, as^ shall contain all the conveniences which modern life rerpiires, and at the same time preserve the ancient forms we admire as picturesque ; yet the prevailing taste for the Gothic style must often be com- plied with ; and after all, there is not more absurdity in making a house look like a castle or convent, than like the portico of a Grecian temple, applied to a square mass, which Mr. Price lias not unaptly compared to a clamp of bricks i and so great is the Vetusta Monumenta. The ornaments painted on the posts and rails are taken from the picture of King Henry VIII and Family, now in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries. 16 cliflerence of opinion betwixt the admirers of Grecian and those of Gothic Architecture, that an Artist must adopt either, accord- ing to the wishes of the individual l>y whom he is consulted ; happy if he can avoid the mixture of both in the same build- ing ; since there are few who possess sufficient taste to distin- guish what is perfectly correct, and what is spurious in the two different styles ; while those who have most power to indulge their taste, have generally had least leisure to study such minu- tiae. To this may perhaps be attributed the decline of good taste in a country, with the increase of its wealth from com- mercial speculation. By the recent works of professed Antiquaries, a spirit of inquiry has been excited respecting the dates of every specimen that remains of ancient beauty or grandeur; and the strictest attention to their dates may be highly proper, in repairs or additions to old houses: but in erecting new buildings, it may reasonalily be doubted, whether modern comfort ought to be greatly sacrificed to external correctness in detail; and whether a style may not be tolerated, which gives the most commodious interior, and only adopts the general outline and the picturesque effect of old Gothic buildings. , Among tlie works professedly written on Architecture, there is none more effective and useful than that by Sir William Chambers: and it were much to be wished that a similar work on the Gothic Style could be referred to ; but it has been deemed necessary for Artists to study the Remains of Greece and Rome in those countries, from w hence they generally bring 17 back the greatest contempt for the style they call Gothic. The late much lamented James Wyatt was the only Architect with whom I was acquainted who had studied on the Continent, yet preferred the Gothic forms to the Grecian. As the reason for this preference, he told me, about twenty years ago, that he con- ceived the climate of England required the weather mouldings, or labels over doors and windows of the Gothic character, rather than the bolder projections of the Grecian cornices, which he often found it necessary to make more flat than the models from which they were taken, lest the materials should not bear the change of weather to which they were exposed in this country: and this accounts for the occasional want of boldness imputed to him in his Grecian designs. In his Gothic buildings, to unite modern comfort with antiquated forms, he introduced a style which is neither Grecian nor Gothic, but which is now become so prevalent, that it may be considered as a distinct species, and must be called Modern Gothic. The details are often correctly Gothic, but the outline is Grecian, being just the reverse of the houses in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and King James, in which the details are often Grecian, while the general outline is Gothic. In buildings of that date we observe towers rising boldly above the roof, and long bower windows breaking boldly from the surface ; but in the modern Gothic all is flat, and the small octagon turrets, which mark the cor- ners, are neither large enough to contain a screw staircase, nor small enough for chimneys : yet this style has its admirers, and therefore I have inserted a specimen, although I conceive it to D 18 he in a bad taste, and have placed it betwixt the Grecian and Gothic fronts of D and F, not knowing to which it more pro- perly belongs. If a door or window, or even a battlement or turret, of the true Gothic form, be partially discovered, mixed with foliage, it stamps on the scene the character of picturesque- ness; of which the subsequent Vignette may serve as an exam- ple; and thus the smallest fragment of genuine Gothic often reconciles to the painter its admission into the landscape; even although the great mass of the building may offend the eye of the antiquarj^, or man of correct taste, by its occasional depar- ture from the true Gothic style. u/f/mr /f/ ///Ti>//'—<'\r/^ }/f'r FRAGMENT VI. ON CASTLES. It has been frequently observed, that an Artist's fame must depend on what he has written or designed, rather than on the imperfect manner in which his works have been executed. The annexed sketch is a picturesque attempt to add a House and Garden to a romantic situation, near the head of a spring, which spreads its waters through the whole course of a narrow ])ut richly clothed valley. 'The old Mansion was so deeply placed in the bottom, that the sun could never cheer it during the ^vinter months; I proposed, therefore, that a part of this old building should remain as offices, and a new suite of rooms be built on a higher level: and although it was deemed more ex- pedient to add to the old house, this airy castle rose in my imagination ; I will therefore avail myself of this imaginary specimen to explain certain leading principles, for all of which combined I can refer to no irregular Gothic buildings, except such as are in ruins ; for altliough many attempts have recently been made to produce modern Gothic Castles, yet the great principle on which the picturesque effect of all Gothic edifices must depend, has too generally been overlooked: viz. irregu- larity of outline; first, at the top by towers, and pinnacles or chimneys; secondly, in the outline of the faces or elevations, by projections and recesses; thirdly, in the outline of the apertures, by breaking the horizontal lines with windows of different 20 forms and heights; and lastly, in the ontline of the base, by the building being placed on ground of different levels. To all these must be added, detached buildings, which tend to spread the locality, and extend the importance of the principal pile, in which some one feature ought to rise boldly above the rest of the irres'ular mass, while the whole should be broken, but not too much frittered into parts by smaller towers, or clusters of lofty chimneys. After all, no building can appear truly picturesque, unless in its outline the design be enriched by vegetation (such as i\y, or other creeping plants); and the colouring, by those weather stains, which time alone can throw over the works of Art, to blend them with the works of Nature, and bring the united composition into pleasing harmony. The usual manner in which books of Architecture have represented the elevations of buildings has been either geome- trically, without perspective to denote the projecting and reced- ing parts, or else pei'spectivelij as a bird's eye view supposed to be taken from an imaginary spot in the air. However intel- ligible these may be to professed Architects, they are as little comprehended by general observers, as the ground plan of a building by those who are not ashamed to acknowledge they do not understand a plan. * * The antiquities of this country, and the beauties of Gotliic outUne, have been of late more forcibly elucidated by various picturesque works ; of which, that by Hearne and Byrne took the lead ; and 1 cannot omit a tribute to the beautiful combination of correct Gothic Remains and Landscape Scenery displayed in the Antiquities of England pubUshed by Mr. Britton. These works have already been followed by many other ingenious productions, tending to increase the knowledge of English Antiquities, and the study of pictui'esque effect. Q m < ^ a & ,^=^ § !^ ^ -^ 5Q ■^ FRAGMENT VII. ON UNITY OF CHARACTER. In a House entirely new, Character is at the option of the Artist or Proprietor: it may be Gothic or Grecian, whichever best accords with the face of the country: but where great part of the original structure is to remain, the additions should doubtless partake of the existing character. This we have attempted at Harlestone Park, the seat of Robert Andrew, Esq. near Northampton: and as few places have undergone so much alteration, both in the House and Grounds, it may serve as a specimen of the combined arts of Landscape Gardening and Architecture, in adapting the improvement to the original Character of the Place. The House was formerly approached and entered in the south front, which was encumbered by stables and farm yards : the road came through the village, and there was a large pool in front : this pool has been changed to an apparent river, and the stables have been removed. An ample Garden has been placed behind the house ; the centre of the south front has been taken down, and a bow added with pilasters in the style of the house: the entrance is changed from the south to the 22 north side, and some new rooms to the west have been added. Of the useful and modern appendages to this House, the draw- ing can give Uttle idea: the more essential part of Landscape Gardening is apt to be overlooked in the general attention to the picturesque, whicli has often little affinity with the more im- portant objects of comfort, convenience, and accommodation.* * In speaking of Harlestone Park, I cannot omit mentioning a remarkable fact con- nected with its improvement. This Park abounded in large Oaks, irregularly scattered over its uneven surface, but amongst them were every where intermixed many very tail Elms, not all planted in avenues, but some in single rows, casting their long sha- dows over the lawn, oppressing the venerable Oaks by their more lofty growth, and spreading shade and gloom over the surface of the Park. I could not help ob- serving, that the greatest improvement of which the place seemed capable miglit be deemed too bold for me to advise, as it was no less than the removal of almost all the Elms to shew the Oaks, and diffuse sunshine over the lawn. A few days after having delivered this opinion, on the 10th of November, 1810, a furious storm of wind tore up by the roots eighty-seven of the largest Elms, and only one Oak ; producing exactly the effect of improvement which I had anticipated, but had not dared to re- commend. This occurrence is recorded on a tablet inscribed — GEN 10 LOCI. fe H FRAGMENT VIII. ON BLENDEN HALL, KENT, A VILLA BELONGING TO JOHN SMITH, ESQ. M. P. From the relative situation of this place with respect to the capital, it must be treated as a Villa, rather than a constant residence. This distinction is necessary to explain the principle of its improvement, because in the art of Landscape Gardening two things are often confounded, which require to be kept perfectly distinct, viz. the Landscape, and the Garden. To the former belong the Lawns, the Woods, the Water, and the Prospect; these may be improved by imitating Nature, but a Garden, as I have often repeated, is a Work of Art. At Blenden Hall the Lawn is beautiful in shape, and its surface enriched with venerable trees, which are sufficiently numerous, without the aid of firs and Lombardy poplars; and the boundaries are generally well concealed, or blended with distant woods. The Water at present consists of two distinct pools ; these may be united in appearance, without altering the levels, which would sacrifice too many good trees, if the lower water were raised, and make the banks too steep, if the upper water were sunk. A bridge however may be so constructed, as to give con- tinuity to the water, making it resemble a river: and this idea would also be assisted by extending the water to the east, as 24 marked on the ground. With such alterations the water will become a very important feature in the scenery, which, without it, would require some more distant views beyond the place; iDut a river is always sufficient in itself to form the leading fea- ture of a natural landscape; and with such interesting objects of lawn, wood, and water, in the home scenery, the distant prospect may be dispensed with. It has been suggested, that the approach from Eltham ought to be removed to the corner of the premises, in conformity with a commonly received practice in Landscape Gardening : but I prefer the present entrance for the following reasons: I seldom advise entering at the corner of the premises, and in this case the house would present itself almost immediately; a road would cut up the lawn, and oblige us to continue the water, as a river, along the whole valley, which is not otherwise advisable, because there are no rooms in this front of the house to require such waste of lawn and expenditure. Perhaps the fence ought to be kept very low at the corner, to give the public a view into the lawn, which would increase the importance of the place more than by leading a road through it. And lastly, the Cot- tage is well placed to act as a Lodge, and may easily be orna- mented for that purpose. The entrance may serve as an example for a general remark, which will frequently be applicable to other places. The Gate at present being in the continued line of the paling, there is hardly room left to enter commodiously. If the Gate be set back a few yards, the trees, thrown out into the road, will give that 25 degree of importance to the place, which we may suppose be- longs to the manerial right; while a pale, enclosing every tree and hush near the road, counteracts this impression. One other general remark may be useful, however trifling, viz. although the interior fences (to be less visible) may be dark green, yet the entrance-gate and its immediately attached fence, should be white, a little subdued, to avoid the offensive glare of paper whiteness, yet sufliciently white to prevent accidents, vrhich an invisible gate is apt to occasion after sun-set. THE HOUSE. The House having adopted a new character, from its late alterations, I have subjoined a sketch of its south and east fronts, combined in perspective, which may serve to explain the efl'ect of removing some tall trees, by which it is now oppressed, and deprived of that consequence which its Gothic character has assumed. This sort of comparative influence of trees on a build- ing deserv es attention ; and the sketch presents a favourable spe- cimen of that species of Architecture, which lias already been mentioned as Wyatt's Gothic, because introduced by that inge- nious Architect; although not strictly in conformity with the Abbey, Castle, or Collegiate characters, or even with that of the old Manor-house; but since it evidently belongs rather to the Gothic than the Grecian style, it will be advisable to adopt such expedients as best assimilate with buildings of the date of £ 26 Queen Elizabeth, all wliicli relate to the appendages; espe- cially as they add not only to the comfort, but to the picturesque effect of the mansion : among these may be reckoned the fore- court, which extends a degree of neatness a little farther into the lawn, and this being fenced by a dwarf-wall, should be entered by a gate in the centre. There is an old building at the south west corner of the house, which may form the back wall of a conservatory ; and a similar wall may serve to form a correspondent wing at the north west corner ; but if these were laid open, it would rob the house of its importance, the pleasure-ground of its pri- vacy, and the character of the place would take no benefit from the Gothic style ; because such walls add greatly to the shelter in winter; and there are many plants, such as jasmine, and creepers requiring the support of a wall, which, so clothed, forms a luxuriant decoration to a garden in summer ; and by ivy and other evergreens may partly be extended through the year. This naturally leads to the consideration of the Gardens, and their improvement. Under this head must be included every part of the grounds, in which Art rather than Nature is to please the eye, the smell, and the taste. Each part will require fences, and perhaps of various kinds. First, near the house, a walled Terrace, to keep cattle from the windows, and protect a border of flowering plants near the eye. Secondly, an iron Fence may be sufficient to exclude cattle from the pleasure ground; but in that part which contains 27 fruit, a more substantial guard against man must be provided, and brick walls are the best security. I will here make some remarks on the occupation of land belonging to a Villa. It is surprising how tenacious every gentleman is of grass land, and with what reluctance he in- creases his garden, or contracts his farm; as if land were only given to produce hay, or to fatten cattle. He forgets the dif- ference in value betwixt an acre of pasture and an acre of fruit garden; or the quantity of surface required to grow a load of hay or a load of currants, cauliflowers, or asparagus, with the prodigious difference in the value of each. For this reason, the Gardens of a Villa should be the principal object of attention ; and at Blenden Hall, the ground betwixt the fruit trees in the orchard, which produces hay, small in quantity and bad in qua- lity, might be turned to more advantage by planting currant bushes, or sowing garden crops; which even if sent to market, will yield five times the value of the feed for cattle. There is a cHpt quickset-hedge, which forms the south boundary of the garden; this is as secure as a wall, and therefore worth preserv- ing. I must also advise retaining the lofty wall to the west, as the greatest protection against the west winds : but a skreen of trees, or rather filberts and fruit trees, should be planted, to hide the wall from the approach, and to secure a slip on the outside, and make both sides of this lofty wall productive. If more walls be required, they may be added as described on the map, so as to shelter each other from blights ; for it is not necessary that the garden should be a square area within four 28 walls. A fruit garden may be so blended with flowers and vegetables, as to be interesting in all seasons ; and the delight of a garden highly cultivated, and neatly kept, is amongst the purest pleasures which man can enjoy on earth.* * The Pleasures of a Garden have of late been very much neglected. About the middle of the last century, the introduction of Landscape operated to the exclusion of the old Gardens of England, and all straight Gravel Walks. Glades of grass and clipped hedges were condemned as formal and old fashioned ; not considering that where the style of the house preserved its ancient character, the Gardens might with propriety partake of the same. After this, a taste, or almost a rage for farming, su- perseded the delights of a Garden ; in many cases for the mercenary reason, that a sack of potatoes would sell for more than a basket of roses or lavender. It is with peculiar satisfaction that I have occasionally observed some few venerable Gardens belonging to parsonage or old manor houses, where still may be traced the former grass walks and box-edged borders, with thick and lofty hedges of holley, quickset, or other topiary plants, which, like the yew or ivy, seem to display a peculiar satisfaction in yielding a fence at once secure, and neat, and opakely trim. ]B]L]e:s']D)]e:e?' wat.t., wtf.wt, j. smith, ES135? /iMMn/ it J Tmi>rAij.ja& FRAGMENT IX. CONCERNING WINDOWS. There is no subject connected with Landscape Gardening of more importance, or less attended to, than the Window, through which the landscape is seen. In some ancient houses the win- dows were glazed in small lozenges, containing the family arms or crest: to this Shakespear alludes in King Richard II. " From mine own Windows torn my household coat:" of course the light was so obscured, that no view could be expected; and indeed in some old mansions the windows are so placed, that it is diffi- cult to make the rooms comfortable in the interior, while the exterior character is preserved. The style of the early Gothic of Elizabeth, when not disfigured by an unseemly mixture of bad Grecian, seems better adapted to habitation than the castle, abbey, or collegiate Gothic. But houses of that date generally consist of a large hall, like that of a college, and one or more long narrow galleries, with a number of small parlours, badly disposed, and ill connected. Yet there is something so vener- able and picturesque in many houses of this date, that I have always endeavoured to preserve as much of them as could be adapted to modern uses ; and even in some cases advised new houses in that style of architecture. The example selected for 30 reference in tlic present Fragment is Barningham Hall, in Norfolk, the seat of J. T. Mott, Esq. where the east front has been preserved most scrupulously ; not a window has been altered, except in the glazing; the improvements and additions have all been made in a new front towards the south, as shewn in the sketch. This house, though it appeared large, did not contain one room that was comfortable, or of a size adapted to our modern style of living. It consisted of two parlours, in each of which two modern sashes had been introduced about sixty years ago. The slide of the annexed sketch represents the house as it was in 1805, and the drawing shews the additions since made, according to the plan annexed of the ground floor; to which a library or living room is added over the entrance, and extending forty-five feet by eighteen feet wide. The original simple style of Gothic has been preserved and restored in the vestibule and staircase, which are shewn with the plan. The greatest improvement in this old Mansion has been effected by adopting in the south and east fronts a style of Win- dow of the same date, though of a different form from those of the west front. The latter were too small in the apertures to be comfortable, while those, added to the south front, glazed with plate glass, are more cheerful within, and more characteristic on the outside, than any modern bow with three sash windows could have been made.* * There is a circumstance relative to Windows which is seldom attended to, and which has never been mentioned in books of Architecture, viz. the situation of the bar, which is too apt to cross the eye, and injure the view or landscape. This bar ought never 58 I ^ 31 In treating the subject of Windows, some notice may bo taken of the modem improvement, borrowed from the French, of folding Glass-doors opening into a garden ; by which the effect in a room is like that of a tent or marquee, and in sum- mer delightful.* But as these doors are seldom so constructed as to exclude the cold winds in winter, where they are much exposed, it is found expedient to build up a brick-wall breast high, which may be taken away during the summer months. In making choice of Gothic Bow Windows for additions to an old house, and at the same time to preserve the correct pro- portion of the whole, the apertures of the glass ought not to be too large, nor the munions too slender. We should select the best specimens of such remains as may be found in our old manor-houses, without copying defects. The Plate annexed serves to shew the difference betwixt the same Window munions, &c. of an ancient Bow Window, to be more than four feet nine inches, nor less than four feet six inches from the floor ; so that a person in the middle of the room may be able to see under the bar when sitting, and over it when standing; otherwise this bar will form an unpleasing line crossing the sight in the exact range of the horizon, and obliging the spectator to raise or stoop his head. If it can be entirely omitted, the scenery will be improved ; but if the bar be preferred, the best position of it may be calculated at four feet six from the floor, and the glass may be continued to any depth below, not more than two feet and a half from the floor; otherwise persons sitting will not have sufficient sight of the ground, and the view will consist, as in many old houses, of sky and the tops of trees. * This, although more appHcable to Grecian than Gothic Houses, may be adapted to the latter, by making the munion in the centre to open. 32 and a modern one, as adopted at Barningham Hall. N" 1 shews an original Window, supposed to be erected in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, with all its faults, in respect to modern com- fort, such as the glazing in lozenges, heavy iron casements, and upright iron bars; also the great inconvenience of the sill being too high above the floor; and lastly, the lofty panels which tend to depress the height of the room. N° 2 shews a modern Window of the same dimensions and proportions, without copying the defects: instead of the lozenge shape, large panes of plate or crown glass are inserted. The sills of the windows, being lower, admit the landscape. The lofty panels are omitted, and the inside of the room fitted up as best adapted to modern comfort, preserving the character of Gothic Architecture externally. There is no impropriety in supposing that the whole Bow-window has been preserved, and that the inside only has been altered to suit the taste of the present times. BAMS'nrc&fflAM MAM.,MtmF(lJ>ZK, J.T. MOTir ]ES^^ /'fii/aAa/ Sr ./.rmhr Ji^. / ygtfi WIHDOW AT EAmniKGHAM Zf7/idif>t J'uS&.rA^d iy J:TafUr.Fe£,z.JsiA' ^IKBOl^^ AT EA]RHIF©HAM I^/u/fft J'aS&rA/r^ /» y-Tar^r -Fei.i.jjtji? FRAGMENT X. ON GOTHIC OUTLINE. EXTRACTED FROM THE RED BOOK OF STANAGE PARK. SITUATION. Before I speak of the character of Stanage Park, it will he proper to consider its situation with respect to the neighhoiiring scenery; especially as the opposite opinions of two gentlemen* in its vicinity have produced that controversy, in which I have endeavoured to become a Moderator. When I compare the picturesque scenery of Downton Vale with the meagre efforts of art, which are attril^uted to the school of Brown, I cannot wonder at the enthusiastic abhor- rence which the author of The Landscape expresses for modern Gardening : especially as few parts of the kingdom present more specimens of bad taste than the road from Ludlow to Worcester, in passing over which I wrote the contents of this small volume. And while I was writing, surrounded by plan- * So many years have now elapsed since the controversy betwixt Mr. Knight and Mr. Price on the subject of Landscape Gardening, that it may not be improper to mention, that the former gentleman published, in quarto, a Poem called The Landscape, and the latter a work in octavo on The Picturesque as distinct from the Sublime and Beautiful. 34 tations of firs and larclies and Lombardy poplars, I saw new red houses, with all the fanciful apertures of Venetian and pseudo-Gothic windows, which disgust the traveller, who looks in vain for the picturesque shapes and harmonious tints of for- mer times. In the wild scenery of Stanage Park, how discordant would appear the three Window-Bows of these modern scarlet sins against good taste; or how sprucely would glitter the white- washed Villa from the neighbourhood of the capital ! Yet some house must be erected, or the park becomes a forest, no longer adapted to the purposes of human habitation. This leads me to the consideration of the Character which it ought to assume. CHARACTER. The antiquity, the extent, and the beauty of this Park, together with the command of surrounding property, would justify very great expenditure in preserving the Character of the place: l)ut it is the duty of the Professor to confine his plans within the limits prescribed by the person who consults him ; and being in the present instance restricted to one tenth of that expenditure, which a luxuriant fancy might suggest, I shall not indulge myself in describing what might be done; but rather propose such plans as, I trust, may be accomplished, within the bounds of good taste, restrained by prudence. I must therefore begin by inquiring what Character of House is best adapted to the scenery, since it cannot be a palace. It ought not to be a Villa; it ought not to be a Cottage; and for 35 a Shooting Box for a single gentleman, the present rooms in the old house are sufficient ; but it must be the residence of a family ; and as it is at some distance from society, we must not only provide for the accommodation of its own family, in its various branches, but for the entertainment of other families in the neighbourhood, and for the reception of friends and visitors, who may come from the capital, or other distant parts. All this cannot be expected in a very small mansion. The most judi- cious mode of combating the difficulty, which prudence opposes to magnificence, will be to follow the example set at Downton, where the inside was first considered, and the outside afterwards made to conform to that, under the idea of a picturesque out- line: but as the character of a Castle must depend on its dimen- sions, I dare not recommend that character, lest it be compared with the massive fragments of the ruins of Ludlow. THE HOUSE. After the literary controversy between Mr. Knight and me, I should be sorry to be misunderstood as casting any reflection on the Castle Character of Downton; for although perhaps some may think that its outline was directed by the eye of a Painter, rather than that of an Antiquary, yet its general eftect must gratify the good taste of both: and I should have been happy to have shewn my assent to that style, in adopting the Castle Character for the House at Staimo-e; but this would exceed my prescribed limitation; and since we 36 cannot imitate the ancient Baronial Castle, let ns endeavour to restore that sort of importance, which formerly helonged to the ohl Manor House; where the proprietor resided among his tenants, not only to collect the rents, but to share the produce of his estate with his humble dependants; and where plenteous hospitality was not sacrificed to ostentatious refinements of luxury. I do not mean to condemn the improvements in comfort and convenience enjoyed in modern society ; nor to leave unpro- vided for, every accommodation suited to the present hal)its of life, but to furnish the means of enjoying them at Stanage, without departing from its original character; and this I pro- pose doing by restoring, as far as possible, the same kind of Mansion, on the same identical site, taking for my model the character of the Grange, or old Manor Farm ; which I trust will not be deemed incongruous with the surrounding scenery. But before I shew the present state of the site and the effect, I shall describe the internal arrangements of the additions pro- posed. The three foUowing principles, however they may be at variance with each other, have all been considered in the plan here suggested, viz. 1st. Economy, 2d. Convenience, and 3d. a certain degree of Magnificence.* These are placed ac- cording to the respective weight each bears in my mind. * I mean a certain degree of magnificence, w hen compared with a common Farm House. I could in this case have used the word Picturesqueness ; but that bears no relation to its importance, because the meanest objects may sometimes be deemed pic- turesque; but the external magnificence of a building will often depend on paits in- 37 1st. Economy dictates, compressing within a compact and small extent, and preserving every thing wliich can he retained without alteration, however little it may he worth preserving : but as I prefer the old site of the house to any other in the Park, I see no occasion to take down for the sake of rehuildino-. 2d. Convenience requires a certain num))er of rooms, of certain dimensions; and it will be found that those proposed are ample in size, varied in form, and connected without waste or redundance. The dining-room is detached from the draw- ing-room, which does away the objection of two immediately adjoining rooms, where conversation in either may be over- . heard. The drawing-room, Avhich in a house of this date was called the parlour, may be fitted up with books, musical instru- ments, and card tables, to render it the general living room for the family, according to the modern habits of life, which explode the old absurd fashion of shutting up a large comfortless room, to starve the occasional visitors by damp sophas and bright steel grates. These two rooms, and the study, may be fifteen feet high : the approach to them by the passages and staircase will be sufficiently ample, without the extravagance of a large and lofty hall, to which much was sacrificed in old houses, because it was used as the dining-room on great occasions.* tended rather for ornament than use, such as lofty Towers in Gothic, and Columns in Grecian Architecture. After this house was built, an alteration was made, in conformity to my ori- ginal wishes ; that the entrance Lobby should be changed to an Anti-room ; and the real entrance made in the cloisters or passage connecting the old and new buildings. S8 111 the chamber plan, provision is made for bed-rooms of various sizes, with closets, but not very large dressing-rooms ; and the number of bed-rooms, including those in the present old building, and some in the roof over the new part, will be sufficient for all the purposes of convenience or magnificence, as far as the first leading principle of economy will allow. But should it hereafter be deemed advisable to extend the plan, a provision may be made in the wall to the north (by changing the position of the butler's pantry, &c.) to communicate with a billiard-room, library, or any other rooms which may be re- quired. The offices contain every thing necessary to a house of this kind, connected with each other by passages of communication, with sufficient cellars, &c. GROUND ABOUT THE HOUSE. It may perhaps be observed by the trim imitators of Brown's defects, that the stables, barns, gardens, and other append- ages, ought to be removed to a distance. I have, in my former volume, endeavoured to shew the folly of expecting importance in buildings without extent of appendages; and the absurdity of banishing to a distance those objects which are necessary to the comfort of a country residence. There is one point on which I believe my opinion may differ from the theory of the ingenious Author of The Landscape ; at least so far as I have been told he has endeavoured to reduce it to practice near the house at Downton. I fully agree with him in condemning that 39 bald and insipid custom, introduced by Brown, of surrounding a house by a naked grass field : but to remedy this by slovenly neglect, or by studied and affected rudeness, seems to be an opposite extreme not less offensive. A house is an artificial object, and the ground immediately contiguous may partake of the same artificial character. In this place, therefore, straight lines of garden w^alls and walks are advisable, together with such management, as may form the greatest possible contrast with that rude character, which should every where else pre- vail at Stanage; for when we cannot assimilate, we must pro- duce effects by contrast, still preserving that character which we attempt to restore : and while I thus draw the bold straight line between Art and Nature, in defiance of the scoft^ of igno- rance, and the vanity of fashion, I may respect the errors of prejudice, or the excess of enthusiasm. FRAGMENT XI. BEAUDESERT. EXTRACT FRO]M THE RED BOOK OF BEAUDESERT. CHARACTER AND SITUATION. To lay down a rational plan for the improvement of any place, we must begin by considering its Character and Situation. The very name of this place should have some influence on tlie mode of treating it. Great command of territory w ould of itself suggest, that a Character of Greatness, insomuch as re- lates to Art, should accord with that degree of vastness, which is the prerogative of Nature only : at the same time there is no error so common as the mistaking greatness of dimensions for greatness of character : and this is no where better exemplified than in the Pictures of the date of Louis XIV, when a great General was represented in a great wig, with a great pair of jack boots : the truth is, that great and small are only so by comparison. This fact it is the more necessary to establish, because it has been asserted, that every thing at Beaudesert must be on a large scale, to correspond with the large scale of its domain; while I contend, that every thing should be rather great than large. A large massive pile, worthy of the rank and antiquity of its possessors, has been placed on the verge of the forest, a royal 41 demesne and free warren, with paramount rights over the sur- rounding country: but, though built in a forest, it is evident, from its name and style, that it was not meant to be situated in a desert, the haunt only of wild beasts: on the contrary, it was to be a desert hemiti^ed—tm-becm-deserf; rendered habitable, with all the elegance, magnificence, and comfort, of which it was capable. We must therefore look back to the reign of Henry VIII, when this mansion was presented to the family. It was at that time surrounded, not only by the wild scenery of the forest, but by the animals which then made forests ter- rible; such as stags, boars, and wild cattle: to which might perhaps be added the uncivilized human beings, against whom some decided line of defence was absolutely necessary. This was the origin of those court-yards and lofty terrace-walls ob- servable in old pictures of places of this date : so few of these now actually remain in our modern days, that I rejoice to find it the wish of the noble Proprietor of this noble pile to restore Its pristine character; and if we are to retain any part of the grandeur of the Mansion, we must not surrender its outworks. Although the same motive for defence no longer exists, yet the semblance must be preserved, to mark the limits betwixt the gardens or pleasure grounds, which belong to man; and the forest or desert, which belongs to the wild denizens of the chace.* * In the architectural arrangement of such parts of the following plan, as require a knowledge of ancient forms, I am happy to have the advantage and assistance of my ingenious friend, John Shaw, Esq. G 42 THE SITUATION. It may perhaps appear presumptuous in me to assert, that the natural beauties of the situation of Beaudesert are very little known, even to those who are best acquainted with the spot : yet I will venture to assert, that those beauties which are at present hidden, and almost totally lost, far exceed those which are obvious to every eye. The materials by which Na- ture produces the chief beauties of Landscape are four in number, viz. Inequality of Ground, Rocks, Water, and Wood: yet at Beaudesert it is only the latter which abounds, and to which the other three have all been sacrificed. Inequality of ground is apt to be obliterated by trees, which grow taller in the valleys than on the hills ; and consequently the surface of a wood, and the surface of the ground on which it grows, are often very different ; but at Beaudesert this levelling principle of vegetable growth has actually almost effaced the ravines, where tall ashes in the bottom rise above the oaks on the steep acclivities. Surface of Wood. Surface of Ground. 43 Wherever a natural glen or ravine exists, we shall generally find rock or water, or both, under the surface ; and we know that they abound in the deep dell immediately in front of the house, although at present they are hardly visible, being buried under the surface. The following sketch will serve to display the capabilities of this place, and discover the true situation of Beaudesert in such a manner, as may induce those, who only view the present visible state, to say, " Quam multa vident pictores in umbris et " in eminentiis quae nos non videmus." To bring these hidden beauties into notice, the process is very simple : remove the tall trees in the bottom, prevent the water from burying itself in the ground, by stopping the current of the different streamlets with ledges of large stones, wherever the natural channel is narrow- est, make every drop of water visible on a hard surface, and yet let the whole appear the work of Nature, and not of Art. CONCERNING THE TREES, VIEW TO THE NORTH. As much of the improvement of Beaudesert will depend on the judicious removal of certain large trees, which have out- grown their relative situations, I will defend myself from that clamour which he must expect who dares presume to advise the felling of large trees. After forty years acquaintance with the subject, I now am frequently told, as if unconscious of such truisms, that " a large tree has been a long time growing, " and also " that, when cut down, it cannot be put up again:" but there 44 are situations, and very many of them at Beaudesert, where one tree conceals a wood, and where the removal of half a dozen will shew a thousand others. In winter we may see through their branches objects totally invisible in summer, when a single tree becomes a skreen as impenetrable as a wall. I therefore availed myself of this semitransparent state of Beaudesert, to shew some effects by sketches, which were taken when the trees were leafless, although I have supposed them in their full foliage: [these sketches have not been engraved.] THE WATER. It has been said of Beaudesert, that it is on so vast a scale, that nothing less than an arm of the sea can be adequate to the greatness of the place. This remark, however ingenious, is not sufliciently precise; because, as before observed, greatness of dimension does not confer greatness of character; and if a reach of the " smug and silver Trent" were visible in the grounds of Beaudesert, we should not object to it, because it was not equal to the Straits of Menai."* There can be no doubt, that any glitter of water visible in the bottom would be the most desirable feature that could be suggested, to increase the beauty of the scenery: and it fortu- nately happens, that a number of streamlets all unite near the * On the banks of these straits, in the Isle of Anglesea, stands Plas Newyd, another seat belonging to the noble proprietor of Beaudesert, and therefore often compared with it, although their characters are quite opposite. 45 water-meadow, which by a dam would form a lake of such shape, that it would appear quite large enough for its situation ; because its size would be indefinite, the natural shape of the ground favouring the concealment of its terminations. This river-like pool or meer would be a cheerful object from every point of view, and an appropriate boundary to the park towards the east; since water is always supposed to be the most natural line of separation betwixt the lawn and arable land. On the banks of this water, a spot might be found for such a garden as would accord with the character of the house; and by its situation with respect to the house and the water, the most de- lightful walks of communication might be made, to increase the comfort of the place, while they displayed its interesting fea- tures to advantage. The following sketch shews the manner in which the house lias been opened by the removal of tall trees in that rocky dell, through which two streams of water now flow invisibly, be- cause buried in a deep channel amongst the brushwood. This water may easily be brought into sight, and the meadow may be converted into a lake, from whence this sketch is supposed to be taken. It also represents a part of that new kitchen gar- den and fruit garden already mentioned. Having been permitted to make these extracts from my report of Beaudesert, I will add two fragments from the same MS. one respecting Planting, and the other relating to ancient Interiors and Uniformity of Character. 46 CONCERNING PLANTING. Some additional planting may be advisable at Beaudesert; although I will confess that I have never seen a place in w^hich it is less absolutely necessary. In the vast range of chace and forest attached to the place, a wood of fifty acres would ap- pear a clump, if the whole of its outline could be discerned from any elevated station: and to fringe the summit of the hill with that meagre deformity called a belt, would disgrace the character of this wild scenery, especially if such belt were composed of spiral spruce firs and larches, according to the modern fashion of making plantations. It has always ap- peared to me, that the miserable consideration of trade has introduced these quick growing trees, to make a speedy re- turn of profit : but if the improvement of such places as Beau- desert is to be computed by the rule of pounds, shillings, and pence, it would certainly be better to cut down all the trees, kill the deer, and plough up the park. Very different is my notion of the principle of improvement ; and therefore, instead of the conic shaped trees, which so ill accord with an Eng- lish forest, and belong rather to Norway or the Highlands of Scotland, let the staple of our plantations be oak and Spanish chesnut; let the copse be hornbeam and hazel, and let the trees used as nurses be birch: but, above all, let there be at least five or six thorns and hollies for every tree that is planted; these will grow up with the trees, perhaps choke and destroy 47 some, but they will rear many, and in a few years will be- come an impenetrable thicket, as a cover for game, and a har- bour for deer, when the temporary fences will be no longer necessary. OF THE INTERIOR. The internal arrangement of houses has undergone great change since this mansion was first erected. Formerly the great hall at Beaudesert was always used as a dining-room; and there cannot be a better room for that purpose : indeed it would be a violation of all archaeological good taste to dine in any other. I would therefore consider the new room to the east as a music or drawing-room, to be used en suite with that venerable gal- lery of magnificence and comfort, now transformed into the library; and the great hall will then be the rendezvous for breakfasts and dinners, having immediate access to the plea- sure ground on the same level; and as it will be advisable to exclude all view to the south by means of stained glass, it is more necessary to attend to the improvement of the view to- wards the west : this has already been begun, by cutting down some very tall trees, which not only prevented the eye from looking up the rocky ravine or dell, but also excluded the light of the sky, which now sheds its cheerfulness on many valuable Portraits of those Worthies, who in remote times graced the banquets of this room with their presence, and now add dignity to their noble descendants, by still holding a place in the man- sion of an ancient family. 48 VIEW TO THE SOUTH. This view is confined to the private front of the mansion, and is appropriated to the family apartments. To those who despise every thing they call old fashioned, and who, supposing the perfection of Gardening to consist in waving lines, are apt to shrink from every thing straight or for- mal, this part of the plan for Beaudesert may give offence; but the venerable dignity of this place is not to be measured by the scale of a villa, or the spruce modern seat of sudden affluence, he-belted and he-clumped \\\ the newest style of the modern taste of Landscape Gardening— No— rather let us go back to former times, when the lofty terraces oi the privy garden gave protection and seclusion to the noble persons, who with " retired leisure, " In trim gardens took their pleasure." To this may be added, the modern luxury of hot-houses and conservatories, with all the agremens, which excite interest in the cultivation of every species of flower that can delight the eye by its colours, or gratify the smell by its perfumes : and it is no small satisfaction to have discovered from old labourers on the premises, that in the line of the terrace, and other parts of this artificial and architectural Garden, we are restoring the place to what they remember it in the beginning of the last century. J FRAGMENT XII. CONCERNING COLOURS. ADDRESSED TO WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, ESQ. M.P. SIR, Many years have elapsed since you first called my attention to that Theory of Colours, which your learned friend, Dr. Milner, permitted me to publish in his own words in lHi)3. During- this interval frequent opportunities have oc- curred to confirm the truth of his remarks. Dr. Mihier properly observes, that there are only three pri- mary colours, red, blue, and yellow; although Sir Isaac Newton also mentions orange, green, indigo, and violet: but these are compounds of the other three; and whether in the rainbow, or the prism, they appear to melt gradually into each other; and I have always failed in every experiment to fix the precise limits of each tint; but in the course of some late investigations, I have accidentally discovered certain appearances, from which I have derived some facility in colouring Landscape. Having placed a piece of dark cloth on a wall opposite to the light, I fastened a sheet of white paper in the middle of it; this I looked at through a prism held across my eyes a little above H 50 them, when I observed the paper took the curvature of a rainbow: from the upper edge proceeded shades of red-brown, terminating in yellow, and from the lower edge shades of grey, terminating in blue, as I have shewn at (C) in the an- nexed sketch. This I observed under various lights, and re- marked, that before sun-rise no red appeared in the browu, and no violet in the grey shades; but they were exactly the same tints which 1 use in shading and finishing my sketches. I always use for my foregrounds a warm brown, and for my distances a cold grey, or neutral tint, and afterwards glaze over the whole with colour; and these two tints exactly coin- cide with those shewn at (C), where a broad mass of white ap- peared betwixt them. By gently turning the prism, I found that I could contract this white space, as shewn at (B), and as the sun began to illumine the horizon, I perceived red in the upper edge, and violet in the lower, but no green appeared, till by gently turning the prism a little more, I brought the blue and yellow into contact, when the rainbow was completed in all its colours, as represented at (A). I then considered how I could avail myself of this discovery to facilitate the mechanical process of printing and colouring many thousand plates, to make a fac-simile of my sketches : this I shall endeavour to explain by the annexed two Landscapes, which are supposed to represent the same scene before and after sun-rise; that is, before and after the natural process of colouring takes place. The twilight scene is finished with the two neutral tints, and a harmonizing wash thrown over the whole; the other is also J^M^tm /'ftl/^A^ 6, ./J7y/^/- A^ t tjTifi' 51 finished with the same Uvo neutral tints, and afterwards washed or glazed over with the colours, in the order described in the diagram, beginning with red, then orange and yellow, in the foreground, with blue and violet for the sky and distances. By this process, in the middle of the picture green will prevail, partaking more of yellow near to, and more of blue as it recedes from the eye; still bearing in mind that all objects will partake of their natural colour: thus a red cloak must be red, and a green tree must be green, till its distance, or the intervening mass of vapour (called aerial perspective) takes away colour, and blends it with the neutral tint. As the Plates in my former work employed a great number of women and children in colouring them, I expect to render the process much more easy in this present work, by the follow- ing instructions given to the printer and colourer. " The Plates to be printed in a bluish-grey ink (this is the " neutral tint for the light and shade of the Landscape); the " colourer to wash in the sky with blue or violet, &c. accord- " ing to each sketch ; also gowg over the distances with the same " colour; then wash the foregrounds and middle distances with " red, orange, or yellow, copying the drawings; and when dry, " wash over with blue, to produce the greens in the middle dis- " tances,: this being done as a dead colouring, a few touches " with the hand of the master, and a harmonizing tint to soften " the whole, will produce all the effect expected from a co- " loured print." FRAGMENT XIII, CONCERNING INTERIORS. Whatever the style of the exterior may be, the interior of a house shoiikl be adapted to the uses of the inhabitants ; and whether the house be Grecian or Gothic, large or sinall, it will require nearly the same rooms for the present babits of life, viz. a dining-room, and two others, one of which may be called a drawing-room, and the other the book-room, if small, or the library, if large: to these is sometimes added a breakfast-room, but of late, especially since the central hall, or vestibule, has been in some degree given up, these rooms have been opened into each other, en suite, by large folding doors ; and the effect of this enfilade, or visto, through a modern house, is occasion- ally increased by a conservatory at one end, and repeated by a large mirror at the opposite end.* * Where there are two or more rooms, with an anti-room, it is always better not to let the dining-room open en suite. These rooms may be called libraries, saloons, music-rooms, or breakfast-rooms : but in fact they form one large space, when laid to- gether, which is more properly denominated the living-room, since the useless draw- ing-room is no longer retained, except by those who venerate the cedar parlour of former days. 53 The position of looking glasses, with respect to the light and cheerfulness of rooms, was not well understood in Eno-land during the last centurj , although on the Continent the effect of large mirrors had long been studied in certain palaces: great advantage was in some cases taken by placing them obliquely, and in others by placing them opposite : thus new scenes and unexpected effects were often introduced. A circumstance occurring by accident has led me to avail myself in many cases of a similar expedient. Having directed a Conser\ atory to be built along a south wall, in a house near Bristol, I was surprized to find that its whole length appeared from the end of the passage in a very different position to that I had proposed: but on examination I found that a lar^e lookino- glass, intended for the salon (which was not quite finished to receive it) had been accidentally placed in the green-house, at an angle of forty-five degrees, shewing the conservatory in this man- ner: and I have since made occasional use of mirrors so placed to mtroduce views of scenery which could not otherwise be visible from a particular point of view. But of all the improve- ments in modern luxury, whether belonging to the Architect's or Landscape Gardener's department, none is more delightful than the connection of living-rooms with a green-house or conserva- tory; although they should always be separated by a small lobby, to prevent the damp and smell of earth; and when a continued covered way extends from the house to objects at some distance, bke that at Woburn, it produces a degree of comfort, delight, and beauty, which in eveiy garden ought, more or less, to be 54 provided : since there are many da} s in the year when a walk covered overhead, and open on the side to the shrubbery, may be considered as one of the greatest improvements in modern gardens. It would be endless to describe the various methods of attaching such covered passages to a house; and without a plan, as well as drawings, it wonki be impossible to render the subject intelligible. To make a house in the country perfect, we must consider in what it principally differs from a house in London : and it is to the inconsistency, I might almost say the folly and vanity, of transplanting city costumes and fashions into the retirement of rural life, that much bad taste may be ascribed. Some re- marks on this subject may not be misplaced, where the comfort, convenience, and elegance of habitation, are to be considered. First, In magnificent town houses we expect a suite of rooms, opening by folding floors, for the reception of those large parties for assemblies, when the proprietors are driven out of house and home, to make room for more visitors than their rooms can contain. A provision in the country for such an overflow of society can seldom be recpiired; and except for an occasional ball, the relative dimensions of the rooms should bear some pro- portion to the size of the dining-room, and the number of spare bed-rooms. The most recent modern costume is, to use the library as the general living-room; and that sort of state-room, formerly called the best parlour, and of late years the drawing- room, is now generally found a melancholy apartment, when 55 entirely shut up, and only opened to give the visitors a formal cold reception: hut if such a room opens into one adjoining, and the two are fitted up with the same carpet, curtains, &c' they then become in some degree one room; and the comfort of that which has books, or musical instruments, is extended in its space to that which has only sophas, chairs, and card- tables ; and thus the living-room is increased in dimensions, when required, with a power of keeping a certain portion de- tached, and not always used for common purposes. Secondly, In town houses, the principal rooms for company are generally on the first floor, and consequently the staircase leading to them requires a correspondent degree of importance; but in the country it is generally more desirable to have the principal rooms on the ground floor, and consequently the staircase leading only to the bed-rooms does not require to be displayed with the same degree of importance as that of a town house. Thirdly, We often hear objections to a Cross-light in a room, from those who take up their opinion on hearsay, with- out thinking for themselves, or from having observed in a town house, at the corner of a street, the troublesome efl-ect from noise and from the thorough light, rendering the room too public to the street and to the opposite houses. This, however, in the country, is totally diff-erent, where an additional window gives new landscapes and new aspects. If the room be lighted from the end by two windows, it will leave the opposite end of the room dark and dull; while a window or glazed aperture (at A) 56 opening into a verandah or green-house will give cheerfulness, unaltended by the objections mentioned in a town house, and consequently due advantages should be taken of it. Fourthly, The position of the windows and doors very much contribute to the comfort and cheerfulness of a room, and require very different management in tow n and country. A room longer than it is wide will be best lighted by three sashes in the long side opposite to the fire-place, because the light is more generally spread over the whole area, and a look- ing-glass over the chimney will increase the light, and double the landscape in the country; but in a town-house, where such rooms are more frequently used by candle light, the looking- glass may be placed betwixt the piers, as the light from the lustres and girandoles will be increased by mirrors so placed ; ami if the w indow s be at the end of a long room, which is often necessary in town-houses, the light of candles will be more central, by being reflected froui a mirror betwixt two such windows; but in the country, the daylight is to be studied, and this will be found very defective in a long room lighted by 57 two windows at the farther end; because the central pier will extend its increasing shadow till it casts a gloom over the dark end of the room. In such cases the cross-light will be found a most enlivening remedy to the dulness of a room, or, I might rather say, to one so darkened by a central pier, which, if it contains a looking-glass, will increase the gloom, by reflecting the dark end of the room. Fifthly, The favourite proportion for a room is asserted to be, the breadth to the length as two to three, or nearly in that proportion : hence a room twenty feet wide is to be thirty feet long; and twenty-four wide to be thirty-six long; and so in proportion, till it reaches any width and length. But when the dimensions are contracted, we must recollect that a certain space betwixt the door and the fire-place ought to be preserved; and therefore I have found it expedient, in small houses, to give more space, by placing the chimney at a proper distance, and forming a new centre to the room, as explained in this diagram. Since the chief object of this collection of Fragments is to bring before the eye those changes or improvements, which words alone will not sufficiently explain, two sketches are in- troduced, to shew the contrast betwixt the ancient cedar parlour 58 and the modern living room: but as no drawing can describe those comforts enjoyed in the latter, or the silent gloom of the former, perhaps the annexed lines may be allowed to come in aid of the attempt to delineate both. A MODERN LIVING-ROOM. No more the Cedar Parlour's formal gloom With dulness chills, 'tis now the Living Room; Where Guests, to whim, or taste, or fancy true, Scatter'd in groups, their different plans pursue. Here Pohticians eagerly relate The last day's news, or the last night's debate. And there a Lover's conquer'd by Check-mate. Here books of poetry and books of prints Furnish aspking Artists with new hints ; Flow'rs, landscapes, figures, cram'd in one portfoho. There blend discordant tints to form an olio. While discords twanging from the half-tun'd harp, Make dulness cheerful, changing flat to sharp. Here, 'midst exotic plants, the curious maid Of Greek and Latin seems no more afraid. There lounging Beaux and Belles enjoy their folly. Nor less enjoying learned melancholy. Silent midst crowds the Doctor here looks big, Wrap'd in his own importance and his wig. ■■I e. J INTERIORS j;MM^ i, ./.Tar/ar J-ei. : iSM FRAGMENT XIV. WINGERWORTH. EXTRACT FROM THE RED BOOK OF WINGERWORTH, IN DERBYSHIRE, A SEAT OF SIR WINDSOR HUNLOCK, BART. CHARACTER AND SITUATION. The elevated situation of the House, on one of those broad hills peculiar to the most picturesque county in England, would alone stamp the character of importance on the place, in what- ever style the house might have been built ; for where we see a large pile of building on the summit of the hill, we are na- turally led to compare its relative importance with the scenery to which it belongs. And here we shall be surprised, on ap- proaching the mansion, to find it so much larger, richer, and more dignified, than it appears from a distance : the reason is, that the mau^ion is one square mass, almost a cube, and every building which partakes of this form, however great its propor- tions, always appears less than it really is, because the eye is not attracted either by its length, depth, or height, each being nearly equal: and it is only from a subordinate building placed near it, that we form any idea of its real magnitude. The House at Wingerworth is one of those magnificent piles 60 which were copied from the modern palaces of France and Italy, before our more fastidious Architects had discovered the remains of ancient Greece, and applied the Peristyle and the Portico of a Grecian Temple, without any windows, to a dwel- ling-house in England, recpiiring more than a hundred such useful apertures. But the true admirer of pure Grecian Archi- tecture is apt to forget the difference betwixt the Hypaethral Temple without a roof, and the English Mansion, not habitable without doors and windows and chimneys. It is with a combined view to utiHty and magnificence, that we must look at Wingerworth Hall; and however it may be necessary to alter its interior, in compliance with the change in modern habits of life, I should regret any alteration in the stately appearance of its exterior; on the contrary, it will be found, that what I shall suggest will increase, rather than di- minish, its imposing character as a Palace. VIEW FROM THE HOUSE. If there were any rooms to the north, and if it were desir- able to open the view in that direction, by removing the stables, &c. it would be purchasing a landscape at the expense of all comfort, by opening to the north winds. It is therefore obvious that the stables can no where be better placed ; and fortunately there are no rooms to the north to require such a sacrifice. The view to the east is doubtless the leading object from this house, and to this great attention should be given. At present 61 it is defective in two particulars; first, the ground falls in an inclined plane, and though the lawn is very deep, yet it is so fore-shortened to the eye, that very little of it is visible, and that part of it near the eye is dirty and unappropriate as a View from such apartments. This will be remedied by the terrace and dressed ground proposed. The distance, consisting of a rich valley, though bounded by the Palaces of Bolsover and Hardwicke in the horizon, wants marked and appropriated features. The smoke and the flame of a foundery attract our notice; but the eye would be more powerfully fixed by the expanse of water, which might be spread over the bottom, and by removing some trees, to do away the traces of those two rows that were at one time thought ornamental. The effect of such widely separated rows of trees was not like that of the ancient avenue, whose dark and solemn grandeur amply compensated for its artificial ranks: but this seems to have been a specimen of the power which Art might exert over Nature, by compeb ling trees to form lines, and take possession of a country far be- 3 ond the limits of the park or lawn belonging to the house ; and of course such puerile attempts at mock importance are not worthy to be retained. THE WATER. It very rarely happens that an object of beauty or taste can also be made an object of profit ; but at Wingervvorth the same surface, covered by water, may be more profitable than the 62 richest pasture, because it may be so managed as to admit of being occasionally drawn down two or three feet to supply canals, and other circumstances of advantage in this populous and commercial part of the kingdom; exclusive of the increased supply of fish, where such food is in constant requisition. For this reason I do not hesitate in recommending the piece of water already mentioned, which forms so striking a feature in the view from the house, and of which the effect will not be less striking, when viewed from the ground near its shores. The sketch will give some idea of this change in the scenery, although its appearance in reality will be far more striking than any representation of it by the pencil. THE APPROACHES. There is no part of the Art of Landscape Gardening in which so much absurdity has been displayed by the followers of Brown, as in the line of road, which should lead to the house : and because before his time every road was straight along an avenue to the front, and in the shortest line from the high road, it has been supposed that an approach is now per- fect, in proportion to its curvature, and to its length: but good taste, which is only plain common sense, aided by observation, directs us to make the road as easy as possible, consistently with the shape of the grounds; and if one line shews more beauty and interest than another, to prefer it; and if it is not actually the nearest possible, to make it more natural and easy. 63 For this reason I marked a line from the south, throusrh the plantation, to shew the most interesting scenery of Wingerworth, when the lake shall he completed; and also to ascend the hill more gradually than hy any other hne. ENTRANCE FROM CHESTERFIELD. The line of this approach is not only too steep, hut it is very naked and uninterestino-. It may he made more easy hv a little more curvature to ascend the hill, and direct the eye to some grass-land heyond the road, which will appear a continuation of the Park. The following Vignette will shew the effect of the alteration in the road, and of placing a Lodge across the present line of road. CONCLUSION. It would he impossible to enumerate all the points in which new beauties might be elicited from the natural situation and circumstances of Wingerworth ; it seems to have been unfortu- nately treated, in all that regards its pleasure-ground walks, as if it had been a Villa at Clapham, or a flat scene in Lincolnshire ; but I will not advise the alteration of what has been so recently finished; I will rather turn my attention to the general effect of the whole, and the improvement of its great features, leaving the lesser errors to outgrow and correct themselves. The too hasty removal of hedges and masses of trees, in 64 compliance with the modern fashion of mistaking extent for beauty, has made it difficult to give the ground, so cleared, the appearance of an ancient park ; and we must rather look for- ward to the future effect of those large masses, which have been more judiciously planted, than to the mistaken assem- blage of dots and clumps, with which modern gardening is apt to disfigure an open lawn. />uf//' ^f / Jr//ff^/- >//-/>■//// r.:n'f.v> PtiMirhfii 64 compliance with the modern fashion of mistaking extent for beauty, has made it difficult to give the ground, so cleared, the appearance of an ancient park ; and we must rather look for- ward to the future effect of those large masses, which have been more judiciously planted, than to the mistaken assem- blage of dots and clumps, with which modern gardening is apt to disfigure an open lawn. f>f////- /-// //'^/faeiaxn. 1^ m. h- ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 1^ ^ ,l=i FRAGMENT XV. ox PLANTING SINGLE TREES. TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD ERSKINE, ^c. 4-c. MY LORD, In answer to your Lordship's query, I will begin Ly stating it in your own words, because it is probable you have kept no copy of them, and I have no recollection of having made the remark you record, although I fully confirm it. Your letter says, " I have followed your advice in the shel- " ter given to my Cottage, without sacrificing my prospect; and " you said very truly, that when a man is annoyed with sun, " wind, or dust, he puts his hand near his face, and does not " depend on distant shelter." I then recommended you to plant only beech, and now you ask if there may be ddded a few cedars of Lebanon, pineaster, and silver firs. This I must answer by the help of a sketch, to explain; what is so obvious when explained; that I consider it only as a proof that the most enlightened minds will sometimes hesitate on subjects which they have not studied with the eyes of a Painter and Landscape Gardener: the former sees things as they are, the latter as thetj will be. Indeed I have frequently observed that, in planting a tree, few persons consider the future K 66 growth or shape of different kinds. Thus the l)eech and the ash will admit of a view under their branches, or will admit of lower branches being cut; while the fir tribe and conic-shaped trees will not. The annexed Landscape is composed of those materials, which may rather be called tame and beautiful, than romantic or picturesque. It consists of a river quietly winding through a valley; a tower on the summit of a wooded promontory, and a cottage at the foot of the hill ; a distant village spire, and more distant hills, mark the course of the valley: to all this is added a foreground, consisting of two large trees to the left, and three small ones to the right. The former can never be supposed to grow much larger, but the latter may in time fill the whole space now occupied by the dark cloud over them; and in so doing they will neither in- jure the Landscape, nor hide any of its leading features. Let me now direct the attention to the two small fir trees in the foreground, which appear so out of character with the scene, and so misplaced, that they offend even as they are here repre- sented ; but we must remember, that in a few years these trees Mill grow so high as to out-top the tower on the hill; and also spread out their side branches, till they meet, to the total exclu- sion of all the valley, and all that we admire in the Landscape^ Thus the hand which should only shade, will then be placed before the eyes; and the Landscape, as well as the sun, wind, and dust, would be better excluded by a Venetian blind at once. 67 I have seldom known trees planted singly, or dotted on a lawn, with permanent good effect ; because few who have planted such trees have courage to take them away after they have begun to grow: for this reason I have always asserted, that it is better to cut down a large tree, which actually impedes the view, than to plant a small one, which will very soon do the same thing. EFFECT (H)'^ SlOTdJLTE TREES J/>f>'^m y'l^ArAtv/ At ./.2tft/'-r' y*r ^ r 77 REPORT CONCERNING A VILLA IN ESSEX, VERY SINGULARLY SITUATED, Consisting of four or Jive acres of Garden, in the centre of Epping Forest, abounding in Beer, and immediateli/ surrounded by a Rabbit Warren of twenty acres. In delivering my opinion concerning the improvement of this place, I must state the peculiar circumstances which render it very different from any other. The House was much out of repair. It had long been the Rein-Deer tavern, occupied not as an inn by the side of some great road, but as a house in a sequestered part of the forest, with summer access by green lanes, or broad grass glades; and appropriated to the Sunday visits of those who made holiday, fancying they enjoyed solitude in a forest, amidst the crowd of ''felicity hunters' who came here to forget the cares of London. It was not uncommon to see fifty horses in the yards and sta- bles, and twice as many guests filling the large rooms; but these visits were confined to the summer months, and on this account the cool views towards the north were preferred to the sunshine of the south. Now it must have occurred to all who attend to situation in the country, that in this climate the first object of cheerfulness and comfort for a permanent residence is a south or south-east aspect. If a family ever reside here dur- 78 ing the winter, tliey will perliaps discover, that the window on the staircase to the south achiiits more cheerfiihiess than any other in the house: and this may perhaps suggest the idea of opening windows to the south in the great room, ahhough they may only h)ok into a conservatory or green-house, which may be also a grapery; but the difference between a public-house and a private one operates in so many ways, that I must proceed far- ther. The public-house recpiired broad glades and free access in all directions: large stables, stable-yards, and outbuildings, far more extensive than are necessary to a private house, and conse- quently all these may be reduced, and the access to them simpli- fied. There is yet another consideration which makes this place different from all others: it is not only a spot of four or five acres enclosed from a forest, but it is surrounded by a rabbit-warren, which the late occupier made an object of profit, though with the utmost difficulty could he preserve from these rapacious animals the vegetables in the garden, intended for his scarcely less rapacious guests; and thus the whole is subdivided by un- sightly palings, and the place altogether is a scene of slovenli- ness, with dirty ponds, and numerous puddles, cess-pools, and traps for vermin in every part of the premises; Avhile the sur- face presents nothing but yawning chasms, or barren mounds of clay Avitiiout a blade of grass, which is wholly destroyed by the rabbits. The first thing therefore to be done is, to secure the whole by such a fence as shall, at the same time, exclude the deer of the forest, who leap over any thing that is less than :six feet above ground, and the rabbits, who burrow under any 79 thing (but a brick wall) two or three feet beneath the ground. Now such a fence, quite round the premises, will be expensive, yet, without an effective fence, there can be no enjoyment of the place: I will therefore suppose, that much of the present fence may be repaired, and where a new fence is necessary it should be constructed according to the annexed section: thus — Sup- pose the dotted line the present surface of the ground, then begin by digging out the earth at A five or six feet wide, and throw it up at B, to raise the walk on a terrace ; then face the bottom of the bank about three feet deep with bricks, and put upon it a paling about three feet high ; this will make a fence of six feet against the deer, while a person walking with inside will look over the pale, and enjoy the prospect of the forest. After effectually inclosing and securing the whole area, the next consideration is, how it shall be occupied; this is described by the map. I first allot the garden for fruit and vegetables, which may be locked up, laying it altogether, and making access to the yard by a road to divide the garden from the melon-ground, &c. This garden may be decorated with neat gravel-walks and beds of flowers and shrubs, with terrace views into the forest; 80 and inchulliiQ,- tlio lionso and yards, will be about two acres; there will then remain about tvvo acres and a half to the north, which is too much to be all pleasure-ground, and either the whole may be fed with cattle as a lawn, or the part near the house, including the gravel roads, may be fenced with a wire or trellis fence, which will give neatness and comfort, without waste of land. All rabbit beds and burrows within the fence should of course be levelled and destroyed. REPORT CONCERNING EALING PARK. This is one of the few places which still retain the importance of the last century in the blended scenery of Landscape and Gardening : but the trees have outgrown their original inten- tion. Brown (whose work this appears to have been) sur- rounded the whole place by a narrow belt or skreen of planta- tion; and in conformity doubtless with the wish of its proprietor, he made a gravel-walk through the whole length of the same; notwithstanding it every where runs parallel to a high road, from which it is only separated by a pale : this was hid while the plantation was young, but now the trees are grown so naked and open at bottom, that the proximity of the boundary is every where felt : and since it would be impossible to remedy this 81 defect, without too great a sacrifice of respectable trees in the belt, we must seek for new beauties elsewhere, and have resort to different expedients, to shew the situation to advantage. A circular drive round a place with views only towards the inte- rior, has little to excite our admiration, after the first two or three rounds. It is not sufficient to see the water, and the large group of trees in the lawn ; they are still always out of our reach : we long to enjoy more of them; we wish not only to see them, but actually to be on the banks of the water, and under the shade of the trees: and, like Rasselas in the happy vale of Abyssinia, we regret the confinement of this belt, and should rejoice at emancipation from the magic circle by which we are restrained. Yet the exercise and pleasure of such a length of walk is an object not to be hastily relinquished. There are now but few places where the surrounding belts, planted in Brown's time, have not been cut down for the sake of the timber, or the ground cleared for the sake of the pasture; but where they exist, especially in a flat country, the trees have acquired such height as to exclude all distant view; and con- sequently an air of confinement is produced, which was not intended in Brown's original belts. Two instances of this kind have occurred to me in the neighbourhood of Ealing and Acton; where a pleasing offskip, with wooded distance, and such fea- tures as the Pagoda and Palace of Kew, were totally hid by the lofty trees which formed the belt. In one of them an attempt had been made to break the continuity, but some few tall trees that were left, produced more mischief than all the others before M 82 they were taken away; beeause, while the belt remained, we might suppose it concealed some unsightly object; or, that no- thing- existed beyond it deserving a place in the landscape; but now Ave perceive features whose beauty is by no means in- creased by being- partially concealed. The sketch, N° 1, represents the opening made in a belt, in which the Pagoda at Kew forms a striking object; but the sketch differs considerably from the original; the spectator in the former is supposed to be stationary, but in the latter, when- ever he changes his position, the Pagoda is alternately hid by the four trees, which are supposed to be taken away in the sketch, N'2; and every one must be sensible, that the opening requires to be made thus free from impediment and incum- brance: the distance may then be decidedly separated from the foreground. These two sketches also serve to elucidate another remark: the ofYskip, or distant country, must either be seen over or tinder those objects which constitute the foreground; here ad- vantage is taken of both; in the larger opening it is shewn over an intervening copse, or mass of brushwood, and in the other it appears through the stems of tall trees, and wider their branches. Such openings, if not too frequently repeated, or too artificially made, will improve the landscape, without de- stroying the continuity of wood, and of walk within the same. But in these sketches another effect is hinted, by breaking the line of clipped fence, partly by a few thorns planted before it, and partly by suffering some bushes in the hedge to grow taller; tliis will render the Avalk more interesting than in its present ■^' ^^^: t^TiC^' 77i<' /^JlLT n'/h'/t /t //lis i>ii/i!roirn its oru///ia/ J/ite/itwii , rti/i /'///i/ (h' l>ro/ce/t el/'ectiiii//i/ />// /// n'miipi/u} t/ie (iar/r /y/Iccttai) a/' Pres lou./iiii j'u/'/ts/iff''y j'' isii^-fti/ ./. 7rt///*-'/ 8 Q State, where the same view into the same lawn becomes tire- some and monotonous; and where the house and the water is the axis round which we turn, we feel in a manner tethered to a certain point; and it would be a relief to have the atten- tion drawn away to other objects more new, though not so beautiful. Having classed under the same head of Small Places or Villas several subjects of very different magnitude and im- portance, one more may be added, to which not an acre be- longed; and therefore it may serve to shew, that the quantity of acres attached does not make a place large or small; and also as yielding a striking example of the difference to be observed betwixt the Scenery of a Park and that of a Garden, blending utility with ornament, and giving privacy to a situation most exposed to the pubUc. A modern Villa, called White Lodge, is situated nearly in the centre of Richmond Park. This has long been granted by the Kino: as a residence to Lord Viscount Sidmouth. When I first visited the spot in 1805, a small quantity of land had re- cently been allotted from the Park; without which, indeed, the house was before hardly habitable; for, although it was sur- rounded on every side with varied landscape, and the sceneiy of a forest rather than that of a park, being one of the royal domains, the deer and cattle of the forest had access to the 84 doors and windows; and were only kept from the corridore by a chain or hurdle put across the arches. It is ob\'ious, under such circumstances, that there could be no walks, no privacy, no enjoyment of garden luxuries, either for pleasure or for use: and neither fruit nor vegetables could be raised upon the pre- mises. There were two modes of treating this subject, according to the modern system of Landscape Gardening. The first was to enclose the whole area granted, by a belt of trees and shrubs: this would have excluded all view into the park, and reduced the situation to that of any villa on Clapham Common. The other mode was that which I found actually begun, viz. to surround the whole with an open or invisible fence, to unite in appearance the Ground of the Park with that of the enclosure, bringing to the same level the surface where it was irregular. This would have completely destroyed every advantage of privacy, of convenience, or of use, in the acquisition from this new grant. I was therefore driven to suggest a third expedient, which in these Fragments has or will be frequentl}^ mentioned, viz. to adopt a decided artificial Character for the Garden; boldly reverting to the ancient formal style, which by some will be condemned as departing from the imitation of Nature: and by such treatment is now secured to these premises an ample portion of ground for fruit and vegetables of every kind; yet these are so enveloped in skreens of shrubbery and garden flowers, as to be no where visible or offensive. At the same time, by preserving the inequalities in the ground, which were 85 about to be levelled, the \Valk is made to take advantage of views into the park; and thus neither beauty nor utiUty is banished by the enclosure. The Drawing by which this subject is elucidated will per- haps be deemed more picturesque as a Park than as a Garden ; but it has frequently been ol)served, that Garden Scenery sel- dom presents subjects for a picture. Let us rather consider which of the two is most applicable to the uses of habitation — the neatness and security of a gravel-walk, or the uncleanly, pathless grass of a forest, filled with troublesome animals of every kind, and some occasionally dangerous. The improvement suggested has been executed in every respect by the present noble Inhabitant, with the exception of the Treillage Ornaments, which may at any time be added.* * In a beautiful work lately published in Fiance, entitled, Choix des plus celebres Maisons de Plaisance de Rome, by Cha. Percier and P. F. L. Fontaine, the following just distinction is made betwixt the Italian Gardens and those of France ; to which might be added, the modern English Garden also. " Ce n'est jamais, comme on le " voit chez nous, un jardin dans le quelle on a pretendu faire un site, un paysage, " mais au contraire, un site dans le quel on a fait un jardin c'est TArt qui a pare la " Nature, et non pas I'Art qui a voidu la creer." FRAGMENT XVII. OF A GARDEN NEAR OPORTO. TO HARRIS, ESQ. SIR, When I first received the honour of your letter, desiring me to furnish a plan for the improvement of Ground belonging- to a Villa in Portugal, I doubted whether your cor- respondent from that place could be in earnest in supposing such an undertaking possible; yet the novelty of the experi- ment induced me to attend to this request: and notwithstand- ing all the difficulties of the subject, I have endeavoured to com- ply with your friend's wishes, " that I should furnish a plan for shewing a specimen of English Gardening in a foreign country." The difficulties to which I allude are these : First, My not having ever seen the spot, or any drawing of it. Secondly, My never having been in that country, yet from sketches furnished by those who have been there, I had some general ideas of the face of the country near the spot, though not of the spot itself. 87 Thirdly, Having onlj' a map of the surface, ^vithout any sections of the ground, to describe the various levels : and Lastly, The vast diflerence in climate, soil, seasons, and costume, between England and Portugal. All ^-s hich seem to render the introduction of our English Garden into the grounds near Oporto almost as difficult as it has been to introduce the vegetation of a hot country into the cold regions of the north : yet this has by perseverance been accomplished; and I am happy in an opportunity of attempting to shew in this instance how far difficulties may be surmounted. Having at various times published my opinion on English or Landscape Gardening, I must beg leave to refer your cor- respondent to those works, and shall only point out the pecu- liarities which seem to render our English style almost inappli- cable to Portugal, or at least to call for a different mode of treatment in the subject under consideration. The first of the great rec[uisites in English Gardening is, to banish all appearance of confinement, and to give imaginary extent of freedom, by invisible fines of separation, by a ha! ha! or sunk fences, &c. If this be difficult in a territory of two or three hundred acres, how much more so must it be in a plot of three or four acres, enclosed by walls, and surrounded by neighbouring buildings: all we can hope to effect is to hide this boundary every where by plantations of such varied outline and depth, as to disguise what we cannot extend or remove. Secondly, That which pecufiarly distinguishes the gardens of England is the beauty of English verdure : the grass of the 88 mown lawn, uniting with the grass of the adjoining pastures, and presenting that permanent verdure which is the natural consequence of our soft and humid climate, but unknown to the cold regions of the north, or the parching temperature of the south. This it is impossible to enjoy in Portugal to any great extent; where it would be as practicable to cover the general surface with the snow of Lapland, as with the verdure of England: I mean naturally; yet artificially it may be effected on a small scale by shade and irrigation; some hint, therefore, will be given for producing this effect, if only as a specimen of Ensrlish verdure. Thirdly, There is another circumstance belonging to Eng- lish Gardens, which may possibly be imitated in any climate; and that relates to the prevailing lines of walks, &c. In the old Gardens of France and Italy, and I suppose it is the same in Portugal, the walks are always straight, the surface generally flat, and all the shapes, whether of land, of water, of beds, or of parterres and borders, are drawn in circles, or squares, by straight mathematical rules. These are evidently works of Art, and do not pretend to any resemblance to Nature: indeed, when the ground has been formed into level terraces, supported by straight walls, perhaps a straight walk, parallel to the wall, is more rational than the affectation of a serpentine walk, which can only be justified either by irregularity of sur- face, or by the variety of views. In a straight walk the view forward is always the same, but in a curving walk it varies with every step we take : thus ^\ hctlier it consist of distant 89 prospects, or of the shrubs and plants near tlie eye, the scene is constantl}^ changing, and this characteristic of an English Garden may be imitated in any country. The annexed plan will fully explain how this may be accomplislied in the present instance; but there is also an expedient suggested to realize the English style in two other circumstances, viz. the inequality of surface, and its verdure. I am given to understand, that the broad terrace or platform near the house is about six or eight feet above the second terrace, and that water may be brought thither to supply a basin for gold and silver fish; let us there- fore suppose the shape of the ground to be altered accord- ing to the annexed plan and sections;* this will make a fall in every direction towards the pool, and if the water by which this pool is to be supplied be led along a narrow channel of stone or lead, from every part of which it may trickle on the grass, it may be spread over the whole surface, in the same manner as water meadows are irrigated, and in the hottest climate the verdure will be preserved; especially if some trees be planted round the area, to contribute their shade. By this expedient I have no doubt we may produce a specimen of English verdure in the upper ground; and if it succeeds there, * In describing this Garden of Portugal, the Plan for the walks and shrubberies has been omitted; but the Map inserted with the sections of the ground maybe considered as of a more general nature ; serving to explain the process of laying out a surface in such manner, that it may be raised and sunk, according to the stakes by which the ground is divided into squares. This was done under my direction at the gardens at the Pavilion at Brighton, and the whole surface altered accordingly. N 90 it may also be made to succeed erpially in the lowest ground, by the water in ihe well in the middle of the garden. Not having seen the spot, and not knowing what plants or shrubs there may be now growing, or what will best succeed in this situation, I shall give the following general rules for the plant- ing, after the ground is shaped according to the annexed dia- gram. First, If there are any good trees or plants on the Sipot, too large to be removed, let them not be disturbed, unless very much interfering with the levels of the ground, or line of the Avalks. Secondly, The height of the plants must be guided by the objects they are intended to lijde, or the views they may ob- .struct. In those places where good prospects are seen over the walls, they need only be high enough to hide the walls; in others, where houses or other objects require to be concealed, they must be high in proportion. Thirdly, Let the lowest growing shrubs be nearest to the walks, and some flowers in front; except in those walks which require shade; and there tall plants may be put close to the side of the walks. N. B. The water to irrigate the grass, and supply the pool, I understand, is to be furnished from a redundance in the adjoining ground belonging to a Convent of Capu- chins ; and much will depend on the due attention that not a drop shall be lost or wasted. I am happy to add, that this plan \va.s successfully realized, and admired for its effect and novelty in Portugal. S>irrciionsjhr s/iti/>ing- t/if stt//aa- . /iu/i> O/ /a/i ever}' "'ir /vmards /He I'ool. F&xt taJke doim »i» Terrace ua/l. (Aen put staA:e^ at Zi feet apart eacA war. and riiarfr on eacfi .piaAx the memiers on i/ie Plan. Mea.ture the. he^ht of ^& JTaB to be remaveJ and dti-ide it intp -i etfua/ parts, ami *fair -'HI sen-e as- a sea/e /or t/ie deptAs-. f-ffie GXJOct Ae/^At or' t/iif Ifa// nof /im-tn^ been salt, T suppose if ^-$ tret, maAzna eaeA tla'ision ji reet. or zr' it be on^' J ^et btt^/i , then eaeb do^fion leiU be tmly 1/vat. J)ta trencAes, trifss/nff eacb other accorelena to the ones on the plan, and- to the depots corre.rpontlaut n-rt/t the ^Fections eae/i wav . stef>posme/ J Tt-et to the surface tjr' the Water, hut t/ie Pool must be rormed and dutf out atienrards. T/ie trenches or ptdtem Imes fiemy duff 2 or 3 /ret leide . the nhok sierrizce u-iO be ea^ify .fjuipeel by tahirut awa^- ^le earfft, in the intermediate squares . of the Ganien in ir/iich a Tool ror Gold J^is/i is to be made the ^^round falliria to the sanu: . and thf. surrace to be irriffotJid . by n'ater sappHcd mrm, the ad/oiniha i^ round , belonffma bo the Content of Capuczns SEiTTKIDl^S OIF A (irAmiDE:^' HIEAM ©FOMTO J'u^/fs/ia.^ In J Tqi'/pf Je^. J JS/6' FRAGMENT XVITI. « UPPARK. EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF UPPARK, A SEAT OF SIR HARRY FEATHERSTONE, BART. SITUATION AND CHARACTER. Before a rational plan for the improvement of any place can be laid down, it is always necessary to consider its natural situation, and the character which has been given to it b}^ art. The former at Uppark is truly magnificent, being on the sum- mit of the south down range of hills; and when we consider the large masses of wood, the beautiful shapes and verdure of the lawns, with the distant and various views of sea and land, it is difficult to adapt any style of building to such a spot, that may correspond with the great scale of the place. Of this dif- ficulty the Architect seems to have been aware, by the degree of irregularity which was originally adopted in the position of the outbuildings: this is evident, both from the map and from an old picture on the staircase, wherein the stables and other offices appear to have been placed not at right angles, but con- verging from the entrance front. His reasons for so doing seem to have been well founded. 92 He knew llial a correct correspondence of parts in a building tends to diminish its importance; that the Roman style, which was then introduced into England, would not admit of such irregularity; and all that could be done was to spread out the detached buildings, which produced an appearance of irregu- larity when seen from a distance, while the effect of symmetry was preserved in the entrance-court, where the lines converging instead of being parallel, increased the apparent length of per- spective.* THE ENTRANCE. As the principal object of improvement at Uppark relates to an alteration in the entrance, I shall endeavour to explain the causes which have rendered such alteration necessary. Before the introduction of Roman Architecture into Eng- land, all the Palaces and laro-e Mansions consisted of one or more quadrangles surrounded by buildings, as at Cowdray, Hampton Court, &c. But at the time when Uppark was built, the fashion of these quadrangles was about to be changed ; al- thouo'h for a long; time after, it was continued in the entrance fronts; and at Uppark, where the entrance was to the east, a basse cour, or court, was preserved; and in so lofty and exposed a situation, such an entrance was absolutely necessary to the comfort of the residence; for however the views might be opened * An example of this may be observed in St. George-Street, as viewed from the end of Hanover-square. S2 ?0 s: — 1 93 from the other windows of the house, those on the same side with the entrance coukl command only a view surrounded by walls or buildings. As the gloomy confined view into a quadrangle, or paved court, forms a great contrast to the cheerful landscape of a park, or more distant prospects, it is no wonder that fashion should open the views in every direction; forgetting that one side at least of every house must be appropriated to useful rather than ornamental purposes. In the original plan of Uppark, it is evident, by the little attention given to its appearance, that the Architect intended the north front should not be seen ; but when the buildings, which formed the due importance of the east or entrance front, were taken down, the entrance still continued as before. It is difficult to give an adequate idea of the improvement which has been actually executed, without inserting the whole series of sketches and plans by which the report is illustrated, and which consists of nine distinct drawings. The annexed sketch shews the entrance from the park to the pleasure-ground and flower-garden, which is defended by a wall of tlint-work; and after passing through the iron gates, the road continues in the highly-dressed pleasure-ground, till it enters the quadrangle to the north of the house, in which a corridor and portico of Doric columns mark the entrance. FRAGMENT XIX. CONCERNING COMBINATION. I CONFESS myself at some loss for an appropriate title for the subject of this section. Perhaps it will best be explained by comparing a Mansion of the last century with those venerable piles of more ancient date ; many of which have been sacri- ficed to the prim spruceness of that modern fashion which dictates uniformity of style through the whole building, and consequently renders it necessary to hide by planting all such offices or appendages as cannot be made to assimilate with its character. To this may be added the prevailing custom of placing a House in the middle of a Park, detached from all ob- jects, whether of convenience or magnificence; and thus making a country residence as solitary and unconnected as the Prison on Dartmoor. Let us compare such a scene with the ancient Family Man- sion of two or three centuries ago, and which may perhaps have undergone repairs or additions in difierent styles, during a long succession of generations. We shall often observe a combined mass of buildings irregular in their outline, and per- haps even discordant in their style ; but the confused mixture in a Mansion, with its offices attached and detached, gives an imposing assemblage, while the church, and even the village, or at least some houses of dependants, add to that quantity and 95 variety, without which there can be no real greatness or im- portance. It is a mistaken idea, that a place is increased in its grandeur by removing all its subordinate parts to a distance, or out of sight : on the contrary, many of our most venerable Palaces are attached, at least on one side, to the neighbouring town ; while views into gardens and park scenery are enjoyed from the principal apartments. Except in the cases of some Roj^al Domains, the examples of such venerable Edifices are becoming more and more scarce; partly from the prevalence of bad taste, that generally accom- panies wealth suddenly acquired, and partly from the propen- sity which dictates the pulling down and rebuilding, rather than preserving and restoring the ancient specimens of former magnificence. This erroneous practice is farther increased by the fashion of detaching the Mansion from its natural depend- encies, rather than combining it with them. Amongst these, perhaps, there was none deemed more appropriate in old times than the Church or Chapel, or family place of burial and wor- ship. This, so far from casting the gloom, which modern times have annexed to such combinations, was formerly considered as an object of pride and pleasure to the living, by combin- ing the associated remembrance of many generations of the same family. If there be a pleasing association excited by a collection of family pictures in the hall of an ancient mansion; if we look back with a degree of pride and satisfaction on the ancient costume of the stiff portraits of former proprietors, how much 96 more forcibly do the l)usts and statues and recorded deeds of former worthies arouse the mind to a feeling of respect, when we know that all which'can remain is sacredly j)reserved on the spot ^^ here they once enjoyed the regard of tlieir cotempora- ries ! Not having received the permission of the Noble Proprie- tor to mention the name of his place, I nnist lake the liberty to explain the subject by the help of a sketch, without giving the name. Near the ancient seat of a Noble Family, the Parish Church (to which is allached the burial place used by the fa- mily for more than seven cenluries) is so close to the site of the mansion, that some may j)erhaps think it too near; but a mo- dern house has been restored on the original site, and is now so intimately connected with the church, the church-yard, and offices belonging to the house, that it is impossible not to be pleased with the combined eflect of such a mass of buildings. This I have recommended to be increased, by preserving a picturescpie cottage, formerly the parsonage, and adding a cemetary, to form the boundary of the church-yard. It is remarkable, that in this neighbourhood a custom pre- vails of profusely gilding the tombs and grave-stones, which are some of white and some of a black stone; and I suQoested the idea of intermixino- shrubs and beds of flowers witJi the gilded and carved ornaments: the novelty of the scene would tend to remove that decree of dissfust which ouuht not to be excited by the emblems of mortality, while we believe in the iunnortality of man. FRAGMENT XX. CONCERNING CONTRASTS. The gaudy sketch which accompanies this Fragment was taken at the moment when a dark and heavy summer's shower was suddenly succeeded by a bright effulgence of light in a conser- vatory from which the glass roof had been removed. Although the eftect was such as neither this sketch nor any painting can express, it may yet be useful in elucidating the following re- marks concerning Contrasts. The first contrast here shewn is that in the shape of the trees, betwixt the straight, stiff, and upright forms to the right, and those drooping forms to the left ; and though we may admire the stately and aspiring cha- racter of the boll} hock and larkspur among flowers, with the cedar and cypress among trees, yet if Ave turn to the opposite side, we shall confess the justice of Mr. Burke's remark, that a certain degree of weakness is not incompatible with beauty; and that in vegetables, as in the human form, the apparent need of support increases the interest we feel in what is grace- ful or beautiful. The sketch first serves to exemplify the contrast* betwixt * I have occasionally planted near each other such trees as the Liburnum and the Acacia, with weeping Birch and Willows ; adding such flowers and shrubs as grace- fully accord, by the pendulous manner of their growth; this makes a source of pleasing O 98 aspiring and drooping plants, as well as the contrast of colours. I have also endeavoured to delineate, hut found it impossible to do justice to the rainbow, either in its vivid hues or its trans- parent effect. I should have wished to give an adequate idea of that harmonious contest which I witnessed betwixt the vivid meteor in the sky, and the assemblage of objects seeming to vie with the rainbow in the richness of their colours. The next contrast I shall mention is that of Lis^ht and Dark, not in shadow and shade, but of a variety in colouring observ- able in Nature, and well worth cultivating in the art of Garden- ing, although difficult to represent in painting. Of this I shall enumerate several kinds. First, The difference of a leaf with the light shining full upon it, which renders it an opake object, and the same leaf seen transparent by the light shining through it* Secondly, The Contrast produced amidst the more gaudy Colouring by the sort of repose that the eye derives, sometimes from white flowers, as of the jasmine, the passion-flower, and other plants, whose leaves are dark and not glossy: sometimes variety in our gardens : while in others I have collected together all the different spe- cies of some beautiful genus : thus in the Thornery at Woburn are to be found every species of thorns which will bear the climate. * Having one day, when at Holwood, pointed this out to Mr. Pitt as a source of the delight we experience in a sunny day, from an open trellis of vines overhead, or the foliage in the roof of a conservatory, he was so forcibly struck with the remark, that he made several experiments with leaves of different shapes and tints, some of which, from the opaker ramification of their fibres, or other circumstances of texture, &c. be- came new objects of delight to a mind like his, capable of resorting to the beauties of Nature, as a relief from the severer duties of his arduous situation. 99 the same repose is produced by a mass of light foliage, at a little distance appearing without shape or colour, as in a bed of mignionette. Thirdly, The Contrast in Texture ; some plants and flowers appearing as if composed of silk, others of cloth or velvet; some smooth as satin, others harsh, rough, and prickly. Fourthly, The contrast of Size; some like the aloe, the horse-chesnut, or the tulip-tree, bearing their blossoms above the reach of man ; and others, like the diminutive rock plants, and miniatures of Nature, requiring to be raised, or placed on tables, and in flower-pots or baskets. Sometimes plants of the same species assume new dimensions, forming a contrast with their more common measurements; as in the diminutive dwarf Burgundy rose, and the gigantic Viola tricolor; which may be used as an example of contrasts in colour and in relative dimen- sions.* * In alluding to the contrast from dimensions, I cannot omit some notice of the power of Art over Nature in this respect. In China it is a common practice not only to compress the feet of women, but they have a mode of stinting the growth of trees, by which they can reduce Oaks and Elms to the size of shrubs in garden-pots, to decorate the decks and cabins of their ships. A curious specimen of this kind of dwarf plant may be seen growing from the roof of a conduit, near the road side, betwixt Hyde-Park and Knightsbridge ; where a perfect Elm in miniature has existed, to my knowledge, nearly half a century, with- out being now much bigger than a currant bush. In England we are apt to err in an opposite extreme, endeavouring rather to increase the size, than diminish it ; thus we destroy the original stock (witness the gigantic but tasteless Gooseberry of Lan- cashire) ; and often injure the flavour, by increasing the size ; swelling the Pippin to a Pearmain, and the Nonpareil to a Nonsuch. 100 The last contrast I shall mention is that of Cloud and Sun- shine. There is perhaps notliing more reviving and delightful, than the sudden effect of a summer's showier, after a long con- tinuance of dry weather: then all nature seems revived; the oTound and the plants send forth new and srrateful odours: the Ox o ' flowers, the birds, the insects, all join to express their pleasure; and even the gold fish in a globe, by their frolic motion shew that they partake in the general joy; splashing the water, and sometimes leaping out of it to meet the welcome drops. An assemblage of Contrasts, under such circumstances, I vainly fancied I could fix by my pencil's art; but a single drop con- vinced me how feeble is Art in her imitation of Nature. " Si la Nature est grande dans les grandes choses, " EUe est tres grande dans les petites." Rousseau. Every spray was bespangled by drops hanging like dia- monds, and each changing to all the colours of the rainbow, from whence they appeared to have newly fallen, to cheer the eye, delight the heart, and lift the mind to the contemplation of that source of light and joy from whence alone such beau- ties and such wonders can proceed. SlT^SHIME AFTEM MAIM fuih.wh:i i, J.T.j.i8ie ffere A'atures (o/t/mstf — - /// atU'inpts in vain ; ilTto can describe f/ie Jov fhat toUoiys pain? Or pai/ti fA ' cf/cct of xeun^vAine arhr rat/i ? FRAGMENT XXT. FROM A REPORT CONCERNING FROME HOUSE, DORSETSHIRE, A SEAT OF NICHOLAS GOULD, ESQ. The character of a place will always be influenced l^y the style of the House; and 1 have ever considered, that, without absolute necessity, to destroy an ancient mansion, venerable by age, de- notes as bad taste, as to erect a modern Castle or A])bey Avhere there are no vestiges or pretensions for a Jjuilding of that de- scription. About the date of Frome House, there prevailed in England a certain character of Architecture, holding a middle station betwixt the baronial castle and the yeoman's habitation; it was the Manor House* In modern times the habits of life are changed; wealth, from the success of industry or adventure, has frequently become possessed of such ancient mansions; and the rage for novelty has often destroyed all vestiges of ancient ^;'e«/- * A most sumptuous specimen of this kind exists in Norfolk (Wolterton Manor House), and has been recently published by the Society of Antiquaries from Drawings by J. Adey Repton. 102 ness o{ character^ to introduce tlie reigning fashion ior greatness o^ dimension. Hence we often see rooms too large to be wanned, or lighted, or inhabited with comfort; and doors and windows too large to be opened; and sometimes a single house is dis- played with a long line of rooms, in which there is not a corner or recess to sit in. Our ancestors, when they made large rooms, contrived bays and breaks in its uniform shape ; but the modern saloon of (what is called perfect proportion^ thirty-six by twenty- four feet, must be crammed with tables, and sophas, and instru- ments, to create some intricacy in this barn-like space. Having too frequently regretted the demolishing of old mansions, it is a peculiar satisfaction to me to be called upon to improve the ancient Mansion of an ancient family : and while I indulge my fondness for antiquity, I will endeavour to justify the plans I suggest, by answering such objections as may perhaps be offered; at the same time that I assign the reasons for my opinion. The south-east front of Frome House is a specimen of regu- lar, but not enriched, House-Gothic; and is in such state of repair as makes it unnecessary to take it down, and unpar- donable to replace it by any modern style of building. What remains, however, of the old house is neither large enough nor sufliciently convenient for the modern residence of a gentle- man's family; being only a single house, without any access to any room, except that which was formerly the hall, but now destroyed as such by an intermediate ceiling. It is therefore proposed to add so much as will double the present building; 103 and I trust no one can object to this ncAV part corresponding in stjde with what is left of the old original mansion, by preserv- ing the character of similar date ; although to the proposal of adding at all to the present house the three following objections may possibly be urged. First, The present site is too low: Secondly, It is too near the water: and. Thirdly, It is on the verge of the estate. To the first I must observe, that our ancestors very judici- ously placed their Castles on eminences for defence, and their Abbies and Houses in the vallies for shelter: but in the cham- paign country of Dorset it would be absurd to place a new house on a more elevated part of the property, exposed to every wind, without a tree to cover it. Secondly, If the water were a stagnant pool, or one of those sheets of water, as they are called, in imitation of a lake, it might be objectionable to place a mansion so near its misty shores ; but where the water is constantly gliding, or in rapid motion, where a hard, pebbly bottom appears through the limpid stream, and where the banks are not swamps or bogs, the current of the stream increases the wholesome current of the air; and its lively motion constitutes its chief interest, it should therefore be brought close to the windows, in a channel not too deep; as in such streams we do not require the still, sleepy mirror of deep water belonging to a navigable river; which Milton very beau- tifully contrasts, as distinct objects, " The shallow Brook, and River wide." 104 Thirdly, Where a property is bounded by a natural river, it is surely advisaljlc to take advantage of so interesting a fea- ture; especially where islands or brushwood, on the opposite shore, prevent any nuisance or intrusion from a neighbour; but at present the shores appear more w et and swampy than they really are, from the willows and aquatic plants, which have been suffered to grow, in preference to the alders, which have, not improperly, been called, " the Aquatic Oak. " But when new channels are dug, and the ground raised on the island, it will be found capable of bearing all sorts of trees and shrubs, which will do away the present apparent swampiness of the shores. There is still one other objection, which may perhaps be made by those who consider that a house in the country must not only stand in the middle of its own property, but also that it should be surrounded by park or lawn of great extent. This may be necessary to give the mock importance of space to a modern mansion, but the ancient manor-house generally stood near a public road, and derived its importance from the neigh- bouring village, or cottages, or pastures, rather than from the destruction of every other dwelling near it, to produce one overgrown grass-field; or by " lawning a hundred good acres of wheat," to produce a bald naked park, dotted with starving trees, or belted and clumped with spruce firs, and larches, and Lombardy poplars. The sketch subjoined is an accurate portrait of the present view Iroui llic south-east front of the house, encumbered by 2:^ ^ fi N ^ m fe2 % ^ ^ ^ ^ 105 barns, and the water is seen in the furrows along the side of the willow copse. At present the view is neither land nor water; but by digging a channel to connect with the line of the river, the water will become the boundary of the dressed ground near the house; while a pleasing intricacy will be occasioned by the contrasted forms of bridges to connect the several islands; and the landscape, without being bold, or romantic, will become interesting and picturesque.* * There is a circumstance belonging to the Rivulets in Dorsetshire, which re- quires peculiar treatment. The water of this and the adjoining counties of Hants and Wilts often consists of small rivers called Bourns, some of which are perfectly dry dur- ing the summer, and others are so shallow, as to be nearly invisible, from the quantity of grass and weeds floating on the surface. Where the water is meant to be ornamental, it will often be advisable to mow and rake the stream, which requires as much atten- tion as a grass or gravel-walk, not to appear slovenly and overgrown with weeds. FRAGMENT XXII. OF ASPECTS AND PROSPECTS. FROM A REPORT CONCERNING THE SITUATION FOR WALWOOD HOUSE, TO BE ERECTED ON A PROPERTY IN THE PARISH OF LAYTONSTONE, ESSEX, BELONGING TO WILLIAM COTTON, ESQ. Nothing is more common than for those who intend to huild to consult many advisers, and to collect different plans, from which they suppose it possible to make one perfect whole. But they might as well expect to make an epic poem, by selecting detached verses from the works of different poets. Others take a plan, and fancy it may be adapted to any situation ; but in reality, the plan must be made not only to^if the spot, it ought actually to be made upon the spot, that every door and win- dow may be adapted to the Aspects and Prospects of the situ- ation. It was a remark of my venerable friend, Mr. Carr of York, after fourscore years experience as an Architect, that to " build " a house, we had only to provide all that was wanted, and no " more; then to place the best rooms to the best aspects and the 107 " best views." Simple as this apothegm may appear, it contains more truth in theorj^, and more difficulty in practice, than all the rules which have ever been laid down in books l^y archi- tects, or the remarks of all the admirers of rural scener>% with whom I have conversed. The former never think of Aspects, and the latter think of nothing but Prospects. I will therefore beg leave to enlarge on these two subjects. I consider the Aspect as of infinilely more consequence to the comfort and enjoyment of the inhabitant, than any Pro- spect whatever: and every common observer must be con- vinced, that in this climate a southern aspect is most desirable; but few are aware of the total difference in the effect of turninp- the front of the house a few points to the East or to the West of the south; because, although the south-east is the best, yet the south-^vest is the worst of all possible Aspects ; for this rea- son, viz. all blustering winds and driving rains come from the south-west, and consequently the windo^vs are so covered with wet, as to render the landscape hardly visible. My attention was originally drawn to this subject by travelling so much in post carriages, and often remarking the difference betwixt the window to the south-west and that to the south-east, diirino- a shower of rain, or immediately after; when the sun shining on the drops causes an unpleasant glitter, obstructing the prospect, while the ^^ew towards the south-east remains perfectly visible.* ' At Organ-Hall, in Hertfordshire, a seat of William Towgood, Esq. the living- room was towards the south-west, and during a heavy storm of wind and rain we acci- 108 If we had only one front, or one aspect to consider, our difficulty would soon vanish; but the prevailing partiality for variety of Prospect seems to require, that in every direction the views shoukl be retained; and as the opposite walls of the house must l)e parallel, and the corners at right angles, we must con- sider the effect on each of the four sides — thus — First, The Aspect due North is apt to be gloomy, because no sunshine ever cheers a room so placed : Secondly, The Aspect due East is not much better, because there the sun only shines while we are in bed : Thirdly, The Aspect due West is intolerable, from the excess of sun dazzling the eye through the greatest part of the day. From hence we may conclude, that a square house, placed with its fronts duly opposite to the cardinal points, will have one good and three bad aspects. Let us now consider the effect of turning the principal front towards the south-east, then the opposite front will be to the dentally went into the butler's-pantr}', which looked towards the south-east, where we found the storm abated, and the view from the windows perfectly clear and free from wet ; but on returning into the other room, the storm appeared as violent as ever ; and the windows were entirely covered with drops, which obstructed all view. On considering the prevalence of south-west winds, it was determined to reverse the Aspects of the house, by changing the uses of the rooms ; making a very comfortable house bf one which, from its Aspect only, was before hardly habitable ; since no win- dow, nor hardly any brick w^alls, will keep out the wet, where a front is exposed to the south-west : for this reason, it has been found necessary in many places, as at Brighton, &c. to cover the walls with slates, or pendent tiles, and to use double sashes to the windows so situated. 109 north-west; an Aspect far better than either due north or due west; because some sunshine may be preserved, when its beams are less potent than in the west, and tlie scene will be illumi- nated by those catching lights so much studied bj' painters ; especially where, as in the present instance, the landscape con- sists of large masses of forest trees, and thickets richly hano-ino- down the side of an opposite hill. An Aspect open to the north- east would be objectionable during the cold winds of spring; but in this instance it is effectually sheltered by an impervious skreen of trees, and large hoUeys, not drawn across the land- scape, l)ut perspectively receding into a deep bay, and forming an admirable defence against the north-east winds; while the richness and variety of this amphitheatre of evergreens, will render the Prospect as perfect as the Aspect. This warmly shel- tered corner will invite the cattle from every other part of the grounds, to enliven the home view near the windows. It now remains only to mention the side towards the south- west; and having stated the objection to this Aspect, we may consider it fortunate that the Prospect in this direction is such as requires to be hid rather than displayed; and, consequently, the detached offices and plantations, to connect the gardens with the house, will defend the latler from the driving: storms of the south-west, and give that sheltered and shady con- nexion betwixt the house, offices, and gardens, which consti- tutes one of the most delightful agremens of a country resi- dence. While speaking of the three different Aspects, I have slightly no adverted to their respective views or landscapes ; but I will speak further on that towards the south-east, to which all the others mav be considered as subordinate, althoug:!! not sacri- ficed. It is very common for admirers of landscape or natural scenery, to overlook the difference betwixt a tree and a pole, or ])etwixt a grove of old trees and a plantation of young ones. We fancy that time will reconcile the difference; but, alas! we grow old as fast as the trees; and while we dot and clump a few starving saplings on an open lawn, we indulge hopes of seeing trees, when in fact Ave only live to see the clumsy fences by which for many years they must be protected. Happy therefore is that proprietor of the soil, who becomes possessed of large trees, already growing on the land he purchases; since no price can buy the effect of years, or create a full grown AA ood ; and without that, we may possess a garden, or a shrub- bery, bul not a landscape. This consideralion alone is suffi- cient to attach us to the vicinity of that venerable avenue, which it would be a sort of sacrilege to desert, and whose age and beaiiiy will give an immediate degree of importance to the house, which could never be expected in any more open part of the estate. The view towards the south-east will consist of a glade into the forest, where the distant Avoods of Wanstead are seen be- twixt the stems of large trees in the foreground, producing a purple tone of colouring, so much studied by painters and admirers of picturesque effect. To this may be added, the Ill cheerful moving scene of a public road, not too near to be offensive ; for however some may affect to prize the solitude and seckision of a forest, shut out from all the busy haunts of men, yet within six miles of the capital, few places can boast such privacy as Wallwood House commands within its forty acres surrounded by a forest. Who then would regret to see occasionally, and at a proper distance, the enlivening mixture of man with animal life, and veoetation in its most interesting forms I From its situation within so few miles of the metropolis, tliis place ought to combine all the pleasures of the country, with the conveniences of a town residence. bad FRAGMENT XXIII. OF VARIETY. In delivering- my opinion in a former work, I used an expres- sion respecting- the hiumlitij of experience, which was ridiculed by some critics, but which I now repeat after a lapse of many years. " I do not presume to establish principles in taste, but to " record my practice, and the motives which led to it. This I do " with all the humility acquired by experience" When I look back on the many hundred places I have visited, and plans I have formed, I can find no two which exactly resembled each other; but where some small similitude might perhaps be traced, there ever existed such variety in the circumstances, the wishes, or the characters of the possessors, that it was impossible to class them in such a manner as might lead to general use. Indeed, if we consider that of the many thousand houses which have been built, no one has ever been exactly copied in the plans for any future house; but, on the contrary, that every plan is either taken from desians which have never been executed, or from the remains of ancient buildings, of whose uses we are almost igno- rant: we may ask, Cui bono? to what good purpose are plans and designs and works of art ever published? The only answer 113 that seems plausible, beyond that of amusement to the mind fi'om variety, is, that by examining and comparing different designs, the best parts of each may be selected ; but this is con- tradicted by every day's experience. There is no instance in which a good plan has ever been the result of much diversity of opinion : and in no instance, since the effort of Beaumont and Fletcher, has combined genius ex- celled individual unity of talent or experience. To the remark in the preceding Fragment, which recom- mends " placing the best rooms towards the best Views and the " best Aspects," I should add, " not placing the entrance on " the same side of the house with the principal apartments : " and thus, after all, it will be found, that nine times in ten the entrance must be ou the north side; and notwithstanding the absurdity of a magnificent portico towards that aspect, where no sunshine can illumine its columns, or require its shade, almost all the finest porticos in England are placed to the north; and I have myself, from necessity, been compelled to do so in many instances, against my better judgment.* In approaching the close of my active life, it is natural tliat I should look back on the various objects which have claimed * The late Sir William Chambers asserts, that the entrance to a House, like a nose on a face, was the principal feature, and ought to be the most prominent. Yet in his own Villa at Whitton he had five doors in the principal front: that in the centre opened into a shell-work grotto, used as a dairy. Such is the difference betwixt Theory and Practice, even where the Professor may be supposed to have been uncontrolled. Q 114 my attention, and called forth my exertions : some of these I can view with delight, and record with exultation; but, alas! in how many have my time, my labour, and my contrivance been employed, without producing fame or profit: the latter was only a secondary consideration, and yet, when that has been Avlthheld, the other has generally suft'ered in proportion. By leaving this memorial of some of my works, I shall en- deavour to recover a little fame, although I may derive no other emolument: and I insert the annexed sketch of a House, sta- bles, a school-house, a parsonage, and numerous plans for buildings, which have been made, approved of, and executed, without our ever being permitted to visit the progress of works on so extensive a scale, and for which we furnished the minut- est details, without ever receiving tlie expected remuneration. The name both of the Place and its Proprietor are omitted; but in the annexed drawing " STAT NOMINIS UMBRA." 1=1 FRAGMENT XXIV. LONGLEATE, WILTSHIRE, A SEAT OF THE MARQUIS OF BATH. EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF 1803. CHARACTER AND SITUATION. " Whether we consider the natural shape of the ground, forming ample hills and valleys, the great masses of wood with which these hills have been magnificently clothed, the extensive range of park and surrounding domain, the vast command of various distant prospects, or the great style and magnitude of the House itself, we must acknowledge, that the character of Greatness makes a strong impression, and is peculiarly appro- priated to Longleate, But as objects are only great or small by comparison, and it is the duty of the improver to guard against any thing that may tend to weaken this first impression, he must, if possible, increase the apparent vastness of the place in all that belongs to Nature, and preserve the character of Great- ness in such parts as depend on the works of Art, " I must here again remark, that there is no error more common than to substitute gieatness of dimensions for greatness of character. Thus in Landscape we often see lawns of great 116 extent, with as little variety or interest as Salisbury Plain; and walks and drives of many miles in length, through shrubberies and plantations, without any change of scenery, or any diversity of features; while in Architecture we occasionally see huge masses without shape or proportion, boasting the ground they cover, or the apartments they contain, yet with less appearance of a palace than a cotton-mill, or a manufactory. 1 am here led to make a marked distinction between the improvements relating to Art and those relating to Nature, from the two leading cir- cumstances to which my attention was first called, viz. the pro- per situation for the stables, and the proper management of the Water: the latter belongs to Landscape Gardening, as an Art which imitates Nature; the former to Architecture, as an Art that adorns Nature, and indeed forms the strongest auxiliary to the Art of Landscape Gardening. " This Mansion was built at the period when the Gothic Character was giving place to the introduction of Roman and Grecian Architecture; and although some would call the House Grecian, from its Pilasters and Entablatures, yet its general ap])earauce is Gothic, from the bold square projection of the windows, and the varied outline of the roof, occasioned by the turrets and lofty chimneys, and the open-work enrichments. " The eight Towers in the roof are so placed, as to occa- sion some confusion, or rather a certain degree of intricacy in perspective, from whatever point they are viewed ; had they been placed at regular distances, the effect of grandeur in this building would have been weakened. To explain this, I must 117 observe, that symmetry, or an exact correspondence of parts, assists the eye in viewing and comprehending the w^hole object at once; but irregularity retards the progress of vision; and from the difficulty of comprehending the whole, its magnitude increases on the imagination, (This subject is further explained in my first printed w^ork. Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening.) " The Hills at Longleate have been boldly planted, and at the same period many fast growling trees were planted in the valleys ; these latter were become in many places too tall for their situation. There are some limes and planes, and lofty elms, near the water, in situations where maples and crabs, and thorns and alders, or even oaks and chesnuts, would have been far more appropriate : and there are some few tall shattered trees remaining of the avenue near the house, which tend to depress its importance.* " It is a mistaken idea, that the planter may not live to see his future woods, unless they consist of firs and larches, or planes and other fast growing trees; but every day's experience evinces, that man outlives his trees, where plantations do not consist of oak ; and that often tall mutilated planes, or woods of naked stemmed Scotch firs, remind him, that groups of oaks and groves of chesnut might have been planted with greater * Since this Report was delivered, almost all the objectionable trees have been re- moved by a spring blight, which destroyed so many Planes in every part of England j and the place has been greatly improved in consequence. 118 advantage. It is not therefore in compliance with the modern fashion of Gardening that I advise the removal of a few tall trees, but in conformity to taste, founded on reason, and which dictates that the character of Greatness, in a work of Art, should not be obliterated by the more powerful agency of Nature : and without wishing to go back to that taste which prevailed when this vast pile was surrounded by cut shrubs, and avenues of young trees newly planted, I think some of its grandeur might be restored by judiciously removing some of the en- croachments of vegetation. 119 THE WATER. " There having been various opinions concerning the ma- nagement of the Water, it may not be improper to state and examine each in the following order. " The first opinion arises from the natural wish that the water should be in the lowest ground, and therefore it was pro- posed to float the valley to the north, making one large lake. To this there are many objections: first, it would not be seen from the house; secondly, if seen, it would not be desirable, being to the north; and lastly, if it were possible (of which I have some doubts), it could only be accomplished by an enor- mous dam across the valley: this it would be far more difficult to disguise than the present dam, which only requires to be planted to deceive, and conceal the lower ground; for every piece of water that is made by Art to imitate Nature, must be produced by some degree of deception. " The second opinion is, that the brook should pass through the valley in a natural channel, instead of being checked by so many different dams, to form so many different pools: the ob- jection to this arises from the supply not being sufficient. Where a rattling turbulent mountain-stream passes through a rocky valley, like the Derwent at Chatsworth, perhaps Mr. BroAvn was wrong in checking its noisy course, to produce the glassy surface of a slow moving river; but as the cpiantity of water at Longleate might pass through a narrow channel, or water- 120 course, far beneath the dignity of the place, it ought rather to he carried in a culvert under ground than be shewn at all in the humble shape and scanty quantity that Nature has allot- ted : yet it was a stream of sufficient magnitude for the purposes of Art, in the ancient style of Gardening, when Kx\ was boldly avowed, and this stream supplied the fountains and cascades and basins, which then constituted the magnificent but artificial scenery near the house. To this may be added, that it supplied the mill, a very important object in old times; and this mill, Leate, gave its name to the place, now called Longleate. " We next proceed to the third opinion, viz. that the water should form an apparent river through the whole valley; this, I believe, was originally the intention of Greenway,* who pre- ceded Brown, and whose fondness for serpentine lines gave the water its present shape, at a prodigious expense. Brown continued the same idea, but reduced the scale of the original design; and though he has in some degree produced the effect of a River by various different pools, yet the deceptions are not well disguised, and the part most unfinished is that nearest the house, where the two plans of Greenway and Brown are brought into contact, without being well united or blended together. " My opinion only goes to the completion of Brown's idea, to imitate Nature in the form of a large river, and disguise * Or Bridgeman, disciples of Kent, in the first departure from straight lines. the Art by which this is effected. I will suppose that a large River has always passed through the valley, and, like many large rivers, that it was not originally navigable, but that by art it has been made so to a certain spot, and that near this spot the house w as built; under such circumstances a bridge would naturally be placed where rocks present a foundation, and to this bridge, and no further, we may imagine the water navigable. " The bed of the river being dag so deep as to bring all the water below the bridge to the same level, the house would stand high above the water, instead of appearing on the same level, as it does at present.* The shape of the water should be made gradually to swell into the broad river; but as there will then be a disproportion between the channel near the bridge and the broadest part of the river, this might be accounted for by a channel dug near the group of elms, and thus the house would seem to stand on a broad promontory, formed by the conflux of two difterent streams. " The water above the bridge will not require to be dug any deeper, nor the surface to be much lowered; because the fall at the bridge will fully account for the river being no further navigable, than where a ledge of rocks impedes its course; for the largest rivers in the world are interrupted by reefs, called rapids; and therefore, not only at the bridge, but at the junc- * This in 1814 was completed, and the effect produced exceeds the promise, or any representation made by the drawings. From the ground near the house there was a fall of only five feet to the surface of the water ; that surface has been lowered thir- teen feet. R 122 < H O o o 'o o Ph s?; CD w be "«-a PS Q ■^ o •^ = w o a rt ~ I OErmiiAH. VIEW OF ]L©HGlJiATE FKOM TfflLE IPMOSPECT BlILt: /'/Arffrt//' 'J'"'^/ /W., ,x,,; 123 tion between the two next pools, this process of Nature should be imitated. " The different levels of the several pools were formerly disguised by plantations ; but these having outgrown their original intention as brushwood, have become trees, between whose stems the deception of the dams is too much betrayed. These screens should be repaired by Thorns and Alders, so as to produce the general effect of one continued river, as I have represented in all the different views of the water." With permission of the Marquis of Bath, the preceding ex- tracts have been made from the volume of Reports concerning the improvements of Longleate. The original MS. is elucidated by fourteen different drawings, from which is selected the draw- ing representing the south and east fronts of the House from Prospect Hill, a spot at no great distance from the Warminster approach. It is difficult to represent the vast range of country which this hill commands, extending over the whole county of Somerset towards the Welsh hills, beyond the Bristol Channel. This magnificent Park, so far from being kept locked up to ex- clude mankind from partaking of its scenery, is always open, and parties are permitted to bring their refreshments; which circumstance tends to enliven the scene, to extend a more se- neral knowledge of its beauties to strangers, and to mark the liberality of its Noble Proprietor, in thus deigning to partici- pate with others the good he enjoys. FRAGMENT XXV. A PLAN EXPLAINED. I HAVE frequently observed, that those who perfectly under- stand a Drawing in Perspective, have sometimes no idea of a Plan or Map, and are not ashamed to confess they do not un- derstand either. I will therefore avail myself of the following letter, addressed to a Lady; and I trust the difficulty will be removed, by referring to the Plate, which gives an example of both the Map of a Garden and the Ground Plan of a House and its appendages. TO LADY **** MADAM, As you have confessed to me that you never could understand a Plan, I will endeavour to remove your difficulties, by a reference to the one annexed. We must begin by suppos- ing that the embroidery at the corner is a pattern for a Flower- Garden, the blue patch in the middle is a fountain, the basin of which is about ten feet wide; the orange lines are gravel walks; the little patches of red and green represent roses and other flowers in beds or baskets, standing on the neatest mown grass; 125 and the four circles may be berceaux, with hoops to support creepers, or they may be grass plots with vases or statues. I am aware that this will cause some alarm to those who fancy all Nature at variance with Art, and who will exclaim, that it is going back to the old fashioned formal gardening of former days: I answer by reminding them, that I am not now describ- ing a Landscape, but a Garden; and " A Garden is a work " OF Art, using the materials of Nature." Among the infinite variety of flowers which adorn the Gar- den, there are some so minute, that they require being lifted from the ground to meet the eye, and some so formed, that they should be raised even above the eye, to shew their beauties (such as the Fuscia, the Meadea, and other pendulous plants): to provide for these, we will suppose four beds of fossils or flints, or rocky fragments, for the reception of that interesting class of plants, which requires such a soil and situation : these are described on the Plan by purple and yellow. As occasional spray from a fountain might wet the gravel walk, it should be neatly paved with pebbles round the basin. On that side of the Flower Garden which fronts towards the south, is a house for peaches and strawberries. On the side opposite, and in some degree corresponding, is a row of posts with hoops to train creepers, and an architectural gate commu- nicating with the park, betwixt two projecting lines of shrub- bery, which are meant to consist of every kind of thorns, towards the park to the south, and American plants towards the garden to the north. This attention to north and south is very essen- 126 lial, since every thing in a flower garden depends on its ex- posure, and therefore I must refer you to the compass to ascer- tain the aspects, of wliich that to the noith is cold, sunless, and gloomy ; that to the south is hot, genial, and cheerful ; that to the east partakes of both, but requires shelter in spring ; and that to the ivest is exposed to more stormy rains and winds than any other, and therefore we will suppose the flower-pas- sage marked N° 3 on the Plan to be defended from the west by a flued wall, and on the side next the flower-garden by glass in spring, but removable in summer; the glass-roof may remain constantly. The whole inside of this roof is covered with a wide trellis, to support vines and other climbing plants. Another sketch represents this flower-passage terminated by a Statue of Flora, which conceals the join in two large looking- glasses placed behind it. In this mirror are repeated all the objects in the passage; nor is the deception discovered, till on a nearer approach we find that we can proceed no further in that direction. The passages to the right and left lead to the fruit- houses, or to an aviary at the back of the mirror. By the help of the Plan, let us go back again to the flower- passage, N°3. N'4 is the Orangery, wliich is lighted from the roof, and receives only the morning and evening sun, that at noon being impeded by the position of the mansion to the south; but an orangery does not require so much sunshine as a hot- house; and in tlie summer the orange-trees in tubs are placed in front of the house in the two quarters of a circle described on the Plan. > n H 127 The magnificent Library, or Living-room, consists of three compartments, with a fire-place in each, and a flue near the windows of the bow: the centre is fifty feet by twenty-eight, opening into two recesses, or tribunes, of different shapes, fitted up in very different manners, one being for music-books and instruments, the other for books of prints and portfolios of drawings; and both joined to tlie large library by a skreen of columns, or at pleasure separated from it by drapery and cur- tains. All this is repeated by a large mirror over the fire-place,, which, aided by three apertures for stained glass above the level of the bookcases, prevents this end from being deficient in light, and gives to the whole an air of united cheerfulness, magnificence, and novelty. On leaving these new rooms, N° 6, 7, and 8, we enter the old suite of apartments, N°9, 10, and 11, now opening into each other by large folding doors, and from the spot marked X we have two enjilades, one of about three hundred feet, but in fact, by the mirror of Flora, rendered indefinite; and the other of about seventy feet along the two green-houses, through the en- trance-porch, and terminating either by a statue or fountain, or doubled by another mirror at the end. On the Plan are distinguished by a light brown wash, the grounds for use and not for ornament, being invisible from the house; and by a green wash those which are visible from the principal rooms, consisting of landscape and park scenery, ^vhere the cattle are prevented from breaking the windows by a dwarf terrace-wall, richly dressed with flowers, which forms the foregTounil or frame of the picture. So magnificent and complicated a Plan may perhaps appear ideal, but it actually exists, although I have never seen it since I made the Plan on the spot.* * To explain this, I will relate the following fact. The Proprietor called at my door, and took me to the place, to ask my opinion about adding a new room of large dimensions to an old house. I described by a pencil sketch the general idea of tliis annexed Plan, with which he was so much pleased, that he desired me the day follow- ino- to explain it to a gentleman, who I afterwards discovered was a clerk of the works to an eminent Architect. Tlie pencil sketch was all that I was ever permitted to de- liver, from Avhich the whole was immediately carried into execution, without having yielded me either emolument or fame, or any other advantage, except the useful les- son— ^Not to leave a Pencil Sketch in the hands of a Clerk of the Works. — Under such circumstances, I hope I may be excused for claiming my share in a design which I have often heard commended as the sole production of the late Proprietor's exquisite taste. He certainly made it all his own: but there was rjot a single idea which I had not fur- nished. " DETUR SUUM CCIQUE." Fragment J'uSAsAt^ Ay XTar/ar. /"^j^jMiff FRAGMENT XXVI. EXTRACT FROM A RECENT REPORT OF A PLACE NEAR THE CAPITAL. One of the most magnificent places in this country, which fur- nishes examples of the Geometric style of Gardening, has so recently been submitted to my opinion, that little time has yet been given to the development of plans, to which I shall there- fore not allude by name; but in a few years, I trust, there will be no reason for regretting that the following Sketch and Ex- tract from the Report have been allowed to form a part of this volume, intended to record some of the most striking and impor- tant of those Designs which I have had the honour to deliver. INTRODUCTION. CONCERNING THE STYLE AND CHARACTER OF ****** If the fashion of Gardens could be altered with the same ease as the fashion of dress or furniture, it would be of less con- sequence how often it was varied, or by what caprice or whim it was dictated ; but the original plan of this Place must ever strongly traced in many parts, though a century has elapsed; and it is impossible to be quite obliterated, in conformity with more modern styles. It is therefore an oljject worthy of consi- s 130 deration, whetlier the original, or tlie more recent style, be advisable; and how far l)oth may be admitted, without the in- congruous mixture of two things so opposite, that they cannot be blended in one rational plan. I shall call the Ancient Style of Gardens that of Versailles, as introduced into this country by Le Notre, in the beginning of the last century; and the Modern Style, that called English, as invented by Brown, and practised in England during the latter half of the last century. THE ANCIENT STYLE. This consisted in straight lines and geometric figures, and had more reference to Art than to Nature. It was distinguished by Avenues, or even single straight rows of trees, extended to a great distance, and far beyond the actual limits of the place. The surface of the ground was cut into slopes, called Amphi- theatres, or raised up in conic shapes called Mounts; and even the water was obliged to assume some geometrical outline. So far from consulting or following Nature, the chief object of Art was to display its triumph over Nature. All this had its admir- ers, and became at length so much the fashion, that every garden in the kingdom (whether great or small) was condemned to sub- mit to the same strict rules, till they were brought into ridicule by the admirers of more natural landscape; as by the satirical allusions of Pope, in this couplet so often quoted: " Grove nods at Grove, each Alley has a brother, " And half the platform just reflects the other." 131 When every Villa had its little symmetrical Garden tliiis laid out, it is not to be wondered that the universal sameness of the design should create disgust in him who could never see any thing else, and at length that, " Tir'd of the scene Parterres and Fountains yield, " We find, at last, he better likes a field." However imposing and magnificent a straight walk may be, between two lines of lofty trees, yet if every walk about a place be of the same kind, we shall prefer the winding footpath across the forest; and it was therefore very natural that the formal and artificial style should have given place to one more free and natural. THE MODERN STYLE. This was in every respect the reverse of the former. Instead of displaying the means by which Art could triumph over Na- ture, it seems to adopt for its motto—" Artis est celare Artem." The natural Landscape was the chief object to be studied; and while in the ancient style, every situation, when shut up, be- came the same: in the modern style, every place open to the countiy varied with the different surrounding scenery of Na- ture ; and consequently Nature was the model for Art to follow, but not to copy: she was to furnish hints and patterns, but not to be imitated with exact servility. The poet's rule says, " To build, to plant, whatever you intend, " To rear the Column, or the Ai-ch to bend, " To swell the Terrace, or to sink the Grot, " In all, let Nature never be forgot." 13-2 From hence it is evident, that the Poet no more meant to banish entirely the Terrace or Grotto of the old style in Gar- dening, than Columns or Arcades in Architecture: hut as man- kind always step at once from one extreme to another, so every straight line became curved; and in contrasting Art with Na- ture, it was asserted, that a serpentine line was the true line of beauty, and that Nature abhorred a straight line; forgetting that in Nature's most sublime works the straight line prevails; as in the apparent horizon of the ocean, and the rays of the sun, which may be broken, but cannot be bent. This favourite meandering and undulating line soon prevailed in every thing, whether it was a line of a road, a walk, a canal, or the surface of the ground, or even the fence of a plantation; till at length it became as monotonous as the straight line, and every place in the kingdom was ahke, whether large or small; from a Citi- zen's Villa with two acres, surrounded by a shrubbery and ser- pentine walk, to the Nol)leman's Park of two thousand acres, surrounded by a belt of plantation and serpentine drive. These, by their uniform sameness, are equally insipid, and have called forth from a modern poet lines not less severe than those of Pope. " Prim gravel Walks, through which we winding go, " In endless Serpentines, that nothing shew, " Till tir'd, I ask, " Why this eternal round?" " And the pert gard'ner says, " 'Tis pleasure-ground." The Landscape, by E,. P. Knight, Esq. As applied to this place, if all straight lines must be abo- lished, almost every tree would be sacrificed: and if all the 133 shapes of land or water, which are artificial, must be made na- tural, the cost would be as much more to undo the work of former times, as the difference betsveen the price of labour and the value of money now, and at the period when these costly works were executed. VIEW TO THE WEST. My opinion respecting this View will, I have no doubt, be considered as a dereliction of all the modern notions of taste in Landscape Gardening. In this view towards the west we can see nothing natural, except the materials which Nature has furnished, of land, trees, and water; but all these have been so forcibly brought under the control of Art, that they are no longer to be considered as natural objects, any more than the stones and masonry of the house can be considered as natural rocks. The surface of the ground has been shaped to form cor- responding and adequate roads of approach, and the trees have been ranged in rows to accompany such roads. The water has been collected into a vast bason by an effort of art, which is avowed in the lofty mound that separates the upper from the lower levels. All these have existed nearly a hundred years; and, whether right or wrong, cannot now be altered; while they afford a magnificent specimen of the ancient style of Gardening. The great character of this place must be considered as it relates to the vicinity of the capital. Those who could treat this splen- did Palace like the seat of an English country gentleman, at the 134 distance of a hundred miles from the metropolis, would rob it of all its importance, and more than half its interest and beauty. It would he absurd in this place to conform to the modern style, of placing the house in the centre of its domain, from which every thing is banished, but the beasts of the forest. On the contrary, it must be classed with those royal and princely resi- dences, which form the retreats of the great from the court or city : and we do not expect near a Metropolis any thing like perfect seclusion from mankind, either in the Palaces of Ver- sailles, Potsdam, or Kensington, any more than in the Metro- polls, as at Carleton House or St. James's. To each of these the gardens behind the house may be private, but the entrance- front must be exposed to the public ; and we must not (as in lesser places) consider the entrance of the park as the boundary of the domain : on the contrary, I have always considered the gate which opened immediately into the fore-court, or hasse- coiir, as the dressed limit of such Palaces. And if it were pos- sible to exclude from Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens the gay assemblage of company which enlivens the scene, we should onl}^ produce one dull and cheerless solitude, without a single feature to constitute natural landscape, or to reconcile the mind to artificial rows of trees with their symmetrical formality. It has been justly observed by a late Author on Taste (Lord (Kaimes), " that Sjnnmetr}^ on a small scale is displeasing; but " where the object is too large to be comprehended at once, " Symmetry assists the eye in developing its parts :" and there- fore, to a very large Palace, the richness of a symmetrical par- 135 terre is more consonant than a square area of lawn, too small to be fed by flocks and herds, and too large to be considered as a bowling-green. This, I hope, will be a sufficient excuse for my having advised, or, I should rather say, acceded to the disposing of the area or garden in front of this place. But there is also another reason for it: the principal rooms being raised over a basement story, the interior of this area will be visible from thence; while the clipped fence, with which such a garden ought to be surrounded, will prevent the public from looking into this private garden, and will exclude even those who actually come into the fore-court, and drive up to the por- tico. The contrast betwixt the works of Art and of Nature will increase the interest of both ; and the foreground may be viewed as a rich carpet spread under the eye, in perfect harmony with the vases and obelisks, and other works of art, attached to the architectural grandeur of the entrance-front. THE WATER. The natural surface about this place is so flat and level a plain, that it must depend for all its interest and beauty on the wood and the water, without which it would be a dreary waste. But these two objects are at present unconnected ; and the naked banks of the large ponds give rather the appearance of a land flood, than of natural lakes or pools. It will therefore be advisable to clothe very amply the heads and banks of the reservoir pool in such manner, as may render it unnecessary to 136 alter its form; except that it might be greatly improved by giving it a better connection with the lake, all view of which is at present excluded from the lower level by the paling along the side of the road, and from the principal floor by a wood planted in quincunx rows. This wood was originally intended to have been kept low, but it has now outgrown its intention, and not only hides all view of the water, but also the distant prospect of the forest hanging down to the banks of the lake ; and in the horizon, that view of the Metropolis which, at such a distance, is a most impressive feature, and in perfect harmony with the grandeur of the scene. The annexed sketch may serve to give some idea of the mag- nificent Landscape which this Villa commands. It is supposed to be taken from the principal front, and shews a part of the alteration proposed in the parterre to the west, and the im- provement of the water towards the south-west, which is at present almost totally hid by the intervening quincunx of trees, which have been suffered to outgrow the original intention of Le Notre, who meant to form a foreground to the picture, which ought to be seen over it. FRAGMENT XXVII. GARDENS OF ASHRIDGE. Of all the subjects on which I have been consulted, few have elicited so much interest in my mind as the Plan for these Gardens. This may partly be attributed to the importance and peculiar circumstances of the place, but perhaps more espe- cially to its being the youngest favourite; the child of my age and declining powers: when no longer able to undertake the more extensive plans of Landscape, I was glad to contract my views within the narrow circle of the Garden, independent of its accompaniment of distant scenery. The large and magnificent Palace recently erected in his best style of Gothic Architecture by James Wyatt, presents two fronts of more than six hundred feet, of beautiful stone, by a depth of one hundred and thirty to one hundred and seventy feet from north to south; and from the richness of its orna- ments, and the' quantity of its mass, it must be considered as one of the most splendid specimens of wealth recently ex- pended under the guidance of taste. It may perhaps be asked by the fastidious Antiquary, whe- ther the whole Edifice most resembles a Castle, an Abbey, or a Collegiate Pile. To which may be given this simple answer: It T 138 is a modern House, on a large scale, where the character of the rich Gothic of Henry VH. has been successfully introduced and imitated. And knowing the wish of the noble Proprietor to direct every part of the improvements both in the house and grounds, I could not but feel highly gratified on being desired to give my opinion concerning the manner of adapting the ground near the house to the magnificence and importance of the place and its possessor. The situation of the new House, built over the cellars and foundation of the ancient monastery, has not much beauty of locality to boast : though commanding a very extensive view of park to the south, yet tlie surface is flat, and without water. Although the Park abounds in fine woods and large trees, yet in the view from the windows the landscape is naked and un- interesting. Under such circumstances, we had only two modes of treat- ing it; either to bear ^vitli the nakedness and flatness of the prospect, and enliven it by bringing the deer and cattle near the eye, or else to exclude the landscape altogether, by bring- ing plantations near the house; and I recommended l)oth these expedients in the manner explained by the map. The boundary fence of the pleasure-ground having been completed before I visited the spot, I have not had suflicient influence to effect its removal; but I was permitted to suggest the plantation of about eight acres, which hides one half of the naked lawn, forming a rich mass of foliage near the eye. It was next to be considered how best to convert the interior of this mass to the purposes of 139 beauty, convenience, and variety, with some degree of novelty in the plan. Every part of a modern pleasure-ground is alike; and un- less varied by views into the adjoining country, we soon tire of the sameness of gravel walks, in serpentine lines, with broad margins of grass and flowers and shrubs, every where promis- cuously mixed and repeated ; and therefore I ventured boldly to go back to those ancient trim Gardens, which formerly de- lighted the venerable inhabitants of this curious spot, as appears from the trim box hedges of the monks' garden, and some large yew trees still growing in rows near the site of the monastery. I delivered my opinion, elucidated by many drawings, some of which have since been realised, and with some I had hoped to enrich this volume, but I am informed the book has been mislaid, and I can therefore only describe the general princi- ples of what I had the honour to suggest, by a reference to the map, and a sketch from memory of the Rosary and the Conduit or Holy Well, for which a Gothic design is given, with a hint of its relative situation, shewing the rosary and entrance to the monks' garden. No less than fifteen different kinds of Gardens were pro- posed in the Map, of which N° 1, 2, 3, 14, and 15, belong to the modern style of pleasure-ground, but the others are all dif- ferent, viz. in N° 4, I proposed a Conduit, or Holy Well, in an enclosure of rich masonry, and decorated by flowers in vases, &c. This is supposed to front the centre of the conservatoiy. 140 N° 5, the Winter Garden, with covered walk open to the south, which is a luxury that no place should be without. N° 6 is the Monks' Garden restored. " The close clipt box, th' embroider'd bed «' In rows and formal order laid, «' And shajj'd like graves (for mindful still ♦' Of their last end, the church doth will " E'en in their joys her sons should be " Pensi\'e in very gaiety)." Hon. Mrs E. Erskine. N° 7, disposed in groups, the various kinds of foreign Trees which will bear so sheltered an enclosure. N° 8, availing ourselves of a very large building, the Magnolia and other American plants will here find an appropriate situation. N°9 and 10, are Gardens with beds raised to meet the eye, and very unlike any other garden. The Grotto is an excava- tion formed out of an old pool, instead of fdling it up, and the whole area of N° 12 has been formed into small hills and valleys, and so surrounded by plantation, that its ori- ginal flatness is totally disguised. In the Rosarium, N° 13, is proposed a Fountain, supplied from the holy well, and then led into the grotto, from whence it is finally conducted into the drinking-pool in the park, presenting from one and the same source a redundance of water under different appearances. IDESIGIf IFOB, A COlfBinX PMOF^SEID AT ASMREDGE, "WITH BISTAHT TBEW OIF THEIIOSAMT AT03 MOSKS GAJRBEN. Jiii&rAed &r ./.Tat-hr Aaf. j . tgiS 141 -> After almost half a century passed in the Parks and Gardens of England, and during much of that time having been profes- sionally consulted on their improvement, I am fully convinced that Fashion has frequently misled Taste, by confounding the scenery of Art and Nature. And while I have acceded to the combination of two words, Landscape and Gardening, yet they are as distinct objects as the picture and its frame. The Scenery of Nature, called Landscape, and that of a Garden, are as dif- ferent as their uses; one is to please the eye, the other is for the comfort and occupation of man: one is wild, and maybe adapted to animals in the wiklest state of nature ; while the other is appropriated to man in the highest state of civilization and refinement. We therefore find, that although Painters may despise Gardens as subjects for the pencil, yet Poets, Philoso- phers, and Statesmen, have always enjoyed and described the pure delights of Garden Scenery. A Garden, as the appendage to a place of such importance as Ash ridge, is no trifling consideration : and it ought well to be weighed, before we sacrifice one of the most splendid and costly works of Art to the reigning rage for Nature, and all that is deemed natural. It will perhaps be said, that where we work with Nature's materials, the production should imitate Nature: but it might, with equal propriety, be asserted, that a house being built of rocks and stones should imitate a cavern. Let us then begin by defining what a Garden is, and what it ought to be. It is a piece of ground fenced off from cattle. 142 and appropriated to the use and pleasure of man : it is, or ought to be, cultivated and enriched by art with such products as are not natural to this country, and consequently it must be artificial in its treatment, and may, without impropriety, be so in its appearance; yet there is so much of littleness in Art, when compared with Nature, that they cannot well be blended : it were therefore to be wished, that the exterior of a garden should be made to assimilate with Park Scenery, or the Landscape of Nature; the interior may then be laid out with all the variety, contrast, and even whim, that can produce pleasing objects to the eye, however ill adapted as studies for a picture. If my pencil has given inadequate representations of scenes not yet existing, I may plead in my excuse that I am not a painter; and if I were, my subjects could not be painted; yet they may serve (better than mere words) to realize and bring before the eyes of others those ideas which have suggested them- selves to my own imagination. Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures Quam qua; sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus. OF ANCIENT GARDENING. It fortunately happens at Ashridge, that the area proposed to be dedicated to Garden and Pleasure-Ground is bounded both to the east and to the west by a straight line of lofty trees; these give a character of antiquity and grandeur to the site, and prove it to have existed before serpentine lines were introduced. 143 I can hardly expect that the sweeping line of wire-fence should be immediately altered; but as it must very soon perish, it becomes my duty to point out a different line for the future more durable boundary of the Gardens: and this alteration will throw out two or three acres of grountl, which must otherwise be kept mown, since no plantations can possibly be made there, without injuring' the view of the park. The only use that could be made of these three acres would be an open cricket-ground, which may either be in the park, or excluded from it, yet ap- pear one surface with the intermediate space of lawn, which I have called the Bowling-green, This is an appendage perfectly accordant with the ideal date and character of the building ; and would be made still more perfect, by extending the walk from the east terrace, to form the quadrangle complete. These walks may all be considered as part of the original artificial and truly magnificent style of Gardening in former times, when the works of Art were avowed as artificial, their costliness be- speaking their value. * I cannot here omit mentioning the having been present when Mrs. Siddons ob- jected to the straight braids represented in her celebrated picture in the cliaracter of the Tragic Muse ; and requested Sir Joshua Reynolds to let the hair flow in more graceful ringlets ; but that great master observed, that without straight lines there might be grace or beauty, but there could be no greatness or sublimity ; and this same rule applies to Gardening as to Painting. It was therefore with peculiar satisfaction that I observed the straight lines of walks near the house, and that mall to the east in a line with the trees, which Mr. James Wyatt had advised. 144 OF MODERN GARDENING.^ ^\ hen the straight walks and lofty walls of ancient garden- ing had disgusted hy their sameness, prevailing in all places alike, whether great or small, it was naturally to be expected that fashion would run into the opposite extreme, by making every tiling curved as the greatest contrast to straight. To the little interest we experience after the first hundred paces, in a meandeiing walk betwixt two broad verges of grass, at a great distance from the beds of llowers and shrubs, may be added the mistake of mixing together in such a manner every kind of plant, that no one part of the garden differs from another. Yet there are many pleasure-grounds of this kind, with walks of a tedious length, which I have shuddered to encounter: for this reason I have never advised such walks, except as the connect- ing lines leading to other objects. WATER. The Water at Ashridge is by art brought from a deep well, dug by the monks, innnedialely under the chapel; and this must be pumped up into reservoirs. Now it would be possible to lead pipes from these reservoirs in such a manner, that every drop of water used for the gardens should be made visible in diilerent ways, beginning with a conduit in front of the conser- * It will perhaps be objected, that this same idea has already appeared in the pre- ceding fragment ; but such repetitions must occasionally be unavoidable, in a work like this, collected iirom various detached subjects. 145 vatory, and from thence led to supply aye/ dean in the rosary. Another branch might form a falling shower or dropping well near the grotto ; from which the waste pipes might be led to keep up the water in the park pool, inducing cattle to as- semble on its margin ; the glitter of this pool might be seen through the stems of trees. But the greatest effect would be obtained from the conduit, or Gothic fountain, near the green- house : this could be thrown up from the well, and the surplus would find its way into the tank beneath. Thus with actual scarcity there would be an appearance of great command of water. Perhaps a contrivance might be introduced to filter this water by ascent, and make an artificial bubbling fount of the purest and brightest colour. It is not necessary for me to describe the various expedients by which this could be effected in a place where so much taste and contrivance have already been evinced: all I wish to hint is, the possibility of making much display of a little water, at the same time losing none. In Garden Scenery a fountain is more lively than a pool; and as the nature of the chalk soil will not admit of those imitations of rivers and lakes, which modern Gardening deems essential to Landscape, and as in proportion to the scarcity of any thing it becomes more valuable, it is the duty of the Improver to render visible every drop of water that can be obtained : for, besides the pleasure the eye takes in seeing water, we cannot but con- sider it of the utmost consequence to a Garden, where, if the labour of pumping cannot be avoided, it ought to be carried on unseen, lest our choice of the site should be condemned in these words of Isaiah, " And ye shall be confounded for the Gardens u 146 " that ye have chosen, for ye shall be as an oak, whose leaf '• fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water." FENCES. The most important of all things relating to a Garden is that which cannot contribute to its beauty, but without which a Garden cannot exist : the Fence must be effective and durable, or the irruption of a herd of deer in one night may lay waste the cost and labour of many years. Every thing at Ashridge is on a great scale of substantial and permanent grandeur, and the Fence to the Gardens should doubtless be the same. The deep walled ha! ha! invented by Brown was seldom used by him but to give a view through some glade, or to aftbrd security to a terrace-walk ; from whence we might see two bulls fight- ing, without the possibility of danger: this cannot be said of that wire-bird-cage expedient, which has of late years been in- troduced, to save the expence of a more lasting barrier; and though it may be sufficient to resist sheep, or even cows, for a few years, in the villas near London, yet the mind is not sa- tisfied when a vicious stag approaches it with undaunted eye, and a mien not to be terrified. Add to this, the misery of viewing a landscape through a prison-bar, or misty gauze veil ranging above the eye. Besides iron is a material of which we have had but little experience, except that it too soon decays. For this reason a line is shewn on the map, which may here- after be adopted; and I must consider the present wire-fence only as a temporary expedient. FEITcrES. HAULED IHYISIBLE T'uAA^AfJ iy JTmlor /"t^.i.j^jff 147 I mio-ht also add another arQument against invisible Fences in general (except in short glades), viz. that when they divide a park from a garden, they separate two things which the mind knows cannot be united. In modern Gardening it has been deemed a principle to exclude all view of Fences ; but there are a certain class of flowering plants which require support, and these should be amply provided for in all ornamental gardens. The open trellis- fence, and the hoops on poles over which creeping and climbing plants are gracefully spread; give a richness to garden scenery that no painting can adequately represent. The novelty of this attempt to collect a number of Gardens, differing from each other, may perhaps excite the critic's cen- sure; but I will hope there is no more absurdity in collecting Gardens of different styles, dates, characters, and dimensions, in the same inclosure, than in placing the works of a Raphael and a Teniers in the same cabinet, or books sacred and profane in the same library. Perhaps, after all, the pleasure derived from a Garden has some relative association with its evanescent nature and produce: we view with more delight a wreath of short-lived roses, than a crown of amaranth or everlasting flow- ers. However this may be, it is certain, that the Good and Wise of all ages have enjoyed their purest and most innocent plea- sures in a Garden, from the beginning of time, when the Father of mankind was created in a Garden, till the fulness of time, when HE, who often delighted in a Garden, was at last buried in one. FRAGMENT XXVIII. CONTAINING EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF WOBURN ABBEY. The Improvements I have had the honour to suggest have no where been so fully realized as at Woburn Abbey; I am there- fore peculiarly obliged to his Grace the Duke of Bedford for permission to avail myself of my original manuscript, by ex- tracting more largely than in any other instance, although such extract can only be considered as a fragment, since the original report consists of ninety pages, elucidated by forty-seven draw- ings, maps, and diagrams. TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. ]\IY LORD DUKE, I have the honour to lay before your Grace the following remarks concerning the further Improvement of the Grounds about Woburn Abbey. If in composing this vo- lume I have had some difficulties, they have arisen less from the nature of the subject, than from my delicacy, as a profes- sional man, making me unwilling to mention with disapproba- 149 tion the works of another. I have however endeavoured to do my duty, in conformity to your Grace's instructions, so strongly and so clearly expressed, that I shall repeat the directions by which I have been guided in my consideration of the subject, and which, I hope, will justify my freedom in discussing it. " Much has been done here, but much remains to be done, " and something, I think, to undo. I am not partial to destroy- " ing works recently executed; but sometimes cases will occur " where an alternative is scarcely left. My wish is, that you " should look over every thing about the grounds here atten- *' tively, and then freely give me your opinion, as to what alte- " rations or improvements suggest themselves to your judg- " ment, leaving the execution of them to my own discretion or " leisure." Such instruction will best plead my excuse for the freedom with which I deliver my sentiments; and if in many instances I must condemn what Mr. Holland has done at Woburn, as a Landscape Gardener, yet, as an Architect, the magnificent Library, in which this volume aspires to hold a place, will be a lasting monument of his genius and good taste. The original situation of Woburn Abl)ey was judiciously chosen in those times when water, the most essential necessary of life, was suffered to take its natural course along the valleys; and before the ingenuity of man had invented hydraulic en- gines to raise it from the valleys to the hills. The great object of the monks was to take advantage of two small springs or rivulets, of which the traces are still left in the pools and shapes 150 of ground, one near the green-house, the other near the dair}^ These two streams united a httle above the site of the okl Abbey, contributing greatly to its comfort by reservoirs and fish-ponds; so requisite to the supply of a numerous ecclesiastical estabhsh- ment, whose chief food was the fish of fresh water. It is now too late to inquire why this site was preserved in the present house; or why the residence of a Noble Family retains the name of Abbey, when every vestige of the original pile has been destroyed. If any mistake is committed, it be- comes the duty of the improver to suggest expedients that may retrieve errors, or remedy defects. And since it is impossible to raise the house in reality, or to alter its real situation, we must endeavour to do so in appearance; at least we should cau- tiously avoid every thing which tends to lessen the magnitude, to depress the importance, or to diminish the character which so obviously belongs to Woburn Abbey, as now altered from a monastic to a ducal residence. CHARACTER AND SITUATION. So intimately connected is the Character of a place with the Situation of the House, that it is hardly possible to separate them in idea; yet it is obvious, that at AVoburn these two cir- cumstances are at variance with each other. The Character of Woburn Abbey (whether we consider its command of surrounding property, its extent of domain, the hereditary honours of the family, the nuignificence of the Man- 151 sioii, or the luimber of its appendages) is that of Greatness. To Greatness we always annex ideas o^ Elevation; and, I Ijelieve, in every European language, loftiness of situation, whether hterally or figuratively expressed, forms the leading charac- teristic of Greatness; to which we are always supposed to look up, and not to look down. Every epithet appHed to it seems to confirm the general opinion, that what is low cannot be truly great; from the exalted Sovereign to the kneeling slave, or from the lofty mountain to the humble valley. But as Greatness of Character may be distinct from great- ness of dimensions ; so loftiness of Character may exist without loftiness of Situation. The Works of Art, however great or lofty in themselves, can never be truly so when surrounded by the Works of Nature, with which they are liable to be com- pared : thus the stupendous mass of ruins at Stonehenge is rendered diminutive in appearance by the vast extent of Salis- burjT^ Plain. THE SHAPE OF GROUND, The surface near the house has been so altered by the vari- ous works of art at dilFerent periods, that it is difficult to ascer- tain precisely what were the natural levels; but it is not impro- bable that the Abbey was originally placed across the valley, or near the conflux of the two small rivulets; leaving a space on one side, if not on both, for the water to take its course tovvards the west. As the buildings became enlarged, the valley was 152 lessened, till at length they nearly filled in the whole of the hollow between the two hills.* The House The principal Jloor ThcBasemeiil m± The natural surface of the valley is the lower dotted line, and the earth has been brought and filled in to the upper dotted line, making a plane, or rather an inclined-plane, sloping towards the windows of the south front. If this was done under an idea of giving a natural shape to the ground, the principle was a mis- taken one; for had such been the original shape, we must suppose a hole dug in the ground, in which the house had been placed; but the fact is, that near a large house the shape of the ground must be made to accord with the building, since no house, how- ever large or small, can be erected without the interference of art, and without disturbing the natural surface of the ground. • Very soon after I had buried the lower story of the House at Welbeck (as de- scribed in my volume of Sketches and Hints, &c.) Mr. Holland began to do the same thing at Woburn, but never proceeded further than the south front. 153 We must therefore study the convenience of the Mansion, to which the ground about it must be altered, in the way most conducive to its uses and appearance, without fetterino- the plan by any fancied resemblance of Nature. I am quite sure that the old magnificent taste for straight lines, and artificial shapes of ground adjoining to a Palace, was more consonant to true taste and greatness of character than the sweeping lines and undulating surface of modern Gardenino-. Such is the convenience derived in the country from havino- the pruicipal floor on a level with the ground, that I must highly commend the disposition of the summer apartments at Woburn ; where the earth is raised to give a ready communication with the pleasure-ground, without descending a flight of steps. The mtention Avas good, but the mode of execution has proved de- fective; and had the same idea been continued in the north and west fronts (as once proposed), it would have been fatal to the character of the house, without altering its situation; be- cause it would have reduced it one story in height, a defect for which even the proposed raising of the attics could never have compensated. VIEWS FROM THE HOUSE. If the perfection of the Art consists in shewing beauties and hiding defects, it must be previously asked. From what point of view any object is to be seen? This may be answered by 154 stating, that the leading features of every place must be consi- dered under the three following heads, or points of view. First, As they appear from the windows of the house. Secondly, As they appear in the approaches to the house; and Thirdly, As they appear in the walks and drives. Reversing the order in which these are placed, I shall begin by observing, that in the last we are at full liberty to display good features, or avoid bad ones, by altering the course of the drives, &c. In the approaches we may do the same, yet under certain restrictions, because the roads must lead to the house; but in the prospect from the windows, we have no choice of remov- ing the point of view; it is fixed, and must be stationary: it is therefore necessary to study this with peculiar attention, and to ascertain what are the objects most desirable to form this per- manent scenery, and how other objects may be introduced, to vary and enliven the same landscape, always seen from the same spot. THE WATER. Although the large circular pond atWoburn was originally made by art, yet it has very much the appearance of a Cheshire Meer; and I shall therefore consider the mode of treating it the same. There is something so fascinating in the appearance of water, that my predecessor (Brown) thought it carried its own excuse. 155 however unnatural its situation; and therefore in many phices under his direction I have found w^ater on the tops of hills, and have been obliged to remove it into lower ground, because the deception was not sufficiently complete to satisfy the mind, as well as the eye. Common observers suppose that water is usually found, and therefore is always most natural, in the lowest ground ; but a moment's, consideration will evince the error of this supposition. Lakes and Pools are generally in the highest situations in their respective countries; and with- out such a provision in Nature, the World could not be sup- plied with Rivers: these have their source in the highest moun- tains; and, after innumerable checks to retard and expand their waters, they gradually descend towards the sea. If Nature be the model for Art in the composition of Land- scape, we must imhate her process as well as her effects : Water, by its own power of gravitation, seeks the lowest ground, and runs along the valleys.* If in its course the water meets with any obstruction, it spreads itself into a lake or meer, proportion- ate to the magnitude of the obstruction; and thus we often see * Indeed I have sometimes fancied, tliat, as action and reaction are alike, and as cause and effect often change their situations, so valleys are increased in depth by the course of waters perpetually passing along them : thus if the water only displaces one inch of soil in each year, it will amount to five hundi-ed feet in six thousand years, and this is equal to the deepest valleys. In loose soils the sides of the hills will gradually Avash down, and form open valleys ; in hard soils, they will become narrow valleys : but ravines I suppose to be the effect of sudden convulsions from fire or steam, and not made by any gradual abrasion of the surface. 156 ill the most picturesque countries a series of pools connected by channels of the rivers which supply them. THE BASIN. The hirge pool or basin in front of Woburn Al)bey, in its present naked form, is rather an object of splendour than of cheerfulness; yet it is so conspicuous a feature of the place, that it ought not to be given up, without some struggle or en- deavour to make it appear more natural. Could an ample river be obtained through the whole course of the valley, it would doubtless be a circumstance worthy of any effort of Art to produce it; but the levels of the valleys for- bid the attempt: we must therefore have recourse to other ex- pedients for retaining the advantage of water, with the least apparent interference of art. The present head or dam forms a complete circle of about half a mile in circumference, round which the eye glances in a moment, meeting with nothing to check its progress; and from the saloon the ground is seen to fall below the surface of the water. If a tongue of land or pro- montory be formed on the head by the earth to be taken from the south front of the house, two improvements would be car- ried on at once. This promontory would disguise the dam, and the pool would appear to be the consequence of a. stratum of rock, or other hard impenetrable soil, through which the water could not force its way. The island, the bays, and the channels described on the 157 map and in the drawings, would also contribute to improve the shape of this pool; while the plantations suggested, on the head, would hide the low ground beyond it: for although water in nature is really on high ground, yet in appearance it fills tlie lowest place, because we seldom see ground below the water; either the descent is so gradual, or the obstruction so bold, as to conceal the different levels, and deceive the sight. OF BRIDGES AND VIA-DUCTS. There are two obvious uses for a Bridge, the first is to pass over, the second to pass under; the first is always necessary, the other only occasionally so, or where the water under the bridge is navigable ; yet self-evident as this fact may appear, we often observe bridges raised so high, as to make the passage over them difficiilt, when there is no passage under them re- quired; and this is the case with the present lofty bridge at Woburn. The construction of bridges has been so often and so ably discussed, that it is dangerous ta^ttempt any thing new on the subject; yet I think such a form adapted to the purposes of passing over, as may unite Strength with Grace, and Use with Beauty, is still a desideratum in architecture. The consi- deration of this subject has led me to insert the following short digression, which will not, I hope, be deemed wholly irrele- vant. Architecture has been classed under two different heads, Grecian, and Gothic; the first depends on perpendicular pres- 158 sure, the other on lateral pressure. By the laws of gravitation, all matter at rest keeps its place by its own weight, or tendency to press downwards ; and is only to be removed by superior force acting in a different direction. A perpendicular rock, and a solid wall built upright, will preserve their position so long as the substance or the materials of which they are com- posed retain their power of cohesion ; and on this principle all Grecian Architecture is founded. Hence have arisen those relative proportions in the different orders, from the heaviest Doric to the most graceful Corinthian, which, after the expe- rience of ages, were deemed fixed beyond the power of im- provement; and by these proportions the distances of interco- lumniation are regulated according to the strength of the parts supporting and supported. The Arch was rather of Roman than Grecian invention; and when composed of a semicircle, its construction belongs rather to perpendicular than to lateral pressure; but in every other arch (except the Elliptical and the Catanarean Arch) there is a great lateral pressure, and this constitutes the basis or first principle of Gothic Architecture; to which pinnacles and finials, and other parts were added for the purpose of strength to the aJjuttals, although frequently mistaken, and ignorantly copied, as if merely ornamental. 159 THE ORIGIN OF GRECIAN ARCHITECTURE. THE ORIGIN OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. 1 , •^ The relative pressure of each is shewn by the dotted lines. Hence it is evident that Gothic Architecture will admit of larger apertures than Grecian; and although externally more massive, yet it is internally more capacious. It is requisite that the resistance of the sides or abutments should be equal to the lateral pressure of the arch, from the most massive bridge to the lightest roof of an abbey. Since the discovery of those wonderful excavations in India, of Avhich no date remains, but which have been lately made known to us by the drawings of Hodges, Daniell, and other Artists, I have been led to consider, that, besides the Grecian and Gothic styles, there may be a third distinct from both, the origin of which was very different. Instead of erecting buildings on the surface of the ground, the people who formed those awful wonders of antiquitj^ began their operations by cutting away the foundation of the rock, to obtain room below, without endangering the superstructure; and thus by degrees the Indian Architecture seems to have grown to the most beautiful forms from the rudest excava- tions. 160 The use which I wish to make of this digression is, to ex- plain the manner of passing the valley by artificial means, where the road does not require a common bridge, but rather a via-duct, to ornament the dam or mound of earth thrown across the valley; and as this must necessarily cause some ob- struction to the water, I think it might be made subservient to the other object in view, that of raising the water to a higher level, instead of digging a deeper channel ; thus producing a continued surface of water in appearance^ though in fact the levels may he venj different. —- ^Jk/^ " .9^ '^ '9 m - -:^' 1 '.•<4Ut.UI f^lA/if^,/ K*y 1-^ lAnt fitf ./ i;>uf,H' 161 There being at present no architectural form adapted to this purpose, I have ventured to suggest a hint for such a structure as may support the road and raise the level of the water, rather calling it a Via-Duct than a Bridge. APPROACHES. As there is no part of the arrangement of the grounds at Woburn where so much alteration seems necessary as in the Approaches, 1 shall take this opportunity of enlarging on the subject, by an inquiry into the cause of the errors so often ob- servable in this most essential part of Landscape Gardening. I call the Approach the most essential, because it is self-evi- dent, that if there be a house in a park, there must be a road to it through the park: but the course of the line in which that road should be conducted has been the source of much discus- sion and difference of opinion. Utility suggests that the road should be the shortest possible: it was for this reason (I sup- pose) that in former times the straight line was adopted, ac- companied by rows of trees leading to the front of the house, which was probably the origin of avenues. The first grand approach to Woburn was of this kind; but experience having pointed out the monotony of a long Avenue, where the house is always seen in the same point of view, Le Notre boldly con- ceived an idea, which was realized at Woburn, at Wanstead, and in the front of some other palaces, viz. to obstruct its course by placing a large round basin or pond in the middle of the Y 162 avenue, which not only obhgecl the road to pass round it, but by acting as a mirror, shewed the house doubled in its reflec- tion on the surface, and thus increased the importance of its architecture. Such an expedient is beneath the dignity of Art, which should display her works naturally, and without puerile ostentation. The straight line in front of a house might be the shortest from the house to the road at one particular spot; but when it is remembered that approaches are generally neces- sary from oblicpie points, it is obvious that they can seldom be brought with propriety to one immediately in front. iTlvcI-Ioiisel A^ Those who come from A or B will not find C the nearest line to the house: this is sufficient to shew the mistake of some persons, who in all cases contend for the old style of approaches by an avenue in front. When the oblifjue line was adopted, and a road brouo-ht through the park, instead of taking a straight line, it was dis- covered that, with very little deviation, some interesting parts of the scenery might be shewn in the approach; and by de- grees its first object, that of being the nearest way to the house, was changed into that of being the most beautiful. Hence have 163 arisen all the absurdities of circuitous approaches, so aptly ridi- culed by a modern poet in describing improvers, who " lead us many a tedious round " To shew th' extent of their employer's ground." APPROACH FROM LONDON. Having marked on the ground, and also on the map, the general line, it is less necessary to describe it ; but as there is little difference in the length of the present and proposed lines, it may be proper to assign reasons for the alteration. The present approach enters through a part of the park, w^hich can be made interesting only by planting all the ground that has been unfortunately cleared of wood; and when the road enters that part of the park, where a few large trees have been left, we perceive that they are too distant from each other, and in an unhealthy state, from the grove having been too hastily thinned. But the most objectionable part of this ap- proach is the unfavourable circumstances under which the house is first shewn. The first sketch is a correct portrait of this scene ; but from the difliculty of representing a view down hill, the drawing does not shew the house so low as it appears in reality : it serves, however, to describe the following objec- tions, exclusive of that which gives a bad first impression of the place, from shewing it below the eye. First, Part only of the south front is visible, which gives an idea of its being a small house. 164 Secondly, The house is not backed by wood, but opposed to the lawn, which does not form a sufficient contrast to re- lieve it. Thirdly, The distant view, though extensive, is not appro- priate; it is evidently beyond the boundary of the park, and may be as well seen from many parts of the public road. Fourthly, The road passes along the side of a sunk fence, and destroys all privacy in the south apartments, which are exposed to every person coming to the house. Fifthl3^, and lastly. The immediate and sharp descent near the house increases the first impression made by its apparently low situation. The first effect of the house in the proposed approach is represented in the second sketch: After passing along the great glade, which is terminated l)y the island in Drakelow-pond, and which, from its length, and the size of the trees, is very magnifi- cent, the road winds among some large oaks, betwixt whose lofty stems the house first appears, partially exciting the attention, till on our quitting the grove it is at once displayed to us in all the pomp of Greatness, blended with the intricacy of picturesque irregularity. It has no longer the effect of a solitary and incon- siderable edifice, but a Palace of depth, proportioned to its front, and accompanied by all the cupolas and domes, and more elevated parts of those attendant buildings and offices, which it has become the false taste of modern times to hide by plantations. Add to all this, that the whole seems embosomed in a magnificent wood, and as seen across the valley, it appears AFFlROA/nH TO WOBIMMABBEli: BEFORE IT WAS JOLTEmEJD. J't^^t^bu/ 4r JT^iy'lifr.I'ed.J.iSis APFE-OACm TO irOBUlRF AMBEY; JlS it mas BEE:N ALTEiSEiD /J/M-ryJ/*/ it J.y'arfor I>ii.JSJff 165 elevated and not depressed, while its apparent quantity marks its character as a Ducal Palace. THE PLEASURE GROUND. By a strange perversion of terms, what is called modern English Gardening seldom includes the useful Garden, and the name of the Ornamental Garden has been chanjjed into Pleasure Ground ; but it is not the name only that has been changed ; the character of a Garden is now lost in that of the surrounding Park; and it is only on the map that they can be distinguished, while an invisible fence makes the separation between the lawn fed by cattle, and the lawn kept by the roller and the scythe. Although these lawns are actually divided by a barrier as im- passable as the ancient garden wall, yet they are apparently united in the same landscape, and " wrapt all o'er in everlasting green, " Make one dull, vapid, smooth, and tranquil scene."' R. P. Knight. The gardens or pleasure-grounds near a house may be con- sidered as so many different apartments belonging to its state, its comfort, and its pleasure. The magnificence of the house depends on the number, as well as the size of its rooms; and the similitude between the house and the garden may be justly ex- tended to the mode of decoration. A large lawn, like a large room, when unfurnished, displeases more than a small one : if only in part or meanly furnished, we t^hall soon leave it with 166 disgust, whetlicr it l)e a room covered with the finest green l)aize, or a hiwn kept with the most exquisite verdure; we look for carpets in one, and flowers in the other. If in its unfur- nished state there chance to be a looking-olass without a frame, it can only reflect the hare walls; and in Hke manner a pool of water, without surrounding plantations or other features, re- flects only the nakedness of the scene. Tliis similitude mio-ht he extended to all the articles of fur- niture for use or ornament required in an apartment, comparing them with the seats and i^uildings and sculpture appropriate to a garden. Thus the Pleasure Ground at Woburn requires to be en- riched and furnished like its Palace, where good taste is every where conspicuous. It is not by the breadth or length of the walk that Greatness of Character in Garden Scenery can ever be supported ; it is rather by its diversity, and the succession of interesting objects. In this part of a great place, we may venture to extract pleasure from Variety, from Contrast, and even from Novelty, without endangering the character of Greatness. THE GARDEN In the middle of the last century almost every mansion in the kingdom had its Garden, surrounded by walls, in the front of the house. To improve the landscape from the windows. 167 Brown was obliged to remove those gardens; and not always being able to place them near the house, they were sometimes removed to a distance. This inconvenient part of his system has been most implicitly copied by his followers; although I observe that at Croome and some other places, where he found it practicable, he attached the kitchen garden to the offices and stables, &c. behind the mansion, surrounding the whole with a shrubbery; and indeed such an arrangement is most natural and commodious. The intimate connexion between the kitchen and the garden for its produce, and between the stables and the garden for its manure, is so obvious, that every one mnst see the propriety of bringing them as nearly together as possi- ble, consistent with the views from the house: yet we find in many large parks, that the fruit and vegetables are brought from the distance of a mile, with all the care and trouble of packing for much longer carriage; while the park is continually cut up by dung carts passing from the stables to the distant gar- dens. To these considerations may be added, that the kitchen garden, even without hot-houses, is a different climate ; there are many days in winter when a warm, dry, but secluded walk, under the shelter of an east or north wall, would be preferred to the most beautiful but exposed landscape; and in the spring, when " Reviving Nature seems again to breathe, " As loosen'd from the cold embrace of death," on the south border of a walled Garden some early flowers and vegetables may cheer the sight, although every plant is 168 elsewhere pinched witli the north-east winds, peculiar to our climate, in the months of March and April, when " Winter, still ling'ring on the verge of spring, " Retires reluctant, and from time to time " Looks back, while at his keen and chilling breath " Fair Flora sickens." Stillingfleet. N. B. The disposition of the Gardens atWoburn has now heen so far completed, that it would be superfluous to describe their details, because the several objects may be viewed on the spot; but I will briefly enumerate the heads under which they have been classed : The Corridor, or covered-way, by which a sheltered com- munication is given from the house to the stables, conservatory, flower-houses, tennis-court, riding-house, Chinese-dairy, game- larder, &c. The dressed or architectural Pleasure Ground, separated from the Menagerie by the door represented in the annexed sketch. The Forcing Garden has not yet been completed, but as an object of winter comfort, a sketch is subjoined. The Chinese Buildings were proposed to be decorated by an assemblage of Chinese Plants, such as the Hydrangia, Ac- cuba, and Cameilla Japonica. An American Garden was also proposed; and, as an object of curiosity, a botanical arrangement of all the Grasses forms an interesting circumstance. The variety of Pheasants and aquatic fowls in the Menagerie creates new features in this collection of diflerent scenery. TfiLf Arc?ute/^jral Entrance. or Door, forms i/w boundary ieHvixt the dr-esseei— plfiu-uTV Ground at the Maiagerie' AT WOBFRI^ ABBEIT: -At they back of it, is this J'ayiUion. construt^ted with, -Bra/teheif and cones or' J-tr trees FuiHArd iyJTqtbr Teii.itie m ^ m 1=1 169 THE FORCING GARDEN. If the espalier fruit and common vegetables were provided for elsewhere, one acre of walled garden would he equivalent to eight or ten acres in the common mode of disposing kitchen gardens. The walls should be placed at such distance from each other as to admit of a walk near the trees, and of a border for early vegetables between the walk and the part shaded by the next wall ; on which a hedge of Laurel and Lauristinus, or even Rhododendrons, might be planted. The upper part of this Garden might be appropriated to every species of forcing : and though it is difficult to ornament the mean slanting roof of a hot-house, yet, when all other vege- tation is destroyed by cold, we may occasionally enjoy the sight of plants protected by art, without disgust at the means by which they are protected. THE PARK. So natural is the partiality for extent or greatness of dimen- sions, that I have constantly been asked. How large is such a Park? or. How many miles is it round? And since I visited Woburn, every body talks to me concerning the length of the Park- wall. I can only answer, that I do not estimate places by measurement ; and that I never go round the extremity of a place to form an idea of its beauty. With respect to the bound- 170 ary, whether it be a wall or a pale, my business is to hide it, and not to lead a Drive so near as to display it. In this instance, the fashion of Drives has, like all other fashions, passed from one extreme to the other. The ancient Drive was in an avenue, through the middle of a park ; the modern Drive avoids the middle, and skirts round its border; and although two thirds of the places I have visited, and to which I have suggested improvements, are surrounded by a Belt and a Drive, yet I must beg leave to repeat my protest against that sort of modern Belt, by which Mr. Brown's follow- ers have brought disgrace on the genius and good taste of their master. THE DRIVES. Before I speak of the Drives at Woburn, I ishall endeavour to trace the progress of fashion in Planting; by which I mean the various systems adopted at dift'erent periods for making trees artificial ornaments. The first was doubtless that of planting them in a single row at ecpuil distances; and this prevailed in the gardens mentioned by Pliny. The next step was in doubling these straight rows, to form shady walks; but fashion, not content with the simplicity of such an avenue of trees placed opposite to each other, invented the QuincwLv, by which those straight lines were multiplied in three different directions. As the eagerness of adopting this fashion could not always 171 wait the tedious growth of trees, where old woods exisled, ihoy were cut through in straight lines and vistas, and in form of stars and Pates d'oie, which prevailed at the beginning of the last century. The Avenue %- % % ^ -^ ^i ^ ^ «» _ ^ t_ ^ # ^ s^ *s ^ ^ S- ft- t .-_ ^ ^ The QuincuiAX. «_ «. * fL %. t ^ «- ^1 «- ^ t. ^l_ f t t t_ t_ t ^ t. t^ t. t ^ Fashion, tired of the dull uniformity of straight lines, was then driven to adopt something new : yet still acting by geometrical rules, it changed to regular forms of circles and curves, in which the trees were always placed at equal dis- tances. This introduced also the serpentine avenue for a road, of which there is a specimen in the approach from Bedford to Woburn Abbey which is not unpleasing. 17^2 e^ e t t ^ ^ ^•e.^- '^^ t t^ ttL% ^'S^ % -^^^ '^ e "^ ^ i£ -^. ■"S-^ f. ^ e ^ "S-rf, ^ The next bold effort of fashion was that of departing from the equi-distant spaces, and trees were phmted in patches of chimps, square or round, alternately shewing and hiding the view on each side of the road; and where no view was required, a skreen or double row of trees entirely shut out one side, while in the other the view was occasionally admitted, but still at regular intervals. This prevails in the Drives at Woburn. 1. ^ £ 1 'it 173 I perfectly remember, when I was about ten years old, that my father (a man of such general observation, that no innova- tion or novehy escaped him) remarked to me the change which was then taking place in ornamental planting; and then, al- thouo-h little supposing how much it would become the future study of my life, I recollect his observing the discovery made by some ingenious planter (perhaps Kent or Brown), that the straight line might be preserved in appearance from the ends of a vista or avenue, without actually filling up all the sides; and thus alternate openings of views to the country might be ob- tained, without losing the grandeur of the straight line, which was then deemed indispensable.* He then observed, th.at this would lead to the abolishing of avenues ; and, I believe, few were planted after that date, viz. the middle of the last cen- tury. About this time a total change in the fashion took place ; and under Brown we were taught that Nature was to be our model, and that Nature seldom moved in a straight line. It was not therefore to be wondered at, that his illiterate followers should have copied the means he used, and not the model he proposed. They saw him prefer curved lines, and concluded * " The late Lord Bathurst told me, that he was the first person who ventured to deviate from straight lines, in a brook which he had widened at Ryskins. The Lord Stafford being carried to see the effect of the new improvement, asked him to own fairly how little more it would have cost to have made the course of the brook in a straight direction.' Daines Barringtox. Archcvologia, Vol. VII. 174 that Nature aLliorred a straiglit one. Hence proceeded those meandering, serpentine, and undulating lines in all their works, Mliich were unfortunately conlirnied by Hogarth's recommen- dation of his imaginary Line of Beautij. Tlius we see roads sweeping round to avoid the direct line to their object, and fences gracefully and fancifully taking a longer course ; and even belts and plantations in useless curves, with a drive mean- dering in parallel lines, which are full as much out of nature as straight ones. Thus has fashion converted a Belt or screen of plantation, introduced by Brown, into a Drive quite as monotonous and more tedious than an avenue or vista, because a curved line is lono-er than a straight one. A Belt should consist of wood, through which a road may wind to various points of view; or scenery may be shewn under various circumstances of foreground ; but a Drive should only be among the trees, and under the shade of their branches; especially where a few large old trees may help to vary the same- ness of a plantation uniformly consisting of young saplings. rrr^^^^Xm - -^^ iiiiii:iiiiiii!iiii!!;!i:iii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiiiii;iiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiii .' V^ievv out of tiic Park 175 Very difFerent from this is the drive too often adopted, which is an open Drive, so wide that it never goes near the trees, and which admits such a current of air, that the front trees are tr L^/:^" ■ ^'" FRAGMENT XXX. CONCERNING ENTRANCE LODGES AND COTTAGES. Various expedients have been suggested to mark the entrance to a place with importance. A ViUa with a few acres, or a Park with an extensive domain, must now be at some distance from the high road, in comphance with the modern custom of placing the house in the centre of the grounds. In such situations the utility of an Entrance Lodge or Cottage is too evident to require discussing, but its character may be worth some consideration. 185 The entrance to a place is generally best marked at any branching ofF from a public road; and where the boundary of a park is at some distance from the road, and the entrance a kind of private cross-road, a mere Cottage may perhaps be suf- ficient, of any style of architecture, without reference to the style of the house, and a proper gate will distinguish it as an entrance to a place. But where the gate immediately opens into a park, strongly marked, and bounded by a wall or park- paling, a Lodge seems more appropriate than a Cottage: that it should partake of the style and character of the mansion seems also to be required by the laws of unity of design, which good taste adopts in every art. If the architecture of the house be Grecian, the style of the Lodge should be the same ; as in the design for a Lodge at Wingerworth House, page 64, and the annexed sketch for the Entrance to Longnor, where the house is Gothic. It may be objected, that the Gothic Cottage bears no reference to Woburn Abbey; but that is not an Entrance Lodge, it is a Cottage near a gate into a wood, at the distance of some miles from the House. To mark the Entrance to Cobham Hall, the seat of the Earl of Darnley, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the style and character of the house proposed to be adopted in the Lodge is not the modern Gothic style, with sharp-pointed windows, and a flat slate roof just rising over the battlements, but that which is distinguished by massive square-headed windows, with pin- nacles, mouldings, gables, escutcheons, and the lofty enriched chimneys of former days, as shewn at the head of this Fragment. 2 B 186 To a modern Cottage or Lodge of Grecian architecture the Gate may either be a light wooden one between two posts, or iron folding gates with brick or stone piers, and it may be of any fancifid design. But if the Entrance to a place be marked by a respectable Gothic Lodge, or a correct Gothic Cottage, the Gate itself, and even the gate-posts, should also be of the same correct style of architecture. I do not mean the flimsy light deal Gothic gate, frittered with little pointed arches like a show- box, but the heavy strong oak Gate with massive hinges, and occasionally ornamented with fleur de lys, and iron spikes : it should appear to have been constructed at the same period in which the Lodge itself is supposed to have been built. Among the various designs for the Entrance into a Park, that of an Archway is suyjposed to be copied from those ancient specimens which may still be found near colleges and manor- houses, and in the remains of monastic buildings : but it should be remembered, that such lofty arches are only found when joined on each side by high walls, or attached to buildings surrounding a court-yard. When a lofty Archway is seen rising up in the air, being placed at the boundary of a park, and having only a low paling on each side, it is out of character, and in fact bears the appearance of a mere eye-trap, and may be compared to a high gate or stile by the side of a gap in the hedge. The same observation respecting the Archway may also serve for the Gatehouse ; that is, a covered way with a room over it (which room in monastic buildings was called the Scrip- 187 torium). These Gatehouses are more appropriate to the court- yards of the mansions, as at Knowle, Penshurst, Hampton- Court, &c. than as Entrances to a park. In general they had large massive close folding-doors, and sometimes a small door or postern inserted in one of the folds for foot passengers ; and sometimes a single door-way separated from the carriage=-wav, as in the gates of cathedrals, monasteries, colleges, &c. But with these the modern spruce Iron Gates will be deemed out of character by all those who have made the antiquities of tlie country their study, or who consider unity and congruity of design amongst the first principles of good taste. Bij J. A. II. THE SeHOOlLMaiD'SE iO" L<0:^^-" J'':' istf" /•>/ .//;«////■ c «IKH)KiRA]L VllEW OIF >5iMfiR'^''^®'fiIAM BowiKIR, S-OMF(0)LK: dJBEOT mPrfm.H. Ei'^Q" ' " '"" '■""'■"''"■' ». ./ T„.-,„r ,„„/, //„//„„,, c r « IK W IK K A IL VH EW O ¥ S Bl E*®'' ^ '^^ VSMM IB © WK IK. H-(n)MF®LlK: : AJimOT UlPCfrflUK, A'.y/^* " '"' '^"'*''"'' A ./ y;„./„^ ^„„^ //_,^,,„^,^, FRAGMENT XXXIII. EXTRACTED FROM THE REPORT ON SHERRINGHAM BOWER, IN NORFOLK, A SEAT OF ABBOT UPCHER, ESQ. SITUATION. It may appear a bold assertion to pronounce, that Sh erring- ham possesses more natural beauty and local advantages, and is more capable of being rendered an appropriate gentleman- like residence, than any place I have ever seen. I must here premise, that I do not estimate places by their Measure or Value, each of w^hich may be applied separately to the diamond and the mill-stone ; and in comparing it with other places, I must confine myself to those w^hicli command views of the Sea, that being always the leading feature of the Scenery of Great Britain as an Island. The most celebrated places of this de- scription which I have seen, are Mulgrave Castle in the North, Tregothnan and Mount Edgecombe in the West, and various places in Sussex, and the Isle of Wight in the South ; yet much of the celebrity of these places may be derived from the per- mission liberally given to have them seen by the public ; and, 196 indeed the boasted beauty of the Isle of Wight is associated with the moving from one spot to the other, and the cheerful animation of its visitors and tourists ; for, if we take any one place in that Tour, and can suppose it solitary and divested of this enlivening circumstance, it cannot be compared with the scenery of Sherringham, where the combination of Hill and Valley, Wood and Sea views, continually remind us of being in that beautiful little Island, without the occasional dif- ficulty of having the water to cross in our return. Much of the interest in the scenery of the Isle of Wight is indebted to the circumstance of its being visited only in Summer, when the gay decorations of the gardens, whether belonging to a Palace or a Cottage, present an assemblage of elegance and comfort, in which Sherringham is at present woefully deficient ; but which it is the object of these pages to provide. I recollect when I first visited the Isle of Wight, a continued series of fine weather, amidst the profusion of roses and other fragrant shrubs, ope- rated on my senses like a charm, till on opening a door in one of the most delightful retreats, the sight of Cloaks and Umbrellas, made me exclaim, " Can it ever rain in Paradise?" In considering Sherringham as a permanent Residence and not as a mere Summer Villa, we must recollect how it may appear in Winter. 197 THE SEA. The View of the Sea at Sherringham Is not like that of the Bay of Naples, or even the Southern Coasts of England ; the Sea Is to the North, and however delightful the summer visitors of the Norfolk Coast may deem such a View, those who have experienced the cold North winds of winter, and even those who contemplate their effect on some of the Oaks opposed to their violence, will be fully aware that a view of the Sea from the House ought not to be the first consideration ; and will pity the bad taste of any one who should recommend a Site for a Mansion looking towards the Sea — Qui Semper amabilem Sperat nescius aurae Fallacis. — THE WOODS. The effect of these Woods I consider as accidental, rather than designed, since it is obvious that the only rule observed, was to plant such land as would not bear corn, and conse- quently all the hills have been clothed boldly; and, fortunately for their beauty, the value of the timber was not so much con- sidered as that of the land ; since it may be observed, that the trees in the Valleys have grown much taller than those on the Hills ; and the walks and drives have been made through these woods, yet their comparative Interest is hitherto unknown. 198 since few can distinguish betwixt what they do see, and what they might see. Some trifling changes in the course of these walks would prove how easy it is, by the proper line of a path, to make it not only beautiful in itself, but a beautiful display of other beauties ; or, as De Lille expresses it, " Les Sentiers de nos pas guides ingenieux, " Doivent embellir en nous montrant cos lieux." For this reason we may assert, that the treasures of Sherring- ham are yet in the Mine, and from the present site of the House almost useless. PLANTATIONS. Some have asserted, that it is more pleasant to make improvement by the axe than by the spade ; but I consider it a fortunate circumstance that some further planting is necessary, since I may venture to aflirm, that after a few years the Proprietor will derive more real satisfaction from the trees planted by himself, than from those which have long ex- isted. All Planters delight in Woods reared b}^ themselves, as parents are most fond of tlieir own progeny. In mjiking new Plantations some useful hints may be taken from that great variety which at present exists, either from acci- dent, by being planted at difterent times and of different sorts of trees, or perhaps from the influence the sea may have had in destroying some and checking others ; for, although in some places the Sea has proved an enemy, yet it points out what trees are bast adapted to the situation and exposure. 199 THE SITE FOR THE HOUSE. This is an object most important in Landscape Gardening, yet there is none so often mistaken or misunderstood, because mankind are apt to judge by the eye rather than by the under- standing, and oftener select objects for their beauty rather than for their use or intrinsic worth. The experience of the incon- veniences to which most beautiful situations are liable, has induced me to view the subject in all its bearings, and well to weigh against each other all the advantages and disadvantages which ought to influence our choice : these I have generally classed in the following order : — the Aspect, the Levels, Objects of Convenience, and lastly the Views J'rom the House. First, the Aspect. There can be no doubt that a southern aspect is the most desirable for rooms which are to be occupied throughout the year, because the sun in winter is always accept- able, and in summer it is so much more elevated, that it is rarely objectionable and easily shaded. This is not the case with the eastern or western aspect, where the rays being more oblique, are not to be shaded but by obliterating the prospect, and as the prevailing winds with rain generally come from the south- west, a little turn towards the south-east is to be preferred. This I propose at Sherringham, and for two other reasons, it makes the view towards the opposite woods more central ; and it gives more room for the offices and appendages proposed towards the 200 west. A northern aspect is seldom advisable, except in man- sions on a very great scale, or in Cornwall or on the southern coast, where it is generally preferred to the sea exposure; it will, therefore, I trust, be acknowledged that the site is perfect as far as it relates to aspect. * 2dly, The Levels. This is an object of much more import- ance than is generally supposed. We frequently see houses placed, for the sake of the prospect, so high that they are annoyed by every wind ; and others, for the sake of shelter, so low that they are flooded by every heavy fall of rain, or by the sudden melting of the snow. The Site here proposed is on a suiBcient eminence to enjoy prospect, and yet to be sheltered from the sea winds : the ground by Nature falls gently from it in every direc- tion except towards the north ; and in that direction it will easily be made to do so by Art : this is necessary to prevent any damps from the hill, and to provide a sufficient drainage for the House and Offices, all of which will require very little cost or labour. Thus, I trust, I may pronounce that the Site is perfect with respect to its Levels.. 3dly, Objects of Convenience, of which the first is the Supply of Water. This is an object of great importance, yet I have frequently seen large houses placed where no water can be had, but by aqueducts or distant land carriage ; and as • The reasons for a South-East Aspect were before given in Fragment No. 24, although here repeated to preserve this Fragment entire. 201 it is not only for the constant use of the family, that water is essential, but as a security in case of lire, some great Reservoir or Tank ought always to be provided near the House. From the situation of the two ponds near the Site, we have reason to expect water will not fail. 2dly, Sufficient space to contain all the numerous append- ages of comfort and convenience, as Offices and Office Courts,' Stables and Yards for Wood, Coals, Linen, &c. all which should be near ; and others at no great distance, such as Kitchen Gar- den, Melon-ground, Poultry Yard, Timber Yard, Ice House, &c. These if possible should be on the contrary side of the House to the Flower Garden, Conservatory, and Pheasantry, which are naturally connected with Pleasure ground. 3dly, Relative Objects, or such as though not immediately belonging, must be considered as relating to the place, and therefore must be properly connected with it, viz. the Post Towns, the Church and Village, and the Sea; to all which there must be roads, and these may be made highly orna- mental, useful, and convenient, or the contrary. It fortunately happens tiiat the three roads from Aylsham, Holt, and Cro- mer, all meet at the summit of the hill, from whence the public roads descend steeply towards the two towns of Upper and Lower Sherringham, and at this spot, I propose to enter the premises, and proceed to the House along a line of ap- proach, the most easy, natural, varied, and beautiful; and as it is nearer than the public road, it places the new Site exactly 2 D 202 at the same measured distance with the old one from the three Post Towns, while the apparent distance will be shortened Ly a mile, because we are apt to consider ourselves arrived at a place as soon as we have passed the gate of the Grounds or Woods or Park belonging to it. 4thly. View from the House. Although with many, the Views from a House form the first consideration, yet I am not so infatuated with Landscape as to prefer it to any of the objects already enumerated. Perhaps a natural habit of cheer- fulness operates too powerfully on my mind ; but I have ever considered the View of trees and lawns only, as creating a certain degree of gloom ; which I am convinced is oftener felt than acknowledged by the possessors of places admired for their solitary grandeur. We are apt to lament the desertion of such family mansions for the residence of London in winter, and Avatering places in summer ; but we should consider the difference betwixt the country gentleman's Seat, when only separated from his neighbours and dependants by Court Yards or Garden Walls, and the modern fashion of placing the House in the middle of a Park, at a distance from all mankind, '• Where only grass and foliage we obtain " To mark the flat insipid waving plain, «' Which wrapt all o'er in everlasting green '♦ Make one dull vapid, smooth, though tranquil scene." Knight's Landscape. 203 To this might be added, that, " Now not one moving object must appear " Except the owner's Bullocks, Sheep, or Deer, " As if his Landscape were aU made to eat, " And yet he shudders at a Crop of A\lieat." For in the present taste for Park Scenery a Corn-field is not admissible, because every fence must be removed except those which are most offensive, such as separate woods and lawns. In the principal View to the South, this modern taste may be indulged to the greatest excess by " Lawning a hundred good acres of wheat," but I should not advise the extending the verdant surface too far, as I consider the mixture of Corn- lands with Woods at a distance more cheerful than grass, be- cause at certain seasons, at seed time and at harvest, it may be enlivened by men as well as beasts. I hope I may be liere allowed to indulge my favourite propensity for humaniz- ing as well as animating beautiful Scenery, by a hint respect- ing the future occupation of Sherringham. It has already been observed, that the places most celebrated for their beauty are most known to the Public, for " many a gem of purest ray serene" is locked up in the casket, lest man should breathe upon it; let me hope to unlock this treasure occasionally to strangers. I do not mean to destroy the comfort and privacy of Sherringham by admitting near the House all the Tourists and Felicity Hunters of Cromer and the Coast, but at such a distance as the Temple. One day in the week might be 204 granted them to share in the beauties of ihis spot. This oc- casional glitter of distant moving objects, with the sight of carriages coming to the House, would furnisli lively features to contrast with the quiet, yet appropriate View from the House towards the South, THE VILLAGE. Notwithstanding the modern fashion of placing a House in the Centre of a Park, at a distance from the liaunts of men, or even the habitation of its own dependants and Labourers, yet there are numerous objects belonging to a Village with which the Mansion must be connected, such as the Church, the Inn, the Shop, the Carpenter, Blacksmith, and other Tradesmen, to which may here be added the farming premises and the Steward's house. The vicinity of a Village is very differently marked in dif- ferent parks. In some, I see lame and blind beggars moving sorrowfully towards the Hall-house, where I know, and they fear, no relief will be given : in others, I see women and chil- dren with cheerful faces bearing their jugs and milk and pro- visions at stated periods, and I know, before I enter the House, which are the happiest families. In some places I hear com- plaints tliat the neighl)ours are all idle thieves and poachers : in others, that all the inhabitants of the neighl)()uring Villages would rise at night to serve their liberal Patron ; and I have 205 been often led to consider the source of tliis difference. For- merly the poor labourers on an Estate looked for assistance in age or sickness to the hand that paid for their work when they could work ; now they are turned over to the Parish Officer, and prisons are erected under the name of Workhouses for those w ho are past all work. A common Farmer, who works as hard as his labourers, with them, is considered as one of them- selves ; but when a very opulent Gentleman Tarmer told me that by rising at four o'clock every day, and watching his men all day, he could get more work done, I thought he paid dearly for it; and whether the poor slave is urged on by the lash of the Negro-driver or the dread of confinement in a Workhouse, he mustj^ee/ that man is not ecpial, though he may be taught to read that he is so. I consider the proximity of the Town of Sherringham as a mine of wealth, a source of infinite interest, more valuable than the interest upon interest of the Usurer. The Workhouse, in- stead of an object of terror to the poor and of disgust to the rich, may be made to look more like an Hospital, or an Asylum, and less like a Prison : the Street may be improved, and a cheerful Village Green, with benches and a Maypole, may be laid open to this House of Industry : this will remind us that happiness may be extended to all ranks of mankind. The Labourers' Cottages belonging to the Estate, may be marked by neatness, and decorated by those ornamental shrubs and creepers, which make the whole Isle of Wight a Garden so enchanting to strangers. 206 Instead of forbidding all access to the poor, in some places, I have observed it is customary'one day in the month, or oftener if necessary, particularly after any storm of wind, to admit into the vroods, but under the eye of the keeper, all persons belong- ing to the Parish, to pick up dead wood for firing ; and in these places no wood is stolen, and no trees are lopped and disfigured. With respect to the Game, which is every where, and particu- larly in Norfolk, the perpetual source of suspicion and temp- tation, I foresee that at Sherringham it will be one source of conferring happiness ; for, there is a great difi^erence betwixt shooting and coursing; one is a selfish, the other a social en- joyment. The villagers will occasionally partake in the sport like those where the games of cricket or prison-bars are cele- brated ; thus promoting a mutual endearment betwixt the Landlord, the Tenant, and the Labourer, which is kept up with little expense, securing the reciprocity of assistance of each to the other, by a happy medium betwixt licentious equality and oppressive tyranny. Although the local advantages of Sherringham may not be deemed of general interest, yet their consideration has had great influence with me in the preference I have given it over every other in which I have been consulted. 1st. It is situated within half a mile of the sea, without being exposed to it. 2dly. It is within a morning ride of the capital of the county, and within an hours drive of the several ports and 207 market towns of Holt, Aylsliam, North-Walsham and Cro- mer; at each of which are Balls and Book Clubs, besides the monthly meetings of magistrates, and annual Fairs and Festivals, where society and amusement may occasionally be had to vary the monotony of rural life. 3dly. The Soil is delightful for habitation, being neither so light and sandy as to be barren, nor so rich and wet as to make the roads impassable. 4thly. It is within five or six miles of the sea-port of Blake- ney to the West, and of Cromer to the East, where those who do not object to the mixed company of a Watering-place, may partake of its variety. 5thly. There is no manufactory near ; this, for the comfort of habitation, is of more importance than is generally supposed: manufacturers are a difterent class of mankind to husband- men, fishermen, or even miners : not to speak of the difference in their religious and moral characters : the latter from being constantly occupied in employments which require bodily exertion, and their relaxations being shared with their fa- milies and friends, become cheerful and contented; but the former lead a sedentary life, always working at home, and seeking relaxation at their clubs, the birth-place and cradle of equality, discontent, and dissatisfaction. 6thly. There are some who consider that no place can be perfect without water, while others do not consider the Sea as water belonging to a place, but as its boundary; in answer to 208 both these fastidious hypercritics it may be observed, that here two lively brooks flow through the Estate ; and, that in a dis- tant recess in the woods, a small pool exists, which might be increased to any size. I cannot help considering Sherringham as deriving a de- gree of advantage from what some will think the reverse, be- cause they not only look to increasing the value, but the quan- tity of an estate. This is bounded by property to the West, tliat is not to be purchased ; and, therefore, like the boundary of the sea to the North, it so far fixes a boundary to our wishes. Men are apt to indulge the vain hope of making all they see their own, bke children who cry for the moon ; or like dogs who bark at it. WALKS, DRIVES, AND STATIONS. The natural shape of the surface is so infinitely varied, that it is impossible from a map to form any idea of the scenery; and drawings can but feebly represent a few of those land- scapes which change at every step. The peculiar character of Sherringham is beauty, without any of that sublimity which is derived from horror, as on the brinks of rocky precipices in mountainous regions : yet there is a sublimity attached to the sea, which is here softened into the character of beauty, and forms the leading feature of Sherringham. For this reason I do not advise that degree of softness and artificial smoothin"^. 209 described by Mr. R. P. Knight, in his attack on Bro^vn's followers, " To improve, adorn, and polish they profess ; " But shave the goddess whom they came to dress." There are some few trees which have felt the terrific effects of winter winds ; these cannot be removed without endanger- ing others to which they have long been the advanced guard; and so far from wishing them trimmed, or otherwise reduced to a softer character, I consider them like a dry rugged channel of a Winter's cataract, leaving in Summer sublime memorials of the power of Nature's mighty agents : they form a contrast to the generally prevailing forms of beauty ; and for this reason I have recommended, near the same spot where the ridge of the hill is to be cut down a little to ease the descent of the road, that its banks should be left steep and abrupt, and not smoothed and turfed over ; since a road is an artificial object, and may be avowed in such cases as a work of art. As this chasm, dividing the land from the sea views, will be one of the most striking stations at Sherringham, I have called it the Scalp, from a noted scar of this kind in Ireland. The annexed View is supposed to be taken from this spot. INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT. It is remarkable, that of the many thousand plans which have been made in difi'erent ages and countries, no one has 2 E 210 ever been deemed so far perfect as to become the model for any future design. In digesting the arrangement for the House at Sherringham, we have proposed a plan in many respects differing from other houses, for which we plead the following reasons First, The wishes of the Proprietor. Secondly, the adaptation of the house to the situation, cha- racter, and circumstances of the spot. Thirdly, The style in which it is supposed to be inhabited. Most modern houses, as well as those of former times, are too large to be occupied with economy. It is not a large house, but a large room, that is most comfortable to live in ; yet, many such large rooms tend to increase the expenses, if con- stantly lived in, and the miseries of life if only used occasionally. Let us then consider what are the rooms required for a house on the scale here proposed. These may be thus enumerated, 1st. One large living room, to contain books, instruments, tables, and every thing requisite to modern comfort and costume. 2d. An ample eating room, to be used in the morning for breakfast, and not to have a fire lighted five minutes only be- fore dinner. 3d. An entrance, with such vestibule and passage as may impress a certain degree of importance, without useless waste of space or expense, the ancient Hall not being necessary. 4th. A room on the ground floor, which I call a parlour; it may serve various purposes, besides that of the proprietor's 211 own study ; it should have a bed, in case of age or infirmity, or it may be occupied by an eldest son ; but its chief use is to give the proper number of bed-rooms on the floor above, which would otherwise be defective, in a house in the country. 5th. The gentleman's own room, connected with the offices, to give access to persons on business, without admitting them into the body of the house. This may be Gun-room, Justice-room, &c. 6th. The lady's own room, or boudoir up stairs, and con- nected with the wardrobe and bed-room on the same floor, having a degagement or private stairs, although the approach for strangers is by the principal stair-case. 7th. The bed-rooms to have dressing-rooms, in which sopha- beds may occasionally be used. 8th. The rooms over the offices, to be used as nurseries, should have large folding-doors to admit air, and may be connected on the same level with the hill at the back of the house, for exercise to the children. The Eating Room is of that proportion, about two by three, Avhich is now considered the standard of perfection : indeed, in many modern houses, every room partakes of the same shape and dimensions ; such a room requires Tables and Sophas to fill up its area and create that sort of intricacy which is so admirably conspicuous in the old houses of the date of Queen Elizabeth, where large bow windows and deep recesses give a degree of comfort worth copying in a Modern Room. With this idea, the windows for Sherringham are proposed to take a new character, as applied to Grecian Architecture, which in fact has 212 no more to do wlrli a Modern Sash than with a large Gothic Window. In the centre of this Room, and opposite to the fire-place, is a deep recess, which will be one of the most interesting and striking novelties, admitting a small company to live in the Room or out of the Room at pleasure, and commanding a delio-htful View of the Flower Garden, with just so much of the Sea as will be sufficient to announce its proximity, without exposing the Room to its baneful effects. The View to the East from this Window in the Recess, will be so peculiar that it may perhaps be advisable to exclude all View from the Windows on the sides, only leaving the upper part for Transparent Blinds, or Stained Glass. OKNEKAIL VIEW FMOM THE SOUTM ANB EAST FMOHTS OF THE €OTTAGE AT E MBSLEIKKH, IIDIFTTOI^SIFIIIME. ■ 'TTHESS ©F BKDFOMS c /.„„,/.,'• /■iM"l«^ h- Jr„,.io, /-.-i, GiraiFj^AL VIEW rmim tme south anb east fmowts otf the cottage at e: ■WIDSLEIGH. BEVOKS^imUHiJIi. JISUTCHESS ©jF BKDFOR© /,.„,/.,» /■iitli'!"^ h- J.Jar/ur f^. , FRAGMENT XXXIV. EXTRACTED FROM THE REPORT OF ENDSLEIGH, A COTTAGE ON THE BANKS OF THE TAMAR IN DEVONSHIRE. BY PERMISSION OF HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. SITUATION AND CHARACTER. Those who have sailed on this beautiful River near Plymouth and Saltash, v\^ill figure to their minds one of those calm sequestered retreats, reflected on the smooth surface of a broad expanse ot waters, very different from the River Scenery of Endsleigh: to explain this difference it will be necessary to describe the Tamar. There are hardly two things in nature more contrasted, than a River near its source in a mountainous country, and the same River when it becomes navigable, and spreads itself into an estuary, like the Tamar at Plymouth. Nothing can be more delightful to those who have braved the storms of the Ocean, than to sail between the romantic Banks of the Tamar, Avhose echoing rocks often repeat the music, which from plea- sure boats enlivens its peaceful surface, and a Cottage on the Banks of the Tamar will naturally suggest such tranquil Scenery. Very different is that of Endsleigh. Here, Solitude, embosomed in all the sublimity of umbrageous majesty, looks down on the infant River struggling through its rocky channel, and hurrying onwards with all the impetuosity of ungoverned youth, till it 214 becomes useful to mankind. This idea often occurred to me, while contemplating the River on the spot. The Tamar, like all mountain streams, however it may amuse the eye with its frolic motion, by not being navigable or passable, becomes a barrier, and seems to serve no other purpose than that of dividing the two Counties of Devonshire and Cornwall ; but even in this apparently useless state it is busy in collecting the " little streams which run among the mountains;" and on trac- ing its progress we find that it soon becomes more and more useful to man, till at length it is acknowledged as the great source of the Harbour of Plymouth, to which England owes much of its Glory and its Commerce. In speaking of the course of the Tamar, I should wish to make a distinction betwixt the Channel and the Bed of the River, if I may be allowed so to use these two words. By the Channel I mean the whole flat surface, over which a river spreads its waters during the floods of winter, extending to the foot of the hills which form the valley. By the Bed, I mean the narrow channel to which the water is confined during that " Belle Sa?son," when all Nature presents her beauties to ad- vantage ; when all Rivers sleep in their beds, and even the most turbulent are restrained within their narrowed limits. Let us now consider the process of Nature in forming this Bed. Light never moves but in straight lines. Water always takes some degree of curvature. The rays of light may be broken by reflection or refraction, but can never be bent. Water, on the contrary, may easily be bent, but cannot be hrohen without 215 changing its fluid character to froth. The course of a River is never straight, and seldom along the middle, or low^est part of the flat, but it shoots across from side to side, increasing its utility by thus retarding its progress ; this observation applies to all rivers, though I was first led to examine the subject by the tortuous course of the River Manyfold in Derbyshire. Hill or.Iiigk Grouui 1 i •. '? V E i = i S '- = i I ! ^ . i ^ ^ S ; \ \ V • ■- V i \ : , In the above Sketch, w^hich I have supposed to represent the course of any river, a dotted line shows a second track, which the water seems to mark out during floods, and which leaves occasionally swamps or pools of water in summer after the River has subsided. This sort of channel may be ob- served at Endsleigh, in the shape of the ground on the left bank of the River. Sometimes a River forsakes its bed entirely, and takes one of these new channels ; and I have frequently had occasion to assist, or retard this operation of Nature, by an interference of Art ; but in the present case I shall only revert to the dif- ference, which I have endeavoured to establish betwixt the 216 Channel and the Bed of the River Tamar, so far as it relates to the best means of crossing it without the sort of bridge aptly described by Cowper, " That with its wearisome but needful length " Bestrides the wintry flood." If a substantial bridge were necessary or expedient, no per- son would be so competent to construct it, as my scientific and experienced friend Mr. Rennie, who has been consulted on the subject ; but I shall beg leave to make some observations, first, on the uses of a bridge, and next consider its effect on the scenery. The Wood opposite being now annexed to Endsleigh, access is required to it ; but, if there were no other expedient, I should doubt the accommodation being equivalent to the diffi- culty and expense of such a bridge as might be passable at all seasons, requiring at each end an embankment, and arches on dry ground above the level of the highest Winter floods. This would be necessaiy, if it were a public road ; but, on the con- trary, it would be a private bridge seldom used, and might be dispensed with during floods ; therefore such a bridge is not absolutely necessary. With respect to its effect on the scenery, it would present an object totally at variance with that calm sequestered retreat, which forms the striking characteristic of Endsleigh: since a great bridge announces a great road, and a great road destroj's all solitude, both real and imaginary; there is also another objection to a conspicuous bridge in the situation proposed. 217 The part of the Tamar forming the chief view from the house, is so nearly in a straight line, that it would more resemble an artificial Canal than a natural River, if the extremity, now forming a graceful curvature, were to be terminated by a bridge, and especially one so large as to rob the River of all its importance. In addition to these objections, it may be added, that if a crossing can be effected more immediately near and oppositd^ to the house, it would doubtless be a better situation for a bridge, in point of convenience ; and, as an object of beauty, it might assume a picturesque character more in har- mony with that of the place. OF THE PICTURESQUE. This word has of late excited considerable interest and controversy; but the word, like many others in common use, is more easy to be understood than defined : if it means all subjects capable of being represented in a picture, it will in- clude the Pig-sties of Moreland, as well as the filthy Hostels of Teniers and Ostade: but the absurdity of representing all that is visible, without selecting what is most beautiful, cannot be better exemplified than by the following fact. One of our most eminent Landscape painters was desired to make a portrait of a Gentleman's Seat: he saw the place during a land-flood, and when the whole valley was covered by vapour he made a beautiful picture of a fog, after the manner of Vernet; and thus he painted an atmospheric effect, when he should have 2 F 218 painted a Landscape. In like manner a beautiful woman re- presented during a fainting fit, may display great ingenuity in the artist ; but surely this is sickly picturesqueness. The Sub- jects represented by Salvator Rosa, and our English Mortimer, are deemed picturesque ; but are they fit objects to copy for the residence of man in a polished and civilized state? Cer- tainly not. This naturally leads to the inquiry, how far we may avail ourselves of picturesque circumstances in real Land- scape. These circumstances may be classed under three heads : Steepness of ground — abrupt rocks — and, Water in rapid motion ; for, we may consider wood, and lawn, and smooth Avater, as common to all landscapes, whether in Cornwall or in Lincolnshire. In the Drives through Leigh Wood, some advantage has been taken of the steepness ; but it should be shewn as an o])ject of beauty from the precipitous side of the road, and not as an object of terror, by making the roads too steep. There are many places in which romantic rocks are now to- tally hid by brushwood ; these doubtless require to be brought into view. But of all picturesque objects, there is none so interest- ing as Water in rapid motion ; and it is the duty of art to avail itself of every opportunity to force it into notice ; in a mountain- ous country there hardly exists a dell or dingle, in which some stream, that might be drawn forth to form a conspicuous part in the Picturesque Landscape, does not steal its way unseen amongst the long grass or foliage of brushwood, and is there- fore entirely lost. 219 In all mountainous countries, it is common to place troughs to receive the water which flows from the neisrhhourino- hills These by the road side, as drinking places for Cattle, form in- teresting circumstances in the Landscape peculiar to romantic scenery, while the interest is considerably heightened, by re- flecting, that the supply is not the scanty produce of human labour and mechanism, but flows from that source whence the most mighty rivers derive their existence : perhaps there is hardly a more striking example of the inexhaustible bounty of Providence, than may be drawn from the never-ceasing over- flow of " 1! abreiwoir des Montcwnes" THE WEIR. Instead of a magnificent and costly bridge at a distance from the house, I should propose crossing the water immedi- ately opposite, by means of a Weir. The surface of this Weir may be levelled and paved with flat stones, to the width of fifteen or twenty feet, at about eighteen inches or two feet be- low the common summer height of the river, making a safe ford for carriages ; and, by inserting large blocks of stone, a bridge of timber or cast-iron may be thrown over for horses and foot passengers, above the common Summer's flood, but so strongly secured as to bear the Winter torrents to flow over the whole. A stream from the river may be brought suflicient to turn the under-shot wheel of a corn-mill, or it may be worked by 220 an over-shot wheel; to supply which, a channel or feeder may be brought through the wood, from so high a level up the river as to produce the sort of water-fall which I have hinted in the Sketch, where such a stream is supposed to pass over the face of certain rocks now hid by brushwood. It is hardly necessary to remark how much the View from the House would be en- livened by the smoke of a Cottage on the opposite side of the water; and if this Cottage were to be a Mill, the occasional traffic and busy motion of persons crossing the Tamar, would add to the picturesque effect of a Landscape, which at present wants a little more animation. Perhaps it might be possible to give much additional inte- rest to the Tamar at Endsleigh, if this Weir could be converted into a Salmon-leap of any height, that would not require much embankment to preserve the meadow from being overflowed by common floods. THE COTTAGE. Having considered the Situation and natural Character of the Countr}'^, I must now consider the artificial character by which Endsleigh is made habitable ; for, without the aid of art, the most romantic or picturesque scenery in nature is a desert, and only fitted to the habitation of wild beasts. The first ([uestion that obviously occurred was. What style of house will best accord with this Landscape? Here the good taste of the noble proprietor of Endsleigh was directed by what he 221 saw. An irregular farm-house, little better than a cottage, backed by a hill and beautiful group of trees, presented an object so picturesque, that it was impossible to wish it removed and replaced by any other style of building that architecture has hitherto invented, viz. a Castle, or an Abbey, or a Palace, not one of which could have been so convenient and so appli- cable to the scenery as this cottage, or rather group of rural buildings. With respect to the manner in which the design has been executed, I shall only say, it is such as will do credit to the name of Wyatt, Avhen time shall have harmonized the raw tints of new materials. The design and outline are so truly picturesque that I must regret my inability to do them justice. ( ////juvay/ (>/>////^/f, cu //?€ _>^ 'V, a///r// ^'2-2 PLEASURE GROUND. One of llie subjects to which I was instructed to direct par- ticular attention, was the fence and line of demarkation betwixt the Lawn to be fed and that to be mown and dressed as plea- sure-ground. The general fall of the ground from the House to the Valley is an inclined plane, with the exception of a small rise in the centre, which had been artificially converted into a kind of bastion ; this left a considerable space to be covered with Flowers and Shrubs ; but when I began to mark the situ- ations of clumps and patches, I placed persons at different sta- tions, and found that in every part of the surface of this Lawn beyond the distance of 25 feet from the House, any shrub of six feet high would hide not only the meadow below, but also that line of River which, by an uninterrupted continuity of glitter, constitutes the leading feature of the place. This is very different from the stagnant sheets of wafer (as they are called) which require masses of planting to hide the mechanism of their artificial deception. One obvious advantage of removing the fence so much nearer the House, will be that of introducing the appearance of Cattle to animate the Landscape, and by their perspective effects to shew the distance of Lawn betwixt the House and the Tamar ; and perhaps a certain portion of the opposite bank might be thrown into pasture with the same view, when access can be had to it by means of the Weir proposed. 223 COMFORTS AND APPENDAGES. If Houses were built only to be looked at, or looked from, the best Landscape-painter might be the best Landscape-gardener ; but to render a place in all seasons comfortable, requires other considerations besides those of picturesque effect. It is during the winter and in the shooting season that a residence at Endsleigh ^vill be most desirable ; but the Climate and Southwestern Aspect of a mountainous district will expose it to the rains, winds, and fogs which are the natural con- comitants of all lofty and picturesque stations. In spring it has become a fashion to desert the country, and in summer every field is a garden ; but in autumn and winter we experience the truth of a maxim which I have endeavoured to inculcate, and must again beg leave to repeat, that a Garden is a \sorh of A^t, making proper use of' the Materials o/^ Nature. A well culti- vated Fruit-garden requires shelter to secure its produce in autumn, and this same shelter may be extended to the com- fort of its inhabitants diirino: that season when a walk alono- a south wall, while the sun shines, though " ten times repeated," will please more than the richest Landscape in the most ro- mantic country, when stripped of foliage and exposed to driving winds, and covered with its wintry garment of snow. For this reason a Garden becomes the chief Appendage of Comfort, and should never be at a distance ; and though it may be offen- 224 sive, when enclosed in the usual way by lofty scarlet walls, yet if the walls w ere to be disposed in terraces, and rendered ornamental by piers or arches for each tree recessed, the Garden at Endsleigh might be made no unsightly feature ; but, from the relative situation of the Cottage, the proposed Conservatory and the Plantations, it would be very little seen. The same intervening objects which tend to hide the walls from the View in the Valley, will also tend to intercept the current of air during the sweeping gusts of wind and fog from the South Western Mountains, at the same time that, from their declivity, the Sun's rays will act with uninterrupted force. We read of the hanging Gardens of Babylon, and I have heard described by (an eye-witness) something similar in the Gardens still existing: near Damascus.* Of all the comforts belonging to a Garden, there is none more delightful than the Covered Way, or rustic Corridor of Woburn : such a line of communication naturally suggests itself here from the Cottage to the Conservatory, and from thence to the Forcing- houses, Terrace Garden, &;c. * From these hints I will confess that in two other situations I have recommended a similar disposal of Garden in Terraces : but with this difference, at Beau Deseit (Marquis of Anglesea's) the shape of the ground requires the walls to be straight ; at Sherringham Bower, (Mr. Upcher's,) the walls were proposed cornea-, and the ground behind the Cot- tage at Endsleigh requires the walls to be concave : thus the same expedient may be varied to suit various situations, but all contributing to the comfort of habitation. 225 The long sketch is supposed to be taken from the win- dows of the Dining-room ; the terraces, grass, and gravel, seem to justify the boldest interference of Art in the accom- paniments of this Garden Scene. The style of Conservatory, the Alcove in the Children's Garden, and the Fountain and artificial trimness of the Parterre, must all be considered with reference to the Noble Occupiers rather than to the humble cha- racter of a Cottage. Since contrast and variety are not less sources of pleasure than uniformity, the trim character of this Garden of Art will act like the frame to a natural Landscape. At the end of the gravel terrace is a quarry which might be con- verted into a grotto-like receptacle for specimens of the fossils and ores abounding in the neighbouring mountains. CONCLUSION. So interesting and so picturesque a subject, makes me regret the inadequate efforts of my pencil in representing, as well as the difHculty of my progress in vie^ving it. I will, however, indulge the hope that the preceding pages may not only be useful in improving the Scenery of Endsleigh, but in furnish- ing employment and amusement to its Noble Possessors for many years to come ; and having in a manner provided against the rigours of Winter, I will not be unmindful of that Winter of Life which must alike assail the Cottage and the Palace. With this in view I will venture to advise, that all 2 G 226 the walks be made sufficiently wide to admit a carriage ; and having myself lost the power of gathering a flower or picking up a fossil from the ground, I have found great comfort in banks raised to the height of three or four feet on a face of ornamental pebbles, to bring nearer to the eye those lesser rock plants or delicate blossoms which are too minute to be seen from the ground. At this enchanting Retreat the most pleasing attention has been paid to the Comforts of Infancy and Youth, of which the Children's Cottage is one of the most perfect ex- amples. Let the same attention be extended to solace the infirmities of Age. It is with peculiar satisfaction that I have been called upon to exercise my utmost skill on this subject, since every thing that can contribute to the enjoyment of its scenery, I know must also contribute to the improvement of the neighbouring Country in its Agriculture, its Mineralogy, its Civilization, and the ge- neral happiness of all who dwell within the influence of this Cottage on the Banks of the Tamar. T2 =^ FRAGMENT XXXV. CONCERNING HOUSES OF INDUSTRY. Very soon after the Sherringham Report bad been written, in which some bints respecting the treatment of the Poor were introduced, my attention was again called to the subject by an application from the Parish of * * in Kent, to give a design for a new Workhouse, when the following Report was addressed to my Son, at that time the officiating Minister there : To the Rev. Edward Repton, at * * in Kent. MY DEAR EDWARD, Your letter communicating the wishes of your Parishioners that I should give my opinion respecting a plan and situa- tion for a New Workhouse, or House of Industry, with all proper attention to the Comforts of the Poor, has excited my heartfelt satisfaction ; and as this may be amongst the last efforts of my professional duties, I feel the subject peculiarly interesting to me. 228 The present wretched building is so unhealthily placed in the low and wet marshes, that the first consideration seems to be the choice of a wholesome spot, on a dry soil. This may be found on the edge of the Heath about to be enclosed, and near the side of the high road from London to Dover, where a large gravel pit presents a bold terrace full facing the south, and so formed by the excavations already made, that very little more digging would be necessary to make a secure fence to enclose the premises. My idea of the design or plan and certain regulations for the future comforts of its inhabitants, will, I hope, be under- stood by a reference to the annexed Sketch. The building, as before mentioned, is supposed to front the South, and to have an ample Platform or Terrace betwixt it and a steep bank of the gravel pit. The centre consists of one long and lofty room for the Paupers to live in and to take their meals ; this is flanked by two buildings which contain the Governor's and Matron's dwelling, Kitchen, Store-rooms, and other useful apartments. At the back of the Premises towards the North, is a square Yard, on each side of which is a Work-shop, with Bed- rooms for the Paupers over them. The difi'erence betwixt the cold darksome gloom of the North Quadrangle, and the warm cheerful appearance of the Site towards the South, may easily be imagined; and suggests the idea of taking great advantages of the con- trast. 229 Let the back-yard be considered as a sortof punishment for misbehaviour and refractory conduct, where, shut up between four buildings, nothing can be seen to enhven the prospect : while, on the contrary, from the South Terrace, cheered by the Sun, the View of the Country will be delightful ; since the immediate fore-ground consists of a Garden, and the perpetually varying and moving scene which is presented by the great road to Canterbury, and the Coast. In addition to the usual employments of the Paupers in the Work-rooms, it were to be wished that more wholesome and useful labour might be taught to the Children than spinning, and other manufactures. This might be considered as the reward of good conduct : the Children, supplied with spades, and hoes, and tools, proportioned to their strength, should be taught and exercised in the cultivation of the Garden, and perhaps drilled to become the future defenders of their Country. The Sketch will in some degree explain the eflect of this scene as viewed from the high road. We may suppose the warm benches along the front of the building occupied by the aged and infirm, who may there enjoy their few remaining days of sunshine, without being totally shut out and lost to the world. On the warm tiles of the central building some vines may be trained, and the produce of these, and every part of the Garden, such as fruit and flowers, may be exposed to sale on the public road, and the profits of these commodities might be the reward of extraordinary industry or good behaviour. 230 In this plan there is no pretension to ornament in any respect that may incur unnecessary expense, except perhaps in 'the small Cupohi for the Bell; and this appendage, trifling as it is, gives to the whole that characteristic feature which dis- tinguishes it as a public building. To you, my dear Edward, it is unnecessary to remark one circumstance which you may perhaps find an opportunity of inculcating to your Parishioners ; that in providing for the future comforts of the Poor, they may possibly be anticipating the future happiness of themselves or their descendants ; since we too often see the hard-hearted opulent oppressor, in the vicissitudes of life, reduced to look for support to those public institutions to which he has reluctantly contributed.* It may perhaps be objected to the design, that something more ornamental might have been proposed, perhaps adopting the Gotiiic style, but the answer is obvious; the first considera- tion in a Poor-house is economy. The prevailing Taste for fragments of Gothic Architecture is apt to display itself in the doors and windows of a Dairy, for Avliich there can be no plausible reason assigned ; but if the Gothic character be introduced in any small building, there is * This Plan was at first highly approved by the leading persons in the Parish, till it was discovered that the Situation proposed was so desirable, that the Site occupied in private houses would produce more profit, and therefijre the Poor for the present continue in their former unwholesome abode ; but, as a late Orator observed of Negro Sla\es, compared with Eels flayed alive — *' they are used to it."' 231 none more appropriate than the Schools, either public or private, which of late have been erected, sometimes by the parishes and sometimes by individuals, as ornamental appen- dages to their Parks ; under the latter circumstances, a more costly design may be recommended. Having made several for this purpose, one of them is annexed, (see Vignette, p. 187) which has been proposed for a School endowed and patronized by Mrs. Burton, at Longnor, near Shrewsbury. FRAGMENT XXXVI. HARE STREET. OF QUANTITY AND APPROPllIATION. Althouh, during a long and active life, my efforts have contri- buted to the happiness of some hundred individuals, and the em- ployment of some thousands ; I trust, that not a single instance can be adduced in which useless expenditure was advised, for unreasonable gratification of vanity ; but wealth is never so well employed, as in improvements that display the genius of art, and call into active employment the labourer and artificer. To de- monstrate the little consequence of Quantity or Value, when speaking of the Beauty of scenery, many places have been mentioned, which may perhaps appear too inconsiderable in a work that treats of Dukedoms and Royal Domains : but I wish to evince, that in manj'^ cases great effect may be produced by a very contracted quantity of land, and not unfrequently that almost every thing depends on the foreground. Thus, in the Villas on the margin of the Lake of Geneva (like that of Gib- bon) nothing more is necessary than a terrace, or a few shrubs and flowers to form a frame to the picture : thus also it fre- 1= fe 233 qiieiitly happens, that by the enclosure of a common, or the grant of a small piece of land from a forest, the most essential benefit may be derived, although the quantity of land acquired be very trifling; and I have often observed, that the cu]Mdity natural on such occasions, generally leads to the obtaining more land than can be rendered u.seful ; since it is either too small to be fed, or too large to be kept under the scythe and roller. In my former volume I used the Avord appropriation, to describe that sort of command over the Landscape, visible from the windows, which denotes it to be private property belono-ino- to the place. A view into a square, or into the parks, may be cheerful and beautiful, but it wants appropriation, it wants that charm which only belongs to ownership ; the exclusive right of enjoj- ment, with the power of refusing that others should share our pleasure : and however painful the reflection, this propensity is part of human nature. I have too frequently witnessed a greater satisfaction in turning a public road, in stopping- a foot-path, or in hiding a view by a pale and a skreen, than in the most beautiful improvements to the scenerj-; and sometimes have contended in vain against the Firs and Poplars, which on the verge of a forest presented more agreeable objects to the proprietor than the scenery of the forest itself; one acknow- ledged that he would rather look at a young sapling of his own, than the most venerable oaks belonging to the Crown. 2 H 234 This propensity for appropriation and exclusive enjoy- ment is so prevalent, that in my various intercourse w^ith proprietors of land, I have rarely met with those w^ho agreed with me in preferring the sight of mankind to that of herds of cattle, or the moving ohjects in a public road to the dull mono- tony of lawns and woods. Of these few, I cannot resist men- tioning one venerable Nobleman, who enjoyed health, cheer- fulness, and benevolent feelings, more than eighty years, re- taining to the last his predilection for the scenery of a garden, rather than that of a Park ; and who used at his Villa on Ham Common, to enjoy the sight of the public passengers from his garden-seat surrounded by roses. To this rare instance of be- nevolence in the noble Viscount Torrington, may be added that of his friend and cotemporary, the late Duke of Portland, Avho gave leave to all persons to pass through tlie Park at Bulstrode, and even encouraged the neighbouring inhabitants to play at cricket on the lawn. How different is this from the too common orders given at the gates and lodges of new places, recently purchased by strangers, and only visible to themselves and their own inmates. For the honour of the Country, let the Parks and Pleasure-grounds of England be ever open, to cheer the hearts and delight the eyes of all, who have taste to enjoy the beauties of Nature. It was formerly one of the pleasures of life to make tours of picturesque in- quiry; and to visit the improvements in different parts of the kingdom : this is now changed to the residence at a watering- 235 place, where the dissipation of a Town life is cultivated in a continual round of idle, heartless society ; without that home which formerly endeared the life of a family in the country. And after all, the most romantic spot, the most picturesque situations, and the most delightful assemblage of Nature's choicest materials, will not long engage our interest, without some appropriation ; something we can call our own ; and if not our own property, at least it may be endeared to us by calling it oiw own Home. I will conclude these Frag^ments with the most interestino: subject I have ever known ; it is the View from the humble Cottage to which for more than thirty years I have anxiously retreated from the pomp of palaces, the elegancies of fashion, or the allurements of dissipation : it stood originally within five yards of a broad part of the high road : this area was often covered with droves of cattle, of pigs, or geese. I ob- tained leave to remove the paling twenty yards farther from the windows ; and by this Appropriation of twenty-five yards of Garden, I liave obtained a frame to my Landscape ; the frame is composed of flowering shrubs and evergreens ; beyond which are seen the cheerful village, the high road, and that constant moving scene, which I would not exchange for any of the lonely parks, that I have improved for others ; some of their Proprietors on viewing the scene I have described, have cpiestioned my taste ; but my answer has always been, that in improving places for others I must consult their inclinations; Q36 at Harestreet I follow my own. Others prefer still life, I delight ill movement; they prefer Lawns fed by their own Cattle ; I love to see mankind ; they derive pleasure from seeing ihe sheep and oxen fatten, and calculate on the produce of their beef and mutton : perhaps they might not object to the batcher's shop which I have taken some pains to hide, giving the preference to a basket of roses. This speci- men may serve to shew how much may be effected by the foreground ; how a very small object, aptly placed near the eye, may hide an offensive object ten times as large ; whilst a hedge of roses and sweet-briars may hide the dirt of a road, without concealing the moving objects which animate the Landscape. Such is the lesson of quantity and appropriation. And as I have now approached near the end of my labours, and am still permitted, though with difficulty, to collect my thoughts on a subject most interesting to my feelings, I will add a lesson of far greater moment. When I first appeared before the public in 1/94, in a work which has long been out of print, the introduction began with these words : — " My opinions on the general principles of Landscape Gar- " dening have been diffused in separate MS. Volumes, as " opportunities occurred in the course of my practice ; and I " have often indulged the hope of collecting and arranging " these scattered opinions, at some future period of my life, " when I should retire from the more active employment of my " profession ; but that which is long delayed, is not therefore 237 " better executed ; and the task deferred to declining years, is " frequently deferred for ever; or at best performed with " languor and indifference." Twenty years have now passed away, and it is possible that life may be extended twenty years longer, but from my feelings more probable that it will not reach as many weeks ; and therefore I may now perhaps be writing the last Fragment of my Labours. I have lived to see many of my plans beautifully realized, but many more, cruelly marred ; sometimes by false oeconomy ; sometimes by injudicious extra- vagance. I have also lived to reach that period, when the improvement of Houses and Gardens is more delightful to me, than that of Parks or Forests, Landscapes, or distant prospects. I can now expect to produce little that is new, I have there- fore endeavoured to collect and arrange the observations of my past life : this has formed the amusement of the last two winters, betwixt intervals of spasm, from a disease incurable, during which time I have called up (by my pencil) the places and scenes of which I was most proud, and marshalled them before me ; happy in many pleasing remembrances, whicli revive the sunshine of my days, though sometimes clouded by the recollection of friends removed, of scenes destroyed, and of promised happiness changed to sadness. The most valuable lesson now left me to communicate is this : I am convinced that the delight I have always taken in Land- scapes and Gardens, without any reference to their Quantity or Appropriation, or without caring whether they were Forests 238 or Rosaries, or whether they were Palaces, Villas, or Cottages, while I had leave to admire their beauties, and even to direct their improvement, has been the chief source of that large por- tion of happiness which I have enjoyed through life, and of that resignation to inevitable evils, with which I now look forward to the end of my pains and labours. While I was actually writing this last page of my work, I received a letter from one of the ablest Statesmen now left to the Country, in which are these words, " The best comment upon " what has been the leading pursuit and employment of your " life, is to be found in the relief and solace which at this time " you derive from it. ' Quid pure tranquilletV has long been a " philosophical question, Religion answers it. But I have always " thought that the sort of Taste which you have eminently con- " tributed to form and diffuse, has a peculiar tendency to sooth, " refine, and improve the mind ; and consequently to promote *' most essentially the true and rational enjoyment of life." Feeling the full force of this just remark from one of the most pious and benevolent of men, I will finish with the remark of one, who possessed more wit than real worth, who, after enumerating various experiments to obtain happiness, concludes with these words, " Allons mcs amis, il faut cultiver nos jardi7is" THE END, LIST OF PLATES. Page - 1 2 - 4 - 6 - 12 - ib. - 14 - 18 - 20 - 22 - 28 - 30 - 32 Emblematic Vignette (wood) - - - Characters of Houses ------ Grecian and Gothic ------ Fence near the House ------ Cobham Hall, Plan of Gardens (wood) . - - . - North Entrance - - - Timber Cottage -------- Gothic Fragment, Vignette - . - - Gothic Castle -------- Harlestone Park • ------ Blenden Hall Barningham Hall ------- - _ - - Plan and Section - - - - - - - Window ------- ib. Gothic Outline and Plan ------ 36 Beaudesert ----------48 Colours -----------50 Interiors -----------58 W^ingerworth .--------64 . _ - - Lodge, Vignette - - - - ib. Single Trees, Vignette ------ 67 View on a Common -------76 Belt at Ealing Park 82 Richmond Park 84 Garden near Oporto -------90 Uppark Entrance --------92 Contrasts 100 Page View from Frome House - - - - - 104 Variety -----------114 Longlcate ----- 122 The Vinery 126 A Plan explained --------128 Geometric Garden -------136 Rosary at Ashridge -------140 Ashridge Garden, Map of ----- ib. - - - Conduit -- ------ ib. Fences called invisible ------ 146 Via Duct, Vignette 160 Woburn Old Approach ------ 164 - - - New Approach ----- ib. - - - A Garden Door ----- l68 - . - Winter Garden ----- ib. Of Garden Luxuries, Vignette - - - - 183 Park Lodge, Vignette - 184 School-house Longnor, Vignette - - - 187 Water Fences, Vignette - ----- 188 Improvements --------- 194 Sherringham Bower -------195 - - - - Plans and Sections - - - 212 Endsleigh, View from it- - - - - -213 - - - - The Cottage, Vignette - - 22 1 House of Industry ------- 227 Hare-street ---- - 232 ERRATA. Pa^e 75, line 10, for and read is the time. 129, line 3 from bottom, read be strongly traced. 135, line 6, for Place read Palace. 136, line 2 from bottom, meant il to form. 143, line 1 of the note, read some one objected. 152, Under the Diagram, instead of lines 3 and 4, read thus — The Natural Surface is the shaded line (that Natural Sur- face is now altered to the lower dotted line) The earth had been brought, &c. a06, line last, for ports read post-towns. T.Bcnilcy iud Son, Bull Couit, Fleet SlTcet, Loudon. Of MODERN BOOKS ON ARCHITECTURE, THEORETICAL, PRACTICAL, AND ORNAMENTAL: CONSISTING OF BOOKS OF PLANS AND ELEVATIONS FOR COTTAGES, FARM-HOUSES, MANSIONS, TEMPLES, BRIDGES, &c. OF ORNAMENTS FOR INTERNAL DECORATIONS, FOLIAGE FOR CARVERS, &c. ON PERSPECTIVE; ALSO PRACTICAL BOOKS FOR CARPENTERS, BRICKLAYERS, AND WORKMEN 12^ GENERAL, WHICH, WITH THE BEST ANCIENT AUTHORS, ARE CONSTANTLY ON SALE AT J. TAYLOR'S ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, No. 59, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON. 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Tlans, Coupes, et Elevations des plus belles Maisons et des Hotels, a Paris, et dans ies Environs, avec des Ornemens. Folio, 120 Plates, Durand Lemons d' Architecture, 2 Tom. 4to. Durand Recueil et Parallele des Edifices Anciens et Modernes. 92 very large folio Plates. Plans, Coupes et Elevations de diverses Productions de I' Art de la Charpente, par Krafft. 201 Plates, large Folio. Ornamenti d\ Aliertoli, 3 Parts, Folio. Museo Pio Clementina, 7 Tom. Museo Chiaramonti, If'iebeking on Bridges, Draining, &c. In German. 3 Vols. 4to, and a large Atlas. Wiebeking des Fonts cl Arches de Charpente, 410. with a large Atlas of 20 plates. Ornemens de !e Pautre, 3 Vols. Folio. Bourse de Paris, par Brouginard. CEuvres de ll^eyrotter. Voyage de la Grece, far Ckoiseuil Gouffiere, 2 Vols. Antiquite de Poestum, far Delngardette. Folio. Ornemens de Cauvet. Folio. Foyage Pittoresque de I'Istria, far Casas. Folio. Voyage Pittoresque de la Suisse, 4 Vols. Folio. 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Description du Pont a Moulins, par Regemorte, Folio. Bottlet Machines de Theatre. Scrittori delt'acqua. 8 Vols. 4to. Paris et ses Monumcns, far Baltard. Folio. Musee des Monumens Francais, far Lenoir. 6 Vol. Svo. Annales du Musee, far Landon. Bossut Traiti d'Hydrodynamique. 2 Vols. Svo. Bossut et Viallet sur la Construction des Digues. Bremontier sur le Mouvement des Ondes. Decessart Travaux H^drauliques. 2 Vols. 410. Duerest D'Hydrauferie. r^, Hafit/Bnet df Paris, far Duval. Gauthey de la Construction des Fonts, a Vols. 4to. Lesage divers Memoires des Fonts et Chaussees. 2 Vols. 4to. Navier, Projet d'une Gare a Cboisy. Sakolniki Hydrodynamique. Berard Statique des Voiles. Brunei, dimension des Fers qui doivent former la coufole de la Halle aux Grains, Pyre, Restauratlon du Pantheon. Clochar Plans de Maisons, &c. D'ltalie, Folio. Costume Hollandoise. Plates, coloured. Voyage en Holland. 3 Vols. Svo. Plates. Statistique d' Amsterdam. Guide du Foyageur en Holtande. Nevj Principles of Linear Perspective, or the Art of Designing on a Plane, the representation of all Sorts of Objects in a more general and simple Method than has been hitherto done. Illustrated by i j Quarto Plates. By Dr. Brook Taylor, LL.D. and R.SS. The Fourth Edition, Svo. 14s. in boards. Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Perspective made easy both in Thecry and Practice ; in two Books : being an Attempt to make the Art of Perspective easy and familiar, to adapt it entii-ely to the Arts of Design, [ 5 ] Design, and to make itaii entertaining StuSy to any Gentleman who shall choose so Polite an Amusement. By Joshua Kirby. Illus trated with 35 Copper-plates. The Third Edition, with several Additions and Improvements. Elegantly printed on Imperial Paper. Halt Bound, 2I. 12s. 6d. The Perspecli've of Architecture, a Work entirely new ; deduced from the Principles of Dr. Brook. Taylor, and performed by two Rules of universal Application. Illustrated with 73 Plates. Begun bj Command of his present Majesty when Prince of Wales. By 'Joshua Kirby, Elegantly printed on Imperial Paper. 3I. 3s. half bound. The Description and Use of a netv Instrument called the Architectonic Sec- tor, by which any Part of Architecture may be drawn w;th Facility and E.xactness. By Joshua Kirby. Illustrated with 25 Plates; elegantlv printed on imperial Paper. Half bound, il. i6s. The two Frontispieces, by Hogarth, to Kirby's Pcispective, may be had separate, each 5s. Modern Finishings for Rooms, a Series of Designs for Vestibules, Halls, Stair Cases, Dressing Rooms, Boudoirs, Libraries, and Drawing Rooms, with their Doors, Chimney Pieces, and other finishings to a large Scale, and the several Mouldings and Cornices at full Size, showing their Construction and relative Proportions: to which are added some Designs for Villas and Porticos, with the Rules fot drawing the Columns, &c. at large. The whole adapted for the Use and Direction of every Person engaged in the practical Parts of Building, by IV. F. Pocock, Architect, on 86 Plates, quarto, 2I. 2s. bound. 7he Students Instructor in drawing and working the Five Orders of Architecture; fully explaining the best Methods of striking regular and quirked Mouldings, for diminishing and glueing of Columns and Capitals, for finding the true Diameter of an Order to any given Height, for striking the Ionic Volute circular and elliptical, wl'l. finished Examples, on a large Scale, of the Orders, their Planceers, &c. and some Designs for Door Cases, by Peter Kichotson, engraved on 4.1 Plates octavo. los. 6d. bound. A new Edition corrected and much enlarged. 77v Carpenter's Netxj Guide, being a complete Book of Lines for Car- pentry and Joinery, treating fully on Practical Geometry, Soffits, Brick and Plaster Groins, Niches of every Description, Sky-lights, Lines for Roofs and Domes, with a great Variety of Designs for Roofs, Trussed Girders, Floors, Domes, Bridges, &c. Stair-cases and Hand-rails of various Constructions. Angle-Bars for Shop Fronts, and Raking Mouldings, with many other Things entirely new : the Whole founded on true Geometrical Principles, the The- ory and Practice well explained and fully exemplified on 84 Copper- plates; including some Observations and Calculations on the Strength of Timber, by P. Nicholson, 4to. il. is. the Sixth Edition corrected and enlarged. The Carpenter and Joiner's Assistant, containing Practical Rules for making all Kinds of Joints, and various Methods of Hingeing them together; for hanging of Doors on straight or circular Plans; for fit- ting up Windows and Shutters to answer various Purposes, with Rules for hanging them :for the Construction of Floors, Partitions, Soffits, Groins, Arches for Masonry : for constructing Roofs in the best Manner from a given Quantity of Timber ; for placing of Bond-Timbers ; with various Methods for adjusting Raking Pedi- ments, enlarging and diminishing of Mouldings, taking Dimensions for Joinery, and. for setting out Shop Fronts ; with a new Scheme for constructing Stairs and Hand-rails, and for Stairs having a coni- cal Well-hole, ic. &c. To which are added. Examples of Various Roofs executed, with the Scantlings from actual Measurements, with Rules for Mortices and Tenons, and for fixing Iron Straps, Sic. Also Extracts from M. Belidor, M. duHamel, .\L de Buffon, &;c. on the Strength of Timber, with practical Observations. Illustra- ted with 79 Plates, and copious Explanations. Hy Peter Nicholson. Quarto il. is, bound. The third Edition, revised and corrected. The Practical House Carpenter, or Youth' s Instructor : containing a great Variety of useful Designs in Carpentry and Architecture ; as Cen- tering for Groins, Niches, &c. Examples for Roofs, Sky-lights, &c. The Five Orders laid down by a New Scale. Mouldings, &;c. at large, with their Enrichments. Plans, Elevations, and Sections of Houses for Town and Country, Lodges, Hot-houses, Green- houses, Stables, &c. Design for a Church, with Plan, Elevation, and two Sections ; an Altar-piece, and Pulpit. Desis^ns for Chimney- pieces, Shop Fronts, Door Cases. Section of a Dining-room and Library. Variety of Stair Cases, with many other Important Articles and useful Embellishments. To which is added, a List of Prices for Materials and Labour, Labour only, and Day Prices. The whole illustrated and made perfectly easy by 148 quarto Copper-plates, with Explanations to each. By Killiam Pain. The sixth Edi- tion, with large Additions. i8s. bound. N. B. This is PAIN's last Work. The Carpenter's Poclet Directory: containing the best Methods of framing Timbers of all Figures and Dimensions, with their several Parts ; as Floors, Roofs in Ledgements, their Length and Backings ; Trussed Roofs, Soires, and Domes, Trussing Girders, Paititions, and Bridges, with Abutments; Centering for Arches, Vaults, &c. cutting Stone Ceilings, Groins, &c. with their Moulds : Centres for drawing Gothic Arches, Ellipses, Sec. Witli the Plan and Sections of a Barn. Engraved on 24 Plates, with Explanations, By /F. Pain, Architect and Carpenter. Bound, 5s. The Builder's Complete Assistant ; or, a Library of Arts and Sciences, absolutely necessary to be understood by Builders and Workmen in general, viz. i. Arithmetic, vulgar and decimal, in whole Num- bers and Fractions. 2. Geometry, Lineal, Superficial, and Solid. 3. Architecture, universal. 4. Mensuration. 5. Plain Trigono- metry. 6. Surveying of Land, &c. 7. Mechanic Powers. 8. Hydrostatics. Illustrated by above Thirteen Hundred Examples of Lines, S;c. also Methods for raising heavy Bodies, by the Force of Levers, Pulleys, Axes in Peretrochio, Skrews, and Wedges ; as also Water, by the comnion Pump, Crane, &c. wherein the Pro. perties and Pressure of the Air on Water, &'c. are explained. Exemplified on 77 l^rge -tto riates, by Batty Langley. The fourth Ediiion, 2 Vols, royal Octavo. Bound, 15s. Decorations for Parks and Gardens; Designs for Gates, G.irden Seats, Alcoves, Temples, Baths, Entrance Gates, Lodges, Facades, Piospect Towers, Cattle Sheds, Ruins, Bridges, Green-houses, &c. Sec, Also a Hot-house, and Hot-wall, with Plans and Scales ; neatly engraved on 5 5 Plates, octavo. 10s. 6d. sewed. Designs in Architecture, consisting of Plans, Elevations, and Sections for Temples, Baths, Cassinos, Pavilions, Garden Seats, Obelisks, and other Buildings ; for decorating Pleasure-grounds, Parks, Forests, &c. &c. b\' John Soane. Engraved on 38 Copper-plates, 8vo. Sewed, 6s. Grotesque Architecture, or Rural Amusement ; consisting of Plans, and Elevations, for Huts, Hermitages, Chinese, Gothic and Na- tural Grottos, Moresque Pavilions, &;c. many of which may be executed with Flints, irregular Stones, rude Branches and Roots of Trees ; containing 2S Designs. By W. Il'right. Octavo. Sewed, 4S. 6d. Ideas for Rustic Furniture, proper for Garden Chairs, Summer Houses, Hermitages, Cottages, &C. engraved on 2 5 Plates. Octavo. Price 4s- Designs for Gates and Rails, suitable to Parks, Plcasure-Grounds, Balconies, &c. Also some Designs for Trellis Work. On 27 Plates. ByC Middletan. Octavo, 63. The Carpenter's Treasure: a Collection of Designs for Temples, witli their Plans ; Gates, Doors, Rails, and Bridges, in the Gothic Taste, with Centres at large for striking Gothic Curves and Mouldings, and some Specimens of Rails in the Chinese Taste, forming a complete System for Rural Decorations. By N. tVallis, Architect. j6 Plates. Octavo. Sewed, 2s. 6d, Gothic [ 6 ] Gclhk Architecture improve J, by Rules and Proportions in uwny grand Designs of Columns, Doors, Windows, Cliimney-Pieces, Arcades, Colonnades, Porticos, Umbrellas, Temples, Pavilions, &c. with Plans, Elevations, and Profiles, sjeoinetrically exemplified. By B. & T. Langley. To which is added, an Historical Discourse on Gothic Architecture. On 6+ Plates Quarto. Bound, i 5s. Thirty Capitals of Columns, with six Frises, from the Antique. En- graved in Aquatints by G. Richardson, on 18 Plates. 4to. 153. Designs for Monuments, including Graw-stones, Compartments, M'all- fieces, and Tombs. Elegantly engraved on 40 quarto Plates. Half bound, i6s. Designs for Chimney-Pieces, with Mouldings and Bases at large on 27 quai'to Plates, 10s. 6d. Designs for Shop Fronts and Door Cases, on 17 Plates. 4to. 10s. 6d. Outlines of Designs for Shop Fronts and Door Cases, with the Mouldings at large, and Enrichments to each Design. Engraved on 24 Plates. Quarto, 55. LangUys BuilJer^s Jeiuel. Bound, 5s. Ha-wnefs Complete Measurer, a new Edition, much improved, 4s. (Jd. Hoppus"! Timber Measurer. Tables ready cast. 4s. flate Glass Book, 4s. The Joiner and Cabinet-maher^s Darling ; containing sixty different Designs for all Sorts of Fr^ts, Friezes, Sic. Sewed, js. The Carp'nter's Companion; containing 33 DesignJ for all Sorts of Chinese Railing and Gates. Octavo. Sewed, 2s. The Carpenter's Complete Guide to the whole System of Gothic Railing; containing 32 Designs, uith Scales to each. Octavo. Sewed, 2s. jj Geometrical View of the Fi-ve Orders of Columns in Architecture adjusted by aliquot Parts ; whereby the meanest Capacity, by Inspection, may delineate and work an entire Order, or any Part, of any Magnitude required. On a large Sheet, is. £le