94 files changed, 28120 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7b82bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+*.txt text eol=lf
+*.htm text eol=lf
+*.html text eol=lf
+*.md text eol=lf
diff --git a/76057-0.txt b/76057-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a075eec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,12266 @@
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76057 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note: Italics are enclosed in _underscores_. Superscripts
+are shown as ^e or ^{BLE}. Additional notes will be found near the end
+of this ebook.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: (cover)]
+
+[Illustration: (map)]
+
+
+
+
+LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS
+
+[Illustration: ST. KATHARINE’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK]
+
+
+
+
+                        LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                    THE HON^{BLE} MRS. EVELYN CECIL
+                            (ALICIA AMHERST)
+                     CITIZEN AND GARDENER OF LONDON
+
+             AUTHOR OF “A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND”
+                       “CHILDREN’S GARDENS,” ETC.
+
+
+                         WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+                         LADY VICTORIA MANNERS
+
+
+                   “_Reade the whole and then judge_”
+
+                              JOHN CHRISTOPHERSON,
+                                  Bishop of Chichester, 1554
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                        E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
+                                  1907
+
+
+
+
+                               Printed by
+                        BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+                               Edinburgh
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In spite of the abundance of books on London, not one exists which
+tells the story of the Parks and Gardens as a whole. Some of the Royal
+Parks have been dealt with, and most of the Municipal Parks, but in
+separate works. When Squares are touched on, in guide-books, or in
+volumes to themselves, the Gardens are for the most part left alone,
+and gossip of the inhabitants forms the centre of the narrative. This
+is the case also with public buildings and private houses which have
+gardens attached to them. To give a sketch of the history of the
+more important Parks and Gardens, and to point out any features of
+horticultural interest, is the object of the following pages. London is
+such a wide word, and means such a different area at various periods,
+that it has been necessary to make some hard and fast rule to define
+the scope of this work. I have, therefore, decided to keep strictly to
+the limits of the County of London within the official boundaries of
+the London County Council at the present time.
+
+I would express my thanks to the authorities of the Parks, both Royal
+and Municipal, for their courtesy in affording me information, and to
+many friends who have facilitated my search in historical and private
+gardens. I am also extremely grateful to my friend, Miss Margaret
+MacArthur, who has assisted me in the tedious task of correcting
+proofs. The lists of trees and shrubs, and of plants in the beds in
+Hyde Park, were kindly drawn up for me by the Park Superintendent, the
+late Mr. Jordan, with the consent of H.M. Office of Works.
+
+                                                    ALICIA M. CECIL.
+
+  10 EATON PLACE,
+  _August 1907_.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAP.                                                             PAGE
+     I.  INTRODUCTORY                                                  1
+
+    II.  HYDE PARK                                                    23
+
+   III.  ST. JAMES’S AND GREEN PARKS                                  56
+
+    IV.  REGENT’S PARK                                                83
+
+     V.  GREENWICH PARK                                              106
+
+    VI.  MUNICIPAL PARKS                                             119
+
+   VII.  SOUTH LONDON PARKS                                          155
+
+  VIII.  COMMONS AND OPEN SPACES                                     185
+
+    IX.  SQUARES                                                     217
+
+     X.  BURIAL-GROUNDS                                              242
+
+    XI.  INNS OF COURT                                               261
+
+   XII.  HISTORICAL GARDENS                                          289
+
+  XIII.  PRIVATE GARDENS                                             327
+
+         APPENDIX TO PRIVATE GARDENS: CHARLTON                       357
+
+         LIST OF SOME OF THE WORKS CONSULTED                         361
+
+         HYDE PARK AND KENSINGTON GARDENS: LIST OF TREES AND SHRUBS  368
+
+         INDEX                                                       377
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                            COLOURED PLATES
+
+  ST. KATHARINE’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK                    _Frontispiece_
+                                                                  _Page_
+  DOLPHIN FOUNTAIN, HYDE PARK                                         38
+
+  AUTUMN BEDS, HYDE PARK                                              46
+
+  FOUNTAIN BY COUNTESS FEODOR GLEICHEN, HYDE PARK                     54
+
+  CROCUSES IN EARLY SPRING, ST. JAMES’S PARK                          64
+
+  AUTUMN IN REGENT’S PARK                                             90
+
+  SPRING IN REGENT’S PARK                                            102
+
+  WATERLOW PARK                                                      148
+
+  OLD ENGLISH GARDEN, BROCKWELL PARK                                 172
+
+  STATUE OF PITT, HANOVER SQUARE                                     220
+
+  STATUE OF WILLIAM III. IN ST. JAMES’S SQUARE                       226
+
+  ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD                                              250
+
+  THE BANK GARDEN                                                    258
+
+  THE INNER TEMPLE GARDEN                                            270
+
+  THE FOUNTAIN COURT, MIDDLE TEMPLE                                  276
+
+  LINCOLN’S INN                                                      280
+
+  THE GARDEN GATES, GRAY’S INN                                       288
+
+  GREY COAT SCHOOL, WESTMINSTER                                      298
+
+  THE LITTLE CLOISTER, WESTMINSTER ABBEY                             302
+
+  HERBACEOUS BORDER, LAMBETH PALACE                                  306
+
+  STATUE OF CHARLES II., CHELSEA HOSPITAL                            312
+
+  CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN                                              324
+
+  THE GARDEN OF SIR LAURENCE ALMA-TADEMA, R.A.                       334
+
+  THE LILY POND, HOLLAND HOUSE                                       340
+
+  ST. JOHN’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK                                    347
+
+
+                              IN THE TEXT
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+  DOLPHIN FOUNTAIN IN HYDE PARK                                       39
+
+  FOUNTAINS AT THE END OF THE SERPENTINE                              43
+
+  A CORNER OF THE QUEEN VICTORIA MEMORIAL GARDENS                     81
+
+  STONE VASE IN REGENT’S PARK                                        101
+
+  PAGODA ON THE ISLAND, VICTORIA PARK                                138
+
+  STOKE NEWINGTON CHURCH FROM CLISSOLD PARK                          143
+
+  FOUNTAIN BY TINWORTH, KENNINGTON PARK                              167
+
+  STATUE OF MRS. SIDDONS, PADDINGTON GREEN                           214
+
+  WINTER GARDEN, DUKE STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE                       220
+
+  SUN-DIAL, ST. BOTOLPH’S                                            256
+
+  TRINITY ALMSHOUSES, MILE END ROAD                                  293
+
+  ABBEY GARDEN, WESTMINSTER                                          301
+
+  GARDEN GATE, CHELSEA HOSPITAL                                      314
+
+  IN THE GARDEN, ST. JOHN’S LODGE                                    349
+
+
+
+
+London Parks & Gardens
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+INTRODUCTORY
+
+      _London, thou art the Flour of cities all._
+
+                          --WILLIAM DUNBAR, 1465–1530.
+
+
+London has a peculiar fascination of its own, and to a vast number of
+English-speaking people all over the world it appeals with irresistible
+force. So much has been said and written about it that the theme might
+seem to be worn out, yet there are still fresh aspects to present,
+still hidden charms to discover, still deep problems to solve. The
+huge, unwieldly mass, which cannot be managed or legislated for as
+other towns, but has to be treated as a county, enfolds within its area
+all the phases of human life. It embraces every gradation from wealth
+to poverty, from the millionaire to the pauper alien. The collection of
+buildings which together make London are a most singular assortment of
+innumerable variations between beauty and ugliness, between palaces and
+works of art and hovels of sordid and unlovely squalor.
+
+An Englishman must be almost without soul who can stand for the first
+time unmoved within the precincts of Westminster Abbey or look without
+satisfaction at the faultless proportions of St. Paul’s. The sense of
+possession, the pride of inheritance, are the uppermost feelings in
+his mind. But he who loves not only London itself with a patriotic
+veneration, but also his fellow-men, will not rest with the inspection
+of the beautiful. He will journey eastward into the heart of the mighty
+city, and see its seething millions at work, its dismal poverty, its
+relentless hardness. The responsibility of heirship comes over him, the
+sadness, the pathos, the evil of it all depresses him, the hopelessness
+of the contrast overpowers him; but apart from all ideas of social
+reform, from legislative action or philanthropic theories, there is
+one thin line of colour running through the gloomy picture. The parks
+and gardens of London form bright spots in the landscape. They are
+beyond the pale of controversy; they appeal to all sections of the
+community, to the workers as well as to the idlers, to the rich as well
+as to the poor, to the thoughtful as well as to the careless. From the
+utilitarian point of view they are essential. They bring new supplies
+of oxygen, and allow the freer circulation of health-giving fresh
+air. They are not less useful as places of exercise and recreation.
+They waft a breath of nature where it is most needed, and the part
+they play in brightening the lives of countless thousands cannot be
+over-estimated.
+
+The parks and gardens of London have a past full of historical
+associations, and at the present time their full importance is slowly
+being realised. Much has been done to improve and beautify them,
+but much remains to be achieved in that direction before their
+capabilities will have been thoroughly developed. The opportunity
+is great, and if only the best use can be made of it London Parks
+could be the most beautiful as well as the most useful in the world.
+It is impossible to praise or criticise them collectively, as they
+have different origins, are administered by separate bodies, and have
+distinct functions to perform. It cannot be denied that the laying out
+in some and the planting in other cases could be improved. Plans could
+be carried out with more taste than is sometimes shown, and new ideas
+be encouraged, but on the whole there is so much that is excellent and
+well done that there is a great deal to be proud of.
+
+The various open spaces in London can easily be grouped into classes.
+First there are the Royal Parks, with a history and management of
+their own; then there are all the Parks either created or kept up by
+the London County Council, and most of the commons and other large
+open spaces are in their jurisdiction also, though a few parks and
+recreation grounds are under the borough councils. Municipal bodies for
+the most part take charge of all the disused burial grounds converted
+into gardens, though some are maintained by the parish or the rector.
+Then there is another class of garden which must be included, namely,
+all the squares of London, as, although few are open to the public,
+they form no insignificant proportion of the unbuilt area.
+
+All through London there are survivals of old gardens, which are still
+either quiet and concealed, or thrown open to the public. Such are the
+grounds of the Charterhouse, of Chelsea Hospital, or of the Foundling
+Hospital, and of other old-world haunts of peace. The rarest thing
+in London are the private gardens, yet they too go to make up the
+aggregate lungs of the city. Out of a total of upwards of 75,000 acres
+there are in round numbers some 6000 acres of parks, commons, squares,
+and open spaces in London: of these a little over 4000 acres are in
+the hands of the London County Council. Besides this it administers
+nearly 900 acres outside the county. The City of London owns large
+forest tracts, commons, and parks beyond the limit of the County of
+London--Epping, Burnham Beeches, Highgate Wood, and parks in West Ham,
+Kilburn, &c.--altogether nearly 6500 acres.
+
+London is such a wide word, it is difficult to set a limit, and
+to decide what open spaces actually belong to London. As the town
+stretches away into the country, it is impossible to see the boundaries
+of London. The line must be drawn near where the chimney-pots become
+incessant, and the stems of the trees become black. But the degree of
+blackness, dirt, and density is impossible to decide; so a prosaic,
+matter-of-fact, but necessary rule has been adhered to in the following
+pages, of keeping as strictly as possible to the actual defined limits
+of the County of London. Therefore all the parks owned by the City
+Corporation or London County Council outside this limit have not been
+dealt with, and such places as Chiswick, Kew, Richmond, or Gunnersbury
+have been omitted.
+
+To get to some of these places involves a considerable journey. Many
+of the outlying parks have to be reached by train, or by a very long
+drive, or tram ride. From Hyde Park Corner, for instance, to Bostall
+Wood or Avery Hill is a long expedition. To the fortunate few who
+possess motor cars the distances are trifling, but the vast majority
+of people must exercise considerable ingenuity, and possess a good
+bump of locality, if they wish to visit all London’s open spaces. A
+knowledge of the distant places, the names of which are inscribed in
+large letters on every omnibus, is necessary. The Royal Oak, Elephant
+and Castle, or Angel, are but starting-places for the more distant
+routes, although they form the goal of green, red, or blue ’busses.
+The electric trams of South London have made the approach to Dulwich,
+Peckham, Greenwich, and many other parks much more simple, and motor
+’busses rattle along close to even the distant Golder’s Hill or
+Highbury Fields. With a railway time-table, a good eye for colour in
+selecting the right omnibus, and a knowledge of the points of the
+compass, every green patch in London can be reached with ease, even by
+those whose purses are not long enough to let them indulge in motors,
+or whose nerves are not steady enough to let them venture on bicycles.
+
+Each park forms the central point of some large district, and they are
+not dependent on the casual visitor for appreciation. Every single
+green spot, on a fine Saturday throughout the year, is peopled with
+a crowd from the neighbourhood, and on every day in the year, winter
+as well as summer, almost every open space has a ceaseless throng of
+comers and goers.
+
+What is the cost of maintenance of these parks is a question that
+will naturally occur; and the answer in many cases is easy to find,
+as the statistics of both the London County Council Parks, published
+in their handbook, and those of the Royal Parks, which are submitted
+to Parliament every year, are accessible. The following extracts may,
+however, be useful. In looking at the two sets of figures, of course
+the acreage must be borne in mind, and the great expense of police
+in the Royal Parks, amounting to £8782 for Hyde Park alone, must be
+deducted before any fair comparison can be made, even when results are
+not considered.
+
+  +----------------------+------------------------------------------------------+--------+
+  |                      |                       1907–8.                        | 1906–7.|
+  |                      +------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+  |                      |      |         |        |   New   |         |        |        |
+  |                      |      |  Wages  | Police,|  Works  | Mainte- |        |        |
+  |                      |Acres.|   and   | Park-  |   and   |  nance. | Total. | Total. |
+  |                      |      |Salaries.|keepers.| Altera- |         |        |        |
+  |                      |      |         |        |  tions. |         |        |        |
+  +----------------------+------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+  |                      |      |    £    |    £   |    £    |    £    |   £    |    £   |
+  | 1. Greenwich         | 185  |   225   |  1,090 |   175   |  3,737  |  5,319 |  4,554 |
+  +----------------------+------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+  |    { Hyde Park   }   |      |         |        |         |         |        |        |
+  | 2. { St. James’s }   | 509½ |   724   | 12,153 | 4,965   | 50,886  | 69,269 | 48,835 |
+  |    { Green Park  }   |      |         |        |         |         |        |        |
+  +----------------------+------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+  | 3. Kensington Gardens| 274  |   138   |  1,590 |    50   |  5,831  |  7,730 |  7,804 |
+  +----------------------+------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+  |    { Regent’s Park } |      |         |        |         |         |        |        |
+  | 4. {     and       } | 472½ |   290   |  2,171 |   300   | 11,417  | 14,542 | 13,329 |
+  |    { Primrose Hill } |      |         |        |         |         |        |        |
+  +----------------------+------+---------+--------+---------+---------+--------+--------+
+                          _Taken from the Estimates for 1907–8._
+
+
+  +-----------+-------+------------+------------+---------+
+  |           |       |    Net     |  Average   |         |
+  |           | Acres.| Aggregate  |  Cost of   | Number  |
+  |           |       |  Capital   |Maintenance.|of Staff.|
+  |           |       |Expenditure.|            |         |
+  +-----------+-------+------------+------------+---------+
+  |           |       |     £      |     £      |         |
+  | Battersea |  199  |   21,042   |   10,897   |    92   |
+  | Brockwell |  127¼ |  114,322   |    4,493   |    34   |
+  | Dulwich   |   72  |   45,510   |    3,330   |    28   |
+  | Finsbury  |  115  |  137,934   |    7,649   |    52   |
+  | Victoria  |  217  |   38,430   |   12,099   |   107   |
+  | Waterlow  |   26  |   11,178   |    2,658   |    24   |
+  +-----------+-------+------------+------------+---------+
+        _Taken from L.C.C. Handbook No. 1009, 1906._
+
+
+London has always been a city of gardens, and although much boast is
+made of the newly-acquired open spaces, a wail for those destroyed
+would have equal justification. It is very terrible that everything in
+life has to be learnt by slow and hard lessons, dearly purchased under
+the iron rod of experience. It is not till the want of a green spot
+is brought painfully home to people by its loss, that the thought of
+saving the last remaining speck of greenery is borne in upon them with
+sufficient force to transform the wish into action. For generations
+garden after garden has passed into building land. No one has a right
+to grudge the wealth or prosperity that has accrued in consequence,
+but the wish that the benevolence and foresight of past days had taken
+a different bent, and that a more systematic retention of some of the
+town gardens had received attention, cannot be banished.
+
+When Roman civilisation had been swept away in Britain, and with
+it all vestiges of the earliest gardens, there are no vestiges of
+horticulture until Christianity had taken hold of the country, and
+religious houses were rising up in various parts of the kingdom. The
+cradle of modern gardening may be said to have been within the peaceful
+walls of these monastic foundations. In no part of the country were
+they more numerous than in and around London, and it is probable that
+every establishment had its garden for the supply of vegetables, and
+more particularly medicinal herbs. Attached to most of them, there was
+also a special garden for the production of flowers for decoration
+on church festivals. It is probable that the earliest London gardens
+were of this monastic character, and as long as the buildings were
+maintained the gardens were in existence. The Grey, the Black, the
+White, and the Austin Friars all had gardens within their enclosures;
+and the Hospitaller Orders--the Templars and Knights of St. John--had
+large gardens within their precincts. The Temple Garden is still one
+of the charms of London, but only the old gateway of the Priory of St.
+John in Clerkenwell remains, and the garden, with all its historical
+associations, has long since vanished. It was in a small upper room,
+“next the garden in the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England,
+without the bars of West Smythfield,” that Henry VII., in the first
+year of his reign, gave the Great Seal to John Morton, Bishop of Ely,
+and appointed him Chancellor, and he “carried the seal with him” to
+his house, Ely Place, hard by.[1] These small references show the
+picturesque side of such events, the gardens constantly being the
+background of the scenes.
+
+It is only one more of the regrettable results of the barbarous way
+in which the Reformation was carried out in England, that the gardens
+shared the fate of the stately buildings round whose sheltering walls
+they flourished. It is not easy to picture the desolation of those
+days: the unkept, uncared-for garden, trodden under foot, makes the
+forlorn aspect of the despoiled monasteries more pathetic.
+
+London was a city of palaces in Plantagenet times, and the great
+nobles had their gardens near or surrounding their castles. Bayard’s
+Castle, facing the river for centuries, had its gardens, and there were
+spacious gardens within the precincts of the Tower when it was the
+chief royal residence in London, and outside the walls of the City fine
+dwellings and large gardens were clustered together. Among the most
+famous in the thirteenth century was the Earl of Lincoln’s, purchased
+from the Dominicans, when they outgrew their demesne in Holborn, and
+migrated to the riverside, where their memory ever lives under their
+popular name of the Black Friars. Minute accounts of the expenses
+of this garden are preserved in the Manor Roll, and a very fairly
+accurate picture of what it was can be pieced together. The chief
+flowers in it were roses, and the choicest to be found at that date,
+the sweet-scented double red “rosa gallica,” would be in profusion.
+It might be that, in the shady corners of the garden, periwinkle
+trailed upon the ground, and violets perfumed the air. White Madonna
+lilies reared their stately heads among the clove pinks, lavender, and
+thyme. Peonies, columbines, hollyhocks, honeysuckle, corncockles, and
+iris, white, purple, and yellow, made no mean show. The orchard could
+boast of many kinds of pears and apples, cherries and nuts. A piece
+of water described as “the greater ditch”[2] formed the fish stew
+where pike were kept and artificially fed. Besides all this, there
+was a considerable vineyard. It was thought a favourable spot for
+vines, and the Bishop of Ely’s vineyard, the site of which is still
+remembered by Vine Street, was hard by. A good deal of imagination is
+now required to conjure up a picture of a vintage in Holborn. Amid
+the crowd of cabs, carts, carriages, and omnibuses rolling all day
+over the Viaduct from Oxford Street to the heart of the City, it needs
+as fertile a brain as that of the poet who pictured the vision of
+poor Susan as she listens to the song of the bird in Wood Street to
+call up such a scene. The gardens sloping down to the “bourne” were
+carefully enclosed--the Earl of Lincoln’s by strong wooden palings,
+that of Ely Place by a thorn hedge with wooden gates fitted with keys
+and locks.[3] The inner gardens, that were specially reserved for
+the Bishop, the great garden and the “grassyard,” were separated by
+railings and locked doors from the vineyard. The “grassyard” was mown,
+and a tithe of the proceeds from the sale of the grass paid to the
+Rector of St. Andrew’s, Holborn. The wine produced was more of the
+character of vinegar, and was also sold; as much as thirty gallons of
+this “verjuice” was produced in one year. Extra hands were hired to
+weed and dress the vineyard, and apparently the vineyard entailed a
+good deal of trouble, and for many years it was let. Think of a warm
+day in early autumn, clusters of grapes hanging from the twisted vines,
+men and women in gay colours carrying baskets of ripe fruit to the
+vats where they were trodden, and the crimson juice squeezed out; the
+mellow rays of the sinking sun light up the high walls and many towers
+of the City, and the distant pile of Westminster is half hidden by the
+mists rising from the river, while there, too, the vintage is in full
+swing, and the song[4] of the grape-gatherers breaks the stillness of
+the October evening. Away to the north the landscape is bounded by the
+wooded heights of Hampstead and Highgate. Most of the country round
+London then was forest land, and in spite of the changes of centuries
+a few acres of the original forest remain in Highgate Woods to this
+day, now owned by the Corporation of London. Between the hills and the
+city on the north-east lay the marshy ground known as Moorfields, for
+some 800 years the favourite resort of Londoners wishing to take the
+air. Gradually this open space has been built over, although a few
+green patches, such as Finsbury Square, the Artillery Ground, or the
+more distant Bunhill Fields, have remained through the changes time
+has wrought. This space might have been like one of the other heaths or
+commons of London, a beautiful open space in the heart of the town, but
+the supposed exigencies of modern civilisation, with the usual want of
+foresight, have banished the life-giving fresh air, and the Corporation
+of London has had to go far afield, to Burnham Beeches and Epping
+Forest, to supply what once was at its door. Literally at its door,
+as the busy street of Moorgate recalls the Mayor, Thomas Falconer by
+name, who in 1415 “caused the wall of the citie to be broken neere unto
+Coleman Street, and there builded a posterne now called _Moorgate_,
+upon the Mooreside, where was never gate before. This gate he made for
+ease of the citizens, that way to passe upon cawseys into the Field
+for their recreation.”[5] The fields in question were at that time a
+marsh, and though some fifty years later “dikes and bridges” were made,
+it was many years before the whole moor was drained. The task at one
+time seemed so difficult that the chronicler Stowe, in 1598, feared
+that even if the earth was raised until it was level with the city
+walls it would be “but little dryer,” such was the “moorish” nature of
+the ground. Moorfields was the scene of many curious dramas during its
+history. It was the great place for displays, sham fights, and sports
+of the citizens. Pepys notes in his Diary, July 26, 1664, that there
+was much discourse about “the fray yesterday in Moorfields, how the
+butchers at first did beat the weavers (between whom there hath been
+ever an old competition for mastery), but at last the weavers rallied
+and beat them.” Such scenes were very frequent, and Moorfields for
+generations was the theatre of such contests. During the time of the
+Great Fire, numbers of homeless people camped out there, passing days
+of discomfort and anxiety about their few remaining household goods.
+Pepys in his casual way alludes to them: “5th September, ... Into
+Moorefields (our feet ready to burn, walking through the town among hot
+coles), and find that full of people, and poor wretches carrying their
+goods there, and everybody keeping his goods together by themselves
+(and a great blessing it is to them that it is fair weather for them to
+keep abroad night and day); drunk there and paid twopence for a plain
+penny loaf.” The “trained bands” used Moorfields as their exercise
+ground, and no doubt the prototype of John Gilpin disported himself
+there. As the fields were drained after 1527 they became more and more
+the favourite resort of citizens of all ranks. Laid out more as a
+public garden in 1606, they continued the chief open space of the city
+until a few generations ago.
+
+The garden of the Drapers’ Company was another of the lungs of the
+City, and the disappearance of the great part of it, also within recent
+years, is much to be regretted. This land was purchased by the Company
+from Henry VIII. after the garden had been made by Thomas Cromwell,
+Earl of Essex, and forfeited on his attainder. His method of increasing
+his garden was simple enough. He appears to have taken what he wanted
+from the citizens adjoining, and his all-powerful position at the
+time left them without redress. Stowe describes the way this land was
+filched away. “This house being finished, and having some reasonable
+plot of ground left for a garden, hee caused the pales of the gardens
+adjoining to the north part thereof, on a sudden to be taken doune, 22
+foot to be measured forth right into the north of every man’s ground, a
+line then to be drawn, a trench to be cast, a foundation laid, and an
+high bricke wall to be builded. My Father had a garden there, and there
+was a house standing close to his south pale; this house they loosed
+from the ground, and bare upon Rowlers into my Father’s garden 22 foot
+ere my Father heard thereof.... No man durst goe to argue the matter,
+but each man lost his Land.”
+
+It is difficult to estimate whether the charitable munificence of the
+Company is altogether as great a public benefit, from a health point
+of view, as retaining some of the garden for public use would have
+been. Men are naturally so conservative, that, because they have been
+content to talk and do business, and even search for a breath of air,
+in the crowded streets on the hottest summer days, it has probably
+never occurred to them that a few minutes on a seat under shady trees
+would have “refreshed their spirits,” and the addition of better air
+improved their brain powers more effectually. The idea of a garden
+city is such a new one that it is not fair to judge by such standards.
+Distances are now much reduced by electricity above and below ground,
+so that the necessity of crowding business houses together to save
+time is not so all-important. When the City gardens became built over,
+no doubt the newer and more sanitary conditions were felt amply to
+compensate for the loss of oxygen given off by the growing plants, and
+the preservation of air spaces in the midst of crowded centres had not
+occurred to men’s minds.
+
+London four or five hundred years ago must indeed have needed its
+gardens. The squalor and dirt of its cramped streets, the noisy
+clamour, the rough and uncouth manners, are unpleasing to realise. The
+contrast of the little walled gardens, where the women could sit, and
+the busy men find a little quiet from the noise outside, must indeed
+have been precious. The profession of a gardener, however, did not
+seem to soften their behaviour, for some of the worst offenders were
+gardeners. So serious did the “scurrility, clamour, and nuisance of
+the gardeners and their servants,” who sold their fruit and vegetables
+in the market, become, that they disturbed the Austin Friars at their
+prayers in the church hard by, and caused so much annoyance to the
+people living near, that in 1345 a petition, to have these “gardeners
+of the earls, barons, bishops, and citizens” removed to another part
+of the town, was presented to the Lord Mayor. Later on, gardening
+operations in the City and for six miles round were restricted to
+freemen and apprentices of the Gardeners’ Company, and the sale of
+vegetables was almost exclusively in their hands. Their guild had power
+to seize and destroy all bad plants, or those exposed for sale by
+unlicensed persons. The Gardeners’ Company, incorporated in 1605, had a
+second charter in 1616, and a confirmation of their rights in 1635, and
+it still remains one of the City companies.
+
+All the smaller householders, even in the crowded parts, continued
+to enjoy their little gardens for many centuries. Even after the
+spoliation of the monasteries, the houses rebuilt on their sites
+had their little enclosures; and large houses such as Sir William
+Pawlet’s, on the ground of the Augustine monastery, or later on Sir
+Christopher Hatton’s on Ely Place, had their gardens around them.
+Even now, in the heart of London, a small row of shabby old houses
+survives, each with a small garden attached to it. These are called
+Nevill Court, from the site having been within the precincts owned by
+Ralph Nevill, Bishop of Chichester, Chancellor in the time of Henry
+III., who built a great palace near here. One of the row belongs to the
+Moravian Mission, or United Brothers, a sect who trace their origin to
+John Huss. They settled in this house in 1737. This old-world corner
+opens out of Fetter Lane. A small wooden paling separates the minute
+strips of blackened garden from a narrow paved pathway. There were
+many such gardens in this locality less than a century ago. Charles
+Lamb, when aged six, went to school to a Mr. Bird in Bond Stables,
+off Fetter Lane, now vanished; and, returning to the spot in 1825, he
+recalled the early associations: “The school-room stands where it did,
+looking into a discoloured, dingy garden.... Oh, how I remember ...
+the truant looks side-long to the garden, which seemed a mockery of
+our imprisonment.” Would that some antiquarian millionaire--if such a
+combination exists!--might take into his head to preserve Nevill Court,
+to restore the houses and renovate the gardens, and preserve this relic
+of Old London, to give future generations some idea of what the smaller
+dwelling-houses in the old city were like. In most districts these
+little gardens were the usual appendage to dwelling-houses. Pepys,
+living in Seething Lane, often mentions his garden. It was there he
+sat with his wife and taught her maid to sing; it was there he watched
+the flames spreading over the town at the time of the Great Fire; and
+in it his money was buried during the scare of the Dutch invasion. So
+carelessly, indeed, was the money hidden that 100 gold pieces were
+lost, but eventually most of them recovered by sweeping the grass and
+sifting the soil. The natural way in which Pepys mentions how other
+people--Sir W. Batten and Mrs. Turner--during the Fire buried in their
+city gardens their wine and other goods they could not send to the
+country, that is, Bethnal Green, only shows how general these little
+plots were.
+
+Gerard, that delightful old herbalist and gardener to Lord Burghley,
+in Elizabeth’s reign, had his own garden in Holborn. In it flourished
+no less than some 972 varieties of plants, of which he published a
+catalogue in 1596. His friend and fellow-botanist, L’Obel, whose name
+is best remembered by the familiar genus Lobelia, testified that he
+had seen all the plants on the list actually growing there. The great
+faith and skill with which these old gardeners attempted to grow in
+London all the newly-acquired floral treasures, from all parts of the
+world, is truly touching. To make them “denizons of our London gardens”
+was Gerard’s delight. And this worthy ambition was shared by L’Obel,
+who looked after Lord Zouche’s garden in Hackney; by John Parkinson,
+author of the delightful work on gardening; and later on, the mantle
+descended to the Tradescants, who had their museum (the nucleus of the
+Ashmolean) or “Ark” and garden in Lambeth; by Sir Hans Sloane, who
+established the Physic Garden in Chelsea, and numerous others. It is
+curious to think how many of the plants now familiar everywhere made
+their first appearance in London. They were not reared elsewhere and
+brought to the large shows which are arranged in the metropolis to
+exhibit novelties to the public, but really London-grown. They were
+foreign importations, little seeds or bulbs, sent home to the merchants
+trading with the Levant, or brought back by enterprising explorers
+from the New World and carefully nurtured in the London gardens,
+that the citizens “set such store by.” There were several of these
+“worshipful gentlemen” to whom the introduction of flowers is due, and
+of many a plant Gerard could say with pride, they “are strangers to
+England, notwithstanding I have them in my garden.” Most plants were
+grown for use, but others “we have them,” says Gerard, “in our London
+gardens rather more for toyes of pleasure than any vertues they are
+possessed with.” Some of the first potatoes introduced were grown in
+London. Gerard had those in his garden direct from Virginia, and prized
+them as “a meat for pleasure.” Jerusalem artichokes were brought to
+London by him, and grown there in early days (1617). Parkinson also
+had them, calling them “Potatos of Canada.” Bananas were first seen in
+England in Johnson’s the herbalist’s shop in Snow Hill. At a much later
+date--early in last century--the fuchsia was made known for the first
+time to Lee, a celebrated gardener, who saw a pot of this attractive
+plant in the window of a house in Wapping, where a sailor had brought
+it as a present to his wife. So attached to it was she, that she only
+parted with it when a sum of eight guineas was offered, besides two of
+the young rooted cuttings. London can claim so many flowers, it would
+be tedious to enumerate them all. The first cedars in this country grew
+in the Chelsea Physic Garden, some of the first orchids at Loddige’s
+Garden in Hackney, and many things have emanated from Veitch’s Nursery,
+or the Botanical Gardens in Regent’s Park, or the gardens which used
+to belong to the Royal Horticultural Society in South Kensington. The
+chrysanthemum in early days flourished in Stoke Newington, and one of
+the very first results of cross-fertilisation, which now forms the
+chief part of scientific garden work, was accomplished by Fairchild, a
+famous nurseryman at Hoxton, who died in 1730.
+
+This same Thomas Fairchild left a bequest for a sermon, to be
+preached annually on Whit Tuesday, at St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch,
+on “the Wonderful Works of God in the Creation,” which is still
+delivered, often by most excellent preachers, but to a sadly small
+and unappreciative congregation. Every opportunity ought to be taken
+to awaken the interest in these wonders of creation in the vegetable
+kingdom, and so much might be done in London Parks. They are too
+frequently merely places of recreation, and until recently but little
+has been attempted to arouse enthusiasm for the beauties of nature,
+and to make them instructive as well as attractive. Even in the
+crowded heart of London a great deal could be effected, and it is a
+satisfaction to feel that attention is being drawn to the subject and
+an effort being made in the right direction. In the summer of 1906 a
+“Country in Town Exhibition” was held in Whitechapel. This novel idea
+was so successful, and met with such appreciation, that 33,250 people
+visited the exhibition during the fortnight it was open, besides the
+hundreds that collected to see H.R.H. Princess Christian perform the
+opening ceremony. The available space of the Whitechapel Art Gallery
+was filled with plants that would thrive in London; the Office of
+Works arranged a demonstration of potting; bees at work, aquaria,
+specimens dried by children or drawn in the schools, growing specimens
+of British plants, such as the dainty bee-orchis, plants and window
+boxes grown in the district, and such-like, made up the exhibits.
+Lectures were organised on plant life and nature in London which were
+largely attended. A series of drawings and plans of the Mile End Road
+and Shadwell, as they are, and as they might be, were prepared, and
+the cost of such transformations was worked out. These were exhibited
+in the hopes of awakening the interest of the Corporation who owns
+the site of the disused market in Shadwell, and of causing more to be
+done in the Mile End Road. It appears that with a comparatively small
+expenditure and ultimate loss, these plans could be realised, and the
+physical and moral conditions of the whole neighbourhood improved.
+
+Every year it is further to get into the country from the centres
+of population, and the necessity of improving existing open spaces
+becomes all the greater. By improving it is not meant to suggest that
+what are sometimes called improvements should be carried out; grander
+band-stands, handsome railings, more asphalt paths or stiff concrete
+ponds. No, it is only more intelligent planting, grouping for artistic
+effect, and arranging to demonstrate the wonders of nature in spaces
+already in existence, and to suggest what could be done to cheer and
+brighten the dark spots of the city.
+
+The country round London has always been a good district for wild
+flowers; the varied soils, aspects, and levels all go to make it
+a propitious spot for botanising. Many places now covered with
+streets were a few generations ago a mass of wild flowers. The older
+herbalists--Gerard, Johnson, and their friends--used to search the
+neighbourhood of London for floral treasures, and incidentally in
+their works the names of these friends, such as Mr. James Clarke and
+Mr. Thomas Smith, “Apothecaries of London,” and their “search for rare
+plants” are mentioned. Gerard was constantly on the watch, and records
+plants seen in the quaintest places, such as the water-radish, which
+he says grew “in the joints or chincks amongst mortar of a stone wall
+that bordereth upon the river Thames by the Savoy in London, which yee
+cannot finde but when the tide is much spent.” Pennyroyal “was found
+on the common near London called Miles ende,” “from whence poore women
+bring plentie to sell in London markets.” The rare adders-tongue and
+great wild valerian grew in damp meadows, the fields abounded with all
+the more common wild flowers, and such choice things as the pretty
+little “ladies’ tresses,” grew on the common near Stepney, while
+butcher’s broom, cow wheat, golden rod, butterfly orchis, lilies of the
+valley and royal fern, wortleberries and bilberries covered the heaths
+and woods of Hampstead and Highgate. Many another flower is recorded by
+Gerard, who must have had a keen and observant eye which could spot a
+rare water-plant in a ditch while attending an execution at Tyburn! yet
+he meekly excuses his want of knowledge of where a particular hawkweed
+grew, saying, “I meane, God willing, better to observe heerafter, as
+oportunitie shall serve me.” That power of observation is a gift to
+be fostered and encouraged, and were that achieved by education in
+Council Schools, a great success would have been scored, and probably
+it would be more fruitful in the child’s after life than the scattered
+crumbs from countless subjects with which the brain is bewildered.
+The wild flowers could still be enticed within the County of London,
+and species, which used to make their homes within its area, might be
+induced at least to visit some corners of its parks. The more dingy
+the homes of children are, the more necessary it must be to bring what
+is simple, pure, and elevating to their minds, and modern systems
+of teaching are realising this. If public gardens can be brought to
+lend their aid in the actual training, as well as being a playground,
+they will serve a twofold purpose. An old writer quaintly puts this
+influence of plant life. “Flowers through their beautie, varietie of
+colour and exquisite forme, do bring to a liberall and gentle manly
+mind, the remembrance of honestie, comelinesse, and all kindes of
+vertues. For it would be an unseemly and filthie thing, as a certain
+wise man saith, for him that doth looke upon and handle faire and
+beautifull things, and who frequenteth and is conversant in faire and
+beautifull places, to have his mind not faire but filthie and deformed.”
+
+It is not possible for all London children to get into the country
+now that it is further away, so the more of nature, as well as true
+artistic gardening, they can be shown in the parks the better. It used
+in olden days to be the custom, among other May Day revels, to go out
+to the country round London and enjoy the early spring as the Arabs do
+at the present time, when they have the fête of “Shem-en-Nazim,” or
+“Smelling the Spring.” “On May day in the morning, every man, except
+impediment, would walk into the Sweet Meddowes and green woods, there
+to rejoyce their spirits with the beauty and Savour of sweet Flowers,
+and with the harmonie of Birdes, praising God in their kinde.”[6] It
+would surprise many people to learn how many birds still sing their
+praises within the parks of London, although the meadows and other
+delights have vanished. This serves to encourage the optimist in
+believing in the future possibilities of London Parks.
+
+There is no “park system” in England as in the United States of
+America, where each town provides, in addition to its regular lines of
+streets, and its main thoroughfares leading straight from the centre
+to the more suburban parts, a complete system of parks. The more
+old-fashioned town of Boston was behind the rest, although it contained
+a few charming public gardens in the heart of the town. Of late years
+large tracts of low-lying waste grounds have been filled up, and one
+piece connected with another, until it, too, rejoices in a complete
+“park system.” Chicago, Pittsburgh, and all these modern towns of
+rapid growth possess a well-ordered “park system.” The conditions, the
+natural aspect of the country, and the climate are so unlike our own
+that no comparison is fair. Like everything else in the United States,
+they are on a large scale, and while there is much to admire, and
+something to learn, there is very little in the points in which they
+differ from us that could be imitated. London parks and open spaces,
+taken as a whole, are unrivalled. The history and associations which
+cluster round each and all of them, would fill volumes if recorded
+facts were adhered to; and if the imagination were allowed to run riot
+within the range of possibility, there would be no limit. Things which
+have grown gradually as circumstances changed can have no system. Their
+variety and irregularity is their charm, and no description of either
+the parks, gardens, or open spaces of London can be given as a whole.
+Each has its own associations, its own history, and to glance at some
+of London’s bright spots and tell their stories will be the endeavour
+of these pages.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+HYDE PARK
+
+      _The Park shone brighter than the skyes,
+      Sing tan-tara-rara-tantivee,
+      With jewels and gold, and Ladies’ eyes,
+      That sparkled and cry’d come see me:
+      Of all parts of England, Hide Park hath the name,
+      For coaches and Horses and Persons of fame,
+      It looked at first sight, like a field full of flame,
+      Which made me ride up tan-tivee._
+
+                --NEWS FROM HIDE PARK, an old ballad, _c._ 1670.
+
+
+In writing about London Parks the obvious starting-point seems to
+be the group comprising Hyde, Green, and St. James’s Parks, which
+are so intimately connected with London life to-day, and have a past
+teeming with interest. What changes some of those elms have witnessed!
+Generation after generation of the world of fashion have passed beneath
+their shades. Dainty ladies with powder and patches have smiled at
+their beaux, perhaps concealing aching hearts by a light and careless
+gaiety. Stately coaches and prancing horsemen have passed along. Crowds
+of enthusiasts for various causes have aired their grievances on the
+green turf. Brilliant reviews and endless parades have taken place
+on the wide open spaces; games and races have amused thousands of
+spectators. In still earlier times there was many a day’s good sport
+after the deer, or many a busy hour’s ploughing the abbey lands of
+the then Manor of Hyde. Scene after scene can be pictured down to the
+present time, when, after centuries of change, the enjoyment of these
+Parks remains perhaps one of the most treasured privileges of the
+Londoner.
+
+In tracing the history of their various phases, the survival of many
+features is as remarkable as the disappearance of others. The present
+limits on the north and east, Bayswater Road and Park Lane, have
+suffered no substantial alteration since the roads were known as the
+Via Trimobantina and the Watling Street in Roman times. The Watling
+Street divided, and one section followed the course of the present
+Oxford Street to the City; the other, passing down the line of Park
+Lane, crossed St. James’s Park, and so to the ford over the Thames at
+Westminster. The Park was never common or waste land, but must have
+been cleared and cultivated in very early times. In Domesday Survey
+the Manor was in plough and pasture land, with various “villains” and
+peasants living on it. The Thames was the southern boundary of the
+Manor of “Eia,” which was divided into three parts, one being Hyde, the
+site of the existing Hyde Park, the other two Ebury and Neate. Although
+now forgotten, the latter name was familiar for many centuries. When
+owned by the Abbots of Westminster, the Manor House by the riverside
+was of some importance, and John of Gaunt stayed there. Famous
+nurseries and a tea garden, “the Neate houses,” marked the spot in the
+eighteenth century.
+
+Until the stormy days of the Reformation these lands remained much
+the same. Owned by the Abbey of Westminster, they were probably well
+cultivated by their tenants, and doubtless the game with which they
+abounded from early times afforded the Abbot some pleasant days’ sport
+and tasty meals. The first time any of the Manor became part of the
+royal demesne, was when the Abbot Islip exchanged 100 acres of what
+is now St. James’s Park, adjoining the royal lands, for Poughley in
+Berkshire, with Henry VIII. in 1531–2. This Abbot, who had an ingenious
+device to represent his name--a human eye and a cutting or “slip” of a
+tree--died in the Manor House of Neate or Neyte the same year. He gave
+up the lands from Charing Cross “unto the Hospital of St. James in the
+fields” (now St. James’s Palace), and the meadows between the Hospital
+and Westminster. Five years later, when the upheaval of the dissolution
+of the monasteries was taking place, the monks of Westminster were
+forced to take the lands of the Priory of Hurley--one of their own
+cells just dissolved--in exchange for the rest of the manor. Henry
+VIII., who loved sport, found these lands first-rate hunting-ground.
+From his palace at Westminster, through Hyde Park, right away to
+Hampstead, he had an almost uninterrupted stretch of country, where
+hares and herons, pheasants and partridges, could be pursued and
+preserved “for his own disport and pastime.” Hyde Park was enclosed, or
+“substancially empayled,” as an old writer states, and a large herd of
+deer kept there, and various proclamations show that the right of sport
+had to be jealously guarded.
+
+What a gay scene must Hyde Park have often witnessed in Elizabeth’s
+reign. The Queen, when not actually joining in the chase, watched
+the proceedings from the hunting pavilion, or “princelye standes
+therein,” and feasted the guests in the banqueting-house. There were
+brilliantly caparisoned horses, men and women in costly velvets and
+brocades, stiff frills, plumed hats and embroidered gloves. Picture the
+_cortège_ entering by the old lodge, where now is Hyde Park Corner, the
+honoured guest, for whom the day’s sport was inaugurated--such as John
+Casimir, son of the Elector Palatine, who showed his skill by killing a
+particular deer out of a herd of 300--surrounded by some of his foreign
+attendants, and escorted by all the court gallants of the day.
+
+The Park must then have been as wild as the New or Sherwood Forests of
+to-day. The tall trees, with their sturdy stems, were then untouched by
+smoky air, the sylvan glades and pasture lands had no distant vistas
+of houses and chimneys to spoil their rural aspect, while far off the
+pile of the buildings of Westminster Abbey--without the conspicuous
+towers, which were not finished till 1714--might be seen rising beyond
+the swamps and fens of St. James’s Park. Hyde Park on a May evening
+even now is still beautiful, if looked at from the eastern side across
+a golden mist, against which the dark trees stand up mysteriously, when
+a glow of sunset light seems to transform even ragged little Cockney
+children into fairies. It wants but little imagination to see that same
+golden haze peopled with huntsmen, and to hear the sound of the horn
+instead of the roar of carriages.
+
+The next scene which can be brought vividly before the mind’s eye is
+very different from the last pageant. These are troublous times. The
+monarch and his courtiers are occupied in far other pursuits than
+hunting deer. Charles I. was fighting in the vain endeavour to keep his
+throne, and Londoners were preparing to defend the city. Hyde Park and
+Green Park became the theatre of warlike operations. Forts were raised
+and trenches were dug. Two small forts, one on Constitution Hill and
+one near the present Mount Street in Hyde Park, were made, but the more
+important were those on the present sites of the Marble Arch and of
+Hamilton Place. The energy displayed on the occasion is described by
+Butler in “Hudibras,” and the part taken by women in the work. Like the
+“sans culottes” of the French Revolution, they helped with their own
+hands.
+
+     “Women, who were our first apostles,
+      Without whose aid w’ had all been lost else;
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      March’d rank and file, with drum and ensign,
+      T’ entrench the city for defence in;
+      Rais’d rampires with their own soft hands,
+      To put the enemy to stands;
+      From ladies down to oyster-wenches
+      Labour’d like pioneers in trenches,
+      Fell to their pickaxes and tools,
+      And helped the men to dig like moles.”
+
+                          --BUTLER’S “_Hudibras_.”
+
+The picture of their sombre garments, neat-fitting caps, and severe
+faces, the close-cropped hair and stern looks of the men, working with
+business-like determination, stands out a striking contrast to the gay
+colours and cheerful looks of the company engaged in the chase.
+
+The darker trees and sheltered corners of Hyde Park afforded covert
+for the wary “Roundhead” to lie in ambush for the imprudent Loyalist
+carrying letters to the King. On more than one occasion the success was
+on his side, and the bearer of news to his royal master was waylaid,
+and the papers secured. The culminating scene of this period must
+have been when Fairfax and the Parliamentary army marched through Hyde
+Park in 1647, and were met by the solemn procession of the Mayor and
+Sheriffs of the City of London.
+
+Dismal days for the Parks followed. Although the Parks had been
+declared the property of the Commonwealth, it was from no wish to
+use them for sport or recreation. During the latter years of Charles
+the First’s reign Hyde Park had become somewhat of a fashionable
+resort. People came to enjoy the air and meet their friends, and it
+was less exclusively reserved for hunting. Races took place, both
+foot and horse; crowds collected to witness them, and ladies, with
+their attendant cavaliers, drove there in coaches, and refreshed
+themselves at the “Cake House” with syllabubs. This latter was the
+favourite drink, made of milk or cream whipped up with sugar and
+wine or cider. But the Puritan spirit, which was rapidly asserting
+itself, soon interfered with such harmless amusements. In 1645 the
+Parks were ordered to be shut on the Lord’s Day, also on fast and
+thanksgiving days. In 1649 the Parks, together with Windsor, Hampton
+Court, Greenwich, and Richmond, were declared to be the property of
+the Commonwealth, and thrown open to the public. But this did not lead
+to greater public enjoyment of Hyde Park. Far from it, for only three
+years later it was put up to auction in three lots. The first lot was
+the part bounded on one side by the present Bayswater Road, and is
+described as well wooded; the second, the Kensington side, was chiefly
+pasture; the third, another well-wooded division, included the lodge
+and banqueting-house and the Ring where the races took place. This part
+was valued at more than double the two others, and was purchased by
+Anthony Dean, a ship-builder, for £9020, 8s. 2d. This business-like
+gentleman presumably reserved the use of the timber for his ships,
+and let out the pasture. His tenant proceeded to make as much as he
+could, and levied a toll on all carriages coming into the Park. On some
+occasions he extorted 2s. 6d. from each coach. In 1653 John Evelyn in
+his diary complains on April 11 that he “went to take the aire in Hide
+Park, when every coach was made to pay a shilling, and every horse
+sixpence, by the sordid fellow who had purchas’d it of the State, as
+they were call’d.” Cromwell himself was fond of riding in the Park, and
+crowds thronged him as he galloped round the Ring. More than one plot
+was made against the life of Cromwell, and the Park was considered a
+likely place in which to succeed. On one occasion the would-be assassin
+joined the crowd, which pursued the Protector during his ride, ready,
+if at any moment he galloped beyond the people, to dash at him with
+a fatal blow. The plotter had carefully filed the Park gate off its
+hinges so as to make good his own escape. It is a curious fact that
+Cromwell more nearly met his death in Hyde Park by accident than by
+design. He was presented with some fine grey Friesland horses, by the
+Duke of Holstein, and insisted on driving the spirited animals himself.
+They bolted, he was thrown from the box, and his pistol went off in his
+pocket, “though without any hurt to himself”!
+
+The Ring, where all these performances took place, was situated to the
+north-east of where the Humane Society’s house, built in 1834, now
+stands, near the Serpentine. There are a few remains of very large
+elm trees still to be seen, which probably shaded some of the company
+assembled to watch the coaches driving round and round the Ring, or
+cheer the winner of a hotly-contested race. Even during the sombre
+days of the Commonwealth sports took place in the Park, but with the
+Restoration it became much more the resort of all the fashionable
+world and the scene of many more amusements. The parks were still in
+those days for the Court and the wealthy or well-to-do citizens only.
+Probably to many of the rabble and poorer Londoners the nearest view
+obtained of Hyde Park would be the tall trees within its fence or
+wall, which formed a background to the revolting but most engrossing
+of popular sights, the horrors of the gallows at Tyburn. The idea of
+giving parks as recreation grounds for the poor is such a novel one
+that no old writer would think of noticing their absence in an age when
+bull-baiting and cock fights were their highest form of amusement.
+
+The Ring was an enclosure with a railing round it and a wide road. It
+is described as “a ring railed in, round w^{ch} a gravel way, yt would
+admitt of twelve if not more rowes of Coaches, w^{ch} the Gentry to
+take the aire and see each other Comes and drives round and round; one
+row going Contrary to each other affords a pleaseing diversion.”
+
+The gay companies who assembled to drive round and round the Ring, or
+watch races, sometimes met with unusual excitement. On one occasion
+Hind, a famous highwayman, for a wager rode into the Ring and robbed a
+coach of a bag of money. He was hotly pursued across the Park, but made
+his escape, “riding by St. James’s,” which then, and until a much later
+date, was a sanctuary, and no one except a traitor could be arrested
+within it. So narrow an escape from justice did he have that he is said
+to have exclaimed, “I never earned £100 so dear in all my life!”
+
+Numberless entries in Pepys’ Diary describe visits to Hyde Park. His
+drives there in fine and wet weather, the company he met, whether his
+wife looked well or was in a good or ill temper, and the latest gossip
+the outing afforded, are all noted. Many times he regrets not having a
+coach of his own, and does not conceal the feelings of wounded pride
+it occasioned. Once he naïvely explains that having taken his wife and
+a friend to the Park “in a hackney,” and they not in smart clothes,
+he “was ashamed to go into the tour [Ring], but went round the Park,
+and so, with pleasure, home.” His delight when he possessed a coach is
+unbounded. He made frequent visits to the coach-builder, and watched
+the final coat of varnish to “make it more and more yellow,” and at
+last on May Day, 1669, he describes his first appearance in his own
+carriage: “At noon home to dinner, and there find my wife extraordinary
+fine with her flowered tabby gown that she made two years ago, now
+laced exceeding pretty, and indeed was fine all over, and mighty
+earnest to go; though the day was very lowering; and she would have me
+put on my fine suit, which I did. And so anon, we went alone through
+the town with our new liveries of serge and the horses’ manes and tails
+tied with red ribbons, and the standards gilt with varnish, and all
+clean, and green reines, that people did mightily look upon us; and
+the truth is I did not see any coach more pretty, though more gay than
+ours, all that day ... the day being unpleasing though the Park full
+of Coaches, but dusty, and windy, and cold, and now and then a little
+dribbling of rain; and what made it worse, there were so many hackney
+coaches as spoiled the sight of the gentlemen’s, and so we had little
+pleasure. But here was Mr. Batelier and his sister in a borrowed coach
+by themselves, and I took them and we to the lodge: and at the door
+did give them a syllabub and other things, cost me 12s. and pretty
+merry.”
+
+What an amusing picture, not only of Hyde Park in 1669 but of human
+nature of all time!--the start, the pride and delight with their
+new acquisition, the little annoyances, the marred pleasures, the
+ungenerous dislike of the less fortunate who could not afford coaches
+of their own, whose ranks he had swelled the very last drive he had
+taken. Then the little kindness and the refreshment, so that the story
+ends merrily.
+
+The “Lodge” is but another name for the “Cheese-cake House” or “Cake
+House,” or as it was sometimes called from the proprietor, the Gunter
+of those days, “Price’s Lodge.” This house, which was a picturesque
+feature, stood near the Ring, on the site of the present building
+of the Humane Society, and must have been the scene of many amusing
+incidents in the lives of those who graced the Ring, in the seventeenth
+and eighteenth centuries. A little stream ran in front of it, and the
+door was approached over planks. White with beams of timber, latticed
+windows, and gabled roof, a few flowers clustering near, with the
+water flowing by its walls, the old house gave a special charm and
+rural flavour to the tarts and cheesecakes and syllabub with which the
+company regaled themselves.
+
+The gay sights and sounds in Hyde Park were silenced during those
+terrible weeks, when the Great Plague spread death and destruction
+through London. As the summer advanced, and the havoc became more
+and more appalling, many of the soldiers quartered in the city, were
+marched out to encamp in Hyde Park. At first it seemed as if they would
+escape the deadly scourge, but the men were not accustomed to the
+rough quarters, and soon succumbed.
+
+     “Our men (ere long) began to droop and quail,
+      Our lodgings cold, and some not us’d thereto,
+      Fell sick, and dy’d, and made us more adoe.
+      At length the Plague amongst us ’gan to spread,
+      When ev’ry morning some were found stark dead;
+      Down to another field the sick we t’ane,
+      But few went down that e’er came up again.”
+
+Thus all through the autumn of that terrible year the Park was one of
+the fields of battle against the relentless foe. The contemporary poet,
+whose lines have been quoted, describes the return of the few saddened
+survivors to the “doleful” city. They had lingered through the cold and
+wet until December, and surely the Park has no passage in its history
+more piteous and depressing than the advent of those frightened men who
+came with “heavy hearts,” “fearing the Almighty’s arrows,” only to be
+overtaken by the terror in their plague-stricken camp.
+
+Hyde Park has witnessed other gloomy pictures from time to time.
+Although the colouring of fashion and romance has endeavoured to
+make these incidents less repulsive, duels cannot be otherwise than
+distressing to the modern sense. For generations Hyde Park was a
+favourite place in which to settle affairs of honour. The usual
+spot is described by Fielding in “Amelia.” The combatants walked up
+Constitution Hill and into Hyde Park “to that place which may properly
+be called the Field of Blood, being that part a little to the left of
+the Ring, which Heroes have chosen for the scene of their exit out of
+this World.” One of the most famous duels was that fought between Lord
+Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton on November 15, 1712, which resulted
+in the death of both the combatants--the Duke, whose loss was a great
+blow to the Jacobite cause in Scotland, and the Whig opponent. All
+through the eighteenth century Hyde Park was frequently the place in
+which disputes were settled, and one of the last duels recorded, which
+resulted in the death of Captain Macnamara (his antagonist, Colonel
+Montgomery, being tried for manslaughter, but acquitted), although
+fought on Primrose Hill, originated in Hyde Park. The cause of quarrel
+was that the dogs of these two gentlemen fought while out with them in
+the Park, whereupon the respective masters used such abusive language
+to each other that the affair had to be settled by a duel.
+
+Military displays, for which Hyde Park is still famous, have taken
+place there from early times. The works of defence were thrown up,
+and Fairfax and the Parliamentary army arrived there in the times of
+civil strife, but soon after the Restoration Charles II. had a peaceful
+demonstration, and there reviewed his Life Guards. Again, in September
+1668, there was a more brilliant review, when the Duke of Monmouth took
+command of the Life Guards, and the King and Duke of York were both
+present. Pepys was there, and wrote, “It was mighty noble, and their
+firing mighty fine, and the Duke of Monmouth in mighty rich clothes;
+but the well ordering of the men I understand not.”
+
+When, in 1715, the fear of a general Jacobite rising induced the Whigs
+to take serious precautions, Hyde Park became a camp from July till
+November. During a similar scare in 1722 troops were again quartered
+there, and the camp became the centre of popular attraction; gaiety
+and frivolity were the order of the day, rather than business or
+watchfulness. The Park was also used as a camp for six regiments of
+militia at the time of the Gordon Riots in 1780. All through George
+III.’s long reign reviews were frequent, and one of the most popular
+was that held by the Prince Regent before the allied sovereigns, the
+Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia, in June 1814. Blücher was the
+popular hero on the occasion, and when he afterwards appeared in the
+Park he was so mobbed by the crowd, enthusiastic to see something of
+“Forwärts,” as he was familiarly named, that he had to defend himself
+against their rough treatment.
+
+When the Park was again in the King’s hands after the Restoration,
+a Keeper was once more appointed, who was responsible for its
+maintenance. From the time of Henry VIII. various well-known people had
+filled the office of Keeper. The first in Henry VIII.’s time was George
+Roper, succeeded in 1553 by Francis Nevill, and in 1574 by Henry Carey,
+first Lord Hunsdon, while in 1607 Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, was
+appointed, and Sir Walter Cope held the office conjointly with him
+from 1610. The name of the first Keeper after the Restoration, James
+Hamilton, is well remembered by the site of his house and ground,
+which are still known as Hamilton Place and Gardens. He was allowed to
+enclose 55 acres of park, and to use it as an orchard on the condition
+that he sent a certain quantity of the cider produced from it to the
+King. In his time a brick wall was built round the Park, and it was
+re-stocked with deer. The wall was rebuilt in 1726, and not replaced by
+railings until a hundred years later. These iron railings were pulled
+down by the mob in 1866, after which the present ones were set up.
+The deer, which formerly ranged all over the Park, were in course of
+time confined to a small area on the north-west side, called Buckdean
+Hill. They were kept for sport during the first half of the eighteenth
+century, and the last time royalty took part in killing deer in the
+Park was probably in 1768. The exact date of the disappearance of all
+the deer is difficult to ascertain. They are remembered by some who saw
+them towards the end of the thirties, but by 1840 or soon after they
+were done away with.
+
+The roads in Hyde Park must have been rather like South African tracks
+at the present day, and driving at night was not free from danger
+even at a comparatively late date. Attacks from highwaymen were to be
+feared. Horace Walpole was robbed in November 1749, and the pistol shot
+was near enough to stun though not otherwise to injure him. The Duke
+of Grafton had his collar bone broken, and his coachman his leg, some
+ten years earlier, when, on his way from Kensington to “the New Gate
+to make some visits towards Grosvenor Square, the Chariot through the
+darkness of the Night was overset in driving along the Road and” fell
+“into a large deep pit.”
+
+Soon after William III. purchased Kensington Palace from the Earl of
+Nottingham in 1691, he commenced making a new road through the Park.
+This became known as the King’s Road, or “Route du Roi”: a corruption
+of the latter is Rotten Row, the name now given to King William’s
+Drive. In the eighteenth century it was called the King’s Old Road, and
+the one which George II. made to the south of it was called the King’s
+New Road. When this was finished in 1737, it was intended to turf the
+older “Rotten Row,” but this plan was never carried out. The old road
+was much thought of at the time it was made, and the lighting of it up
+at night with 300 lamps caused wonder to all beholders.
+
+A young lady, Celia Fiennes, describes the road in her diary about
+1695. “Y^e whole length of this parke there is a high Causey of a good
+breadth, 3 Coaches may pass, and on each side are Rowes of posts on
+w^{ch} are glasses--Cases for Lamps w^{ch} are Lighted in y^e Evening
+and appeares very fine as well as safe for y^e passenger. This is
+only a private roade y^e King had w^{ch} reaches to Kensington, where
+for aire our Great King W^{m.} bought a house and filled it for a
+Retirement w^{th} pretty gardens.”
+
+The road was in bad repair before the new one was in good order, and
+Lord Hervey, writing in 1736, says it had grown “so infamously bad” as
+to form “a great impassable gulf of mud” between London and Kensington
+Palace. “There are two ways through the Park, but the new one is so
+convex, and the old one is so concave, that by this extreme of faults
+they agree in the common of being, like the high road, impassable.”
+
+One of the most striking features of Hyde Park to-day is the long sheet
+of water known as the “Serpentine,” but this was a comparatively late
+addition to the attractions of the Park. From earliest times there was
+water. The deer came down to drink at pools supplied by fresh springs.
+The stream of the West Bourne flowed across the Park from north to
+south, leaving it near the present Albert Gate. Near there it was
+spanned by a bridge, from which the hamlet of Knightsbridge derived its
+name. The water in the Park was used to supply the West End of London
+as houses began to be built further from the City, and Chelsea was also
+supplied from it. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster had a right to
+the use of the water from the springs in the Park, and the history of
+their privilege is recorded on a stone which stands above “the Dell”
+on the north-east of the bridge across the end of the Serpentine. The
+inscription states that a supply of water by a conduit was granted
+to the Abbey of Westminster by Edward the Confessor, and the further
+history of the lands, which passed into Henry VIII.’s hands at a time
+when all church property was in peril of seizure, is neatly glossed
+over as the “manor was resumed by the Crown in 1536.” The use of the
+springs, however, was retained by the Abbey, and confirmed to them by
+a charter of Elizabeth in 1560. Later on the privilege was withdrawn,
+and in 1663 the Chelsea Waterworks were granted the use of all the
+streams and springs of Hyde Park. They made in 1725 a reservoir on the
+east side of the Park, opposite Mount Street. The sunk garden, with
+the Dolphin Fountain, the statue in Carrara marble, and the basin of
+Sicilian marble, by A. Munro, was made in 1861 on the site of this
+reservoir, which was abandoned two years earlier. It has been stated
+that this sunk garden was a remnant of the forts of Cromwell’s time,
+one small one having been near here, but the history of the Chelsea
+Waterworks reservoir must have been unknown to those who believed the
+tradition. It contained a million and a half gallons of water, and
+was protected by a wall and railings, as suicides were once said to
+have been frequent. When the Serpentine was made by Queen Caroline,
+considerable compensation had to be paid to the Waterworks Company.
+
+[Illustration: DOLPHIN FOUNTAIN, HYDE PARK]
+
+In this age of experiments in plant growing, when American writers glow
+with enthusiasm on the wonders of the “New Earth,” and when science
+has transformed the dullest operations of farming and gardening
+into fields for enterprise and treasuries of possible discoveries,
+it is humiliating to find the water in Hyde Park being used for like
+experiments as long ago as 1691–92. Stephen Switzer, a gardener,
+who would have been described by his contemporaries as a “lover of
+ingenuities,” was fond of indulging in speculations, and studied
+the effect of water on plants. He quotes a series of experiments
+made by Dr. Woodward on growing plants entirely in water, or with
+certain mixtures. For fifty-two days during the summer of 1692 he
+carefully watched some plants of spearmint, which were all “the most
+kindly, fresh, sprightly Shoots I could chuse,” and were set in water
+previously weighed. For this trial he selected “Hyde Park Conduit
+water”--one pure, another had an ounce and a half of common garden
+earth added to it, a third was given an equal quantity of garden mould,
+and a fourth was kept on “Hyde Park water distilled.” The results in
+growth, and the quantity of water absorbed, were carefully noted at the
+end of the time.
+
+[Illustration: DOLPHIN FOUNTAIN IN HYDE PARK]
+
+When Queen Caroline conceived the idea of throwing the ponds in Hyde
+Park into one, and making a sheet of water, the school of “natural” or
+“landscape” gardening was becoming the rage. Bridgeman, a well-known
+garden designer, who had charge of the royal gardens, has the credit
+of having invented the “ha-ha” or sunk fence, and thus led the way for
+merging gardens into parks. Kent, who followed him, went still further.
+He, Horace Walpole said, “leaped the fence, and saw that all Nature was
+a garden.” The fashions in garden design soon change, and the work of
+a former generation is quickly obliterated. William III. brought with
+him the fashion of Dutch gardening, and laid out Kensington Gardens in
+that style. Switzer, writing twenty-five years later, says the fault of
+the Dutch gardeners was “the Pleasure Gardens being stuffed too thick
+with Box”; they “used it to a fault, especially in England, where we
+abound in so much good Grass and Gravel.” London and Wise, very famous
+nursery gardeners, who made considerable changes at Hampton Court,
+and laid out the grounds of half the country seats in England, had
+charge of Kensington Palace Gardens, and housed the “tender greens”
+during the winter in their nurseries hard by. These celebrated Brompton
+nurseries were so vast that the Kensington plants took up “but little
+room in comparison with” those belonging to the firm. Queen Mary took
+great interest in the new gardens. “This active Princess lost no time,
+but was either measuring, directing, or ordering her Buildings, but
+in Gard’ning, especially Exoticks, she was particularly skill’d, and
+allowed Dr. Pluknet £200 per ann. for his Assistance therein.” After
+his queen’s death William III. did no more to the gardens, but they
+were completed by Queen Anne. She appointed Wise to the chief care
+of the gardens, and when in 1712 rules for the “better keeping Hyde
+Park in good Order” were drawn up, and people were forbidden to leap
+the fences or ditches, or to ride over the grass, a special exception
+was made in favour of Henry Wise. Switzer, in tracing the history of
+gardening to his day (1715), praises the “late pious Queen, whose love
+to Gardening was not a little,” for “Rooting up the _Box_, and giving
+an _English_ Model to the old-made Gardens at _Kensington_; and in 1704
+made that new garden behind the Green-House, that is esteemed amongst
+the most valuable Pieces of Work that has been done any where....
+The place where that beautiful Hollow now is, was a large irregular
+Gravel-pit, which, according to several Designs given in, was to
+have been filled, but that Mr. Wise prevailed, and has given it that
+surprizing Model it now appears in. As great a Piece of Work as that
+whole Ground is, ’twas near all completed in one Season, (viz.) between
+Michaelmas and Lady Day, which demonstrates to what a pitch Gard’ning
+is arrived within these twenty or thirty years.”
+
+When William III. purchased Kensington Palace, the grounds covered less
+than thirty acres. Under the management of Wise, in Queen Anne’s time,
+more was added, and the Orangery was built in 1705. Few people know the
+charms of this old building, which stands to the north of the original
+garden, and which future alterations may once more bring more into
+sight. As the taste for gardening changed from the shut-in gardens of
+the Dutch style to the more extended plans of Wise, the garden grew
+in size. Again, when Bridgeman was gardener, Queen Caroline, wife of
+George II., wished to emulate the splendour of Versailles, and 300
+acres were taken from Hyde Park to add to the Palace Garden. Bridgeman
+made the sunk fence which is still the division between Kensington
+Gardens and the Park; and with the earth which was taken out a mount
+was made, on which a summer-house was erected. This stood nearly
+opposite the present end of Rotten Row, and though it has long since
+ceased to exist, the gate into the Gardens is still known as the Mount
+Gate. Kent, who succeeded Bridgeman, continued the planting of the
+avenues and laying out of the Gardens, and the greater part of his
+work still remains. The Gardens were reduced in size when the road was
+made from Kensington to Bayswater, and the houses along it built about
+seventy years ago, and the exact size is now 274 acres. Queen Caroline
+would have liked to take still more of the Parks for her private use;
+but when she hinted as much to Walpole, and asked the cost, he voiced
+public opinion when he replied, “Three crowns.”
+
+[Illustration: FOUNTAINS AT THE END OF THE SERPENTINE]
+
+The fashion of making sheets of artificial water with curves and
+twists, instead of a straight, canal-like shape, was just taking the
+public fancy, when Queen Caroline began the work of converting the
+rather marshy ponds in Hyde Park into a “Serpentine River.” The ponds
+were of considerable size, and in James I.’s time there were as many
+as eleven large and small. Celia Fiennes, the young lady who kept a
+diary in the time of William and Mary, which has been already quoted,
+after describing the Ring, says, “The rest of the park is green, and
+full of deer; there are large ponds with fish and fowle.” The work
+of draining the ponds and forming a river was begun in October 1730,
+under the direction of Charles Withers, Surveyor-General of the Woods
+and Forests. The cost of the large undertaking was supposed to come
+out of the Queen’s privy purse, and it was not until after her death
+that it was found that Walpole had supplemented it out of the public
+funds. The West Bourne supplied the new river with sufficient water
+for some hundred years, after which new arrangements had to be made,
+as the stream had become too foul. The water supply now comes from two
+sources--one a well 400 feet deep at the west end of the Serpentine,
+where the formal fountains and basins were made, about 1861, in front
+of the building of Italian design covering the well. The sculptured
+vases and balustrade with sea-horses are by John Thomas. The water
+in the well stands 172 feet below the ground level, and the depth
+is continually increasing. It is pumped up to the “Round Pond,” and
+descends by gravity. The second supply comes from a well 28 feet deep
+in the gravel on “Duck Island,” in St. James’s Park. The water, which
+is 19 feet below the surface, remains constant, that level being the
+same as the water-bearing stratum of the Thames valley in London.
+It is pumped up to the Serpentine, and returns to the lake in St.
+James’s Park, supplying the lake in the gardens of Buckingham Palace
+on the way. The deep well provides about 120,000 gallons, and the
+shallow about 100,000 a day. The “Round Pond”--which, by the way, is
+not round--affords the greatest delight to the owners, of all ages,
+of miniature yachts of all sizes. There are the large boats with
+skilful masters, which sail triumphantly across the placid waters, and
+there are the small craft that spend days on the weeds, or founder
+amid “waves that run inches high,” like the good steamship _Puffin_
+in Anstey’s amusing poem. When the weeds are cut twice every summer,
+many pathetic little wrecks are raised to the surface, perchance to be
+restored to the expectant owners.
+
+Skating was an amusement in Hyde Park even before the Serpentine
+existed, and the older ponds often presented a gay scene in winter,
+although it was on the canal in St. James’s Park that the use of the
+modern skate is first recorded in Charles II.’s time.
+
+During the last hundred years Hyde Park has frequently been disturbed
+by mobs and rioters, until it has become the recognised place in which
+to air popular discontent in any form, or to ventilate any grievance.
+The first serious riot took place at the funeral of Queen Caroline, in
+1821. To avoid any popular demonstration of feeling, it was arranged
+that the funeral procession should not pass through the City. The Queen
+had died at Brandenburgh House, and was to be interred at Brunswick.
+Instead of going straight by way of Knightsbridge and Piccadilly, a
+circuitous route by Kensington, Bayswater, Islington, and Mile End
+was planned. On reaching Kensington Church, the mob prevented the
+turn towards Bayswater being taken. Hyde Park was thronged with an
+excited crowd, trying to force the escort to go the way it wished.
+At Cumberland Gate quite a severe encounter took place, in which the
+Life Guards twice charged the mob. Further down Oxford Street were
+barricades, and to avoid further rioting the procession eventually had
+to take the people’s route, passing quietly down to the Strand and
+through the City.
+
+The occasion of the Reform Bill riot in 1831, when the windows were
+smashed in Apsley House, is well known, and from 1855 to 1866 Hyde Park
+witnessed many turbulent demonstrations. The first occasion was in July
+1855 against Lord Robert Grosvenor’s “Sunday Trading Bill,” when some
+150,000 people assembled, and various scenes of disturbance took place.
+More or less serious riots were of frequent occurrence, until they
+culminated in the Reform League riot in July 1866, when the railings
+between Marble Arch and Grosvenor Gate “were entirely demolished, and
+the flower-beds were ruined.” The flower-beds had not been long in
+existence when they were wantonly damaged by the mob.
+
+[Illustration: AUTUMN BEDS, HYDE PARK]
+
+The idea of introducing flowers into the Park began about 1860, and the
+long rows of beds between Stanhope Gate and Marble Arch were made about
+that time, when Mr. Cowper Temple was First Commissioner of Works.
+They were made when “bedding out” was at the height of its fashion,
+when the one idea was to have large, glaring patches of bright flowers
+as dazzling as possible, or minute and intricate patterns carried
+out in carpet bedding. Now this plan has been considerably modified.
+The process of alteration has been slow, and the differences in some
+cases subtle, but the old stiffness and crudeness has been banished
+for ever. The harmony of colours, and variety of plants used, are the
+principal features in the present bedding out. It seems right that
+the Royal Parks should lead the way in originality and beauty, and
+undoubted success is frequently achieved, although even the style of
+to-day has its opponents. The chief objection from the more practical
+gardeners is the putting out of comparatively tender plants in
+the summer months, when the same general effect could be got with
+a less expenditure both of money and plants. But on the other hand
+numbers of people come to study the beds, note the combinations, and
+examine the use of certain plants which they would not otherwise have
+the opportunity of testing. The public who enjoy the results, and
+often those who most severely criticise, do not know the system on
+which the gardening is carried out. Many are even ignorant enough to
+suppose that the whole bedding out is contracted for, and few know the
+hidden recesses of Hyde Park, which produces everything for all the
+display, both there and in St. James’s Park. The old place in which all
+necessary plants were raised was a series of green-houses and frames
+in front of Kensington Palace. The erection of these pits and glass
+houses completely destroyed the design of the old garden, although even
+now the slope reveals the lines of the old terraces; and they entirely
+obscure the beauty of the Orangery. A few years ago three acres in
+the centre of Hyde Park were taken, on which to form fresh nurseries.
+Gradually better ranges have been built, and soon the old unsightly
+frames at Kensington will disappear. The new garden is so completely
+hidden that few have discovered its whereabouts. The ground selected
+lies to the north-west of the Ranger’s Lodge. There, a series of
+glass houses on the most approved plan, and rows of frames, have been
+erected. The unemployed have found work by excavating the ground to the
+depth of some eight feet, and the gravel taken out has made the wide
+walk across the Green Park and the alterations in the “Mall.” A wall
+and bank of shrubs and trees so completely hides even the highest house
+in which the palms--such as those outside the National Gallery--are
+stored, that it is quite invisible from the outside. There are
+storehouses for the bulbs, and nurseries where masses of wall-flowers,
+delphiniums, and all the hardier bedding plants, and those for the
+herbaceous borders, are grown. Of late years the number of beds in
+the Park has been considerably reduced, without any diminution of the
+effect. In 1903 as many as ninety were done away with between Grosvenor
+Gate and Marble Arch. There is now a single row of long beds instead
+of three rows with round ones at intervals. But even after all these
+reductions the area of flower beds and borders is very considerable, as
+the following table will show:--
+
+  +-----------------------------+----------------+----------------+
+  |                             | Area of Flower | Area of Flower |
+  |                             |     Beds.      |    Borders.    |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------+----------------+
+  |                             |    Sq. Yds.    |   Sq. Yds.     |
+  | Hyde Park                   |      1742      |     2975       |
+  | Kensington Gardens          |       345      |     3564       |
+  | St. James’s Park            |        30      |     2642       |
+  | Queen Victoria Memorial in  |      1270      |      ...       |
+  |  front of Buckingham Palace |                |                |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------+----------------+
+  |          Total              |      3687      |     9181       |
+  +-----------------------------+----------------+----------------+
+
+An event of historic importance which took place in Hyde Park was the
+Great Exhibition of 1851. Various sites, such as Battersea, Regent’s
+Park, Somerset House, and Leicester Square, were suggested, and the one
+chosen met with some opposition, but finally the space between Rotten
+Row and Knightsbridge Barracks was decided on. Plans were submitted
+for competition, and though 245 were sent in not one satisfied the
+committee, so, assisted by three well-known architects, they evolved a
+plan of their own. This was to be carried out in brick; the labour of
+removing it after the Exhibition would have been stupendous. It was
+when this plan was under consideration that Paxton showed his idea for
+the building of iron and glass so well known as the Crystal Palace. It
+was 1851 feet long and 408 wide, with a projection on the north 936
+feet by 48, and the building covered about 19 acres.
+
+One stipulation was made before the design was accepted, and that was
+that three great elm trees growing on the site should not be removed,
+but included in the building. To effect this, some alterations were
+made, and the trees were successfully encased in this Crystal Palace,
+and the old trunk of one of them is still standing in Hyde Park. There
+is a railing round it, but no tablet to record this strange chapter in
+its history. Some smaller trees were cut down, which led to a cartoon
+in _Punch_ and lines on the Prince Consort, who was the prime mover in
+all pertaining to the Great Exhibition.
+
+     “Albert! spare those trees,
+        Mind where you fix your show;
+      For mercy’s sake, don’t, please,
+        Go spoiling Rotten Row.”
+
+The Exhibition was opened by the Queen on May 1st. The enthusiasm it
+created in all sections of the population has known no parallel, and in
+the success and excitement the few small elm trees were soon forgotten
+by the delighted people, who raised cheers and shouted--
+
+            “Huzza for the Crystal Palace,
+      And the world’s great National Fair.”
+
+Hyde Park never saw more people than during the time it was open from
+the 1st of May to the 11th of October, as 6,063,986 persons visited the
+Exhibition, an average of 43,000 daily. Its success was phenomenal
+also from a financial point of view, as after all expenses were
+deducted there was a surplus of £150,000, with which the land from the
+Park to South Kensington was purchased, on which the Albert Hall and
+museums have been built.
+
+It seems to have been the complete originality of the whole structure
+that captivated all beholders. In his memoirs the eighth Duke of Argyll
+refers to the opening as the most beautiful spectacle he had ever seen.
+“Merely,” he writes, “as a spectacle of joy and of supreme beauty,
+the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851 stands in my memory as a
+thing unapproachable and alone. This supreme beauty was mainly in the
+building, not in its contents, nor even in the brilliant and happy
+throng that filled it. The sight was a new sensation, as if Fancy had
+been suddenly unveiled. Nothing like it had ever been seen before--its
+light-someness, its loftiness, its interminable vistas, its aisles and
+domes of shining and brilliant colouring.”
+
+It was with the recollection of this world-famous Exhibition fresh in
+men’s minds that the site for the Albert Memorial was chosen. The idea
+conceived by Sir Gilbert Scott was the reproduction on a large scale of
+a mediæval shrine or reliquary. When it was erected an alteration was
+made in some of the avenues in Kensington Gardens, so as to bring one
+into line with the Memorial. A fresh avenue of elms and planes straight
+to the monument was planted, which joined into the original one, and a
+few trees were dotted about to break the old line. As first planned,
+the avenue must have commanded a view of Paddington Church steeple in
+the vista.
+
+There is no better refutation of the theory that only plane trees will
+live in London, than an examination of the trees in Hyde Park and
+Kensington Gardens. An appendix to this volume gives a list of the
+trees and shrubs which have been planted there, and notes those which
+are not in existence, having proved unsuitable to London, or been
+removed from some other cause. Many people will doubtless be surprised
+at the length of the list. A large number of the trees are really fine
+specimens, and would do credit to any park in the kingdom. Take, for
+instance, some of the ash trees. There is a very fine group not very
+far from the Mount Gate inside Kensington Gardens. Two specimens with
+light feathery foliage, _Fraxinus lentiscifolia_ and _F. excelsior
+angustifolia_, when seen like lace against the sky, are remarkably
+pretty trees. Not far from them stand a good tulip tree and the last
+remaining of the old Scotch firs. The Ailanthus Avenue from the
+Serpentine Bridge towards Rotten Row, planted in 1876, is looking most
+prosperous. There are a few magnificent ancient sweet chestnuts above
+the bastion near the Magazine. The trees planted from time to time have
+wisely been grouped together according to species. Near the Ranger’s
+Lodge, outside the new frame-ground, some birches grow well, and their
+white stems are washed every year. The collection of pavias, which
+flower delightfully in the small three-cornered enclosure where the
+road divides at the Magazine, are most flourishing. To the south-west
+of the fountains at the end of the Serpentine, some very good Turkey
+and American oaks are growing into large trees. Several really old
+thorns are dotted about. In a walk from the “Round Pond,” by the stone
+which marks the boundary of three parishes, towards Bayswater, grand
+specimens of oak, ash, lime, elm, sweet and horse-chestnuts are met
+with. The avenue of horse-chestnuts is just as flourishing as those
+of planes or elms. In fact the whole Park shows how well trees will
+succeed if sufficient care is taken of them. One feature of the Park in
+old days was the Walnut Avenue, which grew nearly on the lines of the
+present trees between Grosvenor Gate and the Achilles Statue. They were
+decayed and were cut down in 1811, and the best of the wood was used
+for gunstocks for the army. It is a pity no walnut avenue was planted
+instead, as by now it would have been a fine shady walk. The old elms,
+which are of such great beauty in Hyde Park, have, alas! often to be
+sacrificed for the safety of passers-by, so that the recent severe
+lopping was necessary. Their great branches are the first to fall in
+a gale. Yet when one has to be removed there is an outcry, though
+people tamely submit to a whole row of trees being ruined by tram lines
+along the Embankment, so inconsistent is public opinion. It is almost
+incredible what narrow escapes from destruction even the beauty of Hyde
+Park has had. In 1884 a Metropolitan and Parks Railway Bill was before
+Parliament, which actually proposed to cross the Park by tunnels and
+cuttings which would have completely disfigured “The Dell” and other
+parts of the Park. In this utilitarian age nothing is sacred.
+
+The Dell had not been ten years in its present form when the proposal
+was made. The site of the Dell was a receiving lake, about 200 yards
+by 70, which had been made in 1734. This was done away with in 1844,
+and the overflow of the Serpentine allowed to pass over the artificial
+rocks which still remain. It was enveloped in a dark and dirty
+shrubbery, the haunt of all the ruffians and the worst characters who
+frequented the Park at night. The place was not safe to pass after
+dark, neither had it any beauty to recommend it. It was in this state
+when the present Lord Redesdale became Secretary of the Office of
+Works in 1874. He conceived the idea of turning it into a sub-tropical
+garden, designed the banks of the little stream, and introduced
+suitable planting, banishing the old shrubs, and merely using the best
+to form a background to the spireas, iris, giant coltsfoot, osmundas,
+day lilies, and such-like, which adorned the water’s edge in front. The
+dark history of the Dell is quite forgotten, and watching the ducks and
+rabbits playing about this pretty spot is one of the chief delights of
+Hyde Park.
+
+The monolith which stands near was brought from Liskeard in Cornwall
+by Mr. Cowper Temple, when First Commissioner of Works, and set up in
+its present place as a drinking-fountain in 1862. In 1887 the water was
+cut off it, the railings altered, and the turf laid round it, joining
+it on to the rest of the Dell. To Lord Redesdale are due also the
+rhododendrons which make such a glorious show on either side of Rotten
+Row. He contracted with Messrs. Anthony Waterer for a yearly supply, as
+they only look their best for a short time exposed to London air. In
+his time, too, many of the small flower-beds which were dotted about
+without much rhyme or reason were done away with, and the borders at
+the edge of the shrubs substituted.
+
+The latest addition to Hyde Park is the fountain presented by Sir
+Walter Palmer and put up near the end of the “Row” in 1906. The
+sculpture and design are the work of Countess Feodore Gleichen. The
+graceful figure of Artemis, with bow and arrow, and the supporting
+cariatides, are of bronze, the upper basin of Saravezza marble, and the
+lower of Tecovertino stone. The whole is most light and elegant, and
+shows up well against the dark trees.
+
+[Illustration: FOUNTAIN BY COUNTESS FEODOR GLEICHEN, HYDE PARK]
+
+It has only been possible to glance at the history and beauties of
+Hyde Park; many more pages could be written without touching on half
+of the incidents connected with it, between the days when it was
+monastic lands to the days of the modern Sunday “Church Parade.” It
+is interesting to trace the origin of the little customs with which
+every one is now familiar, but which once were new and original. For
+instance, the naming of trees and flowers in the Parks was first done
+about 1842, the idea having been suggested by Loudon, and carried out
+by Nash the architect, and George Don the botanist. Then the system
+of paying a penny for a seat began in 1820, but when some of the free
+seats were removed in 1859 there was a great outcry, and they were
+immediately put back. Then the meets of the Four-in-hand and Coaching
+Clubs, which are quite an institution in Hyde Park, only continue the
+tradition of the “Whip Club,” which first met in 1808. The history of
+the various gates calls for notice. The Marble Arch, designed by Nash,
+with ornaments by Flaxman, Westmacott, and Rossi, in Carrara marble,
+was moved from Buckingham Palace to its present position in 1851.
+Over £4000 was expended on the removal, while the original sum spent
+was £75,000. The statue of George IV. by Chantrey, now in Pall Mall
+East, was intended for the top, and cost 9000 guineas, and the bronze
+gates are by Samuel Parker. Near that corner of the Park was a stone
+where soldiers were shot, and one of the historians of the Park
+states that it is still there, only covered over with earth when the
+new Cumberland Gate was made in 1822. Apsley Gate at Hyde Park Corner
+was designed by Decimus Burton, and put up in 1827, and he planned the
+arch forming the entrance to Constitution Hill the following year. The
+stags, by Bartolozzi, on Albert Gate, came from the Ranger’s Lodge in
+Green Park. Grosvenor Gate was opened about 1724, and Stanhope Gate
+some twenty-five years later. All the others are more modern.
+
+Those who wish to pursue the subject further will find such details
+more or less accessible in various guide-books. But to every one the
+Park, with all its charms, its beauties, and its memories, is open,
+and it is certain that the better it is known the more it will be
+appreciated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+ST. JAMES’S AND GREEN PARKS
+
+      _Near this my Muse, what most delights her, sees
+      A living Gallery of Aged Trees:
+      Bold sons of Earth, that thrust their Arms so high,
+      As if once more they would invade the Sky._
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      _Here Charles contrives the ord’ring of his States;
+      Here he resolves his neighb’ring Princes’ Fates;_
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      _A Prince on whom such diff’rent Lights did smile,
+      Born the divided World to reconcile.
+      Whatever Heav’n or high extracted Blood
+      Could promise or foretel, he’ll make it good,
+      Reform these Nations, and improve them more
+      Than this fair Park, from what it was before._
+
+                --ST. JAMES’S PARK: “Poetical Essay,” by Waller.
+
+
+The opening history of St. James’s and Green Parks is similar to that
+of Hyde Park. They formed part of the same manor in early days, and
+became Crown property in Henry VIII.’s time. St. James’s Park was
+chiefly a marsh. The Thames overflowed its banks nearly every year,
+and the low-lying parts were a swamp and the haunt of wild fowl, and
+the chief use of the Park was for the sport the wild birds afforded.
+The Tyburn flowed through it on its way from where it crossed the
+modern Oxford Street to where it joined the Thames, a little west of
+where Vauxhall Bridge afterwards stood. It passed right across Green
+Park, where the depression of its valley can still be traced between
+Half Moon Street and Down Street. The name, St. James’s, originated
+with the hospital for lepers, dedicated to St. James, on the site of
+the present palace. The exact date of its foundation is lost in the
+mists of antiquity, but it was established by the citizens of London,
+“before the time of any man’s memorie, for 14 Sisters, maydens,
+that were leprous, living chastly and honestly in Divine Service.”
+Later, there were further gifts of land and money from the citizens,
+and “8 brethren to minister Divine Service there” were added to the
+foundation. All these gifts were subsequently confirmed by Edward I.,
+who granted a fair to be held for seven days, commencing on the eve of
+St. James’s Day, in St. James’s Fields, which belonged to the hospital.
+The letting out of the land for booths became a source of further
+income to the lepers. Stowe shortly tells the subsequent history.
+“This Hospital was surrendered to Henry the 8 the 23 of his reigne:
+the Sisters being compounded with were allowed Pensions for terme of
+their lives, and the King builded there a goodly Mannor, annexing
+thereunto a Park, closed about with a wall of brick, now called St.
+James’s Parke, serving indifferently to the said Mannor, and to the
+Mannor or Palace of Whitehall.” At first sight the summary ejection of
+these helpless creatures appears unusually heartless, even for those
+days; but leprosy, which during the time of the Crusades had grown to a
+formidable extent, was declining in the sixteenth century in England.
+It is probable, therefore, that the poor outcast sisters, possessed of
+their pensions, would be able to find shelter in one of the other leper
+hospitals, of which there were still a number in the country.
+
+The space between Whitehall and Westminster, acquired from the
+Abbey, was turned into an orchard. The site of Montagu House was the
+bowling-green of the Palace, which stretched to the river. A high
+terrace and flight of steps led to the Privy Garden of Whitehall,
+so, except for the Palace and the Westminster group, there were no
+buildings between the river and the Park. It requires some stretch of
+the imagination to efface the well-known edifices which now surround
+it, and to see it in its natural state. Flights of wild birds would
+pass from the marshy ground to the river, unchecked by the pile of
+Government offices. Behind the Leper Hospital lay fields and scattered
+houses. The far-off villages of Knightsbridge and Chelsea would
+scarcely come into sight, while beyond the village of Charing the
+walls and towers of the City would loom in the distance. Henry VIII.
+made some alterations, and may have partially drained the ground and
+stocked it with deer. Old maps show a pond at the west end, near the
+present Wellington Barracks, called Rosamund’s Pond. The origin of the
+name is uncertain, but “Rosemonsbore, or Rosamund’s Bower,” occurs
+in a lease of land near this spot from the Abbey of Westminster as
+early as 1520. Hard by was a “mount,” such as was to be seen in every
+sixteenth-century garden, probably with an arbour and seat on the top
+to overlook the pond. The first mention of St. James’s as a Park is in
+1539, on an occasion described in Hall’s Chronicle, when Henry VIII.
+held a review of the city militia. “The King himself,” writes the
+chronicler, “would see the people of the Citie muster in sufficient
+nombre....” Some 15,000, leaving the City after passing by St. Paul’s
+Churchyard, went “directly to Westminster and so through the Sanctuary
+and round about the Park of St. James, and so up into the fields and
+came home through Holborne.”
+
+It was not until James I.’s time that the Park began to be esteemed
+as a resort for those attached to the Court. Prince Henry, the elder
+brother of Charles I., made the tilting-ring on the site of the present
+Horse Guards’ Parade, and brought the enclosure more into vogue for
+games. James I. made use of the Park for his own hobbies, one of which
+was the encouragement of growing vines and mulberries in England. He
+planted considerable vineyards, and in 1609 he sent a circular letter
+to the Lords-Lieutenant of each county, ordering them to announce
+that the following spring a thousand mulberry trees would be sent to
+each county town, and people were required to buy them at the rate of
+three-farthings a plant. To further prosecute his plan, the King set an
+example by planting a mulberry orchard at the end of St. James’s Park.
+The place afterwards became a fashionable tea garden, and Buckingham
+Palace is partly built on the site. The King kept also quite a large
+menagerie of beasts and birds presented to him by various crowned
+heads, or sent to him by friends and favourites. There are records
+of elephants, camels, antelopes, beavers, crocodiles, wild boars,
+and sables, besides many kinds of birds. The keepers of the animals
+received large salaries, and the cost of the care of these beasts
+would frighten the Zoological Society of to-day. No expense was spared
+to give the best and most suitable surroundings to the animals. For
+instance, as much as £286 was expended in 1618 by Robert Wood, the
+keeper of the cormorants, ospreys, and otters, “in building a place to
+keep the said cormorants in and making nine fish-ponds on land within
+the vine garden at Westminster.” Fish were put in for these creatures,
+and a sluice was made to bring water from the Thames to fill the
+ponds. These strange beasts and birds and their attendants must have
+been a quaint and unusual sight. The keepers were dressed in red cloth
+(which cost nine shillings a yard), embroidered with “I.R.” in Venice
+gold, and must have added to the picturesque appearance of this early
+Zoological Garden.
+
+Gradually the Park became more and more a favourite place in which to
+stroll. Others were admitted besides the Court circle, the privilege
+being first accorded to the tenants of the houses at Westminster.
+Milton, who lived at one time in Petty France, near where Queen Anne’s
+Gate now stands, planted a tree in the garden overlooking the Park,
+which survived until recent times, would be one of those to enjoy the
+advantage. Charles I. passed this way on his last journey to Whitehall
+on the fatal 30th of January, and tradition says he paused to notice a
+tree planted by his brother Henry. During the Commonwealth, the Park
+still was resorted to. In the sprightly letters of Dorothy Osborne to
+Sir William Temple are some vivid little touches in reference to it.
+She writes from the country in March 1654: “And hark you, can you tell
+me whether the gentleman that lost a crystal box the 1st of February
+in St. James’s Park or Old Spring Gardens has found it again or not?
+I have a strong curiosity to know.” Again, in June of the same year,
+she writes from London, where she was paying a visit: “I’ll swear they
+will not allow me time for anything; and to show how absolutely I am
+governed, I need but tell you that I am every night in the Park and at
+New Spring Gardens, where, though I come with a mask, I cannot escape
+being known nor my conversation being admired.”
+
+The most brilliant days of its history began, however, in Charles
+II.’s reign. He entirely remodelled it, and began the work soon after
+his return from exile, imbued with foreign ideas of gardening. It has
+always been supposed that Le Nôtre was responsible for the designs, and
+it has often been asserted that he himself came to England to see them
+carried out. But close investigation has furnished no proof of this,
+and it is practically certain that, although invited, and allowed by
+Louis XIV. to come to England, he never actually did so. Other “French
+gardeners” certainly came, and one of them, La Quintinge, made many
+English friends, and kept up a correspondence with them after his
+return to France. Perrault probably visited London also, and may have
+superintended the “French gardeners” who were employed on St. James’s
+Park. They transformed the whole place. Avenues--the Mall and “Birdcage
+Walk”--were planted. A straight canal passed down the middle, and at
+the end, near the present Foreign Office, was the duck decoy. The
+“Birdcage Walk” is no fantastic title, for birds were literally kept
+there in cages. These were probably aviaries for large birds, and not
+little hanging cages, as has been sometimes suggested. A well-known
+passage occurs in Evelyn’s Diary, 1664, where he enumerates some of
+the birds and beasts he saw during one of his walks through the Park.
+The pelican delighted him, although “a melancholy waterfowl,” and he
+watched the skilful way it devoured fish; and it is not surprising
+that he recorded the strange fact that one of the two Balearian cranes
+had a wooden leg, made by a soldier, with a joint, so that the bird
+could “walk and use it as well as if it had been natural”; and he
+speaks with interest of a solan goose, a stork, a milk-white raven,
+and “a curious sort of poultry,” besides “deer of several countries,”
+antelopes, elk, “Guinea goats, Arabian sheep, etc.” The duck decoy
+lay at the south-west end of the long canal, which formed part of the
+new French design. This “duck island” was rather a series of small
+islands, as it was intersected by canals and reed-covered channels
+for catching duck. This was a favourite resort of Charles II., who
+has often been described feeding his ducks in St. James’s Park. To
+be keeper of the ducks, or “Governor of Duck Island,” was granted to
+St. Evremond, an excuse for bestowing a yearly salary on a favourite.
+The birds continued after the King, who had found in them a special
+recreation, had passed away. In William III.’s time the Park is still
+described as “full of very fine walkes and rowes of trees, ponds, and
+curious birds, Deer, and some fine Cows.” A Dutch traveller who was
+in England from 1693–96 notices the famous old white raven. By that
+time the ducks were no longer the fashion, and evidently there was an
+inclination to despise the former craze for wild fowl. A Frenchman,
+named M. de Sorbiere, visited England about this time, and wrote an
+account of his impressions. Some of his adverse criticisms of English
+people and institutions got him into trouble. A supposed translation
+of his book was published in 1698, and until 1709 was held to be a
+correct version. In reality it was a clever skit, and not in the least
+like the original. In the true version he describes the Park with its
+rows of trees and “admirable prospect” of the suburbs, and mentions
+that the King had “erected a tall Pile in the Park, the better to make
+use of Telescopes, with which Sir Robert Murray shew’d me Saturn and
+the Satellites of Jupiter.” Not a word about the ducks. But in the
+spurious parody of 1698 there is a humorous description, which shows
+how the next generation laughed at the amusements of King Charles II.
+“I was at St. James’s Park; there were no Pavillions, nor decoration
+of Treilliage and Flowers; but I saw there a vast number of Ducks;
+these were a most surprising sight. I could not forbear to say to Mr.
+Johnson, who was pleased to accompany me in this Walk, that sure all
+the ponds in England had contributed to this profussion of Ducks; which
+he took so well, that he ran immediately to an Old Gentleman that
+sate in a Chair, and was feeding of ’em. He rose up very obligingly,
+embraced me, and saluted me with a Kiss, and invited me to Dinner;
+telling me he was infinitely oblig’d to me for flattering the King’s
+Ducks.”
+
+Little attention was paid to the wild fowl in the Park after that
+date, until the Prince Consort took an interest in them. In 1841 he
+became the Patron of the Ornithological Society, and the cottage on
+Duck Island was built for the Bird-keeper. For some thirty years the
+Society flourished, and kept up the supply and cared for the birds in
+the Park. In 1867, however, their numbers were greatly reduced, and
+the Society sold their collection of birds to H.M. Office of Works,
+which has since then had them under its charge. It is pleasant to know
+that the old tradition of the wild fowl in that part of the Park is
+maintained. Although the duck pond of King Charles’s time must have
+looked somewhat different from that of to-day, the birds can be made as
+much at home, and they nest peacefully on the modern Duck Island, its
+direct descendant. Moorhens and dabchicks, or little grebes, have for
+the last twenty years nested in the Park. They used to leave for the
+breeding season, but since 1883, when the first moorhen nested, they
+have gradually taken to remaining contentedly all through the year, and
+bring up their young there. Birds seem to choose the Park to rest in,
+and many migratory ones have been noticed. Kingfishers have recently
+been let out near the site of the ancient bird cages, in the hope that
+they may carry on the historic association.
+
+[Illustration: CROCUSES IN EARLY SPRING, ST. JAMES’S PARK]
+
+The cows, which were a part of ancient history, as were the birds,
+have not been so fortunate. Although a newspaper clamour in defence
+of the cows was raised, the few remaining were finally banished in
+1905, when the alterations in the Mall were made. These survivals
+standing by the dusty stalls could scarcely be called picturesque;
+and although interest undoubtedly was attached to them as venerable
+survivals of an old custom, they hardly suggested the rural simplicity
+of the days when cows were really pastured in the Park. For over two
+centuries grazing was let to the milk-women who sold milk at the end
+of the Park, near Whitehall. They paid half-a-crown a week, and after
+1772 three shillings a week, for the right to feed cattle in the Park.
+A Frenchman, describing St. James’s at that time, is astonished at
+its rural aspect. “In that part nearest Westminster nature appears
+in all its rustic simplicity; it is a meadow, regularly intersected
+and watered by canals, and with willows and poplars, without any
+regard to order. On this side, as well as on that towards St.
+James’s Palace, the grass plots are covered with cows and deer, where
+they graze or chew the cud, some standing, some lying down upon the
+grass.... Agreeably to this rural simplicity, most of these cows are
+driven, about noon and evening, to the gate which leads from the Park
+to the quarter of Whitehall. Tied to posts at the extremity of the
+grass plots, they swill passengers with their milk, which, being drawn
+from their udders on the spot, is served, with all cleanliness peculiar
+to the English, in little mugs at the rate of a penny a mug.” The
+combination of the gay crowd in hooped petticoats, brilliant coats, and
+powdered wigs, with the peaceful, green meadows and the browsing deer
+and cows, forms an attractive picture.
+
+All this had changed long before the final departure of the cattle,
+when the last old woman was pensioned off, and the sheds carted away.
+A use was found for the fragments of the concrete foundations of the
+last milkmaid’s stall. They were made into a sort of rockery, on which
+Alpine plants grow well, to support the bank at the entrance to the new
+frame-grounds at Hyde Park.
+
+But to return to Charles II.’s time, when the cows were undisturbed.
+The great feature of what Pepys calls the “brave alterations” was the
+canal. He mentions more than one visit when the works were in progress.
+In October 1660 he went “to walk in St. James’s Park, where we observed
+the several engines at work to draw up water, with which sight I was
+very much pleased.” The canal, when finished, was 2800 feet long and
+100 broad, and ran through the centre of the Park, beginning near
+the north end of. Rosamund’s Pond. An avenue of trees was planted on
+either side, passing down between the canal and the duck decoy to a
+semicircular double avenue near the tilting-ground. Deer wandered under
+fine old oaks between the canal and the avenues of “the Mall.” These
+old trees have gradually disappeared, as much through gales as from the
+wanton destruction of the would-be improver. At the hour of Cromwell’s
+death, when the storm was so fierce the Royalists said it was due to
+fiends coming to claim their own, much havoc was wrought; and from
+time to time similar destructions have taken place, one of the most
+serious being in November 1703, when part of the wall and over 100 elms
+were blown down. Another notable gale was on March 15, 1752, when many
+people lost their lives. “In St. James’s Park and the villages about
+the metropolis great numbers of trees were demolished.”
+
+The broad pathway, between avenues on the opposite side of the Park
+to the Birdcage Walk, now called the Mall, derives this name from the
+game of “paille-maille,” which is known to have been played in France
+as early as the thirteenth century, and which was popular in England
+in the seventeenth. The locality, however, where it was first played
+in James I.’s time was on the northern side of the street, which is
+still called from it, Pall Mall. In those days fields stretched away
+beyond where now St. James’s Square lies, and a single row of houses
+lay between the playground and the Park. As the game became more the
+fashion, the coaches and dust were found too disturbing for enjoyment,
+and a new ground was laid out, running parallel to the old one, but
+within the Park. The game is considered by some to be a forerunner of
+croquet, as it was played with a ball (= _pila_) and mallet, the name
+being derived from these two words. One or more hoops had to be passed
+through, and a peg at the further end touched. The winner was the
+player who passed the hoops and reached the peg in the fewest number of
+strokes. The whole course measured over 600 yards, and was kept brushed
+and smooth, and the ground prepared by coating the earth with crushed
+shells, which, however, remarked Pepys, “in dry weather turns to dust
+and deads the ball.” Both Charles II. and James II. were much addicted
+to the game, and the flattering poet Waller eulogises King Charles’s
+“matchless” skill:--
+
+      “No sooner has he touched the flying ball,
+       But ’tis already more than half the Mall.”
+
+The Park was by his time a much-frequented spot, and crowds delighted
+to watch the King and his courtiers displaying their dexterity.
+Charles II. is more intimately connected with St. James’s Park than
+any other great personage. He sauntered about, fed his ducks, played
+his games, and made love to fair ladies, all with indulgent, friendly
+crowds watching. He stood in the “Green Walk,” beneath the trees, to
+talk with Nell Gwynn, in her garden “on a terrace on the top of the
+wall” overlooking the Park; and shocked John Evelyn, who records, in
+his journal, that he heard and saw “a very familiar discourse between
+the King and Mrs. Nelly.” Charles’s well-known reply to his brother,
+that no one would ever kill him to put James on the throne, was said
+in answer to James’s protest that he should not venture to roam about
+so much without attendants in the Park. His dogs often accompanied
+him, and perhaps, like most of their descendants, these pets had a
+sporting instinct, and ran off to chase the deer. Anyhow, they managed
+frequently to escape their master’s vigilance, and fell a prey to the
+unscrupulous thief, and descriptions of the missing dogs were published
+in the Gazette. One, answering to the name Towser, was “liver colour’d
+and white spotted”; and a “dogg of His Majestie’s, full of blew spots,
+with a white cross on his forehead about the bigness of a tumbler,” was
+lost on another occasion.
+
+Charles with his dogs, his ducks, his wit, his engaging manners, his
+doubtful morals, is the central figure of many a picture in St. James’s
+Park, but it does not often form a background to his Queen. One scene
+described by Pepys has much charm. The party, returning from Hyde Park
+on horseback with a great crowd of gallants, pass down the Mall; the
+Queen, riding hand in hand with the King, looking “mighty pretty” in
+her white laced coat and crimson petticoat. Again, on another occasion,
+the Queen forms an attractive vision, as she walks with her ladies from
+Whitehall to St. James’s dressed from head to foot in silver lace, each
+holding an immense green fan to shade themselves from the fierce rays
+of the June sun, while a delighted crowd throng round them.
+
+The popularity of the Mall as the rendezvous of all classes lasted for
+over a century. Through the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. and II.
+all the fashionable world of London congregated there twice daily.
+In the morning the promenade took them there from twelve to two, and
+after dinner in full dress they thronged thither again, not to play
+the game of paille-maille, which was then out of fashion, but simply
+to walk about under the trees and be amused with races, wrestlings,
+or an impromptu dance. Every well-known person--courtiers, wits,
+beaux, writers, poets, artists, soldiers--and all the beautiful and
+fascinating women, great ladies as well as more humble charmers, and
+bold adventuresses, were to be seen there daily.
+
+The crowds seem to have been very free in their admiration of some
+of the distinguished ladies. When the three lovely Misses Gunning
+captivated everybody with their wit and beauty, they had only to appear
+in the Mall to be surrounded by admirers. On one occasion they were so
+pressed by the curious mob that one of these matchless young charmers
+fainted and had to be “carried home in a sedan.”
+
+On looking at an old print of the ladies in their thin dresses walking
+in the Mall, it is customary to bemoan the change of climate, to wonder
+if our great-great-grand-mothers were supernaturally strong and not
+sensitive to cold, or to conclude that they only paraded there in fine
+weather. Apparently this last is not the correct solution, for in 1765
+they astonished Monsieur Grosley by their disregard of the elements.
+He is horrified at the fog. “The smoke,” he writes, “forms a cloud
+which envelopes London like a mantle; a cloud which the sun pervades
+but rarely; a cloud which, recoiling back upon itself, suffers the sun
+to break out only now and then, which casual appearance procures the
+Londoners a few of what they call _glorious days_. The great love of
+the English for walking defies the badness of other days. On the 26th
+April, St. James’s Park, incessantly covered with fogs, smoke, and
+rain, that scarce left a possibility of distinguishing objects at a
+distance of four steps, was filled with walkers, who were an object of
+musing and admiration to me during the whole day.” Few ladies nowadays
+fear a little fog or rain, but to walk in it they must be attired in
+short skirts, thick boots, and warm or mackintosh coats. It must
+have been much more distressing in the days of powdered hair, picture
+hats, and flimsy garments. No wonder M. Grosley was astounded at the
+persistence of the poor draggled ladies.
+
+All foreign visitors to London naturally went to see the Mall. Here is
+the account of a German baron, describing the man of the world: “He
+rises late, dresses himself in a frock (close-fitting garment, without
+pockets, and with narrow sleeves), leaves his sword at home, takes
+his cane, and goes where he likes. Generally he takes his promenade
+in the Park, for that is the exchange for the men of quality. ’Tis
+such another place as the Garden of the Tuileries in Paris, only the
+Park has a certain beauty of simplicity which cannot be described. The
+grand walk is called the Mall. It is full of people at all hours of the
+day, but especially in the morning and evening, when their Majesties
+often walk there, with the royal family, who are attended only by
+half-a-dozen Yeomen of the Guard, and permit all persons to walk at the
+same time with them.”
+
+A writer in 1727, waxing eloquent on the charms of the Park, gives
+up the task of describing it, as “the beauty of the Mall in summer
+is almost past description.” “What can be more glorious than to view
+the body of the nobility of our three kingdoms in so short a compass,
+especially when freed from mixed crowds of saucy fops and city gentry?”
+But more often the company was very mixed, and manners peculiar. This
+brilliant and motley assembly indulged in all kinds of amusements. Even
+the grandest frequenters afforded diversion sometimes to the “saucy
+fops.” Wrestling matches between various courtiers attracted crowds,
+or a race such as one between the Duke of Grafton and Dr. Garth, of
+200 yards, was the excitement of the day. There were odd and original
+races got up, and wagers freely staked. Some inhuman parents backed
+their baby of eighteen months old to walk the whole length of the Mall
+(half a mile) in thirty minutes, and the poor little mite performed the
+feat in twenty-three minutes. What comments would modern philanthropic
+societies have made on such a performance!
+
+A race between a fat cook and a lean footman caused great merriment,
+but as the footman was handicapped by carrying 110 lbs., the fat cook
+won. Another time it was a hopping-race which engrossed attention--a
+man undertook to hop one hundred yards in fifty hops, and succeeded
+in doing it in forty-six--and endless variety of similar follies. The
+crowds who assembled indulged in every sort of gaiety; “in short, no
+freedoms that can be taken here are reckoned indecent; all passes for
+raillery and harmless gallantry.”
+
+Although open to all the world for walking, only royal personages or
+a few specially favoured people were allowed to drive through. It was
+one of the grievances of the Duchess of Marlborough when the Duke was
+in disgrace that the privilege of driving her coach and six through
+the Park was denied her. The remaining restrictions with regard to
+carriages have only passed away in very recent years. The notice board
+stating that Members of Parliament during the session might drive
+through the Park from Great George Street to Marlborough House was
+only removed when the road was opened to all traffic in 1887, and
+Constitution Hill only became a public highway in 1889. The use of the
+road passing under the Horse Guards’ Archway is still restricted to
+those who receive special permission from the sovereign.
+
+The Park had never been drained, and had always shown signs of its
+marshy origin, and “Duck Island” was really a natural swamp. An
+unusually high tide flooded the low-lying end where the Horse Guards’
+Parade and the houses of Downing Street with their little gardens now
+stand. What state secrets they could divulge had they the power of
+speech! The tilting-ground was often in a condition quite unfit for the
+exercise of troops, so with a view to preventing this, it was paved
+with stone early in the eighteenth century. It has always been used
+for military displays, and the trooping of the colours on the King’s
+birthday takes place on the same ground which witnessed the brilliant
+scene when the colours, thirty-eight in number, captured at the battle
+of Blenheim were conveyed to Westminster Abbey. On the parade-ground
+now stands the gun cast at Seville, used by Soult at Cadiz, and taken
+after the battle of Salamanca. Here many an impressive ceremony of
+distributing medals, and countless parades, have taken place through
+many generations. Here, with the brutality of old days, corporal
+punishment was administered, and offending soldiers were flogged in
+full view of the merry-making crowds assembled in the Park. Round the
+Park lay other marshy lands, also frequently flooded by the Thames, and
+it was not surprising that on one occasion an otter found its way from
+the river and settled down on Duck Island and there grew fat on the
+King’s carp. Sir Robert Walpole sent to Houghton for his otter-hounds,
+and an exciting hunt ensued, in which the Duke of Cumberland took part,
+and the offending otter was captured.
+
+Rosamund’s Pond had, in the course of time, become stagnant and
+unpleasant, and there were frequent complaints of its unsavoury
+condition. About 1736 a machine for pumping out water was invented
+by a Welshman, and used successfully to empty the pond, and it was
+thoroughly cleansed. Thirty years later the same evil began again to be
+a nuisance, and it was decided to drain and fill up the pond entirely,
+which was accomplished about 1772. The trees on the island were felled,
+and those near the bank died from the lack of water, so at first the
+absence of the slimy pond must have been disfiguring. The shady walk
+near it, known as the Close Walk or the Jacobites’ Walk, must have
+disappeared when the trees died. About the same time the swampy moat
+round Duck Island was filled up and the canal cleaned out. When these
+improvements were completed in 1775 some birds were put on the canal.
+One of them was a swan called Jack, belonging to Queen Charlotte, which
+was reared in the garden of Buckingham House. This bird ruled the roost
+for many a day, and was a popular favourite. It lived until 1840, when
+some new arrivals, in the shape of Polish geese, pecked and ill-treated
+the poor old bird so seriously that he died.
+
+About 1786 fashion began to desert the Mall for the Green Park, and the
+crowds which collected there were no longer intermingled with the Court
+circle. In a letter to her daughter Madame Roland describes the company
+in the Mall as very different from what it was a few years earlier,
+for though it was “very brilliant on a Sunday evening, and full of
+well-to-do people and well-dressed women, in general they are all
+tradespeople and citizens.” A generation later the Mall seems to have
+become quite deserted. Sir Richard Phillips, in his morning’s walk
+from London to Kew in 1817, bemoans the absence of the gay throng:--
+
+“My spirits sank, and a tear started into my eyes, as I brought to mind
+those crowds of beauty, rank, and fashion which, until within these few
+years, used to be displayed in the centre Mall of this Park on Sunday
+evenings during spring and summer. How often in my youth had I been
+the delighted spectator of the enchanted and enchanting assemblage.
+Here used to promenade, for one or two hours after dinner, the whole
+British world of gaiety, beauty, and splendour. Here could be seen in
+one moving mass, extending the whole length of the Mall, 5000 of the
+most lovely women in this country of female beauty, all splendidly
+attired, and accompanied by as many well-dressed men. What a change,
+I exclaimed, has a few years wrought in these once happy and cheerful
+personages! How many of those who on this very spot then delighted my
+eyes are now mouldering in the silent grave!”
+
+About 1730 Queen Caroline, who was then busy with the alterations in
+Hyde Park, turned her attention to what is now known as the Green Park
+also. It had all formed part of St. James’s Park, and was known as the
+Upper Park or Little St. James’s Park. It was enclosed by a brick wall
+in 1667 by Charles II., who stocked it with deer. In the centre of
+the Park an ice-house was made, at that time a great novelty in this
+country, although well known in France and Italy. In his poem on St.
+James’s Park Waller alludes to it:--
+
+     “Yonder the harvest of cold months laid up
+        Gives a fresh coolness to the royal cup;
+      There ice like crystal firm and never lost
+        Tempers hot July with December’s frost.”
+
+No further alterations were made, except that, in 1681, Charles
+effected an exchange of land with the Earl of Arlington, on which,
+a few years later, Arlington Street was built. The path which runs
+parallel with the backs of these houses was Queen Caroline’s idea,
+and she used it frequently herself, and it became known as the
+“Queen’s Walk.” The houses overlooking the Park went up in value as
+the occupants could enjoy the sight of the Queen and the Princesses
+taking their daily walk. The line of this path is no longer the same,
+as a piece was cut off the Park in 1795 and leased to the Duke of
+Bridgewater to add to the garden of his house. The Queen also built
+a pavilion known as the Queen’s Library in the Park, where she spent
+some time after her morning promenades. Although Queen Caroline took
+to the Upper Park, the world of fashion did not follow at once, and it
+was not until about 1786 that the Green Park for some reason suddenly
+became the rage. The only incident of historic interest between this
+date and the making of the road was the celebration of the end of the
+War of Succession in the spring following the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.
+A great pavilion like a Doric temple, 410 feet long and 114 feet high,
+was erected near the wall separating the Green Park from St. James’s,
+and on the 27th of April a grand display of fireworks was arranged.
+A fire, however, broke out just as the performance was beginning,
+when a grand overture composed by Handel had been performed, and the
+King and dense crowds were watching the illuminations. The flames
+were got under, but not before much of the temporary building had
+been destroyed, and the greater part of the fireworks perished in the
+flames, and several fatal and serious accidents further marred the
+entertainment.
+
+Near the top of the Park was a reservoir or “fine piece of water”
+belonging to the Chelsea Waterworks, and the path round it was included
+in the fashionable promenade by those who paraded in the Queen’s Walk
+after dinner. Lower down, where there is still a depression, was a
+little pond, originally part of the Tyburn stream. The “green stagnant
+pool” was abused by a writer in 1731, who regretted that trees had just
+been planted near it, which probably meant that the offensive pool
+would “not soon be removed.” The prophecy was correct, for it was more
+than a hundred years later before this was filled up. The Park wall
+ran along Piccadilly, and here and there, as was often the case in the
+eighteenth century, there were gaps with iron rails, through which
+glimpses of the Park could be obtained. Some persons had private keys
+to the gates leading into the Park from Piccadilly. Daring robberies
+were by no means uncommon, and thieves, having done mischief in the
+streets near Piccadilly on more than one occasion, were found to be
+provided with keys to the gates, through which they could make their
+escape into the Park and elude their pursuers. The Ranger’s Lodge stood
+on the northern side, and was rebuilt and done up in 1773. It was made
+so attractive that there was great competition, when it was completed,
+to be Deputy-ranger and live there. The two stags which now stand
+on Albert Gate, Hyde Park, once adorned the gates of this Ranger’s
+Lodge. It is described in 1792 as “a very neat lodge surrounded by
+a shrubbery, which renders it enchantingly rural.” When George III.
+bought Buckingham House, then an old red-brick mansion, he took away
+the wall which separated the Green Park from St. James’s, and put a
+railing instead. In this wall was another lodge, and a few trees near
+it, known as the Wilderness.
+
+The aspect of the Mall has greatly changed since the days when its
+fashion was at its height. Then the gardens of St. James’s Palace ran
+the whole length of the north side from the Palace towards Whitehall.
+Stephen Switzer, writing in 1715, extols the beauty of the garden,
+which by his time was cut up and partly built on. “The Royal Garden in
+St. James’s Park, part of which is now in the possession of the Right
+Honourable Lord Carlton, and the upper part belonging to Marlborough
+House, was of that King’s [Charles II.] planting, which were in the
+remembrance of most people the finest Lines of Dwarfs perhaps in the
+Universe. Mr. London” ... presumed “before Monsieur de la Quintinye,
+the famous French gardener, ... to challenge all France with the like,
+and if France, why not the whole World?”
+
+Carlton House, a red-brick building, with the stone portico now in
+front of the National Gallery, was built in 1709 on part of this
+garden. Some twenty years later, before it was purchased by Frederick,
+Prince of Wales, the grounds belonging to the house were laid out by
+Kent. Until Carlton House was pulled down in 1827, therefore, the Mall
+was bounded on the north by choice gardens. Between the Mall and the
+walls of these gardens ran the “Green Walk,” or “Duke Humphrey’s Walk,”
+as it was also often called. The origin of the latter name is to be
+traced to old St. Paul’s. The monument to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
+in the centre aisle of old St. Paul’s Cathedral was where “poore
+idlers” and “careless mal-contents” congregated--
+
+     “Poets of Paules, those of Duke Humfrye’s messe
+      That feed on nought but graves and emptinesse.”
+
+When Duke Humphrey’s Walk in St. Paul’s was burnt the name became
+attached to the walk in St. James’s Park, where idlers also sauntered.
+Some writers attribute the transference of the name to the fact that
+the arched walk under the trees was like the cathedral aisle. Anyhow
+the name clung to this walk in the Park from 1666 and during the
+eighteenth century.
+
+When Carlton House became the centre of attraction the Park itself was
+in a very neglected state. The canal was turbid, the grass long, and
+the seats unpainted. How long it would have remained in this condition
+is uncertain had not a new impulse of gardening possessed the whole
+nation, and once more it was resolved to alter the entire Park.
+
+The rage for landscape gardening was at its height. Capability Brown
+had done his work of destruction, and set the fashion of “copying
+nature,” and his successors were following on his lines, but going
+much further even than Brown. The sight of a straight canal had become
+intolerable. The Serpentine was designed when the idea that it might be
+possible to make the banks of artificial sheets of water in anything
+but a perfectly straight line was just dawning, but the canal in St.
+James’s Park was transformed when half the stiff ponds and canals in
+the kingdom had been twisted and turned into lakes or meres. Brown had
+had a hand in the alterations at the time Rosamund’s Pond was removed,
+but it was Eyton who planned and executed the work fifty years later.
+It was begun in 1827, and a contemporary writer praises the result as
+“the best obliteration of avenues” that has been effected. Although he
+owns it involved “a tremendous destruction of fine elms,” he is lost
+in admiration of the “astounding ingenuity” which “converted a Dutch
+canal into a fine flowing river, with incurvated banks, terminated
+at one end by a planted island and at the other by a peninsula.” A
+permanent bridge was first made across the water about this time.
+Previously a temporary one had been made when the Allied Sovereigns
+visited London in 1814--a kind of Chinese design by Nash, surmounted
+by a pagoda of seven storeys. It was this flimsy edifice which made
+Canova say the thing that struck him most in England was that Waterloo
+Bridge was the work of a private company, while this bridge was put up
+by the Government. It was on the canal in St. James’s Park that skates
+of a modern type first appeared in London. Bone ones were in use much
+earlier on Moorfields. Both Evelyn and Pepys saw the new pattern first
+in the Park in 1662. Two years later Pepys notes going to the canal
+with the Duke of York, “where, though the ice was broken and dangerous,
+yet he would go slide upon his scates, which I did not like, but he
+slides very well.” Just before the alterations began, and the complete
+change of the canal was taken in hand, the Park was lighted with gas
+lamps, an innovation which caused much excitement. At the same time
+orders were issued to shut the gates by ten every evening. A wit on
+this occasion wrote the following lines, which were found stuck up on a
+tree:--
+
+     “The trees in the Park
+        Are illumined with gas,
+      But after it’s dark
+        No creatures can pass.
+
+     “Ye sensible wights
+        Who govern our fates,
+      Extinguish your lights
+        Or open your gates.”
+
+The same lamps inspired another poet, who wrote, just before the
+destruction of the avenues took place:--
+
+     “Hail, Royal Park! what various charms are thine;
+      Thy patent lamps pale Cynthia’s rays outshine,
+      Thy limes and elms with grace majestic grow
+              All in a row.”
+
+Yet once more has St. James’s Park been subjected to renovation. The
+work, which is a memorial to our late beloved Queen Victoria, is not
+yet completed, so its description must be imperfect. The design aims at
+drawing together the several quarters of the Park towards Buckingham
+Palace and a central group of statuary. The Mall is now the scene of
+ceaseless traffic, and the sauntering pedestrian is a thing of the
+past. A wide road runs at right angles across the Green Park, and so
+once again more closely associates the Upper with the Lower St. James’s
+Park. Probably the greatest praise of the alterations would be to say
+that Le Nôtre would have approved them. They seem to complete the
+design in a fitting manner, but they banish once and for all time, the
+semi-rural character which for so many centuries clung to the Park.
+The design includes a series of formal parterres which are filled with
+bedding-out plants raised in Hyde Park. In the summer of 1906 they were
+planted with scarlet geraniums with an edging of grasses and foliage
+and a few golden privets, and on hot July days there were many people
+ready to pronounce the arrangement as extremely bad taste. It seemed
+a reversion to the days when a startling mass of colour was the only
+effect aimed at. As they appeared all through the mild October days,
+when a soft foggy light enveloped the world, and the trees looked
+dark and dreary, with their leaves, devoid of autumn tints, still
+struggling to hold on, the vivid colouring of the beds gave a very
+different impression. The charm of the warm red tone against the cold
+blue mists must have given a sensation of pleasure to any one sensitive
+to such contrasts.
+
+[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE QUEEN VICTORIA MEMORIAL GARDENS, IN
+FRONT OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE]
+
+The Park in spring has nothing of the stiff, early Victorian gardening
+left. Under the trees crocuses raise their dainty heads, as cheerily as
+from out of Alpine snows, and the slopes of grass spangled with a “host
+of golden daffodils” are a delight to all beholders.
+
+The palmy days of St. James’s Park may have passed away--no longer
+is the fate of nations and the happiness of lives decided under its
+ancient elms--but those days have left their mark. Every path, every
+tree, every green-sward, could tell its story. The Park is now more
+beautiful than it ever was, even though fashion has deserted it. The
+last changes are but one more link in the long historic chain. It
+brings the Park of the Stuarts, the Mall of the Queen Anne’s age of
+letters, down to our own great Queen and the days of Expansion and
+Empire. A stroll under its shady trees and by its sparkling water must
+be replete with suggestions to the moralist, with thoughts to the poet,
+and with an inexpressible charm to the ordinary appreciative Londoner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+REGENT’S PARK
+
+      _When Philomel begins to sing
+      The grass grows green and flowers spring;
+      Methinks it is a pleasant thing
+        To walk on Primrose Hill._
+
+                          --ROXBURGH BALLADS, _c._ 1620.
+
+
+Regent’s Park has had but a transitory day of fashion, and history has
+not crowded it with associations like the other Royal Parks. It is the
+largest and one of the most beautiful, yet there is something cold and
+less attractive about it. In spring, with its wealth of thorn trees, it
+has a delightfully rural appearance, and it possesses many charms on
+close acquaintance. Its history as a Royal Park is as ancient as that
+of Hyde Park or St. James’s, but it remained a distant country sporting
+estate, and only assumed the form of a Park, in the modern sense of the
+word, less than a hundred years ago.
+
+In the dim distance of Domesday it formed part of the manor of
+Tybourne. Later on the manor became Marylebone or Mary le Bourne, the
+Church of St. Mary by the Burn, the brook in question being the Tyburn.
+The manor in Domesday is described as part of the lands belonging to
+the Abbey of Barking in Essex. In the thirteenth century it was held
+by Robert de Vere, and passed by descent through his daughter to the
+Earls of Arundel. Later on the manor was divided, and a fourth share
+came to Henry V. as heir to the Earls of Derby. The greater part of the
+manor was bought by Thomas Hobson, and his son, who was Lord Mayor in
+1544, exchanged it with Henry VIII. for some church lands elsewhere.
+So it became part of the royal hunting-ground, and the same enactment
+concerning the preservation of game applied to Marylebone Park,
+situated within the manor, as to Hyde Park. Queen Elizabeth leased part
+of the manor to a certain Edward Forset, and James I. sold him all the
+manor except the part known as Marylebone Park, now Regent’s Park. It
+was again sold by the grandson of Edward Forset to John Holles, Duke
+of Newcastle, and passed to his daughter, who married Edward Harley,
+Earl of Oxford, and through their daughter, who married the second
+Earl of Portland, to the Bentinck family. The Park has always remained
+Crown property, although it has frequently been let by the reigning
+sovereign. Charles I. granted it to Sir G. Strode and J. Wandesford as
+a payment of a debt of £2318 for arms and ammunition. It was sold by
+Cromwell with all the other royal lands, but after the Restoration it
+went back to its former holders till the debt was discharged, and after
+that to various other tenants. It was on the expiration of a lease to
+the Duke of Portland in 1811 that the laying out of the Park in its
+present form commenced.
+
+During the early period incidents connected with it are meagre. It is
+for the most part only in royal accounts that references to Marylebone
+Park are found, and they are merely a bare statement of facts. But
+that hunting-parties, with all the show and splendour attending them,
+took place frequently, is certain. Among the Loseley MSS. occur, in
+1554, instructions to Sir Thomas Cawarden, as “Master of the Tents
+and Toiles,” to superintend the making of “certaine banquiting houses
+of Bowes [= boughs] and other devices of pleasure.” One of these was
+made in “Marybone Parke,” and a minute description is given. It was
+40 feet long, and “wrought by tymber, brick, and lyme, with their
+raunges and other necessary utensyles therto insident, and to the like
+accustomed.” Also three “standinges” were made at the same time, “all
+of tymber garnished with boughes and flowers, every [one] of them
+conteynenge in length 10 foote and in bredth 8 foote, which houses and
+standings were so edified, repaired, garnished, decked, and fynyshed
+against the Marshall Saint Andrewes comynge thethere by speciale and
+straight comandement, as well of the late King as his counsell to
+Sir Tho^{s.} Cawarden, Knt. M^{r.} of the said Office of Revels; and
+Lawrence Bradshaw, Surveior of the King’s works, exhibited for the
+same w^{t.} earnest charge done, wrought and attended between the 27th
+of June and the 2 of August in the said year” [4th of Edward VI.].
+Employed on the above works for 22 days at all hours, a space to eat
+and drink excepted, “Carpenters, bricklayers, 1d. the hour; labourers,
+½d. p. hour; plasterers, 11d. a day; painters, 7d. and 6d. a day.”
+“Charges for cutting boughs in the wood at Hyde Park for trimming the
+banquetting house, gathering rushes, flags, and ivy; painters, taylors
+for sewing roof, etc., basket makers working upon windows, total cost,
+£169, 7s. 8d.” Only about half of this total was due to the work in
+Marylebone, as a similar pavilion, and three other “standings,” were
+made in Hyde Park at the same time.
+
+Hall, the chronicler of Henry VIII.’s time, inveighs against the
+fashion of making these sumptuous banqueting houses. They were not only
+a regal amusement, but the citizens built in their suburban gardens
+“many faire Summer houses ... some of them like Mid-summer Pageants,
+with Towers, Turrets, and Chimney tops, not so much for use or profit,
+as for shew and pleasure, and bewraying the vanity of men’s mindes,
+much unlike to the disposition of the ancient Citizens, who delighted
+in building of Hospitals and Almes-houses for the poore.” There stood
+in Marylebone parish a banqueting house where the Lord Mayor and
+aldermen dined when they inspected the conduits of the Tybourne. On
+one occasion they hunted a hare before dinner, and after, “they went
+to hunt the fox. There was a great cry for a mile, and at length the
+hounds killed him at the end of St. Giles.” During this run the hunt
+must have skirted the royal preserves of Marylebone. In Elizabeth’s
+time a hunting-party on 3rd February 1600 is recorded, in which the
+“Ambassador from the Emperor of Russia and the other Muscovites rode
+through the City of London to Marylebone Park, and there hunted at
+their pleasure, and shortly after returned homeward.”
+
+Marylebone was a retired spot for duels, and many took place there
+down to the time when duelling ceased. The quarrel which led to one
+in Elizabeth’s reign is most typical of that age. Sir Charles Blount,
+afterwards Earl of Devonshire, handsome and dashing, distinguished
+himself in the lists, and won the approbation of Queen Elizabeth.
+She presented him with a chessman in gold, which he fastened on his
+arm with a crimson ribbon. This aroused the jealousy of Essex, who
+said with scorn, “Now I perceive that every fool must have a favour.”
+Whereupon Blount challenged him. They met in Marylebone Park, and Essex
+was disarmed and wounded in the thigh.
+
+In Mary’s time the Park witnessed a warlike scene in connection with
+one of the organised attempts to dethrone the Queen. The indictment of
+Sir Nicholas Throgmorton for high treason, because he, with Sir Thomas
+Wyatt and others, “conspired to depose and destroy the Queen,” states
+that “the said Sir Nicholas plotted to take and hold the Tower, levy
+war in Kent, Devonshire, etc., and, with Sir Henry Isley and others, on
+26 January 1554, rose with 2000 men, marched from Kent to Southwark,
+and by Brentford and Marylebone Park to London, the Queen being then
+at Westminster, but were overthrown by her army.” The incidents which
+centre round this Park are few. Even in the accounts of all the royal
+lands it does not often occur. In 1607 one item in the Domestic State
+Papers, a list of nine parks, from each of which four bucks were to
+be taken, includes Hyde Park, but Marylebone is not mentioned, and in
+orders to the keepers it does not often occur.
+
+During the Commonwealth it comes more into notice, from the sad fact
+that it was then sold and disparked, and the trees cut down. When
+Cromwell sold it to “John Spencer of London, gent.,” the proceeds were
+settled on Col. Thomas Harrison’s regiment of dragoons for their pay.
+The existing Ranger, John Carey, was turned out, and Sir John Ipsley
+put in his place. The price given for the Park was £13,215, 6s. 8d.,
+which included £130 for deer and £1774 for timber, exclusive of 2976
+trees which were marked for the Royal Navy. Cromwell probably knew
+the Park and its advantages well, as some years before, when he was a
+boy, his uncle had had permission to hunt in any of the royal forests.
+The warrant is dated 15th June 1604, “to the lieutenants, wardens,
+and keepers of the forests, chases, and parks, to permit Sir Oliver
+Cromwell, Knt., Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, to hunt where he shall
+think fit.” The work of hewing the timber began at once. On October
+19, 1649, the Navy Commissioner was instructed to “repair the crane
+at Whitehall for boating timber, which is to go from Marylebone Park
+to the yards to build frigates.” Again, Sir Henry Mildmay was ordered
+to “confer with Mr. Carter, Surveyor of Works, for the timber in
+Marylebone Park to be brought through Scotland Yard, to be boated there
+for use of the navy.” Cromwell converted the Park to other uses, as in
+June the same year orders were given to put to grass in Marylebone Park
+all the artillery horses “bought by Captain Tomlins for Ireland till
+Monday week.” That a number were turned out there for a time is clear
+from the further warrant, dated July 12, to “permit William Yarvell,
+Carriage Master, to put all the horses provided for Ireland, which
+cannot be accommodated in Marylebone Park, into Hyde Park to graze.” No
+doubt they found excellent pasture, in spite of the game. Still, the
+deer must have been fairly numerous, considering the price paid for
+those left when the Park was sold. One hundred of the “best deer” were
+first ordered to be removed from there to St. James’s Park, “Colonel
+Pride to see to the business.”
+
+At the Restoration the former tenants were reinstated until the debt
+was discharged, and John Carey was compensated for his loss of the
+rangership; but the Park was never re-stocked with deer. It is supposed
+that the Queens, Mary and Elizabeth, sometimes resided at the Manor
+House belonging to the Manor, which stood at the south side of what
+is now Marylebone Road, and was built by Henry VIII. A drawing of the
+house in 1700 exists, and it is not the same as Oxford House, with
+which it has sometimes been confused, belonging to Lord Oxford, which
+contained the celebrated Harleian collection of MSS. Henry VIII.’s
+Manor House was pulled down in 1790. It is not until after that date
+that anything further has to be recorded of the Park; until then
+it remained let out as farms. In 1793 Mr. White, architect to the
+Duke of Portland, the tenant of the Park from the Crown, approached
+Mr. Fordyce, the Surveyor-General, with his ideas and plans for the
+improvement of the whole of the area. During the previous fifty years
+the streets and squares between Oxford Street and Marylebone had
+been growing up. Foley House, a large building, stood on the site of
+the present Langham Hotel; and in the lease by which the land was
+held from the Duke of Portland, it was covenanted that no buildings
+should obstruct the view of Marylebone Park from this house. When,
+in 1772, the Brothers Adam designed Portland Place, they made it the
+entire width of Foley House, so that the agreement was fulfilled to
+the letter. In those days the street ended where No. 8 Portland Place
+now stands; then came the railings which enclosed Marylebone Fields,
+with its buttercup meadows and country lanes and hedgerows. White’s
+idea commended itself to Fordyce, and he approached the Treasury on
+the subject. The total area, according to the survey in 1794, was 543
+ac. 17 p. This was disposed chiefly between three farms of about 288,
+133, and 117 acres respectively. From the first all the plans embraced
+extensive buildings, as well as a proportion of park. Inspired by
+Fordyce, the Treasury offered a prize, not exceeding £1000, for the
+best design, and several were submitted. Fordyce aimed at something
+between the most extreme votaries of the landscape school and the
+older, debased, formal styles--a compromise which Loudon was at that
+time trying to bring into vogue. A “union of the ancient and modern
+styles of planting,” he called it, which led by stages to the Italian
+parterres and brilliant bedding out of the early Victorian gardens.
+Fordyce did not live to see any plan put into execution. At his
+death the Surveyor-General of Land Revenues and the Commissioners
+of Woods and Forests were amalgamated, and Leverton and Chawner,
+architects to the former, and Nash, architect to the latter, submitted
+designs--Nash’s being eventually accepted. The other design cut up the
+whole ground into ornamental villas with pleasure grounds, with a sort
+of village green or central square, with a church in the middle, and a
+site for a market and barracks. White’s views were more like Nash’s in
+some respects, as he had artificial water and a drive round the Park.
+The lease held by the Duke of Portland fell in, in 1811, and soon after
+the work of carrying out Nash’s design was begun by James Morgan. The
+Regent’s Park Canal was included in the same plan, and begun in 1812
+and finished in 1820. Its length from Paddington to Limehouse is 8¾
+miles, and the total fall 84 feet.
+
+[Illustration: AUTUMN IN REGENT’S PARK]
+
+Although the planting and levelling began in 1812, the buildings rose
+up slowly. Of the villas in the Park only two were built in 1820, the
+rent demanded for the ground being extremely high. But two or three
+years later the whole thing was more or less as it is now, so far as
+the general outline and buildings are concerned. The cost by May 1826
+was £1,533,582, and the estimated probable revenue £36,330. The Prince
+Regent took the greatest interest in the proceedings, and Nash’s design
+included a site for a palace for him, though even contemporary writers
+condemned the suggestion, as the situation was damp--“the soil was
+clay, ... and the view bad.” It was only natural that the Park should
+henceforth become the Regent’s, and not Marylebone Park, and the “new
+street” to connect it with Carlton House be called Regent Street.
+
+It is difficult to judge Regent’s Park with an unprejudiced eye.
+The exaggerated praise it called forth when just completed is only
+equalled by the unmeasured censure of the next generation. Of the
+houses which surround it the following are two descriptions. The first,
+in 1855, calls them “highly-embellished terraces of houses, in which
+the Doric and Ionic, the Corinthian, and even the Tuscan orders have
+been employed with ornate effect, aided by architectural sculpture.”
+Fifty years later the same houses are summed up with very different
+epithets: “Most of the ugly terraces which surround it exhibit all
+the worst follies of the Grecian architectural mania which disgraced
+the beginning of this century”! It may not be a style which commends
+itself to modern taste, but one thing is certain, that having embarked
+on classical architecture it was best to stick to it and complete
+the whole. It is as much a bit of history, and as typical of the
+age, as Elizabethan or Tudor architecture is of theirs, and as such
+it is best to treat Regent’s Park as an interesting example of early
+nineteenth-century taste.
+
+This ground was country when building was begun, and when one thinks
+of the streets and crescents that grow up when the country touches
+the town, and the incongruous ugliness of most of them, there is much
+to be said for the substantial uniformity of Regent’s Park. What can
+be argued from the surroundings of the other parks? Would Regent’s
+Park have been improved by the erection of rows of houses of the
+Queen Anne’s Mansion type? One cannot help wondering what Stowe would
+have thought of such a production, when he instances “a remarkable
+punishment of Pride in high buildings,” how a man who built himself
+a tower in Lime Street, to overlook his neighbours, was very soon
+“tormented with gouts in his joynts, of his hands and legs”--that he
+could go no “further than he was led, much lesse was he able to climbe”
+his tower! What retribution would he have thought sufficiently severe
+for the perpetrators of Park Row Buildings, New York, with their
+thirty-two storeys?
+
+Anyhow, Regent’s Park was welcomed by the generation who watched it
+grow. A writer in 1823 says: “When first we saw that Marylebone Fields
+were enclosed, and that the hedgerow walks which twined through them
+were gradually being obliterated and the whole district artificially
+laid out, ... we underwent a painful feeling or two.... A few years,
+however, have elapsed, and we are not only reconciled to the change
+alluded to, but rejoice in it. A noble Park is rapidly rising up, and
+a vast space, close to the metropolis, not only preserved from the
+encroachment of mean buildings, but laid out with groves, lakes, and
+villas, ... while through the place there is a winding road, which
+commands at every turn some fresh feature of an extensive country
+prospect.” This enthusiast winds up by saying, “We do not envy the
+apathy of the Englishman who can walk through these splendid piles
+without feeling his heart swell with national pride.” We may smile at
+such high-sounding language, but, after all, it was an innocent form
+for national pride to take.
+
+The special feature which the plan of the Park embraced, was the
+villas, standing in their own pleasure grounds. These were all built in
+the same Grecian style--most of them designed by Decimus Burton, who
+was also the architect of Cornwall Terrace, the only one not by Nash.
+St. Dunstan’s Villa, now belonging to Lord Aldenham, and containing
+his precious library, was his work. It was built by the Marquis of
+Hertford, and the name is taken from the two giant wooden figures of
+Gog and Magog, which formerly stood by St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleet
+Street. They had been placed there in 1671, and struck the hours on a
+large clock (the work of Thomas Harrys), one of the curiosities of the
+City. It was with reference to them that Cowper’s lines on a feeble,
+uninspired poet were written:--
+
+     “When Labour and when Dullness, club in hand,
+      Like the two figures of St. Dunstan’s stand,
+      Beating alternately, in measured time,
+      The clock-work tintinabulum of rhyme,
+      Exact and regular the sounds will be,
+      But such mere quarter strokes are not for me.”
+
+Lord Hertford used to be taken to see them as a child, and had a
+child’s longing to possess the monsters. Unlike most childish dreams,
+he was able, when the church was rebuilt in 1832, to realise it and
+to purchase the figures, and remove them to strike the hours in his
+new villa. St. John’s Lodge is another of these detached villas, with
+a fascinating garden, built by Burton, for Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid;
+and also in the inner circle there is South Villa, with an observatory,
+erected in 1837 by Mr. George Bishop, from which various stars and
+asteroids were discovered by Dawes and Hinde.
+
+The most interesting of the houses in the park is St. Katharine’s
+Lodge, not from any special beauty of its own, but from the sad
+association of its history. On the east of the road which encircles
+the Park is St. Katharine’s Hospital, built by A. Poynter, a pupil of
+Nash, in 1827, when the “act of barbarism” of removing the Hospital
+from the East End was committed. The home of the Hospital, with its
+church and almshouses, was close to the Tower, and after a peaceful
+existence of nearly seven hundred years it was completely swept away to
+make room for more docks. There is nothing to redeem the crude look of
+uselessness that the new buildings in Regent’s Park present. They seem
+out of place, and as if stranded there by accident. Even thirty years
+after their removal an official report on the revenues of the hospital
+shows some signs of repentance. The writers sum up the increased
+income, then about £11,000 a year, and wonder if in this far-away spot
+it is being put to the best uses; and the report even goes so far as to
+suggest its restoration to the populous East End, where the recipients
+of the charity would spend their lives in the cure of souls, or as
+nurses and mission-women among the poor. Since then, an improvement has
+set in as it has become the Central House for Nurses for the Poor,
+known as the Jubilee Nurses, as the funds to provide them were raised
+by the women of England as a Jubilee Gift to Queen Victoria.
+
+The Hospital of St. Katharine was founded by Queen Matilda, “wife to
+King Stephen, by licence of the Prior and Convent of the Holy Trinity
+in London, on whose ground she founded it. Elianor the Queene, wife
+to King Edward the First, a second Foundresse, appointed to be there,
+one Master, three Brethren Chaplaines and three Sisters, ten poore
+women, and six poore clerkes. She gave to them the Manor of Clarton in
+Wiltshire and Upchurch in Kent, etc. Queene Philip, wife to King Edward
+the Third, 1351, founded a Chauntry there, and gave to that Hospital
+tenne pound land by yeere; it was of late time [1598] called a free
+Chappell, a Colledge and an Hospital for poore sisters. The Quire which
+(of late yeares) was not much inferior to that of Pauls, was dissolved
+by Doctor Wilson, a late Master there.” Such is Stowe’s account of the
+foundation.
+
+Even in those days the district was becoming crowded, “pestered with
+small Tenements,” chiefly owing to the influx from Calais, Hammes, and
+Guisnes when those places were lost in Mary’s reign. Many, “wanting
+Habitation,” were allowed a “Place belonging to St. Katharine’s.”
+The curious name, “Hangman’s Gains,” in that locality was said to be
+derived from a corruption of two of the places the refugees came from.
+
+In Henry VIII.’s time a Guild or Fraternity was “founded in the Church
+of this Hospital of St. Katharine to the Honour of St. Barbara.”
+Katharine of Aragon and Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey belonged to
+it, and many other “honourable persons.” The object was to secure a
+home for any “Brother or Sister who fell into Decay of worldly Goods
+as by Sekenes or Hurt by the Warrys, or upon Land or See, or by any
+other means.” Those belonging to the Fraternity who had paid the full
+sum due, namely 10s. 4d., in “money, plate, or any other honest stufe,”
+were entitled to fourteen pence a week, house-room and bedding, “and a
+woman to wash his clothes and to dresse his mete; and so to continue
+Yere by Yere and Weke by Weke durynge his Lyfe,” like a modern benefit
+society. The fine old church contained many monuments, some of which
+were transferred to the new church when the removal took place. Among
+them the effigy of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, and one of his wives,
+dating from 1447, reposes under a fine canopy. The stalls and pulpit of
+the sixteenth century were also brought to the new building. Thus shorn
+of all its associations and all its beauty, the foundation remains,
+like a flower ruthlessly transplanted too late to take root and regain
+its former charm.
+
+The Master’s house makes a most delightful residence, and has always
+been let. Mr. Marley, the present tenant, who has filled the house
+with works of art, has made a very charming garden also, more like an
+Italian than an English villa garden, as the view reproduced in this
+volume testifies.
+
+Three Societies occupy pieces of ground within the Park. The most
+ancient and least well known is the Toxophilite. Archery has for many
+hundred years been practised by the citizens of London. The ground
+chosen for shooting was chiefly near Islington, Hoxton, and Shoreditch.
+To encourage the use of bows and arrows Henry VIII. ordered Sir
+Christopher Morris, Master of Ordnance, to form the “Fraternitye or
+Guylde of Saint George” about 1537, and these archers used to shoot
+in Spital Fields. About the time of the Spanish Armada the Honourable
+Artillery Company was formed, which possessed a company of archers,
+and for over two hundred years archery was kept alive by this corps,
+and, following them, by the Finsbury Archers. Just at the time when the
+corps was abolished Sir Ashton Lever formed the Toxophilite Society
+in 1781, and the archers of the Honourable Artillery Company became
+merged in the new Society, which then shot on Blackheath. George IV.
+belonged to it, and it henceforth became the Royal Toxophilite Society,
+and settled on ground given to it in Regent’s Park in 1834, where it
+remains, as the lineal descendant of the old historic Guild of Archers.
+It possesses several interesting relics; a shield given by Queen Mary,
+and silver cups of the Georgian period, besides a valuable collection
+of bows and arrows. The hall where the members meet, built when the
+Society moved to Regent’s Park, and added to since, has beneath it
+some curious cellars with underground passages branching off from
+them, which it has been suggested may have been part of the outhouses
+belonging to the Royal Manor House, which stood not far off, on ground
+now outside the Park. The large iron hooks that were until recently
+in the cellar walls, seemed suggestive of venison from the Park for
+the royal table. The ground of the Society is suitably laid out, with
+a fine sunk lawn for the archery practice. By an arrangement with the
+Toxophilite Society, “the Skating Club” have their own pavilion, and
+the lawn is flooded during the winter for their use. There is so much
+talk about the change of the climate of England, and of the so-called
+old-fashioned winters, that the record kept by this Skating Club since
+its foundation in 1830 of the number of skating days in each winter is
+instructive. Taking the periods of ten years during the first decade,
+1830–40, there was an average of 10.2 skating days per winter. In
+1833–34 there were none, in 1837–38 thirty-seven days. Between 1850–60
+the average was only 8.5, while the last ten years of the century it
+was 16.8. It is difficult to see how any argument could be deduced from
+such figures in favour of the excess of cold in the good old days! When
+the freezing of the Thames is quoted to prove the case, people forget
+that the Thames has completely changed. The narrow piers of old London
+Bridge no longer get stopped with ice-floes, and the current is much
+more rapid now that the whole length is properly embanked. In the days
+when coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple Stairs as in 1684, or
+when people dwelt on the Thames in tents for weeks in 1740, all the low
+land was flooded and the stream wider and more sluggish. The believers
+in the hard winters generally maintain the springs were warmer than
+now, May Day more like what poets pictured, even allowing the eleven
+days later for our equivalent. But in 1614 there was snow a foot deep
+in April, and those who went in search of flowers on May Day only got
+snowflakes. In 1698, on May 8th, there was a deep fall of snow all over
+England, and many other instances might be quoted. So it seems, though
+people may grumble now, their ancestors were no better off.
+
+In the centre of the ground is the Royal Botanical Society of London,
+founded in 1839. At one time the Society was greatly in fashion, and
+the membership was eagerly sought after. No doubt such will be the
+case again, although for some reason the immense advance in gardening
+during the last ten years has not met with the response looked for
+from this Society, and hence a certain decrease instead of increase in
+popularity--a phase which can but be transitory. The botanical portions
+of the grounds illustrative of the natural orders were arranged by
+James de Carle Sowerby, son of the author of the well-known “English
+Botany,” assisted by Dr. Frederick Farre and others, and the ornamental
+part of the garden, with the lake, by Marnoch. The designs were
+severely criticised by Loudon in the first instance, who prophesied
+failure to the garden, but was well satisfied when the modified plans
+were announced. Some of the earliest flower shows in the modern sense
+were held there. And this Society was the pioneer in exhibitions of
+spring flowers. The first was held in 1862, and was quite a novel
+departure, although summer and autumn floral shows had been instituted
+for more than thirty years. These exhibitions and fêtes became very
+fashionable, and people flocked to them, and numbers joined the
+Society. It is always difficult to combine two objects, and this is the
+problem the Botanical Society now has to face. It is almost impossible
+to keep up the Botanical side and at the same time make a bid for
+popular public support by turning the grounds partly into a Tea Garden.
+Now that gardening is more the fashion than it has ever been, it is sad
+to see this ancient Society taking a back place instead of leading.
+It is actual horticulture that now engrosses people, the practical
+cultivation of new and rare plants, the raising and hybridising of
+florists’ varieties. The time for merely well-kept lawns and artificial
+water and a few masses of bright flowers, which was all the public
+asked for in the Sixties, has gone by. A thirst for new flowers, for
+strange combinations of colours, for revivals of long-forgotten plants
+and curious shrubs, has now taken possession of the large circle of
+people who profess to be gardeners. Apart from the question whether the
+present fashion has taken the best direction for the advancement of
+botany and horticulture, it is evident no society can prosper unless it
+directs its attention to suit the popular fancy. No doubt this worthy
+Society will realise this, and emerge triumphant from its present
+embarrassments.
+
+The third and best known of the societies is the Zoological one. What
+London child has not spent moments of supreme joy mingled with awe on
+the back of the forbearing elephant? And there are few grown persons
+who do not share with them the delight of an hour’s stroll through the
+“Zoo.” More than ever, with the improved aviaries and delightful seal
+ponds, is the Zoo attractive. It was the first of the three Societies
+to settle in the Park, having been there since 1826. Some of the
+original buildings were designed by Decimus Burton, who, next to Nash,
+is the architect most associated with the Park. The Society was the
+idea of Sir Thomas Raffles, who became the first President in 1825.
+In three years there were over 12,000 members, and the gardens were
+thronged by 30,000 visitors. A pass signed by a member was necessary
+for the admission of every party of people, besides the payment of a
+shilling each. An abuse of this soon crept in, and people waited at the
+gates to attach themselves to the parties entering, and well-dressed
+young ladies begged the kindness of members who were seen approaching
+the gates. Now only Sunday admittance is dependent on the members. A
+Guide to Regent’s Park in 1829 gives engravings of many of the animals,
+and shows the summer quarters of the monkeys--most quaint arrangements,
+like a pigeon cot on a pole, to which the monkey with chain and ring
+was attached, to race up and down at will.
+
+[Illustration: STONE VASE IN REGENT’S PARK]
+
+The only alterations of importance after the completion of the Park
+were the making of the flower garden, and the filling up of the
+artificial water to a uniform depth of 4 feet, after a terrible
+accident had occurred in 1867, when the ice broke and forty skaters
+lost their lives. The flower-beds are now one of the most attractive
+features in the Park, and were originally designed by Nesfield in 1863.
+The centre walk continues the line of the “Broad Walk” avenue at its
+southern end. In the middle is a fine stone vase supported by griffins,
+and other stone ornaments in keeping with the formal style.
+
+The frame-ground in Regent’s Park has to be a spacious one, to produce
+all that is required in the way of spring and summer plants. The fogs
+are the greatest enemies of the London gardener, and more especially
+on the heavier soil of Regent’s Park. Not even the most hardy of the
+bedding-out plants will survive the winter, unless in frames. Even
+wall-flowers and forget-me-nots will perish with a single bad night of
+fog, unless under glass. Although, on the other hand, it is surprising
+how some species apparently unsuited to withstand the climate will
+survive. Among the rock plants growing in a private rock-garden within
+the Park _Azalia procumbens_, that precarious Alpine, is perfectly at
+home. Clumps of _Cypripedium spectabele_ come up and flower year after
+year, and _Arnebia echioides_, the prophet flower, by no means easy to
+grow, seems quite established. But to return to the frame-ground, from
+whence all the bedding plants emanate. Violas are a special feature
+in the Park, and one which is much to be commended, as their season
+of beauty is so protracted. They are all struck in frames, one row of
+fifty-three lights being devoted to them, in which 23,750 cuttings are
+put annually. The green-houses are used for storing plants not only for
+the decoration of the Park but for some fourteen other places outside.
+The Tower, the Law Courts, Mint, Audit Office, the Mercantile Marine
+in Poplar, are all supplied from Regent’s Park. The Tate Gallery and
+Hertford House have to be catered for also. Whether the visitors to the
+Wallace Collection even notice the plants it is impossible to say; they
+might miss their absence. But the gardeners have to give these few pots
+considerable care, as they will only stand for a very short time
+inside the building, and after three weeks’ visit return to hospital.
+
+[Illustration: SPRING IN REGENT’S PARK]
+
+Of late years a considerable alteration has been made in the
+arrangement of the beds in the flower-garden of the Park, chiefly with
+a view to reducing the bedding and yet obtaining a better effect. Long
+herbaceous borders have been substituted for one of the rows of formal
+beds, requiring a constant succession of plants. This has necessitated
+the removal of some of the flowers shown in the view of this garden
+taken in the spring. The loss of these is compensated by the new
+arrangement of beds, separated from the Park by a hedge and flowering
+shrubs.
+
+Very few of the old trees remain in Regent’s Park; what became
+of them between the time when only a portion were marked for the
+navy by Cromwell, and the present day, there is no record as yet
+forthcoming. Two elms near the flower-garden are, however, remarkably
+fine specimens, as the branches feather on to the ground all round. A
+_Paulownia tomentosa_ is well worthy of notice. It must have been one
+of the earliest to be planted in this country, and is a large spreading
+tree. It stands on what is known as the Mound, near Chester Gate.
+Nineteen years ago it flowered, and in the unusually warm autumn of
+1906 it was covered with buds of blossom, all ready to expand, when,
+alas! the long-delayed frost arrived in October, just too soon for them
+to come to perfection. Not far from it is a large tree of _Cotoneaster
+frigida_, which has masses of red berries every year.
+
+The railings of Regent’s Park have always been of timber, but it
+is now threatened to alter this survival of the days when it first
+changed from Marylebone Farm. The present timber fence has stood for
+forty years, so even from an economical point of view iron, which
+requires painting, could not be recommended. It is to be hoped the old
+traditional style of fence of this delightful Park may be continued.
+
+To the north of Regent’s Park, and only divided from it by a road,
+lies Primrose Hill. This curious conical hill, 216 feet high, so well
+known as an open space enjoyed by the public, formerly belonged to Eton
+College, but became Crown property about the middle of last century,
+and is now under the Office of Works, who keep it in order, and have
+done all the planting which has of late years improved this otherwise
+bare eminence. Some of the guide-books to London refer to the lines
+of Mother Shipton’s prophecy that Primrose Hill “must one day be the
+centre of London.” The passage this is supposed to be based on, is that
+which used to be said to foretell railways, and now people see in it a
+foreshadowing of motor cars. At one time also the marriage reference
+which is in the same poem was applied to Queen Victoria. The lines are
+these--
+
+     “Carriages without horses shall go,
+      And accidents fill the world with woe:
+      Primrose Hill in London shall be,
+      And in its centre a Bishop’s see.
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      The British Olive next shall twine,
+      In marriage with the German Vine.”
+
+The early editions of the prophecy contain none of these lines except
+the two last, which are quoted in the 1687 edition, and are there
+interpreted to refer to the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James
+I., and the Elector Palatine. The Primrose Hill lines first made their
+appearance in 1877! So, although now quite surrounded by houses, and
+well within the County of London, that this would be so in time to
+come, was not foretold three hundred years ago.
+
+The delightfully rural name dates from the time of Queen Elizabeth, and
+is said to be derived from the number of primroses which grew there.
+The earlier name was Barrow Hill, from supposed ancient burials. After
+the mysterious murder of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey in October 1678, his
+body was found in a ditch at the foot of the hill. At one time the
+superstitious thought his ghost haunted the place, and a contemporary
+medal has this inscription--
+
+     “Godfrey walks up hill after he was dead;
+      [St.] Denis walks down hill carrying his head.”
+
+The fresh air and pleasant view from the top of the hill, and the
+cheery sounds of games, have long ago dispelled all these gloomy
+memories.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+GREENWICH PARK
+
+      _Towered cities please us then,
+      And the busy hum of men,
+      Where throngs of knights and barons bold
+      In weeds of peace high triumphs hold,
+      With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
+      Rain influence, and judge the prize
+      Of wit, or arms, while both contend
+      To win her grace, whom all commend._
+
+                                      --MILTON.
+
+
+It would not occur to most people to reckon Greenwich among the
+London Parks. But it is well within the bounds of the County of
+London, and now so easy of access that it should have no difficulty in
+substantiating its claim to be one of the most beautiful among them.
+Both for natural features and historic interest it is one of the most
+fascinating.
+
+Its Spanish chestnuts are among the distinguishing characteristics,
+and although smoke is slowly telling on them, numbers of these sturdy
+timber trees are still in their prime, and it would be hard to find a
+more splendid collection in any part of the country. One of the giants
+is 20 feet in girth at 3 feet from the ground, and contains 200 feet of
+timber.
+
+Those who are the ready champions of the rights of the people to the
+common lands, and who justly inveigh against all encroachments, must
+feel bound to admit that, in the case of Greenwich Park, what they
+would call pilfering in other instances is thoroughly justified. The
+land which forms the Park was part of Blackheath until Henry VI., in
+the fifteenth year of his reign, gave his uncle Humphrey, Duke of
+Gloucester, licence to enclose 200 acres of the wood and heath “to make
+a park in Greenwich.”
+
+The modern history of Greenwich Park may be said to begin in Duke
+Humphrey’s time, but it was a favourite resort long before that.
+Situated on the high ground above the marshy banks of the river, and
+near the Watling Street between London and Dover, Greenwich was found
+suitable for country residence in Roman times. On one of the hills in
+the Park, with a commanding view over the river, the remains of a Roman
+villa have been excavated. Over 300 coins were found, dating from 35
+B.C. to A.D. 423. Bronzes, pottery, a tesselated pavement, and the
+remains of painted plaster were discovered, showing that it must have
+been a villa of “taste and elegance,” and there were indications that
+the final destruction of this charming abode was by fire. A peep into
+the past might reveal the last of its Roman occupants flying before the
+barbarian Jute.
+
+Doubtless in its prime there would be a garden near the villa--perhaps
+a faint imitation of those Roman gardens like Pliny’s. There, “in front
+of the portico,” was “a sort of terrace, embellished with various
+figures and bounded with a box-hedge,” which descended “by an easy
+slope, adorned with the representation of divers animals in box,” to a
+soft lawn. There were shady trees and a splashing fountain, and sunny
+walks to form “a very pleasing contrast,” where the air was “perfumed
+with roses.” The slopes of Greenwich may have presented such a scene in
+the days when Roman galleys rowed up the Thames.
+
+In another part of the Park, Roman graves have been found, and other
+burying-places of a later date suggest a very different picture from
+that of Roman times. These tumuli are very numerous, and although over
+twenty remain, a much greater number existed, and have been rifled from
+time to time, or excavated, as in 1784, when some fifty were opened,
+and braids of human hair, fragments of woollen cloth, and beads were
+found. These graves suggest the occupation of these heights by the
+Danes, who were encamped there for some three years about 1011. Wild
+and lawless must have been the aspect then, and the incident that
+stands out prominently is the martyrdom of St. Alphege, the Archbishop,
+slain here by the Danes in 1012.
+
+There was probably some royal residence at Greenwich from the time
+of Edward I., but it was not until it came to Humphrey, Duke of
+Gloucester, that the Palace much used in Tudor times was built. This
+building faced the Thames, and went by the name of “Placentia” or
+“Plaisance,” and round it there was a garden. The royal licence, which
+gave the Duke leave to enclose a portion of the heath, provided that
+he might also build “Towers of stone and lime.” The tower stood on the
+hill now crowned by the Observatory, and was pulled down when Charles
+II. had the Observatory erected from designs by Wren in 1675. The plan
+included a well 100 feet deep, at the bottom of which the astronomer
+Flamsteed could lie and observe the heavens. All through the earlier
+history of the Park this tower must have been a conspicuous object.
+During Tudor times Greenwich was much lived in by the Sovereign,
+and many a gay pageant enlivened the Park. Jousts and tournaments,
+Christmas games and May Day frolics, were of yearly recurrence in the
+early days of Henry VIII. The Court moved there regularly to “bring in
+the May.” A picturesque account is given of one of these merry-makings
+by the Venetian Ambassador and his Secretary. The Ambassador was
+charmed with the King. “Not only,” he writes, is he “very expert in
+arms and of great valour, and most excellent in personal endowment,
+but is likewise so gifted and adorned with mental accomplishments of
+every sort.” He joined in the May Day proceedings, which must indeed
+have presented a brilliant spectacle, with the oaks and hawthorn, and
+all the wild beauty of Greenwich Park, as a background. Katharine
+of Aragon, “most excellently attired and very richly, and with her
+twenty-five damsels mounted on white palfreys, with housings of the
+same fashion most beautifully embroidered in gold,” and followed by
+“a number of footmen,” rode out into the wood, where “they found the
+King with his guard, all clad in a livery of green with bowers [boughs]
+in their hands, and about 100 noblemen on horseback, all gorgeously
+arrayed.” “In this wood were certain bowers filled purposely with
+singing birds, which carrolled most sweetly.” Music played, and a
+banquet under the trees followed, then the procession with the King and
+Queen together returned to the Palace. The crowds flocking round them
+the Venetian estimated “to exceed ... 25,000 persons.”
+
+Queen Mary was born at Greenwich, and there she was betrothed to
+the Dauphin of France. She resided here much during her short and
+troublous reign; and perhaps her fondness for this Palace came from the
+association of her early youth, when she was the centre of attraction.
+Greenwich cannot always have been pleasant for the Princess Mary, for
+here came Anne Boleyn. From Greenwich she was escorted in state to
+London by the Lord Mayor, who was summoned by the King to fetch her,
+and from Greenwich she was taken up the river, her last melancholy
+journey to the Tower. The oak under which Henry VIII. is said to have
+danced with her is still standing. It is a huge, old, hollow stem,
+though quite dead, kept upright by the ivy. The trunk has a hole 6 feet
+in diameter, and it is known as Queen Elizabeth’s Oak, as tradition
+also says she took refreshments inside it. It was fitted with a door,
+and those who transgressed the rules of the Park were confined in
+this original prison. It was at Greenwich that Queen Elizabeth was
+born; and to Greenwich Henry brought his fourth bride, when poor Anne
+Boleyn’s short-lived favour was at an end, and Jane Seymour dead. The
+less beautiful Anne of Cleves, who so signally failed to please the
+King, was escorted in state from Calais by thirty gentlemen, with their
+servants, “in cotes of black velvet with cheines of gold about their
+neckes.” On January 3, 1540, the King rode up from the Palace to meet
+her on Blackheath with noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, and citizens,
+all in velvet with gold chains. The King rode a horse with rich
+trappings of gold damask studded with pearls, a coat of purple velvet
+slashed with gold, and a bonnet decorated with “unvalued gems.” Anne
+came out of her tent on the Heath to meet him, clad in cloth of gold,
+and mounted on a horse with trappings embroidered with her arms, a lion
+sable. She rode right through the Park from the Black Heath to the
+northern gate and round through the town to the Palace, the guns firing
+from the Tower in her honour.
+
+It was at Greenwich that the boy king, Edward VI., died, and Mary and
+Elizabeth were constantly there. Their state barges bearing them to and
+from the Palace must have been no uncommon sight on the Thames. It was
+on landing on one of these occasions that the famous episode of Sir
+Walter Raleigh laying his cloak in the mud for the Queen to tread on,
+happened. One of the many brilliant scenes in the Park took place after
+Elizabeth’s accession, when the citizens of London, overjoyed, wished
+to give her a very special greeting. It was on July 2, 1559, that “the
+City of London entertained the Queen at Greenwich with a muster, each
+Company sending out a certain number of men-at-arms” (1400 in all), “to
+her great delight.... On the 1st of July they marched out of London in
+coats of velvet and chaines of gold, with guns, moris pikes, halberds,
+and flags; and so over London Bridge unto the Duke of Suffolk’s Park
+in Southwark; where they all mustered before the Lord Mayor, and lay
+abroad in St. George’s Fields all that night. The next morning they
+removed towards Greenwich to the Court there; and thence to Greenwich
+Park. Here they tarried till eight of the clock; then they marched down
+into the Lawn, and mustered in arms: all the gunners in shirts of mail.
+At five of the clock at night the Queen came into the gallery over the
+Park Gate, with the Ambassadors, Lords, and Ladies, to a great number.
+The Lord Marquis, Lord Admiral, Lord Dudley, and divers other Lords and
+Knights, rode to and fro to view them, and to set the two battles in
+array to skirmish before the Queen: then came the trumpets to blow on
+each part, the drums beating, and the flutes playing. There were given
+three onsets in every battle; the guns discharged on one another, the
+moris pikes encountered together with great alarm; each ran to their
+weapons again, and then they fell together as fast as they could, in
+imitation of close fight. All this while the Queen, with the rest of
+the Nobles about her, beheld the skirmishings.... After all this, Mr.
+Chamberlain, and divers of the Commons of the City and the Wiflers,
+came before her Grace, who thanked them heartily, and all the City:
+whereupon immediately was given the greatest shout as ever was heard,
+with hurling up of caps. And the Queen shewed herself very merry. After
+this was a running at tilt. And lastly, all departed home to London.”
+
+This fête took place on a Sunday, and the time between the muster and
+the fight was probably mostly spent in refreshment. The account for
+the supplies of the “Mete and Drynke” for 1st day of July and Sunday
+night supper is preserved. They were far from being starved, as, among
+other items, 9 geese, 14 capons, 8 chickens, 3 quarters and 2 necks of
+mutton, 4 breasts of veal, beside a sirloin of beef, venison pasties, 8
+marrow-bones, fresh sturgeon, 3 gallons of cream, and other delicacies
+were provided for them. Floral decorations in their honour were not
+forgotten, and appear in the accounts--“gely flowers and marygolds for
+iii garlands, 7d.; strawynge herbes, 1/4; bowes for the chemneys, 1d.;
+flowers for the potts in the wyndowys, 6d.”
+
+There is no end to the gay scenes that the Park and even some of
+the most ancient trees have witnessed. “Goodly banquetting houses”
+were built of “fir poles decked with birch branches and all manner
+of flowers both of the field and garden, as roses, gilly flowers,
+lavender, marigold, and all manner of strewing herbs and rushes” (10th
+July 1572); and many a brilliant pageant took place under the greenwood
+tree as well as in the Palace, where Shakespeare acted before the Queen.
+
+Although the days of sumptuous pageantry ended with Elizabeth, much was
+done for Greenwich by the Stuarts. James I. replaced the wooden fence
+of the Park by a brick wall, 12 feet high and 2 miles round. At various
+times sections have been altered or replaced by iron rails, but the
+greater part of the wall remains as completed between 1619–25.
+
+The “Queen’s House,” which is the only portion of the older building
+which still exists, was begun under James I., and completed by Inigo
+Jones for Queen Henrietta Maria. It was called the House of Delight or
+the Queen’s House, and still bears the latter title. Although the sale
+does not appear to have been actually completed, Greenwich is among the
+Royal Parks the Parliament intended to sell. The deer at the time must
+have been numerous and in good condition, for during the Commonwealth
+the fear of their being stolen was such, that soldiers were posted
+in the tower for their preservation. Not any great change, however,
+took place; the Park remained as it was until completely remodelled by
+Charles II.
+
+Le Nôtre’s name is associated with the changes at Greenwich, as it is
+with those in St. James’s Park, and the style was undoubtedly his;
+but it is not at all likely that he ever actually came to England,
+but sent some representative who helped to carry out his ideas. The
+alterations were under the superintendence of Sir William Boreman,
+who became Keeper of the Park about that date. In March 1644 John
+Evelyn made a note in his Diary about planting some trees at his house
+of Sayes Court, Deptford, and adds, “being the same year that the
+elms were planted by His Majesty in Greenwich Park.” The avenues and
+all the fine sweet chestnuts were planted about this time, besides
+coppices and orchards. John Evelyn must have approved of these
+avenues, as in his “Sylva” he praises the chestnut for “Avenues to our
+Country-houses; they are a magnificent and royal Ornament.” Their nuts
+were not appreciated in England. “We give that food to our swine,”
+Evelyn continues, “which is amongst the delicacies of Princes in other
+Countries; ... doubtless we might propagate their use amongst our
+common people ... being a Food so cheap and so lasting.”
+
+A series of terraces sloping down from the tower formed part of the
+design, and their outline can still be traced between the Observatory
+and the Queen’s House, which faces the hill at the foot. Each terrace
+was 40 yards wide, and on either side Scotch firs were planted 24
+feet apart. These trees were brought by General Monk from Scotland in
+1664, and until forty years ago many were standing, and the line of
+the avenue was still traceable; some of the trunks measured 4 feet in
+diameter at the ground. Smoke tells so much more on all the coniferous
+tribes than on the deciduous trees, that they have all now perished.
+The last dead stump had to be felled some ten years ago. The old Palace
+was much gone to decay when Charles II. began the alterations, so he
+pulled it down with the exception of the Queen’s House, the only part
+said to be in good repair, and commenced a vast building designed by
+Wren, one wing of which only was completed in his reign.
+
+Pepys, who always did the right and fashionable thing, of course
+often went to Greenwich, and mentions many pleasant days there. On
+one occasion (June 16, 1662) he went “in the afternoon with all the
+children by water to Greenwich, where I showed them the King’s yacht,
+the house, and the parke, all very pleasant; and to the taverne,
+and had the musique of the house, and so merrily home again.” This
+excursion having been so successful, he soon after escorted Lady
+Carteret with great pride, “she being very fine, and her page carrying
+up her train, she staying a little at my house, and then walked
+through the garden, and took water, and went first on board the King’s
+pleasure-boat, which pleased her much. Then to Greenwiche Parke; and
+with much ado she was able to walk up to the top of the hill, and so
+down again, and took boat....” His wife and servants, unencumbered
+by the fine clothes and the page, had evidently not minded the steep
+ascent as did this “fine” lady, who, however, was “much pleased with
+the ramble in every particular of it.”
+
+Greenwich Fair was always a great institution, and as a rule it was a
+riotous and disorderly gathering. Two took place each year, in May and
+October, and lasted several days. During the seventeenth and following
+centuries the fairs were notorious, and finally had to be suppressed in
+the middle of the nineteenth.
+
+When William III. altered the building of Charles II. from a palace
+to a hospital for seamen in 1694 the Park was kept separate, and the
+Ranger lived in the “Queen’s House.” It was not until Princess Sophia
+held the office in 1816 that the residence was changed to the house
+which still goes by the name of the Ranger’s Lodge, and was lived in
+by the last Ranger, Lord Wolseley. This Ranger’s House had formerly
+belonged to Lord Chesterfield, and many of the famous letters to his
+godson are dated from there. No special feature in the garden, which
+was thrown open to the public with the Park in 1898, can be attributed
+to him. He was not, as Lord Carnarvon’s memoir of him points out, fond
+of the country; though he “took some interest in growing fruit in his
+garden at Blackheath, he had no love for his garden like Bacon” or Sir
+William Temple. There are some fine trees in the grounds, especially
+a copper beech, with a spread 57 feet in diameter, and a good tulip
+tree. Queen Caroline, as Princess of Wales, was Ranger in 1806, and
+lived in Montague House, since pulled down, and the “Queen’s House” was
+appropriated to the Royal Naval School. At the same time the “Ranger’s”
+was inhabited by the Duchess of Brunswick, her mother, and it was on
+her death that it was purchased by the Crown, and Princess Sophia,
+daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, came to live there as Ranger. The
+last royal personage to stay in the house was the Duke of Connaught,
+when studying at Woolwich; and now it serves as refreshment rooms for
+the numberless trippers who enjoy Greenwich Park in the summer.
+
+The most recent changes in the Park have all been improvements, and
+now it is beautifully kept. There is much that is still wild, and the
+flora and fauna of the Park would astonish many. Among the wild flowers
+butcher’s broom, spindle, and the parasites on the heather and the
+broom, dodder and broom-rape are to be found, and hart’s-tongue, wall
+rue, polypody and male and lady ferns. The list of birds that breed
+there still is a long one:--
+
+  Barndoor owl.
+  Spotted fly-catcher.
+  Missel and the song thrush.
+  Blackbird.
+  Hedge sparrow.
+  Robin.
+  Sedge and reed warblers.
+  Black-cap.
+  White-throat.
+  The great, blue, and cole tits.
+  Pied wagtail.
+  Common bunting.
+  House sparrow.
+  Greenfinch.
+  Linnet.
+  Bullfinch.
+  Starling.
+  Carrion crow.
+  Jackdaw.
+  Green woodpecker.
+  Tree creeper.
+  Wren.
+  Nuthatch.
+  Swallow.
+  Ring, turtle, and stock doves.
+  Pigeon.
+  Moorhen.
+  Lesser grebe.
+
+The part of the Park fenced off and known as the Wilderness is quiet
+and undisturbed; there under the big trees, among long grass and
+bracken, the young fawns are reared every year. They are most confiding
+and tame--those in the Park too much so; for they are only too ready to
+eat what is given them, and tragic deaths from a surfeit of orange-peel
+or such-like delights are the result.
+
+The lake is prettily planted, and red marliac varieties of water-lilies
+now float on the surface in the summer. The dell, planted with a
+large collection of flowering shrubs, is well arranged, and many
+choice varieties, _Solanum crispum_, gum cistus, magnolias, _Buddlea
+intermedia_, _Indigofera gerardiana floribunda_, and such-like are
+doing well. The frame-ground is most unostentatious, and it is
+satisfactory to see how much can be produced. The climate allows of the
+spring bedding plants and hardy chrysanthemums for autumn being raised
+out of doors; and the small amount of glass shelters the standard
+heliotropes, _Streptosolens Jamesoni_, and the like for bedding. Lilies
+do well in the open; _superbum_, tiger, _thunbergium_, _Henryii_,
+&c., and pots of _longifolium_ flower strongly after doing duty for
+three years. There is now a fair-sized garden, where these plants are
+displayed, near the Wilderness, adjoining Blackheath; while the rest
+of the Park, with the deer wandering under the chestnuts, is still
+left delightfully wild. Under the shady trees on a summer’s day it
+would still be possible to dream of Romans and Danes, of pageants and
+tournaments, and to people the scene with the heroes and heroines of
+yore.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+MUNICIPAL PARKS
+
+      _Let cities, kirks, and everie noble towne
+      Be purified, and decked up and downe._
+
+                        --ALEXANDER HUME (1557–1609).
+
+
+London is almost completely surrounded by a chain of parks. Luckily,
+as the town grew, the necessity for fresh air began to be realised,
+and before it was too late, in the thickly-populated districts north,
+south, east, and west, any available open space has been converted
+into a public garden, or into a more ambitious park. Would that this
+laudable spirit had moved people sooner, and then there might have been
+a Finsbury Park nearer Finsbury, and the circle of green patches on the
+map might have been more evenly dotted about some of the intervening
+parishes. Many of the open spaces are heaths, or commons, or Lammas
+Lands, which have various rights attached to them, and, in consequence,
+have been saved from the encroachments which have threatened them from
+time to time, and have thus been preserved, in spite of the growth
+of the surrounding districts. Of late years the rights have in many
+instances been acquired by public bodies, so as to keep for ever these
+priceless boons. It was not until the middle of last century that the
+movement in favour of city parks assumed definite form. They were in
+contemplation before 1840, but none were completed until several years
+later. Victoria was the first, opened in 1845; Battersea, although
+begun then, was not ready for planting till 1857; Kennington, Finsbury,
+and Southwark had followed before 1870, and, since then, every few
+years new open spaces have been added. They have been purchased by
+public bodies for the most part, but a large share of the honour of
+acquiring these grounds is due to private munificence and individual
+enterprise.
+
+Irrespective of the commons which link them together, the principal
+parks are the following. Beginning on the extreme north there is
+Golder’s Hill, then to the east of Hampstead lies Waterlow, the next
+going eastwards is Finsbury, then Clissold and Springfield, and down
+towards the east Victoria. In South London, between Woolwich and
+Greenwich, lies Maryon Park; then, west of Greenwich, Deptford and
+Southwark; then a densely built-over district before Kennington,
+Vauxhall, and Battersea are reached; while away to the south lie
+Camberwell, Ruskin, Brockwell, and Dulwich; right away into the
+country, on the south-east, Avery Hill and Eltham; and back again
+west, across the river again, in Hammersmith, is Ravenscourt. These
+parks of varying sizes, and smaller recreation grounds between, make
+up the actual parks, although some of the commons, with playgrounds,
+artificial water, and band-stands, can hardly be distinguished from the
+true park.
+
+The oldest of the parks now under the London County Council--Battersea,
+Kennington, and Victoria--were for many years under the Office of
+Works, and on the same footing as the Royal Parks. Government, and no
+municipal authority, has the credit of their formation. Then came
+several formed by or transferred to the Metropolitan Board of Works.
+To all these, already over 2050 acres, the London County Council
+automatically succeeded. After the Bill reorganising the disposal of
+the funds of the London Parochial Charities in 1883, a part of their
+money was allotted to provide open spaces, and they helped to purchase
+many of the parks--Clissold, Vauxhall, Ravenscourt, Brockwell, and so
+on. The acquisition of parks has, in many cases, been due to private
+individuals, who helped to raise the necessary funds, and themselves
+contributed, and were generally assisted by the local vestries,
+and, later on, Borough Councils. Miss Octavia Hill, by writing and
+trying to influence public opinion, made many efforts to secure open
+spaces. At her instance the Kyrle Society was founded for the general
+improvement of homes, of disused burial-grounds, and open spaces; and
+from this developed the Metropolitan Gardens Association, of which
+the Earl of Meath is Chairman. Immense credit is due to this Society,
+both for acquiring new sites and beautifying existing ones, and being
+instrumental in having countless places opened to the public. And to
+private individuals who have given whole parks, or largely contributed
+to others, too much gratitude cannot be expressed. Since they came into
+office, the London County Council has had added some 2300 acres of open
+spaces and parks to those under its care, which have been purchased,
+or given in whole or in part, by private individuals or other public
+bodies. Some of the last acquisitions of the London County Council lie
+quite outside the county boundary, so are beyond the limit set to this
+volume. Marble Hill is away at Twickenham, but half the purchase-money
+of £72,000 was paid by the London County Council, and the entire cost
+of alteration and maintenance is found by it. The place was bought
+chiefly to preserve the wooded aspect of the view from Richmond Hill.
+The Forest of Hainault is also outside the bounds, near Epping. The
+805 acres there are partly fields, and in part the remains of the old
+Forest of “Hyneholt,” as it was often written, a section of the Royal
+Forest which covered a large tract of Essex.
+
+The most natural division, when dealing with these open spaces, is
+the river, and it is a division which strikes a fairly even balance.
+Including Royal Parks, which contain some 1266 acres, the northern side
+can claim the larger area, as, irrespective of squares and churchyards
+and gardens, there are about 3141 acres of green. The south side has
+only Greenwich Park of 185 acres of Royal Park, and, exclusive of that,
+there are quite 2169 acres, as against 1875 of the municipal areas on
+the northern side, when the Crown land is deducted. Besides these,
+there are 226 acres maintained by the Borough Councils; so in round
+numbers London has about 5721 acres of open space. These figures are
+only rough estimates, and do not include all the smaller recreation
+grounds or gardens of less than an acre.
+
+These parks scattered around London are enjoyed by hundreds of
+thousands annually, and yet, to a comparative handful of people who
+live near Hyde Park, they are as much unexplored country as the regions
+of Timbuctoo. The bicycling craze of ten years ago suddenly brought
+Battersea Park into fashion; but the miles of crowded streets, with
+their rushing trams and top-heavy omnibuses, put a considerable bar
+between the “West End” and those more distant favoured spots. There
+is much variety in these parks, both north and south, and the chief
+difference lies in their origin. When a suburban manor-house, standing
+in its own grounds, with well-timbered park and a garden of some
+design, has been acquired, a much finer effect is produced than when
+fields or market-gardens have been bought up and made into a park.
+
+Finsbury Park, for instance, was merely fields, while Waterlow has
+always been part of a private demesne. It is the same on the south of
+the river. Brockwell is an old park and garden. Battersea was entirely
+made. Each park has features which give it an individual character,
+while there is and must be a certain repetition in describing every one
+separately.
+
+Many details are of necessity more or less the same in each. The London
+County Council is responsible for the greater number, and in every
+case they have thought certain things essential. For instance, the
+band-stand; no park, large or small, is considered complete without
+one. It is hardly necessary to mention each individually, though some
+are of the ordinary patterns, others more “rustic” in construction (as
+in Brockwell Park), with branching oak supports and thatched or tiled
+roofs. Every park, except Waterlow, which is too hilly, furnishes ample
+area for games. Cricket pitches by the dozen, and space for numerous
+goal-posts is provided for, in each and all of the larger parks.
+Gymnasiums, too, are included in the requirements of a fully-equipped
+park. Swings for the smaller children, bars, ropes, and higher swings
+for older boys and girls, are supplied. Bathing pools of greater
+or less dimensions are often added, the one in Victoria Park being
+especially large and crowded. Then the larger parks have green-houses,
+and a succession of plants are on view all the year round. The
+chrysanthemum time is one specially looked forward to in the East End
+districts. Iron railings and paths, of course, are the inevitable
+beginnings in the creation of a park, and more or less ambitious gates.
+It is only in the larger ones, such as Finsbury, Victoria, Dulwich,
+and Battersea, that carriages are anticipated. Though there is a drive
+through Brockwell, and the steep hill in Waterlow might be climbed, and
+the avenue in Ravenscourt is wide enough, it is evidently only foot
+passengers who are expected, as a rule. Fancy ducks and geese attract
+the small children on all the ponds, and some parks have enclosures for
+deer or other animals. Sand gardens, or “seasides” for children to dig
+in, are also frequently included.
+
+The larger parks are self-contained--that is to say, the bedding out
+and all the plants necessary for the flower-gardens are reared on the
+premises. There is a frame-ground with green-houses attached, where the
+stock is kept and propagated. Of course, much depends on the soil and
+locality. In some parks the things will stand the winter much better
+than in others, where fog and smoke and damp work deadly havoc.
+
+A great deal is now done with simple, hardy flowers, which give just as
+good an effect as more elaborate and expensive bedding. Roses in the
+show beds will do well for two or even three years; with a few annuals
+between they make charming effects. In Finsbury Park, the dark red
+roses with Canterbury bells, and fuchsias with a ground of alyssum,
+were effective and simple. In some parks the spring plants will thrive
+all through the winter. Beds of white Arabis with pink tulips between;
+forget-me-nots with white tulips; mixed collections of auriculas, that
+dear old-fashioned “bear’s ears,” put in about the end of October, make
+a little show all the winter, and produce a mass of colour in spring.
+There is still room for improvement in the direction of the planting,
+but of late years the war waged against the monopoly of calceolarias,
+geraniums, and blue lobelias has, fortunately, had its effect in a
+marked degree on the London Parks, municipal as well as royal.
+
+There is apt to be a great uniformity in the selection of plants,
+more especially among the trees and bushes. The future should always
+be borne in mind in planting, and alas! that is not always the case.
+Anything that will grow quickly is often put in, whereas a little
+patience and a much finer effect would be the result in the end.
+Privet grows faster than holly, but can the two results be compared?
+There is a very fine old elm avenue in Ravenscourt; trees which the
+planter never saw in perfection, but which many generations have since
+enjoyed. But will the avenue of poplars in Finsbury Park have such a
+future? After thirty-five years’ growth they are considerable trees,
+but how long will they last? The plane does grow remarkably well, there
+is no denying, but is it necessary for that reason to exclude almost
+every other tree? Ash trees thrive surprisingly. Some of the oaks take
+kindly to London, yet how few are planted. Richard Jefferies, that most
+delightful of writers on nature, bemoans the lack of English trees
+in the suburban gardens of London, and the same may be said of the
+parks to some extent. “Go round the entire circumference of Greater
+London,” he writes, “and find the list ceaselessly repeated. There are
+acacias, sumachs, cedar deodaras, araucarias, laurels, planes, beds
+of rhododendrons, and so on.” “If, again, search were made in these
+enclosures for English trees and English shrubs, it would be found that
+none have been introduced.”
+
+It would be even more charming in a London Park than a suburban garden
+to plant some of the delights of our English country, such as thorns,
+crab apples, elder, and wild roses, with horse-chestnuts, and hazel.
+What can be more beautiful than birches at all times of the year? That
+they grow readily, their well-washed white stems in Hyde Park testify.
+Birds, too, love the native trees, and some of the songsters, which
+till lately were plentiful in many parks, might return to build if thus
+encouraged.
+
+There is much monotony in the laying out of all these parks. The
+undulating green turf with a wavy line of bushes seems the only
+recognised form. A narrow strip of herbaceous plants is put between the
+smutty bushes and well-mown turf, and the official park flower-border
+is produced. Curving lines of uncertain direction, tortuous paths
+that carefully avoid the straight line, are all part of the generally
+received idea of a correct outline. It is always more easy to criticise
+than to suggest, but surely more variety would be achieved if parks
+were planted really like wild gardens--the groups of plants more
+as they might occur in a natural glade or woodland. Then let the
+herbaceous border be a thing apart--a garden, straight and formal,
+or curved and round, but not always in bays and promontories jutting
+into seas of undulating green. A straight line occasionally is a
+great rest to the eye, but it should begin and end at a definite and
+tangible point. The small Park in Camberwell has a little avenue of
+limes running straight across, with a centre where seats can be put
+and paths diverge at right angles. It is quite small, and yet the Park
+would be exactly like every other piece of ground, with no particular
+design, without this. It gives a point and centre to the meandering
+paths, and comes as a distinct relief. In Southwark Park an avenue is
+growing up into fairly large trees. It seems stuck on to the Park--it
+is not straight, but it is not a definite curve, and it ends somehow by
+turning towards the entrance at one end and twisting in the direction
+of the pond at the other. So it remains a shady walk, but not an avenue
+with any pretension to forming part of a design.
+
+It is not for the formal only this appeal is made, it is for less
+formality and more real wildness, also a protest against the monotony
+of the green banks, and bunches of bushes, and meaningless curves, too
+often the only form of design. The aim in every case must be to have as
+much variety as possible without incongruity, and to make the utmost
+use of the ground; to give the most pleasure at the least expense.
+
+One of the great difficulties must always be the numbers of people who
+enjoy these parks. The grass suffers to such an extent that portions
+must be periodically enclosed to recover. Then the children have to
+be kept at a certain distance from the flowers, or the temptation to
+gather one over-masters the fear of the park-keeper.
+
+A green walk between trees would be a pleasing change from gravel and
+asphalt in a less-frequented part of some park, but it would doubtless
+have to be closed in sections, or there would soon be no turf left;
+but such an experiment might well be tried. The attempts in Brockwell,
+Golder’s Hill, and Ravenscourt at “old English gardens” are most
+successful, and a welcome change in the monotony, and one has only to
+look at the crowded seats to see how much they are appreciated.
+
+The effort to make use of the parks to supplement nature-teaching in
+the schools is also an advance in the right direction, and one that
+could be followed up with advantage.
+
+The trials of the climate of London, and the hurtful fogs, must not
+be forgotten when criticising. They are no new thing, and gardeners
+for two hundred years have had to contend with the smoke, and wage
+war against its effects. But the evil has, of course, become greatly
+intensified during the last fifty years. Fairchild, the author of the
+“City Gardener,” in 1722, regrets that plants will not prosper because
+of the “Sea Coal.” Mirabeau, writing from London in 1784, deplores
+the fogs in England, and especially “those of London. The prodigious
+quantity of coal that is consumed, adds to their consistence, prolongs
+their duration, and eminently contributes to render these vapours more
+black, and more suffocating--you feel this when rising in the morning.
+To breathe the fresh morning air is a sort of happiness you cannot
+enjoy in this immense Capital.” Yet in spite of this gloomy picture
+there are trees now within the London area, which were getting black
+when Mirabeau wrote. Smuts are by no means solely responsible for trees
+dying. There are many other contributory causes. The drainage and want
+of water is often a serious danger, and bad pruning in the case of the
+younger trees is another. When branches begin to die, it is a very
+safe and salutary precaution to lop them off, as has lately been done
+to such a noticeable extent in Kensington Gardens. But the cutting and
+pruning of trees by those employed by various municipal bodies is often
+lamentably performed. The branches are not cut off clean, or to a
+joint, where fresh twigs will soon sprout and fill in and make good the
+gaps. Often they are cut leaving a piece of wood, which decays back to
+the young growth, and rots into the sound part of the tree.
+
+Some of the worst enemies of the gardener are the electric
+power-stations. The trees suffer terribly from the smoke they emit.
+Even healthy young shrubs and bushes, such as laurels, are destroyed
+by it. In a very short time they become completely dried up, brown,
+and shrivelled. In a memorandum on the Electric Power and Supply Bill
+of 1906, the First Commissioner of Works pointed out these disastrous
+effects. He says, “The case is not entirely one of the emission or
+consumption of black or sooty or tarry matters. The other products of
+combustion, such as sulphurous and sulphuric acid, with solid particles
+of mineral matter or ash, are very deleterious to vegetation.” It
+appears from the report of Dr. Thorpe, of the Government Laboratory,
+that the production of sulphuric acid could be “much diminished, if not
+entirely prevented, by pouring lime-water on the coal before it goes
+into the furnaces, but from the look of trees in some neighbourhoods
+this precaution does not appear to be taken.” These hindrances are
+often very disheartening, and the many and serious difficulties that
+have to be contended with, must never be lost sight of in any review of
+the parks.
+
+In every case the park is thoroughly appreciated by the inhabitants,
+and no one can overestimate the health-giving properties of these
+lungs of the city. It would be vain repetition to point out the fact
+in each case, or to picture the crowds who enjoy them on Sundays--who
+walk about, or lounge, or listen to the bands, or to what appears
+still more stimulating, to the impassioned harangue of some would-be
+reformer or earnest preacher. The densely-packed audiences, the
+gesticulations and heated and declamatory arguments, are not confined
+to Hyde Park. Victoria Park gathers just such assemblies, and every
+park could make more or less the same boast. The seats are equally full
+in each and all, and the grass as thickly strewn with prostrate forms.
+Perambulators are as numerous and children as conspicuous in the north,
+south, and eastern parks as in those of the west.
+
+In looking round the parks it will be well to take a glance at the
+smaller ones, then to consider each of the larger ones more in detail,
+in every case missing out some of the obvious appendages which are
+characteristic of all.
+
+How pathetic some of these little parks are, and what a part they play
+in the lives of those who live in the dingy streets near. Take, for
+instance, one with a high-sounding name, Avondale Park. It is little
+more than ten minutes’ walk from Shepherd’s Bush Station or Notting
+Hill Gate. Yet, on inquiry for the most direct road, nobody can give
+a satisfactory answer. One man will say, “I have lived here for years
+and never heard of it”; another, “I don’t think it can be in this
+district.” The same would be the result even nearer to it; but ask
+for the recreation ground, and any child will tell you. “Down the
+first narrow turning and to the right again, by the pawnbroker at the
+corner.” It is a melancholy shop, with the plain necessaries of life
+and tiny babies’ boots for sale on the trays outside the door--what
+a volume of wretchedness and poverty those poor things bespeak. A
+few yards further, and the iron railings of the “Park” come in view.
+The happy shrill voices of children resound, the swings are in full
+motion, the seats well filled, and up and down the asphalt walk, old
+and young are enjoying themselves. When the band plays the place is
+packed. “I’ve calculated as many as nine hundred at one time,” says
+the old guardian, who is proud of the place, “and as for the children,
+you often can’t see the ground for them.” Yes, this open space of four
+and a quarter acres is really appreciated. It is difficult for those
+in easier circumstances to realise what a difference that little patch
+of green, those few bright flowers, make to the neighbourhood, or the
+social effect of the summer evenings, when the band and the pleasant
+trees offer a counter-attraction to the public-house. For some twelve
+years this little Park has been enjoyed. Formed by the vestry, and kept
+up by the Royal Borough of Kensington, it greatly pleases, although
+it scarce can be called beautiful. The centre is given over to the
+children, and the boys have ample room, and the girls and infants keep
+their twenty-four swings in constant motion. A path twists round the
+irregular plot, and most of the way is bordered by those London-loving
+plants, the iris, and the usual groups of smutty bushes. Along the
+front runs a wide asphalt walk, well furnished with seats, a band-stand
+half way, and a fountain at one end. Some bedding out with gay flowers
+is the attraction here. A gardener and a boy keep it in order,
+while for about £20 a year a nurseryman supplies all the necessary
+bedding-out plants. The old guardian sweeps the scraps of paper up and
+sees the children are not too riotous at the swings. Thus, for no great
+expense, widespread pleasure is conferred.
+
+The Embankment Gardens, between Westminster and Blackfriars, are much
+frequented. At all seasons of the year the seats are crowded, and now,
+with the statues, bands playing in summer, refreshment buffet, and
+newspaper kiosk, they look more like a foreign garden than the usual
+solemn squares of London. During the dinner-hour they are filled with
+the printers from the many newspaper offices near, and the band was in
+the first instance paid for by the Press.
+
+They are divided into three sections, and measure ten acres in all,
+not including the garden beyond the Victoria Tower. The peace has been
+utterly destroyed by the din of trams, which are for ever passing and
+re-passing, and it is much to be feared that the trees next the river,
+which were growing so well, will not withstand the ill-treatment they
+have received--the cutting of roots and depriving them of moisture.
+The Gardens are entirely on the ground made up when the Embankment was
+formed, between 1864 and 1870.
+
+The Gardens were opened in 1870, but many improvements have since been
+made in the design, and various statues put up to famous men. One
+is to John Stuart Mill, and at the Westminster end, one of William
+Tyndall, the translator of the New Testament and Pentateuch, to which
+translation is due much of the beautiful language of the Authorised
+Version of the Bible.
+
+Of the old gardens and entrances to the great houses which stretched
+the whole length of the river bank, from Westminster and Whitehall to
+the City, only one trace remains. It is the Water Gate of York House.
+The low level on which it stands, below the terrace end of Buckingham
+Street, shows to what point the river rose. York House was so called
+as it was the town house of the Archbishops of York, but none of them
+ever lived there except Heath, in Queen Mary’s time, who was the first
+to possess it. It was let, as a rule, to the Keepers of the Great Seal,
+and Bacon lived there. George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, pulled
+down most of the old house, and commenced rebuilding. Nothing now
+remains but the Water Gate, supposed to be by Inigo Jones, although the
+design is also attributed to Nicholas Stone, who built it. The house
+and gardens were sold and divided in 1672. Buckingham Street and the
+streets adjoining are built on the site, and all that is left is the
+fine old gateway, with most modern-looking gardens between it and the
+river, which once flowed up to its arches.
+
+Another Embankment recreation ground is the Island Garden, Poplar, and
+it is one that is also much appreciated. It was made on some ground
+not required for ship-building or docks on the river front of the Isle
+of Dogs, and opened to the public in 1895. The idea of making a garden
+of it had for some few years been in contemplation, and as soon as the
+necessary funds were found, this space, somewhat less than three acres,
+was saved from being built over, and a wide walk of about 700 feet made
+along the river embankment. The view from the seats, with which it is
+plentifully supplied, over towards Greenwich Hospital and Park makes
+it a really charming promenade. The quaint name of this part of London
+is said to be derived from the fact that the kennels of the sporting
+dogs of the royal residents of Greenwich Palace were kept there, “which
+usually making a great noise, the seamen and others thereupon called
+the place the Isle of Dogs.” This seems the most plausible of the
+various definitions of the name of this peninsula--for it is only an
+island by means of the dock canal, made in 1800. A quotation from a
+play of Middleton and Dekker, in 1611, shows that then, at any rate, it
+was associated with actual dogs.
+
+“_Moll Cutpurse_: O Sir, he hath been brought up in the Isle of Dogs,
+and can both fawn like a spaniel and bite like a mastiff, as he finds
+occasion.”
+
+The ground in those days and until much later times was a fertile
+marsh, subject to frequent inundations, but affording very rich
+pasture. Breaches in the embankment occurred at intervals until a solid
+pile and brick wall was made in the last century, above which the
+“Island Gardens” were laid.
+
+Further along the north bank of the river there is another and a larger
+garden, kept up by the London County Council, although it is in East
+Ham and not within the County of London. This was made on the site of
+the North Woolwich Tea Gardens, which enjoyed a kind of popularity
+for some fifty years. Having been started in 1851, they kept up their
+reputation for “Baby Shows,” “Beard Shows,” and such-like attractions,
+until the ground became too valuable for building, and too heavily
+rated for them to exist, and, but for timely interference, this open
+space would have been converted into wharves.
+
+The story of the Bethnal Green Gardens is very different. Although
+it was only in 1891 that the present arrangements with regard to
+keeping up the Gardens were established, the 15½ acres of which
+they form part has a long history. As far back as 1667 the land was
+purchased by a group of residents, who collectively subscribed £200,
+and by a trust-deed dated 1690 conveyed the land to trustees, to be
+administered for the benefit of the poor. It had been purchased and
+enclosed, the deed specified, “for the prevention of any new building
+thereon.” Of this ground 9 acres form the present Garden; on part of
+the remainder St. John’s Church was built, and in 1872 the Bethnal
+Green Museum, an offshoot from South Kensington, was opened on another
+section. The most exhaustive work on Municipal Parks says that when
+the land “came into the possession of the London County Council” it
+“consisted of orchard, paddock, kitchen garden, and pleasure grounds,
+all in a rough and neglected condition.” Under the levelling hand of
+the London County Council it has been made to look exactly like every
+other public garden, with “ornamental wrought-iron enclosing fences,
+broad walks, shrubberies,” and so on, at a cost of over £5000, and was
+opened in 1895. There is no trace of its former condition, nothing to
+point to its antiquity or any difference in its appearance from the
+most modern acquisition. Perhaps after all it is as well, for among
+the thousands of that poor and crowded district that use and enjoy it,
+there is not one to whom a passing thought of the old weavers who were
+settled there when the land was given, or to whom the legend of pretty
+Bessee the Blind Beggar’s daughter of Bethnal Green would occur. Though
+the design is prosaic, the gardens are made cheerful and gay, and if
+they add a gleam of brightness to the lives of toil of those living
+near them, they must be said to fulfil their purpose.
+
+
+VICTORIA PARK
+
+Victoria Park was the first of the modern Parks to be laid out, and it
+is the largest. When the advantage of an East End Park was admitted,
+the work of forming one was carried out by the Commissioners of Woods
+and Forests. An Act passed in 1840 enabled them to sell York House to
+the Duke of Sutherland (hence it became Stafford House), for £72,000,
+and to purchase about 290 acres of land in the East End in the parishes
+of Hackney, Bethnal Green, and Bow. Part of this was reserved for
+building improved dwellings, and 193 acres formed Victoria Park, the
+laying out of which began in 1842. Thirty years later, when some of
+the land adjoining was about to be built on, the Metropolitan Board
+of Works bought some 24 acres to add to the Park, the whole of which,
+including the new part, was under the Office of Works. Other additions
+have been made from time to time, chiefly with a view to opening
+entrances to the Park, so as to make it as easy of access as possible
+from the crowded districts in the direction of Limehouse and the docks,
+and round Mile End Road.
+
+The ground which the Park covers was chiefly brick-fields and
+market-gardens, and Bishop’s Hall Farm. The latter place is the only
+part with any historical association. The farm was in the manor of
+Stepney, which was held by the Bishops of London, and Bishop’s or
+Bonner’s Hall was the Manor House. Many of the Bishops of London
+resided here in early days. Stowe, in 1598, referring to Bishop Richard
+de Gravesend in 1280, writes: “It appeareth by the Charter [of free]
+warren granted to this Bishop, that (in his time) there were two
+Woods in the Parish of Stebunheth [Stepney], pertaining to the said
+Bishop: I have (since I kept house for my selfe) knowne the one of
+them by _Bishops Hall_, but now they are both made plaine of wood,
+and not to be discerned from other grounds.” These woods were on the
+ground covered by the Park. Stowe notices in his short accounts of the
+Bishops of London that Ralph Stratford, who was Bishop from 1339 to
+1354, “deceased at Stebunhith.” The name Bonner’s Hall somehow became
+attached to the Manor House. The same chronicler also records that
+Bishop Ridley gave the manors of Stepney and Hackney to the King in the
+fourth year of Edward VI., who granted them to Lord Wentworth. Bonner,
+therefore, would be the last Bishop who could have resided there. The
+old Manor House was not destroyed till 1800, when part of the material
+was taken to build a farm-house, which was cleared away when the Park
+was formed.
+
+The first laying out of the Park does not seem to have been altogether
+satisfactory. A writer in 1851 criticises it very severely. The
+roads and paths, he says, were so badly laid as to require almost
+reconstruction. The “banks of the lake must be reduced to something
+like shape to resist the wash of the water,” and the remodelling of
+the plantations will be “a work of time.” Just then Mr. Gibson assumed
+the charge of the Park, and even this captious critic seems to have
+been well satisfied that he had “begun in real earnest” to carry out
+the necessary improvements. Modern gardeners might not applaud all his
+planting quite so enthusiastically as his contemporaries. For instance,
+the rage for araucarias--monkey puzzles--has somewhat subsided, though
+the planting of a number met with great praise in the Fifties. Most
+of the Park was planted with discrimination. In a line with the canal
+which forms one boundary, an avenue was put, now a charming shady
+road with well-grown trees. The artificial water with fancy ducks, in
+which is a wooded island with a Chinese pagoda, is a great delight for
+boating. The bathing-lake has still greater attraction, and thousands
+bathe there daily all through the summer months. It is said, as many
+as 25,000 have been counted on a summer’s morning. Bedding out was
+at its height when Victoria Park was laid out, so the flower-garden
+included some elaborate scroll designs which were suited to the style
+of carpet-bedding then in vogue. Now, though less stiff, the formal
+bedding is well done, and attracts great attention. Those in the East
+End have just as keen an appreciation as the frequenters of Hyde Park,
+of the display of flowers. The green-house in winter is much enjoyed,
+and a succession of bright flowers is kept there during the dark months
+of the year. The children’s sand garden is also a delight.
+
+[Illustration: PAGODA ON THE ISLAND, VICTORIA PARK.]
+
+In spite of its situation in a densely-populated district, the
+feathered tribes have not quite deserted the Park. The moor-hen builds
+by the lake and the ringdove nests in the trees. Though the greenfinch
+and the wren have vanished, some songsters still gladden the world.
+Blackbirds, thrushes, and chaffinches are by no means uncommon. Some
+of these latter get caught, and take part in the popular amusement of
+singing-matches. Many men in the district keep chaffinches in cages,
+and bring them to the Park on a Sunday morning that they may practise
+their notes in chorus with their wild associates, and so beat the caged
+bird of some rival. Sometimes the temptation is too great, and the wild
+birds are kidnapped to join the competition.
+
+
+FINSBURY PARK
+
+Finsbury is second in size, and second in date of construction, of
+the Parks of North London. It is far from Finsbury, being really in
+Hornsey, but as the idea, first expressed about 1850, was to make a
+Park for the borough of Finsbury, the name was retained although the
+land acquired some years later was somewhat remote.
+
+The movement was first set on foot when building began to destroy
+all the open spaces near Finsbury Fields. Some of these, like Spa
+Fields, had been popular places of resort as Tea Gardens, but were
+being rapidly covered with houses, and separating Finsbury altogether
+from the country. Many delays, owing to changes of Government,
+occurred before the necessary legislation was accomplished. When the
+Metropolitan Board of Works came into being, it took up the scheme, and
+it was finally under its auspices that the land was purchased, and the
+Park, 115 acres in extent, was opened in 1869.
+
+On the highest point of the ground there is a lake, which was in
+existence before it became a public park. Near there stood Hornsey Wood
+House, a Tea Garden of some reputation in the eighteenth century. About
+the year 1800 the old house was pulled down, and the new proprietor
+built another tavern, and converted part of the remains of Hornsey
+Wood into an artificial lake for boating and angling. This second
+house existed until it was pulled down in 1866, when the Park was in
+progress. Hornsey Wood was part of the forest which bounded London on
+the north, and the site of the Park was in the manor of Brownswood,
+which was held by the See of London.
+
+Accounts of various incidents which are connected with this spot are
+given in histories of Hornsey. The most picturesque is that in which
+the ill-fated little King Edward V. is the central figure, overshadowed
+by his perfidious uncle. “The King on his way to London [from Ludlow]
+was on the fourth of May met at Hornsey Park (now [1756] Highgate)
+by Edmund Shaw, the Mayor, accompanied by the Aldermen, Sheriffs and
+five hundred Citizens on Horseback, richly accoutered in purple Gowns;
+whence they conducted him to the City; where he was received by the
+Citizens with a joy inexpressible.... In this solemn Cavalcade, the
+Duke of Gloucester’s Deportment was very remarkable; for riding before
+the King, uncovered, he frequently called to the Citizens, with an
+audible voice, to behold their Prince and Sovereign.” What a scene
+must the site of Finsbury Park have presented that May morning. The
+Londoners, incensed at Gloucester’s having taken possession of the
+young King, no doubt meet him with distrust and anger, and while the
+procession moves on towards the City he allays their suspicions, acting
+a part to deceive them.
+
+The trees in Finsbury are beginning to grow up, and the Park is losing
+the new, bare look which made it unattractive in its early years.
+Poplars (fast-growing trees) have been largely used. That is very
+well for a beginning, but others of a slower growth, but making finer
+timber, are the trees for the future. There is nothing very special to
+notice in the general laying out of the grounds, as beyond the avenue
+of black poplars and the lake, there are no striking features. The
+view from the high ground, towards Epping, adds to the attractions of
+this useful open space but not very interesting Park. One of the most
+pleasing corners is the rock garden, not far from the lake. The plants
+seem well established and very much at home. The green-houses, too, are
+well kept up, and in the gloomy seasons of the year especially are much
+frequented.
+
+
+CLISSOLD PARK
+
+Clissold, or Stoke Newington Park, is one of the parks which has
+the advantage of having been the grounds of a private house, and
+enjoys all the benefits of a well-planted suburban demesne. The old
+trees at once give it a certain _cachet_ that even County Council
+railings, notice-boards, and bird-cages cannot destroy. It has the
+additional charm of the New River passing through the heart of it, and,
+furthermore, the ground is undulating.
+
+One of the approaches to the Park still has a semi-rural aspect and
+associations attached to it. This is Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, with
+a row of fine elm trees, under which the Queen may have passed as
+a girl while staying in seclusion at the manor-house, then in the
+possession of the Dudley family, relations to the Earl of Leicester.
+Stoke Newington, until lately, was not so overrun with small houses
+as most of the suburbs. In 1855 it was described as “one of the few
+rural villages in the immediate environs [of London]. Though, as the
+crow flies, but three miles from the General Post Office, it is still
+rich in parks, gardens, and old trees.” The last fifty years have quite
+transformed its appearance. “Green Lanes,” which skirts the west of the
+Park, though with such a rural-sounding name, is a busy thoroughfare,
+with rushing trams; and, but for Clissold Park and Abney Park Cemetery,
+but little of its former attractions would remain. The Cemetery is
+on the grounds of the old Manor House, where Sir Thomas Abney lived,
+and “the late excellent Dr. Isaac Watts was treated for thirty-six
+years with all the kindness that friendship could prompt, and all
+the attention that respect could dictate.” The manor was sold by
+direction of Sir Thomas’s daughter’s will, and the proceeds devoted to
+charitable purposes. The old church, with its thin spire, and the new
+large, handsome Gothic church, built to meet the needs of the growing
+population, stand close together at one corner of the Park, at the
+end of Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, and on all sides the towers among the
+trees form pretty and conspicuous objects. The house in the Park, for
+the most part disused, stands above the bend of the New River, which
+makes a loop through the grounds. It is a white Georgian house with
+columns, and looks well with wide steps and slope to the water’s edge,
+now alas! disfigured by high iron railings. The place belonged to the
+Crawshay family, by whom it was sold. The daughter of one of the owners
+had a romantic attachment to a curate, the Rev. Augustus Clissold, but
+the father would not allow the marriage, and kept his daughter more
+or less a prisoner. After her father’s death, however, she married
+her lover, and succeeded to the estate, and changed its name from
+Crawshay Farm to Clissold Place. This title has stuck to it, although
+it reverted to the Crawshays, and in 1886 was sold by them.
+
+[Illustration: STOKE NEWINGTON CHURCH FROM CLISSOLD PARK]
+
+The Park measures 53 acres. There is a small enclosure with fallow
+deer and guinea-pigs, some artificial water, and wide green spaces for
+games; but the special beauty of the Park consists in the canal-like
+New River, with walks beside it, and in places foliage arching over it,
+and the fine large specimen trees round the house. There are some good
+cedars, deciduous cypress, ilex, thorns, and laburnums; a good specimen
+of one of the American varieties of oak, _Quercus palustris_; also
+acacias and chestnuts--all looking quite healthy.
+
+
+SPRINGFIELD PARK
+
+Not very far from Clissold lies Springfield Park, in Upper Clapton,
+opened to the public in 1905. It also has the advantage of being made
+out of well laid out private grounds. The area, 32½ acres, embraced
+three residences, two of which have been pulled down, while the third,
+Springfield House, which gives its name to the Park, has been retained,
+and serves as refreshment rooms. The view from the front of the house
+over Walthamstow Marshes is very extensive. The ground slopes steeply
+to the river Lea, and beyond on the plain, like a lake, the reservoirs
+of the “East London Works,” now part of the Metropolitan Water Board,
+make a striking picture. Springfield House was, until lately, one of
+those pleasant old-fashioned residences of which there were many in
+this neighbourhood, standing in well-planted gardens overlooking
+the marshes and fertile flats below. These delightful houses are
+becoming more rare every year, and it is fortunate that the grounds
+of one of the most attractive should have been preserved as a public
+park. The place was well cared for in old days, as the good specimen
+trees testify. A flourishing purple beech is growing up, also a sweet
+chestnut and several birches. A very old black mulberry still survives,
+although showing signs of age. There are other nice timber trees on the
+hillside, and among the shrubs an _Arbutus unedo_, the strawberry tree,
+is one of the most unusual. This Park, though small, is quite unlike
+any other, and has much to recommend it to the general public, while in
+the more immediate neighbourhood it is greatly appreciated.
+
+
+WATERLOW PARK
+
+Undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the parks is Waterlow, the
+munificent gift of Sir Sydney Waterlow. Its situation near Highgate,
+above all City smoke; its steep slopes and fine trees; its old garden
+and historic associations, combine to give it a character and a charm
+of its own. It is small in comparison with such parks as Victoria,
+Battersea, or Finsbury, being only 29 acres, but it has a fascination
+quite out of proportion to its size. There are few pleasanter spots on
+a summer’s day, and at any season of the year it would well repay a
+visit. It is especially attractive when the great city with its domes
+and towers is seen clearly at the foot of the hill. London from a
+distance never looks hard and sharp and clear, like some foreign towns.
+The buildings do not stand up in definite outline like the churches
+of Paris looked down upon from the Eiffel Tower: the soft curtain of
+smoke, the mysterious blue light, a gentle reminder of orange and black
+fog, shrouds and beautifies everything it touches. On a June day, when
+the grass is vivid and the trees a bright pale green, Waterlow Park is
+at its best. The dome of St. Paul’s, the countless towers of Wren’s
+city churches, the pinnacles of the Law Courts, the wonderful Tower
+Bridge, dwarfing the old Norman White Tower, all appear in softened
+beauty behind the fresh verdure, through well-contrived peeps and gaps
+in the trees.
+
+Most of the ground is too steep for the cricket and football to which
+the greater part of other parks are given over. Only lawn tennis and
+bowls can be provided for, on the green lawns at the top of the Park.
+A delightful old pond, with steep banks overshadowed by limes and
+chestnuts, has a feeling of the real country about it. The concrete
+edges, the little patches of aquatic plants and neat turf, are missing.
+The banks show signs of last year’s leaves, fallen sticks, and
+blackened chestnuts, and any green near it, is only natural wild plants
+that enjoy shade and moisture. It is the sort of place a water-hen
+would feel at home in, and not expect to meet intruding Mandarin
+ducks or Canadian geese. Let us hope this quiet spot may long remain
+untouched. There are two newer lakes lower down, laid out in approved
+County Council style, trim and neat, with water-fowl, water-lilies, and
+judicious planting round the banks of weeping willows and rhododendron
+clumps. Probably many visitors find them more attractive than the upper
+pool. There is no fault to find with them, and they are perhaps more
+suited to a public park, but they are devoid of the poetry which raises
+the other out of the commonplace. As the slopes towards the lower
+lakes are the playground of multitudes of babies, it is necessary to
+protect them from the water’s edge by substantial railings, but most of
+the Park is singularly free from these unsightly but often necessary
+safeguards. The trees all through the grounds are unusually fine. Four
+hickories are particularly worthy of note. They are indeed grand and
+graceful trees, and it is astonishing they should be so little planted.
+These are noble specimens, and look extremely healthy.
+
+The most characteristic feature in the Park is the house it contains
+and the garden immediately round it. This was built for Lauderdale,
+the “L” in the Cabal of Charles II., probably about 1660. When
+this unattractive character was not living there himself, he not
+unfrequently lent it to Nell Gwynn. The ground floor of the house is
+open to the public as refreshment rooms, and one empty parlour with
+seats has much good old carving, of the date of the house, over the
+mantelpiece, also in a recess which encloses a marble bath known
+as “Nell Gwynn’s bath.” It is said to have been from a window in
+Lauderdale House that she held out her son when Charles was walking
+below, threatening to let him drop if the King did not promise to
+confer some title upon him. In response Charles exclaimed, “Save the
+Earl of Burford,” which title (and later, that of Duke of St. Albans)
+was formally conferred upon him.
+
+The terrace along which the King was walking is still there. A little
+inscription has been inserted on a sun-dial near the wall, to record
+the fact that the dial-plate is level with the top of St. Paul’s
+Cathedral. A flight of steps leads to a lower terrace. This is planted
+in a formal design consisting of three circles, the centre one having
+a fountain. Two more flights of steps descend, in a line from the
+fountain, to a broad walk bordered with flowers leading to one of the
+entrances to the Park. At right angles to the other steps a walk leads
+from the fountain to another part of the garden, which is planted
+with old fruit-trees on the grassy slope. It is at the foot of these
+steps that the water-colour sketch is taken. The “eagles with wings
+expanded” are the supporters of the Lauderdale arms. The whole garden
+is delightful, and so much in keeping with the house that it is easy to
+picture the much-disliked Lauderdale, the genial King, and fascinating
+“Nell,” living and moving on its terraces. Pepys gives a glimpse of one
+of these characters at home. He drove up alone with Lord Brouncker, in
+a coach and six. No doubt the hill made the six very necessary, as in
+another place Pepys talks of the bad road to Highgate. They joined Lord
+Lauderdale “and his lady, and some Scotch people,” at supper. Scotch
+airs were played by one of the servants on the violin; “the best of
+their country, as they seemed to esteem them, by their praising and
+admiring them: but, Lord! the strangest ayre that ever I heard in my
+life, and all of one cast. But strange to hear my Lord Lauderdale say
+himself that he had rather hear a cat mew, than the best musique in
+the world; and the better the musique, the more sick it makes him; and
+that of all instruments, he hates the lute most, and next to that the
+baggpipe.” These sentiments may not prove that Lauderdale was “a man of
+mighty good reason and judgement,” as Lord Brouncker assured Pepys when
+he said he thought it “odd company,” but at least it shows him honest!
+How many people who sit patiently through a performance of the “Ring”
+would have as much courage of their opinions?
+
+[Illustration: WATERLOW PARK]
+
+Within the grounds of the present Park, near Lauderdale House, stood a
+small cottage in which Andrew Marvel lived, which was only pulled down
+in 1869. It was considered unsafe, and no National Trust Society was
+then in existence to make efforts for its preservation. In a “History
+of Highgate” in 1842 the connection between the place and this curious
+personage, political writer, poet, Member of Parliament, and friend
+of Milton is barely commented on. “Andrew Marvel, a writer of the
+seventeenth century, resided on the Bank at Highgate in the cottage now
+occupied by Mrs. Walker.” The reader of these lines is penetrated with
+a feeling that he ought to know all about Mrs. Walker, rather than the
+obscure writer!
+
+The kitchen-garden is large, with charming herbaceous borders, and
+a long row of glass-houses and vineries, and the grapes produced
+have hitherto been given to hospitals. Let us hope that the same
+complaint will not arise here as in another Park, where out-door fruit
+was distributed, and caused such jealousies that the practice was
+discontinued.
+
+With such a high standard set by the existing gardens, it is curious
+that the new bedding should be as much out of harmony as possible. The
+beds which call forth this remark are those round the band-stand. The
+shape of them it is impossible to describe, for they are of uncertain
+form and indistinct meaning. The flowers are in bold groups, and yet
+they look thoroughly out of place.
+
+Wandering one summer’s day near the statue, erected to Sir Sydney
+Waterlow, the writer overheard some girls, who looked like shop-girls
+out for a holiday, discussing who it was. The most enterprising went
+up and read the inscription. “To Sir Sydney H. Waterlow, Bart., donor
+of the Park 1889, Lord Mayor of London 1872–73. Erected by public
+subscription 1900.” “Why, it’s to some chap that was once Lord Mayor,”
+was the remark to her friend, following a close scrutiny of this bald
+inscription. The impulse to explain the meaning of the word “donor”
+was irresistible; it was evidently quite Greek to these two Cockney
+young ladies. On learning the meaning they were very ready to join in a
+tribute of gratitude to the giver of such a princely present. Surely a
+few words expressing such a feeling would have been appropriate on the
+statue so rightly erected in memory of the gift! Profound feelings of
+thanks to the giver must indeed be experienced by every one who has the
+privilege of enjoying this lovely Park, one of the most charming spots
+within easy reach of the heart of the City.
+
+
+GOLDER’S HILL PARK
+
+Golder’s Hill Park joins the western end of Hampstead Heath, but its
+park-like appearance and house and garden are quite a contrast to the
+wilder scenery of the Heath, although Golder’s Hill seems more in the
+country than Hampstead, as the houses near are so well hidden from it.
+The mansion has a modern exterior, although parts of it are very old,
+and the fine trees in the grounds show that it has been a pleasant
+residence for some hundreds of years. The estate of 36 acres was
+bought in 1898 from the executors of Sir Spencer Wells, the money in
+the first instance being advanced by three public-spirited gentlemen,
+anxious to save the charming spot from the hands of the builder. The
+view from the terrace of the house, which now serves as a refreshment
+room, is very pretty, with a gently sloping lawn in front, park-like
+meadows, and fine trees beyond the dividing sunk fence, and distant
+peeps of the country towards Harrow. The approach from the Finchley
+Road is by an avenue of chestnuts, and a flat paddock on one side is
+a hockey and cricket-ground for ladies. There are some really fine
+oaks, good beeches, ash, sycamore, Spanish chestnuts, and Scotch firs;
+but the most remarkable tree is a very fine tulip, which flowers
+profusely nearly every year. At the bottom of the Park an undisturbed
+pond, with reedy margin, is much frequented by moor-hens. The valley
+above is railed off for some red deer, peacocks, and an emu, while
+three storks are to be seen prancing about under the oak trees in the
+open Park. The most attractive corner is the kitchen-garden, which,
+like the one in Brockwell, has been turned into an extremely pretty
+flower-garden. On one side is a range of hothouses, where plants are
+produced for bedding out, and a good supply of fruit is raised and sold
+to the refreshment-room contractor on the spot. Two sides have old red
+walls covered with pear trees, which produce but little fruit, and
+the fourth has a good holly hedge. The vines from one of the vineries
+have been planted out, and they cover a large rustic shelter, and have
+picturesque though not edible bunches of grapes every year. The way
+the planting of roses, herbaceous and rock plants, and spring bulbs
+is arranged is very good; but the same misleadingly-worded notice
+with regard to the plants of Shakespeare is placed here as in the
+Brockwell “old English garden.”[7] There is a nice old quince and other
+fruit-tree standards in this really charming garden. In another part of
+the grounds there is an orchard, not “improved” in any way, but left
+as it might be in Herefordshire, with grass and wild flowers under the
+trees, which bear bushels of ruddy apples every year.
+
+Part of the Park is actually outside London, but it is all kept up by
+the London County Council. The parish boundary of Hampstead and Hendon,
+which is also the limit of the County of London, is seen in the middle
+among the oak trees.
+
+
+RAVENSCOURT PARK
+
+Ravenscourt is another of those parks the nucleus of which was an old
+Manor House, hence the existence of fine old trees, which at once lift
+from it the crudeness which is invariably associated with a brand-new
+Municipal Park. A bird’s-eye view of the ground is familiar to many who
+pass over the viaduct in the London and South-Western trains. These
+arches intersect one end of the Park, and cut across the beginning of
+the fine old elm avenue, one of its most beautiful features. A bright
+piece of garden, typical of every London Park, with raised borders in
+bays and promontories, jutting into grass and backed by bushes, lies to
+the south of the viaduct. Where two paths diverge there is a pleasing
+variation to the usual type--a sun-dial--erected by Sir William Bull to
+“a sunny memory.” The arches have been utilised so as to compensate for
+the intrusion of the railway. Asphalted underneath, they form shelters
+in wet weather--one is given over to an aviary, two to bars for the
+elder children to climb on, and one is fitted with swings for the
+babies. This arch is by far the most popular, and it requires all the
+vigilance of the park-keeper to see that only the really small children
+use the swings, or the bigger girls would monopolise them. Perhaps the
+indulgent and fatherly London County Council will provide swings for
+the elders, too, some day, and so remove the small jealousies.
+
+To the west of the long avenue lies the orchard. A stretch of grass,
+devoted to tennis-courts and bowling-greens, separates the pear trees
+from the walk. These pears and the solitary apple tree are delightful
+in spring, and a temptation in autumn. Round the house, which is not
+by any means as picturesque as the date of its building (about 1649)
+would lead one to expect, are some good trees--planes that are really
+old, with massive stems, horse-chestnuts and limes, acacias that have
+seen their best days, cedars suffering from age and smoke, and a good
+catalpa. The Manor House which preceded the present building was of
+ancient origin. In early times it was known as the Manor House of
+Paddenswick, or Pallenswick, under the Manor of Fulham, and was the
+residence of Alice Perrers, the favourite of Edward III. It was seized
+in 1378, when she was banished by Richard II.; but after the reversion
+of her sentence, she returned to England as the wife of Lord Windsor,
+and the King, in 1380, granted the manor to him. It is not heard of
+again till Elizabeth’s time, when it belonged to the Payne family,
+and was sold by them in 1631 to Sir Richard Gurney, the Royalist Lord
+Mayor, who perished in the Tower. After his death it was bought by
+Maximilian Bard, who probably pulled down the old house and built the
+present one, which is now used as the Hammersmith Public Library. In
+the eighteenth century the name was changed from Paddenswick (a title
+preserved by a road of that name running near the Park) to Ravenscourt,
+an enduring recollection of the device of a black raven, the arms of
+Thomas Corbett, Secretary to the Admiralty, who owned the place for
+a few short years. Nearly every vestige of the surroundings of the
+old manor was obliterated and improved away by Humphrey Repton, the
+celebrated landscape gardener. He filled up most of the old moat,
+except a small piece, which was transformed into a lake, more in
+harmony with the landscape school to which he belonged. This piece of
+water is a pretty feature in the Park, and an attempt has been made to
+recall the older style, by introducing a little formal garden in an
+angle of the enclosing wall of the Park. The square has been completed
+with two hedges, one of them of holly, and good iron gates afford an
+entrance. The “old English garden,” from which dogs and young children,
+unless under proper supervision, are excluded, is laid out in good
+taste--a simple, suitable design, with appropriate masses of roses and
+herbaceous plants, arches with climbers, and an abundance of seats. It
+has the same misleading notice with regard to Shakespearian plants, as
+in Golder’s Hill and Brockwell, one of the South London Parks, which
+must now be looked at.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+MUNICIPAL PARKS IN SOUTH LONDON
+
+      _No fresh’ning breeze--no trellised bower,
+      No bee to chase from flower to flower;
+      ’Tis dimly close--in city pent--
+      But the hearts within it are well content._
+
+                                         --ELIZA COOK.
+
+
+Of the South London Parks Battersea is the largest and most westerly,
+and the best known to people outside its own district. Battersea is
+entirely new, and has no history as a Park, for before the middle of
+last century the greater part was nothing but a dismal marsh. The
+ground had to be raised and entirely made before the planting of it as
+a park could begin at all. The site was low-lying fields with reeds and
+swamps near the water, and market-gardens famous for the asparagus,
+sold as “Battersea bundles,” growing around it. In the eighteenth
+century three windmills were conspicuous from the river. One ground
+corn, another the colours, and the third served to grind the white lead
+for the potteries. This was during the time when Battersea enamel was
+at its height, and snuff-boxes were being turned out in quantities. On
+the banks of the river stood a tavern and Tea Garden, known as the Red
+House for many generations. It was much resorted to, but latterly its
+reputation was none of the best. Games of all kinds took place in its
+gardens, and pigeon-shooting was one of the greatest attractions there,
+during the first half of the nineteenth century. Although for long,
+crowds enjoyed harmless amusements there--“flounder breakfasts,” and
+an annual “sucking-pig dinner,” and such-like--towards the end of the
+time of its existence, it became the centre of such noisy and riotous
+merrymakings that the grounds of the Red House became notorious.
+The Sunday fairs, with the attendant evils of races, gambling, and
+drinking, were crowded, and thousands of the less reputable sections
+of the community landed every Sunday at the Red House to join in these
+revellings. It was chiefly with a view to doing away with this state
+of affairs, that the scheme was set on foot, for absorbing the grounds
+of the Red House, and other less famous taverns and gardens that had
+sprung up round it, and forming a Park.
+
+Battersea, or “Patricesy,” as it is written in Domesday, was a manor
+belonging to the Abbey of Westminster until the Dissolution of the
+Monasteries. The name is most probably derived from the fact that
+it was lands of St. Peter’s Abbey “by the water.” Later on it came
+into the St. John family, and Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, was
+born and died in Battersea. After his death it was purchased by Earl
+Spencer, in whose family it remains. Part of the fields were Lammas
+Lands, for which the parish was duly compensated. The gloomy wildness
+of the fields gave rise to superstitions, and a haunted house, from
+which groans proceeded and mysterious lights were seen at night,
+at one time scared the neighbourhood, and enticed the adventurous.
+The only historical incident, connected with the fields, is the duel
+fought there in 1829 between the Duke of Wellington and the Marquess
+of Winchelsea; the latter having personally attacked the Duke during
+the debates on the Catholic Emancipation Bill. The Duke aimed his shot
+through his adversary’s hat, who then fired in the air, and the affair
+of honour was thus settled. Battersea Fields were approached, in those
+days, by the old wooden Battersea Bridge which had superseded the
+ferry; the only means of communication till 1772. The present bridges
+at either corner of the Park have both been built since the Park was
+formed.
+
+Like Victoria Park, Battersea was administered with the other Royal
+Parks, in the first instance. The Act of Parliament giving powers
+to the “Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Woods” to form the Park was
+passed in 1846, but so much had to be done to the land, that the
+actual planting did not begin until 1857. The ground had all to be
+drained, and raised, and a proper embankment made to keep out the
+river. Just at this time the Victoria Docks were being excavated,
+and the earth dug out of them was conveyed to Battersea. Places were
+left, to form the shallow artificial lake, mounds raised, to make the
+ground round the water undulating, and the rest of the surface of
+the Park levelled. Altogether about a million cubic yards of earth
+were deposited in Battersea Park. The extent is 198 acres, and from
+the nature of the ground, except the artificial elevations near the
+lake, it is quite flat. The design was originally made by Sir James
+Pennethorne, architect of the Office of Works, and the execution of
+it completed by Mr. Farrow. The chief features, are the artificial
+water (for the most part supplied by the Thames), and the avenue of
+elms which traverses the Park from east to west, and cross walks, with
+a band-stand and drinking-fountain at the converging points. Round the
+Park runs a carriage drive, and, following a different line, a track
+for riders--with the usual spaces for games between. The trees are
+growing up well, so already any bareness has disappeared. The absolute
+flatness, which makes the open spaces uninteresting, is relieved by the
+avenue, which will some day be a fine one.
+
+It is an object-lesson to show the advantage of avenues and shady
+walks, too often ignored by modern park designers, or only carried
+out in a feeble, half-hearted way. The chief variation in Battersea
+Park was achieved by John Gibson, the Park Superintendent, who made
+the sub-tropical garden in 1864. His experience, gained on a botanical
+mission to India, which he undertook for the Duke of Devonshire, well
+fitted him for the task. This garden has always been kept up and added
+to, and specially improved in the Seventies, while the present Lord
+Redesdale was at the Office of Works.
+
+A sub-tropical garden was quite a novelty when first started here, and
+caused much interest to horticulturalists and landscape gardeners.
+The “Sub-tropical Garden,” by W. Robinson, and other writings on the
+subject, have since made the effects which can be produced familiar
+to all gardeners; but in 1864 to group hardy plants of a tropical
+appearance, such as aralias, acanthus, eulalias, bamboos, or fan palms,
+was a new idea. During the summer, cannas, tobacco, various palms,
+bananas, and so on, were added to the collection, and caused quite an
+excitement when they first appeared at Battersea. The garden is still
+kept up, and looks pretty and cool in summer, and on a cold winter’s
+day is sheltered and pleasant. But much of the charm and originality
+of the early planting has been lost, in the present official idea of
+what sub-tropical gardens should contain, which carries a certain
+stereotyped stiffness with it.
+
+In 1887 the Park, at the same time as Victoria and Kennington, was
+given up to the Metropolitan Board of Works, and since then the control
+has passed to its successor, the London County Council. The gardens are
+kept up, more or less, as before, with a few additions. An aviary with
+a restless raven, fat gold and silver pheasants, and contented pigeons,
+delights the small children, who are as plentiful in Battersea as in
+all the other London playgrounds. Like the other parks, Saturdays and
+Sundays are the great days. The games of cricket are played as close
+together as possible, until to the passer-by the elevens and even the
+balls seem hopelessly mixed. The ground not devoted to games is thickly
+strewn with prostrate forms, and certainly, in this, Battersea is by no
+means singular! In autumn, one of the green-houses, in which the more
+tender sub-tropical plants are housed is given up to chrysanthemums.
+This flower is the one of all others for London. It will thrive in
+the dingiest corners of the town, and display its colours long after
+the fogs and frosts have deprived the parks and gardens of all other
+colour. The shows in the East End testify to what can be achieved, even
+by the poorest, with this friendly plant. Every year at Shoreditch
+Town Hall the local exhibition takes place, and there are many similar
+institutions, where monster blooms, grown on roofs or in small back
+gardens, would compete creditably at a national show. The popularity
+of the chrysanthemums in Battersea Park is so great, that on a fine
+Sunday there is a string of people waiting their turn of walking
+through, stretching for fifty yards at least from the green-house to
+the entrance to the frame-ground. Certainly the arrangement of the
+green-house is prettily done. The stages are removed, and a sanded path
+with a double twist meanders among groups of plants sloping up to the
+rafters, and a few long, lanky ones trained to arch under the roof.
+The show is much looked forward to, and the colours and arrangements
+compared with former years, praised or criticised, such is the eager
+interest of those who crowd to take their turn for a peep. It is
+delightful to watch the pleasure on all faces, as a whole family out
+for their Sunday walk, press in together. It is only one more instance
+of the joy the London Parks bring to millions of lives.
+
+The world of fashion has only attacked Battersea Park spasmodically.
+When it was new, and the sub-tropical garden a rarity, people drove out
+from Mayfair or Belgravia to see it. Again Battersea became the fashion
+when the cycling craze began. In the summer of 1895 it suddenly became
+“the thing” to bicycle to breakfast in Battersea Park, and ladies
+who had never before visited this South London Park flocked there
+in the early mornings. It was away from the traffic that disturbed
+the beginner in Hyde or St. James’s Park, and perhaps the daring
+originality of cycling seemed to demand that conventions should further
+be violated; and nothing so commonplace as Hyde Park would satisfy the
+aspirations of the newly-emancipated lady cyclists. What would their
+ancestors, who had paced the Mall in powder and crinolines, have said
+to the short-skirted, energetic young or even elderly cyclist? No doubt
+some of that language which shocks modern ears, used by the heroines in
+“Sir Charles Grandison,” would have been found equal to the occasion.
+The great cycling rage is over, and Battersea is again deserted by fair
+beings, who now prefer to fly further afield in motors, but the Park
+is just as crowded by those for whose benefit it was really made--the
+ever-growing population of London south of the river.
+
+
+VAUXHALL PARK
+
+Going east from Battersea the next Park is Vauxhall, a small oasis of
+green in a crowded district. Although only 8 acres in extent, it is a
+great boon to the neighbourhood, and hundreds of children play there
+every day. It has been open since 1891, the land, occupied by houses
+with gardens, having been acquired and the houses demolished, and the
+little Park is owned and kept up by Lambeth Borough Council.
+
+It has nothing to do with the famous Vauxhall Gardens, to which the
+rank and fashion of the town flocked for nearly two hundred years;
+and the country visitor to Vauxhall Park could hardly speak of it in
+such glowing terms as Farmer Colin to his wife in 1741 of the famous
+Vauxhall Spring Gardens:--
+
+     “O Mary! soft in feature,
+        I’ve been at dear Vauxhall;
+      No paradise is sweeter,
+        Not that they Eden call.
+
+     “Methought, when first I entered,
+        Such splendours round me shone,
+      Into a world I ventured
+        Where rose another sun.”
+
+The site of these Gardens, which covered some twelve acres with groves,
+avenues, dining-halls, the famous Rotunda and caverns, cascades and
+pavilions, is now all built over. It lay about as far to the south-east
+of Vauxhall Bridge as the little Park is to the south-west. In name
+Vauxhall sounds quaint and un-English. In earlier times it was known
+as Foxhall, or more correctly Foukeshall, from Foukes de Breant, who
+married a sister of Archbishop Baldwin in the latter half of the
+twelfth century.
+
+The land of the present Park was purchased in May 1889.[8] Then it
+was covered by houses standing in their own grounds. The largest of
+these was Carroun or Caroone House, which had been built by Sir Noel
+de Caron, who was Ambassador of the Netherlands for thirty-three
+years, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I.--the others, a row
+of eight with gardens, were known as “The Lawn.” In front of them was
+a long pond, said to have been fed by the Effra River. This stream,
+which rose in Norwood and flowed into the Thames at Vauxhall, has,
+like most of the other streams of London, become a sewer, and the pond
+is no more. In one of these houses (51 South Lambeth Road) Mr. Henry
+Fawcett resided, and when the houses were pulled down to form the Park
+his was left, the intention being to make it into some memorial of
+him. It was found to be too much out of repair to retain, and had to
+be pulled down. With the sum which the sale of materials from the old
+house realised, it was proposed to erect a memorial drinking-fountain.
+This idea bore fruit, as Sir Henry Doulton sold one to the vestry
+for less than one-third of its value, and moreover gave a further
+memorial to the courageous blind Postmaster-General of a portrait
+statue by Tinworth, with appropriate allegorical figures. This fine
+group recording the connection of Henry Fawcett with the place is
+the most conspicuous feature of the Park. The trees are growing up,
+and an abundance of seats and dry walks made it an enjoyable if not
+beautiful garden. The swings and gymnasiums are numerous and large,
+but what gives most pleasure is the sand-garden for little children.
+For hours and hours these small mites are happily occupied digging
+and making clean mud pies, while their elders sit by and work. It is
+touching to see the miniature castles and carefully patted puddings
+at the close of a busy baby’s day. In the summer, when the sand is
+too dry to bind, some of the infants bring small bottles, which they
+manage to get filled at the drinking-fountain, and water their little
+handfuls of sand. These children’s sand-gardens, common in parks in
+the United States, are a delightful invention for the safe amusement
+of these small folk, and the delight caused by this one, which was
+only made in 1905, shows how greatly they are appreciated. Many of the
+parks and some of the commons now have their “sea-side” or “sand-pit,”
+and probably not only do they give immense pleasure, but they act as
+a safety-valve for small mischievous urchins, who otherwise could not
+resist trespassing on flower-beds.
+
+The grass in this, as in all the parks, has to be enclosed at times, to
+let it recover, the tramp of many feet. The wattled hurdles which are
+often used in the London Parks for this purpose, have quite a rustic
+appearance. They are like those which appear in all the agricultural
+scenes depicted in fifteenth century MSS. It is much to be hoped that
+no modern invention in metal will be found to take their place.
+
+
+KENNINGTON PARK
+
+Not very far from Vauxhall, beyond the famous Oval, lies the larger and
+more pretentious Kennington Park of 19½ acres. This has a long history
+as Kennington Common. It formed part of the Duchy of Cornwall estates,
+having been settled by James I. on Prince Henry, and has since belonged
+to each succeeding Prince of Wales. In still earlier times there was a
+Royal Palace at Kennington, which fell into decay after Henry VIII.’s
+reign. Here as on all similar commons, the people had a right of
+grazing cattle for six months of the year. But the moment it was open
+to them in the spring such a number of beasts were turned on to the
+ground, that in a very short time “the herbage” was “devoured, and it
+remained entirely bare for the rest of the season.”
+
+The Common was a great place for games of all sorts, particularly
+cricket. When in 1852 it was turned into a Park, and play could not go
+on to the same extent, by suggestion of the Prince Consort, a piece of
+land, then market-gardens, was let by the Duchy to the Surrey Cricket
+Club, which was formed for the purpose of maintaining it. This is the
+ground that has since gained such notoriety as the Oval, the scene of
+many a match historical in the annals of cricket. The Common, too, was
+famous for the masses that collected there to hear Whitfield preach.
+His congregations numbered from 10,000 to 40,000 persons, and his voice
+would carry to the “extremest part of the audience.” He notes in his
+diary, Sunday, May 6, 1731--“At six in the evening went and preached
+at Kennington; but such a sight I never saw before. Some supposed
+there were above 30,000 or 40,000 people, and near fourscore coaches,
+besides great number of horses; and there was such an awful silence
+amongst them, and the Word of God came with such power, that all seemed
+pleasingly surprised. I continued my discourse for an hour and a half.”
+The last time he preached there was a farewell sermon before he went to
+America in August 1739.
+
+Two other incidents are connected with Kennington Common, neither so
+pleasant--the scenes of the execution for high treason, with all the
+attendant horrors, of the “Manchester rebels” after the ’45; and the
+great Chartist revolutionary meeting under Feargus O’Connor in 1848.
+The precautions taken by the Duke of Wellington saved the situation,
+and the 200,000 people who it had been proposed should march to
+Westminster melted away, and the whole thing was a fiasco.
+
+It was soon after this episode that the Common was converted into a
+Park. The ground, including all the Common and the site of the Pound,
+was handed over by the Duchy of Cornwall (by Act of Parliament), to be
+laid out as “Pleasure grounds for the recreation of the public; but if
+it cease to be so maintained” to “revert to the Duchy.”
+
+The transformation has been very successful, and the design was
+suitable and well conceived. The large greens are divided by wide
+paths shaded by trees, and each section can be closed in turn to
+preserve the grass. There is a sunk formal garden, bedded out with
+bright flowers, which show up well on the green turf; and at one end
+there are shrubberies with twisting walks in the style that is truly
+characteristic of the English Park, and seems to appeal to so many
+people. The whole space is not large, but the most is made of it, and
+both the formal and the “natural” sections have their attractions. At
+the “natural” end, near the church--which, by the way, was built as a
+thank-offering after Waterloo--is a handsome granite drinking-fountain,
+designed by Driver, and presented by Mr. Felix Slade; and in the centre
+of the Park is a fountain, given by Sir Henry Doulton, with a group of
+figures by Tinworth, emblematic of “The Pilgrimage of Life.” The Lodge
+was the model lodging-house erected by the Prince Consort in the Great
+Exhibition of 1851.
+
+
+MYATT’S FIELDS
+
+Myatt’s Fields or Camberwell Park is but a short distance to the
+south-west of Kennington. This Park of 14½ acres was one of those
+princely gifts which have been showered on the inhabitants of London.
+It was presented by Mr. William Minet, in whose family the land has
+been since 1770. His ancestors were Huguenots who had come to England
+at the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
+
+[Illustration: FOUNTAIN BY TINWORTH, KENNINGTON PARK]
+
+It was handed over to the newly-formed County Council in 1889,
+having been previously laid out. The way in which this was done with
+an avenue, which will some day be one of the great beauties of the
+neighbourhood, and which is in the meantime a pleasant shady walk, has
+already been commented on. For its size, Myatt’s Fields is one of the
+most tasteful of the new parks. Its quaint name is a survival of the
+time when the ground was a market-garden leased by a certain Myatt from
+1818–69. The excellent qualities of the strawberries and rhubarb raised
+there, gave the Fields such a good reputation in the district, and the
+name became so familiar, that it was retained for the Park.
+
+Camberwell Green is a distinct place, not far distant, and is noticed
+among the village greens of London.
+
+
+RUSKIN PARK
+
+Ruskin Park, the newest of all the parks, is not very far from
+Camberwell, and has been formed of a cluster of houses, with grounds
+of their own, on Denmark Hill, known as the Sanders’ Estate. The name,
+which has an “Art Nouveau” sound about it, and raises an expectation
+of something beautiful, was given to it because John Ruskin for many
+years lived in the neighbourhood. From 1823, when he was four, to 1843,
+his home was 28 Herne Hill, and there he wrote “Modern Painters.” From
+then until 1871 he lived even nearer the present Park, at 163 Denmark
+Hill. Describing the house, Ruskin wrote of it: “It stood in command
+of seven acres of healthy ground ... half of it meadow sloping to the
+sunrise, the rest prudently and pleasantly divided into an upper and
+lower kitchen-garden; a fruitful bit of orchard, and chance inlets and
+outlets of wood walk, opening to the sunny path by the field, which
+was gladdened on its other side in springtime by flushes of almond
+and double peach blossom.” Such might have been the description of
+the houses and grounds now turned into a park. Some of the lines of
+the villa gardens have been retained, and some wise and necessary
+additions and changes have been made to bring the whole together; but
+even the inspiration of Ruskin has not kept out the inevitable edges
+and backbones of uninteresting evergreens. Some of the green-houses
+have been kept, but six dwellings have been demolished, and one of
+the two retained will be used as a refreshment room. The outside wall
+of the garden front of one, covered with wistaria, has been left,
+facing its own little terrace and lawn and cedars, and soon after the
+opening, in February 1907, many people found it was possible to get
+sun and shelter and enjoy the prospect from the seats in front of the
+ruined drawing-room windows. The dividing wall of two houses has been
+cleverly turned into what will be a charming pergola, and below, the
+ground has been levelled to form a bowling-green. The terraces and
+steps from one level to another are a pleasing feature in the design.
+The ground is not yet finished, and it is greatly to be hoped that
+the usual clumps of evergreens will not be multiplied, but Ruskin’s
+description borne in mind, and let there be almonds and double peaches
+to gladden the spring, and not drooping, smutty evergreens, or “ever
+blacks,” as they might be more fittingly called, to jar on the picture
+of fresh young growth. The pond, a stiff oval, has had to have the
+necessary iron railings, and the trees near it have been substantially
+barricaded with rustic seats--a most important addition. The avenue of
+chestnuts which crosses the open part of the ground has been left; and
+there are other good young trees growing up, and a fine old ilex and
+mulberry. There is already a question of adding a further 12 acres to
+this Park, which is 24 acres at present, but the scheme is still under
+consideration.
+
+
+BROCKWELL PARK
+
+Those who want a change, from the roar and bustle of streets, can
+attain their object very quickly by the expenditure of a few pence
+and fifteen minutes in the train. Getting out at Herne Hill Station,
+in a few seconds the gates of Brockwell Park are reached. The old
+trees and undulating ground are all that could be desired, but the
+chief attraction, and the object that well repays a visit, is the
+old walled garden. It is a high brick enclosure, with fine old trees
+peeping above, and festoons of climbing plants brightening the dull red
+walls. The narrow paths, running in straight lines round and across,
+are here and there, spanned by rustic arches covered with roses, or
+clematis, or gourds, from which hang glowing orange fruit in autumn.
+In the centre of the garden a small fountain plays on to moss-grown
+stones, and on a hot summer’s day the seats, shaded by the luxuriant
+Traveller’s Joy, make a cool resting-place, though not so sequestered
+as the arbours in the angles of the wall, darkened by other climbers.
+The rest of the garden is a delightful tangle of herbaceous plants.
+All the old favourites are there, and a small notice near the entrance
+announces to those in search of knowledge that the garden contains all
+herbs and garden plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. A little
+knowledge is a dangerous thing, and the unwary might not realise that
+the flowers of Shakespeare’s time, although undoubtedly there, only
+form a small portion of the whole display. The board is literally
+true, but visitors are apt to go away with the idea that brilliant
+dahlias, and gaudy calceolarias, or even the most modern introduction,
+_Kochia tricophila_, were friends of Shakespeare’s! A large number of
+the plants, however, are truly of the Elizabethan age, that golden
+time of progress in gardening as well as of other arts, when spirited
+courtiers and hardened old sailors alike scoured the seas and brought
+strange plants from new lands. Many of these now familiar treasures
+from east and west flourish in this little enclosure, and recall the
+romantic days of the sixteenth century: the Marvel of Peru--the very
+name tells the delight that heralded its arrival from the West--the
+quaint Egg-plant (_Solanum ovigerum_) brought from Africa, and the
+bright-seeded Capsicums from India. Even the bush, with its wealth of
+white or purple flowers, the _Hibiscus Syriacus_, was known in those
+days, though not by that name. Gerard, in describing it, says it was
+a stranger to England; “notwithstanding, I have sowen some seedes of
+them in my garden, expecting successe.” That delightful confidence,
+which is the great characteristic of all these old gardeners, was not
+abused, apparently, in this case, for two years later, in the catalogue
+of plants in his garden, 1599, this great tree mallow was flourishing.
+Many of the gourds, which are grown to great advantage in this little
+garden, were also known at an early date. Gerard says of them, “they
+joy in a fruitful soil, and are common in England.” Were it not for
+the conspicuous little notice-board, no fault could be found with the
+selection of plants which, from early spring till late autumn, brighten
+this romantic little garden. The _Solanum jasminoides_ is none the
+less graceful because it has only found a home in sheltered corners in
+England, for the last seventy years. _Cobæa scandens_, which festoons
+very charmingly some of the arches, is certainly an old friend, having
+been over a hundred years in this country; but it is a new-comer when
+compared with the Passion Flower growing in profusion near it, and even
+that did not appear until after Shakespeare’s death. It was unknown to
+Gerard, but his editor, Thomas Johnson, illustrates it in the appendix
+to the edition of 1633. It had then arrived from America, “whence it
+hath been brought into our English gardens, where it growes very well,
+but floures only in some few places, and in hot and seasonable yeares:
+it is in good plenty growing with Mistresse Tuggy at Westminster,
+where I have some years seene it beare a great many floures.” Mistress
+Tuggy and her friend would have rejoiced at the sight of the house in
+the centre of Brockwell Park on a warm October day, thickly covered
+with the golden fruit as well as star-like flowers of their precious
+“Maracoc or Passion-floure.”
+
+[Illustration: OLD ENGLISH GARDEN, BROCKWELL PARK]
+
+This delightful walled garden was the old kitchen-garden. Luckily,
+the fashion for the gardens of a past generation was growing at the
+time the Park was purchased, and the London County Council must be
+congratulated on the good taste displayed in dealing with it. The
+history of the acquisition of the ground is soon told. The desire for
+a park in this neighbourhood led those interested to try and arrange
+to buy Raleigh House in the Brixton Road, with some 10 acres of land,
+for about £40,000. Having got an Act of Parliament to allow this,
+Brockwell Park came into the market with a ready-made park of 78 acres.
+The Act of 1888 was repealed, and eventually a sum of nearly £120,000
+was spent on the purchase of Brockwell, which was opened to the public
+in 1892. Near the entrance gates, close to Herne Hill Railway Station,
+a drinking-fountain, with a graceful figure of “Perseverance” and
+portrait bust, has been erected to Mr. Thomas Lynn Bristowe, M.P. for
+Norwood, who was chiefly instrumental in obtaining the Park, and whose
+death occurred with tragic suddenness at the opening ceremony. It is
+quite a steep hill up to the house, which is of no great antiquity
+or beauty, having been built at the beginning of last century, when
+the older manor-house was pulled down, by Mr. Blades, the ancestor of
+the last owner. The view on all sides is extensive, and the timber
+is fine. There are good old oaks, as well as elms and limes; and it
+is satisfactory to see that, in the recent planting, limes have been
+given a place, and not only the overdone plane. As a contrast to the
+delightful formal garden, some pretty wild grouping has been carried
+out beside the artificial water. This series of ponds are an addition
+to the Park as originally purchased. It now measures 84 acres, and
+the extra piece contained water, which has been enlarged into a big
+bathing-pool and a so-called “Japanese garden.” These ponds are well
+arranged; and although there are various kinds of ducks and geese and
+black swans, and concrete edges and wire netting are inevitable, they
+are not so aggressive as in many parks. In places tall plants have been
+put in behind the railings and allowed to hang over, to break the undue
+stiffness. In the late autumn purple Michaelmas daisies nearly touched
+the water, and the red berries of the Pyracantha overhung the ducks
+without apparent disagreement.
+
+The opening of Brockwell as a public Park has had the effect of
+banishing most of the rooks. There was a large rookery, but year by
+year the nests decrease. In 1896 there were thirty-five nests, the next
+year twenty, while in 1898 there were only eight or ten. Thus every
+season they are getting fewer, but still, in the spring of 1907, one
+pair of rooks were bold enough to build.
+
+
+DULWICH PARK
+
+Dulwich Park is not very far from Brockwell, but its surroundings
+are more open. A few of the roads near it have some feeling of the
+country left. The houses that are springing up are of a cheerful villa
+type, and have nothing of the monotony and dulness of most of the
+suburbs. Fine old trees grow along many of the roads. The chestnuts,
+for instance, in Half Moon Lane between Herne Hill and Dulwich
+are charming, and also on the further side of the Park, where the
+celebrated inn, the “Green Man,” was situated, there is a rural aspect
+and a delightful walk between trees. It was within the grounds of the
+“Green Man” that the Wells of chalybeate water were situated. The Wells
+had been discovered in the reign of Charles II., and the water sold in
+London, but the “Green Man” did not become a popular resort until after
+1739. A story connected with this popular spa is recorded in the “Percy
+Anecdotes” in 1823. A well-known literary man was invited to dinner
+there, and wished to be directed. However, he inquired vainly for the
+“Dull Man at Greenwich,” instead of the “Green Man at Dulwich.” One
+of the entrances to the Park is close to the site of the once famous
+Wells. The Park itself, which covers 72 acres, was the munificent gift
+of Dulwich College. The gift was confirmed by an Act of Parliament
+in 1885, and the Park opened to the public in 1890. The College was
+founded by Edward Alleyn in 1614, who called it “The College of God’s
+Gift.” Originally, there were besides the Master, Warden, and four
+Fellows, six poor brethren and six sisters, and thirty out-members.
+The value of the property has so enormously increased that the number
+of scholars has been very greatly added to, and now hundreds of boys,
+some quite free, and some for a very low fee, obtain a sound commercial
+education. The founder was a friend of Shakespeare, and one of the best
+actors of his plays in the poet’s lifetime. His early biographers go
+out of their way to refute the alleged reason of his founding “God’s
+Gift College,” namely, that when on one occasion he was personating the
+devil, the original appeared, and so frightened him that he gave up the
+stage to devote himself to good works. Were this story true, the vision
+was certainly well timed, and has produced unexpected and far-reaching
+results. The educational work, the picture gallery, and the well laid
+out estate of Dulwich Manor, including the large public Park, are all
+the direct result!
+
+There are a few fine old trees in the Park, particularly a row of
+gnarled oaks near the lake. This is a small sheet of water on the
+side nearest the College. The carriage road, which encircles the
+Park, crosses by a stone bridge the trickling stream, formed by the
+overflow from the lake. On the south-east side of the Park there are
+but few trees, but large masses of rhododendrons and azaleas have
+been planted, which make a brilliant show in the summer. The most
+distinctive feature is the rock gardening. There is a very large
+collection of Alpine and rock plants, which are growing extremely well
+and covering the stones with delicious soft green cushions, which turn
+to pink, yellow, white, and purple, as the season advances. Even in
+the cold, early spring, snowdrops, and the pretty little Chionodoxa,
+the “Glory of the Snow,” begin to peep out amongst the rocks, and
+these are the harbingers of a succession of bloom, through the spring
+and summer months. On either side of one of the entrances, a long and
+pleasing line of this rock-work extends, but the plants for the most
+part are grown on mounds like rocky islands rising up from a sea of
+gravel. There are several of these isolated patches in the middle of
+the carriage drive. It is certainly fortunate, for those who only
+drive round the Park, thus to have a full view of the charming rock
+plants; but to compare such a display to the rock garden at Kew is
+misleading. There may be nearly as many plants at Dulwich as at Kew,
+but the arrangement of that charming little retired valley at Kew is
+so infinitely superior that the comparison is unjustified. The small
+stream which leaves the lake, and other places in the Park, offer,
+just as good a foundation for a really effective rock garden as the
+one at Kew. Such an arrangement would give a much better idea of the
+plants, in their own homes, than the islands in the roadway, that
+must suffer from dust, besides looking stiff and unnatural. It is,
+however, delightful to see how well these plants are thriving. This is
+hardly astonishing, as it is not in a crowded, smoky district, but in
+one of the most favoured of suburbs. Dulwich Park adds greatly to the
+advantages of the neighbourhood: it has not hitherto been crowded, and
+is by no means a playground of the poorest classes, but now the advent
+of electric trams and rapid communication may somewhat lessen its
+exclusiveness.
+
+
+HORNIMAN GARDENS
+
+There are gardens of a very different character round the Horniman
+Museum, not far distant. This collection, as well as the 9¼ acres of
+ground adjoining it on Forest Hill, were the gift of the late Mr. J. F.
+Horniman, M.P., and the garden, kept up by the London County Council,
+was opened in June 1901. The situation is extremely attractive. A
+steep walk up an avenue from London Road, Forest Hill, near Lordship
+Lane Station, leads to a villa standing in its own grounds, which is
+utilised for refreshment rooms and caretaker’s house, &c. The lawns
+descend steeply on three sides, and on the western slope there is a
+wide terrace, with a row of gnarled pollard oaks. From this walk there
+is a wide and beautiful view, over the hills and parks, chimney-pots
+and steeples of South London, with the lawns and pond of Horniman
+Gardens in front. On this terrace a shelter and band-stand have been
+put up, and no more favoured spot for enjoying the open-air town life,
+so common on the Continent, but until lately so rare in England, can
+well be imagined. The country round is still fairly open, between
+Forest Hill and Brixton. Near the foot of Horniman Gardens lies Dulwich
+Park, with the shady path known as “Cox’s Walk,” from the proprietor
+of the “Green Man,” and the roads lined with trees connect Dulwich
+with Brockwell Park, Herne Hill, so that this corner of London is well
+supplied with trees.
+
+
+DEPTFORD PARK
+
+Deptford Park is a complete contrast to the semi-rural Dulwich. It
+is in one of the most densely-populated and poor districts, where
+it is greatly needed, and has been open since 1897. The site was
+market-gardens, and was sold by the owner, Mr. Evelyn, below its value,
+to benefit the neighbourhood. It is merely a square, flat, open space
+of 17 acres, with only a few young trees planted round the outskirts.
+Near the principal entrance in Lower Road, the approach is by a short
+walk between two walls. Along either side of the pathway, and for some
+little distance to the right and left, after the open space is reached,
+a nice border of herbaceous plants has been made along the wall, and
+a few beds placed in the grass on either side, and ornamental trees
+planted. Thus the entrance to this wide playground is made cheerful and
+attractive, and a pleasant contrast to the grimy streets outside.
+
+
+TELEGRAPH HILL
+
+Between these two extremes lies a small Park known as Telegraph Hill.
+It is only 9½ acres, and is cut in two by a road, but it is very
+varied in surface. The origin of its name is from its having been a
+station for a kind of telegraphy that was invented before the electric
+telegraph had been discovered. Two brothers Chappé invented the
+system, and were so successful in telegraphing the news of a victory
+in 1793, that their plan was adopted in France, and soon throughout
+Europe. In Russia a large sum was expended in establishing a line of
+communication between the German frontier and St. Petersburg; but so
+slow was the building that the stations were hardly at work before
+they were superseded by electricity. The signals were made by opening
+and shutting six shutters, arranged on two frames on the roofs of a
+small house, and by various combinations sixty-three signals could
+be formed. The Admiralty established the English line, of this form
+of telegraphy between Dover and London in 1795, and the first public
+news of the battle of Waterloo actually reached London by means of the
+one on “Telegraph Hill.” The place was well chosen, for even now, all
+surrounded by houses, the hill is so steep and conical, that a very
+extensive view is still obtained. The site of the semaphore station is
+now a level green for lawn tennis. On the other side of the roadway,
+the descent is steep into the valley, and there are two small ponds at
+the bottom. The cliffs are covered with turf, interspersed by the usual
+meaningless clumps of bushes, and a few nice trees.
+
+
+SOUTHWARK PARK
+
+Southwark Park lies far away from Southwark, beyond Bermondsey, in
+Rotherhithe. It was in the parliamentary borough of Southwark, hence
+the misleading name. The Park is a gloomy enough place when compared
+with the more distant or West End Parks, but a perfect paradise in
+this crowded district. Between its creation in 1864 and its completion
+in 1869, a great reformation was worked in the district. Close to the
+docks, and intersected by streams and canals, with the poorest kind
+of rickety houses so vividly described by Dickens in “Oliver Twist,”
+the surroundings were among the most dismal imaginable. The actual
+site of the Park was partly market-gardens, which had for long been
+established in this locality owing to the fertility of the alluvial
+soil. Vines were grown here for wine with success in the first half
+of the eighteenth century, when there was a revival in grape-growing,
+and vineyards were planted at Hoxton and elsewhere. Over 100 gallons of
+wine were made in a year in Rotherhithe. Some of the earth excavated
+from the Thames Tunnel was put on the ground covered by the Park before
+the laying out commenced. When the land, 65 acres, was bought, only 45
+were to be kept for the Park, and the rest were reserved for building.
+But when the day of building arrived there was such an outcry that the
+whole plan was remodelled, the drives which encircled it done away
+with, and tar-paved paths substituted, only one driving road crossing
+it being left, and the ponds added. It is more the want of design, than
+any special style, that is conspicuous, and a good deal more could have
+been done to make the Park less gloomy. An avenue is growing up, but
+it will never have the charming effect of the one across Battersea, as
+the line is neither straight nor a definite curve. The wild fowl on
+the pond are such an attraction, that perhaps it may be that the wire
+netting and asphalt edges they apparently require are not drawbacks,
+but they are not beautiful. The gateway into the Park, near Deptford
+Station, has rather the grim look of a prison, and yet, with the forest
+of masts behind, all it requires is a climbing plant or two to make
+a picture. On the opposite end of the Park runs Jamaica Road, which
+perpetuates the name of a well-known Tea Garden, Jamaica House. Pepys
+records a visit there, on a Sunday in April 1667. “Took out my wife,
+and the two Mercers, and two of our maids, Barker and Jane, and over
+the water to Jamaica House, where I never was before, and there the
+girls did run for wagers over the bowling-green; and there, with much
+pleasure, spent little and so home.” Pepys’ home in Seething Lane near
+the Tower would be an easy distance from the Tea Gardens of Redriff, as
+Rotherhithe was called then, and in the days when Swift made Gulliver
+live there. There were other well-known Tea Gardens near, the “Cherry
+Garden,” “Half-way House,” and at a much later date “St. Helena’s
+Gardens,” which were only closed in 1881. The disappearance of all the
+Tea Gardens and open spaces made the necessity of a Park very obvious,
+and it was to meet this want that Southwark Park was made.
+
+
+MARYON PARK
+
+There is one more small Park to complete the line of South London
+Parks, for which the public is indebted to Sir Spencer Maryon-Wilson,
+the lord of the manor of Charlton, in which parish it is situated. It
+lies between Greenwich and Woolwich, and the South-Eastern Railway
+skirts the northern side. The ground was chiefly large gravel pits, and
+has a hill in the middle partly caused by the excavations. This hill
+has some pretty brushwood still growing on its slope, showing it was
+once joined to Hanging Wood, a well-known hiding-place of highwaymen.
+It was conveniently thick, and there are many tales of pursuit from
+Blackheath which ended by losing the thieves in Hanging Wood. The hill
+in the Park is locally known as Cox’s Mount, having been rented by an
+inhabitant of that name in 1838, who built a summer-house there and
+planted poplars. The area of the Park is about 12 acres, and except
+for one or two trees on the Mount and patches of brushwood, it is open
+grass. The boys on the _Warspite_ training ship anchored near are
+allowed to play cricket there, provision for this having been made by
+the generous donor of the Park in the deed of gift to the London County
+Council in 1891.
+
+Quite outside these crowded districts, yet within the County of London,
+lie three more Parks maintained by the County Council. The one nearest
+the heart of London is Manor Park, or Manor House Gardens, between the
+High Road, Lee, and Hither Green Station, opened in 1902. There are
+8¾ acres here attached to the Lee Manor House, a substantial building
+in the Adams style, now used as the Public Library. The Gardens slope
+gently away from the house to a large pond--or lake as the Council
+would prefer to call it--and beyond to a rapid little stream, the
+Quaggy, a tributary of the Ravensbourne. Beyond the Quaggy’s steep
+banks, well protected by spiked railings, is a flat green devoted
+to games. The chief beauty of this little Park is four magnificent
+old elms and a few other good trees--beech, chestnut, _Robinia
+speudo acacia_, &c. In the spring of 1907 the pond was in process of
+cleaning, so no rooks had ventured to build within the Park, but just
+at the gates a large elm in a small garden had been favoured by these
+capricious birds, and their hoarse voices were making a deliciously
+countrified sound.
+
+The other London County Council Parks are in what is still nearly open
+country, although rows of villas are being rather rapidly reared in
+the district. Eltham is one of these. It is at present not enclosed
+with massive iron railings, but the wide, flat stretch of smooth
+turf, studded with patriarchal trees, is left untouched, except that
+a few spaces have been levelled for games. This Park of 41 acres
+was bought in 1902, the Borough of Woolwich paying half the cost of
+purchase--£9600--with the Council.
+
+Still further into the country is Avery Hill, with the large house
+and grounds, extending over 84 acres, built and laid out by Colonel
+J. T. North. The London County Council were offered this estate in
+1902, if purchased within a certain limit of time, for £25,000. Usually
+the Council, in making a purchase, have ascertained beforehand what
+contributions the local Boroughs were prepared to subscribe towards the
+total cost, but, on this occasion, the Boroughs were invited to share
+the expense after the purchase had been made, with the result that
+all those concerned--Camberwell, Lewisham, Greenwich, Deptford, and
+Woolwich--refused; so the whole of the purchase and upkeep devolved on
+the London County Council. The large mansion is now used as a teachers’
+training college for girls, but the greater part of the grounds, and
+the immense winter gardens are open to the public. It is still so
+far from the centres of population that the public who make use of
+these spacious gardens is very limited. The nearest railway station,
+New Eltham, is three-quarters of a mile distant from the Park, and
+half-an-hour or more by train from Charing Cross. Although it is now
+so far into the country, and some people would deprecate the purchase,
+it is only fair to remember that most of the crowded districts were
+also country not long ago, and that when land is dear and houses being
+built is not a favourable moment to purchase. As a rule it is want of
+foresight that is the complaint, and not excess of zeal, as in this
+case. The garden is made use of to furnish supplies of plants to some
+of the smaller parks, and a portion is being reserved for growing
+specimens for demonstration in the Council Schools. On the west side
+of the house there are three terraced gardens, prettily planted with
+roses and fruit-trees. In front of the house a sloping lawn, with
+a few large beds, touches the park-like meadows studded with trees.
+Sheep feeding with their tinkling bells gives a rural appearance. To
+the large, modern, very red brick house is attached a huge winter
+garden. This is on a very large scale, with lofty palms, date, dom, and
+cocoa-nut growing with tropical luxuriance in the central house, with a
+large camellia house on one side and a fernery with rock-work, pools,
+and goldfish on the other. All this requires a good deal of keeping
+up--nearly £3000 a year--and although it has been open now some five
+years, it has been enjoyed by few. It is greatly to be hoped that it
+has a much-appreciated future before it.
+
+Such is a slight sketch of some of London’s Parks. No doubt there
+is much that could be changed for the better, both in design and
+planting: less sameness and meaningless formality without true lines
+of beauty in design would be an improvement. In planting, there might
+be more variety of British trees--alder, oak, ash, and hawthorn; and a
+wider range of foreign ones--limes, American or Turkey oaks, and many
+others; more climbing plants, such as Virginian creepers, more simple
+herbaceous borders and fewer clumps of unattractive bushes, and more
+lilacs, laburnums, thorns, almonds, cherries, and medlars in groups
+on the grass. If greater originality was displayed and a thorough
+knowledge of horticulture were shown, especially by the authorities
+that supervise the largest number of these parks, many improvements
+in existing ones could be easily achieved, and in forming new parks
+the same idea need not be so rigidly followed. But, in spite of small
+defects, the Parks as a whole are extremely beautiful, and Londoners
+may well be proud of them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+COMMONS AND OPEN SPACES
+
+      _’Tis very bad in man or woman
+      To steal a goose from off the common,
+      But who shall plead that man’s excuse
+      Who steals the common from the goose?_
+
+                                    --AN OLD DITTY.
+
+
+It was only fifty years ago, when the want of fresh air and room
+for recreation was being realised, that people began to wake up to
+the truth that there were already great open spaces in London which
+ought to be cared for and preserved. It was brought home by the fact
+that over £1000 an acre was being paid to purchase market-gardens or
+fields so as to transform them into parks, while at the same time land
+which already belonged to the people was being recklessly sold away
+and built over. All through the history of most of the common lands
+encroachments of a more or less serious nature are recorded from time
+to time. The exercise of common rights also was often so unrestrained
+as to inflict permanent injury on the commons. The digging for gravel
+was frequently carried to excess, whins and brushwood were cut, and
+grass over-grazed until nothing remained. At last, in 1865, a Commons
+Preservation Society was formed with the view of arousing public
+attention to the subject. As is often the case, some people ran to
+the opposite extreme, and wished to transform the commons into parks
+without giving compensation to the freeholders and copyhold tenants,
+who thereby would lose considerable benefits. In some cases after the
+Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866 was passed, the Lord of the Manor, on
+behalf of all the freeholders, disputed the right of the Metropolitan
+Board of Works to take the land without compensation to the owners. The
+lord of the manor was considered unreasonable by some of the agitators
+for the transference of the common lands to public bodies, but he was
+fighting the battle of all the small owners. The freeholders in some
+cases were as many as fifty for some 40 acres. Many of the commons were
+Lammas Lands. The freeholders, of which there were a large number, had
+the use of the land from the 6th of April until the 12th of August,
+and the copyhold tenants of the manor had the right of grazing during
+the remainder of the year. The number of cattle each could graze
+was determined by the amount of rent they paid, and the grazing was
+regulated by the “marsh drivers,” men elected annually by the courts
+of the Manor for the purpose. A curious incident in connection with
+these rights happened on Hackney Downs in 1837. The season was late,
+and the steward of the Manor put up a notice to the effect that as the
+freeholders’ crops were not gathered the grazing on the Downs could not
+begin until the 25th, instead of the usual 12th of August. The marshes
+and other common lands in the parish were open, so there was actually
+plenty of pasture available for those entitled to it. There was a fine
+crop of wheat on some plots on the Downs, and on the morning of Monday
+the 14th August, “a few persons made their appearance and began to help
+themselves to the corn.” Summoned before the magistrates, the bench
+decided that after the usual opening day the corn “was common property,
+and could be claimed by no one parishioner more than another.” On the
+strength of this decision the whole parish turned out, and a terrible
+scene of looting the crop took place, while the poor owners vainly
+tried to save what they could. The freeholder with the most wheat, a
+Mr. Adamson, lost over £100 worth, although he worked all night to
+save what he could. A case followed, as Mr. Adamson prosecuted Thomas
+Wright, one of the many looters who thought they had a right to it,
+for stealing his wheat. This time the magistrates fined the man twenty
+shillings, and half-a-crown, the value of the wheat he had actually
+taken, as he had no right to take away the crop, although he had a
+right to put cattle on the Downs. Further trials for riot before the
+Court of Queen’s Bench resulted in the prisoners being discharged after
+they had pleaded guilty. It appeared both the looters and Mr. Adamson
+were in the wrong. They had no right to remove the corn, neither had
+he, after the 12th August, and those who had grazing rights could have
+turned on their cattle to eat the standing corn. This incident just
+shows how the right of freeholders and copyholders could not lightly be
+trifled with.
+
+The report of the Select Committee on Open Spaces in 1865 pointed out
+in the same way, that although the right to these common lands had
+been enjoyed from time immemorial, the rights were vague as far as the
+public at large were concerned. They were probably limited to a certain
+defined area or body of persons, as the inhabitants of a parish, and
+it was doubtful if the custom would hold good at law for such a large
+place as London. Thousands of people from all parts of London trampling
+over a common was a very different thing to the free use of it by
+the parishioners. This report led to the passing of the Metropolitan
+Commons Act of 1866. Both before and after this Act there were several
+others for the maintenance and regulation of the commons and all the
+parks, gardens, and open spaces too numerous to mention.[9]
+
+Under the present system most of the metropolitan commons and heaths
+are in the hands of the County Council, and in some cases considerable
+sums have been spent on them. Among the smaller ones is London Fields,
+Hackney, the nearest open space to the city. This was in a very untidy
+state when first taken in hand after 1866. The grass was worn away, and
+it was the scene of a kind of fair, and the resort of all the worst
+characters in the neighbourhood. It used to be known as Shoulder of
+Mutton Fields, and the name survives in a “Cat and Mutton” public-house
+on the site of a tavern which gave its name to the fields. It was in
+the eighteenth century a well-known haunt of robbers and footpads, and
+in spite of a watch-house and special guard robberies were frequent.
+The watch must have been rather slack, as about 1732 a Mr. Baxter was
+robbed about five in the morning “by two fellows, who started out on
+him from behind the Watch-House in the Shoulder of Mutton Fields.”
+Hackney is rich in open spaces, as besides London Fields there is
+Hackney or Well Street Common, near Victoria Park, Mill Fields, Stoke
+Newington and Clapton Commons, Hackney Downs (over 40 acres) on the
+north, and Hackney Marshes (337 acres) on the east. These were Lammas
+Lands, and the marshes were used for grazing until within the last few
+years, when the rights were bought up and the land finally thrown open
+to the public in 1894. The river Lea skirts the marsh, and used not
+unfrequently to flood, doing considerable damage. The London County
+Council have made four cuts across the bends of the river, forming
+islands. The water now can more easily flow in a wet season, and the
+periodical inundations no longer occur. The planting of these islands
+has not been carried out at all satisfactorily. An utter want of
+appreciation of the habits of plants or the localities suited to them
+has been shown. A stiff row of the large saxifrage, _S. cordifolia_,
+charming in a rock garden or mixed border, has been put round the
+water’s edge, and behind it, berberis, laurels, and a few flowering
+bushes suited to a villa garden shrubbery. The opportunity for a
+really pleasing effect has thus been missed, and money wasted. A few
+willows and alders, with groups of iris and common yellow flags, and
+free growing willow herb, and purple loosestrife, would soon, for much
+less expense, have made the islands worthy of a visit from an artist.
+Instead, an eyesore to every tasteful gardener and lover of nature has
+been produced. The beauty of the marsh has always been appreciated by
+the dwellers in Hackney and Clapton. The view over the fertile fields
+from the high land was one of the attractions since the time when Pepys
+wrote, “I every day grow more and more in love with” Hackney.
+
+Hackney Downs now form a large open area for recreation, but they were
+fruitful fields sixty years ago. An engraving, from a drawing by W.
+Walker, dated 1814, represents a “Harvest Scene, Hackney Downs, with
+a View of the Old Tower, and Part of the Town of Hackney,” and gives
+a delightful picture of harvesters reaping with sickles, and binding
+up sheaves of the tall, thick-growing corn. That some of the Downs
+were arable land was a grievance to those who had grazing rights, and
+there was a considerable agitation to get the freeholders to lay it all
+down in grass, after the incident of looting the corn in 1837, already
+referred to. The Downs continued rural within the memory of many still
+living. The Lord of the Manor remembers that an inhabitant stated that
+she had, whilst walking across the Downs, startled a wild hare from
+her form. This would be about the year 1845, and for ten or twelve
+years later there were partridges in the larger fields of turnip and
+mangold-wurzel which adjoined the Downs. The rural character has quite
+changed, and now the Downs are a large open space, with young trees
+growing up to supply shade along the roads which encircle the wide
+grassy area.
+
+Highbury Fields, although much smaller than Hackney Downs, being
+only 27 instead of 41 acres, play as important a part in the north
+of London, as the Downs do in the north-east. They are not, however,
+Common Lands, but until recently were actually fields with sheep
+grazing in them. Tradition points to Highbury Fields as the site of
+the Roman encampment during the final struggle with Boadicea. In the
+Middle Ages they belonged to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and
+there the rebels of the Wat Tyler rising, headed by Jack Straw, camped
+after leaving Hampstead. There are a few old trees still standing in
+the Fields, which were formerly within the grounds of two detached
+residences, one of them the Manor House. An old “moated grange,”
+or barn, belonging to the ancient Priory, gives its name to the
+public-house, Highbury Barn, the goal of motor omnibuses. The moat was
+only filled up fifty years ago, and the old buildings pulled down,
+after enjoying some notoriety as a Tea Garden for over a century. A
+part of the present Fields was called “the Reedmote,” or “Six Acre
+Field,” and is also shown on old maps as “Mother Field.” When Islington
+Spa was a fashionable resort, and Sadler’s Wells at the height of its
+prosperity, the houses facing the Fields were built. On the north-west
+the row is inscribed in large letters, “Highbury Terrace, 1789,” and
+this, according to old guide-books, “commands a beautiful prospect.” On
+the east lies another substantial row of eighteenth-century mansions,
+and the inhabitants are proud to point out to strangers No. 25 Highbury
+Place as the house in which Mr. Chamberlain lived, from the age of
+nine until he was eighteen, when he went to live in Birmingham. His
+present home, now so well known, was built in 1879, and was named in
+remembrance of Highbury Place. In the early years of the nineteenth
+century several well-known people were living in these houses. John
+Nichols, the biographer of Hogarth, who was for fifty years editor of
+the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, died there in 1826. A few years later a
+historian of Islington describes Highbury Place as “thirty-nine houses
+built on a large scale, but varying in size, all having good gardens,
+and some of them allotments of meadow land in the front and rear. The
+road is private, and is frequented only by the carriages passing to and
+from the several dwellings situated between the village and Highbury
+House.” This description draws a very rural picture, of which nothing
+now remains but the name. The Fields were turned into a public Park in
+1885, and now consist of wide open spaces for games, with intersecting
+paths well planted with limes, elms, chestnuts, and planes, and an
+abundance of seats. Near the point where Upper Street, Islington ends
+and Holloway Road joins it, a memorial to the soldiers and volunteers
+of Islington who fell in the Boer War has been erected, and the figure
+of Victory stands conspicuously facing the approach from the city.
+
+By far the most beautiful and the most frequented of all London Commons
+is Hampstead Heath. The original Heath measured 240 acres, but, with
+the addition of Parliament Hill, there are now over 500 acres of wild
+open country for ever preserved for the benefit of Londoners. ’Appy
+’Ampstead, the resort not only of ’Arrys and ’Arriets, but poets,
+artists, and people of every rank in life, is too well known to demand
+description. The view from it seems more beautiful every time the
+occasional visitor ascends the hill, and gazes down on London and away
+over the lovely country of the Thames valley. The County Council, the
+present holders of this public trust, have mercifully refrained from
+turning it into a park--the original intention of those who first
+wished to preserve it. The bracken still flourishes, the gorse still
+blooms, and there is yet a wild freshness about it that has not been
+“improved” away.
+
+Hampstead has had periods of fashion as a residence. In the eighteenth
+century it is described as “a village in Middlesex, on the declivity
+of a fine hill, 4 miles from London. On the summit of this hill is
+a heath, adorned with many gentlemen’s houses.... The water of the
+[Hampstead] Wells is equal in efficacy to that of Tunbridge, and
+superior to that of Islington.” These Wells appear to have first
+attracted notice in the time of Charles II. In 1698, Susanna Noel and
+her son, third Earl of Gainsborough (then the owner of the soil), gave
+the Well, with six acres of ground, to the poor of Hampstead. For more
+than thirty years the Wells, with all the attendant attractions of
+the pump-room, with balls and music, drew the fashionable world up to
+Hampstead. It was said to be “much more frequented by good company than
+can well be expected, considering its vicinity to London; but such care
+has been taken to discourage the meaner sort from making it a place
+of residence, that it is now become ... one of the Politest Public
+Places in England.” Here Fanny Burney made her heroine, Evelina, attend
+dances, and it plays a part in the fortunes of Richardson’s Clarissa
+Harlowe; and here all the wits and poets of the time mingled in the
+gay throng. Many have been the celebrated residents in Hampstead--Lord
+Chatham, Dr. Johnson, Crabbe, Steele, Gay, Keats, William Blake, Leigh
+Hunt, Romney and Constable, John Linnell, and David Wilkie among the
+number. The site of the pump-room is all built over, but some fine old
+elm trees in Well Walk, still have an air of romance and faded glory
+about them. The houses near the Heath--such as Shelford, afterwards
+Rosslyn House, with a celebrated avenue of Spanish chestnuts, The
+Grove, Belsize Park, the residence of Lord Wotton, and then of Philip,
+Earl of Chesterfield--have all been consumed by the inroads of bricks
+and mortar. It is more than likely that the Heath would have shared
+the same fate, had not the inhabitants taken active steps to arouse
+public attention to preserve this wild heath, unequalled near any great
+city. Already aggressive red villas were making their appearance in
+far too great numbers. The western side was dotted over with them.
+That the purchase of it for the public benefit has been appreciated
+it is not difficult to prove, when over 100,000 visit it on a Bank
+Holiday. It was the commencement of building operations near the
+Flagstaff by the lord of the manor, Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson, in the
+heart of the Heath, that brought things to a crisis in 1866. A case
+began against the lord of the manor, but he died before it was ended,
+and his brother, Sir John, being willing to compromise, the sum of
+£47,000 was agreed on for the sale of the Heath to the Metropolitan
+Board of Works. The few houses dotted about on the Heath are those of
+squatters, who have established their right by the length of time they
+have been in possession. The small hamlet or collection of houses in
+the “Vale of Health,” those near the “Spaniards” and round Jack Straw’s
+Castle, have existed from time immemorial, although few old houses of
+interest remain, and large, unsightly buildings have taken the place
+of the picturesque ones. In the Vale of Health the houses are chiefly
+given up to catering for holiday-makers. The “Spaniards,” at the most
+northerly point of the Heath, is a genuine old house, and it still
+has a nice garden, although all the alleys and fantastic ornaments
+which made it popular, in the eighteenth century, have vanished. The
+name came from the fact that the first owner was a Spaniard. The next
+proprietor was a Mr. Staples, who “improved and beautifully ornamented
+it.” The house was on the site of the toll-gate and lodge to Caen
+Wood, and its position saved that house from destruction, at the time
+of the Gordon riots. The rioters had burnt and wantonly destroyed
+Lord Mansfield’s house in Bloomsbury Square. Maddened with drink, and
+flushed with triumph at the success of their outrages, they made
+a bonfire in the square of the invaluable books collected by Lord
+Mansfield. Their temper may be imagined as they marched by Hampstead to
+commit the same violence at Caen Wood, Lord Mansfield’s country house.
+The proprietor of the “Spaniards” invited them in, and threw open his
+cellars to the mob. Fresh barrels of drink were sent down from Caen
+Wood, and meanwhile messengers were despatched for soldiers; so that
+by the time all the liquor had been consumed, and the drunken rioters
+began to proceed, they were confronted by a troop of Horse Guards,
+who, in their addled condition, soon put them all to flight. The name
+of the other inn on Hampstead Heath, which stands conspicuously on the
+highest point, 443 feet above the sea, is Jack Straw’s Castle, and has
+also some connection with a riot. Jack Straw was one of the leaders in
+the Wat Tyler rebellion, and after burning the Priory of St. John of
+Jerusalem, he came up to Hampstead and Highgate, though there is no
+direct evidence to connect him, in 1381, with any tavern on the spot
+on which the inn stands. The addition of Castle to the name is from
+the fact, that there was some sort of fortress or earthworks on this
+commanding point. The inn on the site was known as the Castle Inn, and
+not until 1822 is there any mention of it as Jack Straw’s Castle. The
+wood of the gallows on which a famous highwayman was hung behind the
+house in 1673 was built into the wall. Jack Straw’s Castle is now quite
+modernised, but the view from it, on all sides, is still as lovely as
+ever. The Whitestone Pond in front is really a reservoir, and to the
+south of that lies the Grove, with fine trees and some old-fashioned
+houses. The most picturesque walk is that known as the Judges’ or
+King’s Bench Walk, from a tradition that justice was administered under
+the trees there, when the judges fled from London at the time of the
+Great Plague. This walk is on the south-west side of the Heath, the
+Well Walk on the south-east. To the east of the highest point with
+Jack Straw’s Castle and the road which runs northwards towards the
+“Spaniards” is the Vale of Health, and below are a series of ponds.
+Hampstead has always furnished a water-supply for the city at its feet.
+When more water was required, in the sixteenth century, the Lord Mayor
+proposed to utilise the springs there, and convey the water to London
+by conduits. A pound of pepper at the Feast of St. Michael annually
+to the “Bishop of Westminster,” was the tribute for the use of the
+water, as the land belonged to the Abbey of Westminster, having been
+granted to it by King Ethelred in 986. The managers of water-supply
+in 1692 were a company known as the Hampstead Water Company, which
+became absorbed in the New River Company. The lakes are very deep, and
+dangerous for boating, bathing, and skating, although used for all
+those purposes.
+
+The hill which rises beyond the ponds and stretches away to the east,
+is part of the land adjoining the true Heath, which was bought in
+1887, so as to double the area of open country, and prevent that side
+of the Heath being overlooked by houses. The character is quite a
+contrast, and lacks the wildness, but it is pretty, park-like scenery,
+and Hampstead Heath would have been greatly spoilt had this further
+wide space of pasture land not been saved. The first hill to the east
+of the Heath is crowned by a mound or tumulus, which was opened a
+few years ago; the investigations leading scientists to believe that
+it was a British burial-place of the bronze age. This used to be very
+picturesque with a group of Scotch firs--now, alas! all dead. The next
+hill is Parliament or Traitor’s Hill, and there is no very definite
+solution of the name. It may have been a meeting-place of the British
+“Moot” or Parliament, or the origin may only be traced to Cromwell’s
+time. As if to encourage the tradition being kept up, a stone suggests
+that meetings may take place within 50 yards of the spot by daylight.
+Below the hill are flat meadows by Gospel Oak, said to be so named from
+its being a parish boundary, and the Gospel was read under the tree to
+impress the parishioners, with the same object as the other and more
+familiar form of beating the bounds. These Gospel Oak fields are the
+typical London County Council greens for games, so gradually, after
+leaving the summit of the Heath, the descent is made, from the artistic
+and picturesque, to the practical and prosaic.
+
+Hampstead was always famous for its wild flowers. The older botanists
+roamed there in search of rare plants, and the frequent references in
+their works, especially in Gerard’s “Herbal,” show how often they were
+successful. Osmundas, or royal ferns, sundew or drosera, and the bog
+bean grew in the damp places, and lilies of the valley were among the
+familiar flowers. As late as 1838 a work on London Flora enumerates 290
+genera, and no less than 650 species, as found round about the Heath.
+The soil, the aspect, the situation, are all propitious. Even now it
+is so far above the densest smoke-fogs that much might be done to
+encourage the growth of wild flowers. It is true notice-boards forbid
+the plucking of them, and that is a great step in advance--but the
+sowing of a few species, which have become extinct, would add greatly
+to the charm of the place. It is also still the favourite haunt of wild
+birds, and the more the true wildness is encouraged, the more likely
+they are to frequent it. It is much to be hoped that the London County
+Council will refrain in their planting, from anything but native trees
+and bushes which look at home, and which would attract our native
+songsters. Within the last ten or twelve years a very great variety of
+birds have been recorded either as nesting there or as visitors. The
+following list (taken from “Birds in London” by W. H. Hudson, 1898) may
+interest bird lovers:--
+
+Wryneck, cuckoo, blackcap, grasshopper, sedge, reed and garden
+warblers, both white-throats, wood and willow wrens, chiff-chaff,
+redstart, stonechat, pied wagtail, tree pipit, red-backed shrike,
+spotted fly-catcher, swallow, house martin, swift, goldfinch,
+wheat-ears in passage, fieldfare in winter, occasionally redwings, also
+redpoles, siskin, and grey wagtail.
+
+This list is certainly a revelation to those who only associate dusty
+sparrows and greedy wood-pigeons with the ornithology of London.
+No better testimony is wanted to prove that Hampstead is still the
+beautiful wild Heath that has given pleasure to so many generations.
+
+The only other large space of common land, north of the river within
+the London area, is Wormwood Scrubs, of very different appearance
+and associations from Hampstead. The manorial and common rights
+were purchased by the War Office, and the ground made over to the
+Metropolitan Board of Works in 1879, with reservations for the rifle
+range and military exercises. The space is altogether over 200 acres.
+The ground in ancient times was a wood, adjoining “Old Oak Common,”
+just beyond the London boundary, which was covered with patriarchal
+oaks. The last was felled in 1830. The ground, being flat, is admirably
+suited for the War Office purposes; it has gone through a process
+of draining, and the only part not downtrodden by soldiers has been
+“improved” by the London County Council, so there is little wildness
+or attraction in the place. The presence of a prison, erected in 1874,
+still further diminishes its charm as an open space.
+
+This completes the open large spaces on the north; the south of the
+river is even richer in commons. One of the most thoroughly rural spots
+within the London area is Bostall Wood. There is nothing to spoil the
+illusion, and for quite a considerable walk it would be easy to imagine
+that a journey on the magic horse of the “Arabian Nights” had been
+taken to some distant forest land, to forget that the roar of the town
+was barely out of one’s ears, and that ten minutes’ walk would take
+one, out of the enchanted land, back to suburban villas and electric
+trams.
+
+Beyond the inevitable band-stand, which attracts thousands on a summer
+Sunday evening, there is nothing to jar, and spoil the illusion of
+real country. The woods, and Bostall Heath which adjoins them, can
+be reached from Plumstead or Abbey Wood Station, in twenty minutes’
+walk up the steep hill. Pine woods crest the summit, and below them
+stretches a delightful thicket, chiefly of oaks and sweet chestnut,
+with an undergrowth of holly and a pleasant tangle of bracken and
+bramble, where the blackbirds, chaffinches, and robins call to each
+other and flit across the path. Steep slopes, and valleys, and hollows
+clothed with trees, give possibilities of real rambles, in a truly
+sylvan scene. Under the pines, which are tall enough to produce that
+soothing, soughing sound even in the most gentle breeze, the carpet of
+pine needles is cushioned here and there with patches of vivid green
+moss where the moisture has penetrated. Beyond the Wood lies the Heath,
+studded with birch trees, among gorse and bracken. There are narrow
+gullies and glades, like miniature “gates” or “gwyles” of the sea
+coast, and at the foot of the Heath lie the marshes, often in the soft
+light as blue as the sea, and the silver Thames, a bright streak across
+the picture, chequered with the red sails of the barges, and tall masts
+of the more stately ships.
+
+The whole area of woods and common is only about 133 acres, but the
+varied surface, and the distant views from it, make it appear of larger
+extent. It is little known to most Londoners, although the Heath was
+purchased as far back as 1877, and the Wood bought by the London County
+Council in 1891. The place, however, is much frequented and duly
+appreciated by the neighbouring population. This peaceful country-side
+could be reached within an hour, from any point in the City. It is
+attractive at all times of the year, especially in spring, when the
+green is pale and the young brackens, soft and downy, are uncurling
+their fronds, and the dark firs stand up in sharp contrast to the
+tender greens. Or, perhaps, still more delightful is it in autumn, when
+
+             “Red o’er the forest gleams the setting sun,”
+
+and the oaks have turned a rich russet, and the birches, of brilliant
+yellow, shower their tiny leaves on the mossy earth, like the golden
+showers which fell on Danaë in her prison.
+
+The attractive wood-clad hills of Bostall are the most remote of
+all London’s open spaces. They lie the furthest east on the fringe
+of the suburbs. From Bostall westward roofs and chimney-pots become
+continuous--Woolwich, Greenwich, Deptford, Bermondsey, Southwark
+getting more and more densely crowded. But westward also begins the
+chain of commons which circle the town round the southern border--with
+breaks, it is true, yet so nearly continuous that from the highest
+point of one, the view almost ranges on to the next.
+
+Only a deep valley, with Wickham Lane on the track of a Roman road,
+divides Bostall Wood from Plumstead Common. This is open and breezy,
+standing high above what was in ancient times the marsh overflowed by
+the Thames. The greater part is, however, used by the military, and the
+trample of horse artillery makes it look like a desert. It is a curious
+effect to see this part of the Common in winter. It has probably been
+used for manœuvring all the week, and by Saturday afternoon there are
+pools of mud, and ruts, and furrows, and hoofmarks all over it. On this
+dreary waste hundreds of boys and young men, sorted according to age,
+play more or less serious football matches. The coats of the players,
+in four little heaps, do duty for goal-posts, and these are so thickly
+strewn over the surface, and the players so closely mingled, that the
+effect is like bands of savages fighting among their slain--the ancient
+barrow in the centre of the ground gives colour to the supposition.
+
+A sudden deep valley, called “the Slade,” cuts the Common in two. In
+the hollow there are ponds, and on the high ground beyond stood a
+windmill, the remains of which are embedded in the Windmill Tavern.
+
+The next common west of Plumstead, is Woolwich, maintained by the War
+Office and given up to military exercises. The extent is 159 acres.
+It is so much absorbed by the requirements of the War Office that it
+cannot be classed among London’s playgrounds.
+
+Going westward, the next large space is Blackheath, whose history is
+wrapped up with that of Greenwich, the beautiful Greenwich Park having
+once been part of the Heath. It is high ground, for the most part bare
+of trees, and with roads intersecting it--one of them, the old Roman
+Watling Street. The wild, bare summit of the Heath was a dangerous
+place for travellers, and many was the highway robbery committed there
+in times past. It is of very large extent, some 267 acres, and has been
+effectually preserved for public use, for some thirty-five years, since
+early in the Seventies.
+
+The Heath has played its part in history--gay scenes, such as when
+the Mayor and aldermen of London flocked, with a great assemblage,
+to welcome Henry V. after the battle of Agincourt, or more ominous
+and hostile demonstrations, as when Wat Tyler collected his followers
+there, or when Jack Cade, some seventy years later, did the same thing.
+A few fine old eighteenth-century houses still stand on the edge of
+the Heath, and an avenue, “Chesterfield Walk,” perpetuates the name of
+one of the distinguished residents. Morden College, at the south-east
+corner of the Heath, is a fine old building of Wren’s design, founded
+by Sir John Morden, for merchants trading with the East who, through
+unforeseen accidents, had lost their fortunes.
+
+To the west of Blackheath there was once a Deptford Common, but it
+has long since been built over, and, with the exception of the small
+Deptford Park, there is a large district of dense population without
+any open space. The nearest is Hilly Fields on the south. This is a
+steep, conical hill, with little beauty to recommend it, except its
+breezy height, and views over chimney-pots to the Crystal Palace. A
+large, bleak-looking building, with a small enclosure on the highest
+point--at present for sale--marked the West Kent Grammer School, does
+not improve the appearance of this open space. There are some 45 acres
+of turf, and a line of old elms and another of twisted thorns show that
+there were once hedgerows. There is some promiscuous planting of young
+trees, and iron railings, and of course a band-stand; otherwise no
+particular “beautifying” has been attempted since it was opened to the
+public in 1896.
+
+In the valley of the Ravensbourne, below the hill stretches the long,
+narrow strip of the Ladywell Recreation Ground. It lies on either
+bank of the stream between Ladywell and Catford Bridge stations. It
+is intersected by railways, and the pathway passes sometimes over,
+sometimes under the lines, and constant trains whizz by. But in spite
+of such drawbacks, the place has a special attraction in the stream
+which meanders through the patches of grass devoted to games. Where
+the stream has been untouched, and allowed to continue its course
+unmolested between iron railings, even the railings cannot destroy a
+certain rural aspect it has retained. Alders and elms, with gnarled
+and twisted roots, lean over the banks, and hawthorns dip down towards
+the rather swiftly flowing water. When the land was bought for public
+use in 1889 the stream frequently overflowed its sandy banks, and
+one or two necessary cuttings were made across some of the sharpest
+curves, to allow a better flow of water. This has stopped all the
+objectionable flooding, but the melancholy part is that, having been
+obliged to make these imperative but necessarily artificial cuttings,
+the London County Council did not plant them with alders, thorns, and
+willows, like the pretty, natural stream; but instead, the islands thus
+formed, and the banks, were dotted about with box and aucuba bushes.
+The babbling stream seems to jeer at these poor sickly little black
+bushes, as if to say, “What is the good of bravely playing at being in
+the country, and trying to make believe trout may jump from my ripples
+and water-ousels pop in and out of my banks, if you dreadful Cockneys
+disfigure me like that?” Very likely it does not jar on the feelings
+of the inhabitants of Lewisham or Catford, but when public money is
+spent by way of improvement, it is cruel to mar and deform instead.
+Where the churchyard of St. Mary’s, Lewisham, touches the stream is a
+pretty spot, but, in places, untidy little back-gardens are the only
+adornment; but that is not the fault of the London County Council.
+
+Peckham Rye Common is more or less flat, without any special feature
+of interest, except at the southern end, which has been converted
+into a Park. The Rye--what a quaint name it is! and there is no very
+satisfactory derivation. It may either come from a stream of that name,
+long since disappeared, or from a Celtic word, _rhyn_, a projecting
+piece of land--Peckham Rye, the village on the spur of the hill, now
+known as Forest Hill and Honor Oak. This “Rye” has been a place of
+recreation from time immemorial, and at one time must have extended so
+as to embrace the smaller patches of common known as Nunhead Green (now
+black asphalt), and Goose Green. The Common was secured by purchase
+from further encroachments in 1882.
+
+The Park has much that savours of the country. An enclosure within
+it, is not open to the public, and for that very reason is one of the
+most rural spots. There is a delightful public road across it, known
+as “the Avenue.” The old trees form an archway overhead, and on either
+side of the fence the wood is like a covert somewhere miles from
+London; brambles and fern and brushwood make shelter for pheasants,
+and squirrels run up the trees. The farm-house, and its out-buildings
+with their moss-grown tiled roofs, have nothing suburban about them.
+The front facing the Rye Common has a notice to say it is the Friern
+Manor Dairy, but even that is not aggressive, as the name carries back
+the history to the time of Henry I., when the manor was granted to
+the Earl of Gloucester, and on till it was given by his descendants
+to the Priory of Halliwell, which held it until the church property
+was taken by Henry VIII. and granted to Robert Draper, and so on
+till modern days. There is, besides this attractive farm, a regular
+piece of laid-out garden, and a pond and well-planted flower-beds;
+but the little walk among trees, beside a streamlet which has been
+formed into small cascades, and crossed by rustic bridges, is a more
+original conception, and is decidedly a success, and a good imitation
+of a woodland scene. The contrast is all the greater as Peckham is so
+eminently prosaic, busy, and unpicturesque; the old houses having for
+the most part given place to modern suburban edifices.
+
+Due west of Peckham lies Clapham, the largest of the South London
+Commons, 220 acres in extent; although, being flat and compact in
+shape, it does not appear larger than Tooting, which is really only
+10 acres less, but of more rambling shape. The Common has suffered
+much less than most of its neighbours from enclosures. It was shared
+between two manors, Battersea and Clapham, and the rival lords and
+commonalities, each jealous of their own special rights, were more
+careful to prevent encroachments than was often the case. At one time
+Battersea went so far as to dig a great ditch to prevent the cattle
+of the Clapham people coming into its part of the ground. The other
+parish resisted and filled up the ditch, and was sued for trespass
+by Battersea, which, however, lost its case--this ended in 1718. The
+Common has an air of dignified respectability, and is still surrounded
+with some solid old-fashioned houses, although modern innovations have
+destroyed a great number of them. A nice old buttressed wall, over
+which ilex trees show their heads, and suggest possibilities of a shady
+lawn, carries one back to the time when Pepys retired to Clapham to
+“a very noble house and sweete place, where he enjoyed the fruite of
+his labour in great prosperity”; or to the days when Wilberforce lived
+there, and he, together with the other workers in the same cause,
+Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and Zachary Macaulay, used to meet at the
+house of John Thornton by the Common.
+
+There is nothing wild now about the Common, and the numbers of paths
+which intersect it are edged by high iron railings, to prevent the
+entire wearing away of the grass. The beauty of the ground is its
+trees. They proclaim it to be an old and honoured open space, and not
+a modern creation. Only one tree has any pretentions to historical
+interest, having been planted by the eldest son of Captain Cook the
+explorer, but only a stump remains. The ponds are the distinctive
+feature of the Common, and there are several of them dotted about, the
+joy of boys for bathing and boat-sailing. The origin of most of them
+has been gravel pits dug in early days. There is the Cock Pond near the
+church, the Long Pond, the Mount Pond, and the Eagle House Pond, some
+of them fairly large. The Mount Pond was at one time nearly lost to the
+Common, as about 1748 a Mr. Henton Brown, who had a house close by, and
+who kept a boat on the water, obtained leave to fence it in for his own
+private gratification. It was not until others followed Mr. Brown’s
+example, and further encroachments began to frighten the parish, that
+it repented of having let in the thin end of the wedge. A committee was
+formed to watch over the interests of the Common lands, and took away
+Mr. Brown’s privileges; but in spite of their vigilance other pieces
+were from time to time taken away. A little group of houses by the
+Windmill Inn are on the site of one of these shavings off the area,
+for a house called Windmill Place. The church was built on a corner of
+the Common in 1774, and has a peaceful, solid, dignified appearance,
+standing among fine old elms and away from the din of trams, which rush
+in all directions from the corner hard by. It was built to replace an
+older parish church, which was described as “a mean edifice, without
+a steeple” by a writer of the eighteenth century, who admired the
+“elegant” one which took its place. The present generation would hardly
+apply that epithet to the massive Georgian edifice, but it seems to
+suit its surroundings: substantial and unostentatious, recalling
+memories of the evangelical revival, it seems an essential part of the
+Common and its history.
+
+Away to the south-west of Clapham lies Tooting (why does the very name
+sound comic, and invariably produce a laugh?), another Common, nearly
+as large, and much more wild and picturesque. Clapham is essentially
+a town open space, like an overgrown village green; but on Tooting
+Common one can successfully play at being in the country. The trees
+are quite patriarchal, and have nothing suburban about them, except
+their blackened stems. There are good spreading oaks and grand old
+elms, gnarled thorns, tangles of brambles, and golden gorse. The grass
+grows long, with stretches of mossy turf, and has not the melancholy,
+down-trodden appearance of Clapham or Peckham Rye.
+
+Fine elm avenues overshadow the main roads, and no stiff paths with
+iron rails, take away from the rural effect. Even the railway,
+which cuts across it in two directions, has only disfigured and not
+completely spoilt the park-like appearance. The disused gravel-pits,
+now filled with water, have been enlarged since the London County
+Council had possession; and if only the banks could be left as wild
+and natural, as nature is willing to make them, they may be preserved
+from the inevitable stamp which marks every municipal park. The smaller
+holes, excavated by virtue of the former rights of digging gravel, and
+already overgrown, assist rather than take away from the charms of the
+Common.
+
+Tooting Common consists of two parts, belonging to two ancient manors.
+The smallest is Tooting Graveney, which derives its name from the De
+Gravenelle family, who held the manor soon after the Conquest, on
+the payment of a rose yearly at the feast of St. John the Baptist.
+The larger half, Tooting Beck, takes its name from the Abbey of Bec
+in Normandy, which was in possession of the Manor from Domesday till
+1414, when it came to the Crown. Both manors can be traced through
+successive owners until the rights were purchased in 1875 and 1873 by
+the Metropolitan Board of Works. The avenue of elms which runs right
+across the Common divides the two. Tooting Beck is more than twice
+the size of Graveney, and has the finest trees. One of the oldest elm
+trees, now encircled by a railing, was completely hollow, but now has
+a young poplar sprouting out of its shell. Tradition associates this
+tree particularly with Dr. Johnson, and though he did not compose his
+Dictionary under it, it is more than likely he often enjoyed the shade
+of what must have been a very old tree in his day. For fifteen years
+he was a constant visitor at Thrale Place close by. “He frequently
+resided here,” says a contemporary guide-book, “and experienced that
+sincere respect to which his virtues and talents were entitled,
+and those soothing attentions which his ill-health and melancholy
+demanded.” The house stood in 100 acres of ground between Tooting and
+Streatham Commons, and has since been pulled down and built over.
+During these years, no doubt, Tooting as well as Streatham Common was
+often trodden by the brilliant circle who drank tea and conversed with
+the accomplished Mrs. Thrale--Sir Joshua Reynolds, Burke, Garrick,
+Goldsmith--to all of them the woodland scenes of both Commons were
+familiar.
+
+To prevent the too free use of the turf by riders, a special track has
+been made for them, skirting the Common, and passing down one of the
+finest avenues. It may save the grass from being too much cut up, but
+to those who don’t feel called to gallop across the Common, the loss
+of the green sward under the tall feathery elms is a cause of regret.
+It is such, perhaps necessary, alterations which spoil the delusion of
+genuine country, otherwise so well counterfeited on Tooting Common. A
+charming time is when the may is out and the gorse ablaze with bloom,
+the chestnuts in blossom, and birds are singing all around; or if one
+happens to be there on a winter’s day, when it is too cold for loungers
+or holiday-makers, there are moments when the nearness of streets and
+trams could be forgotten. The frosty air, and dew-drops on the vivid
+green grass, the brown of the fallen leaves, the dark stems clear
+against an amber sky, with the intense blue distance, which London
+atmosphere produces so readily, combine harmoniously into a telling
+picture, which remains photographed “upon that inward eye, which is the
+gift of solitude.” The dream is as quickly dispelled. A sight, a sound,
+recalls the nearness of London, which makes its presence felt even when
+one is trying to play Hide-and-seek with the chimney-pots. How well
+Richard Jefferies, that inimitable writer on nature, describes his
+feelings in the neighbourhood of London, in spots only a little further
+from Hyde Park Corner than Tooting Beck:--
+
+“Though my preconceived ideas were overthrown by the presence of so
+much that was beautiful and interesting close to London, yet in course
+of time I came to understand what was at first a dim sense of something
+wanting. In the shadiest lane, in the still pine-woods, on the hills of
+purple heather, after brief contemplation there arose a restlessness,
+a feeling that it was essential to be moving. In no grassy mead was
+there a nook where I could stretch myself in slumbrous ease and
+watch the swallows ever wheeling, wheeling in the sky. This was the
+unseen influence of mighty London. The strong life of the vast city
+magnetised me, and I felt it under the calm oaks.”
+
+The most remote of London open spaces in this direction is Streatham,
+to the south-east of Tooting, close to Norwood, and on the very
+extremity of the County of London. Much smaller than the other commons,
+it possesses attractions of its own. It is less spoilt by modern
+buildings than any of these once country villages, but ominous boards
+foretell the rapid advance of the red-brick villa. The houses which
+now overlook the upper part are substantial, in the solid, simple
+style of the eighteenth century, In those days Streatham possessed a
+mineral spring, and for a few years people flocked to drink at it. But
+long before the end of the eighteenth century other more fashionable
+watering-places had supplanted it, and in 1792 Streatham is described
+as “once frequented for its medicinal waters.” The spring was in the
+grounds afterwards belonging to a house called the Rookery, and near
+the house called Wellfield, on the southern side of the Common. The
+waters were said to be so strong that three glasses of Streatham were
+equivalent to nine of Epsom. Although so near London, the journey
+to the springs presented some dangers, as this was one of the most
+noted localities for footpads and highwaymen. The woods of Norwood,
+which came close to the Common, afforded covert and an easy means of
+escape. This road from London, which went on to Croydon and Brighton,
+had such a bad reputation that the risk of an adventure must have
+counterbalanced some of the health-giving properties to any nervous
+invalid! The lower part of the Common, near the road, is flat and open,
+and not particularly inviting. The charms of the top of the hill are
+all the more delightful, as they come as a surprise. There are fine
+old trees, and a wealth of fern, thorns, and bramble, and the short
+grass is exchanged for springy turf the moment the crest of the steep
+hill is reached. But by far the greatest surprise is the glorious view.
+Away and away over soft, hazy, blue country the eye can reach. It may
+or may not be true that Woolwich, Windsor, and Stanmore can be seen:
+nobody will care who gazes over that wide stretch of country bathed
+in a mysterious light, perhaps with the rays of the sun, like golden
+pathways from heaven, carrying the thoughts far from the prosaic villas
+or harrowing slums concealed at one’s feet. Only the wide expanse and
+the waving bracken and tangled brushwood fill the picture--while one
+rejoices that such a beautiful scene should be within the reach of so
+many of London’s toilers.
+
+Wandsworth is among the least beautiful and the most cut-up of the
+commons. Large and straggling in extent, it has been so much encroached
+upon that roads, and houses, and railways cross it. It is narrowed to
+a strip in places, and all the wildness and all the old trees have
+gone. Some young avenues by the main road have been planted, and no
+more curtailments can be perpetrated, as it was acquired for the use
+of the public in 1871. For many years the encroachments had roused the
+inhabitants, and about 1760 a species of club was formed to protect
+the rights of the commoners. When enclosures took place, the members
+all subscribed and went to law, and often won their cases. The head
+was called the “Mayor of Garratt,” from Garratt Lane, near the Common,
+where a “ridiculous mock election” was held. A mob collected, and
+encouraged by Foote, Wilkes, and others, witty speeches were made.
+Foote wrote a farce called “The Mayor of Garratt,” which for some time
+gave the ceremony no small celebrity. The rowdyism becoming serious
+at the sham elections, they were suppressed in 1796. When the Common
+was eventually saved, it was in a bad and untidy state: quantities of
+gravel had been dug, and holes, some of them filled with water, were a
+danger; the trees had all disappeared, and the whole surface was bare
+and muddy. It has improved since then, but there is nothing picturesque
+left. The “Three Island Pond,” which is supposed to be its greatest
+beauty, is stiff, formal, and new-looking, with a few straggly trees
+growing up. Still it is safely preserved as an open space, and makes a
+good recreation ground.
+
+All round London, besides the larger commons, smaller greens are to be
+found, which are survivals of the old village greens. They recall the
+time when London was a walled city, and thickly scattered round it were
+the little hamlets which have now been absorbed by the ever-growing,
+monster town.
+
+There is little that is distinctive about them. For the most part they
+are simply open spaces of well-worn turf without trees. Shepherd’s Bush
+is one of these. Brook Green, in Hammersmith, not very far from it, has
+the remains of a few fine elm trees. In Fulham there are Parson’s Green
+and Eel Brook Common. Away in South London, Goose Green and Nunhead
+Green are other examples where grass is even more inconspicuous.
+
+[Illustration: STATUE OF MRS. SIDDONS, PADDINGTON GREEN]
+
+On the north lies Paddington Green, which is small in extent, but close
+to the large graveyard turned into a public garden. In the centre of
+the Green a statue to Mrs. Siddons, by Chevaliand, was erected in
+1897, as she lived in the neighbourhood when Paddington was still
+rural. There is nothing beautiful about the asphalt paths between
+high iron railings surrounding the small space of grass and trees.
+Some of the other greens are more of the ordinary public garden type.
+Islington Green has been planted with trees, and outside the railings
+stands a statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton, who died in 1631, representing
+him holding a plan of the New River. Stepney was once a very large
+green, and has still 3¼ acres of garden cut up into four sections. Some
+quaint old houses, wood with tiled roofs, and good seventeenth-century
+brick ones, still overlook the gardens. The gardens have been made
+exactly like every other, with a slightly serpentine path, a border
+running parallel in irregular curves not following the line of the
+path, and trees dotted about. One really fine, thick-stemmed laburnum
+shows how well that tree will do in smoke, and some curious old wooden
+water-pipes dug up in 1890, dating from 1570, are placed at intervals
+in the grass.
+
+Camberwell has one of the large village greens of South London, and has
+been made into a satisfactory garden. All the trams seem to meet there,
+but in spite of the din it is a pleasant garden in which to rest.
+The 2½ acres are well laid out, and the clipped lime-trees round the
+railings are a protection from the street which other places would do
+well to copy. When the trees are in leaf the garden is partially hidden
+even from those on the tops of omnibuses.
+
+These greens scattered round London help to connect the larger areas,
+thus forming links in the chain of open spaces which encircles London.
+These natural recreation grounds are the admiration of all foreigners,
+and a priceless boon to the citizens, ensuring the preservation of
+green grass and green trees to refresh their fog-dimmed eyes, at no
+great distance from the throng of city life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+SQUARES
+
+      _Fountains and Trees our wearied Pride do please,
+      Even in the midst of Gilded Palaces;
+      And in our Towns, that Prospect gives Delight,
+      Which opens round the Country to our Sight._
+
+          --Lines in a Letter from SPRAT to SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
+                  on the Translation of Horace.
+
+
+Nothing is more essentially characteristic of London than its squares.
+They have no exact counterpart in any foreign city. The iron railings,
+the enclosure of dusty bushes and lofty trees, with wood-pigeons and
+twittering sparrows, have little in common with, say for instance, the
+Place Vendôme in Paris, or the Grand’ Place in Brussels, or Madison
+Square, New York. The vicissitudes of some of the London Squares would
+fill a volume, but most of them have had much the same origin. They
+have been built with residential houses surrounding them, and though
+some have changed to shops, and in others the houses are dilapidated
+and forsaken by the wealthier classes, nearly every one has had its day
+of popularity.
+
+In some of those now deserted by the world of fashion, the gardens have
+been opened to the public, but by far the greater number of squares
+are maintained by the residents in their neighbourhood, who have keys
+to the gardens. But even though they are kept outside the railings
+the rest of the public receive a benefit from these air spaces and
+oxygen-exhaling trees. Sometimes the public get more direct advantage,
+as in such cases as Eaton Square, where seats are placed down the
+centre on the pavement under the shade of the trees inside the rails,
+and are much frequented in hot weather; or in Lower Grosvenor Gardens,
+which are open for six weeks in the autumn, when most of the residents
+in the houses are absent.
+
+Squares are dotted about nearly all over London, but they can, for the
+most part, be grouped together. There are the older ones, of different
+sizes, and varying in their modern conditions. Among such are Lincoln’s
+Inn Fields, Charterhouse, Soho, Golden, Leicester, and St. James’s
+Squares. Then there is the large Bloomsbury group, and further westward
+the chain of squares begins with Cavendish, Manchester, Portman, on the
+north, and Hanover and Grosvenor to the south of Oxford Street. Then
+follow the later continuations of the sequence--Bryanston, Montagu, and
+so on to Ladbroke Square, nearly to Shepherd’s Bush. To the south of
+the Park lies the Belgravia group, with more and more modern additions
+stretching westward till they join the old village of Kensington, with
+dignified squares of its own, or till their further multiplication is
+checked by the River.
+
+To describe most of these squares would imply a vast amount of vain
+repetition. Few have anything original either in design or planting.
+The majority have elms and planes mixed with ailanthus, while aucubas,
+euonymous, and straggling privet form the staple product of the
+encircling borders, with a pleasant admixture of lilac and laburnum,
+and generally a good supply of iris facing the gravel pathway. A few
+annuals and bedding-out plants brighten the borders in summer, and
+some can boast of one or two ferns. Occasionally the luxury of a
+summer-house is indulged in, and here and there a weeping ash has been
+ventured upon by way of shelter; a secluded walk or seat is practically
+unknown. The older gardens have some large trees, and the turf in all
+of them is good, and when it is with “daisies pied” it forms the chief
+delight of the children who play there. It may be that the distance
+of Notting Hill Gate from the smoke of the East End has encouraged
+more enterprise in gardening; certainly the result of the planting in
+Ladbroke Square is satisfactory. Several healthy young oaks are growing
+up; and a fountain and small piece of formal gardening round it, on
+the highest point of the long, sloping lawn, is effective. In the
+older squares, such as Grosvenor Square, the bushes are high, and the
+openings so well arranged that the lawns in the centre are perfectly
+private, and hidden from the streets. In the less ancient ones, such as
+Eccleston and Warwick, Connaught and Montagu Squares, the long, narrow
+strip leaves little scope for variation.
+
+An innovation of the usual square is to be seen in Duke Street,
+Grosvenor Square. This small square, which was laid out as a garden
+with sheltered seats, was made when the new red-brick dwellings
+replaced the smaller and more crowded houses. The middle is now the
+distributing centre of an electric power-station, but the roof is low
+and flat, and has been successfully transformed into a formal garden,
+with trees in tubs and boxes of flowers.
+
+[Illustration: WINTER GARDEN, DUKE STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE]
+
+Some of the squares have finer trees than others, and in many a statue
+is a feature. Originally these statues formed the central object
+towards which the garden paths converged, but most of the central
+statues have been moved, though in a few, like St. James’s and Golden
+Squares, they are still in the middle. These statues were evidently a
+good deal thought of by Londoners, but they did not strike foreigners
+as very good. In one of Mirabeau’s letters he writes in 1784 from
+London: “The public monuments in honour of Sovereigns, reflect little
+honour on English Sculpture.... The Statues of the last Kings, which
+adorn the Squares in the new quarters of London, being cast in
+brass or copper, have nothing remarkable in them but their lustre; they
+are doubtless kept in repair, cleaned and rubbed with as much care as
+the larger knockers at gentlemen’s doors, which are of similar metal.”
+The usual plan now is to place the statue facing the street, where a
+background of green shows it off to the passer-by. Thus Lord George
+Bentinck is prominent in Cavendish Square, from which the equestrian
+central statue of the Duke of Cumberland has gone; and from Hanover
+Square, built about the same time as Cavendish (between 1717–20),
+Chantrey’s statue of Pitt gazes down towards St. George’s Church. In
+Grosvenor Square no statue has replaced the central one of George I. by
+Von Nost, which was placed there in 1726, and is described by Maitland
+as a “stately gilt equestrian statue.” This Square is older than the
+two last mentioned, having been built in 1695. In those days each of
+the spacious houses had its large garden at the back, with a view of
+the country away to Hampstead and Highgate. The garden was designed
+by Kent, but a plan of it about 1750 shows a considerable difference
+between the arrangements then and now, although some details are the
+same. The raised square of grass in the centre where the statue stood
+has now a large, octagonal, covered seat, apparently formed with the
+old pedestal. The walk round and the four wide paths to the centre are
+retained, but the smaller intersecting paths are replaced by lawns
+on which grow some fine old elms. The railings with stone piers and
+handsome gates, shown in the engraving, have given place to much less
+ornamental iron rails.
+
+[Illustration: STATUE OF PITT, HANOVER SQUARE]
+
+Manchester Square is of later date. It was an open space approached by
+shady lanes from Cavendish Square for some fifty years after that was
+built. The houses in Manchester Square were not begun till 1776--some
+ten years after the commencement of Portman Square. This district was
+all very semi-rural and unfinished until much later. Southey, in a
+letter, writes of Portman Square as “on the outskirts of the town,” and
+approached “on one side by a road, unlit, unpaved, and inaccessible by
+carriages.” The large corner house, now occupied by Lord Portman, was
+built for Mrs. Montagu, “Queen of the Blue Stockings,” and during her
+time “Montagu House” was the salon to which the literary celebrities
+of the day flocked. When Mrs. Montagu moved there from Hill Street
+she wrote to a friend, “My health has not been interrupted by the
+bad weather we have had; I believe Portman Square is the Montpellier
+of England.” In the centre of the Square garden was planted a
+“wilderness,” after the fashion of the day, and early in the nineteenth
+century, when the Turkish Ambassador resided in the Square, he erected
+a kiosk in this “wilderness,” where he used to smoke and imagine
+himself in a perfumed garden of the East. It is still one of the best
+kept-up of the squares.
+
+Berkeley Square dates from nearly the same time as Grosvenor, having
+been begun in 1698, on the site of the extensive gardens of Berkeley
+House, which John Evelyn so much admired, and where flourished the
+holly hedges of which he advised the planting. The central statue here
+was one by Beaupré and Wilton of George III., which was removed in
+1827, and the base of the statue made into a summer-house. In the place
+of the usual statesman, a drinking fountain, with a figure pouring
+the water--the gift of the Marquess of Lansdowne--has been placed
+outside the rails at the southern end. The plane trees are very fine,
+and were planted at the end of the eighteenth century, it is said,
+by Mr. Edward Bouverie in 1789. The plane has been so long grown in
+London these cannot be said with certainty to be the oldest, as is
+so often stated. Some in Lincoln’s Inn Fields are decidedly larger.
+In 1722 Fairchild writes in praise of the plane trees, about 40 feet
+high, in the churchyard of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. Loudon mentions
+one at the Physic Garden, planted by Philip Miller, which was 115 feet
+high in 1837 (a western Plane--not the great oriental Plane which fell
+down a few years ago). The western Plane (_Platinus occidentalis_)
+was introduced to this country many years after the eastern Plane
+(_Platinus orientalis_). The tree most common in town is a variety of
+eastern Plane called _accrifolia_, known as the “London Plane”: this
+must have been a good deal planted all through the eighteenth century,
+so it is difficult to assign to any actual tree the priority.
+
+St. James’s Square is older than any of the squares already glanced
+at, having been built in the time of Charles II. It was known as Pall
+Mall Field or Close, originally part of St. James’s Fields, and the
+actual site of the Square was a meadow used by those attached to the
+Court as a sort of recreation ground. Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans,
+leased it in 1665 from Charles II., and began to plan the Square or
+“Piazza,” as it was called at first. The deadly year of the Plague,
+followed by the Great Fire, delayed the building, and the houses were
+not finished and lived in till 1676. No. 6 in the Square, belonging to
+the Marquess of Bristol, has been in his family since that time. Every
+one of the fine old houses has its story of history and romance. Here
+Charles II. was frequently seen visiting Moll Davis, Sir Cyril Wyche,
+and the Earl of Ranelagh. The Earl of Romney, and the Duke of Ormond,
+and Count Tallard the French Ambassador, are names connected with the
+Square in William III.’s time, and Josiah Wedgwood lived at No. 7. But
+these and many other historical personages did not look from their
+windows on to a well-ordered garden, and the Court beauties did not
+wander with their admirers under the spreading trees. The centre of the
+Square was left open, and merely like a field. The chief use to which
+the space seems to have been put was for displays of fireworks. One
+of the great occasions for these was after the Peace of Ryswick, but
+unfortunately they were not always very successful. An eye-witness,
+writing to Sir Christopher Hatton, says of Sir Martin Beckman, who
+had the management of them, that he “hath got the curses of a good
+many and the praises of nobody.” The open space eventually became so
+untidy that the residents in 1726 petitioned Parliament to allow them
+to levy a special rate to “cleanse, adorn, and beautify the Square,”
+as “the ground hath for some years past lain, and doth now lie, rude
+and in great disorder, contrary to the design of King Charles II., who
+granted the soil for erecting capital buildings.” So badly used was
+it that even a coach-builder had erected a shed in the middle of it,
+in which to store his timber. Strong measures were taken, and any one
+“annoying the Square” after May 1, 1726, was to be fined 20s., and any
+one encroaching on it, £50. No hackney coach was allowed to ply there,
+and unless a coachman, after setting down his fare, immediately drove
+out of the Square, he was to be fined 10s. The whole place was levelled
+and paved, and a round basin of water, which was intended to have a
+fountain in it, and never did, was dug in the centre. Round it ran an
+octagon railing with stone obelisks, surmounted with lamps at each
+angle. A road of flat paving-stones with posts went round the Square in
+front of the houses; the rest was paved with cobble stones. As early
+as 1697 it was proposed to place a statue of William III., and figures
+emblematical of his victories, in the Square, but nothing was done. In
+1721 the Chevalier de David tried to get up a subscription for a sum of
+£2500 for a statute of George I. to be done by himself and set up, but,
+as he only collected £100 towards it, that scheme also fell through.
+Once more an effort was made which bore tardy fruit, for in 1724 Samuel
+Travers bequeathed a sum of money by will “to purchase and erect an
+equestrian statue in brass to the glorious memory of my master, King
+William III.” Somehow this was not carried out at the time, but in 1806
+the money appeared in a list of unclaimed dividends, and John Bacon the
+younger was given the commission to model the statue, which was cast
+in bronze at the artist’s own studio in Newman Street, and put up in
+the centre of the pond. Thus it remained until towards the middle of
+last century the stagnant pool was drained. In the 1780 riots the mob
+carried off the keys of Newgate and flung them into this basin, where
+years afterwards they were found. It was 150 feet in diameter, and 6 or
+7 feet deep. When the pond was drained, the garden was planted in the
+form it now is, and the statue left standing in the centre. St. James’s
+is still one of the finest residential squares in London, and the old
+rhyme, picturing the attractions in store for the lady of quality who
+became a duchess and lived in the Square, might have been written in
+the twentieth instead of the eighteenth century.
+
+     “She shall have all that’s fine and fair,
+      And the best of silk and satin shall wear;
+      And ride in a coach to take the air,
+      And have a house in St. James’s Square.”
+
+[Illustration: STATUE OF WILLIAM III. IN ST. JAMES’S SQUARE]
+
+Less cheerful has been the fate of Golden Square, which has a forsaken
+look, and the days when it may have justified its name are past.
+Originally Gelding Square, from the name of an inn hard by, the
+grander-sounding and more attractive corruption supplanted the older
+name. Another derivation for the word is also given--“Golding,” from
+the name of the first builder; but anyhow it was called Golden Square
+soon after it came into being. The houses round it were built about
+the opening years of the eighteenth century, when the dismal memories
+of the Plague were growing faint. For the site of Golden Square, “far
+from the haunts of men,” was one of the spots where, during the Plague,
+thousands of dead were cast, by scores every night. These gloomy
+scenes forgotten, the Square was built, and at one time fashionable
+Lord Bolingbroke lived here, while Secretary for War. It is still “not
+exactly in anybody’s way, to or from anywhere.” The garden is neat,
+with a row of trees round the Square enclosure, and a path following
+the same lines. In the centre stands a statue of George II., looking
+thoroughly out of place, like a dilapidated Roman emperor. It was
+bought from Canons, the Duke of Chandos’s house, near Edgware, when
+the house was pulled down and everything sold in 1747. There are a
+few seats, but they are rarely used, and it has a very quiet and
+dreary aspect when compared with the cheerful crowds enjoying the
+gardens in its larger neighbour, Leicester Square. This was known as
+Leicester Fields, and was traversed by two rows of elm trees; and even
+after the houses round it were begun, about 1635, the name of Fields
+clung to it. The ground was part of the Lammas Lands belonging to
+the parish of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, and Robert Sydney, Earl of
+Leicester, who built the house from which the Square takes its name,
+paid compensation for the land, to the poor of the parish £3 yearly.
+The house occupied the north-east corner of the Square, and in after
+years became famous as a royal residence. It has been called “the
+pouting-place” of princes, as it was to Leicester House that the Prince
+of Wales retired when he quarrelled with his father, George I.; and
+there Caroline the Illustrious gathered all the dissatisfied courtiers,
+and such wit and beauty as could be found, round her. When he became
+George II., and quarrelled in his turn with his son, Frederick, Prince
+of Wales, the latter came to live in Leicester House. The statue of
+George I. which stood in the centre of the garden was, it was said,
+put up by Frederick, with the express purpose of annoying his father.
+A view of the Square in 1700, shows a neatly-kept square garden with
+four straight walks, and trees at even distances, and Leicester House
+standing back, with a forecourt and large entrance gates, and a garden
+of its own with lawns and statues at the back. Savile House, next door
+to Leicester House, on the site of the present Empire Theatre, was
+also the scene of many interesting incidents, until it was practically
+destroyed during the Gordon Riots. The list of great names connected
+with the Square is too long to recite, but four of the greatest are
+commemorated by the four busts in the modern garden--Sir Joshua
+Reynolds, Hogarth, John Hunter, the eminent surgeon, and Sir Isaac
+Newton. But before these monuments were erected Leicester Square Garden
+had gone through a period of decay. It was left unkept up and uncared
+for; the gilt statue was tumbling to pieces, and was only propped up
+with wooden posts. The garden from 1851 for ten years, was used to
+exhibit the Great Globe of Wylde, the geographer, who leased the space
+from the Tulk family, then the owners of the land. Leicester House,
+after it ceased to be a royal residence, was in the hands of Sir Ashton
+Lever, who turned it into a museum, which was open from 1771 to 1784,
+but failed to obtain much popularity. The collection was dispersed,
+and soon after the house was pulled down and the site built over, and
+the Square was allowed to get more and more untidy. Several efforts
+were made to purchase it for the public, but the price asked was
+prohibitive, as the owners wished to build on it. When, however, after
+much litigation, the Court of Appeal decided it could not be built on,
+but must be maintained as an open space, they were more ready to come
+to terms. A generous purchaser came forward, Mr. Albert (afterwards
+Baron) Grant, who bought the land, laid it out as a garden, and
+presented it to the public, to be kept up by the Metropolitan Board of
+Works. The plans for the newly-restored garden, were made for Mr. Grant
+by Mr. James Knowles, and the planting done by Mr. John Gibson, who
+was then occupied with the sub-tropical garden in Battersea Park. The
+statue of Shakespeare in the centre, and the four busts, were also the
+gift of the same public benefactor, who presented the Square complete,
+with trees, statues, railings, and seats, in 1874.
+
+Soho Square was another of the fashionable squares of London, now
+gloomy and deserted by its former aristocratic residents. The gardens
+are kept up for the benefit of those living in the Square only, and are
+not enjoyed by the masses, like Leicester Square. Maitland describes
+the building and consecration of St. Anne’s, Soho, or, as he calls
+it, St. Anne’s, Westminster, which was in 1685 separated from St.
+Martin’s-in-the-Fields, and a new parish created, just in the same way
+as scores of parishes have to be treated nowadays, to meet the needs
+of the much more rapidly-growing population. Of the new parish, he
+says the only remarkable things were “its beautiful streets, spacious
+and handsome Church, and stately Quadrate, denominated King’s-Square,
+but vulgarly Soho-Square.” Various suggestions have been made as to
+the origin of the name, and the most popular explanation is that it
+was a hunting-cry used in hunting hares, which sport was indulged in
+over these fields. The word Soho occurs in the parish registers as
+early as 1632. When first built the Square was called King Square,
+from Geoffrey King, who surveyed it, not after King Charles II. But
+the old name of the fields became for ever attached to the Square,
+to the entire exclusion of the more modern one, after the battle of
+Sedgemoor. Monmouth’s supporters on that occasion took the word Soho
+for their watchword, from the fact that Monmouth lived in the Square.
+In 1690 John Evelyn notes that he went with his family “to winter at
+Soho in the Great Square.” Monmouth House was built by Wren, when the
+Square was begun in 1681, and it was pulled down, to make room for
+smaller houses on the south side of the Square, in 1773. There are
+some fine old trees in the garden, and a statue of Charles II. used,
+till the middle of last century, like the one in St. James’s Square,
+to stand in a basin of water, with figures round it, emblematic of the
+rivers Thames, Severn, Tyne, and Humber, spouting water. Nollekens, the
+sculptor, who was born in 28 Dean Street, Soho, in 1738, recalled how
+he stood as a boy “for hours together to see the water run out of the
+jug of the old river-gods in the basin in the middle of the Square, but
+the water never would run out of their jugs but when the windmill was
+going round at the top of Rathbone Place.” The centre of the Square was
+in 1748 “new made and inclosed with iron railings on a stone kirb,”
+and “eight lamp Irons 3 ft. 6 in. high above the spikes in each of the
+Eight corner Angles”: the “Channell all round the Square” was paved
+with “good new Kentish Ragg stones.”
+
+Beyond Oxford Street are collected a great number of squares in the
+district of Bloomsbury. They are all surrounded by solid, well-built
+houses, which seem to hold their own with dignity, even though fashion
+has moved away from them westward. Before the squares arose, this
+was the site of two great palaces with their gardens. One of them,
+Southampton House, afterwards known as Bedford or Russell House, was
+where Bloomsbury Square now is. In 1665, February 9, Evelyn notes
+that he “dined at my Lord Treasurer’s the Earl of Southampton, in
+Bloomsbury, where he was building a noble square or piazza, a little
+town; his own house stands too low--some noble rooms, a pretty cedar
+chapel, a naked garden to the North, but good air.” This house was
+pulled down in 1800, and Russell Square was built on the garden. Both
+Bloomsbury, or Southampton Square, as it was sometimes called, and
+Russell Square have good trees, and in each garden there is a statue by
+Westmacott. Charles James Fox, seated in classical drapery, erected in
+1816, looks down Bedford Place, where stood Southampton House, towards
+the larger statue, with elaborate pedestal and cupids, of Francis, Duke
+of Bedford, in Russell Square. This is one of London’s largest Squares,
+being only about 140 feet smaller than Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and
+included most of the garden of Southampton House, with its fine limes,
+and a large locust-tree, _Robinia pseudo acacia_.
+
+The laying out is more original in design than most of the squares,
+having been done by Repton in 1810. In Repton’s book on Landscape
+Gardening he goes fully into his reasons for the design of Russell
+Square. “The ground,” he said, “had all been brought to one level
+plain at too great expense to admit of its being altered.” He approves
+of the novel plan of placing the statue at the edge instead of in
+the usual position in the centre of the Square. “To screen the broad
+gravel-walk from the street, a compact hedge is intended to be kept
+clipt to about six feet high; this, composed of privet and hornbeam,
+will become almost as impervious as a hedge of laurels, or other
+evergreens, which will not succeed in a London atmosphere.” He says he
+has not “clothed the lawn” with plantation, so that children playing
+there could be seen from the windows, to meet “the particular wishes
+of some mothers.” “The outline of this area is formed by a walk under
+two rows of lime-trees, regularly planted at equal distances, not in
+a perfect circle, but finishing towards the statue in two straight
+lines.” He imagines that fanciful advocates of landscape gardening will
+object to this as too formal, and be “further shocked” by learning that
+he hoped they would be kept cut and trimmed. Within were to be “groves
+in one quarter of the area, the other three enriched with flowers and
+shrubs, each disposed in a different manner, to indulge the various
+tastes for regular or irregular gardens.” He ends his description
+by saying: “A few years hence, when the present patches of shrubs
+shall have become thickets--when the present meagre rows of trees
+shall have become an umbrageous avenue--and the children now in their
+nurses’ arms shall have become the parents or grand-sires of future
+generations--this square may serve to record, that the Art of Landscape
+Gardening in the beginning of the nineteenth century was not directed
+by whim or caprice, but founded on a due consideration of utility as
+well as beauty, without a bigoted adherence to forms and lines, whether
+straight, or crooked, or serpentine.”
+
+Repton always put forth his ideas in high-sounding language, often not
+so well justified as in the present case. The lime-trees have been
+allowed to grow taller than he desired, and yet are not fine trees
+from having at one period been kept trimmed; but they certainly form
+an attractive addition to the usual design, and looking at them, after
+nearly a hundred years, from the outside, where they form a background
+to the statue, the effect in summer is very attractive.
+
+Bedford Square is on the gardens of the other great house--Montagu
+House, built by the Duke of Montagu. Evelyn also notes going to see
+that. In 1676, “I dined,” he says, “with Mr. Charleton and went to see
+Mr. Montagu’s new palace near Bloomsbury, built by Mr. Hooke of our
+Society [the Royal] after the French manner.” This house was burnt down
+ten years later, and rebuilt with equal magnificence; but when the
+Duke moved to Montagu House, Whitehall, in 1757, it became the home
+of the British Museum. The old house was pulled down and the present
+building erected in 1845. The Square was laid out at the end of the
+eighteenth century on the gardens and the open fields of the parish
+of St. Giles-in-the-Fields beyond. Lord Loughborough lived in No. 6,
+and after him Lord Eldon from 1804 to 1815. At the time of the Gordon
+Riots in 1780, when Lord Mansfield’s house was plundered, troops were
+stationed near, and a camp formed in the garden of the British Museum.
+That garden was also of use when, in March 1815, Lord Eldon’s house in
+Bedford Square was attacked by a mob, and he was forced to make his
+escape out of the back into the Museum garden.
+
+Of Queen’s Square, built in Queen Anne’s time, but containing a statue
+of Queen Charlotte, and all the other squares of this district there
+is little of special interest to record directly connected with their
+gardens. They all have good trees, and are kept up much in the same
+style.
+
+Red Lion Square is an exception. It has a longer history, and now
+its garden differs from the rest, as it is open to the public, and
+a great boon in this crowded district. It takes its name from a Red
+Lion Inn, which stood in the fields long before any other houses had
+grown up near it. It was to this inn that the bodies of the regicides
+Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were carried, when they were exhumed
+from Westminster Abbey and taken, with all the horrible indignities
+meted out to traitors, to Tyburn. A tradition, probably without
+foundation, was for long current that a rough stone obelisk, which
+stood afterwards in the Square, marked the spot where Cromwell’s body
+was buried by friends who rescued the remains from the scaffold. The
+houses were built round it at the end of the seventeenth century, but
+the space in the middle seems, like all other squares at this time,
+to have been more or less a rubbish heap, and a resort of “vagabonds
+and other disorderly persons.” In 1737 the inhabitants got an Act of
+Parliament to allow them to levy a rate to keep the Square in order. A
+contemporary, in praising this determination to beautify the Square,
+“which had run much to decay,” hopes that “Leicester Fields and Golden
+Square will soon follow these good examples.” The “beautifying”
+consisted in setting up a railing round it, with watch-houses at the
+corners, while the obelisk rose in the centre out of the rank grass.
+
+The present garden, when first opened to the public, was managed by
+the Metropolitan Gardens Association, but since 1895 the London County
+Council have looked after it; the inhabitants having made a practically
+free gift of it for the public benefit. The nice old trees, flowers,
+seats, and fountain make it a much less gloomy spot than during any
+time of its history since the Red Lion kept solitary watch in the
+fields.
+
+The largest of all the squares is Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The garden,
+which is 7¼ acres in extent, was, after many lengthy negotiations,
+finally opened to the public in 1895. The fine old houses which
+survive, show the importance and size of Inigo Jones’s original
+conception. It has been said that the Square is exactly the same size
+as the base of the Great Pyramid, but this is not the case. The west
+side, which was completed by Inigo Jones, was begun in 1618, but the
+centre of the Square was left an open waste till long after that
+date. The Fields, before the building commenced, were used as a place
+of execution, and Babington and his associates met a traitor’s death,
+in 1586, on the spot where it was supposed they had planned some of
+their conspiracy. The surrounding houses had been built, and the ground
+was no longer an open field when William, Lord Russell, was beheaded
+there in 1683. The scaffold was erected in what is now the centre of
+the garden. The Fields for many years bore a bad name, and were the
+haunt of thieves and ruffians of all sorts. When things reached such
+a climax, that the Master of the Rolls was knocked down in crossing
+the Fields, the centre was railed in. This was done about 1735, with
+a view to improving their condition, and they remained closed, and
+kept up by the inhabitants, until a few years ago. The chief feature
+in the pleasant gardens now are the very fine trees. There are some
+patriarchal planes, with immense branches, under which numbers of
+people are always to be seen resting. The houses, Old Lindsay House,
+Newcastle House, the College of Surgeons, Sir John Soane’s Museum, with
+long histories of their own, and all the lesser ones, with a sleepy air
+of dingy respectability and ancient splendour, now look down on a most
+peaceful, well-kept garden, and Gay’s lines of warning are no longer a
+necessary caution:--
+
+     “Where Lincoln’s Inn wide space is rail’d around,
+      Cross not with venturous step; there oft is found
+      The lurking thief, who, while the daylight shone,
+      Made the walls echo with his begging tone;
+      That crutch, which late compassion moved, shall wound
+      Thy bleeding head, and fell thee to the ground.”
+
+Adjoining the Fields is New Square, which used to be known as Little
+Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and earlier still as Fickett’s Field or Croft.
+It was built in 1687. Fickett’s Fields occupied a wider area, and until
+1620 they, like the larger Fields, were a place of execution. The
+site of New Square was planted and laid out in very early days. The
+Knights of St. John in 1376 made it into a walking place, planted with
+trees, for the clerks, apprentices, and students of the law. In 1399
+a certain Roger Legit was fined and imprisoned for setting mantraps
+with a “malicious intention to maim the said clerks and others,” as
+they strolled in their shaded walks. This Square, like all others, went
+through phases of being unkept and untidy, but was finally remodelled,
+into its present neat form, in 1845.
+
+Eastwards, into the heart of London there are the squares which are the
+remains of the open ground without the City walls. Charterhouse Square,
+which is now a retired, quiet spot with old houses telling of a former
+prosperity, has a history reaching back to the fourteenth century. In
+the days of the Black Death, when people were dying so fast that the
+Chronicler of London, Stowe, says that “scarce the tenth person of all
+sorts was left alive,” the “churchyards were not sufficient to receive
+the dead, but men were forced to chuse out certaine fields for burials:
+whereupon Ralph Stratford, Bishop of London, in the yeere 1348 bought a
+piece of ground, called _No man’s land_, which he inclosed with a wall
+of Bricke, and dedicated for buriall of the dead, builded thereupon
+a proper Chappell, which is now enlarged, and made a dwelling-house:
+and this burying plot is become a faire Garden, retaining the old
+name of Pardon Churchyard.” It was very soon after this purchase,
+that the Carthusian monastery was founded hard by; but although the
+land was bought by the Order, Pardon Churchyard was maintained as a
+burial-ground for felons and suicides. After the dissolution of the
+monasteries, when Charterhouse School and Hospital had been established
+by Thomas Sutton, the houses round the other three sides of the Square
+began to be built. One of the finest was Rutland House, once the
+residence of the Venetian Ambassador. It is still a quiet, quaint place
+of old memories; and the garden, with two walks crossing each other
+diagonally, and some fair-sized trees, has a solemn look, as if, even
+after all the centuries that have passed, it had some trace of its
+origin. Finsbury Circus and Finsbury Square are very different. They
+are more modern, bustling places which have entirely effaced the past.
+That they were, for long years, the most resorted to of open spaces,
+where Londoners took their walks is well-nigh forgotten, except in the
+name Finsbury, or Fensbury, the fen or moor-like fields without the
+walls. Bethlehem Hospital, known as Bedlam, was, for many generations,
+the only large building on the Fields. Finsbury Square was begun more
+than a hundred years ago, and but for the few green trees, nothing
+suggests the former country origin. Trinity Square, by the Tower, is
+so unique in aspect and association that it must be mentioned. In the
+sixteenth century the “tenements and garden plots” encroached on Tower
+Hill right up to the “Tower Ditch,” and from the earliest time some
+kind of garden existed at the Tower. When it was a royal residence,
+frequent entries appear in the accounts of payments for the upkeep of
+the garden. Although so much has changed, and the wild animals that
+afforded amusement for centuries are removed, it is pleasant to see the
+moat turned into walks, and well planted with iris and hardy plants,
+and making quite a bright show in summer, in contrast to the sombre
+grey walls.
+
+Away in the East End there are numbers of other gloomy little squares
+whose gardens are the playground of the neighbourhood. They are
+useful spaces of air and light, and the few trees and low houses
+surrounding them give a little ventilation in some of the very crowded
+districts. They are all much alike; in some more care has been taken
+in the planting and selection of the trees than in others. There is
+De Beauvoir Square, Dalston; Arbour Square, off the Commercial Road;
+York Square, Stepney; Wellclose, near the Mint and London Docks;
+Trafalgar Square, Mile End; and many others dotted about among the
+dismal streets. Turning to the West End again, the largest of the
+square spaces is Vincent Square, which forms the playground of the
+Westminster boys. It derives its name from Dr. Vincent, the head-master
+who was chiefly instrumental in obtaining it for the use of the boys.
+It was first marked out in 1810, and enclosed by railings in 1842. The
+10 acres of ground were part of Tothill Fields, and the site was a
+burial-place in the time of the Great Plague.
+
+There is nothing of historical interest in the Squares of Belgravia.
+The ground covered by Belgrave Square was known as Five Fields,
+which were so swampy that no one had attempted to build on them. It
+was the celebrated builder, Thomas Cubitt, who in 1825 was able by
+draining, and removing clay, which he used for bricks, to reach a solid
+foundation, and in a few years had built Belgrave and Eaton Squares and
+the streets adjoining. The site of the centre of Belgrave Square was
+then a market-garden. Ebury Square, the garden of which is open to the
+public, and tastefully laid out, was built about 1820. The farm on
+that spot, which in 1676 came to the Grosvenor family, was a farm of
+430 acres in Queen Elizabeth’s time, and is mentioned as early as 1307,
+when Edward I. gave John de Benstede permission to fortify it. There
+was only one road across the swampy ground from St. James’s to Chelsea,
+and that was the King’s Road, which followed the line of the centre
+of Eaton Square. There were, however, numerous footpaths, infested
+by footpads and robbers at night, and bright with wild flowers and
+scented by briar roses by day. There is a great sameness among all the
+squares between Vauxhall Bridge and the Pimlico Road. Of this latter
+original-sounding name there seems no satisfactory explanation. The
+space between Warwick Street and the river, was in old times occupied
+by the Manor House of Neyte, and in later days by nurseries and a tea
+garden, known as the Neat House. The ground near Eccleston Square was
+an osier bed. The whole surface was raised by Cubitt, with soil from
+St. Katherine’s Docks in 1827, and the houses built, and square gardens
+laid out; Eccleston in 1835, Warwick 1843, St. George’s 1850, and so
+on until the whole was covered. The gardens are all in the same style,
+and have no horticultural interest. The garden in front of Cadogan
+Place varied most from the usual pattern, having been designed by
+Repton. “Instead of raising the surface to the level of the street, as
+had usually been the custom, by bringing earth from a distance,” he
+“recommended a valley to be formed through its whole length, with other
+lesser valleys flowing from it, and hills to be raised by the ground
+so taken from the valleys.” The original intention was to bring the
+overflow of the Serpentine down Repton’s valley, but this was never
+done, and the gardens now only show the variation of level in one part.
+There is a good assortment of trees, and a group of mulberries which
+bear fruit every year.
+
+Further west again, the old hamlet of Brompton has small, quiet squares
+of its own. The trees of Brompton Square, that quiet _cul-de-sac_, and
+the way through with a nice row of trees to Holy Trinity Church (built
+in 1829), with Cottage Place running parallel with it, is rather unlike
+any other corner of London. Before it was built over Brompton was
+famous for its gardens--first that of London and Wise, in the reign of
+William III. and Anne, and then that of William Curtis, the editor of
+the _Botanical Magazine_. A guide-book of 1792, describes Brompton as
+“a populous hamlet of Kensington, adjoining Knightsbridge, remarkable
+for the salubrity of its air. This place was the residence of Oliver
+Cromwell.” Kensington Square is older than any of the Brompton Squares,
+having been begun in James II.’s reign, and completed after William
+III. was living in Kensington Palace. From the first it was very
+fashionable, and has many celebrated names connected with it--Addison,
+Talleyrand, Archbishop Herring, John Stuart Mill, and many others.
+The weeping ash trees and circular beds give the gardens a character
+of their own. Edwardes differs from all other London Squares. The
+small houses and large square garden are said by Leigh Hunt, who lived
+there at one time, to have been laid out to suit the taste of French
+refugees, who it was thought might take up their quarters there. The
+small houses were to suit their empty pockets, and the large garden
+their taste for a sociable out-of-door life. Loudon was an admirer
+of the design of the garden, which he says was made by Aiglio, an
+eminent landscape painter, in 1819. The arrangement is quite distinct
+from other squares--small paths, partly hidden by groups of bushes and
+larger trees, all round the edge, and from them twisting walks diverge
+towards the centre. At their meeting-point now stands a shell from the
+battle of the Alma. The Square with its nice trees, standard hollies,
+and even a few conifers and carefully-planted beds, is further original
+in possessing a beadle. This gentleman, who lives in a delightful
+little house, with a portico in which the visitors to the Square
+can shelter from the rain, looks most imposing in his uniform and
+gold-braided hat, and adds greatly to the old-world appearance of the
+place. It is sad to think the leases all fall in within the next few
+years, and this quaint personage and vast garden (it is 3¼ acres) and
+funny little houses may all disappear from London.
+
+It is impossible in such a hasty glance to give more than a very
+faint sketch of the story of the squares, or a mere suggestion of the
+romance attached to them. Though the gardening in many leaves much to
+be desired, it is well to appreciate things as they are, and enjoy
+to the full the pleasure the sight of the huge planes in Berkeley
+or Bedford Squares, or Lincoln’s Inn Fields, can bring even to the
+harassed Londoner. When the sun shines through the large leaves, and
+the chequered light and shade play on the grass beneath, and sunbeams
+even light up the massive black stems, which defy the injurious fogs,
+they possess a soothing and refreshing power. They, indeed, add to the
+enjoyment, the health, and the beauty of London.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+BURIAL-GROUNDS
+
+      _Praises on tombs are trifles vainly spent,
+      A man’s good name is his best monument._
+
+                          --EPITAPH IN ST. BOTOLPH, ALDERSGATE.
+
+
+The disused burial-grounds within the London area must now be counted
+among its gardens. There are those who would not have the living
+benefit by these hallowed spots set apart for the dead, but the vast
+majority of people have welcomed the movement which has led to this
+change. In some instances there is no doubt the transformation has been
+badly done. Here and there graves have been disturbed and tombstones
+heedlessly moved, but on the whole the improvement of the last fifty
+years has been immense. It is appalling even to read the accounts of
+many of the London graveyards before this reaction set in. The hideous
+sights, the foul condition in which God’s acre was often allowed to
+remain, as revealed by the inquiry held about 1850, together with the
+horrors of body-snatchers, are such a disagreeable contrast to the
+orderly graveyards of to-day, that the removal of a few head-stones is
+a much lesser evil.
+
+Loudon, in the _Botanical Magazine_, was one of the first to write
+about the improvement of public cemeteries, and to point out how they
+could be beautified, and the suggestion that the smaller burial-grounds
+could be turned into gardens was made as early as 1843 by Sir Edwin
+Chadwick. But the closing of them did not come until ten years later,
+and it was many years after that, before any attempt was made to turn
+them into gardens. By 1877 eight had been transformed, and from that
+time onwards, every year something has been done. The Metropolitan
+Gardens Association, started by Lord Meath (then Lord Brabazon) in
+1882, has done much towards accomplishing this work. One of the
+earliest churchyards taken in hand was that of St. Pancras, and joined
+to it St. Giles-in-the-Fields. The Act permitting this was in 1875.
+Perhaps because it was one of the first, it is also one of the worst in
+taste and arrangement. The church of St. Pancras-in-the-Fields is one
+of the oldest in Middlesex. “For the antiquity thereof” it “is thought
+not to yield to St. Paul’s in London.” In 1593 the houses standing
+near this old Norman church were much “decaied, leaving poore Pancras
+without companie or comfort.” The bell of St. Pancras Church was said
+to be the last tolled in England at the time of the Reformation,
+to call people to Mass. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century,
+adjoining to the south side of the churchyard, was “a good spaw,
+whose water is of a sweet taste,” very clear, and imbued with various
+medicinal qualities. These “Pancras Wells” had a large garden, which
+extended from the Spa buildings by the churchyard, between the coach
+road from Hampstead, and the footpath across the meadows to Gray’s Inn.
+As late as 1772 the coach was stopped and robbed at this corner, and
+the footpads, armed with cutlasses, made off through the churchyard.
+It was of this then lonely, rural churchyard that it was said the dead
+would rest “as secure against the day of resurrection as ... in stately
+Paules”; but, alas for modern exigencies, the Midland Railway now spans
+the sacred ground by a viaduct, and the would-be improvers, in turning
+what remained into a garden, have moved the tombstones, levelled the
+undulating ground, and heaped the head-stones into terrible rocky
+mounds, or pushed them in rows along the wall. Numerous were the
+interesting monuments it contained; many a courtly French _emigré_ here
+found a resting-place, such as the Comte de Front, on whose tomb was
+the line, “A foreign land preserves his ashes with respect.” Although
+a monumental tablet put up to record the opening, and the names of the
+designers of the garden, proclaims it to be “a boon to the living, a
+grace to the dead”; it is doubtful how that respect to the dead was
+shown. The lines go on to say it was “not for the culture of health
+only, but also of thought.” Surely health and thought could have been
+equally well stimulated by making pretty paths, lined with trees and
+flowers, wind reverently in and out among the tombs, and up and down
+the undulating ground, with seats in shade or sun, arranged with peeps
+of the old church; and there might even have been room for the fine
+sun-dial (the gift of Baroness Burdett-Coutts) without levelling the
+whole area and laying it out with geometrically straight asphalt walks.
+The asphalt paths are in themselves a necessity in most cases, as the
+expense of keeping gravel in order is too great, and the majority of
+the renovated disused burial-grounds suffer from this fact.
+
+Westward from St. Pancras the next large churchyard is that of
+Marylebone, and further to the north is St. John’s Wood burial-ground.
+Its large trees and shaded walks are familiar to the thousands who go
+every year to Lord’s Cricket Ground. Another large one, still more
+westward, now used as a garden, is Paddington. The small green patch
+round St. Mary’s Church, and a large cemetery beyond, together make
+over 4 acres. All round London these spaces are being used, and in
+most cases little has been done to upset the ground--among the more
+prominent are St. George’s, Hanover Square, in Bayswater; St. John’s,
+Waterloo Road; Brixton Parish Church, with a row of yew trees; Fulham
+Parish Church, with Irish yews, and tall, closely clipped hollies;
+St. Mary’s, Upper Street, Islington, and many others. Some are large
+spaces, such as St. John-at-Hackney, which covers 3 acres, and in it
+stands the tower of the old church, the present very large church which
+dominates it being in the Georgian style of 1797.
+
+Stepney is the largest of all these disused churchyards, and covers
+7 acres. It was opened as a public garden in 1887. The beautiful old
+Perpendicular church of St. Dunstan, with its carved gargoyles and fine
+old tower, which escaped the fire that destroyed the roof, stands on
+a low level, with the large square stone graves, of which there are a
+great quantity, on higher mounds round it. The central path, the old
+approach to the church, has trees on either side, and runs straight
+across the graveyard, and is as peaceful-looking as the walk in many
+a country churchyard. The way the laying out as a garden has been
+carried out is unfortunate in many respects. The number of the big,
+stone, box-like monuments made it difficult to carry intersecting
+paths across between them, so a plan hardly to be commended has been
+followed, of half burying a number of these, and planting bushes in the
+earth thus thrown about, and putting the necessary frames for raising
+plants in the centre. To place the frames against the wall, and make a
+raised path or terrace among the tombs, and not to have banked them up
+with a kind of rockery of broken pieces, might have been more fitting.
+The part of the ground which is less crowded is well planted. Birch and
+alder (_Alnus cordifolia_) are doing well, and a nice clump of gorse
+flourishes.
+
+One of the best-arranged of these old East End graveyards is that of
+St. George’s-in-the-East, near Ratcliffe Highway. It is kept up by the
+Borough of Stepney, having been put in order under the direction of the
+rector, Rev. C. H. Turner (now Bishop of Islington), at the expense of
+Mr. A. G. Crowder, in 1866. The tombstones have for the most part been
+placed against the wall, or left standing if out of the way, as in the
+case of the one to the Marr family, whose murder caused horror in 1811.
+In the centre stands the obelisk monument to Mrs. Raine, a benefactress
+of the parish, who died in 1725. The whole of the ground is laid out
+with great taste and simplicity, and is thoroughly well cared for.
+The flowers seem to flourish particularly well, and the borders in
+summer are redolent with the scent of old clove carnations, which are
+actually raised and kept from year to year on the premises. A small
+green-house supplies the needs of the flower-beds, The superintendence
+of the garden is left to Miss Kate Hall, who takes charge of the
+Borough of Stepney Museum in Whitechapel Road, and also of the charming
+little nature-study museum in the St. George’s Churchyard Garden. What
+formerly was the mortuary has been turned to good account, and hundreds
+of children in the borough benefit by Miss Hall’s instruction. Aquaria
+both for fresh-water fish and shells, and salt-water collections,
+with a lobster, starfish, sea anemones, and growing sea weeds are to
+be seen, and moths, butterflies, dragon-flies, pass through all their
+stages, while toads, frogs, and salamanders and such-like are a great
+delight. The hedgehog spends his summer in the garden, and hibernates
+comfortably in the museum. The bees at work in the glass hive are
+another source of instruction. Outside the museum a special plot is
+tended by the pupils, who are allowed in turn to work, dig, and prune,
+and who obtain, under the eye of their sympathetic teacher, most
+creditable results. The charm of this East End garden, and the special
+educational uses it has been put to, shows what can be achieved, and
+sets a good example to others, where similar opportunities exist. A
+less promising neighbourhood for gardening could hardly be imagined,
+which surely shows that no one need be disheartened.
+
+Some of the burial-grounds were in such a shocking state before they
+were taken in hand, that very few of the head-stones remained in their
+right places, and many had gone altogether, while some even reappeared
+as paving-stones in the district. Spa Fields, Clerkenwell, had a very
+chequered history. The site was first a tea garden, near the famous
+Sadler’s Wells. For a few years, from 1770, its “little Pantheon” and
+pretty garden, with a pond or “canal” stocked with fish, and alcoves
+for tea drinkers, was thronged by the middle class, small tradesmen,
+and apprentices, while the more fashionable world flocked to Ranelagh
+or Almack’s. It was the sort of place in which John Gilpin and his
+spouse might have amused themselves, on a less important holiday than
+their wedding anniversary. Twenty years later the scene had changed.
+The rotunda was turned into a chapel, by the Countess of Huntingdon,
+who took up her residence in a jessamine-covered house that had
+been a tavern, near to it. The gardens had already been turned into
+a private burial-ground, which soon became notorious for the evil
+condition in which it was kept. There every single gravestone had
+disappeared long before it was converted into the neat little garden,
+the delight of poor Clerkenwell children. The rotunda was at length
+pulled down, and in 1888 a new church was erected on the site. The
+same disgraceful story of neglect and repulsive overcrowding, can be
+told of the Victoria Park Cemetery, although the ground had not such a
+strange early history. It was one of those private cemeteries which the
+legislation with regard to other burial-places did not touch. It was
+never consecrated, and abuses of every kind were connected with it. It
+is a space of 9½ acres in a crowded district between Bethnal Green and
+Bow, a little to the south of Victoria Park. After various difficulties
+in raising funds and so forth, it was laid out by the Metropolitan
+Gardens Association, opened to the public in 1894, and is kept up by
+the London County Council, and is an extremely popular recreation
+ground, under the name of “Meath Gardens.”
+
+One of the quiet spots near the City is Bunhill Fields. This has for
+over two hundred years been the Nonconformist burial-ground. The
+land was enclosed by a brick wall, by the City of London in 1665 for
+interments “in that dreadful year of Pestilence. However, it not
+being made use of on that occasion,” a man called “Tindal took a
+lease thereof, and converted it into a burial-ground for the use of
+Dissenters.” As late as 1756 it appears to have been known as “Tindal’s
+Burial-ground.” The name Bunhill Fields was given to that part of
+Finsbury Fields, on to which quantities of bones were taken from St.
+Paul’s in 1549. It is said “above a thousand cartloads of human bones”
+were deposited there. No wonder the ghastly name of “bone hill,”
+corrupted into Bunhill, has clung to the place. At the present time the
+gravestones here are undisturbed, and more respect has been shown to
+them than to the bones in the sixteenth century. Asphalt paths meander
+through a forest of monuments, and a few seats are placed in the shade
+of some of the trees. Those who live in this poor and busy district no
+doubt make much use of these places of rest, but the visitor is only
+brought to this depressing, gloomy spot on a pilgrimage to the tomb of
+John Bunyan. He rests near the centre of the ground, under a modern
+effigy. Not far off is the tomb of Dr. Isaac Watts, whose hymns are
+repeated wherever the British tongue is spoken, and near him lies the
+author of “Robinson Crusoe,” Daniel Defoe. This quaint old enclosure
+opens off the City Road, opposite Wesley’s Chapel, and on the western
+side it is skirted by Bunhill Row. But a few yards distant is another
+graveyard of very different aspect, as it contains only one stone,
+and that a very small one, with the name of George Fox, who died in
+1690. The other graves in this, the “Friends’ Burial-ground,” never
+having been marked in any way, it has the appearance of a dismal little
+garden, like the approach or “gravel sweep” to a suburban villa. But it
+is neatly kept.
+
+Of all the churchyards, that of St. Paul’s is best known, and least
+like the ordinary idea of one. But this was not always so. It was
+for centuries an actual burying-place. When the foundations of the
+present cathedral were dug, after the Great Fire, a series of early
+burials were disclosed. There were Saxon coffins, and below them
+British graves, where wooden and ivory pins were found, which fastened
+the woollen shrouds of those who rested there, and below that again,
+between twenty and thirty feet deep, were Roman remains, with fragments
+of pottery, rings, beads, and such-like.
+
+The original churchyard was very much larger, as the present houses in
+“St. Paul’s Churchyard” are actually on part of the ground included in
+it. It extended from Old Change in Cheapside to Paternoster Row, and on
+the south to Carter Lane, and the whole was surrounded by a wall built
+in 1109, with the principal gateway opening into “Ludgate Street.” This
+wall seems to have been unfinished, or else part of it became ruinous
+in course of time, and the churchyard became the resort of thieves
+and ruffians. To remedy this state of things, the wall was completed
+and fortified early in the fourteenth century. It had six gates, and
+remained like this until the Great Fire, although long before that date
+houses had been built against the wall both within and without. Round
+here were collected the shops of the most famous booksellers, such as
+John Day, who came here in 1575.
+
+[Illustration: ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD]
+
+On the north side was a plot of ground known as Pardon’s Churchyard,
+and here was built a cloister in Henry V.’s time, decorated with
+paintings to illustrate Lidgate’s translation of “The Dance of Death.”
+Here, too, was a chapel and charnel-house, and the whole was
+pulled down by order of the Protector Somerset, who used some of the
+material in building Somerset House. It was on that occasion that the
+cartloads of bones were removed to Finsbury Fields. There, covered
+with earth, they made a solid, conspicuous hill on which windmills
+were erected. It was part of this same ground which has already been
+referred to as Bunhill Fields. Great as was the damage done by the
+Fire, perhaps no site has been so completely altered as that of St.
+Paul’s. The modern cathedral, dearly loved by all Londoners, stands at
+quite a different angle from the old one, the western limit of which is
+marked by the statue of Queen Anne. Nestling close to the south-west
+corner of the great Gothic cathedral with its lofty spire, was the
+parish church of St. Gregory, and the crypt was the parish church
+of St. Faith’s. Both these parishes were allocated a portion of the
+churchyard for their burials.
+
+To the north-east of the cathedral stood Paul’s Cross, the out-door
+pulpit whence many notable sermons were preached. It is described
+by Stowe. “About the middest of this Churchyard is a pulpit-crosse
+of timber, mounted upon steps of stone, and covered with Lead, in
+which are Sermons preached by learned Divines, every Sunday in the
+fore-noone. The very antiquity of which Crosse is to me unknowne.” The
+earliest scene he records as taking place at this “crosse,” was when
+Henry III., in 1259, commanded the Mayor to cause “every stripling of
+twelve years of age and upward to assemble there,” to swear “to be
+true to the King and his heires, Kings of England.” In later times,
+the most distinguished preachers of the day were summoned to preach
+before the Court and the Mayor, Aldermen and citizens, and the
+political significance of such harangues may well be imagined. It was
+here Papal Bulls were promulgated; here Tyndal’s translation of the
+New Testament was publicly burnt; here Queen Elizabeth listened to a
+sermon of thanksgiving on the defeat of the Armada--only to mention a
+few of the associations that cling round the spot, which, until within
+the last fifty years, was marked by an old elm tree which kept its
+memory green. Now it is treated with scant respect. There is, indeed,
+a little wooden notice-board, like a giant flower-label, stuck into
+the ground by an iron support, which records the fact that here stood
+Paul’s Cross, destroyed by the Fire of 1666. The notice is not so large
+or conspicuous as the one a few feet from it, beseeching the kindly
+friends of the pigeons not to feed them on the flower-beds! It is to be
+hoped that before long the bequest of £5000 of the late H. C. Richards,
+for the re-erection of the Cross, may be embodied in some visible form.
+
+What a picture such recollections call up!--the excited crowds with
+all the colour of Tudor costumes, the eager, fanatical faces of the
+“defenders of the Faith,” the sad and despondent faces of the intensely
+serious Reformers, as they see the blue smoke curl upwards, and the
+flames consume the sacred volumes.
+
+Picture the churchyard once more in still earlier times, when strange,
+fantastic customs clung round the cathedral services. One of the most
+original seems to have arisen from the tenure of land in Essex granted
+to Sir William Baud by the Dean and Chapter. The twenty-two acres of
+land were held on the condition that “hee would (for ever) upon the
+Feast day of the Conversion of Paul in Winter give unto them a good
+Doe, seasonable and sweete, and upon the Feast of the Commemoration of
+St. Paul in Summer, a good Buck, and offer the same at the high Altar,
+the same to bee spent amongst the Canons residents.” On the appointed
+days the keeper who had brought the deer carried it through the
+procession to the high altar. There the head was severed, and the body
+sent off to be cooked, while the horns, stuck on a spear, were carried
+round the cathedral. The procession consisted of the Dean and Chapter
+in their copes--special ones for the two occasions--one embroidered
+with does, the other with bucks, the gift of the Baud family, and on
+their heads garlands of roses. Having performed the ceremony within the
+church, the whole procession issued out of the west door, and there
+the keeper blew a blast upon his horn, and when he had “blowed the
+death of the Bucke,” the “Horners that were about the City presently
+answered him in like manner.” The Dean and Chapter paid the blowers of
+horns fourpence each and their dinner, while the man who brought the
+venison got five shillings and his food and lodgings, and a “loafe of
+bread, having the picture of Saint Paul upon it,” to take away with
+him. What a strange picture of mediæval life and half-pagan rites! yet
+all conducted with perfect good faith, in all seriousness. It is just
+one of the great charms of knowing London and its traditions, that one
+is able to clear away in imagination the growth of centuries, and throw
+back one’s mind to the past--to stand at the top of Ludgate Hill and to
+remove Wren’s building and to see the Gothic pinnacles; to blot out the
+garden and fountain and modern seats, and see Paul’s Cross; on the left
+to see the arches of the cloisters, and on the right the high wall and
+timbered houses; then to open the western door and see this strange
+procession issue forth, with the antlers borne aloft, and hear the
+bugle-blast and answering notes.
+
+Surely no place can be more crowded with memories than busy, “roaring
+London,” and nowhere are the past and present so unexpectedly brought
+together. The City is full of surprises to those who have leisure to
+wander among its narrow, crowded streets. The quiet little graveyards
+afford many of these telling contrasts. Suddenly, in the busiest
+thoroughfares, where a constant stream of men are walking by every
+weekday, come these quiet little back-waters. In many cases the
+churches themselves have vanished, or only remain in part. St. Mary’s
+Staining is one of these, so hidden away that one might walk along
+Fenchurch Street hundreds of times and never find it. The approach
+is by a very narrow alley, at the end of which is this quiet little
+graveyard, where, among other worthies, reposes Sir Arthur Savage,
+knighted at Cadiz in 1596. The church, all except the tower, was
+destroyed in the Great Fire, and never rebuilt. The picturesque old
+tower stands in the centre of this little plot, which now forms the
+garden of the Clothworkers’ Company, whose hall opens on to one side of
+it.
+
+Another church which perished in the Fire and was never rebuilt is St.
+Olave’s, Hart Street, but its churchyard remains, and a few large tombs
+stand in a small garden with seats, where at all times of the year some
+weary wayfarers are resting.
+
+Another such graveyard where the burnt church was not restored is at
+the corner of Wood Street and Cheapside. The old tree inside the closed
+railings may have inspired the lark to carol so joyously as to call up
+the “vision of poor Susan.”
+
+St. Botolph’s, Aldersgate, has one of the largest churchyards in the
+City, but it really consists of four pieces of land thrown into one
+in 1892, by a scheme under the London Parochial Charities, which
+contributed part of the purchase-money of some of the land, and gives
+£150 a year for the upkeep--£100 being paid to them by the General Post
+Office, which has the right of light over the whole space. One-half
+of the churchyard is St. Botolph’s, and the rest is made up of the
+burial-grounds of St. Leonard, Foster Lane, and Christ Church, Newgate
+Street, and a strip of land which might have been built on, but which,
+under the revised scheme in 1900, became permanently part of this open
+space. The garden is carefully laid out; there are nice plane trees
+and a little fountain, regular paths and numerous seats. A sheltered
+gallery runs along one side, and in it are tablets to commemorate deeds
+of heroism in humble life--Londoners who lost their lives in saving
+the lives of others. The church of St. Botolph was one which escaped
+the Fire, but had fallen into such disrepair that it was rebuilt, by
+Act of Parliament, in 1754. The Act specially stipulates that none of
+the gravestones were to be removed, but where some of them are, now
+that it is a trim garden, it would be hard to say. Being not far from
+the General Post Office, this garden is so much used by its officials
+during the middle of the day, it has earned the name of the “Postman’s
+Park.”
+
+[Illustration: SUN-DIAL, ST. BOTOLPH’S]
+
+Another much-frequented but much smaller churchyard is that of St.
+Katharine Coleman. Suddenly, in a corner of crowded Fenchurch Street,
+comes this retired shade. The church, with its old high pews, and tiny
+graveyard, devoid of monuments, is a peaceful oasis. These surprises
+in the densest parts of the City are very refreshing, and they are too
+numerous to mention each individually. Most of them now are neatly
+kept, though some look dreary enough. None of them recall the neglect
+of half a century ago. St. Olave’s, Hart Street, in Seething Lane, is
+perhaps among the most gloomy. It is the church Pepys speaks of so
+often as “our owne church,” and was one of the churches that escaped
+the Fire. The archway with the skulls over it, leads from Seething
+Lane to the dismal-looking churchyard. Nothing is done to alter or
+brighten this place of many memories. One shudders to think of what it
+must have been like when Pepys crossed it for the first time after the
+Great Plague, when he went to the memorial service for King Charles
+I., on 30th January 1666. No wonder he says it “frighted me indeed to
+go through the church more than I thought it could have done, to see
+so many graves lie so high upon the churchyard, where people have been
+buried of the Plague. I was much troubled about it, and do not think
+to go through it again a good while.” The parish registers show that
+no less than 326 were interred in this very small place, during the
+previous six months, so Pepys’ feelings were well justified. The old
+church has a special interest to lovers of gardens, as in it is the
+tomb of William Turner, the author of the first English Herbal.
+
+In more than one City churchyard a portion of the old wall
+makes its appearance. There is St. Alphage, London Wall, and
+Allhallows-in-the-Wall, where the little gardens by the wall have
+been formed with a view to preserving it. The most picturesque is St.
+Giles’s, Cripplegate, where Milton is buried. The graveyard is large,
+and the ground rises above the footpath, which was made across it some
+thirty years ago, to a bastion of the wall, of rough stones and flint,
+which is in its old state, although part of the wall was rebuilt in
+1803. There has been no attempt here to make it a resting-place for the
+living, although it is used as a thoroughfare.
+
+[Illustration: THE BANK GARDEN]
+
+Few people who have not entered the Bank of England would suspect it
+of enclosing an extremely pretty garden. There the inner courtyard
+possesses tall lime trees, gay rhododendrons, and a cool splashing
+fountain, with ferns and iris glistening in the spray. It is quite
+one of the most delightfully fresh and peaceful corners on a hot
+summer’s day, and carries one in imagination to Italy. Yet this is
+but another of the many old City churchyards. The parish of St.
+Christopher-le-Stocks was absorbed, with five other parishes, into
+St. Margaret’s, Lothbury, in 1781. Some of the tombs, and pictures of
+Moses and Aaron, were removed from it, and are still to be seen in St.
+Margaret’s, which is crowded with monuments from all six churches.
+The Bank was already in possession of most of the land within the
+parish, and by the Act of Parliament of 1781, the church and churchyard
+became part of the Bank premises, which cover nearly three acres. The
+church site was built over, but the graveyard became the garden. This
+enclosure at first was a simple grass plot, as shown in an engraving
+dated 1790. The lime trees may have been planted soon after, as they
+appear as large trees sixty years later, and are spoken of in 1855
+as two of the finest lime trees in London. The fountain was put up in
+1852 by Mr. Thomas Hankey, then the governor. The water for it came
+from the tanks belonging to the Bank, supplied by an artesian well 330
+feet deep, said to be very pure, and free from lime. Perhaps that is
+why the rhododendrons look so flourishing. Most of the Bank, as is well
+known, was the work of the architect Sir John Soane, but some of the
+portions built by Sir Robert Taylor, before his death in 1788, when
+Soane was appointed to succeed him, are to be seen in the garden court.
+It is said that the last person buried there was a Bank clerk named
+Jenkins, who was 7½ feet in height. He was allowed to rest there, as he
+feared he might be disinterred on account of his gigantic proportions.
+
+Very different is the churchyard of St. Martin’s, on Ludgate Hill. It
+belongs to Stationers’ Hall, and although it boasts of one fine plane
+tree, is an untidy, grimy, dingy little square. By permission of all
+the necessary authorities, the coffins (480 in number) were removed and
+reverently buried in Brookwood Cemetery in 1893, a careful register
+of all the names and dates, that could be deciphered, being kept.
+This having been done, the earth was merely left in an irregular heap
+round the tree, and no attempt has been made to improve in any way the
+forsaken appearance of the place.
+
+This sketch does not aim at being a guide-book, and it would only be
+tedious to enumerate the many churchyards, without as well as within
+the City, which of late years have been made worthy “gardens of sleep.”
+St. Luke’s, Old Street; St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch; St. Anne’s, Soho;
+St. Sepulchre, Holborn, and many others in every part of the town, from
+being dreary and untidy, have become orderly and well kept; and instead
+of being unwholesome and unsightly, have become attractive harbours of
+refuge in the sea of streets and houses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+INNS OF COURT
+
+      _Sweete Themmes! runne softly, till I end my Song.
+        At length they all to mery London came,_
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      _There when they came, whereas those brickly towers
+      The which on Themmes brode aged backe doe ryde
+      Where now the studious Lawyers have their bowers,
+      There whylome wont the Templer Knights to byde,
+      Till they decayed through pride:_
+
+             *       *       *       *       *
+
+      _Sweete Themmes! runne softly, till I end my Song._
+
+                  --SPENSER: “Prothalamion, or a Spousall Verse.”
+
+
+There are no more peaceful gardens in all London than those among
+the venerable buildings devoted to the study of the law. There is a
+sense of dignity and repose, the moment one has entered from the noisy
+thoroughfares which surround these quiet courts. They may be dark,
+dull, and dingy, as seen by a Dickens, and sombre and serious, to those
+whose business lies there; but to the ordinary Londoner, who loves the
+old world of the City, and the links that bind the present with the
+past, there are no more reposeful places than these gardens. The courts
+and buildings seem peopled with those who have worked and lived there.
+If stones could speak, what tales some of these could tell!
+
+The best-known, perhaps, of the gardens are those belonging to the
+Inner and Middle Temple, as their green lawns are visible from the
+Embankment. They add greatly to the charm of one of London’s most
+beautiful roadways, now, alas! desecrated by the rush of electric
+trams, and its fine young trees sacrificed to make yet more rapid the
+stream of beings hourly passing between South London and the City.
+The modern whirl of business life can leave nothing untouched in this
+age of bustle, money-making, ceaseless toil, and care. Even pleasures
+have to be provided by united effort, and partake of noise and hurry.
+Thought and contemplation are hardly counted among the pleasures of
+life; yet to those who value them, even to look through the iron
+railings on the smooth turf brings a sense of relief. Even to those
+who scarcely seem to feel it, the very existence of these haunts of
+comparative peace, which flash on their vision as they hurry by, leaves
+something, a subtle influence, a faint impression on the brain. It
+must make a difference to a child who knows nothing beyond the noisy
+streets and alleys in which its lot is cast, to hear the rooks caw and
+the birds sing in the quiet gardens of Gray’s Inn. It must come as a
+welcome relief, even though unperceived and unappreciated, from the din
+and clatter in which most of its days are passed. One cannot be too
+grateful that it has not been thought necessary to change and modernise
+“our English juridical university.”
+
+Although the four great Inns of Court are untouched, the lesser Inns
+have vanished or are vanishing. Clement’s Inn has gone. The garden
+there was small, but had a special feature of its own--a sun-dial
+upheld by the kneeling figure of a blackamoor. This is now preserved
+in the Temple Garden, where it appeared soon after Clement’s Inn
+was disestablished in 1884. Clement’s Inn, which appertained to the
+Inner Temple, was so named from the Church of St. Clement Danes and
+St. Clement’s Well, where “the City Youth on Festival Days used to
+entertain themselves with a variety of Diversions.” The sun-dial is
+said to have been presented to the Inn by a Holles, Lord Clare, and
+some writers state that it was brought from Italy. It was, however,
+more probably made in London by John Van Nost, a Dutch sculptor, who
+came to England in William III.’s time, and established himself in
+Piccadilly. When he died in 1711 the business was continued by John
+Cheere, brother of Sir Henry Cheere, who executed various monuments
+in Westminster Abbey. Similar work is known to have issued from this
+studio. At Clifford’s Inn, which was also attached to the Inner Temple,
+there is still a vestige of the garden, but it looks a miserable doomed
+wreck, a few black trees rising among heaps of earth and rubbish. It
+was described in 1756 as “an airy place, and neatly kept; the garden
+being inclosed with a pallisado Pale, and adorned with Rows of Lime
+trees, set round the gravel Plats and gravel walks.” Its present
+forlorn appearance is certainly not suggestive of its past glories.
+Barnard’s Inn has been converted into a school by the Mercers’ Company;
+it also has its court and trees on a very small scale. Staples Inn,
+so familiar from the timbered, gabled front it presents to Holborn,
+carefully preserved by the Prudential Assurance Company, its present
+owners, still has its quiet little quadrangle of green at the back.
+It was of that Dickens wrote such an inimitable description. “It is
+one of those nooks, the turning into which out of the clashing streets
+imparts to the relieved pedestrian the sensation of having put cotton
+in his ears and velvet soles on his boots.” Furnival’s, Thavies’, and
+all the other Inns famous in olden days, have disappeared, and their
+quiet little gardens with them.
+
+The Temple Gardens are larger now than in the earlier days of their
+history, as then there was nothing to keep the Thames within its
+channel at high tide. The landing steps from the river were approached
+by a causeway of arches across the muddy banks. It was not until 1528
+that a protecting wall was built, and a pathway ran outside the wall
+between it and the river. Gardens must have existed on this site from
+a very early date. When the Templars moved there from Holborn and
+built the church in 1185, it was all open country round, with a few
+great houses and conventual buildings standing in their own orchards
+and gardens. After the suppression of the Order, it was in the hands
+of Aimer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and in 1324 the land was given
+to the Knights of St. John. As they had their own buildings and church
+not far off, they granted it “to the Students of the Common Lawes of
+England: in whose possession the same hath sithence remained.” All the
+consecrated land, and all within the City, was included in the grant to
+the Knights of St. John: besides this there was some land outside the
+City, or the Outer Temple, part of which remained in secular hands, and
+in later times was covered by Essex House, with its famous gardens. The
+section belonging to the Law Societies, beyond the City, is spoken of
+in early records as the Outer Garden, and from time to time buildings
+were erected on it--at first under protest, as in 1565 there was an
+order “for the plucking down of a study newly erected,” and again in
+1567, “the nuisance made by Woodye, by building his house in the Outer
+Garden, shall be abated and plucked down, or as much thereof as is upon
+Temple ground.” All this garden has long ago been completely built
+over, and the large spaces now forming the Temple Gardens are those
+anciently known as the “Great Garden,” belonging to the Inner Temple
+and the Middle Temple Garden. The Outer Temple (never another Inn) was
+merely the ground outside the limits of the City.
+
+The long green slopes down to the Embankment, are much larger than the
+older gardens, as the wall which was built in 1528 to keep out the
+river, cut across from where No. 10 King’s Bench Walk now stands. The
+wall must have been a vast improvement, and was greatly appreciated.
+In 1534 a vote of thanks was passed by the “parliament” of the Inner
+Temple to the late Treasurer, John Parkynton, who had “takyn many and
+sundrie payns in the buylding of the walle betwene the Thamez and
+the garden,” for which “greate dyligens” they gave unto him “hartey
+thankes.” And, indeed, the garden must sorely have needed this
+protection. It is difficult to picture the Temple in the sixteenth
+century, and the little gardens must have been as bewildering as the
+present courts and buildings. In the records there are references to
+various gardens, no doubt small enclosures like the present courts,
+besides the Great Garden and the kitchen-garden. There was the nut
+garden, perhaps adorned with nut trees, as Fig-tree Court probably was
+with figs. There is more than one record of payments for attending to
+the fig-tree or painting rails round it. In 1610, just at the time
+James I. brought them into notice, a mulberry was “set in Fairfield’s
+Court.” In 1605 seats were set “about the trees in Hare’s Court”; thus
+all the courts were more or less little gardens. In 1510 a chamber is
+assigned to some one “in the garden called le Olyvaunte.” This was
+probably the Elephant, from a sign carved or painted to distinguish a
+particular house facing it. There was similarly “le Talbott,” probably
+from a greyhound sign, in another court. The houses facing the Great
+Garden apparently had steps descending into it from the chief rooms,
+and it was a special privilege to have your staircase opening on to it.
+Thus, “May 1573, Mr. Wyott and Mr. Hall, licensed to have ‘a steeyrs’
+(stairs) from their chamber into the garden.” The Great Garden was
+constantly being encroached on as new chambers were built. Entries in
+the records with regard to permission to build into the garden often
+occur; for instance--
+
+“1581. Thomas Compton ... to build ... within the compass of the garden
+or little Court ... from the south corner of the brick wall of the said
+garden ... 57 feet ... and from the said wall into the garden 22 feet.”
+
+On one occasion a license to build was exceeded, and the offence
+further aggravated by cutting down “divers timber trees.” The offender
+was at first put out of commons, and fined £20, which was afterwards
+mitigated to £5, with the addition of a most wise proviso, that “he
+shall plant double the number of trees he caused to be cut down.” Would
+that the fault of felling timber always met with the same punishment!
+
+When houses were put on the site of the present Paper Buildings in
+1610, the Great Garden was cut in two, and the eastern portion went
+to form the broad stretch with its trees known as King’s Bench Walk.
+Elm trees were planted, and the walks and seats under them repaired
+from time to time, and kept in good order. The part to the west was
+carefully tended, and became from that year the chief garden. In James
+I.’s reign, that age of gardening, when every house of any pretensions
+was having its garden enlarged, and Bacon was laying out the grounds of
+Gray’s Inn, the Temple was not behind-hand. The accounts show constant
+repairs and additions and buying of trees. The items for painting posts
+and rails are very frequent. Probably they do not always refer to
+outer palings, but it may be that the Tudor fashion of railing round
+the beds, with a low trellis and posts at the angles, still prevailed.
+One of the largest items of the expenses was for making “the pound” in
+1618. This, it is said, was a pond, but no record of digging it out, or
+filling it with water occurs, while all the payments in connection with
+it went to painters or carpenters, and therefore it was more probably a
+kind of garden-house, much in favour at that time, made by the wall, to
+command a view over the river. The chief items with regard to it are:--
+
+“1618, To John Fielde, the carpenter, for making ‘the pound’ in the
+garden, £19.”
+
+“To Bowden, the painter, for stopping and ‘refreshing’ the rails in the
+‘wakes’ (walks), the posts, seats and balusters belonging to the same,
+and for stopping and finishing the ‘pound’ by the waterside, £9, 10s.”
+
+Again in 1639 the entry certainly implies some kind of summer-house and
+not “a pond”: “Edward Simmes, carpenter, for repairing ‘the pound’ and
+other seats in the garden and walks, &c., £15, 8s.” There must have
+been another summer-house at the same time, unless the sums paid to
+a plasterer “for work done about the summer-house in the garden,” in
+1630, refers to the same “pound.”
+
+A great deal seems to have been done to the Garden during the first few
+years of the Commonwealth, and large sums were expended in procuring
+new gravel and turf: “392 loads of gravel at 2s. 6d. the load” is one
+entry. But the chief work was the re-turfing. An arrangement was made,
+by payment of various small sums to the poor of Greenwich, to cut
+3000 turfs on Blackheath, and convey them in lighters to the Temple
+Stairs. A second transaction procured them 2000 more, each turf being
+a foot broad and a yard long. These amounts would cover a third of
+an acre with turf. The head gardeners seem to have been particularly
+unruly people. Although they remained in office many years, there were
+frequent complaints. On one occasion this official had cut down trees,
+another time he had the plague, and his house was frequented by rogues
+and beggars. At first the gardener’s house was on the present King’s
+Bench Walk side of the Garden, near the river; later on, near where
+Harcourt Buildings are now. In 1690 the house, then in Middle Temple
+Lane, was turned into an ale-house, and evidently none of the quietest,
+for the occupier was forbidden to sell drink, and the “door out of the
+gardener’s lodge towards the water gate” was ordered to be bricked up,
+so as to prevent all the riffraff from the river rioting in his rooms.
+Yet the post descended from father to son. In 1687 Thomas Elliott
+succeeded his father, Seth Elliott, who had been there some years, and
+when in 1708 Charles Gardner had taken the second Elliott’s place, his
+daughter Elizabeth’s name occurs as a recipient of money, and Elliott
+himself received a pension of £20 a-year, although he was the culprit
+of the riotous ale-house. During the years succeeding the Restoration,
+the Garden seems to have been little touched. The kitchen-garden would
+still be maintained, and either it was farmed by the gardener, or its
+supplies were inadequate, as on fast-days there was always a special
+payment to the gardener for vegetables. Such items as the following
+are of frequent occurrence: “Sallating for the hall in grass week,
+strewings and ‘bow pots’ for the hall in Easter and Trinity terms.”
+
+Though the French fashions in gardening of Charles II.’s reign do not
+seem to have affected the Temple precincts, yet the Dutch influence
+that came in with William and Mary made itself felt. A small garden
+was specially set apart for the Benchers, and done up entirely in
+the prevailing style. A piece of ground between King’s Bench Office
+and Serjeants’ Inn was made use of for this. It had been let to the
+Alienation Office, but after the Great Fire the Temple resumed the
+control of it, and finally did it up and replanted it for the use of
+the Benchers. It was known as the “Benchers’,” the “Little” or the
+“Privy” Garden, and great care, attention, and money were expended
+on it. Turf, gravel, and plants were bought; a sun-dial put on
+the wall; orange trees set out in tubs; and a fountain erected in
+the middle. This fountain must have been the chief feature of the
+Garden, and from the immense amount of care it required to keep it
+in order, it seems that it was one of those elaborate “waterworks,”
+without which no garden was then complete. Such fountains were made
+with secret arrangements for turning on the water, which dropped
+from birds’ bills, or spurted out of dolphins or such-like, with an
+unpleasant suddenness which gave the unwary visitor a shower-bath.
+Other fountains played tunes or set curious machinery in motion, or
+otherwise surprised the beholder. From the descriptions, this one in
+the Benchers’ Garden doubtless concealed some original variation. It
+consisted of a lion’s face with a copper scallop shell, and a copper
+cherry-tree with branches, and perhaps the water dropped from the
+leaves. One payment in 1700 occurs for “a new scallop shell to the
+fountain, for a cock and a lion’s face to draw the water out of the
+fountain, and for keeping the fountain in repair, £12.” The copper
+cherry-tree was painted, and perhaps the Pegasus--the arms of the Inner
+Temple--figured in the strange medley, as the cost of painting the tree
+and “gilding the horse” are together paid to the man “Fowler,” who had
+charge of the fountain. The “best way to bring the water” had to be
+carefully considered for these “waterworks” which Fowler was designing
+and carrying out, and it evidently was brought up to the pitch of
+perfection required of a fountain in those days. There was also a
+summer-house with a paved floor, and an alcove with seats. Altogether,
+even without the glories of the strange fountain, the little enclosed
+Dutch garden must have been an attractive place.
+
+[Illustration: THE INNER TEMPLE GARDEN]
+
+While the Benchers’ Garden was being made, the Great Garden was not
+neglected. Its form was altered to suit the prevailing taste. This
+remodelling must have begun in the winter of 1703, as it was then
+resolved that “the trees in the Great Garden be cut down, and the
+Garden to be put in the same model as the gardener hath proposed.” The
+delightful terrace, which is still one of the most beautiful features
+in the Garden, existed before these alterations began, but the sun-dial
+which still adorns it was added during these changes. The payment for
+it was made to Strong, who was contractor for St. Paul’s under Wren:
+“To Edward Strong, for the pedestal for the dial in the Great Garden
+steps, &c., £25.” The beautiful gates of wrought iron were put up in
+1730. The design shows the arms of Gray’s Inn, as well as the winged
+horse of the Inner Temple, in compliment to the other learned society,
+its close ally. In the same way the Pegasus occurs at Gray’s Inn. It
+was probably along this terrace that some of the orange trees in pots
+were placed during the summer. The pots in which these oranges and
+other “greens” were grown seem to have been specially decorative. It
+was a serious offence when Allgood, a member of the Inn, broke some,
+and was obliged to “furnish other pots of like fashion and value,”
+otherwise he would “be put out of commons.” After this others were
+purchased, as the payment of £8 was made “for a large mould, carved
+in wood, for casting of earthen pots for the Garden”; and in other
+years further similar expenses occur, one in 1690 “to the potter for
+a large pot made for the Garden, painted in oil, £1, 5s.” Some of the
+plants grown would stand the winter in the open, but after the oranges
+made their appearance a shelter had to be provided. Green-houses owed
+their origin to this necessity, and as they were only used in winter,
+and merely sheltered the large pots of “greens,” these green-houses or
+orangeries were built like rooms, and used as summer-houses during warm
+months. All the larger gardens had their green-houses, but the smaller
+proprietors frequently sent their plants away to a nurseryman to be
+housed during the winter. Even the “greens” at Kensington Palace were
+kept by London and Wise, until the new orangery was built. The Temple
+orange trees were first sent to the house of Cadrow at Islington.
+In 1704 the green-house seems to have been made, and used as a
+garden-house in summer. Such items in the accounts as “a chimney-glass
+and sconces for the green-house” show that it was in the usual solid
+architectural style then in fashion. That the “panierman,” an officer,
+one of whose duties was to summon members to meals by blowing a horn,
+was appointed to take charge of it as well as of the library, is a
+further proof that it bore the character of a room, and was more or
+less outside the gardener’s department. The panierman also had the
+care of the elaborate fountain, after it had been supervised for some
+years by the maker. This green-house stood at the end of the terrace,
+which still runs parallel with Crown Office Row, and near the site of
+Harcourt Buildings, behind the gardener’s house. This gardener’s house
+was pulled down two or three years later to make way for Harcourt
+Buildings, which was joined to the summer-house. The first or ground
+floor opened on to the garden below the “paved walk” or terrace, on
+which level stood the summer-house.
+
+The most fascinating feature of a garden ought to be its flowers,
+and of these also some particulars can be gleaned from the accounts.
+There is enough to show that the Temple Garden was quite up to date
+in its horticulture, and that it followed fashion as closely in its
+plants as in its design. It is not surprising to find Dutch bulbs, and
+especially tulips, being bought when such a lover of those flowers
+as Sir Thomas Hanmer was a member. He was one of those who devoted
+much time to the culture of that flower, when the tulip mania was at
+its height, and raised new varieties, which were known by his name,
+“the agate Hanmer.” In 1703 the list of bulbs purchased is carefully
+noted. There were “200 ‘junquiles’ at 6s. a hundred; for 200 tulips
+at 5s. a hundred; for 100 yellow Dutch crocus, for 50 Armathagalum.”
+The spelling of “junquiles” is much more correct than our modern
+“jonquil,” and all the old writers would have written it so. Parkinson,
+in 1629, describes them as “Narcissus juncifolius” or the “Junquilia
+or Rush Daffodill”; but “Ornithogalum” was too much for the Temple
+scribe. The “Ornithogalum” or “Starre of Bethlehem,” and probably one
+of the rarer varieties, must be meant by “Armathagalum.” The Arabian
+variety was then “nursed in gardens,” but it should be “housed all the
+winter, that so it may bee defended from the frosts,” wrote Parkinson,
+and sadly admitted that the two roots sent to him “out of Spain” had
+“prospered not” “for want of knowledge” of this “rule.” There was also
+the “Starre flower of Æthiopia,” which “was gathered by some Hollanders
+on the West side of the Cape of Good Hope”; and this is more likely
+to have been the variety bought for the Temple with the other Dutch
+bulbs. Among the other purchases were various shrubs, on which the
+topiary art was then commonly practised. There were “15 yew trees for
+the Great Garden in pots, ... 4 box trees for the grass plots, ...
+12 striped ‘fillerayes’”--this latter being variegated phillyreas
+(most likely _angustifolia_), which were largely used for cutting
+into quaint shapes. Another account is for “28 standard laurels, 4
+‘perimic’ (laurels), 6 junipers, 4 hollies, and 2 perimic box trees.”
+These “perimetric” trees had already gone through the necessary
+clipping and training, to enable them to take their place in the trim
+Dutch garden. Another year flowering shrubs are got for the Benchers’
+Garden: “2 messerius at 2s., and 2 lorrestines at 2s.” The _Daphne
+mezereum_ had been a favourite in English gardens from the earliest
+times, and the laurestinus (_Viburnum tinus_) came from South Europe in
+the sixteenth century. Parkinson, the most attractive of all the old
+gardening authors, has a delightfully true description of the “Laurus
+Tinus,” with its “many small white sweete-smelling flowers thrusting
+together, ... the edges whereof have a shew of a wash purple or light
+blush in them; which for the most part fall away without bearing any
+perfect ripe fruit in our countrey: yet sometimes it hath small black
+berries, as if they were good, but are not”! Fruit-trees were also
+to be found--peaches, “nectrons,” cherries, and plums, besides figs
+and mulberries. That the walls were covered with climbing roses and
+jessamine is certain, from the oft-recurring cost of nailing them up.
+“Nails and list for the jessamy wall,” and the needful bits of old felt
+required to fasten them up, was another time supplied by “hatt parings
+for the jessamines.”
+
+Thus it is easy, bit by bit, out of the old accounts, to piece together
+the Garden, until the mind’s eye can see back into the days of Queen
+Anne, and take an imaginary walk through it on a fine spring evening.
+The Bencher walks out of the large window of the “green-house” on to
+the terrace, where the sun-dial points the hour: the orange trees,
+glossy and fresh from their winter quarters, stand in stiff array, in
+the large artistic pots. Down the steps, a few stiff beds are bright
+with Dutch bulbs in flower. The turf, well rolled (for a new stone
+roller has just been purchased), stretches down to the river between
+straight lines of quaintly cut box, yews, and hollies. He sees Surrey
+hills clear in the early evening light, and the barges sail by, and
+boats pass up and down the river. He may linger on one of the seats
+in the garden-house overlooking the river, or wander back under the
+stately elms of King’s Bench Walk, to rest awhile in the Privy Garden,
+where the air is scented with mezereum, and cooled by the drops that
+fall from the metal leaves hanging over the basin of the fountain.
+
+The Middle Temple, too, had its Benchers’ Garden, and part of it
+survives to this day in the delightful Fountain Court. The Benchers’
+Garden was larger, covering the ground where Garden Court now stands,
+up to the wall of the famous gardens of Essex House. A garden covered
+the space where the library has been built, and the terrace and steps
+in front of the fountain reached right across to the Essex House
+wall. Below the beautiful old hall which Queen Elizabeth opened in
+person, and where Shakespeare’s contemporaries witnessed “Twelfth
+Night,” lay the rest of the Garden, with green lawns and shady trees
+down the water’s edge. The fountain, once the glory of the Benchers’
+private garden, is still one of the most delightful in all London. Sir
+Christopher Hatton, whose garden of Ely Place--wrung by Queen Elizabeth
+from the unwilling Bishop--was not far off, was an admirer of the
+Middle Temple fountain. It was kept, he says, “in so good order as
+always to force its stream to a vast and almost incredible altitude.
+It is fenced with timber palisades, constituting a quadrangle, wherein
+grow several lofty trees, and without are walks extending on every
+side of the quadrangle, all paved with Purbeck, very pleasant and
+delightful.” In an eighteenth-century picture, with groups of strollers
+and a lady passing the gay company in her sedan chair, the palings are
+superseded by fine iron railings enclosing the lofty jet, its marble
+basin, and shady trees. The pavement ended with the terrace wall
+overlooking the garden below, and the Thames covered at high tide what
+is now the lower part of the lawn. The Fountain Court has inspired
+many a thought which has found expression in prose and verse, but no
+picture is more vivid or well known than the figure of Ruth Pinch, in
+“Martin Chuzzlewit,” waiting for her brother “with the best little
+laugh upon her face that ever played in opposition to the fountain,”
+or the description at the end, of that crowning day to her happiness,
+when she walks there with John Westlock, and “Brilliantly the Temple
+Fountain splashed in the sun, and laughingly its liquid music played,
+and merrily the idle drops of water danced and danced, and peeping out
+in sport among the trees, plunged lightly down to hide themselves,
+as little Ruth and her companion came towards it.” The fountain has
+suffered some modernising changes since Dickens wrote those lines; but
+in spite of them there is still music in its sound, which calls up
+dreams of other ages and of brighter gardens as it tosses its spray
+into the murky air.
+
+     “Away in the distance is heard the vast sound
+      From the streets of the city that compass it round,
+      Like the echo of mountains or ocean’s deep call:
+      Yet that fountain’s low singing is heard over all.”
+
+                                                 --MISS LANDON.
+
+Of all the incidents that are associated with particular places, none
+stands out more vividly than the scene told by Shakespeare, of the
+first beginning to the Wars of the Roses in the Temple Garden.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOUNTAIN COURT, MIDDLE TEMPLE]
+
+Richard Plantagenet, with the Earls of Somerset, Suffolk, and Warwick,
+Vernon, and a lawyer, enter the Temple Garden (“Henry VI.” Pt. I. Act
+2, sc. iv.).
+
+  _Suffolk._     Within the Temple Hall we were too loud;
+                 The garden here is more convenient.
+
+  _Plantagenet._ Then say at once if I maintained the truth,
+                 Or else was wrangling Somerset in the error?
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+The direct answer being evaded, Plantagenet continues--
+
+                 Since you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak,
+                 In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts;
+                 Let him that is a true-born gentleman,
+                 And stands upon the honour of his birth,
+                 If he suppose that I have pleaded truth,
+                 From off this brier pluck a white rose with me.
+
+  _Somerset._    Let him that is no coward nor no flatterer,
+                 But dare maintain the party of the truth,
+                 Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  _Warwick._     I pluck this white rose with Plantagenet.
+
+  _Suffolk._     I pluck this red rose with young Somerset.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  _Vernon._      I pluck this pale and maiden blossom here,
+                 Giving my verdict on the white rose side.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  _Lawyer_ (to _Somerset_) ... The argument you held was wrong in you,
+                 In sign whereof I pluck a white rose too.
+
+  _Plan._      Now, Somerset, where is your argument?
+
+  _Som._       Here, in my scabbard, meditating that
+                 Shall dye your white rose in a bloody red.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  _Plan._      Hath not thy rose a canker, Somerset?
+
+  _Som._       Hath not thy rose a thorn, Plantagenet?
+
+  _Plan._     Ay, sharp and piercing to maintain his truth;
+                   Whiles thy consuming canker eats his falsehood.
+
+  _Som._      Well, I’ll find friends to wear my bleeding roses,
+                   That shall maintain what I have said is true.
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  _Warwick._  And here I prophesy this brawl to-day,
+                   Grown to this faction in the Temple-garden,
+                   Shall send between the red rose and the white
+                   A thousand souls to death and deadly night.
+
+With such a tradition the Temple Garden should never be without its
+roses. They are one of those friendly plants which will do their best
+to fight against fog and smoke, and flower boldly for two or three
+years in succession: so a supply of red and white, and the delightful
+_Rosa mundi_, the “York and Lancaster,” could without much difficulty
+be seen there every summer. Certainly some of the finest roses in
+existence have been in the Temple Gardens, as the Flower Shows, which
+are looked forward to by all lovers of horticulture, have for many
+years been permitted to take place in these historic grounds. How
+astonished those adherents of the red or white roses would have been
+to see the colours, shades, and forms which the descendants of those
+briars now produce. The Plantagenet Garden would not contain many
+varieties, although every known one was cherished in every garden,
+as roses have always been first favourites. Besides the briars, dog
+roses, and sweet briars, there was the double white and double red, a
+variety of _Rosa gallica_. Many so-called old-fashioned roses, such
+as the common monthly roses, came to England very much later, and
+the vast number of gorgeous hybrids are absolutely new. Elizabethan
+gardens had a fair show of roses with centifolia, including moss and
+Provence roses, and York and Lancaster, _Rosa lutea_, musk, damask,
+and cinnamon roses in several varieties; and as the old records show,
+the Temple Garden was well supplied with roses. All these probably
+flourished there in the days of Shakespeare, and would readily suggest
+the scene he immortalised.
+
+Among the spirits that haunt the Temple Garden, there is none that
+seems to cling to it more than that of Charles Lamb. It should be a
+pride of these peaceful gardens that they helped to mould that lovable
+and unselfish character. A schoolfellow, who describes his ways as a
+boy at Christ’s Hospital, recalls how all his young days were spent in
+the solemn surrounding of the Temple, and how, while at school, “On
+every half holiday (and there were two in the week), in ten minutes he
+was in the gardens, on the terrace, or at the fountain of the Temple.
+Here was his home, here his recreation; and the influence they had
+on his infant mind is vividly shown in his description of the old
+Benchers.”
+
+“Shadows we are and like shadows depart,” suggests the sun-dial on the
+wall of Pump Court, but shadows of such gentle spirits as Charles Lamb
+leave something behind, and those “footprints on the sands of time” are
+nowhere more traceable than in these solemn precincts of law with their
+quiet, restful gardens.
+
+The attractions of the Temple are so great, one feels loth to cross
+the noisy thoroughfare and plunge through the traffic till the stately
+old gateway out of Chancery Lane, on which Ben Jonson is said to have
+worked, affords an opening towards the spacious gardens of Lincoln’s
+Inn.
+
+Lincoln’s Inn Gardens have a special claim to antiquity as they are
+partly on the site of the famous garden of the Earl of Lincoln, of
+which some of the accounts are preserved in a splendid big old manor
+roll now at the Record Office. It is supposed that at his death in
+1311, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, assigned these lands to the
+“Professors of the Law as a residence.” Additions were made later from
+the ground belonging to the Bishop of Chichester, round the palace
+which Ralph Neville had built in 1228. Part of the site was the “coney
+garth,” which belonged to one William Cotterell, and hence is often
+mentioned as “Cotterell’s Garden.” Garden of course only meant a garth
+or yard, and though the name now signifies an enclosure for plants, in
+early times other enclosures were common. There was the “grass yard”
+or lawn, the “cook’s garth” or kitchen-garden, and “coney garth” where
+rabbits were kept, as well as the “wyrt yard” or plant yard, the “ort
+yard” or orchard, apple yard, cherry yard, and so on. The coney garth
+was not a mere name, but was well stocked with game, and even at a
+much later date, from Edward IV. to Henry VIII., there were various
+ordinances in force for punishing law students who hunted rabbits with
+bows and arrows or darts.
+
+[Illustration: LINCOLN’S INN]
+
+In the first year of Queen Elizabeth the Garden was separated from the
+fields by a clay embankment, and a little later a brick wall was added,
+with a gate into the fields, which is probably the same as the present
+little gate to the north of the new hall, at the end of the border,
+shown in the illustration. The Garden continued much further along the
+wall then, and only was curtailed when the new hall and library were
+built in 1843. The delightful terrace which is raised against the wall
+overlooking the “fields” was made in 1663. On June 27th of that year,
+Pepys, who on other occasions mentions his walks there with his
+wife, went to see the alterations. “So to Lincoln’s Inne, and there
+walked up and down to see the new garden which they are making, and
+will be very pretty.” The outside world seems to have had easy access
+to the gardens of all the Inns of Court in those days, but it was
+regarded as a special privilege granted to a very wide circle, and
+a favour not accorded to the public at large. In the _Tatler_ occur
+such passages as, “I went into Lincoln’s Inn walks, and having taken
+a round or two I sat down according to the allowed familiarity of
+these places.” Again, “I was last week taking a solitary walk in the
+garden of Lincoln’s Inn, a favour that is indulged me by several of the
+benchers who are my intimate friends.”
+
+They were, however, so much frequented by all the fashionable world
+of London, that the foreigner arriving there naturally took them for
+public gardens. Mr. Grosley, who came to London in 1765, thus describes
+them:--
+
+“Besides St. James’s Park, the Green Park, and Hyde Park, the two last
+of which are continuations of the first, which, like the Tuileries
+at Paris, lie at the extremity of the metropolis, London has several
+public walks, which are much more agreeable to the English, as they are
+less frequented and more solitary than the Park. Such are the gardens
+contained within the compass of the Temple, of Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s
+Inn. They consist of grass plots, which are kept in excellent order,
+and planted with trees, either cut regularly, or with high stocks: some
+of them have a part laid out for culinary uses. The grass plots of the
+gardens at Lincoln’s Inn are adorned with statues, which, taken all
+together, form a scene very pleasing to the eye.”
+
+The students must certainly have aimed at keeping their gardens from
+the vulgar gaze, and showed their displeasure at some one who had built
+a house with windows overlooking the Garden in 1632 in an uproarious
+manner. They flung brickbats at the offending window until “one out of
+the house discharged haile shot upon Mr. Attornie’s sonne’s face, which
+though by good chance it missed his eyes yet it pitifully mangled his
+visage.”
+
+Old maps of the gardens show a wall dividing the large upper garden
+from the smaller, but by 1772 the partition had disappeared. It was
+doubtless unnecessary when the terrace was made and the rabbits done
+away with.
+
+The 1658 map with the wall in it shows the upper garden intersected by
+four paths, and an avenue of trees round three sides, and the small
+garden with a single row of trees round it divided into two large grass
+plots. The lovely shady avenue below the terrace in the large garden
+has still a great charm, and although not so extensive as it once was,
+the great green-sward and walks seem very spacious in these days of
+crowding. The terrace overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields, with the broad
+walk and border of suitable old-fashioned herbaceous plants, has great
+attractions. The view from here must have improved since the days when
+the Fields were a wild-looking place of evil repute, and the scene of
+bloody executions. In the lonely darkness below the terrace wall, deeds
+of violence were only too common.
+
+     “Though thou are tempted by the linkman’s call,
+      Yet trust him not along the lonely wall.
+      In the mid-way he’ll quench the flaming brand,
+      And share the booty with the pilfering band.”
+
+                                               --GAY.
+
+Certainly when one is sentimental over the departed charms of Old
+London, it would be an excellent antidote to call up some of the
+inconveniences that electric light and the metropolitan police have
+banished.
+
+There is more character about the gardens of Gray’s Inn than either
+the Temple or Lincoln’s Inn. They have come down with but little
+alteration from the hands of that great lover of gardens, Bacon.
+But long before his time gardens existed. The land on which Gray’s
+Inn stands formed part of a prebend of St. Paul’s of the manor of
+Portpoole, and subsequently belonged to the family of Grey de Wilton,
+and in the fourteenth century the Inn of Court was established. Between
+its grounds and the villages of Highgate and Hampstead was an unbroken
+stretch of open country. There, in Mary’s reign, Henry Lord Berkeley
+used daily to hunt “in Gray’s Inne fields and in those parts towards
+Islington and Heygate with his hounds,” and in his company were “many
+gentlemen of the Innes of Court and others of lower condition ... and
+150 servants in livery that daily attended him in their tawny coates.”
+In Bacon’s time it must still have been as open, and Theobald’s Road
+a country lane with hedgerows. The Garden already boasted of fine
+trees, and among the records of the Society there is a list of the
+elms in 1583 all carefully enumerated, and the exact places they were
+growing: “In the grene Courte xi Elmes and iii Walnut trees,” and so
+on. Eighty-seven elms, besides four young elms and one young ash,
+appear on the list; so the Garden was well furnished with trees even
+before Bacon commenced his work. Gray’s Inn was the most popular of
+the four Inns of Court in the Elizabethan period, and many famous men,
+such as Lord Burghley, belonged to it. It was in 1597 that Bacon
+took the Garden in hand, some ten years after he became a Bencher. In
+the accounts of that year £7. 15s. 4d. appears “due to Mr. Bacon for
+planting of trees in the walkes.” In 1598 it was resolved to “supply
+more yonge elme trees in the places of such as are decayed, and that a
+new Rayle and quicksett hedge be sett upon the upper long walke at the
+good discretion of Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Wilbraham, soe that the charges
+thereof doe not exceed the sum of seventy pounds.” On 29th April
+1600, £60. 6s. 8d. was paid to “Mr. Bacon for money disbursed about
+garnishing of the walkes.”
+
+Bacon’s own ideas of what a garden should be are so delightfully set
+forth in his essay on gardens, that the whole as it left his hand
+is not difficult to imagine. The fair alleys, the great hedge, were
+essentials, and the green, “because nothing is more pleasant to the eye
+than green grass kept finely shorn.” His list of plants which bloom
+in all the months of the year was compiled of those specially suited
+“for the Climate of London,” so no doubt some would be included in this
+Garden under his eye, although they do not appear in the records. He
+wished “also in the very middle a fair mount,” and even this desire
+he carried out in Gray’s Inn. In a description of the Garden as late
+as 1761, a summer-house which Bacon put up in 1609 to the memory of
+his friend Jeremiah Bettenham is mentioned as only recently destroyed.
+“Till lately,” it says, “there was a summer-house erected by the great
+Sir Francis Bacon upon a small mount: it was open on all sides, and the
+roof supported by slender pillars. A few years ago the uninterrupted
+prospect of the neighbouring fields, as far as the hills of Highgate
+and Hampstead, was obstructed by a handsome row of houses on the
+north; since which the above summer-house has been levelled, and many
+trees cut down to lay the Garden more open.” The view, even then, was
+fairly open, as Sir Samuel Romilly, in 1780, complains of the cold, as
+there was “only one row of houses” between him and Hampstead, and “a
+north-west wind blows full against” his chambers. This “most gallant
+prospect into the country, and its beautiful walks” were the great
+attractions of these Gardens. They appear to have been one of the most
+fashionable walks, especially on Sundays. Pepys was frequently there,
+and his diary records, several times, that he went to morning church,
+then had dinner, then to church again, and after went for a walk in
+Gray’s Inn. That he met there “great store of gallants,” or “saw many
+beauties,” is the usual comment after a visit. On one occasion, he
+took his wife there to “observe the fashions of the ladies,” because
+she was “making some clothes.” The walks and trees are redolent with
+associations, and the Gardens, though curtailed, have much the same
+appearance as of yore. When a portion of the ground was sacrificed to
+the new buildings, those who loved the Garden deeply bewailed. “Those
+accursed Verulam Buildings,” wrote Charles Lamb, recalling his early
+walks in Gray’s Inn Gardens, “had not encroached upon all the east side
+of them, cutting out delicate green crankles, and shouldering away
+one of two stately alcoves of the terrace. The survivor stands gaping
+and relationless, as if it remembered its brother. They are still
+the best gardens of any of the Inns of Court--my beloved Temple not
+forgotten--have the gravest character, their aspect being altogether
+reserved and law-breathing. Bacon has left the impress of his foot
+upon their gravel walks.”
+
+After such a delightful summary of their charms it seems cruel to
+try and dispel one of their most treasured traditions--namely, that
+Bacon planted the catalpa. It is a splendid and venerable tree, and
+there is no wish to pull it from its proud position of the first
+catalpa planted, and the finest in existence in this country; but it
+is hard to believe that Bacon planted it, in the light of the history
+of the plant. There is no mention of a catalpa in any of the earlier
+writers--Gerard did not know it, and it is not in the later edition of
+his work by Thomas Johnson, in 1633, or in Parkinson’s “Paradisus,”
+in 1629, or in Evelyn’s “Sylva,” in 1664, all published after Bacon’s
+death.
+
+The tree was first described by Catesby in his “Natural History of
+Carolina,” a splendid folio which appeared in 1731. There it is classed
+as _Bignonia urucu foliis_, or _Catalpa_, as it was not until later
+that Jussieu separated the genus _Catalpa_. He says the tree was not
+known to the inhabitants of Carolina till the seeds “were brought there
+from the remoter parts of the country,” “and though the inhabitants are
+little curious in gardening, the uncommon beauty of this tree induced
+them to propagate it, and it is become an ornament to many of their
+gardens, and probably will be the same to ours in England, it being as
+hardy as most of our American plants: many of them, now at Mr. Bacon’s,
+at Hoxton, having stood out several winters without any protection,
+except the first year.” Hoxton was then a place famous for its nursery
+gardens. In 1767, in Catesby’s volume on the trees of North America,
+he gives the same story, and adds, “in August 1748” it produced, “at
+Mr. Gray’s, such numbers of blossoms, that the leaves were almost hid
+thereby.” This Mr. Gray owned the nurseries in Brompton, famous under
+the management of London and Wise.
+
+In Philip Miller’s dictionary, Catesby’s history of the plant is
+referred to, and also in 1808, in the _Botanical Magazine_, when the
+plant was figured. There it says the plant “has been long an inhabitant
+of our gardens, being introduced by the same Botanist [Catesby] about
+the year 1728.” “It bears the smoke of large towns better than most
+trees; the largest specimen we have ever seen grows in the garden
+belonging to the Society of Gray’s Inn.” There is no hint that the
+tree in question could have been here before Catesby’s discovery, and
+it is not till Loudon’s Encyclopædia in 1822 that the planting is
+attributed to Bacon. Such a remarkable tree could hardly have escaped
+all gardeners for more than a century, during a time when gardening
+was greatly in fashion, and every new plant greedily sought after. We
+know that nearly a hundred years ago this specimen was the finest in
+England, and therefore it may have been planted not more than a hundred
+years or so after Bacon’s death. Raleigh very likely walked with Bacon
+on the spot where it now stands, but, alas! the possibility that he
+brought Bacon a tree from Virginia, which was only discovered near the
+Mississippi a century later, is hardly credible.
+
+The entrance to the Gardens on the Holborn side is through massive
+wrought-iron gates, on which the date 1723 is legible. The letters
+“W. I. G.” are the initials of the Treasurer during whose tenure of
+office they were erected, the “T” above standing for Treasurer. In
+the Inns of Chancery a “P” for Principal, associated with the various
+initials, is often to be noticed. These fine gates are a charming
+approach to the sequestered walks and ancient trees. Gray’s Inn Gardens
+have another delightful speciality, in that the rooks delight to honour
+them by building there. They have a warm welcome, and good food in cold
+weather, and seem likely to remain. Looking through the lofty iron
+gates, the rooks’ nests are seen, and the pleasant cawing sound adds
+greatly to the attraction of the place.
+
+[Illustration: THE GARDEN GATES, GRAY’S INN]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+HISTORICAL GARDENS
+
+      _History is philosophy teaching by examples._
+
+                                            --BOLINGBROKE.
+
+
+Although their number has sadly diminished of late years, London still
+has a few spaces remaining which may be classed as gardens. Often they
+are merely green patches of a formal type, which are better suited to
+the present climate than attempts at flowers; but a few regular gardens
+still exist, bringing dreams of a former period. In St. Bartholomew’s
+Hospital, the oldest of all such institutions, the square, with a
+handsome fountain in the centre, is more what one expects to find in
+Italy than in Smithfield. It is this sort of surprise that makes the
+charm of London, and renders a wander through its mazes so attractive.
+What a contrast the walk of a few minutes can bring in the heart of
+London! but of all these changes none is more impressive than the
+hush of the Charterhouse after the rush of Aldermanbury or the noise
+of Clerkenwell. There is still lingering there the touch of the old
+monastery; a breath of a bygone age seems to pervade the courtyards and
+gateways, and something in the silence speaks of another world. The
+first indication of its hidden green courts are the mulberry leaves
+peeping over the worn stone wall, near the gateway which leads to the
+weathered archway, the entrance of the old Carthusian monastery. This
+is the very spot where, with the brutal severity of Tudor times, the
+arm of the last Prior was exposed after his cruel execution at Tyburn.
+The monastery, founded in 1371, was dissolved with unusual barbarity,
+and passed into secular hands. The possession of it by the Duke of
+Norfolk has left its mark in many of the existing buildings, as he
+converted it from a cloister to a palace, but its palatial days did not
+last long. It was bought by the benevolent Thomas Sutton, a portion
+of whose large fortune, amassed from profitably working coal mines,
+was bestowed in founding “a hospital for poor brethren and scholars.”
+The scholars have been taken away from the historical associations,
+to the purer air of Godalming, and the parts of the buildings devoted
+to their accommodation were in 1872 bought by the Merchants Taylors’
+Company for their school. The playing field of the boys is the ample
+space which was enclosed by the cloister of the monastery. Part of the
+land to the north has been built over, and a tall warehouse overlooks
+the burying-ground of the monks, which is still a large green sward
+of hallowed ground, with a row of mulberries. This lies so far below
+the level of Clerkenwell Road that a flight of steps leads to the
+postern gate in the high wall, overhung with climbing plants. This
+“God’s acre” is covered with smooth turf, and some day the two walnut
+trees planted by the master in 1901 may afford grateful shade. It is
+in keeping with the spirit of the place to plant trees of such slow
+and stately growth. The Preachers’ Court and the smaller Pensioners’
+Court are like college quadrangles, with that perfect turf that England
+alone produces. The smooth surface is broken only by the regular
+intersecting gravel paths, and one row of mulberry trees some seventy
+years old. The red-brick buildings have a venerable appearance,
+although they do not carry the weight of centuries with dignity, like
+the “Wash-house Court,” the hall, the library, or the brick cloister,
+and the delightful old walls with their deliciously-scented fig-trees.
+The whole place has a mediæval look and feeling, and teems with ghosts
+and recollections of the monks of the early peaceful days, and their
+courageous successors at the Dissolution. The pious founder, as the
+chorus of the old Carthusian melody says, must not be forgotten:--
+
+     “Then blessed be the memory
+      Of good old Thomas Sutton,
+      Who gave us lodging, learning,
+      As well as beef and mutton.”
+
+Of the shades which surround these peaceful green courts none appear
+more real than that of Colonel Newcome. The guardian will point out the
+room in which he died, or his pew in the chapel, as if he belonged to
+history as much as Wray, who bequeathed the old books in the “Officers’
+Library,” or any of the well-known pensioners. With such true and
+pathetic touches has Thackeray drawn the character of Colonel Newcome
+that fiction has here become entwined round the walls almost as closely
+as fact.
+
+Further eastward is an open piece of ground, which is hardly a garden;
+but as it is green, and took the place of what was known as the
+Artillery Garden, it may claim a moment’s consideration. Push open
+a door in the modern-looking castellated building in the City Road
+near Bunhill Fields, and a large, quiet, open space is discovered. Old
+guns look inoffensively down on a wide square of green turf. This is
+the home of the Honourable Artillery Company, the descendants of the
+“Trained Bands” of citizens, first enrolled in 1585 in the fear of
+a Spanish invasion. They have been here since 1622, when they moved
+from near Bishopsgate Without. “Artillery Garden,” or Teazel Close or
+Garden, was the name of the older place, from the teazel grown there
+for the cloth workers.
+
+     “Teazel of ground we enlarge St. Mary’s Spittle,
+      Trees cut down, and gardens added to it,
+      Thanks to the lords that gave us leave to do it,”
+
+says an old poem. The existing Artillery Ground was a great place for
+cricket matches, where county met county in the eighteenth century. It
+was here that a vast crowd witnessed the first balloon ever launched
+into the air in England, sent up by Count Zambeccari in 1783. The next
+year, from the same place, Lunardi was more ambitious, and actually
+went up in his balloon. It proved too small for the friend who was
+ready to risk his life in his company, so he took a dog, a cat, and a
+pigeon with him instead.
+
+Passing on into the City, the remains of the once extensive Drapers’
+Garden is met with.[10] Only a small piece, seen from the street
+through iron railings, and approached through the hall, has been
+retained; a few trees and bright flowers survive of what was once a
+fashionable and much sought after resort.
+
+[Illustration: TRINITY ALMSHOUSES, MILE END ROAD]
+
+Most of the other patches of green in the City are disused
+burial-grounds, and are considered in a chapter by themselves. Beyond
+the City, on the east, in the Mile End Road, is the quiet old Trinity
+Hospital. It stands on the north of that wide road, which might be
+made one of the most beautiful entrances to the City. The simple good
+taste of these delightful old almshouses is a great contrast to some
+of the surroundings. They were probably designed by John Evelyn,
+with the assistance of Wren. His father-in-law, Sir Richard Browne,
+founded and built very similar almshouses at Deptford, long since
+swept away. Of these Evelyn writes, “It was a good and charitable
+work and gift, but would have been better bestowed on the poor of
+that parish than on seamen’s widows, the Trinity Company being very
+rich, and the rest of the poor of the parish exceedingly indigent.”
+In spite of these sentiments, he is believed to have had a hand in
+the Mile End Almshouses, which were founded by Captain Henry Mudd of
+Ratcliffe, Captain Sandes or Sanders, and Captain Maples. The two last
+are remembered by statues still standing in the little formal gardens.
+Maples, who appears in the dress of a naval officer of the period, left
+a fortune for the use of the guild in diamonds, collected in India,
+where he was an early pioneer, and where he died in 1680. A similar
+endowment in Hull is described in a poem in 1662:--
+
+     “It is a comely built, well-ordered place,
+      But that which most of all the house doth grace
+      Are rooms for widowes, who are old and poore,
+      And have been wives to mariners before.”
+
+Certainly Trinity Hospital, Mile End, is comely and well ordered. The
+pensioners take a pride in keeping every nook and corner scrupulously
+clean. Everything is, in fact, in “ship-shape” order. The grass is
+neatly mown, the trees on either side well trimmed and clipped. Outside
+each little house a few plants are carefully tended, the pots arranged
+with precision, and every flower looked after with pride. It is indeed
+a peaceful place for these old people to pass their declining years
+in, and the sight makes the regret for St. Katharine’s and the other
+vanished charitable buildings all the more keen.
+
+The site of another benevolent institution near is fulfilling a useful
+and delightful task, although the old houses attached to it have
+disappeared. It was a row of almshouses founded by a member of the
+Brewers’ Company, named Baker, about 150 years ago, for widows. The
+garden was much too large for these decrepid old women to cultivate,
+so the place was taken in hand some twenty-five years ago by the Rev.
+Sidney Vatcher, who built the beautiful church of St. Philip, Stepney,
+hard by, and he became the tenant of the Brewers’ Company. This
+charming garden was at first more or less opened by him to the parish,
+but lately it has been put to the most suitable use of giving a quiet
+place for rest and recreation to the nurses of the London Hospital. The
+almshouses were pulled down about four years ago, to make way for the
+laundries of the Hospital. Here, indeed, is one of those sudden and
+surprising contrasts to be found in London. A high brick wall encloses
+this oasis, and the nurses and some privileged people have keys to the
+door, which opens, from a side street close to the noise of the Mile
+End Road, suddenly into a peaceful, picturesque garden. The idea in
+the formation was a willow-pattern plate, and the little bridge over
+a miniature stream is reproduced. Plane trees in a formal array are
+kept trimmed to give a dense shade, and the hammocks hung from them in
+summer provide the most ideal resting-places for the worn-out nurses.
+At one time animals were kept here in cages, as a kind of small “Zoo”
+for Whitechapel; but since the last alterations the animals have been
+relinquished, and the bear-pit makes a delightful rock garden, and
+the various other cages form summer-houses. One thoughtful addition
+of the vicar was placing a small stove in one of these shelters, with
+an array of kettles, teapots, cups and saucers, so that any of the
+nurses resting can have their _al fresco_ cup of tea--and what could
+be more grateful and comforting? A French writer who recently gave her
+impressions of L’Ile Inconnue was charmed with the peace and repose
+of this little East End Paradise. After seeing the Hospital and all
+its wonderful appliances, “You will now see our Eden,” said the guide.
+“Ici! l’Eden! m’écriai-je, après le péché alors!” Then, when she had
+for a moment looked within those mysterious high walls, “N’avais-je pas
+raison d’appeler ce jardin l’Eden?” said the friend. “Oui, repondis-je,
+c’est l’Eden après la Rédemption.” Certainly any one who sees this
+little garden, and realises the devoted lives of those who made it and
+those who enjoy it, must agree with this writer.
+
+It is not often that, when the old almshouses vanish, the neighbourhood
+benefits to such an extent. What will be the fate of the Ironmongers’
+Almshouses in Kingsland Road, between Shoreditch and Dalston? A large
+board in the garden that fronts the street announces the site is for
+sale!
+
+The Foundling Hospital has large green courts, on which the merry but
+sombrely-clad little children are seen running about, through the
+fine iron gates which face Guildford Street. This was founded in 1739
+by Captain Thomas Coram, who gave so much of his wealth to objects
+of charity and philanthropy that a subscription had to be raised to
+support him in his old age. Theodore Jacobson (died 1772) was the
+architect of the building. A colonnade runs round the whole length of
+the forecourt up to the gates, part of which is used as laundries, or
+other things necessary to the institution. A writer in 1773 describes
+the “large area between the gates and the hospital” as “adorned with
+grass plats, gravel walks, and lamps erected upon handsome posts:
+beside which there are two convenient gardens,” and exactly the same
+description holds good to-day. Brunswick Square lies to the west, and
+Mecklenburgh Square to the east, so the Hospital grounds are still
+airy. There is a small garden at the back of the building in front of
+the Infirmary; on the east is the Treasurer’s Garden, a fair-sized
+enclosure, and on the other side, with the poplars growing in Brunswick
+Square overhanging it, lies the other and larger of the two “convenient
+gardens.” There is nothing old-fashioned or attractive in these gardens
+left; merely a green lawn, a weeping ash, and a few commonplace
+“bedding-out” plants; not altogether in keeping with the age or dignity
+of the building and spacious forecourt.
+
+Less well known is the delightful Garden of the Grey-coat School
+in Westminster. Most of the old foundations in Westminster have
+vanished, such as Emanuel Hospital and the “Blue-coat School,” which
+disappeared a few years ago, but so far this charming old house has
+been respected. Quaint figures of the children in the dress of the
+time--it was founded by the citizens of Westminster in 1698--stand
+on either side of the entrance. The children from the parishes of
+St. Margaret and St. John the Evangelist, who have attended the
+elementary schools for three years, are eligible for admission, up
+to the age of ten. The school was reconstituted as a day school for
+300 girls in 1873, and, in spite of all educational vicissitudes,
+has been allowed to survive, and the sweet and wholesome influence
+of those old-fashioned surroundings would be a great loss, should
+it ever be swept away. The Garden is delightful. It is practical as
+well as ornamental, as it furnishes the staff of teachers with a good
+supply of vegetables. They have each a small flower-bed too, tended
+with great care, and the children are allowed a place of their own,
+where they work, dig, and plant. Down the centre runs a wide gravel
+walk, with a deep herbaceous border along either side, sweet-scented
+pinks and low-growing plants near the front, then a long row of
+spiderwort, and behind that a regiment of magnificent hollyhocks. The
+spiderwort or Tradescantia is a flower eminently suited to London
+gardens, not only because it seems to withstand any amount of smoke
+and bad air, but because of its association with the famous garden
+in Lambeth, where it was first grown. Parkinson, in 1629, gives the
+history of his friend’s introduction of the plant. “The Spiderwort,”
+he writes, “is of late knowledge, and for it the Christian World is
+indebted unto that painfull industrious searcher, and lover of all
+nature’s varieties, John Tradescant (sometimes belonging to the Right
+Honourable Lord Robert Earle of Salisbury, Lord Treasurer of England in
+his time, and unto the Right Honourable the Lord Wotton at Canterbury
+in Kent, and lastly unto the late Duke of Buckingham), who first
+received it of a friend, that brought it out of Virginia, thinking it
+to bee the Silke Grasse that groweth there, and hath imparted hereof,
+as of many other things, both to me and others.” “Unto this plant I
+confess I first imposed the name ... which untill some can finde a
+more proper, I desire may still continue ... John Tradescant’s Spider
+Wort of Virginia.” Courageous as herbalists generally were in tasting
+plants, Parkinson confesses there had “not beene any tryall made of
+the properties” or “vertues.” Luckily no one has disputed Parkinson’s
+choice of a name, and his friend’s memory is still preserved. The
+plant is not confined to Virginia, but grows much further into the
+Wild West, and is common in Kansas, Nebraska, and distant States.
+Yet it will still adapt itself to the grimy limits of a London garden,
+and flower year after year. The Grey-coat School Garden is quite
+refreshing; the plants look so healthy and prosperous that it is really
+encouraging. The interior of the house, with oak beams and panels, is
+all in keeping, and the long class-room, with windows looking out on
+the bright Garden, is most ideal. As, at the close of their afternoon
+studies, the girls, singing sweetly in parts, join in some familiar
+hymn, and the melodious sounds are wafted across the sunlit Garden, it
+is hard to believe in the existence of the crowded, unsavoury slums of
+Westminster, only a stone’s throw from this “haunt of ancient peace.”
+
+[Illustration: GREY COAT SCHOOL, WESTMINSTER]
+
+Among its many charms and associations Westminster Abbey can lay
+claim to possessing one of the oldest gardens in England. The ground
+still occupied by the space known as the “College Garden” was part
+of the infirmary garden of the ancient monastery. It cannot trace
+back its history with the Abbey to the Saxon Sebert, but when Edward
+the Confessor’s pile began to rise, and all the usual adjuncts of
+a monastery gathered round it, the infirmary with the necessary
+herb-garden of simples for treating the sick monks would be one of the
+first buildings to be completed. One of the most peaceful and retired
+spots within the Abbey precincts is the Little Cloister, which was
+the infirmary in early days. When the Great Cloister was finished in
+1365, the Little Cloister was taken in hand. Payments for work on
+“the New Cloister of the Infirmary” appear in the accounts from 1377,
+and it was completed in 1390, and that year the centre was laid down
+in turf. The garden belonging to the infirmary covered all the space
+now occupied by the “College Garden,” and joined the “Grete Garden,”
+which lay to the west. It was probably, like all the gardens of that
+date, laid out in long, narrow, straight beds, in which were grown all
+the healing herbs used for the sick of the monastery. Probably there
+were fruit-trees, too, as in 1362 John de Mordon, the infirmarer, got
+9s. for his apples, and the following year 10s. for pears and apples.
+No doubt the favourite Wardon pear was among them, as in another
+record, between 1380–90, it is specially mentioned. The chapel of St.
+Katharine, which stood on the north side of the Garden, was destroyed
+in Elizabeth’s reign. This, the infirmary chapel of Norman building,
+was as replete with history as every other nook and corner of the Abbey
+buildings. Here St. Hugh of Lincoln and most of the early bishops were
+consecrated, and here took place the unseemly dispute for precedence,
+between the Primates of Canterbury and York in 1186, which led to the
+settling of their respective ranks by the Pope. While so many changes
+have swept over the Abbey, and whole buildings have vanished, the
+herb-garden of early days has kept its place, and is still a garden,
+though bereft of its neat little beds.
+
+[Illustration: ABBEY GARDEN, WESTMINSTER]
+
+The Little Cloister has been greatly altered since then, having been
+refashioned in the early part of the eighteenth century under the
+influence of Wren. Although so changed since the time when strange
+decoctions of medicinal herbs were administered within its walls, it
+has retained much of its fascination, and the approach to it by the dim
+vaulted entrance, dating from the Confessor’s time, out of the narrow
+passage known as the “Dark Entry,” adds to its charm. The sun streams
+down on this small court, with its tree and ferns and old moss-grown
+fountain, lighting it with a kind of “dusky splendour.” Any one
+standing in this suggestive spot will feel with Washington Irving,
+that “The Cloisters still retain something of the quiet and seclusion
+of former days. The gray walls are discoloured by damps, and crumbling
+with age; a coat of hoary moss has gathered over the inscriptions of
+the mural monuments, and obscured the death’s heads, and other mural
+emblems. The sharp touches of the chisel are gone from the rich tracery
+of the arches; the roses which adorned the keystones have lost their
+leafy beauty; everything bears marks of the gradual dilapidations of
+time, which yet has something touching and pleasing in its very decay.”
+
+These lines refer to the Great Cloister, but the quiet and repose are
+still more noticeable in the Little Cloister, which rarely echoes to
+the sound of hurrying feet. The noise and laughter of Westminster
+scholars is only dimly heard in this secluded corner. The boys are not
+as boisterous as when Horace Walpole feared to face them alone, even to
+visit his mother’s tomb. “I literally had not courage to venture alone
+among the Westminster boys; they are as formidable to me as the ship
+carpenters at Portsmouth,” he wrote in 1754. Even in those days the
+list of eminent scholars was already a long one--Hakluyt, Ben Jonson,
+George Herbert, Dryden, Wren, being on the roll of those who had passed
+away, besides others then living, such as Gibbon and Warren Hastings,
+who carried on the tradition of this classic ground.
+
+[Illustration: THE LITTLE CLOISTER, WESTMINSTER ABBEY]
+
+In monastic times there were many gardens within the precincts of the
+Abbey, besides the infirmary garden; but it is difficult to locate
+all of them with certainty, although the sites of some are known. The
+abbot’s garden lay in the north-west angle of the wall, and must have
+covered part of the present Broad Sanctuary, including the spot
+where the Crimean monument now stands. Beyond the abbot’s house, just
+west of the cloister, was the abbot’s little garden. The northern part
+of Dean’s Yard was from very early times known as “The Elms,” from
+the grove of fine trees, some of which remain. It is said that when
+Elizabeth ascended the throne and summoned Abbot Feckenham, who had
+been reinstated by Mary, he was planting some, perhaps these identical,
+elm trees. Among them formerly stood a huge oak, which was blown down
+in 1791. The horse pool was on the west of the Elms, and beyond both to
+the south lay the numerous adjuncts of the monastery, the brewhouse,
+bakehouse, and granaries. Skirting this enclosure was the “Long Ditch,”
+which flowed by the line of the present Delahay Street and Prince’s
+Streets, and passed along outside of the wall of the Infirmary Garden,
+in what is now Great College Street, and fell into the Thames. This
+stream turned the mill from which “Millbank” took its name. In it, to
+the south of the granary, was a small island osier bed. The sale of the
+osiers on it used to bring in 10s. annually in the fourteenth century.
+Beyond the stream were more gardens. The “Hostry Garden” was a large
+one on the site of the church of St. John, and next to it the “Bowling
+Alley,” where Bowling Street ran in later times, and to the west of
+that was a kitchen-garden. Somewhere also on the west of the “Long
+Ditch,” before it turned towards the Thames near the osier island, must
+have been the “Precentor’s Mede,” or, as it was sometimes called, the
+“Chaunter’s-hull,” and also the “Almoner’s Mede” or “Almery Garden.”
+On the other side of the “Hostry Garden,” southwards on the site of
+“Vine Street” and “Market Street,” was situated the vineyard, without
+which no thirteenth-century monastery was complete, and “Market Mede.”
+Even this does not exhaust the list of separate gardens, but the
+others probably lay further away. The cellarer had charge of a large
+garden, which may have been the “Convent Garden,” which is so familiar
+as “Covent Garden” that the connection between the site of the market
+and the Abbey has been lost sight of. One of the large gardens which
+was generally let was “Maudit’s Garden.” In the records it is spoken
+of as “Maudit’s” or “Caleys.” The name Maudit was given to it because
+Thomas Maudit, Earl of Warwick, in the thirteenth century effected an
+exchange of lands with the Abbey, of which the garden formed a part.
+The other name, “Caleys,” was “Calais,” named from the wool staplers
+who came from that town and resided near there, just as “Petty France”
+(where Milton lived) was called so from the French merchants. An Act
+of interchange of land between Henry VIII. and the Abbey, in the
+twenty-third year of his reign, mentions “a certain great messuage
+or tenement commonly called Pety Caleys, and all messuages, houses,
+barns, stables, dove-houses, orchards, gardens, pools, fisheries,
+waters, ditches, lands, meadows, and pastures.” Part of this was
+“Maudit’s” garden, which was sometimes in the hands of the convent, but
+more frequently let out. Among the muniments in 1350, “a toft called
+Maudit’s garden, and a croft called Maudit’s croft,” are referred to.
+There seems to have been an enclosure within this “toft” which was let
+out separately, and in the twentieth year of Edward IV., Matilda, the
+widow of Richard Willy, who had held it, gave up this enclosure or
+“conyn garth.” This was probably a “coney garth” or rabbit enclosure,
+like the one at Lincoln’s Inn, which was kept up for a long time. Such
+rabbit gardens were by no means uncommon. All gardening operations
+must at times have been rendered difficult by reason of the wet soil
+and frequent flooding of the river, but with the patient persistence
+characteristic of gardeners in those days, the gardens in monastic
+times were probably well kept, and yielded profitable crops. It is
+delightful to know that, in spite of all the changes, one portion of
+the old gardens actually remains to this day.
+
+Lambeth, on the opposite bank, fared no better than Westminster for
+high tides, and wet seasons did occasional damage there. In Archbishop
+Laud’s Diary, he notes the inroad of a high tide, which certainly would
+be destructive:--“November 15, 1635, Sunday. At afternoon the greatest
+tide that hath been seen. It came within my gates, walks, cloysters,
+and stables at Lambeth.” Nothing of great antiquity now remains in
+these Lambeth Gardens, although they are indeed historic ground. The
+long terrace and wide herbaceous border, with a profusion of madonna
+lilies, backed by a wooden paling, and fruit-trees peeping over, is
+now a charming walk. The trees on the right of the illustration are
+planes, ailanthus, and catalpas, all smoke-resisting and suitable,
+but not such as would have ornamented the Garden in older days, when
+Archbishop Cranmer adorned his garden with “a summer-house of exquisite
+workmanship.” It was designed by his chaplain, Dr. John Ponet or
+Poynet, who is said to have had “great skill and taste in works of
+that kind.” The summer-house was repaired by Archbishop Parker, but
+afterwards fell into decay and was removed, and in 1828 not even a
+tradition of where it had stood remained. The site of “Clarendon’s
+Walk,” another historical corner of the Lambeth Garden, is also
+uncertain. It appears to have received the name from a conversation
+which took place in the Garden between Laud and Hyde, in which the
+latter seems to have told the Archbishop pretty plainly that “people
+were universally discontented ... and many people spoke extreme ill of
+his grace,” on account of his discourteous manners, which culminated on
+one occasion by his telling a guest “he had no time for compliments,”
+which greatly incensed him. The only survivals of former years are
+the delightfully fragrant fig-trees, which flourish between the
+buttresses on the sunny side of the library--the great hall rebuilt by
+Archbishop Juxon after the destruction in Cromwell’s time. These figs
+are now fair-sized trees, but they are only cuttings of the older ones
+destroyed in 1829, when Archbishop Howley commenced his rebuilding.
+The two parent trees, in 1792, measured 28 inches and 21 inches in
+circumference, and were 50 feet high and 40 feet in breadth, and,
+according to contemporary evidence, bore delicious fruit of the white
+Marseilles variety. Tradition ascribed their planting to Cardinal Pole
+during his brief sojourn as Archbishop.
+
+[Illustration: HERBACEOUS BORDER, LAMBETH PALACE]
+
+Latimer seems much to have appreciated the Lambeth Garden, when
+business called him to the Palace. Sir Thomas More describes, in
+1534, how he watched him walking in the Garden from the windows.
+Latimer himself, in writing to Edward VI., says, “I trouble my Lord of
+Canterbury, and being at his house now and then, I walk in the Garden
+looking at my book, as I can do but little good at it. But something I
+must needs do to satisfy the place. I am no sooner in the Garden and
+have read awhile, but by-and-by cometh there some one or other
+knocking at the gate. Anon cometh my man and saith, ‘Sir, there is
+one at the gate would speak with you.’” How many of us that have been
+called in from a pleasant garden to perform some unpleasant task will
+sympathise with the Bishop!
+
+One famous inhabitant of the Garden lived through many and great
+changes. This was a tortoise, which is said to have been put into the
+Garden by Archbishop Laud, and lived until 1757, when he perished by
+the negligence of a gardener. This legend is apparently quite true, so
+it had been there for over 110 years.
+
+A short account of the principal gardens near London, written by Gibson
+in 1691, describes that of Lambeth Palace. It “has,” he says, “little
+in it but walks, the late Archbishop [Sancroft] not delighting in”
+gardens, “but they are now making them better; and they have already
+made a green-house, one of the finest and costliest about the town. It
+is of three rooms, the middle having a stove under it; ... but it is
+placed so near Lambeth Church, that the sun shines most on it in winter
+after eleven o’clock, a fault owned by the gardener, but not thought
+of by the contrivers. Most of the greens are oranges and lemons, which
+have very large ripe fruit on them.” The Archbishop who thus took the
+garden in hand was Tillotson, and it is not surprising to find him
+adopting that keenness for gardening and the cultivation of “greens”
+brought into fashion by William III.
+
+Nearly ten acres of the extensive grounds of Lambeth Palace have now
+been put under the management of the London County Council, and made
+open to the public as “Archbishop’s Park.” For many years this Park had
+been used for cricket and so on, but the transference entailed some
+alterations, and extended its use to a wider circle.
+
+The Garden of Fulham, the other ecclesiastical palace of London, is
+even more interesting than Lambeth, on account of the fine trees
+still remaining of which the history is known. Among the Bishops of
+London several have shown great interest in the gardens, and two
+especially, Grindal and Compton, were eminent gardeners. The tamarisk
+was introduced by Bishop Grindal, and in the golden age of gardening
+he was in the foremost rank of the patrons of the art, with Bacon and
+Burghley. He used to send Queen Elizabeth presents of choice fruits
+from his garden, and on one occasion got into trouble by sending
+fruit, when one of his servants was supposed, unjustly, to have the
+plague. He wrote (5th August 1566) to Burghley, to say he was sorry
+he had “no fruit to offer him but some grapes.” These grapes were of
+course produced out of doors, as growing vines in green-houses was a
+fashion unknown until some 150 years later. Even before the additions
+of Grindal, the gardens were extensive, and Bonner is said to have been
+much in his garden, not from the love of its repose, but, according to
+contemporary but prejudiced chroniclers, because in the further arbours
+of the garden he could with the rod or by other equally stringent
+measures, “persuade” undisturbed those of the reformed religion to
+recant and adopt his views. His successor, Grindal, used the Garden
+for more laudable and peaceful practices, and his work of planting was
+much appreciated in that garden-loving age. Bishop Aylmer, who, after
+Sandys, succeeded Grindal in 1577, was accused of destroying much of
+Grindal’s work and cutting down his trees, then some thirty-five
+years old. Strype, however, protests that he only cut down “two or
+three of the decayed ones.” That there should be a controversy on
+the subject only shows how much was thought of Grindal’s planting.
+The same thing happened after the death of Compton, the next great
+planter, as Robinson, who followed him, let the gardener sell and cut
+down as much as he liked. In our own day, even, some of Compton’s elms
+have been removed, to make the alterations in the Bishop’s Park when
+it was opened to the public. The Bishop’s Park is the long, narrow
+strip of land between the moat and the river. Flowering shrubs on the
+bank of the moat, and rows of cut plane trees by the river, have been
+planted. There are two long asphalt paths, and some bedding out and
+rock gardening between the grass lawns. It is now kept in order by the
+Borough of Fulham, which reminds the public of the fact by the notices
+stuck up: “Ratepayers, protect your property.”
+
+The Elm Avenue was part of Compton’s design, and many very fine trees
+known to be his remain to this day. During the long duration of his
+episcopate--1675 to 1714--he had time to see his plants grow and
+flourish. His gardening achievements were much appreciated in his own
+day. John Evelyn, a great authority on horticultural matters, was
+often at Fulham. He notes in his Diary on Oct. 11, 1681: “To Fulham
+to visit the Bishop of London, in whose garden I first saw the _Sedum
+arborescens_ in flower, which was exceedingly beautiful.” Richard
+Bradley, a well-known gardener, in his book published in 1717, quotes
+many of the plants at Fulham as examples in his pages. With regard
+to the passion flower, his notice is interesting, as it gives the
+name of Bishop Compton’s gardener. “That [the passion flower] may
+bear fruit,” he writes, “we must Plant it in very moist and cool
+places, where it may be continually fed with Water; this I had from
+the Curious Mr. Adam Holt, Gardener to the late Bishop of London,
+who shew’d me a letter from the West Indies, from whence I learnt it
+was an Inhabitant of Swampy Places.” Bradley had seen the pistachio
+fruiting against a wall at Fulham, and he thought he had also noticed
+an olive flourishing there. From time to time there have been special
+notices of the trees round the Bishop’s palace. Sir William Watson
+wrote a paper on them for the Royal Society, in which he gives a list
+of thirty-seven special trees, many of them the finest of their kind in
+England. “For exemplification of this I would,” he says, “recommend to
+the curious observer the black Virginian walnut tree, the cluster pine,
+the honey locust, the pseudo-acacia, the ash maple, &c., now remaining
+at Fulham.” Many of the later bishops have paid great attention to
+the grounds. Bishop Porteous (1787–1809) who planted cedars; Howley
+(1813–1828), and especially Blomfield (1828–1856), all took delight
+in the Garden. Bishop Blomfield planted a deciduous cypress and the
+ailanthus, which now measures 10 feet 4 inches at 4 feet from the
+ground, curiously exactly the same girth as the one at Broom House
+close by. In 1865, Bishop Tait had the old trees measured, and there
+are later measurements of some of the finest. The cork tree was 13
+feet 9 inches, and although sadly shattered, part of this magnificent
+old tree, with its thick cork bark, still holds its own. The great
+black walnut or hickory has not been so fortunate, and died about ten
+years ago, and only a venerable stump is left; but a good specimen
+still stands in the meadow. The great tree in 1865 measured 15 feet 5
+inches; in 1894, 17 feet 3 inches. The tulip tree died about the same
+time as the hickory. The honey locust (_Gleditschia triacanthos_), one
+of Bishop Compton’s trees, only died last year, the large white elm in
+1904, and, sad to say, the flowering ash (_Fraxinus ornus_) was blown
+down in March 1907. The Wych elm and a beautiful walnut still flourish,
+and also the variety of Turkey oak (_Quercus cerris lucumbeana_ or
+_fulhamensis_), so in spite of many disasters Fulham Palace still can
+show some fine trees.
+
+Chelsea still abounds in gardens. There are the modern plots along the
+Embankment, laid out with the wriggling path that municipal authorities
+seem to deem necessary nowadays. The private gardens in front of
+some of the houses are an older institution, and some can boast of
+delightful patches of old gardens in their rear also. Behind Lindsay
+House the Moravian burial-ground is hidden away, and part of its wall
+may be the actual wall of Sir Thomas More’s garden. There are the
+remains of elms and several good mulberry trees. The large mulberry on
+the Embankment near looks as if it once might have been in the garden
+too. Chelsea further possesses one of the first botanical gardens in
+England, the Duke of York’s School with large grass area and fine elm
+trees, and the spacious grounds that surround the Hospital. Much of
+the old stately simplicity still clings to these latter, although last
+century saw many variations in their plan.
+
+The site was occupied by King James’s College, founded by Matthew
+Sutcliffe, Dean of Exeter, in 1610, which, in spite of the King’s
+patronage and the interest of Prince Henry, was a failure. It added
+to, rather than allayed, religious discussion, and was familiarly
+known as “Controversy College.” The ground was, in 1669, given to
+the Royal Society, but the buildings were too dilapidated for them
+to use. To Sir Stephen Fox is probably due the idea of founding a
+hospital for disabled soldiers, although tradition also attributes
+some of the credit to Nell Gwynn, who is said to have appealed to
+Charles II. on their behalf. The King laid the foundation-stone, on
+the 12th of March 1682, of the building designed by Wren. John Evelyn,
+as one of the Council of the Royal Society, had been consulted when
+the idea was first mooted, and in January 1682 he notes in his Diary
+a talk on the subject with Sir Stephen Fox, who asked for Evelyn’s
+assistance with regard to the staff and management. So in Sir Stephen’s
+study, as Evelyn writes, “We arranged the governor, chaplain, steward,
+housekeeper, chirurgeon, cook, butler, gardener, porter, and other
+officers, with their several salaries and entertainments.” This list
+of officials shows the importance of the Garden from the first--and no
+wonder, as the grounds occupied some twenty-six acres. A survey made in
+1702 shows how this space was divided. The largest part, lying to the
+north of the Hospital, is what is now known as “Burton’s Court,” and
+is used as a recreation ground for the soldiers in the barracks near,
+and a cricket ground for the brigade of Guards. The avenue down the
+central walk, “planted with limes and chestnuts,” was included in the
+early design, and “Royal Avenue” is a continuation of it, Queen Anne
+having, it is said, intended to carry it on to Kensington. This part,
+called “the great court north of the buildings,” occupied over thirteen
+acres. The rest was divided into grass plots between the quadrangle
+courts and canals, nearly three acres; the “garden on the east, now the
+governor’s,” about two acres; a kitchen-garden towards the river
+of more than three acres, two L-shaped canals with wide walks between,
+an “apothecary’s garden” for medicinal herbs, bleaching yards, and the
+churchyard. The front garden, with its canals in Dutch style, ended
+in a terrace along the river. This garden was subject to much abuse
+by the landscape school of designers. “It was laid out,” wrote one in
+1805, “when the art of landscape gardening was at its lowest pitch; the
+principal absurdity in the garden is cutting two insignificant canals
+as ornaments, whilst one side of the garden is bounded by the noble
+stream of the Thames.” The writer adds that the gardens were open on
+Sundays in summer, and were much frequented as a public promenade.
+These severely-criticised canals were filled up in the middle of last
+century, and the space is now grass with avenues on either side, and a
+central obelisk, a monument to our soldiers who fell in the battle of
+Chillianwallah.
+
+[Illustration: STATUE OF CHARLES II., CHELSEA HOSPITAL]
+
+The statue of Charles II. as a Roman emperor, by Gibbons, in the centre
+of the court, was given by Tobias Rustat. The view over the simple,
+spacious garden from this central court, to the long balustrade with
+steps down to the lower terrace, is very satisfying, and in keeping
+with the stately architecture. The Governor’s house has its own
+special garden, a fine, wide terrace and large, straight beds, and a
+delightful red-brick wall covered with trailing plants and fine iron
+gateway. The old pensioners, in their long coats and weather-beaten
+faces, enjoying their “peace pipe” and their well-earned repose, add
+very greatly to the picturesque effect of the Garden, and all its
+surroundings. The churchyard, clearly seen through the railings along
+Queen’s Road from Chelsea Barracks, has an air of dignified repose. It
+has been closed since 1854. The first soldier buried there in 1692,
+Simon Box, had served four kings: Charles I., Charles II., James II.,
+and William III. The tombs are much worn with age, and it is no longer
+possible to find some of those known to have been laid to rest there.
+Among them are two women who had served as privates; one of them,
+who died in 1739, Christian Davies or “Mother Ross,” had served in
+Marlborough’s campaigns. The extraordinary number of centenarians this
+small burying-ground contains is astounding. William Hisland surely
+beats the record, as he was married when he was over a hundred! He was
+born in August 1620, and died in February 1732. Another veteran of 112
+died five years later, while another, Robert Comming, who was buried
+in 1767, was 115, and before the end of the eighteenth century three
+others, aged respectively 102, 111, and 107, were interred. The eldest
+of these three, who died in 1772, had fought in the Battle of the
+Boyne! It certainly speaks well for the care and attention bestowed on
+them in the Hospital.
+
+[Illustration: GARDEN GATE, CHELSEA HOSPITAL]
+
+The garden to the east of the buildings was part of the original
+ground, but has had a career and history of its own. It was the famous
+Ranelagh Gardens, which enchanted the beaux and fair ladies of the
+eighteenth century. From 1742 to 1803 its glories lasted. Ranelagh
+House was built by the Earl of that name, who was Paymaster to the
+Forces in the reign of James II., a clever, unscrupulous person, who
+amassed considerable wealth in the course of his office-work. He
+obtained a grant of the land from Chelsea Hospital, built a house
+and laid out a garden, where the “plots, borders, and walks” were
+“curiously kept, and elegantly designed.” After passing through the
+hands of his daughter, Lady Catherine Jones, the property was sold to
+Swift and Timbrell, who leased it to Lacey, the patentee of Drury Lane
+Theatre. The idea was to turn it into a winter Vauxhall. Eventually
+it was open from Easter till the end of the summer, and effectually
+outshone Vauxhall. Walpole, in a letter two days after it was first
+opened, did not think much of it. “I was there, last night, but did
+not find the joy of it. Vauxhall is a little better, for the garden
+is pleasanter, and one goes to it by water.” Two years later he wrote
+in a very different strain. “Every night constantly I go to Ranelagh,
+which has totally beat Vauxhall. Nobody goes anywhere else--everybody
+goes there. My Lord Chesterfield is so fond of it, that he says he
+has ordered all his letters to be directed thither.” Fanny Burney,
+in “Evelina,” to bring out the character of the “surly, vulgar, and
+disagreeable man,” makes him abuse the place which fascinated polite
+society. “There’s your famous Ranelagh, that you make such a fuss
+about; why, what a dull place is that!” The chief amusement was walking
+about and looking at each other, as the poem by Bloomfield puts it--
+
+     “We had seen every soul that was in it,
+      Then we went round and saw them again.”
+
+The great attraction was the Rotunda, supposed to be like the Pantheon
+at Rome. The outside diameter was 185 feet. An arcade ran all round,
+and above it a gallery, with steps up to it through four Doric
+porticos. Over the gallery were sixty windows, and the whole was
+surmounted by a slate roof. In the middle, supporting the roof, was
+a huge fireplace, on the space at first occupied by the orchestra.
+“Round the Rotunda,” inside, were “47 boxes ... with a table and
+cloth spread in each; in these the company” were “regaled, without
+any further expense, with tea and coffee.” The whole was adorned with
+looking-glasses and paintings, imitation marble, stucco, and gilding.
+Dr. Arne wrote music for the special performances; breakfasts were
+at one time the rage, and at another masquerades were the order of
+the day; while fireworks and illuminations amused the company at
+intervals, all through the years in which Ranelagh was prosperous.
+
+     “There thousands of gay lamps aspir’d
+      To the tops of the trees and beyond;
+      And, what was most hugely admired,
+      They looked upside-down in a pond.
+      The blaze scarce an eagle could bear
+      And an owl had most surely been slain;
+      We returned to the circle, and then--
+      And then we went round it again.”
+
+One of the last entertainments at Ranelagh was the Installation Ball
+of the Knights of the Bath in 1803; and a few years afterwards all
+trace of Ranelagh House, the Rotunda, and even the Garden was gone. The
+ground reverted to Chelsea Hospital, and not a vestige of the former
+glories is left. The pleasant shady walks and undulating lawns on the
+site, bear no resemblance to the lines of the former gardens, and only
+some of the older trees can have been there when Lord Chesterfield and
+Walpole were paying it daily visits.
+
+The most important of Chelsea gardens, and one of the most interesting
+in England, is the Physic Garden, which lies between the Embankment
+and Queen’s Road, now called Royal Hospital Road. The Garden, both
+horticulturally, botanically, and historically, has claims on every
+Londoner. England was much behind the rest of Europe in starting
+botanic gardens. That of Padua, begun in 1545, was the first on the
+Continent, and it was nearly a hundred years later before any were
+attempted in this country. Oxford led the way in 1632, and the Chelsea
+one followed in 1673. Its formation was due to the Apothecaries’
+Company, and its first object the study of medicinal herbs. In those
+days botany and medicine were closely entwined. Every botanical and
+horticultural work was occupied with the virtues and properties of
+plants, far more than their structural peculiarities, or their beauties
+of form or growth. Gerard, Johnson, and less well-known botanists, were
+herbalists and apothecaries, so it was only natural that the Worshipful
+Company of Apothecaries should be the founders of a garden. It was not
+the first of its kind in London, but it ranks now as the second oldest
+in England, as its predecessors in London, such as Gerard’s Garden in
+Holborn, and the Tradescants in Lambeth, have long since passed away.
+It probably, moreover, embodies the earlier one at Westminster, which
+was under the care of Hugh Morgan, said by his contemporaries to be a
+very skilful botanist. The Westminster Garden seems to have been still
+flourishing when the Apothecaries started theirs in Chelsea, but three
+years later it was bought by them, one of the conditions of sale being
+that the plants might be moved to Chelsea. The land in Chelsea was
+leased from Lord Cheyne. By the time the lease had expired, Sir Hans
+Sloane was owner of the property, having purchased it from Lord Cheyne
+in 1712. He granted the land to the Apothecaries’ Company on a yearly
+rent of £5, on condition that it should always be maintained as a
+Physic Garden, and certain other conditions, such as supplying a number
+of specimens to the Royal Society. The deed of gift further provided
+that should the Apothecaries not continue to fulfil their obligation,
+the Garden should be held in trust by the Royal Society, and should
+they not wish to take it over, by the College of Physicians. It was
+acting in conformity with these wishes, that, when the Apothecaries
+ceased to desire to maintain it, the Charity Commissioners, in 1898,
+established a scheme for the management of the Garden: £800 towards
+its maintenance was provided by the London Parochial Charities, who
+became trustees of the Garden, and £150 by the Treasury. A committee
+was appointed to manage the Garden, and see that it fulfilled the
+founder’s intentions. The original societies mentioned by Sir Hans
+Sloane, the Treasury, the London County Council, and other modern
+bodies each nominate one representative on the board of management, and
+the trustees appoint nine. It has been worked under this scheme since
+May 1899. The buildings and green-houses, which were tumbling down,
+have been rebuilt, and now include up-to-date conveniences for growing
+and rearing plants, and a well-fitted laboratory and lecture room.
+The Garden is certainly now fulfilling the purposes for which it was
+founded. It has proved to be of the greatest use to the students of the
+Royal College of Science, and members of schools and polytechnics. Cut
+specimens, for demonstration at lectures, are sent out in quantities
+during the summer, often as many as 750 in a day. Students and teachers
+have admission to the Garden, and the numbers who come (nearly 3000
+is the average annual attendance) show it is appreciated. Lectures on
+advanced botany have been attended by an average of seventy students,
+and research experiments are carried on in the laboratory. Seeds are
+exchanged with botanical gardens all over the world, to the extent of
+over a thousand packets in a year. In this it is carrying on a very
+early tradition, as seeds were exchanged with the University of Leyden
+in 1682, after Dr. Herman, from that city, had visited Chelsea.
+
+Even in its early days the Apothecaries found the Garden expensive to
+keep up. When in 1685 it cost them £130, besides the Curator’s salary,
+they made an arrangement, by which they paid him £100 a year, out of
+which he had to keep up the Garden, and was allowed to sell the plants.
+Watt was the first Curator under this new plan, and Doody, a botanist
+of some standing who succeeded him, was under the same conditions.
+Philip Miller was appointed Curator, after the land had been given by
+Sir Hans Sloane, and other well-known men have been connected with it.
+After 1724, besides the Curator, a “Præfectus Horti,” or Director, was
+appointed to visit and inspect the Garden, and report on its condition
+to the Company. Sometimes there was a little rivalry between the two,
+and at one time this occasioned two lists of the plants contained in
+the Garden being published, one by Isaac Rand, the other by Philip
+Miller. Among the famous names in botany or horticulture connected with
+the Garden are Dr. Dale, Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell, James Sherard and
+his brother William, Joseph Millar, William Curtis, Forsyth, Robert
+Fortune and Dr. Lindley, and Nathaniel Ward, the inventor of “Wardian
+Cases.” But of all the Curators, Philip Miller was one of the most
+eminent, and did most for the Garden. His Dictionary was for years the
+standard work on horticulture, and went through numerous editions and
+translations. He published a catalogue of plants in the Physic Garden
+in 1730. The last “Præfectus Horti” was Lindley, who held the office
+from 1835 to 1853. During that time the expenses were getting too heavy
+for the Society, and after his death no successor was appointed. Thomas
+Moore, who was co-editor with Lindley of the well-known “Treasury of
+Botany,” and author of several works on British ferns, continued alone
+as Curator. He held the office from 1848 to 1887. During his later
+years the Garden gradually declined for want of funds, and after his
+death no new appointment was made by the Apothecaries, and a labourer
+looked after the grounds. With the advent of the new authority and
+great expansion of work, the office was once more bestowed on a
+competent man, William Hales, the present Curator, who ably maintains
+the old traditions of the garden.
+
+One of the institutions of early days which has had to be discontinued
+was the “herborising.” Expeditions in search of herbs were undertaken
+by the students, in company of their teacher, in the neighbourhood.
+After 1834, owing to the spread of London, these excursions had to be
+abandoned.
+
+The famous cedars were planted in Watt’s time, and from contemporary
+references to them, there seems no doubt that they were the first to
+be grown in England. John Evelyn in his “Sylva” in 1663, writing of
+the cedar, says, “Why should it not thrive in Old England?” and Ray
+is astonished in 1684 to see the young trees flourishing at Chelsea
+without protection. They are shown in a plan of the Garden in 1753
+(the year of Sir Hans Sloane’s death) at the four corners of a pond,
+which no longer remains in the same position. Eighteen years later the
+two furthest from the river were cut down (1771), “being in a decayed
+state” (and no wonder) from the rough usage they had been subjected
+to. The timber, 133¾ feet, was sold at 2s. 8d. a foot, and, together
+with the branches, the trees fetched £23, 9s. 8d. The two specimens
+nearest the river were for nearly a hundred years a conspicuous object,
+although much injured by snow in 1809. By 1871, only one remained, and,
+in a report of the Garden seven years later, it was said to be in a
+“dying condition.” At the time the new Management Committee came into
+office, that one was quite dead. They left the tree standing until the
+fungi on it became a danger to the rest of the trees in the Garden,
+when most reluctantly it was felled in March 1904, all the sound parts
+of the timber being carefully preserved. Miller gives a good account
+of them in his time. “The four trees,” he writes, “(which as I have
+been credibly informed) were planted there in the year 1683, and at
+that time were not above three feet high; two of which Trees are at
+this time (viz. 1757) upwards of eleven feet and a Half in girt, at
+two Feet above ground, and thereby afford a goodly shade in the hotest
+Season of the Year.” He goes on to point out that they were planted so
+near the pond, which was bricked up to within two feet of them, that
+the roots could not spread on one side. Whether the water was good for
+them he is not sure, but feels certain it was injurious to cramp the
+roots. The two specimens nearest the green-house had had some of their
+branches lopped off, to prevent their shading the grass, and suffered
+in consequence. Though one remained for nearly 150 years after Miller
+gave these measurements, it was only 13 feet round the trunk at the
+base when it was felled, and was so completely rotten it must soon have
+fallen. Miller records that three of the trees began producing cones
+about 1732, and that in his time the seeds ripened, and germinated
+freely, so it is probable that many plants in England are descendants
+of the Chelsea trees. That these were actually the first to be grown
+in England there is not much doubt. Evelyn regrets in his “Sylva” the
+absence of the cedars in England. The only trees which have put forth
+rival claims to the Chelsea ones are those of Bretby and Enfield. The
+Bretby one is undoubtedly very old, but there is no early reference to
+it in histories which mention the Enfield trees, and the famous one
+at Hendon, traditionally planted by Queen Elizabeth and blown down in
+1779, and a few others; and there is no contemporary evidence of the
+date of its planting to warrant the assumption that it was before 1683.
+The Enfield tree in the garden of Robert Uvedale was said, in 1823, by
+Henry Phillips, to be about 156 years old, therefore older than the
+Chelsea ones by some six years; but there is no evidence to corroborate
+this. When Gibson describes the Garden in 1691, he makes no mention
+of it, and it seems unlikely he would have omitted such an important
+tree. There exists much correspondence with Uvedale and botanists of
+his time, but in none of the letters or early notices is the cedar
+mentioned before Ray’s note of the Chelsea trees, or even referred to
+as the first planted in England, so it seems the Chelsea trees’ claim
+to be the first is fairly established.
+
+The oriental plane, which fell just as it was going to be taken down
+in 1904, was one of the finest in London, planted by Philip Miller,
+and is quoted by Loudon, in 1837, as then 115 feet high. Some of the
+other famous trees have also died, such as the cork trees and paper
+mulberries; but some have been more fortunate, and are among the
+oldest of their kind in England. The _Koelreuteria paniculata_ is
+probably the finest in this country, and the other old trees which
+were noted as being particularly fine specimens in 1813 or 1820, and
+which are still alive, are _Diospyros Virginiana_, the Persimmon or
+Virginian date plum, the Quercus ilex, black walnut, mulberry, and
+_Styrax officinale_. _Rhus juglandifolia_, which grows by the wall,
+was probably planted when introduced from Nepaul in 1823. The wistaria
+and pomegranate are old and still flourishing, and young plants of the
+trees once famous in the Garden are doing well. The amount of attention
+the novelties in the Physic Garden used to attract is well shown by
+the spurious translation of De Sorbière’s travels. The little book,
+published in 1698, purported to be a translation of De Sorbière, but
+was really an original skit. The writer pretends De Sorbière visited
+the Garden, and reported a delightful series of imaginary flowers. “I
+was at Chelsey, where I took particular notice of the plants in the
+Green House at that time, as _Urtica male oleus Japoniæ_, the stinking
+nettle of Japan; _Goosberia sterelis Armenia_, the Armenian gooseberry
+bush that bears no fruit (this had been potted thirty years);
+_Brambelia fructificans Laplandiæ_, or the Blooming Bramble of Lapland;
+with a hundred other curious plants, and a particular Collection of
+Briars and Thorns, which were some part of the curse of the Creation.”
+That it was worth while laughing at the Garden in a popular skit,
+shows what an important position it had taken. The green-houses were
+among the earliest attempted, and many scientific visitors describe
+their plans and arrangements. They were rebuilt at great cost in 1732.
+The statue to Sir Hans Sloane, by Michael Rysbrach, stood in a niche
+in the green-house wall. It was moved to the centre of the Garden
+in 1751, where it still stands. The Garden was honoured by a visit
+from the great Linnæus in 1736, and he noted in his diary: “Miller of
+Chelsea permitted me to collect many plants in the Garden, and gave me
+several dried specimens collected in South America.” Among the valuable
+bequests to the Garden were collections of dried plants, now in
+the British Museum of Natural History, and a library left by Dr. Dale
+in 1739, on condition that “suitable and proper conveniences” were made
+for them at the Physic Garden. They should be there still, and the new
+buildings are eminently suited for their reception; and their use to
+students would be very great, now that the Garden is well equipped for
+supplying all the requirements for the modern teaching of botany.
+
+[Illustration: CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN]
+
+Before quitting these gardens of historic interest, there is one which
+must not be forgotten, although its former charms have vanished, and
+it can no longer claim such botanical curiosities as the Chelsea
+Physic Garden--that is, the remains of John Evelyn’s Garden of Sayes
+Court. The Garden is now enjoyed by numbers in that crowded district
+of Deptford, through the kindness of Mr. Evelyn, the descendant of
+the famous diarist, John Evelyn, who keeps it up as well as opens it
+to the public. The Manor of Deptford was retained by the Crown in
+James I.’s time, and Sayes Court was leased to Christopher Browne, the
+grandfather of Sir Richard Browne, whose only daughter and heiress
+John Evelyn married. After his wife had succeeded to the property,
+and they had lived there some years and made the Garden, John Evelyn
+purchased the freehold land from Charles II. The delight he took in
+his garden, how he exchanged seeds and plants, imported rare specimens
+from abroad, through his many friends, and grew them with success, is
+well known. The ruthless way his treasures were treated by Peter the
+Great was a sore trial to Evelyn. The Czar amused himself, among other
+acts of vandalism, by being wheeled about the beds and hedges in a
+wheelbarrow. The holly hedge, even, he partially destroyed. In writing
+of the merits of holly in his “Sylva,” Evelyn says of this one: “Is
+there under heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the kind,
+than an impregnable Hedge a hundred and sixty feet in length, and seven
+feet high, and five in diameter, which I can shew in my poor Gardens at
+any time of the year, glittering with its armed and vernish’d leaves?
+the taller Standards at orderly distances blushing with their natural
+Corall. It mocks at the rudest assaults of the Weather, Beasts, and
+Hedgebreakers.” This hedge has long since departed, but young hollies,
+planted in groups on the same part of the Garden, keep up the old
+associations. One wing of the house is standing, and is at present
+used as a school. The walled garden on the south side is still there,
+and on the north a wide terrace walk, with a straight grass lawn with
+large beds, is in keeping with the old place. But instead of the views
+over the river, and the Garden descending to the water’s edge, there
+is a high rampart of the buildings of the Foreign Cattle Market, from
+whence the sounds of lowing oxen mingle with the din of streets which
+close round the Garden on the three other sides. In spite of these
+drawbacks, it is delightful to know, that the surviving portion of the
+once-beautiful Garden is fulfilling a want among the poor in a way that
+would have appealed to the generous and kind-hearted author.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+These are some of the chief gardens of historic interest, but it by no
+means exhausts the list of the smaller ones rich in associations, green
+courts attached to schools, almshouses, hospitals, or such-like, which
+are hidden away in unexpected corners throughout London.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+PRIVATE GARDENS
+
+      _Even in the stifling bosom of a town
+      A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms
+      That soothe the rich possessor_; ...
+
+                                                --COWPER.
+
+
+In writing of the private gardens of London it is difficult to know
+where to begin. There are a few large and beautiful gardens, but for
+the most part the smaller they are, and the less there is to write
+about them of interest to the general reader, the more they are of
+value to the happy possessors. It is the minute back-garden, invaded
+by all the cats of the neighbourhood, with a few plants on which an
+infinity of time and trouble, care and thought, have been expended,
+that is the real typical London garden. What a joy to see the patches
+of seeds come up in the summer, and with what expectation are the buds
+on the one lilac bush examined to see if really at last it is going to
+flower! What pleasure the fern dug up on a summer holiday gives, as it
+bravely uncurls its fronds year by year! What delight is occasioned if
+the Virginian creeper, which covers the wall, grows more luxuriantly
+than those of the houses on either side, and what excitement if it
+really turns red once in a way in October, instead of shrivelling up
+to an inglorious end! What grief is felt when the fuchsia, purchased
+as a fitting centre-piece to the formal geranium bed, loses its
+buds one by one before they expand! These and many similar joys and
+sorrows are the portion of those who tend small gardens in London.
+How fascinating it is to look into back-gardens as the train passes
+over viaducts out of the heart of the town. Certainly the differences
+in their appearance show what skill and devotion can accomplish.
+Nothing but real love of the plants, and a tender solicitude for their
+welfare, can induce them to exist in the confined areas and stifling
+atmosphere of the average London garden. But even these inauspicious
+surroundings may be brightened by flowers. When those absolutely
+ignorant of the requirements of plant life take to gardening in the
+country, they have Nature at hand to help them. The sunlight, air,
+and good soil supplement their deficiencies of knowledge, and, though
+terribly handicapped by careless planting, unsuitable situations, want
+of water, and such drawbacks, the plants can struggle with success to
+maintain their natural beauty. But let the ignorant try in town to
+grow plants, where all the conditions militate against them, instead
+of assisting, and the results are very different. For instance, many a
+small back-garden, or even window box, is planted year after year with
+no renewal of the soil. The crumbling mould, which is either caked hard
+or pours like dust from the hand, is completely exhausted, and the poor
+plants are starved. They should be given plenty of what in gardeners’
+slang is called “good stuff,” if they are to grow in such adverse
+conditions. A little of the money expended on plants which dwindle
+and die, spent on manure or good soil, would better repay the would-be
+gardener. Many plants require a good deal of water when making their
+growth, and if that is denied them they will not thrive, no matter
+how great the solicitude for their welfare in other ways. Washing
+the leaves, especially of evergreens, and scrubbing stems is also a
+great help, as leaves choked with dirt have no chance of imbibing the
+life-giving properties necessary to the plant.
+
+The back-garden has many enemies besides soot and fogs. Cats are one
+of the greatest trials, and most destructive. Sparrows also are very
+mischievous. They will pick the flower-buds off trees just at the
+critical moment. A wistaria climber laden with young blossoms they
+will destroy in a few days, just before the purple buds appear. But,
+notwithstanding all these pests and difficulties, it is surprising how
+many things will not only survive, but grow well. The task becomes
+more and more easy as the houses recede from the City. In St. John’s
+Wood, Bayswater, or Earl’s Court, in Camberwell or Stoke Newington,
+plants will grow better than in Bloomsbury or Southwark. But yet it is
+possible to grow many things even in Whitechapel.
+
+It is impossible to prescribe the best plants for all London gardens,
+as there is such a great difference in soil and aspect, that what
+does well in one part will not flourish in another. The heavy soil of
+Regent’s Park, for instance, is well suited to peonies, which do not
+seem at home in Chelsea. On the other hand, some of the showy, hardy
+spring flowers, such as wallflowers and forget-me-nots, die off with
+fogs much more quickly in the Regent’s Park than in other districts.
+Any deciduous tree or shrub thrives better than an evergreen or
+a conifer in any part of London. The fresh growth of clean leaves
+every year, by which the plant absorbs much of its nourishment, must
+necessarily be better for it than dried-up, blackened leaves. Among
+flowering shrubs, a great number grow sturdily in London. Laburnums
+of all kinds, thorns in many varieties, flower well; lilacs grow and
+look fresh and green everywhere, but cannot be depended on always
+to flower; almonds, snowy medlars, double cherries, weigelas or
+diervillas succeed; broom, Forsythias, acacia, syringa, many kinds
+of prunus, ribes, rose acacia, Guelder rose, Japanese red peach,
+_Kerria japonica_, _Hibiscus Syriacus_, or _Althæa frutex_, are all
+satisfactory, and many more could be mentioned. _Yucca gloriosa_ will
+stand any amount of smoke, and _Aralia spinosa_ does well in many
+parts; and among evergreens, _Arbutus Andrachne_ can be recommended.
+Fruit-trees, pears, and apples are charming when in bloom, and in a
+large space, or to cover a wall, figs are valuable.
+
+Alpines grow astonishingly well, and though a considerable percentage
+will die from the alternating damp fogs and frost in the winter, many
+will really establish themselves, and be quite at home, much nearer
+the heart of London than Dulwich, where many have been cultivated. “I
+know a bank whereon the wild thyme grows” in London--not a green, mossy
+bank, but rather a blackened rockery; still the slope is really covered
+with large patches of wild thyme, purple with bloom in the summer,
+carefully marked by the London County Council “_Thymus serpyllum_,” for
+the benefit of the inquiring. Several of the other thymes, which form
+good carpets, will also grow. _Antennaria dioica_, a British plant,
+forms a pretty silvery groundwork on beds or rockeries, and nothing
+seems to kill it. Saxifrages in great numbers are suitable, beginning
+with the well-known mossy green _hypnoides_, to the giant known as
+_Megasia cordifolia_, also sedums, semper-viviums, aubrietias, phloxes,
+tiarella, dianthus in variety; and several other Alpines have succeeded
+in different parks and gardens, such as _Androsace sarmentosa_, _Dryas
+octopetala_, yellow fumitory, _Cotoneaster frigida_, the small ivy
+_Hedera conglomerata_, _Achillea tormentosa_, _Lychnis Haageana_,
+_Linnæa borealis_, _Azalea procumbens_, _Campanula garganica_, only
+to mention some that have been noticed; even edelweiss has been
+successfully grown in the centre of London.
+
+A few annuals will make a good show, and nothing is better in a
+window-box or really dingy corner than Virginian stock; but, as a rule,
+it repays trouble best to rear perennials. Seedling wallflowers, sweet
+Williams and Canterbury bells, and such like, make a border bright. The
+great secret of success in growing annuals is to thin them out well;
+the patches of seedlings are too often left far too much overcrowded.
+This “thinning” is even more important than good soil and careful
+watering. Marigolds thrive best of all, and will often seed themselves,
+but a few other annuals can be safely recommended.
+
+  Candytuft.
+  Catchfly. (Silene pendula and
+  armeria).
+  Erysinum perofskianum (a kind of
+  Treacle mustard).
+  Eschscholzia.
+  Flax (scarlet).
+  Godetias.
+  Ionopsidium acaule (violet cress).
+  Larkspur (annual).
+  Love-in-a-mist (Nigella).
+  Nasturtiums.
+  Phlox drummondi.
+  Snapdragon (Antirrhinum).
+  Toadflax (Linaria).
+
+Very many things may succeed well that are not specially noted here,
+but the following list of fifty herbaceous plants have all been seen
+really growing, and coming up, year after year, in private gardens
+in London. Some are not so sturdy as others; for instance, neither
+alyssum nor phlox flourish as well as thrift or the members of the iris
+tribe, but all are hardy in London. Thomas Fairchild, who had a famous
+nursery garden at Hoxton, writing of City gardens in 1722, gives his
+experience of plants that succeed best, and many on his list are those
+that do well still. He specially notes some growing in the most shut-in
+parts of the City, which were flourishing: fraxinella in Aldermanbury,
+monkshood and lily of the valley near the Guildhall, bladder senna
+in Crutched Friars, and so on, mentioning many of those which still
+prove the most smoke-resisting. One large, coarse, but handsome plant
+deserves mention, as it grows so well it will seed itself, and that
+is the giant heracleum. It propagates itself in the garden of Lowther
+Lodge, Kensington Gore, and in much more confined spaces, even in the
+garden used by the London Hospital, near the Mile End Road.
+
+
+LIST OF FIFTY HERBACEOUS PLANTS
+
+  Alyssum.
+  Auricula.
+  Bachelors’ buttons.
+  Buglos.
+  Campanula--several varieties.
+  Candytuft.
+  Carnations.
+  Centaurea.
+  Chrysanthemums.
+  Columbines.
+  Comfrey.
+  Crane’s bill.
+  Creeping Jenny.
+  Crown Imperial.
+  Cyclamen.
+  Day lilies.
+  Dictamnus fraxinella (burning bush).
+  Doronicum (leopard’s bane).
+  Erigeron (Fleabane).
+  Funkias (Plantain lilies).
+  Galega officinalis.
+  Golden rod (solidago).
+  Heucheras.
+  Hollyhocks.
+  Iris--several varieties, especially those with rhizomes and
+      non-bulbous roots.
+  Japanese anemone.
+  Larkspur.
+  Lilies of the valley.
+  Lilies--
+    Canadense.
+    Candidum.
+    Davuricum.
+    Lancifolium (speciosum).
+    Martagon dalmaticum.
+    Pyrenaicum.
+    Tigrinum.
+  London Pride (also many other Saxifrages).
+  Lupin.
+  Mallow.
+  Michaelmas daisies.
+  Monkshood.
+  Montbretia.
+  Pansies.
+  Periwinkle.
+  Phlox.
+  Polygonum.
+  Primroses (also Japanese primulas, cowslips, and polyanthus).
+  Pyrethrum.
+  Rock roses.
+  Solomon’s seal.
+  Southernwood.
+  Speedwell (Veronica amethystina and others).
+  Spiræa (S. aruncus, venusta, &c.).
+  Sunflower (perennial, including Harpalium).
+  Thrift.
+  Tradescantia.
+  Trollius.
+
+Of climbing plants the Virginian creeper, which makes a green bower
+of so many London houses, must come first, but the real grape vine is
+quite as successful. In several parts of London vines laden with grapes
+may be seen in the autumn, by those on the look-out for such things.
+One vine in Buckingham Gate had forty bunches of fruit that ripened in
+1906. On one branch of a vine, near Ladbroke Square, fourteen purple
+bunches were hanging in a row at the same time, and in other parts of
+the town well-cared-for vines will bear well. Wistaria also thrives,
+and jasmine, yellow or white, and ivy. Besides these in constant use,
+for more special gardens there are Everlasting peas, Dutchman’s pipe
+(_Aristolochia_), clematis, Jackmani, Montana, or the Wild Traveller’s
+Joy, and Passion flower; also convolvulus, _Cobæa scandens_, and gourds
+of all kinds for the summer.
+
+Spring flowers planted in autumn succeed, and even those in pots
+or boxes in windows or on roof gardens flower freely. Hyacinths,
+crocus, tulips, daffodils, and narcissus do well; snowdrops are not so
+successful as a rule, but Spanish Iris will make a good show when the
+earlier bulbs are over. The minute green-house which often opens out of
+a staircase window in London houses can easily be made gay in spring
+by this means. Acorns and chestnuts sown in the autumn in shallow pans
+and covered with moss make a delightful small forest from May onwards.
+Foxgloves dug out of the woods will flower well in these dingy little
+green-houses, and are a delightful contrast to the ferns which will
+flourish best in them. A few other plants are sturdy for this purpose,
+such as the fan palms, _Chamærops excelsa_, _Fortunei_, and _humilis_,
+Aspidistra, _Aralia Sieboldii_, _Selaginella Kraussina_, the Cornish
+money-wort (Sibthorpia). Geraniums will flower well, and Imantophyllums
+(or Clivias) are one of the most accommodating plants for such small
+green-houses, as although they take up an undue share of room on
+account of the large pots necessary, they will flower well every year.
+
+[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF SIR LAURENCE ALMA-TADEMA, R.A.]
+
+Roses only do fairly well; but though they sometimes will last two
+or three years, they are apt to give disappointments and must often
+be renewed. The climbing roses, however, in some gardens are very
+charming. In one of the prettiest in London--that belonging to Sir
+Laurence Alma-Tadema, in Grove End Road--the illustration shows how
+charmingly an iron trellis is covered with red and white roses. The
+garden is most artistically arranged and is a good illustration of
+how much can be made of a small space. A large evergreen oak overhangs
+the basin with a stone margin and splashing fountain, on which
+water-lilies gracefully float. The variety and harmony of the whole
+garden, with its paths shaded by fig-trees, apples and pears, cherries
+and lilacs, sunny borders with Scotch roses, Day lilies, foxgloves,
+and iris, and formal fountains, all in a small space, yet not crowded,
+and bright with flowers, is delightful. Another small garden in
+Kensington--tended by Lady Bergne--of quite another type, contains
+nearly all the flowers that have been mentioned as growing well in
+London. It is only the stereotyped long narrow strip at the back of
+the house; but by putting a path and rock-work and pools of water on
+one side, and having grass and flower borders on the other, backed by
+flowering shrubs and ferns at the shaded end, a great variety of plants
+have been grown successfully.
+
+In most London gardens very little enterprise is shown. The old system
+of bedding out is adhered to. Of the large London houses standing by
+their own lawns, none have gardens of any horticultural interest.
+Montagu House is on the site of the extensive gardens of Whitehall, and
+the present lawn is where the bowling green, with its gay throng of
+players, lay in former years, and the terrace keeps up the tradition
+of the wide terraces that descended from the palace to the green. The
+turf is still fair and green, and is brightened in summer by lines of
+geraniums, white daisies, and calceolarias. Devonshire House garden,
+on the site of the famous one belonging to Berkeley House that covered
+all the present Square, is in the same way merely planted with the
+usual summer bedding plants. Lord Portman’s house, 22 Portman Square,
+is where Mrs. Montagu, the Queen of the Blue-Stockings, held her
+court. The present garden, with spacious lawn, has no horticultural
+peculiarity, but its historical interest lies in the fact that it
+was here that Mrs. Montagu entertained the chimney-sweeps, every
+year on the 1st of May. She is said to have done so, to give these
+poor children “one happy day in the year,” and when the horrors and
+tragedies attending the lives and often deaths of these cruelly treated
+little creatures is realised, it is not to be wondered at that one lady
+was humane enough to befriend them.
+
+A quaint pathetic poem by Allan Cunningham, written in 1824, records
+in characteristically stilted language an incident supposed to have
+occurred to Mrs. Montagu. A sad boy, whose life was spent in climbing
+flues, is pictured, and one lady he supplicates turns away--“And lo!
+another lady came,” and spoke kindly to him, asked him why he thus
+spent his life, listened to his tale of how he was an orphan and “sold
+to this cruel trade.”
+
+     “She stroked the sooty locks and smiled,
+      While o’er the dusky boy,
+      As streams the sunbeam through a cloud,
+      There came a flash of joy.
+      She took him from his cruel trade,
+      And soon the milk-white hue
+      Came to his neck; he with the muse
+      Sings, ‘Bless the Montagu.’”
+
+Her kindness is recorded in other poems, and in her lifetime took the
+practical shape of a sumptuous spread of beef and plum-pudding on the
+lawn of her house in Portman Square.
+
+Grosvenor House garden, with terrace and lawn sloping down to large
+trees, has natural advantages for a beautiful garden, but a row of
+beds along the terrace are the only flowers. The owners of these large
+London gardens have such an abundance of floral display elsewhere that
+no real gardening seems to be attempted. To understand what are the
+horticultural possibilities of London, it is in the minute back-garden
+that the lesson must be learned, and the subject studied. Holland House
+is an exception to this rule, for there the most beautiful garden, in
+keeping with the magnificent old house, is kept up, and the greatest
+care and skill were bestowed on it with wonderful results by the late
+Earl of Ilchester.
+
+[Illustration: THE LILY POND, HOLLAND HOUSE]
+
+No house, perhaps, has more associations than Holland House. Its
+history has been so often written, that to go over it in detail would
+be superfluous. Built by Sir Walter Cope, while Elizabeth was on
+the throne, from the designs of Thorpe, it doubtless from the first
+had a good garden, as in those days great care was expended on the
+surroundings of a house, for people realised, as did Bacon, that, “men
+come to build stately, sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening
+were the greater perfection.” The second stage in its history, when
+it passed to Henry Rich, through his marriage with Sir Walter Cope’s
+daughter and heiress, was even more eventful. He enlarged the house,
+which became known as Holland House after Charles I. had created him
+Baron Kensington and Earl of Holland. His wonderful personal charm,
+inherited from his mother, the “Stella” of Sir Philip Sidney, made
+him a general favourite; but not even his attachment to the Queen
+preserved him from disloyalty, although in the end he fought for
+the King’s cause. While he was on the Parliamentary side, Holland
+House was often the meeting-place of its leaders. Cromwell and Ireton
+talked together in the centre of the field in front of the house, so
+that their raised voices, occasioned by Ireton’s deafness, should not
+be overheard. For a time after the Restoration, Holland House was
+tenanted by various people of note, to whom it was let out in suites
+by the widowed Countess. One among them, the Frenchman Chardin, who
+became famous by his travels to Persia, it has been surmised, may
+have brought some of the rare plants to the garden. The connection
+with Addison came from his marriage with the Dowager Lady Warwick, to
+whom the house belonged, the second Lord Holland having succeeded his
+cousin as Earl of Warwick. He must have delighted in the gardens of
+Holland House, although they were hardly so wild as the ideal one he
+describes in the _Spectator_. There he said, “I look upon the pleasure
+which we take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights in human
+life.” No doubt he found some solace in the beauties of Holland House
+garden to cheer the depression of the unhappiness the marriage had
+brought him. The brilliant days of Holland House continued after it
+changed hands, and was owned by Henry Fox, second son of Sir Stephen
+Fox, who was chiefly instrumental in starting Chelsea Hospital. Henry
+Fox eloped with Lady Caroline Lennox, and was afterwards created
+Lord Holland. He took great interest in his garden, and was advised
+and helped by the well-known collector and horticulturist, Peter
+Collinson. This friend was the means of introducing many new plants
+to this country--a genus Collinsonia was named after him--and he
+must have been pleasant and good besides, for his biographer says to
+him was attached “all that respect which is due to benevolence and
+virtue.” He was in correspondence with leading men in America, and was
+constantly receiving seeds and plants, and his own garden contained
+“a more complete assortment of the _orchis_ genus than, perhaps, had
+ever been seen in one collection before.” No doubt some found their way
+to the gardens of his friend, Lord Holland. How astonished they both
+would be could they peep for a moment at the orchids displayed in the
+tents of the Horticultural Society’s shows, which have been allowed
+to take place in the park where Cromwell conversed? At this time the
+gardens must have been considerably remodelled, as the taste for the
+formal was waning, and the “natural” school taking its place. One of
+the pioneers of the natural style, Charles Hamilton, assisted the new
+design. His own place, Painshill, near Cobham, in Surrey, embraced
+all the newest ideas, groves, thickets, lakes, temples, grottos, sham
+ruins, and hermitages. A contemporary admirer, Wheatley, says of
+Painshill, it “is all a new creation; and a boldness of design, and
+a happiness of execution attend the wonderful efforts which art has
+there made to rival nature.” No doubt this adept in the new art would
+introduce many changes. The “Green Lane” was a road shut up by Lady
+Holland, and Hamilton is said to have suggested turfing it. He appears
+to have been fond of woodland glades and turfed the shaded walks in his
+own creation, so it seems very likely that the idea of grass was his.
+In the Green Lane, Charles James Fox, son of the first Lady Holland,
+who closed the road, loved to walk, and still the Green Lane is one
+of the most attractive spots in all London. The fame of Holland House
+increased as time went on, and some of its most brilliant days were
+during the time of the third Lord Holland, when Lady Holland drew all
+the wit and fashion of London to her salon. Although it is no longer
+a country place, and though no highwaymen have to be braved to reach
+it, and though its surroundings are completely changed, the garden of
+Holland House was never more beautiful than it is to-day. It is easy to
+forget it is a London garden, the flowers look so clean and fresh. The
+long vista into the rose garden from the lawn, which lies to the north,
+is flanked on either side with pink roses, that pretty free-flowering
+Caroline Testout. To the west, overlooking the Dutch garden, the view
+is even more attractive, and the garden so well harmonises with the
+house that it is easy to picture the beaux in wigs, and ladies in
+hoops and powder, moving among the box-edged beds. On the south, the
+wide terrace shown in the sketch was made in 1848, when the footpath
+was altered and the entrance to the house changed to the eastern side.
+The stone basin in the centre was put in by the late Lord Ilchester.
+The hybrid water-lilies, raised by Marliac, grow well in it, and that
+rather delicate, but most beautiful of the Sagittarias, _montevidensis_
+has flowered there. The raised terrace on the arches of the old
+stables, which encloses one side of the garden and is covered with a
+tangle of ivy, affords a charming view over the Dutch garden. Beyond is
+the old ballroom, orangery and garden enclosed by arches of cut limes.
+A terrace runs to the south of the Dutch garden and orangery, and the
+Italian garden which lies here is in itself as complete a contrast to
+the box-edged beds of the Dutch garden as is the Japanese garden,
+a new addition which lies further to the north. It was near here that
+the fatal duel between Lord Camelford and Colonel Best took place in
+1804. There is yet another small enclosed garden cut off by thick yew
+hedges and fat hollies from the rest. In it is the seat inscribed with
+lines to the poet Rogers:--
+
+     “Here Rogers sat, and here forever dwell
+      With me those Pleasures that he sings so well.”
+
+In this garden, year by year, dahlias have grown ever since they were
+first successfully grown in England. In 1789 the dahlia came for the
+first time from the New World to the Old. It was then sent to Spain,
+and that same year Lady Bute procured some from Madrid. She was not,
+however, successful in growing it and it quite died out, until it
+was reintroduced by Lady Holland in 1804. The plants remained rare
+in England for some years. It was being grown in France, Germany,
+and Holland, but little had been done to improve the original plant.
+When, however, a larger supply was available in England after 1814,
+the English growers took it up, and produced, before long, the round
+very double flowers which soon became the rage. In stilted style a
+writer in 1824 describes the dahlia mania, after giving the history of
+its introduction. “It was left to English capital and perseverance,”
+he says, “to illuminate the northern part of the globe by the full
+brilliancy of these floral luminaries.” Thus in extravagant language
+he continues to sing the praises of the dahlia. It is curious that
+the name is now generally pronounced as if it were “dalea,” forgetful
+of the fact that there is a flower, something like a vetch, called
+“Dalea” by Linnæus, after Dr. Samuel Dale, who died in 1739, a
+well-known botanist and friend of Ray. The dahlia was named long after
+in honour of the Swedish botanist Dahl.
+
+The so-called “Japanese garden” was made by the late Lord Ilchester. It
+is extremely pretty, but is entirely an English idea of what a Japanese
+garden is like, and, however pleasing it may be to the uninitiated,
+would probably shock the Japanese gardener, who is guided by as precise
+rules in his garden, as the painter in his art. In Japan the rules
+governing the laying-out of a garden are so exact that, apparently, it
+requires years of study to acquire the rudiments. The Japanese garden
+at Holland House, which is pleasing to the English eye, consists of a
+little stream descending through grassy lawns, with groups of plants,
+a stone lantern, and rustic bridges, and water plants at each little
+pond. The delightful _Iris kæmpferi_ flowers well, and yuccas, which,
+by the way, come from America, and not Japan; neither do _Aralia
+spinosa_ or _Saxifraga peltata_, which together form charming groups,
+with auratum lilies in the summer and other Japanese plants. The French
+hybrid water-lilies, of varying shades of pink, red, and yellow, here
+too make a picture, with their brilliant blossoms floating on the
+miniature pools--while bamboos, maples, and eulalias, true natives of
+Japan, make a soft and feathery background. Above the Japanese garden
+there is a well-furnished rock garden, and between that and the roses,
+which make such a grand display on the north of the house, green walks
+through rhododendrons and flowering shrubs unite the gardens. There
+are some really fine trees, as well as all the charming flowers, in
+the grounds. Near the bridge leading to the Japanese garden there is
+a beautiful evergreen oak and rare forest trees, while on the lawn
+some old cedars, planted by Charles James Fox, are showing signs of
+decrepitude, although the delightful picturesque effect a cedar always
+has, adds one more to the many charms of this, the most beautiful as
+well as the largest of London gardens.
+
+There is a charming group of houses standing in their own grounds
+still left on Campden Hill, although Campden House has been demolished
+and its site built over within the last few years. The property on
+which Campden House stood, and some authorities say the house itself,
+was won over some game of chance in James I.’s time by Sir Baptist
+Hicks, afterwards Viscount Campden, from Sir Walter Cope, the builder
+of Holland House, hard by. It was to Campden House that Queen Anne’s
+little son, the Duke of Gloucester, was taken for country air. The air
+is still pleasant on these heights, and the open tract of Holland Park
+gives so much freshness that plants flourish wonderfully. There are
+good gardens attached to many of the houses--Cam House, Blundell House,
+Aubrey House, Thornwood, Holly, and Moray Lodges, and several others.
+Holly Lodge is noteworthy as having for a few years been the residence
+of Lord Macaulay. There are some charming trees in the grounds, even
+yews (which are among the first to suffer from smoke) looking well;
+a good old mulberry and silver elms, and a camellia in a border near
+the wall, which often flowers out of doors, although some years the
+half-open buds drop off from the effects of frosty fogs.
+
+Cam House has one of the most charming gardens. It is now lived in by
+Sir Walter Phillimore, and has been in his family for some 150 years.
+It was well known as Argyll Lodge, as the late Duke bought the lease
+and made it his town residence from the time he first took office in
+Lord Aberdeen’s ministry in 1852. Before that it was known as Bedford
+Lodge, as the Duchess of Bedford, step-mother of Lord John Russell,
+the Prime Minister, had lived there and laid out and planted most of
+the garden. The “two very old oaks, which,” wrote the Duke of Argyll,
+“would have done no discredit to any ancient chase in England,” are
+still to be seen. The Duke was also delighted with the wild birds
+which there made their homes in the garden; in fact, he says in his
+Memoirs, it was the sight of the “fine lawn covered with starlings,
+hunting for grubs and insects in their very peculiar fashion,” the
+nut-hatches “moving over the trees, as if they were in some deep
+English woodland,” the fly-catchers and the warblers, that made him
+decide to take the house. During the half-century he lived there many
+of the birds, the fly catchers, reed-wren, black cap, and willow-wren,
+and nut-hatches, deserted the garden, but even now starlings and
+wood-pigeons abound, and, what is even more rare in London, squirrels
+may be seen swinging from branch to branch of the old trees. Besides
+the two old pollard oaks there are good beech and copper-beech, elder,
+chestnuts, snowy medlar, sycamore, several varieties of thorn, and
+a large Scotch laburnum, _Laburnum alpinum_, which flowers later
+than the ordinary laburnum, and is therefore valuable to prolong the
+season of these golden showers. The leaves are broader and darker,
+and growth more spreading. On the vine trellis is a curious old vine
+with strongly scented flowers. All the plants which thrive in London
+are well grown in the charming formal garden and along the old wall,
+which is covered with delicious climbing plants. So luxuriously will
+some flowers grow, that the hollyhocks from this garden took the prize
+at the horticultural show held in the grounds of Holland House, in a
+competition open to all the gardens in the Kingdom.
+
+At Fulham there is a charming garden, with trees which would be
+remarkable anywhere, and appear still more beautiful from their
+proximity to London. These trees in the grounds of Broom House have
+fared on the whole better than those at Fulham Palace, hard by. It is
+separated from the Palace by the grounds now attached to the club of
+Hurlingham. Of Hurlingham there is not much early history. Faulkner,
+the authority for this district, writes in 1813: “Hurlingham Field is
+now the property of the Earl of Ranelagh and the site of his house. It
+was here that great numbers of people were buried during the Plague.”
+The same authority mentions: “The Dowager Countess of Lonsdale has
+an elegant house and gardens here in full view of the Thames,” and
+Broom House is shown on Rocque’s map of 1757. The estate was bought
+by Mr. Sulivan from the Nepean family in 1824, and his daughter, Miss
+Sulivan, keeps up the garden with the utmost good taste and knowledge
+of horticulture. The ailanthus, with a trunk 10 feet 4 inches in girth
+at 4 feet from the ground, is probably one of the finest specimens in
+England. The one in Fulham Palace garden is exactly the same girth, but
+does not appear to be so lofty. The liquidamber is also a magnificent
+tree, and the false acacia is quite as fine as the one in Fulham
+Palace, and was probably planted at the same time. There are still
+two cedars left, although the finest was blown down some years ago,
+and the timber afforded panelling for a large room and many pieces of
+furniture. Perhaps the most beautiful of the trees is the copper or
+purple beech. Not only is it very tall and has a massive trunk (14 feet
+6 inches at 2 feet from the ground), but the shape is quite perfect,
+and its branches are furnished evenly all round. There are also good
+evergreen oaks, elms, chestnuts and Scotch firs. There is a large
+collection of flowering shrubs, which are in no way affected by the
+smoky air. Standard magnolias, grandiflora, conspicua and stellata,
+many varieties of the delightful autumn-flowering plant, the _Hibiscus
+syriacus_, known to older gardeners as _Althæa frutex_, and recommended
+under that name by Fairchild in 1722 as suited to London, _Cratægus
+pyracantha_, _Choysia_, _Pyrus spectabilis_, and many other equally
+delightful shrubs all appear most flourishing. These, together with
+herbaceous plants and ornamental trees, well grouped in a garden of
+good design, with the river flowing at the foot of it, make the grounds
+of Broom House rank among the most attractive about London.
+
+[Illustration: ST. JOHN’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK]
+
+A few of the gardens, like this one, have succeeded in keeping the
+real stamp of the country, in spite of the encroachments of the town
+and the advance of trams and motor omnibuses, but they are every day
+becoming more scarce. Hampstead and Highgate have many such, and here
+and there, to the north and on the south of the river, such delightful
+spots are to be found, although the temptation to cut them up and build
+small red villas on the sites is very great. Towards the north of
+London there are many small gardens which are bright and attractive,
+and without going so far as Hampstead, pleached walks and small but
+tastefully arranged grounds are met with. Within Regent’s Park
+there are several charming gardens round the detached villas, which
+have been already noticed in the chapter on that Park. The two most
+interesting from a horticultural point of view are St. Katharine’s and
+St. John’s Lodges. The fountain in the former is the frontispiece to
+this volume, and that view says more than any elaborate description.
+It might be in some far-away Italian garden, so perfectly are the
+sights and sounds of London obliterated. On a still, hot day, when
+the fountain drips with a cool sound and there is a shimmering light
+of summer over the distant trees beyond the terrace, the delusion is
+perfect. Most of the herbaceous plants which take kindly to London grow
+in the border--hollyhocks, day lilies, poppies, peonies, pulmoneria
+and lilies, while there is a large variety of flowering shrubs--ribes,
+lilacs, buddleias, shumachs and _Aralia spinosa_. The kitchen-garden
+produces good crops of most of the ordinary vegetables. The garden is
+arranged with a definite design; there is nothing specially formal,
+no cut trees or anything associated with some of the formal ideas in
+England, but there is method in the design; the trees and plants grow
+as Nature intended them, but they are not stuck about in incongruous
+disorder and meaningless, distorted lines, as is so often thought
+necessary, in designing a garden or “improving” a park.
+
+St. John’s Lodge has also a well-thought-out garden, some of it of a
+distinctly formal type. The coloured illustration of it is taken from
+a part of the garden enclosed with cut privet hedges, with a fountain
+in the centre, on which stands a statue of St. John the Baptist, by
+Mr. Johnes. Between the four wide grass walks there are masses of
+herbaceous plants, backed by rhododendrons, which, as the picture
+shows, stand out with brilliant colour in summer against the green
+background. This garden opens into a bowling-green enclosed by cut lime
+trees, and a cool walk for summer shaded by pleached lime trees. A
+seductive broad walk bordered with fruit-trees is another feature. This
+attractive garden has been made within the last eighteen years. The
+conception of it was due to Lord Bute, and the designing and carrying
+out to Mr. Schultz. The other side of the house, with a wide terrace
+and park stretching down toward the water, has no special horticultural
+feature, but the formal garden is full of charm, and the plants are
+thriving and trees growing up so fast there is no trace of its newness.
+It only shows how much can be done where knowledge and good taste are
+displayed.
+
+St. James’s Park is still skirted by garden walls--Stafford, Clarence,
+and Marlborough Houses, as well as St. James’s Palace, though their
+gardens are hardly as elaborate as those of former years. The garden
+of that Palace delighted the Sieur de la Serre, who accompanied Marie
+de Medicis when she came to pay a visit to Henrietta Maria and Charles
+I. and was lodged in St. James’s Palace. After describing the house,
+“there were, besides,” he writes, “two grand gardens with parterres of
+different figures, bordered on every side by a hedge of box, carefully
+cultivated by the hands of a skilful gardener; and in order to render
+the walks on both sides which enclosed it appear more agreeable, all
+sorts of fine flowers were sowed.... The other garden, which was
+adjoining and of the same extent, had divers walks, some sanded and
+others grass, but both bordered on each side by an infinity of
+fruit-trees, which rendered walking so agreeable that one could never
+be tired.”
+
+[Illustration: IN THE GARDEN, ST. JOHN’S LODGE]
+
+The garden of Bridgewater House was a little slice taken off Green
+Park. On the advice of Fordyce, the Crown in 1795 granted a lease, on
+certain conditions, to the Duke of Bridgewater and other proprietors
+near their respective houses, on the ground that it would improve
+rather than injure the Park. In 1850 the question arose whether the
+plans Barry had just made for the garden of Bridgewater House infringed
+the terms of the lease, and Pennethorne, architect to the Office of
+Works, had to report on the question. It being finally settled that the
+proposed wall and terrace would not hurt the Park, the alterations were
+allowed.
+
+Last, but by no means least, either in size or importance, the gardens
+of Buckingham Palace must be glanced at. The Palace is so modern, when
+compared with the older Royal residences, that it is easy to forget
+the history of the forty acres enclosed in the King’s private garden,
+yet they have much historical interest. In the time of James I. a
+portion of the ground was covered by a mulberry garden, which the King
+had planted, in pursuance of his scheme to encourage the culture of
+silkworms, in 1609. That year he spent £935 in levelling the four acres
+of ground and building a wall round it for the protection of the trees.
+A few years later most of the enclosure became a tea-garden, while part
+was occupied by Goring House. There are many references to these famous
+tea-gardens, called the “Mulberry Garden,” in plays and writings of the
+seventeenth century. Evelyn notes in his “Diary,” on 10th April 1654:
+“My Lady Gerrard treated us at Mulberry Garden, now the only place
+of refreshment about the town for persons of the best quality to be
+exceeding cheated at, Cromwell and his partisans having shut up and
+seized Spring Garden, which till now had been the usual rendezvous for
+the ladies and gallants at this season.”
+
+Goring House stood just where Buckingham Palace does now, and was the
+residence of George Goring, Earl of Norwich, and of his son, with whom
+the title became extinct. It was let in 1666, by the last Earl of
+Norwich, to Lord Arlington, and became known sometimes as Arlington
+House. It was burnt in 1674, and Evelyn notes in his “Diary” of 21st
+September: “I went to see the great losse that Lord Arlington had
+sustained by fire at Goring House, this night consumed to the ground,
+with exceeding losse of hangings, plate, rare pictures, and cabinets;
+hardly anything was saved of the best and most princely furniture that
+any subject had in England. My lord and lady were both absent at the
+Bath.” Buckingham House, which was built in 1703 on the same site for
+the Duke of Buckingham, must have been very charming. Defoe describes
+it as “one of the beauties of London, both by reason of its situation
+and its building.... Behind it is a fine garden, a noble terrace (from
+whence, as well as from the apartments, you have a most delicious
+prospect), and a little park with a pretty canal.” The Duke of
+Buckingham himself gives a full description of his garden in a letter
+to a friend, telling him how he passed his time and what were his
+enjoyments, when he resigned being Privy Seal to Queen Anne (1709). “To
+the garden,” he writes, “we go down from the house by seven steps into
+a gravel walk that reaches across the garden, with a covered arbour at
+each end. Another of thirty feet broad leads from the front of the
+house, and lies between two groves of tall lime trees, planted on a
+carpet of grass. The outsides of those groves are bordered with tubs
+of bays and orange trees. At the end of the broad walk you go up to a
+terrace 400 paces long, with a large semicircle in the middle, from
+where are beheld the Queen’s (Anne’s) two parks and a great part of
+Surrey: then, going down a few steps, you walk on the bank of a canal
+600 yards long and 17 broad, with two rows of limes on either side. On
+one side of this terrace a wall, covered with roses and jessamines, is
+made low to admit the view of a meadow full of cattle just beneath (no
+disagreeable object in the midst of a great city), and at each end is a
+descent into parterres with fountains and waterworks. From the biggest
+of these parterres we pass into a little square garden, that has a
+fountain in the middle and two green-houses on the sides ... below this
+a kitchen-garden ... and under the windows ... of this green-house is a
+little wilderness full of blackbirds and nightingales.” This is truly
+an entrancing picture of a town garden.
+
+The waterworks, those elaborate fountains then in vogue, were supplied
+by water pumped up from the Thames into a tank above the kitchen,
+which held fifty tons of water. Buckingham House was then a red-brick
+building, consisting of a central square structure, with stone pillars
+and balustrade along the top, and two wings attached to the main
+building by a colonnade. It was this style of house when King George
+III. bought it, originally for a dower-house for Queen Charlotte,
+instead of Somerset House, where the Queens-Dowager had previously
+lived. These formal gardens were not suited to the taste of the time,
+and George IV. had all the garden altered, as well as the house
+rebuilt by Nash. The whole of the parterres, terraces and fountains
+and canal were swept away, and most of the lime-trees cut down. A wide
+lawn and five acres of ornamental water, glades, walks and thickets
+took their place. When first made the water was severely criticised by
+a writer of the landscape school, the chief fault he found being that
+too much was visible at once from the path which encircled it, so that
+the limits were not well concealed. This seems to have been altered to
+the satisfaction of later critics. Dennis, writing in 1835, gives a
+plan in which the path has been made a little distance from the water’s
+edge, and the outline broken by clumps of trees and a promontory, which
+later on was turned into an island, on which a willow from Napoleon’s
+tomb at St. Helena is said to have been planted, though no old willow
+now exists. This writer gives great praise to Aiton, who superintended
+all the execution of the plans. The pavilion in the grounds was added
+in 1844, and decorated with paintings of scenes from Milton’s _Comus_
+by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer and other artists, with borders and gilt
+ornaments by Gruner.
+
+During the last four years his Majesty has had a great deal done
+to improve the grounds. His appreciation of what is beautiful in
+gardening has led him to effect several changes, which, while keeping
+the park-like character of the gardens, have added immensely to their
+scenic beauty and horticultural interest. The dead and dying trees
+and others of poor and stunted growth have been removed, giving air
+and light to those remaining. Several good specimens of plane, lime,
+elm, beech, ash, ailanthus and hawthorn have thus secured more
+space to develop. A very large assortment of all the best flowering
+shrubs which will flourish in London have taken the place of worn-out
+evergreens. The best of the hollies, arbutus and healthy evergreens
+have been encouraged by careful attention. The great object in laying
+out the garden originally was naturally to obtain as much privacy as
+possible, and the earth taken out of the lake was formed into a great
+bank, which was thickly planted to screen the stables and distant
+houses. This bank, which was stiff and formal in appearance, has now
+been artistically broken by planting and rock-work--not merely by a
+few stones, which would seem small, unnatural, and out of place, but
+by bold crags, over which roses climb, and where gorse, savin and
+broom, and countless other suitable plants look perfectly at home. The
+aspect of the lake is also greatly enhanced by the substitution of
+rustic stone bridges for the iron structures, The water’s edge is well
+furnished with iris and other water-loving plants--the finest Marliac
+lilies brighten its surface--and the stiff, round island is now varied
+by striking rocky promontories and is prettily adorned with broom and
+cherries.
+
+The colossal vase by Westmacott, executed as a memento of the Battle of
+Waterloo, has lately been placed on one of the lawns in an amphitheatre
+of trees. It stands in front of his Majesty’s summer-house, which
+is quaint in design, and was brought from the old Spring Gardens at
+Whitehall. The views down the wide glades, with the groups of tall
+trees, the bridges, the herbaceous borders, and the wealth of flowering
+shrubs, make the garden altogether one of singular charm considering it
+is even more truly “in the midst of a great city” than when the Duke
+of Buckingham described the same spot nearly 200 years ago.
+
+The Buckingham Palace Gardens show how much judicious planting can
+do, and how much is lost in many of the parks as well as gardens by
+not sufficiently considering the decorative value of plants. The old
+landscape gardeners, in their desire to copy nature and depart from
+all formality, forgot the horticultural part of their work in their
+plans for the creation of landscapes. They had not studied the effects
+which skilful planting will produce, and ignored flowers as a factor
+in their scenery. They had not got the wealth of genera which the
+twentieth century possesses, and of which, in many instances, full use
+is made. But in a review of London Parks and Gardens, it is impossible
+not to notice effects missed as well as success achieved. The immense
+advance gardening has made of late years, and the knowledge and wide
+range of plants, makes it easier to garden now than ever before. The
+enormous number of trees and flowers now in cultivation leaves a good
+choice to select from, even among those suitable for the fog-begrimed
+gardens of London. The carpets of spring flowering bulbs, the masses of
+brilliant rhododendrons, the groups of choice blossoming trees, which
+so greatly beautify many of the parks and gardens, are all the result
+of modern developments. Experience, too, has pointed out the mistakes
+in landscape gardening, which is for the most part the style followed
+in London, and it should be easy to avoid the errors of earlier
+generations. In formal designing, also, the recent introductions and
+modern taste in flowers should have a marked influence. In all the
+parks and gardens, public and private, the chief aim should be to make
+the best use of the existing material, to draw upon the vast resources
+of horticulture, which have never been so great as at the present time,
+and thus to maintain the position of superiority of London gardens
+among the cities of the world.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO PRIVATE GARDENS
+
+
+CHARLTON
+
+Owing to unavoidable circumstances it was not possible to include
+Charlton in the foregoing chapter on private gardens, but some account
+of this place of historic interest is necessary to complete this
+book. Further from the centres of fashion, on the eastern limits of
+London, it has not been the scene of such brilliant assemblies as
+Holland House on the west; yet its early days share that speculative
+fascination which gathers round the personality of Henry, Prince of
+Wales, who figures for such a short time on the pages of English
+history. Only two miles from Greenwich, in the hundred of Blackheath,
+lies the manor of Charlton, which was bestowed by William the Conqueror
+on his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux. Later on it passed by gift to
+the Priory of Bermondsey, and so remained until the Dissolution of
+the Monasteries, when it became crown land until James I. gave it to
+Sir Adam Newton, “who built a goodly brave house” thereon. Born in
+Scotland, Sir Adam had spent much of his life in France, and passing
+himself off as a priest, had taught Greek at St. Maixant in Poitou.
+On his return to Scotland in 1600, he was appointed tutor to Prince
+Henry, and was in attendance on him as secretary when the Prince grew
+up. In 1607 he commenced to build Charlton for him, Inigo Jones being
+the architect, and after the Prince’s death in 1612, the King granted
+Sir Adam the manor, in lieu of payment for the expenses he had incurred
+in building the house. The owner of Charlton continued to enjoy
+royal favour, became Treasurer of the Household to Prince Charles,
+was created a baronet in 1620, and married a daughter of Sir John
+Puckering, who had been Keeper of the Great Seal to Queen Elizabeth.
+His second son, Sir Henry Newton, who succeeded him at Charlton, and
+took the name of Puckering from estates inherited from his uncle, was
+an ardent supporter of Charles I. He sold the property to Sir William
+Ducie, Viscount Downe, at whose death it was again sold. The purchaser,
+Sir William Langhorne, was a wealthy East India merchant, who was, from
+1670 to 1677, Governor of Madras. On his death it passed by entail to
+his cousin Mrs. Maryon, and eventually to her great-granddaughter,
+the wife of Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, in whose family Charlton still
+remains.
+
+The gardens show traces of all the many owners, and in spite of the
+growth of London and its attendant drawbacks, they are still charming.
+The house stands in about 150 acres of undulating deer park, with some
+fine old trees, an avenue of English elms on the east, and one of
+horse-chestnuts, forming the approach on the west. Perhaps the planting
+of the tulip tree near the present lodge was due to John Evelyn, the
+friend of Sir Henry Puckering. Evelyn’s liking for tulip trees is well
+known, and this specimen looks old enough to claim his acquaintance.
+The two shattered but grand old mulberry trees probably date from the
+year 1609, when James I. encouraged all his subjects to plant them,
+and tradition points to one as the first brought to England. There is
+an immense horse-chestnut on the lawn, with a wide spread of branches
+which are rooted in the ground all round, and among the evergreen oaks
+and other attractive trees in the “Wilderness,” a Judas of great age
+is remarkable. The small house standing near the road which passes
+the parish church, known as the “Guard House,” recalls the time when
+Prince Henry was living there, and his guard of honour kept watch near
+the entrance. The stables are just as they were built by Inigo Jones,
+and the little “Dutch” walled garden which adjoins them on one side is
+also a pretty relic of those days, and the “Gooseberry Garden” near
+it is a survival of the same period. A walk overshadowed by tall yew
+trees stretches across and along the main part of the grounds, and
+hidden away near its southern end is a delightful rose garden. The
+beautiful lead fountain in the centre must have been put there by Sir
+William Langhorne. His initials appear on the leaden tank, and the
+spray rises from a basin held up by a charming little cupid standing
+on a pedestal surrounded by swans. The same group appears without
+the tank in another part of the garden, and there are lead vases and
+figures, and a cistern dated 1777, which add greatly to the old-world
+charm which still lingers. Chemical works and sulphurous fumes now work
+deadly havoc among the old trees, but everything that modern science
+can recommend is done to preserve them, and young ones planted to keep
+up the traditions, and bridge over the centuries dividing the present
+from the days of Prince Henry and his learned and courtly tutor.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF SOME OF THE WORKS CONSULTED.
+
+(_The date does not always refer to the first edition, but to the one
+consulted._)
+
+
+  Ambulator. A Pocket Companion in a Tour Round London. 1792.
+
+  Amusements of Old London. Boulton. 1900.
+
+  Argyll, Autobiography of George Douglas, Eighth Duke of. Ed. by the
+      Dowager Duchess of Argyll. 1907.
+
+
+  Baker, T. H. Records of Seasons and Prices.
+
+  Battersea, All About. H. S. Simmonds. 1882.
+
+  Birds in London. W. H. Hudson. 1898.
+
+    „   of London. H. K. Swann. 1893.
+
+  Bloomsbury. Chronicle of Blemundsbury. W. Blott. 1892.
+
+     „    and St. Giles. George Cluich. 1890.
+
+  Bradley, Richard. New Improvements of Planting and Gardening. 1717.
+
+  Burial Grounds, London. Mrs. Basil Holmes. 1896.
+
+  Butler, Samuel. Hudibras. Notes by Grey and Nash. 1847.
+
+
+  Calendar of State Papers. 1557, &c. Ed. J. Redington.
+
+  Camberwell. Parish of All Saints. T. J. Gaster. 1896.
+
+      „       Ye Parish of Camerwell. W. H. Blanch. 1875.
+
+  Catesby, Mark. Natural History of Carolina. 1731–43.
+
+     „       „    Hortus Europæ Americanus. 1767.
+
+  Chelsea. Memoirs of the Botanic Garden. Henry Field. 1820.
+
+     „       „       „       „    Ed. by R. H. Semple. 1878.
+
+     „    An Account of Chelsea Hospital. 1805.
+
+     „    Historical Notes. Isabella Burt. 1871.
+
+     „    Hospital. Thomas Faulkener. 1805.
+
+     „    Thomas Faulkener. 1810.
+
+  Cleveland. Character of a London Diurnal. 1647.
+
+     „    Poems, annotated by J. M. Berden. 1903.
+
+  Cole, John. A Pleasant and Profitable Journey to London. 1828.
+
+  Commons. A Glance at the Commons and Open Spaces of London. 1867.
+
+  Curtis, William. Botanical Magazine. 1787–1906.
+
+     „       „    A Catalogue of the Plants Growing Wild in the Environs
+                    of London. 1774.
+
+     „       „    Flora Londinensis. 1777–1828.
+
+
+  Dennis, John. The Landscape Gardener. 1835.
+
+  Domesday Book. Ed. 1812.
+
+  Draper, W. H. The Morning Walk; or, City Encompass’d. 1751.
+
+
+  Evelyn, John. Diary.
+
+     „     „    Sylva. 1664.
+
+
+  Fairchild, Thomas. The City Gardener. 1722.
+
+  Fiennes, Celia. Through England on a Side-Saddle in the Time of
+      William and Mary. Ed. Hon. Mrs. Griffiths. 1888.
+
+  Foreign Visitors to England. Smith. 1889.
+
+  Fulham, Old and New. C. J. Feret. 1900.
+
+     „    and Hammersmith. Faulkener. 1813.
+
+
+  Gardeners’ Magazine. Conducted by J. C. Loudon. 1826–43.
+
+  Gardening. History of, in England. Alicia Amherst. 1896.
+
+  Gerard. Herbal. 1597.
+
+     „      „     Ed. by T. Johnson. 1633.
+
+     „    Catalogus. 1599.
+
+  Greenwich. W. Howarth. 1886.
+
+      „      and Blackheath. Half Holiday Hand-book Series. 1881.
+
+      „      Park: Its History and Associations. Angus D. Webster. 1902.
+
+      „      The Palace and Hospital. A. G. K. L’Estrange. 1886.
+
+  Grosley. A Tour to London. 1765.
+
+
+  Hackney. Magazine and Parish Reformer. 1833–38.
+
+     „     Collecteanea Geographica, &c. 1842.
+
+     „     History and Antiquities of. William Robinson. 1842.
+
+  Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Passages from English Note-Books. 1870.
+
+  Hazlitt, W. C. Gleanings in Old Garden Literature. 1887.
+
+  Highgate, History of. Frederick Prickett. 1842.
+
+  Hook, Dean of Chichester. Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury.
+      1875.
+
+  Hyde Park, from Domesday to Date. J. Ashton. 1900.
+
+
+  Index Kewensis. 1893, &c.
+
+  Inns of Court. Inner Temple Records, F. A. Inderwick. 1896.
+
+    „      „     Inner and Middle Temple. H. H. L. Bellot. 1902.
+
+    „      „     Lincoln’s Inn. Douthwaite. 1886.
+
+    „      „     Gray’s Inn. Douthwaite. 1886.
+
+    „      „     and Chancery. W.J. Loftée. Illustrations by Herbert
+                   Railton. 1893.
+
+  Islington. History of the Parish of St. Mary. S. Lewis. 1842.
+
+  Issue Rolls. James I., &c.
+
+
+  Lamb, Charles, Life of. E. V. Lucas. 1905.
+
+  Lambeth, History of. Ducarel. 1785.
+
+    „         „        Thomas Allen. 1828.
+
+    „      Palace and its Associations. J. C. Browne. 1883.
+
+  Laud, Archbishop’s, Diary.
+
+  Loimographia: An Account of the Great Plague. W. Boghurst. 1894.
+
+  London, Ancient and Modern, from a Sanitary Point of View. G. V.
+            Poore. 1889.
+
+    „     Birds and Insects. T. D. Pigott. 1892.
+
+    „     Botanic Gardens, Pierre E. F. Perrédès. Pub. by Wellcome
+            Chemical Research Laboratories. No. 62.
+
+    „     Bygone. F. Ross. 1892.
+
+    „     City Suburbs as they are To-Day. 1893.
+
+    „     City: Its History, &c. W. J. Loftie.
+
+    „     Curiosities of. Timbs. 1868.
+
+    „     Environs of. Daniel Lysons. 1790–96.
+
+    „     Familiar, J. C. L’Estrange. 1890.
+
+    „     Fascination of. Series ed. by Sir W. Besant.
+
+    „     Flora. Alexander Irvine. 1838.
+
+    „     Garland. W. E. Henley. 1895.
+
+    „     Greater. E. Walford. 1893–95.
+
+    „     Hand-book of. Peter Cunningham. 1850.
+
+    „     Highways and Byways in. Mrs. E. T. Cook. 1903.
+
+    „     History of. Noorthouck. 1773.
+
+    „         „       William Maitland. 1756.
+
+    „         „       Plantagenet, Tudor Times, &c. Sir W. Besant.
+
+    „     Illustrata. Wilkinson.
+
+    „     Its Neighbourhood, &c. Hughson David. 1805–9.
+
+    „     Journey to. John Cole. 1825.
+
+    „     Knight, Charles. Revised by E. Walford.
+
+    „     Life Seen Through German Eyes. Brand. 1887.
+
+    „     Memories. C. W. Heckethorne. 1900.
+
+    „     Our Rambles in Old. E. S. M. Smith. 1895.
+
+    „     Pageant of. Richard Davey. 1906.
+
+    „     Past and Present. H. B. Wheatley and P. Cunningham, 1891.
+
+    „     Pleasure Gardens of the Eighteenth Century, W. Wroth. 1896.
+
+    „     Redivivium. James Peter Malcolm. 1807.
+
+    „     Reliques of Old London and Suburbs. H. B, Wheatley. 1896.
+
+    „     Round About. W. J. Loftée, 1893.
+
+    „     Signs and Inscriptions, Wheatley and Philip Norman. 1893.
+
+    „     Some Account of. Thomas Pennant. 1793.
+
+    „     Soul of. F. H. Madox Heuffer. 1905.
+
+    „     Story of. H. B. Wheatley. 1904.
+
+    „     Survey of. (London County Council.) C. R. Ashbee. 1900.
+
+    „       „        Stowe. Several Editions. 1598, 1633, &c.
+
+    „     of To-Day. C. E. Pascoe. 1885.
+
+    „     Town. Marcus Fall. 1880.
+
+    „     Vanished and Vanishing. P. Norman, 1905.
+
+    „     Vestiges of Old. Archer J. Wykeham. 1851.
+
+    „     Walks Through. Hughson David. 1817.
+
+    „       „   In. Augustus Hare. 1901.
+
+  Londres et Les Anglais en 1771. Join Lambert. 1890.
+
+  London, G., and H. Wise. Complete Gardener. 1701.
+
+  Loudon, J. C. Arboretum. 1838.
+
+     „          Encyclopædia of Gardening. 1822.
+
+     „               „       of Plants. 1838.
+
+     „          Gardeners’ Magazine.
+
+     „          Laying Out, &c., of Cemetries, 1843.
+
+
+  Magalotti. Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through
+      England, 1669. 1821.
+
+  Maitland, William. History and Survey of London. 1756.
+
+  Marylebone, Random Sketches in. F. H. Hallam. 1885.
+
+      „       and St. Pancras, G. Cluich. 1890.
+
+  Mayfair and Belgravia. G. Cluich. 1892.
+
+  Miller, Philip. Gardeners’ and Florists’ Dictionary. 1724.
+
+    „       „        „       Dictionary. 1759.
+
+  Mirabeau. Letters during his Residence in England. 1832.
+
+  Misson, H. Memoirs and Observations in his Travels over England.
+      Translated by Mr. Ozell. 1719.
+
+  Montagu, Letters of Mrs. E. 1809–13.
+
+     „     Mrs. E. By J. Doran. 1873.
+
+  Montgomerie, James. Chimney Sweepers’ Friend. 1824.
+
+  Municipal History, Bibliography of. Cross. 1897.
+
+
+  Nichol. Progress of Queen Elizabeth.
+
+  Nisbet, J. British Forest Trees. 1895.
+
+  Norden. Notes on his Map of London, 1593. H. B. Wheatley. 1877.
+
+
+  Open Lands, Inclosure and Preservation of. Sir Robert Hunter.
+      Reprint. 1897.
+
+
+  Parliamentary Reports--
+      Committee on the Public Parks, &c. 1887.
+          „       „    Best Means of Preserving ... Use of Forests,
+                         Commons, &c. 1865.
+      Other Reports: see Catalogue of Parliamentary Papers, 1801–1908.
+        P. and S. King & Co.
+      Plan of Improvements proposed opposite Buckingham Palace. 1850.
+      Return of the Outlay on Battersea Park. 1856.
+      Select Committee on Open Spaces. 1865.
+
+  Parks, Gardens, &c., of London. Edward Kemp. 1851.
+
+    „    Hyde Park, from Domesday to Date. J. Ashton. 1896.
+
+    „    Municipal, and Gardens. Lieut.-Col. J. G. Sexby. 1905.
+
+    „    and Pleasure Grounds. C. H. J. Smith, 1852.
+
+    „     „  Open Spaces. London County Council Sixpenny Guide. 1906.
+
+    „     „       „    and Thoroughfares. A. M’Kenzie. 1869.
+
+    „    Royal, and Gardens. N. Cole. 1877.
+
+    „    Story of the London. Jacob Larwood. 1872.
+
+  Parkinson, John. Paradise in Sole. 1629.
+
+  Pepys, Samuel. Diary.
+
+  Piccadilly and Pall Mall, Round About. H. B. Wheatley. 1817.
+
+  Philips, Henry. Sylva Florifera. 1823. Flora Historica, &c.
+
+  Phillips, Sir Richard. Morning Walk to Kew. 1817.
+
+  Pulteney, Richard. History of the Progress of Botany in England. 1790.
+
+  Pyne, Wm. H. History of the Royal Residences. 1819.
+
+
+  Regent’s Park. Some Account of the Improvements. 1814.
+
+     „      „      „     „    „    . John White. 1815.
+
+     „      „    Literary Pocket Book. 1823.
+
+     „      „    Picturesque Guide to. 1829.
+
+  Repton. Landscape Gardening. Ed. J. C. Loudon. 1840.
+
+
+  St. Botolph, Aldgate. A. G. B. Atkinson. 1898.
+
+  St. James’s Square. Dasent. 1895.
+
+  Selby, P. J. British Forest Trees. 1841.
+
+  Shipton, Mother. Life and Death of. 1687.
+
+   „         „     Prophecies. Ed. E. Pearson. 1871.
+
+   „        „          „       C. Hindley. 1877.
+
+  Soho, Two Centuries of. J. H. Cardwell. 1898.
+
+    „   and its Associations. E. F. Rimbault. 1895.
+
+  Sorbière, Samuel de. A Journey to London. [William King.] 1698.
+
+   „          „        A Voyage to England. 1709.
+
+   „          „        Journey to London. 1832.
+
+   „          „        Reponse aux Faussetés ... dans la relation du
+                         Voyage en Angleterre. 1675.
+
+  Stepney. Two Centuries of History. W. H. Frere. 1892.
+
+  Stowe. Survey of London. 1598.
+
+    „    Munday’s Edition. 1633.
+
+    „    Strype’s Edition. 1720.
+
+  Suburban Reliques of Old Londons. H. B, Wheatley. Drawn by T. R. Way.
+      1715.
+
+  Switzer, Stephen. Nobleman, Gentleman, and Gardener’s Recreation.
+      1715.
+
+
+  Tradescant, John. Museum Tradescantianum. 1656.
+
+  Trinity Hospital, Mile End Road, C. R. Ashbee, 1896.
+
+
+  Westminster, Antiquities of. John T. Smith. 1807.
+
+       „       Abbey. W. J. Loftie. 1890.
+
+       „         „    Dean Stanley.
+
+       „         „    MSS. Records.
+
+       „         „    Richard Widmore. 1751.
+
+       „       Memorials of the City, St. Peter’s College, &c. Rev.
+                 MacKenzie E. C. Walcott. 1849.
+
+  Wheatley. Observations on Modern Gardening. 1793.
+
+  Whitten, W. London in Song. 1898.
+
+  Wren, Christopher. Parentalia. 1750.
+
+
+
+
+HYDE PARK AND KENSINGTON GARDENS
+
+
+LIST OF TREES AND SHRUBS
+
+_N.B._--Those marked thus * are not in existence at the present time. A
+small number proved unsuitable for London, and others have been removed
+from the plantations for various reasons.
+
+          Acer campestre.
+           „   circinatum.
+           „   creticum.
+           „   dasycarpum.
+           „   macrophyllum.
+           „   Negundo.
+           „      „     foliis variegatis.
+           „   palmatum.
+           „   platanoides.
+           „        „       Reitenbachii.
+           „        „       Schwedleri.
+           „   Pseudo-platanus.
+           „     „       „      foliis variegatis.
+           „     „       „      purpureum.
+           „   rubrum.
+           „   saccharum.
+           „   saccharum nigrum.
+           „   tartaricum.
+          Æsculus Hippocastanum.
+             „          „        laciniata.
+             „          „        rubicunda.
+          Ailantus glandulosa.
+          Alnus barbata.
+            „   glutinosa.
+            „       „      incisa.
+            „       „      laciniata.
+            „       „      quercifolia.
+          Amorpha fruticosa.
+          Amygdalus (Prunus) communis.
+              „        „        „      amara.
+          Amygdalus communis macrocarpa.
+              „     nana.
+          Amelanchier canadensis.
+               „      vulgaris.
+          Aralia chinensis.
+            „    spinosa.
+          Arbutus Andrachne.
+             „    Unedo.
+             „      „    rubra.
+          Aristolochia Sipho.
+          Armeniaca (Prunus) sibirica.
+          Artemisia arborescens.
+          Asimina triloba.
+          Aucuba japonica.
+            „       „      maculata.
+            „       „      viridis.
+          Azalea (Rhododendron) sinense.
+            „    pontica.
+            „    nudiflorum.
+
+          Berberis Aquifolium.
+             „     Darwinii.
+             „     Fortunei.
+             „     japonica.*
+             „     repens.
+             „     stenophylla.
+             „     vulgaris.
+             „        „      foliis purpureis.
+          Betula alba.
+            „     „    pendula.
+          Betula fruticosa.
+            „    lenta.
+            „    nana.
+            „    nigra.
+            „    populifolia.
+            „    urticifolia.
+          Buxus balearica.
+            „   caucasica.
+            „   sempervirens arborescens.
+            „        „       aureo-marginita.
+
+          Caragana arborescens.
+             „     Chamluga.
+             „     frutescens.
+             „     spinosa.
+          Carpinus betulus.
+          Carya amara.
+          Caryopteris Mastacanthus.
+          Castanea sativa.
+          Catalpa bignonioides.
+          Cedrus Deodora.*
+             „    Libani.
+          Cerasus. _See_ Prunus.
+          Cercis Siliquastrum.
+          Cistus florentinus.
+            „    ladaniferus.
+            „    monspeliensis.
+          Clematis Flammula.
+             „     Jackmani.
+             „     montana.
+             „     Vitalba.
+          Celtis Tournefortii.
+          Clerodendron trichotomum.
+          Colutea arborescens.
+          Cornus alba.
+            „     „    Spæthii.
+            „    Mas.
+            „     „   aurea elegantissima.
+            „     „   variegata.
+            „    sanguinea.
+            „    stolonifera.
+          Coronilla Emerus.
+          Coryllus Avellana.
+             „     maxima atropurpurea.
+          Cotoneaster acuminata.
+               „      bacillaris.
+          Cotoneaster frigida.
+               „      horizontalis.
+               „      microphylla.
+               „      Nummularia.
+               „      Simmonsii.
+          Cratægus altaica.
+             „     Azarolus.
+             „     coccinea.
+             „     cordata.
+             „        „     accrifolia.
+             „        „     maxima.
+             „     Crus-galli.
+             „         „       ovalifolium.
+             „         „       pyracanthafolia.
+             „         „       splendens.
+             „     dippeliana.
+             „     heterophylla.
+             „     macrantha.
+             „     nigra.
+             „     orientalis.
+             „     Oxyacantha.
+             „         „       aurea.
+             „         „       eriocarpa.
+             „         „       flexuosa.
+             „         „       flore pleno albo.
+             „         „       flore pleno coccineo.
+             „         „       flore pleno puniceo.
+             „         „       flore pleno roseo.
+             „         „       flore pleno rubro.
+             „         „       flore roseo.
+             „         „       laciniata.
+             „         „       pendula.
+             „         „       præcox.
+             „         „       quercifolia.
+             „         „       stricta.
+             „     punctata.
+             „         „       brevispina.
+             „         „       xanthocarpa.
+             „     pyracantha.
+             „         „       Lalandi.
+             „     siniaca.
+             „     spathulata.
+             „     tanacetifolia.
+          Cupressus Lawsoniana.*
+              „     Nootkatensis.*
+              „     sempervirens.*
+          Cydonia japonica.
+             „    Maulei.
+             „    vulgaris lusitanica.
+             „       „     maliformis.
+          Cytisus albus.
+             „    alpinus.
+             „    nigricans.
+             „    præcox.
+             „    racemosus.
+             „    scoparius.
+             „    sessilifolius.
+             „    tinctoria.
+
+          Daphne Mezereum.
+            „    pontica.
+          Diospyros Lotus.
+              „     virginiana.
+          Diplopappus chrysophylla.
+          Deutzia crenata.
+             „       „     flore pleno.
+             „       „     gracilis.
+             „    scabra.
+
+          Elæagnus angustifolia.
+             „     argentea.
+          Euonymus europæus.
+             „         „      fructo albo.
+             „     japonicus.
+             „         „      argenteus.
+             „         „      aureo-variegatus.
+             „         „      radicans.
+             „         „         „      foliis pictis.
+             „     latifolius.
+
+          Fagus sylvatica.
+            „       „      cuprea.
+            „       „      pendula.
+            „       „      purpurea.
+            „       „         „      pendula.
+          Fatsia japonica.
+          Ficus Carica.
+          Fontanesia phillyræoides.
+          Forsythia intermedia.
+              „     suspensa.
+              „     viridissima.
+          Fraxinus americana cinerea.
+             „         „     elliptica.
+             „         „     juglandifolia.
+             „     excelsior.
+             „         „     angustifolia.
+             „         „     aurea.
+             „         „     heterophylla.
+             „         „     pendula.
+             „     Ornus.
+             „       „    angustifolia.
+             „     parvifolia.
+
+          Genista hispanica.
+          Gleditschia triacanthos.
+               „      sinensis.
+               „         „      nana.
+          Gymnocladus canadensis.
+
+          Halesia diptera.
+             „    tetraptera.
+          Halimodendron argenteum.
+          Hamamelis virginica.
+          Hedera Helix.
+            „      „    arborescens.
+            „      „    caenwoodiana.
+            „      „    canariensis.
+            „      „         „    arborescens.
+            „      „    chrysocarpa.
+            „      „    colchica.
+            „      „    dentata.
+            „      „    digitata.
+            „      „    lucida.
+            „      „    maderensis variegata.
+            „      „    minima.
+            „      „    taurica.
+            „      „    variegata.
+          Hibiscus syriacus--and numerous garden varieties.
+          Hippophæ rhamnoides.
+             „     salicifolia.
+          Hydrangea hortensia.
+              „     paniculata grandiflora.
+          Hypericum calycinum.
+              „     elatum.
+              „     hircinum.
+              „     patulum.
+
+          Ilex Aquifolium.
+           „       „       albo-picta.
+           „       „       altaclerense.
+           „       „       angustifolia.
+           „       „            „    variegata.
+           „       „       argentea variegata.
+           „       „       argentea marginata.
+           „       „       aureo-picta.
+           „       „       aureo-regina.
+           „       „       balearica.
+           „       „       camelliæfolia.
+           „       „       ferox.
+           „       „         „    argentea.
+           „       „         „    aurea.
+           „       „       fructo luteo.
+           „       „       heterophylla.
+           „       „       Hodginsii.
+           „       „       latispina.
+           „       „       laurifolia.
+           „       „       myrtifolia.
+           „       „       recurva.
+           „       „       scotica.
+           „       „       Shepherdii.
+           „       „       Watereriana.
+           „   dipyrena
+           „   latifolia.
+           „   opaca.
+
+          Jasminum fruticans.
+             „     humile.
+             „     nudiflorum.
+             „     officinale.
+          Juniperus chinensis.*
+               „     communis.*
+               „     nana.*
+               „     Sabina tamariscifolia.
+               „       „    procumbens.
+               „     virginiana.*
+          Juglans cinerea.
+             „    nigra.
+             „    regia.
+
+          Kerria japonica.
+          Koelreuteria paniculata.
+
+          Laburnum alpinum.
+             „     vulgare.
+             „        „    quercifolium.
+             „        „    Watereri.
+          Laurus nobilis.
+          Leycesteria formosa.
+          Ligustrum Ibota.
+              „     japonicum.
+              „     lucidum.
+              „     ovalifolium.
+              „          „       foliis aureis.
+              „     Quihoui.
+              „     vulgare.
+          Liquidamber styraciflua.
+          Liriodendron tulipifera.
+          Lonicera Caprifolium.
+             „     flexuosa.
+             „     involucrata.
+             „     Periclymenum.
+          Lycium chinense.
+             „   hamilifolium.*
+
+          Magnolia acuminata.
+             „     conspicua.
+             „         „      Soulangeana.
+             „     grandiflora.
+             „     stellata.
+          Morus alba.
+            „    „    pendula.
+            „   nigra.
+
+          Osmanthus Aquifolium ilicifolius.
+
+          Pavia (Æsculus) flava.
+            „               „    purpurascens.
+            „             glabra arguta.
+            „             humulis.
+            „             neglecta.
+            „             parvifolia.
+            „             rubra.
+          Philadelphus coronarius.
+               „           „        tomentosus.
+               „       floribundus.
+               „            „       verrucosus.
+               „       Gordonianus.
+               „       grandiflorus floribundus.
+               „       hirsutus.
+               „       inodorus.
+               „       Lemoinei.
+          Phillyrea angustifolium.
+              „     decora.
+              „     latifolia.
+          Photinia serrulata.
+          Pinus cembra.*
+             „   insignis.*
+             „   Laricio.*
+             „   sylvestris.
+          Planera aquatica.*
+              „    Richardi.*
+          Platanus accrifolia.
+          Populus alba.
+             „     „    pyramidalis (bolleana).
+             „    balsamifera.
+             „    canescens.
+             „    deltoidea.
+             „        „      aurea.
+             „    macrophylla.
+             „    nigra.
+             „      „    betulæfolia.
+             „      „    pyramidalis.
+             „    tremula.
+             „       „     pendula.
+          Prunus including Cerasus and persica.
+            „    persica camelliæflora.
+            „       „    flore roseo pleno.
+            „       „      „   alba pleno.
+            „       „    dianthiflora pleno.
+            „    Avium.
+            „      „    flore pleno.
+            „      „    pendula.
+            „    cerasifera.
+            „        „       atropurpureum.
+            „    communis.
+            „    (Cerasus) acida semperflorens.
+            „    japonicas flore roseo pleno.
+            „    pseudo-cerasus.
+            „    (Padus) Mahaleb.
+            „               „     pendula.
+            „    Padus.
+            „    rotundifolia.
+            „    serotina.
+            „    (Laurocerasus) caucasica.
+            „          „        colchica.
+            „          „        Laurocerasus.
+            „    serrulata.
+            „    spinosa.
+            „    triloba.
+            „    Watereri.
+          Ptelea trifoliata.
+          Pterocarya caucasica.
+          Pyrus Aria.
+            „    „    salicifolia.
+            „    „    undulata.
+            „   amygdaliformis.
+            „   arbutifolia.
+            „   Aucuparia.
+            „   auricularis.
+            „   baccata.
+            „   communis.
+            „   floribunda.
+            „   hybrida.
+            „   intermedia.
+            „   lanata.
+            „   malus astracanica.
+            „   nivalis.
+            „   pinnatifida.
+            „   rivularis.
+            „   spectabilis.
+
+          Quercus Ægilops.
+             „    cerris.
+             „      „     cana-major.
+             „      „     cana-minor.
+             „      „     fulhamensis.
+             „    coccinea.
+             „    fastigiata.
+             „    filicifolia.
+             „    Ilex.
+             „    „ Gramuntia.
+             „    lucombeana.
+             „    palustris.
+             „    pedunculata.
+             „         „       fastigiata.
+             „    rubra.
+             „      „    longifolia.
+             „    Suber.
+
+          Rhamnus Alaternus maculata.
+             „    alpina.
+             „    cathartica.
+             „    Frangula.
+             „    infectoria.
+          Rhododendron Cunninghami.
+               „       dauricum.
+               „       hybrids in variety.
+               „       ponticum.
+               „       præcox.
+          Rhus canadensis.
+           „   copallina.
+           „   cotinus.
+           „   glabra laciniata.
+           „   typhina.
+           „      „     frutescens.
+          Ribes alpinum.
+            „      „     pumilum.
+            „   aureum.
+            „     „     præcox.
+            „   Diacantha.
+            „   nigrum variegatum.
+            „   Sanguineum.
+            „       „       albidum.
+          Robinia hispida.
+             „    inermis.
+             „    Pseudacacia.
+             „         „       angustifolium.
+             „         „       bessoniana.
+             „         „       Decaisneana.
+             „         „       dubea.
+             „         „       elegans.
+             „         „       fastigiata.
+             „         „       heterophylla.
+             „         „       inermis.
+             „         „       monophylla.
+             „         „       semperflorens.
+             „         „       tortuosa.
+             „    viscosa.
+          Rosa arvensis.
+           „   Banksiæ.
+           „   canina.
+           „   damascena.
+           „   gallica centifolia.
+           „      „    muscosa.
+           „   indica.
+           „   multiflora.
+           „   noisettiana.
+           „   rubiginosa.
+           „   rugosa.
+           „     „     flore pleno.
+           „   wichuraiana.
+           „   hybrids in variety.
+          Rosmarinus officinalis.
+          Rubus fruticosus.
+            „       „       albo-pleno.
+            „       „       rubra-pleno.
+            „   laciniatus.
+            „   nutkanus.
+          Ruscus aculeatus.
+
+          Salisburia (Ginkgo) adiantifolia.
+          Salix alba.
+            „   babylonica.
+            „   Caprea.
+            „  daphnoides.
+            „   rosmarinifolia.
+            „   viminalis.
+          Sambucus nigra.
+             „       „    laciniata.
+             „       „    foliis aureis.
+             „     racemosa.
+             „        „      plumosa.
+             „        „         „     aurea.
+          Skimmia Fortunei.
+             „    japonica.
+          Spartium junceum.
+          Smilax aspera.
+            „    glauca.
+            „    rotundifolia.
+          Sophora japonica.
+          Spiræa bullata.
+            „    canescens.
+            „    cantoniensis.*
+            „    chamædrifolia.*
+            „    discolor.*
+            „    japonica.*
+            „       „      Bumalda.
+            „    prunifolia flore pleno.
+            „    salicifolia.
+            „    sorbifolia.
+            „    Thunbergii.
+          Symphoricarpus orbiculatus.
+                „        racemosus.
+          Syringa Emodi.
+             „    Josikæa.
+             „    persica.
+             „       „     alba.
+             „    vulgaris.
+             And many garden varieties.
+
+          Taxodium distichum.
+          Taxus baccata.
+            „      „     adpressa.
+            „      „        „      aurea.
+            „      „     Dovastoni.
+            „      „     fastigiata.
+            „      „     fructo luteo.
+            „   canadensis.
+            „   cuspidata.
+          Thuja dolobrata.*
+             „   japonica.*
+             „   occidentalis.
+             „   orientalis.
+             „       „       aureo-variegata.
+             „   plicata.*
+          Tilia americana.
+            „   argentea.
+            „   cordata.
+            „   dasystyla.
+            „   petiolaris.
+            „   platyphyllus asplenifolia.
+            „   vulgaris.
+
+          Ulex europæus.
+           „      „      flore pleno.
+           „   nanus.
+          Ulmus americanus.
+            „       „       pendula.
+            „   campestris.
+            „       „       Louis van Houtte.
+            „       „      sarniensis.
+            „       „      Wheatleyi.
+            „   glabra.
+            „     „     cornubiensis.
+            „     „     stricta.
+            „   montana.
+            „      „     atropurpureum.
+            „      „     fastigiata aurea.
+            „      „     pendula.
+            „      „     vegeta.
+            „   pedunculata.
+
+          Veronica cupressoides.
+             „     Traversii.
+          Viburnum dentatum.
+             „     Lantana.
+             „     Lentago.
+             „     Opulus.
+             „       „     sterile.
+             „     Tinus.
+             „       „    hirtum.
+             „     plicatum.
+
+          Weigela (Diervilla) florida.
+             „                hybrida.
+             „                Looymansi aurea.
+          Wistaria chinensis.
+             „     multijuga.
+
+          Xanthorrhiza apiifolia.*
+
+          Yucca angustifolia.
+            „   filamentosa.
+            „        „       flaccida.
+            „   gloriosa.
+            „   recurvifolia.
+
+
+
+
+EXAMPLES OF PLANTING FLOWER-BEDS IN HYDE PARK IN 1905–6
+
+
+BED 1.
+
+1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:--Hyacinths, margin of Saxifrage.
+Day Lily, thinly planted, for bright green foliage growing up with and
+above the Hyacinths.
+
+2. Spring planting for early summer flowers:--Pansies for margin 18
+inches wide, the centre of bed planted with Ragged Robin.
+
+3. Summer planting for later summer and autumn display:--Large plants
+of Calceolaria Burbidgeii 8 feet high, Cassia corymbosa 6 feet high,
+Heliotrope 6 feet to 7 feet high, finishing off with Nicotiana affinis
+and sylvestris, Lantana Drap d’Or with Lilium longifiorum interspersed.
+
+
+BED 2.
+
+1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:---Tulips, margin of Saxifrage.
+Iris germanica for foliage planted thinly with bulbs.
+
+2. Delphiniums, deep blue, 18 inch margin of yellow Pansies.
+
+3. Broad margin of Dell’s dark Beet, remainder of bed well planted with
+Cannas, Alphonse Bouvier, and Flambeau, brilliant crimson flowers.
+
+
+BED 3.
+
+1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:---Narcissus Emperor with a 6 to
+1 mixture of Hyacinth King of the Blues, margin of Saxifrage.
+
+2. Broad margin of Pansies, remainder of bed filled with Erigeron
+speciosum.
+
+3. Large plants in pots of Ivy-leaved Pelargonium Madame Crousse, 6
+feet high, placed 5 feet apart. Margin and intermediate spaces planted
+with dwarf plants of a deeper coloured Ivy-leaved Pelargonium.
+
+
+BED 4.
+
+1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:---Hyacinths Czar Peter,
+light-blue, Gigantea blush, margin of Saxifrage.
+
+2. Dictamnus in two colours, about 2 feet apart, ground of bed Anemone
+coronaria margined with Saxifraga Camposii.
+
+3. Gymnothrix latifolia, Kochia scoparia tricophylla interspersed with
+Acalypha musaica.
+
+
+BED 5.
+
+1. Dark Wallflowers with margin of Gardiner’s Garter (Phalaris).
+
+2. Pelargonium Achievement 4 feet high and 4 feet apart, centre of bed
+and margin planted with dwarf plants of same variety.
+
+3. Celosia pyramidalis crimson and gold, with some crimson Cockscombs
+intermixed, the remaining portion of bed thickly planted to the margin
+with Leucophytum Brownii.
+
+
+BED 6.
+
+1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:--Hyacinth Grande Maitre, blue.
+
+2. An interesting combination of the following flowers in rotation,
+fresh ones being introduced as others faded:--Linum perenne, Ixias,
+Sparaxis, and Calochortus, in variety, Oxalis rosea, Camassia
+esculenta, Lychnis Viscaria, Crassula coccinea, Balsams with double
+pink blooms. The setting for these flowers was a variegated grass. A
+good effect was the result for many weeks.
+
+3. For the remainder of the season this bed was filled with a
+succession of Lilium speciosum roseum on a green ground, with a margin
+of Agathea cœlestis.
+
+
+
+
+ERRATA
+
+
+  Page  16, line 24, _for_ ‘Sir John Sloane’ _read_ ‘Sir Hans Sloane.’
+   „    42,  „    4, _for_ ‘places’ _read_ ‘plans.’
+   „    77,  „   15, _for_ ‘Quintinge’ _read_ ‘Quintinye.’
+   „   241,  „    7, _for_ ‘battle of Alma’ _read_ ‘battle of the Alma.’
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+[1] Close Roll, Henry VII.
+
+[2] MSS. Manor Roll in the Record Office.
+
+[3] MSS. Manor Roll, Archives of Ely Cathedral.
+
+[4] See Alexander Necham, _De Naturis Rerum_, twelfth century.
+
+[5] Stowe, “Survey of London.”
+
+[6] Stowe’s “Survey of London.”
+
+[7] See p. 171.
+
+[8] As Vauxhall is not included in Lieut.-Col. Sexby’s exhaustive book,
+the following details are not very accessible. It was bought from Mr.
+Cobeldick for £43,500.
+
+  Made up by Lambeth Vestry               £11,746 17 6
+       „     Charity Commissioners         12,500  0 0
+       „     London County Council         11,746 17 6
+       „     Donations and other sources    7,506  5 0
+                                           -----------
+                                          £43,500  0 0
+
+The fencing and laying out was done by the Kyrle Society. The Park was
+opened by the present King and Queen, July 7, 1890.
+
+[9] See “Chitty’s Statutes,” by J. M. Lely, under “Metropolis.”
+
+[10] See page 12.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  A
+
+  Acreage of Parks, 4, 121
+
+  Aiglio, 241
+
+  Albert Memorial, 50
+
+  Alma-Tadema, Sir Laurence, 334
+
+  Alpine plants, 330
+
+  Anne Boleyn, 110
+
+  ---- of Cleves, 110
+
+  ---- Queen, 41
+
+  Annual flowers, 331
+
+  Apothecaries’ Garden, Chelsea, 317
+
+  Archbishop’s Park, 307
+
+  Archery, 96, 97
+
+  Argyll Lodge, 344
+
+  Artillery Garden, 292
+
+  ---- Ground, 10, 291
+
+  Austin Friars, 14
+
+  Avery Hill, 183
+
+  Avondale Park, 130
+
+
+  B
+
+  Bacon and Gray’s Inn, 283
+
+  Balloon ascents, 292
+
+  Bank of England, 258
+
+  Banqueting-houses, 26, 85, 86, 112
+
+  Barnard’s Inn, 263
+
+  Battersea enamel, 155
+
+  Battersea Park, 120, 155–161
+
+  ---- bicycling in, 161
+
+  ---- chrysanthemums in, 160
+
+  ---- duel in, 157
+
+  ---- early history of, 156
+
+  ---- Red House in, 156
+
+  ---- sub-tropical garden in, 158
+
+  Bayard’s Castle, 8
+
+  Bergne, Lady, garden in Kensington, 335
+
+  Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam), 237
+
+  Bethnal Green Gardens, 134
+
+  Birdcage Walk, 61
+
+  Birds, wild, in Greenwich Park, 117
+
+  ---- in Victoria Park, 139
+
+  ---- on Hampstead Heath, 198
+
+  Blackfriars, 9
+
+  Blackheath, 107, 202
+
+  Bostall Wood, 199
+
+  Botanical Garden, Regent’s Park, 17, 98
+
+  ---- Society, 98
+
+  Brewers’ Almshouses, 294
+
+  Bridgeman, 40, 42
+
+  Bridgewater House, 350
+
+  Broad Walk, Regent’s Park, 101
+
+  Brockwell Park, 170–174
+
+  ---- old English garden in, 170–172
+
+  ---- purchase of, 172
+
+  ---- rooks in, 174
+
+  Brook Green, 213
+
+  Broome House, 345
+
+  Brown, Sir Richard, 293, 325
+
+  Buckingham House, 76, 351
+
+  ---- Palace, 59, 350–355
+
+  Bunhill Fields, 11, 248–251
+
+  Bunyan, John, tomb, 249
+
+  Burial-grounds, 3, 242–260
+
+  ---- Friends’, 249
+
+  ---- in the City, 254–259
+
+  ---- Marylebone, 245
+
+  ---- St. John’s Wood, 245
+
+  ---- St. Pancras, 243
+
+  ---- Stepney, 245
+
+  Burton’s Court, 312
+
+  Burton, Decimus, 93, 100
+
+
+  C
+
+  Cadogan Place, 239
+
+  Cake-house in Hyde Park, 28, 32
+
+  Camberwell Park, 126, 166
+
+  ---- Green, 168, 215
+
+  Cam House, 343
+
+  Campden Hill, gardens on, 343
+
+  Carlton House, 77
+
+  Caroline, Queen, 38, 40, 42, 45, 74, 75
+
+  Catalpa, 153, 286
+
+  Cedars, 17, 321
+
+  Chamberlain, Mr., house at Highbury, 191
+
+  Charles I., 60
+
+  Charles II., 61, 63, 67, 147
+
+  Charlton, 357
+
+  Charterhouse, 289–291
+
+  Chelsea, 311
+
+  ---- Ranelagh Gardens, 315
+
+  ---- Waterworks, 38, 76
+
+  Chelsea Hospital, 311–317
+
+  ---- burial-ground, 314
+
+  ---- statue in, 313
+
+  Chelsea Physic Garden, 16, 17, 317
+
+  ---- cedars, 321
+
+  ---- curators of, 320
+
+  ---- new management of, 319
+
+  ---- trees in, 323
+
+  ---- visit of Linnæus, 324
+
+  Chrysanthemums, 17, 159
+
+  City Corporation Parks, 4
+
+  Clapham Common, 205–207
+
+  Clement’s Inn, 262
+
+  Clifford’s Inn, 263
+
+  Climate, changes of, 69, 98, 128
+
+  Clissold Park, 141–144
+
+  Commons, 185–216
+
+  ---- Clapham, 205
+
+  ---- Deptford, 203
+
+  ---- Hackney, 188
+
+  ---- Old Oak, 199
+
+  ---- Peckham Rye, 204
+
+  ---- Plumstead, 201
+
+  ---- Streatham, 211
+
+  ---- Tooting, 207
+
+  ---- Wandsworth, 212
+
+  Commons’ Preservation Society, 185
+
+  Commonwealth, sale of Royal Parks in time of, 28, 87
+
+  Cost of maintenance of Parks, 5
+
+  County in Town Exhibition, 18
+
+  Cox’s Walk, 177
+
+  Cromwell, Oliver, 29, 233
+
+  Cromwell, Thomas, seizure of gardens by, 12
+
+
+  D
+
+  Dahlia, 341
+
+  Deer, 36, 67, 74, 88
+
+  Dell in Hyde Park, 52
+
+  Deptford Park, 178, 203
+
+  Devonshire House, 335
+
+  Dolphin Fountain, Hyde Park, 39
+
+  Downing Street, 72
+
+  Drapers’ Company Garden, 12, 292
+
+  Duck Island, 62, 72, 73
+
+  Duels, 33, 86, 157, 341
+
+  Duke Humphrey’s Walk, 77
+
+  Duke of York’s School, Chelsea, 311
+
+  Dulwich College, 175
+
+  Dulwich Park, 174–177
+
+  ---- rock garden in, 176
+
+
+  E
+
+  Eel Brook Common, 213
+
+  Eltham Park, 182
+
+  Ely Place, 9, 14
+
+  Embankment Gardens, 132
+
+  Enfield, 323
+
+  Evelyn, John, 29, 67, 79, 229, 232, 293, 309, 312, 325–326
+
+  Exhibition of 1851, 48
+
+
+  F
+
+  Fairchild, Thomas, 18, 128, 223
+
+  Fawcett, Henry, 163
+
+  Fetter Lane, 15
+
+  Fickett’s Field, 236
+
+  Finsbury Circus, 237
+
+  ---- Park, 120, 125, 139–141
+
+  ---- Square, 10, 237
+
+  Fire of London, 12, 15
+
+  Flowers at the Grey-coat School, 298.
+
+  ---- in Greenwich Park, 117
+
+  ---- in Holborn, 9
+
+  ---- in Hyde Park, 46–48
+
+  ---- in Municipal Parks, 124
+
+  ---- in the Temple Gardens, 272
+
+  ---- of Shakespeare, 151, 154, 171
+
+  ---- suited to London, 330–335
+
+  Fogs, 69, 128
+
+  Foley House, 89
+
+  Fordyce, Mr., 89, 90
+
+  Foundling Hospital, 296
+
+  French Gardeners, 61
+
+  Fuchsia, 17
+
+  Fulham Palace, 308, 311
+
+  ---- gardens at, 345
+
+
+  G
+
+  Gardeners, 14
+
+  ---- Company, 14
+
+  Gardens, Castle, 8
+
+  ---- City, 14–16
+
+  ---- monastic, 7–8
+
+  Gay, lines on Lincoln’s Inn Fields, 235, 282
+
+  Gerard, John, 16, 17, 19
+
+  Gibson, Mr., 137–158, 228
+
+  Godfrey, Sir Edmondsbury, 105
+
+  Goose Green, 213
+
+  Gordon riots, 194–233
+
+  Gospel Oak, 197
+
+  Grant, Baron, 228
+
+  Gray’s Inn, 283–288
+
+  Green Park, 56–73
+
+  ---- fireworks in, 75
+
+  ---- railings round, 76
+
+  ---- Ranger’s lodge in, 76
+
+  Green Walk, St. James’s Park, 77
+
+  Greens, 213
+
+  Greenwich Fair, 115
+
+  Greenwich Park, 106–118
+
+  ---- birds in, 117
+
+  ---- burials in, 107
+
+  ---- flowers in, 117
+
+  ---- Queen’s House, 113
+
+  ---- royal pageants in, 109–113
+
+  ---- wild flowers in, 116
+
+  Grey-coat School, Westminster, 297
+
+  Grosley, Mr., 67, 281
+
+  Grosvenor House, 337
+
+  Gunning, The Misses, 69
+
+
+  H
+
+  Hackney, 16, 17
+
+  ---- Commons, 188
+
+  ---- Downs, 186, 189
+
+  ---- Marsh, 189
+
+  Hainault, Forest of, 122
+
+  Hamilton Place, 35
+
+  Hampstead Heath, 192–198
+
+  ---- Jack Straw’s Castle, 195
+
+  ---- Spaniards, 194
+
+  ---- Wells, 192
+
+  ---- wild flowers, 197
+
+  Hatton, Sir Christopher, 14
+
+  Heath, Bostall, 199
+
+  ---- Hampstead, 192
+
+  Henry VIII. and Hyde Park, 25
+
+  ---- at Greenwich, 109
+
+  Henry, Prince of Wales, 357–359
+
+  Highbury Fields, 190
+
+  Highgate, 10
+
+  Hilly Fields, 203
+
+  Holborn, 8, 16
+
+  Holland House, 337–343
+
+  Honourable Artillery Company, 97, 292
+
+  Horniman Gardens, 177
+
+  Hornsey Wood, 140
+
+  Horse Guards’ Parade, 59, 72
+
+  Horticultural Society, 17
+
+  Hoxton, 18
+
+  Hunting, 25, 85–86, 88
+
+  Hyde, Manor of, 24
+
+  Hyde Park, 23–55
+
+  ---- area of flower beds, 48
+
+  ---- boundaries, 24
+
+  ---- cake-house in, 28, 32
+
+  ---- deer in, 35
+
+  ---- dell, 52
+
+  ---- duels in, 33
+
+  ---- flowers in, 46
+
+  ---- forts erected in, 27
+
+  ---- fountains in, 39, 44, 54
+
+  ---- frame-ground in, 47
+
+  ---- gates, 54
+
+  ---- hunting in, 25
+
+  ---- keepers of, 35
+
+  ---- Parliamentary army in, 28
+
+  ---- Plague in, 32
+
+  ---- railings round, 35, 46
+
+  ---- reviews in, 35
+
+  ---- Ring in, 28–30
+
+  ---- roads in, 36
+
+  ---- sale of, 28
+
+  ---- trees in, 51
+
+  ---- water in, 37, 42
+
+
+  I
+
+  Ice accident, 101
+
+  Ice-house in Green Park, 74
+
+  Inns of Court, 261–288
+
+  Ironmongers’ Almshouses, 296
+
+  Island Garden, Poplar, 133
+
+  Isle of Dogs, 133
+
+  Islip Abbot, 25
+
+
+  J
+
+  Jack Straw’s Castle, 194
+
+  Jacobite Walk, 73
+
+  James I., 59
+
+  James II., 67
+
+  Jefferies, Richard, 125, 210
+
+  Johnson, Thomas, 17, 19
+
+
+  K
+
+  Kennington Common, 164
+
+  Kennington Park, 164–166
+
+  ---- fountain in, 166
+
+  ---- historical incidents, 165
+
+  Kensington Gardens, 41–50
+
+  ---- trees in, 51
+
+  Kensington Palace, 36–40
+
+  Kent, landscape gardener, 40
+
+  Kyrle Society, 121
+
+
+  L
+
+  Ladywell Recreation Ground, 203
+
+  Lamb, Charles, 15, 279, 285
+
+  Lambeth, 305
+
+  Lammas Lands, 119, 186, 189
+
+  Latimer, Bishop, 306, 308
+
+  Laud, Archbishop, 305–306
+
+  Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, 147
+
+  Le Nôtre, 61, 113
+
+  Lincoln, Earl of, 8
+
+  Lincoln’s Inn, 279–282
+
+  Lincoln’s Inn Fields, 234, 282
+
+  L’Obel, 16
+
+  Loddige, 17
+
+  London and Wise, 40
+
+  London County Council, equipment of, 123
+
+  ---- expenditure on parks, 6
+
+  ---- inappropriate planting by, 189, 204
+
+  ---- parks owned by, 4, 121
+
+  London Fields, 188
+
+  ---- Hospital Garden, 295
+
+  Loudon, 54, 90, 99, 223
+
+
+  M
+
+  Mall, The, 61, 66, 68, 70, 73, 77
+
+  Manor Park or Manor House Gardens, 182
+
+  Marble Arch, 54
+
+  ---- Hill, 121
+
+  Marvel, Andrew, 149
+
+  Mary, Queen, 40
+
+  Marylebone Fields, 89, 92
+
+  ---- origin of, 83
+
+  Marylebone Park, 84–89
+
+  ---- called Regent’s Park, 91
+
+  ---- lease to the Duke of Portland, 90
+
+  ---- Manor-house in, 89
+
+  Maryon Park, 181
+
+  Mayor of Garrett, 212
+
+  Meath Gardens, 248
+
+  ---- Earl of, 243
+
+  Metropolitan Commons Act, 186, 188
+
+  ---- Gardens Association, 121, 234, 243, 248
+
+  Milton, 60
+
+  Minet, Mr. William, 166
+
+  Mirabeau, letters of, 128, 220
+
+  Monastic gardens, 7, 8
+
+  Montagu House, 222, 232, 335
+
+  Montagu, Mrs., 222, 336
+
+  Moorfields, 10–12
+
+  Moorgate, 11
+
+  Moravian Mission, 15, 311
+
+  More, Sir Thomas, 311
+
+  Mother Shipton, 104
+
+  Municipal Parks, 119
+
+  ---- acreage of, 121
+
+  ---- criticisms upon, 184, 189, 204
+
+  ---- equipment of, 123
+
+  ---- flowers in, 124
+
+  ---- formation of, 120, 123, 136
+
+  ---- green-houses in, 124
+
+  ---- laying out of, 126
+
+  ---- old English gardens in, 127
+
+  ---- situation of, 120
+
+  Myatt’s Fields, Camberwell, 166–168
+
+  ---- avenue in, 126, 168
+
+
+  N
+
+  Naming plants, 54
+
+  Nash, architect, 90–91
+
+  Navy, timber in Marylebone Park used by Cromwell for, 88
+
+  Neate or Neyte, 24, 239
+
+  Nell Gwynn, 67, 147
+
+  Nesfield, 101
+
+  Nevill, Bishop of Chichester, 15
+
+  ---- Court, 15
+
+  New River, 142–143
+
+  North Woolwich tea garden, 134
+
+  Nunhead Green, 213
+
+
+  O
+
+  Observatory, Greenwich, 108
+
+  “Old English Gardens,” 151–154, 171
+
+  Open Spaces, Select Committee on, 187
+
+  Osborne, Dorothy, 60
+
+
+  P
+
+  Paddington Green, 213
+
+  Pall Mall, 66
+
+  Pardon Churchyard, Charterhouse, 236
+
+  ---- St. Paul’s, 250
+
+  Parkinson, John, 16, 298
+
+  Parks, acreage of, 4, 6, 122
+
+  ---- classes of, 3
+
+  ---- duels in, 33, 86, 157
+
+  ---- lighting of, 37, 79
+
+  ---- maintenance of, 5, 6
+
+  ---- Municipal, 3, 6, 121, 122, 159
+
+  ---- Royal, 3, 6, 122, 157
+
+  ---- sale of, 28, 87
+
+  Park system, 22
+
+  Parliament Hill, 192, 197
+
+  Parson’s Green, 213
+
+  Paul’s Cross, 252
+
+  Pawlet, Sir William, 14
+
+  Peckham Rye, 204
+
+  Pennethorne, Sir James, 157
+
+  Pepys, 12, 15, 31, 34, 65, 79, 115, 148, 180, 189, 206, 257, 280
+
+  Piccadilly, 76
+
+  Placentia or Plaisance, 108
+
+  Plague, 32, 196, 226, 236, 238, 257
+
+  Plane trees, 223
+
+  Plants suited to London, 330–335
+
+  Plumstead Common, 201
+
+  Portland Place, 89
+
+  Postman’s Park, 255
+
+  Potatoes, 17
+
+  Primrose Hill, 104
+
+  Private gardens, 327–356
+
+
+  Q
+
+  Quaggy River, 182
+
+  Queen’s House, Greenwich, 113–114
+
+  Queen’s Walk, Green Park, 75
+
+  Quintinye, de la, 61, 77
+
+
+  R
+
+  Ranelagh Gardens, 315
+
+  Ranger’s Lodge, Green Park, 76
+
+  ---- Greenwich Park, 115
+
+  Ravensbourne, 203
+
+  Ravenscourt Park, 152–154
+
+  ---- old English garden in, 154
+
+  ---- trees in, 153
+
+  Red House, Battersea, 156
+
+  Reform Bill riots, 46
+
+  Regent’s Park, 83–105
+
+  ---- architecture and houses, 91
+
+  ---- banqueting houses in, 85
+
+  ---- canal, 90
+
+  ---- deer, 88
+
+  ---- duels in, 86
+
+  ---- flowers in, 101–102
+
+  ---- formerly Marylebone Park, 84, 91
+
+  ---- hunting in, 85–86
+
+  ---- Manor-house in, 89, 97
+
+  ---- railings, 103
+
+  ---- sale by Cromwell, 87
+
+  ---- Societies in, 96
+
+  ---- stone vase in, 101
+
+  ---- villas in, 93–94, 347
+
+  Repton, Humphrey, 231–239
+
+  Rhododendrons in Hyde Park, 53
+
+  Ring in Hyde Park, 28–30
+
+  Riots in Hyde Park, 45
+
+  Rock gardens, 176
+
+  Rooks, 174, 288
+
+  Rosamond’s Pond, 58, 73
+
+  Roses, 9, 277, 334
+
+  Rotten Row, 36
+
+  Round Pond, 44
+
+  Royal Avenue, Chelsea, 312
+
+  Ruskin Park, 168–170
+
+
+  S
+
+  Saint Alphege, London Wall, 258
+
+  ---- Bartholomew’s Hospital, 289
+
+  ---- Botolph’s, Aldersgate, 255–256
+
+  ---- Christopher-le-Stocks, 258
+
+  ---- Dunstan’s Lodge, 93
+
+  ---- Dunstan’s, Stepney, 245
+
+  ---- George’s-in-the-East, 246
+
+  ---- Giles, Cripplegate, 258
+
+  ---- James’s Palace, 57, 348
+
+  ---- James’s Park, 25, 45, 56–82
+
+  ---- ---- ---- animals and birds in, 59, 61, 64,73
+
+  ---- ---- ---- canal in, 65
+
+  ---- ---- ---- cows in, 64
+
+  ---- ---- ---- driving privileges in, 71
+
+  ---- ---- ---- Duck Island, 62, 73
+
+  ---- ---- ---- flowers in, 80
+
+  ---- ---- ---- leper hospital in, 57
+
+  ---- ---- ---- a races in, 71
+
+  ---- ---- ---- Rosamond’s Pond, 58, 73
+
+  ---- ---- ---- tilting ring, 59
+
+  ---- John at Hackney, 245
+
+  ---- ---- Knights of, 7–8, 236, 264
+
+  ---- John’s Lodge, 74, 237
+
+  ---- Katherine Coleman, 256
+
+  ---- Katharine’s, Regent’s Park, 94, 437
+
+  ---- Leonard’s, Shoreditch, 18
+
+  ---- Martin, 259
+
+  ---- Mary Staining, 254
+
+  ---- Mary, Islington, 245
+
+  ---- Olave’s, Hart Street, 254–257
+
+  ---- Pancras-in-the-Fields, 243
+
+  ---- Paul’s Churchyard, 250–254
+
+  Sand gardens for children, 124, 139, 163
+
+  Sayes Court, Deptford, 325
+
+  Scott, Sir Gilbert, 50
+
+  Seething Lane, 16
+
+  Serpentine, 37–38, 42–45
+
+  Shakespeare, flowers of, 151, 154, 171
+
+  Shepherd’s Bush, 213
+
+  Shrubs suitable for London, 330
+
+  Skating, 45, 79, 101
+
+  ---- club, 97
+
+  Sloane, Sir Hans, 16, 318
+
+  Smoke, 69, 128, 129
+
+  Spa Fields, 247
+
+  “Spaniards,” Hampstead, 194
+
+  Spring flowers suitable for London, 334
+
+  Springfield Park, 144
+
+  Spring Gardens, 60
+
+  Squares, 217–241
+
+  ---- Bedford, 232
+
+  ---- Belgrave, 238
+
+  ---- Berkeley, 222
+
+  ---- Bloomsbury, 231
+
+  ---- Brompton, 240
+
+  ---- Brunswick, 296
+
+  ---- Cadogan Place, 239
+
+  ---- Cavendish, 221
+
+  ---- Eaton, 218, 239
+
+  ---- Finsbury, 237
+
+  ---- Golden, 226
+
+  ---- Grosvenor, 219, 221
+
+  ---- Hanover, 221
+
+  ---- in Belgravia, 238
+
+  ---- in Bloomsbury, 230, 297
+
+  ---- in the East End, 238
+
+  ---- Kensington, 240
+
+  ---- Ladbroke, 219
+
+  ---- Leicester, 227
+
+  ---- Lincoln’s Inn Fields, 234
+
+  ---- Manchester, 221
+
+  ---- Mecklenburgh, 297
+
+  ---- New, 235
+
+  ---- Portman, 222, 336
+
+  ---- Queen’s, 233
+
+  ---- Red Lion, 233
+
+  ---- Russell, 321
+
+  ---- Saint James’s, 223
+
+  ---- Soho, 229
+
+  ---- Southampton, 231
+
+  ---- statues in, 220, 225, 226, 229, 230, 231
+
+  ---- Trinity, 237
+
+  ---- Vincent, 238
+
+  Sorbiere, M. de, 62
+
+  South London Parks, 155–184
+
+  Southwark Park, 179
+
+  Stepney, Manor of, 139
+
+  ---- Museum, 146
+
+  Stoke Newington or Clissold Park, 141–144
+
+  Streatham Common, 209, 211
+
+  Sub-tropical Garden, Battersea, 158
+
+  Summer-houses, 86
+
+  Switzer, Stephen, 39
+
+
+  T
+
+  Telegraph Hill, 178
+
+  Templars, 7
+
+  Temple, The, 262, 264–279
+
+  ---- Bencher’s Garden, Inner, 275
+
+  ---- Bencher’s Garden, Middle, 275
+
+  Temple Garden, chambers built on the, 266
+
+  ---- flowers in, 272
+
+  ---- Fountain, 269–275
+
+  ---- green-house, 272
+
+  ---- iron gates, 271
+
+  ---- re-turfing, 268
+
+  ---- sun-dial, 271
+
+  ---- Wars of the Roses begin in, 277
+
+  Thrale Place, 209
+
+  Tinworth, sculpture by, 163–166
+
+  Tooting Beck, 208
+
+  ---- Common, 208, 210
+
+  ---- Graveney, 208
+
+  Tortoise at Lambeth, 307
+
+  Toxopholite Society, 307
+
+  Tradescant, 16, 298
+
+  Trees at Fulham, 310, 345
+
+  ---- in Chelsea Physic Garden, 321–323
+
+  ---- in Greenwich Park, 106, 110, 114
+
+  ---- in Hyde Park, 57
+
+  ---- in Municipal Parks, 125, 137, 141, 144, 145, 147, 151, 153,
+        175, 182
+
+  ---- in Regent’s Park, 103
+
+  ---- in squares, 223
+
+  ---- pruning of, 128
+
+  Trinity Hospital, Mile End, 293
+
+  Turner, William, 257
+
+  Tyburn, Manor of, 56, 83
+
+
+  U
+
+  Upper Park, 74
+
+  Uvedale, Robert, 323
+
+
+  V
+
+  Vatcher, Rev. Sidney, 295
+
+  Vauxhall Gardens, 161
+
+  Vauxhall Park, 161–164
+
+  ---- purchase of, 162
+
+  Veitch, 17
+
+  Verjuice, 10
+
+  Victoria Docks, 157
+
+  Victoria Park, 120, 135–139
+
+  ---- birds in, 139
+
+  ---- planting in, 137
+
+  Victoria Park Cemetery, 248
+
+  Victoria, Queen, Memorial, 80
+
+  Vineyards, 9, 59, 180
+
+  Vintage, 10
+
+
+  W
+
+  Wages in 1554, 85
+
+  Wandsworth Common, 212
+
+  Waterlow Park, 145–150
+
+  ---- historical events in, 147–149
+
+  ---- ponds in, 147
+
+  ---- trees in, 147
+
+  Waterlow, Sir Sidney, 145, 149
+
+  Waterworks Company, 38
+
+  Westminster, 10, 25, 38, 58, 299
+
+  Westminster Abbey, 299–305
+
+  ---- gardens in monastic times, 302
+
+  ---- Little Cloister, 299
+
+  Whip Club, 54
+
+  Whitechapel, 18
+
+  Whitfield, 165
+
+  Wild flowers near London, 20
+
+  William III., 36, 41
+
+  Wine, 10
+
+  Winter Garden, Duke Street, 219
+
+  Wise, 41
+
+  Woolwich, 202
+
+  Wormwood Scrubs, 198
+
+
+  Y
+
+  Yews, Irish, 245
+
+
+  Z
+
+  Zoological Society, 100
+
+  Zouche, Lord, Garden in Hackney, 16
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+                  Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
+                           Edinburgh & London
+
+
+[Illustration: (map)]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Notes
+
+
+Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
+predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
+were not changed.
+
+Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
+marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
+unbalanced.
+
+Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
+and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
+hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
+the corresponding illustrations.
+
+The Errata following page 376 have been corrected in this eBook.
+
+Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of the pages that referenced them,
+have been collected, sequentially renumbered, and placed near the end
+of the book, just before the index.
+
+The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page
+references.
+
+Page 203: “West Kent Grammer School” was printed that way.
+
+Pages 368–374: In the original book, asterisks indicating “not in
+existence” were positioned at the left sides of the lines. In this
+ebook, they are positioned at the right sides.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76057 ***
diff --git a/76057-h/76057-h.htm b/76057-h/76057-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..196eea6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/76057-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,15837 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      London Parks and Gardens | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style> /* <![CDATA[ */
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 2.5em;
+    margin-right: 2.5em;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker body {margin: 0;}
+.x-ebookmaker-drop {color: inherit;}
+
+h1, h2, h3 {
+    text-align: center;
+    clear: both;
+    margin-top: 2.5em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    word-spacing: .2em;
+}
+
+h1 {line-height: 1;}
+
+h2.chap {margin-bottom: 0;}
+h2+p {margin-top: 1.5em;}
+h2+h3 {margin-top: 1.5em;}
+h2 .subhead {display: block; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;}
+.x-ebookmaker h1, .x-ebookmaker .chapter, .x-ebookmaker .section {page-break-before: always;}
+.x-ebookmaker h1.nobreak, .x-ebookmaker h2.nobreak, .x-ebookmaker .nobreak {page-break-before: avoid; padding-top: 0;}
+
+.transnote h2 {
+    margin-top: .5em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+}
+
+.subhead {
+    text-indent: 0;
+    text-align: center;
+    font-size: smaller;
+}
+
+p {
+    text-indent: 1.75em;
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    margin-bottom: .24em;
+    text-align: justify;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker p {
+    margin-top: .5em;
+    margin-bottom: .25em;
+}
+
+.caption p, .center p, p.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;}
+
+.p0 {margin-top: 0em;}
+.p1 {margin-top: 1em;}
+.p2 {margin-top: 2em;}
+.p4 {margin-top: 4em;}
+.b1 {margin-bottom: 1em;}
+.b2 {margin-bottom: 2em;}
+.vspace {line-height: 1.5;}
+
+.in0 {text-indent: 0;}
+.in1 {padding-left: 1em;}
+.in4 {padding-left: 4em;}
+.in10 {padding-left: 10em;}
+.l2  {padding-right: 2em;}
+
+.xsmall  {font-size: 60%;}
+.small   {font-size: 70%;}
+.smaller {font-size: 85%;}
+.larger  {font-size: 125%;}
+.large   {font-size: 150%;}
+.xxlarge {font-size: 200%;}
+
+p.idc img {float: left; clear: left; max-width: 8em; padding: 0 .5em .1em 0;}
+p.idc.idcL:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -2.9em;}
+p.idc.idcI:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -2.6em;}
+p.idc.idcT:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -2.9em;}
+p.idc.idcR:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -2.9em;}
+p.idc.idcO:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -3.1em;}
+p.idc.idcN:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -3.0em;}
+p.idc.idcA:first-letter {color: transparent; text-indent: 0; margin-left: -3.0em;}
+p.idc .firstword {text-transform: uppercase;}
+.x-ebookmaker p.idc {text-indent: 0; margin-left: 0;}
+.x-ebookmaker p.idc img {float: none; clear: none; display: none;
+    visibility: hidden; max-width: .001em; padding: 0 0 0 0;}
+.x-ebookmaker p.idc:first-letter {
+    color: inherit; text-indent: 0; margin-left: 0;}
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+.right   {text-align: right; margin-right: 2em;}
+
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;}
+.firstword {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin: 4em auto 4em auto;
+    clear: both;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker hr {
+    margin-top: .1em;
+    margin-bottom: .1em;
+    visibility: hidden;
+    color: white;
+    width: .01em;
+    display: none;
+}
+
+.tb {
+    text-align: center;
+    padding-top: .76em;
+    padding-bottom: .24em;
+    letter-spacing: 1.5em;
+    margin-right: -1.5em;
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .tb {letter-spacing: 1.25em; margin-right: -1.25em;}
+#dialog .tb {
+    padding-bottom: 0;
+    text-align: left;
+    padding-left: 2em;
+    letter-spacing: 1.25em;
+}
+
+table {
+    margin: 1.5em auto .5em auto;
+    max-width: 90%;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker table {width: auto; max-width: 90%; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;}
+
+.tdl {
+    text-align: left;
+    vertical-align: top;
+    padding-right: 1em;
+    padding-left: 1.5em;
+    text-indent: -1.5em;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker .tdl {
+    padding-left: 1em;
+    text-indent: -1em;
+    padding-right: 0;
+}
+
+.tdc {text-align: center;}
+.tdc.chap {
+    font-size: 110%;
+    padding-top: 1.5em;
+    padding-bottom: .5em;
+}
+
+.tdr {
+    text-align: right;
+    vertical-align: bottom;
+    padding-left: .3em;
+    white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.tdr.top {vertical-align: top; padding-left: 0; padding-right: .5em;}
+
+.bt {border-top: thin solid black; padding-top: .2em;}
+.d162 {padding-left: 2.1em; padding-right: 2.2em;}
+
+#toc td, #loi td {padding-bottom: .67em;}
+#toc .xsmall td, #loi .xsmall td {padding-bottom: .2em;}
+.tdl.norpad {padding-right: 0;}
+.fright {float: right; padding-left: 2em;}
+.x-ebookmaker-2 .fright {float: none;}
+
+table.blbr {font-size: smaller;}
+table.blbr .tdl {padding-left: .2em; padding-right: .2em; text-indent: 0;}
+
+table.blbr td {
+  border-right: thin solid black;
+  border-left: thin solid black;
+  padding-left: .2em; padding-right: .2em;
+}
+tr.bt td {border-top: thin solid black;}
+tr.bb td {border-bottom: thin solid black;}
+
+.pagenum {
+  position: absolute;
+  right: .25em;
+  text-indent: 0;
+  text-align: right;
+  font-size: 70%;
+  font-weight: normal;
+  font-variant: normal;
+  font-style: normal;
+  letter-spacing: normal;
+  line-height: normal;
+  color: #acacac;
+  border: .0625em solid #acacac;
+  background: #ffffff;
+  padding: .0625em .125em;
+}
+
+.figcenter   {
+    margin: 2em auto 2em auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+}
+
+img {
+    padding: 1em 0 0 0;
+    max-width: 100%;
+    height: auto;
+}
+
+.caption  {text-align: center; margin-top: 0;}
+
+figcaption.large, figcaption.caption p.large {
+    text-align: right;
+    padding: 0 1em 0 0;
+    margin: 0; text-indent: 0;
+    font-size: .8em;
+    font-style: italic;
+}
+
+ul {margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 0;}
+li {list-style-type: none; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2.5em; text-align: left;}
+.x-ebookmaker ul {margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 0;}
+.x-ebookmaker li {list-style-type: none; padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1.5em;}
+
+.footnotes {
+    border: thin dashed black;
+    margin: 4em 5% 1em 5%;
+    padding: .5em 1em .5em 1.5em;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker .footnotes {margin: 2em 0 1em 0;}
+
+.footnote {font-size: .95em;}
+.footnote p {text-indent: 1em;}
+.footnote p.in0 {text-indent: 0;}
+.footnote p.fn1 {text-indent: -.7em;}
+.footnote p.fn2 {text-indent: -1.1em;}
+
+.fnanchor, .footnote .label {
+    vertical-align: 60%;
+    line-height: .7;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-decoration: none;
+}
+.fnanchor {font-weight: bold; font-size: .8em;}
+.footnote .label {font-size: .8em;}
+
+.index {margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; display: flex; justify-content: center;}
+ul.index {padding-left: 0; display: block; max-width: 30em;}
+li {list-style-type: none; text-align: left;}
+li.indx {list-style-type: none; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em; padding-top: .2em;}
+li.ifrst {padding-top: 1em;}
+ul.list {padding-left: 0; display: block;}
+
+li.pix {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-weight: bold; text-indent: 0;  padding-left: 4em;}
+
+.poetry-container, .center-container {
+    margin: 1.5em auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    font-size: 98%;
+    display: flex;
+    justify-content: center;
+}
+
+.poetry, .container {display: block; text-align: left; margin-left: 0;}
+.x-ebookmaker .poetry {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;}
+.poetry .stanza {padding: 0.5em 0; page-break-inside: avoid;}
+.poetry .verse  {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;}
+
+.poetry .tb {margin: .3em 0 0 0;}
+
+.poetry .attrib {margin-right: -2em; text-align: right; margin-top: -.5em;}
+
+.poetry .indentq  {text-indent: -3.45em;}
+.poetry .indent0  {text-indent: -3em;}
+.poetry .indent2  {text-indent: -2em;}
+.poetry .indent6 {text-indent: 0em;}
+.poetry .indent8 {text-indent: 1em;}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .poetry .tb {text-align: left; padding-left: 2em;}
+
+.transnote {
+    border: .3em double gray;
+    font-family: sans-serif, serif;
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 5%;
+    margin-top: 8em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    padding: 1em;
+}
+.x-ebookmaker .transnote {
+    page-break-before: always;
+    page-break-after: always;
+    margin-left: 2%;
+    margin-right: 2%;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    padding: .5em;
+}
+
+.gesperrt {
+    letter-spacing: 0.2em;
+    margin-right: -0.2em;
+}
+.wspace {word-spacing: .3em;}
+
+span.locked {white-space:nowrap;}
+.pagenum br {display: none; visibility: hidden;}
+sup {font-size: small; vertical-align: 35%;}
+div#dialog {margin: 1em 1em 1em 5%;}
+p.speaker {
+    padding: 0 0 0 0;
+    text-indent: 0;
+    margin: .75em 0 0 0;
+    font-size: .9em;
+}
+div.tb+p.speaker {margin-top: 0;}
+p.dialog {
+    padding: 0 0 0 0;
+    margin-top: 0;
+    text-indent: 0;
+    font-size: .9em;
+    text-align: left;
+}
+.flora {font-style: italic;}
+
+    /* ]]> */ </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76057 ***</div>
+
+<div class="transnote section">
+<p class="center larger">Transcriber’s Note</p>
+
+<p>Larger, higher-quality versions of most illustrations may be seen by
+clicking <i>“(Large)”</i> below them, or right-clicking that option and
+opening the larger image in a new tab or window.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#Transcribers_Notes">Additional notes</a> will be found near the end of this ebook.</p>
+<div> </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section">
+<figure id="cover-small" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img src="images/cover-small.jpg" width="538" height="845" alt="book-cover">
+</figure>
+<div> </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section">
+<figure id="i_map" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img src="images/i_map.jpg" width="1005" height="826" alt="map">
+  <figcaption class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_map_large.jpg">(Large)</a>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+<div> </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section center p4">
+<h1>LONDON PARKS AND GARDENS</h1>
+<div> </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section center">
+<figure id="i_p01c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 42em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p001c.jpg" width="665" height="556" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p001c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    ST. KATHARINE’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+<div>                                                                                                                                                                                                                           </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section center wspace p2">
+<p class="xxlarge vspace">
+LONDON PARKS AND<br>GARDENS</p>
+
+<p class="p2 vspace"><span class="small">BY</span><br>
+<span class="large">THE HON<sup>BLE</sup> MRS. EVELYN CECIL</span></p>
+<p class="smaller">(ALICIA AMHERST)<br>
+<span class="smcap">Citizen and Gardener of London</span></p>
+
+<p class="p1 small">AUTHOR OF “A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND”<br>
+“CHILDREN’S GARDENS,” ETC.</p>
+
+<p class="p2 vspace"><span class="small">WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY</span><br>
+<span class="large">LADY VICTORIA MANNERS</span></p>
+
+<p class="p2">“<i>Reade the whole and then judge</i>”<br>
+
+<span class="in4 smaller"><span class="smcap">John Christopherson</span>,<br>
+<span class="in10">Bishop of Chichester, 1554</span></span></p>
+
+<p class="p2 larger">NEW YORK<br>
+E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY<br>
+1907</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div>                                                                                                                                                                                                                           </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="section center p4 vspace">
+<p class="smaller">
+Printed by<br>
+<span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson &amp; Co.</span><br>
+Edinburgh
+</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div>                                                                                                                                                                                                                           </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2>
+
+<p class="in0"><span class="smcap">In</span> spite of the abundance of books on London, not
+one exists which tells the story of the Parks and
+Gardens as a whole. Some of the Royal Parks have
+been dealt with, and most of the Municipal Parks, but
+in separate works. When Squares are touched on, in
+guide-books, or in volumes to themselves, the Gardens
+are for the most part left alone, and gossip of the
+inhabitants forms the centre of the narrative. This is
+the case also with public buildings and private houses
+which have gardens attached to them. To give a
+sketch of the history of the more important Parks and
+Gardens, and to point out any features of horticultural
+interest, is the object of the following pages. London
+is such a wide word, and means such a different area
+at various periods, that it has been necessary to make
+some hard and fast rule to define the scope of this
+work. I have, therefore, decided to keep strictly to
+the limits of the County of London within the official
+boundaries of the London County Council at the present
+time.</p>
+
+<p>I would express my thanks to the authorities of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span>
+Parks, both Royal and Municipal, for their courtesy in
+affording me information, and to many friends who
+have facilitated my search in historical and private
+gardens. I am also extremely grateful to my friend,
+Miss Margaret MacArthur, who has assisted me in the
+tedious task of correcting proofs. The lists of trees
+and shrubs, and of plants in the beds in Hyde Park, were
+kindly drawn up for me by the Park Superintendent,
+the late Mr. Jordan, with the consent of H.M. Office
+of Works.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+ALICIA M. CECIL.
+</p>
+
+<p class="p0 in0 in1">
+10 <span class="smcap">Eaton Place</span>,<br>
+<span class="in1"><i>August 1907</i>.</span>
+</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table id="toc">
+<tr class="xsmall">
+  <td class="tdc">CHAP.</td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">I.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Introductory</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_1">1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">II.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hyde Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_23">23</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">III.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">St. James’s and Green Parks</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_56">56</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">IV.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Regent’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_83">83</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">V.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Greenwich Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_106">106</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">VI.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Municipal Parks</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_119">119</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">VII.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">South London Parks</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_155">155</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">VIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Commons and Open Spaces</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_185">185</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">IX.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Squares</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_217">217</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">X.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Burial-Grounds</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_242">242</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">XI.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Inns of Court</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_261">261</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">XII.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Historical Gardens</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_289">289</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr top">XIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Private Gardens</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_327">327</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Appendix to Private Gardens: Charlton</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_357">357</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">List of some of the Works Consulted</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_361">361</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens: List of Trees and Shrubs</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_368">368</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdl">INDEX</td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#toclink_377">377</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<table id="loi">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">COLOURED PLATES</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl norpad" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">St. Katharine’s Lodge, Regent’s Park</span>
+<span class="fright"><a href="#i_p01c"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="xsmall">
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><i>Page</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Dolphin Fountain, Hyde Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p38c">38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Autumn Beds, Hyde Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p46c">46</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fountain by Countess Feodor Gleichen, Hyde Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p54c">54</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Crocuses in Early Spring, St. James’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p64c">64</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Autumn in Regent’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p90c">90</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Spring in Regent’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p102c">102</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Waterlow Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p148c">148</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Old English Garden, Brockwell Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p172c">172</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Statue of Pitt, Hanover Square</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p220c">220</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Statue of William III. in St. James’s Square</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p226c">226</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">St. Paul’s Churchyard</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p250c">250</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Bank Garden</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p258c">258</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Inner Temple Garden</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p270c">270</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Fountain Court, Middle Temple</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p276c">276</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Lincoln’s Inn</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p280c">280</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Garden Gates, Gray’s Inn</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p288c">288</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Grey Coat School, Westminster</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p298c">298</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Little Cloister, Westminster Abbey</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p302c">302</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Herbaceous Border, Lambeth Palace</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p306c">306</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">x</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Statue of Charles II., Chelsea Hospital</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p312c">312</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Chelsea Physic Garden</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p324c">324</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Garden of Sir Laurence Alma-Tadema, R.A.</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p334c">334</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Lily Pond, Holland House</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p340c">340</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">St. John’s Lodge, Regent’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p346c">347</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdc chap" colspan="2">IN THE TEXT</td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="xsmall">
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Dolphin Fountain in Hyde Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p39">39</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fountains at the End of the Serpentine</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p43">43</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Corner of the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p81">81</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Stone Vase in Regent’s Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p101">101</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pagoda on the Island, Victoria Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p138">138</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Stoke Newington Church from Clissold Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p143">143</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fountain by Tinworth, Kennington Park</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p167">167</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Statue of Mrs. Siddons, Paddington Green</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p214">214</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Winter Garden, Duke Street, Grosvenor Square</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p220">220</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sun-dial, St. Botolph’s</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p256">256</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Trinity Almshouses, Mile End Road</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p293">293</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Abbey Garden, Westminster</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p301">301</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Garden Gate, Chelsea Hospital</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p314">314</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">In the Garden, St. John’s Lodge</span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_p349">349</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="London_Parks_Gardens"><span id="toclink_1"></span><span class="larger">London Parks &amp; Gardens</span></h2>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I"><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER I</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">INTRODUCTORY</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>London, thou art the Flour of cities all.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">William Dunbar</span>, 1465–1530.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idc idcL"><img src="images/i_idc_l.png" width="176" height="180" alt="L">
+<span class="firstword">London</span> has a peculiar fascination
+of its own, and to a vast number
+of English-speaking people all
+over the world it appeals with
+irresistible force. So much has
+been said and written about it
+that the theme might seem to be
+worn out, yet there are still fresh
+aspects to present, still hidden charms to discover, still
+deep problems to solve. The huge, unwieldly mass,
+which cannot be managed or legislated for as other
+towns, but has to be treated as a county, enfolds within
+its area all the phases of human life. It embraces every
+gradation from wealth to poverty, from the millionaire
+to the pauper alien. The collection of buildings which
+together make London are a most singular assortment
+of innumerable variations between beauty and ugliness,
+between palaces and works of art and hovels of sordid
+and unlovely squalor.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span></p>
+
+<p>An Englishman must be almost without soul who
+can stand for the first time unmoved within the precincts
+of Westminster Abbey or look without satisfaction
+at the faultless proportions of St. Paul’s. The sense of
+possession, the pride of inheritance, are the uppermost
+feelings in his mind. But he who loves not only
+London itself with a patriotic veneration, but also his
+fellow-men, will not rest with the inspection of the
+beautiful. He will journey eastward into the heart of
+the mighty city, and see its seething millions at work,
+its dismal poverty, its relentless hardness. The responsibility
+of heirship comes over him, the sadness, the
+pathos, the evil of it all depresses him, the hopelessness
+of the contrast overpowers him; but apart from all
+ideas of social reform, from legislative action or philanthropic
+theories, there is one thin line of colour
+running through the gloomy picture. The parks and
+gardens of London form bright spots in the landscape.
+They are beyond the pale of controversy; they appeal
+to all sections of the community, to the workers as
+well as to the idlers, to the rich as well as to the
+poor, to the thoughtful as well as to the careless.
+From the utilitarian point of view they are essential.
+They bring new supplies of oxygen, and allow the freer
+circulation of health-giving fresh air. They are not
+less useful as places of exercise and recreation. They
+waft a breath of nature where it is most needed, and
+the part they play in brightening the lives of countless
+thousands cannot be over-estimated.</p>
+
+<p>The parks and gardens of London have a past full
+of historical associations, and at the present time their
+full importance is slowly being realised. Much has
+been done to improve and beautify them, but much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span>
+remains to be achieved in that direction before their
+capabilities will have been thoroughly developed. The
+opportunity is great, and if only the best use can be
+made of it London Parks could be the most beautiful
+as well as the most useful in the world. It is impossible
+to praise or criticise them collectively, as they have
+different origins, are administered by separate bodies,
+and have distinct functions to perform. It cannot be
+denied that the laying out in some and the planting in
+other cases could be improved. Plans could be carried
+out with more taste than is sometimes shown, and new
+ideas be encouraged, but on the whole there is so much
+that is excellent and well done that there is a great deal
+to be proud of.</p>
+
+<p>The various open spaces in London can easily be
+grouped into classes. First there are the Royal Parks,
+with a history and management of their own; then there
+are all the Parks either created or kept up by the London
+County Council, and most of the commons and other
+large open spaces are in their jurisdiction also, though
+a few parks and recreation grounds are under the
+borough councils. Municipal bodies for the most
+part take charge of all the disused burial grounds converted
+into gardens, though some are maintained by
+the parish or the rector. Then there is another class
+of garden which must be included, namely, all the
+squares of London, as, although few are open to the
+public, they form no insignificant proportion of the
+unbuilt area.</p>
+
+<p>All through London there are survivals of old
+gardens, which are still either quiet and concealed, or
+thrown open to the public. Such are the grounds of
+the Charterhouse, of Chelsea Hospital, or of the Foundling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span>
+Hospital, and of other old-world haunts of peace. The
+rarest thing in London are the private gardens, yet they
+too go to make up the aggregate lungs of the city.
+Out of a total of upwards of 75,000 acres there are
+in round numbers some 6000 acres of parks, commons,
+squares, and open spaces in London: of these
+a little over 4000 acres are in the hands of the London
+County Council. Besides this it administers nearly
+900 acres outside the county. The City of London
+owns large forest tracts, commons, and parks beyond
+the limit of the County of London—Epping, Burnham
+Beeches, Highgate Wood, and parks in West Ham,
+Kilburn, &amp;c.—altogether nearly 6500 acres.</p>
+
+<p>London is such a wide word, it is difficult to set a
+limit, and to decide what open spaces actually belong
+to London. As the town stretches away into the
+country, it is impossible to see the boundaries of London.
+The line must be drawn near where the chimney-pots
+become incessant, and the stems of the trees become
+black. But the degree of blackness, dirt, and density
+is impossible to decide; so a prosaic, matter-of-fact, but
+necessary rule has been adhered to in the following pages,
+of keeping as strictly as possible to the actual defined
+limits of the County of London. Therefore all the parks
+owned by the City Corporation or London County
+Council outside this limit have not been dealt with, and
+such places as Chiswick, Kew, Richmond, or Gunnersbury
+have been omitted.</p>
+
+<p>To get to some of these places involves a considerable
+journey. Many of the outlying parks have to be
+reached by train, or by a very long drive, or tram ride.
+From Hyde Park Corner, for instance, to Bostall Wood
+or Avery Hill is a long expedition. To the fortunate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span>
+few who possess motor cars the distances are trifling, but
+the vast majority of people must exercise considerable
+ingenuity, and possess a good bump of locality, if they
+wish to visit all London’s open spaces. A knowledge
+of the distant places, the names of which are inscribed
+in large letters on every omnibus, is necessary. The
+Royal Oak, Elephant and Castle, or Angel, are but
+starting-places for the more distant routes, although
+they form the goal of green, red, or blue ’busses. The
+electric trams of South London have made the approach
+to Dulwich, Peckham, Greenwich, and many other parks
+much more simple, and motor ’busses rattle along close to
+even the distant Golder’s Hill or Highbury Fields. With
+a railway time-table, a good eye for colour in selecting
+the right omnibus, and a knowledge of the points of the
+compass, every green patch in London can be reached
+with ease, even by those whose purses are not long
+enough to let them indulge in motors, or whose nerves
+are not steady enough to let them venture on bicycles.</p>
+
+<p>Each park forms the central point of some large
+district, and they are not dependent on the casual visitor
+for appreciation. Every single green spot, on a fine
+Saturday throughout the year, is peopled with a crowd
+from the neighbourhood, and on every day in the year,
+winter as well as summer, almost every open space has
+a ceaseless throng of comers and goers.</p>
+
+<p>What is the cost of maintenance of these parks is a
+question that will naturally occur; and the answer in
+many cases is easy to find, as the statistics of both the
+London County Council Parks, published in their handbook,
+and those of the Royal Parks, which are submitted
+to Parliament every year, are accessible. The following
+extracts may, however, be useful. In looking at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span>
+two sets of figures, of course the acreage must be borne
+in mind, and the great expense of police in the Royal
+Parks, amounting to £8782 for Hyde Park alone, must
+be deducted before any fair comparison can be made,
+even when results are not considered.</p>
+
+<table id="t6a" class="blbr">
+<tr class="bt bb">
+  <td rowspan="2"></td>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="6">1907–8.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"><span class="locked">1906–7.</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="bt bb">
+  <td class="tdc"> Acres.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Wages and Salaries.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Police, Park-keepers.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> New Works and Alterations.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Mainte-<br>nance.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Total.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Total.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">1. Greenwich</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 185   </td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 225</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  1,090</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   175</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   3,737</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   5,319</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   4,554</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">     {Hyde Park   }<br>2. { St. James’s }<br>    { Green Park }</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 509½</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 724</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 12,153</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 4,965</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 50,886</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 69,269</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 48,835</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">3. Kensington<br>      Gardens</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 274   </td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 138</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  1,590</td>
+  <td class="tdc">     50</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   5,831</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   7,730</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   7,804</td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="bb">
+  <td class="tdl">     {Regent’s Park}<br>4. {        and         }<br>    {Primrose Hill }</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 472½</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 290</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  2,171</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   300</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 11,417</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 14,542</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 13,329</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="b1 center">
+<cite>Taken from the Estimates for 1907–8.</cite>
+</p>
+
+<table id="t6b" class="blbr">
+<tr class="bt bb">
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Acres.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Net Aggregate Capital Expenditure.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Average Cost of Maintenance.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Number of Staff.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"></td>
+  <td class="tdc"></td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> £</td>
+  <td class="tdc"></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Battersea</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 199   </td>
+  <td class="tdc">  21,042</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 10,897 </td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 92</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Brockwell</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 127¼</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 114,322</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  4,493</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 34</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Dulwich</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 72 </td>
+  <td class="tdc">  45,510</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  3,330</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 28</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Finsbury</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 115  </td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 137,934</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  7,649</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 52</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Victoria</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 217  </td>
+  <td class="tdc">  38,430</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 12,099 </td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 107  </td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="bb">
+  <td class="tdl">Waterlow</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 26</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  11,178</td>
+  <td class="tdc">  2,658</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 24</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="b1 center">
+<cite>Taken from L.C.C. Handbook No. 1009, 1906.</cite>
+</p>
+
+<p>London has always been a city of gardens, and
+although much boast is made of the newly-acquired
+open spaces, a wail for those destroyed would have equal
+justification. It is very terrible that everything in life<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span>
+has to be learnt by slow and hard lessons, dearly purchased
+under the iron rod of experience. It is not till
+the want of a green spot is brought painfully home to
+people by its loss, that the thought of saving the last
+remaining speck of greenery is borne in upon them with
+sufficient force to transform the wish into action. For
+generations garden after garden has passed into building
+land. No one has a right to grudge the wealth or prosperity
+that has accrued in consequence, but the wish that
+the benevolence and foresight of past days had taken a
+different bent, and that a more systematic retention of
+some of the town gardens had received attention, cannot
+be banished.</p>
+
+<p>When Roman civilisation had been swept away in
+Britain, and with it all vestiges of the earliest gardens,
+there are no vestiges of horticulture until Christianity had
+taken hold of the country, and religious houses were
+rising up in various parts of the kingdom. The cradle
+of modern gardening may be said to have been within
+the peaceful walls of these monastic foundations. In no
+part of the country were they more numerous than in
+and around London, and it is probable that every establishment
+had its garden for the supply of vegetables, and
+more particularly medicinal herbs. Attached to most
+of them, there was also a special garden for the production
+of flowers for decoration on church festivals. It is
+probable that the earliest London gardens were of this
+monastic character, and as long as the buildings were
+maintained the gardens were in existence. The Grey,
+the Black, the White, and the Austin Friars all had
+gardens within their enclosures; and the Hospitaller
+Orders—the Templars and Knights of St. John—had
+large gardens within their precincts. The Temple<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span>
+Garden is still one of the charms of London, but only
+the old gateway of the Priory of St. John in Clerkenwell
+remains, and the garden, with all its historical
+associations, has long since vanished. It was in a small
+upper room, “next the garden in the Hospital of St.
+John of Jerusalem in England, without the bars of
+West Smythfield,” that Henry VII., in the first year
+of his reign, gave the Great Seal to John Morton,
+Bishop of Ely, and appointed him Chancellor, and he
+“carried the seal with him” to his house, Ely Place,
+hard by.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> These small references show the picturesque
+side of such events, the gardens constantly being the
+background of the scenes.</p>
+
+<p>It is only one more of the regrettable results of the
+barbarous way in which the Reformation was carried out
+in England, that the gardens shared the fate of the
+stately buildings round whose sheltering walls they
+flourished. It is not easy to picture the desolation of
+those days: the unkept, uncared-for garden, trodden
+under foot, makes the forlorn aspect of the despoiled
+monasteries more pathetic.</p>
+
+<p>London was a city of palaces in Plantagenet times,
+and the great nobles had their gardens near or surrounding
+their castles. Bayard’s Castle, facing the river for
+centuries, had its gardens, and there were spacious
+gardens within the precincts of the Tower when it was
+the chief royal residence in London, and outside the
+walls of the City fine dwellings and large gardens were
+clustered together. Among the most famous in the
+thirteenth century was the Earl of Lincoln’s, purchased
+from the Dominicans, when they outgrew their demesne
+in Holborn, and migrated to the riverside, where their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span>
+memory ever lives under their popular name of the Black
+Friars. Minute accounts of the expenses of this garden
+are preserved in the Manor Roll, and a very fairly
+accurate picture of what it was can be pieced together.
+The chief flowers in it were roses, and the choicest to
+be found at that date, the sweet-scented double red
+“rosa gallica,” would be in profusion. It might be that,
+in the shady corners of the garden, periwinkle trailed
+upon the ground, and violets perfumed the air. White
+Madonna lilies reared their stately heads among the
+clove pinks, lavender, and thyme. Peonies, columbines,
+hollyhocks, honeysuckle, corncockles, and iris,
+white, purple, and yellow, made no mean show. The
+orchard could boast of many kinds of pears and apples,
+cherries and nuts. A piece of water described as “the
+greater ditch”<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> formed the fish stew where pike were
+kept and artificially fed. Besides all this, there was a
+considerable vineyard. It was thought a favourable spot
+for vines, and the Bishop of Ely’s vineyard, the site of
+which is still remembered by Vine Street, was hard by.
+A good deal of imagination is now required to conjure
+up a picture of a vintage in Holborn. Amid the crowd
+of cabs, carts, carriages, and omnibuses rolling all
+day over the Viaduct from Oxford Street to the heart of
+the City, it needs as fertile a brain as that of the poet
+who pictured the vision of poor Susan as she listens
+to the song of the bird in Wood Street to call up such
+a scene. The gardens sloping down to the “bourne”
+were carefully enclosed—the Earl of Lincoln’s by strong
+wooden palings, that of Ely Place by a thorn hedge
+with wooden gates fitted with keys and locks.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span>
+inner gardens, that were specially reserved for the Bishop,
+the great garden and the “grassyard,” were separated by
+railings and locked doors from the vineyard. The
+“grassyard” was mown, and a tithe of the proceeds
+from the sale of the grass paid to the Rector of St.
+Andrew’s, Holborn. The wine produced was more
+of the character of vinegar, and was also sold; as much
+as thirty gallons of this “verjuice” was produced in
+one year. Extra hands were hired to weed and dress
+the vineyard, and apparently the vineyard entailed a
+good deal of trouble, and for many years it was let.
+Think of a warm day in early autumn, clusters of grapes
+hanging from the twisted vines, men and women in gay
+colours carrying baskets of ripe fruit to the vats where
+they were trodden, and the crimson juice squeezed out;
+the mellow rays of the sinking sun light up the high
+walls and many towers of the City, and the distant pile
+of Westminster is half hidden by the mists rising from
+the river, while there, too, the vintage is in full swing,
+and the song<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> of the grape-gatherers breaks the stillness
+of the October evening. Away to the north the landscape
+is bounded by the wooded heights of Hampstead
+and Highgate. Most of the country round London
+then was forest land, and in spite of the changes of
+centuries a few acres of the original forest remain in
+Highgate Woods to this day, now owned by the Corporation
+of London. Between the hills and the city on the
+north-east lay the marshy ground known as Moorfields,
+for some 800 years the favourite resort of Londoners
+wishing to take the air. Gradually this open space
+has been built over, although a few green patches, such
+as Finsbury Square, the Artillery Ground, or the more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span>
+distant Bunhill Fields, have remained through the changes
+time has wrought. This space might have been like
+one of the other heaths or commons of London, a
+beautiful open space in the heart of the town, but the
+supposed exigencies of modern civilisation, with the usual
+want of foresight, have banished the life-giving fresh air,
+and the Corporation of London has had to go far afield,
+to Burnham Beeches and Epping Forest, to supply what
+once was at its door. Literally at its door, as the
+busy street of Moorgate recalls the Mayor, Thomas
+Falconer by name, who in 1415 “caused the wall of
+the citie to be broken neere unto Coleman Street, and
+there builded a posterne now called <em>Moorgate</em>, upon the
+Mooreside, where was never gate before. This gate he
+made for ease of the citizens, that way to passe upon
+cawseys into the Field for their recreation.”<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> The fields
+in question were at that time a marsh, and though some
+fifty years later “dikes and bridges” were made, it was
+many years before the whole moor was drained. The
+task at one time seemed so difficult that the chronicler
+Stowe, in 1598, feared that even if the earth was raised
+until it was level with the city walls it would be “but
+little dryer,” such was the “moorish” nature of the
+ground. Moorfields was the scene of many curious
+dramas during its history. It was the great place for
+displays, sham fights, and sports of the citizens. Pepys
+notes in his Diary, July 26, 1664, that there was much
+discourse about “the fray yesterday in Moorfields, how
+the butchers at first did beat the weavers (between whom
+there hath been ever an old competition for mastery),
+but at last the weavers rallied and beat them.” Such
+scenes were very frequent, and Moorfields for generations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span>
+was the theatre of such contests. During the time of
+the Great Fire, numbers of homeless people camped out
+there, passing days of discomfort and anxiety about their
+few remaining household goods. Pepys in his casual
+way alludes to them: “5th September, ... Into Moorefields
+(our feet ready to burn, walking through the town
+among hot coles), and find that full of people, and poor
+wretches carrying their goods there, and everybody
+keeping his goods together by themselves (and a great
+blessing it is to them that it is fair weather for them to
+keep abroad night and day); drunk there and paid
+twopence for a plain penny loaf.” The “trained bands”
+used Moorfields as their exercise ground, and no doubt
+the prototype of John Gilpin disported himself there.
+As the fields were drained after 1527 they became more
+and more the favourite resort of citizens of all ranks.
+Laid out more as a public garden in 1606, they continued
+the chief open space of the city until a few
+generations ago.</p>
+
+<p>The garden of the Drapers’ Company was another
+of the lungs of the City, and the disappearance of the
+great part of it, also within recent years, is much to be
+regretted. This land was purchased by the Company
+from Henry VIII. after the garden had been made by
+Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, and forfeited on his
+attainder. His method of increasing his garden was
+simple enough. He appears to have taken what he
+wanted from the citizens adjoining, and his all-powerful
+position at the time left them without redress. Stowe
+describes the way this land was filched away. “This
+house being finished, and having some reasonable plot
+of ground left for a garden, hee caused the pales of the
+gardens adjoining to the north part thereof, on a sudden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span>
+to be taken doune, 22 foot to be measured forth right
+into the north of every man’s ground, a line then to
+be drawn, a trench to be cast, a foundation laid, and an
+high bricke wall to be builded. My Father had a garden
+there, and there was a house standing close to his south
+pale; this house they loosed from the ground, and bare
+upon Rowlers into my Father’s garden 22 foot ere my
+Father heard thereof.... No man durst goe to argue
+the matter, but each man lost his Land.”</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to estimate whether the charitable munificence
+of the Company is altogether as great a public
+benefit, from a health point of view, as retaining some
+of the garden for public use would have been. Men are
+naturally so conservative, that, because they have been
+content to talk and do business, and even search for a
+breath of air, in the crowded streets on the hottest
+summer days, it has probably never occurred to them
+that a few minutes on a seat under shady trees would
+have “refreshed their spirits,” and the addition of
+better air improved their brain powers more effectually.
+The idea of a garden city is such a new one that it
+is not fair to judge by such standards. Distances are
+now much reduced by electricity above and below
+ground, so that the necessity of crowding business
+houses together to save time is not so all-important.
+When the City gardens became built over, no doubt the
+newer and more sanitary conditions were felt amply to
+compensate for the loss of oxygen given off by the
+growing plants, and the preservation of air spaces in the
+midst of crowded centres had not occurred to men’s
+minds.</p>
+
+<p>London four or five hundred years ago must indeed
+have needed its gardens. The squalor and dirt of its<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span>
+cramped streets, the noisy clamour, the rough and uncouth
+manners, are unpleasing to realise. The contrast
+of the little walled gardens, where the women could sit,
+and the busy men find a little quiet from the noise
+outside, must indeed have been precious. The profession
+of a gardener, however, did not seem to soften
+their behaviour, for some of the worst offenders were
+gardeners. So serious did the “scurrility, clamour, and
+nuisance of the gardeners and their servants,” who sold
+their fruit and vegetables in the market, become, that
+they disturbed the Austin Friars at their prayers in the
+church hard by, and caused so much annoyance to the
+people living near, that in 1345 a petition, to have these
+“gardeners of the earls, barons, bishops, and citizens”
+removed to another part of the town, was presented to
+the Lord Mayor. Later on, gardening operations in the
+City and for six miles round were restricted to freemen
+and apprentices of the Gardeners’ Company, and the sale
+of vegetables was almost exclusively in their hands. Their
+guild had power to seize and destroy all bad plants, or
+those exposed for sale by unlicensed persons. The
+Gardeners’ Company, incorporated in 1605, had a second
+charter in 1616, and a confirmation of their rights in
+1635, and it still remains one of the City companies.</p>
+
+<p>All the smaller householders, even in the crowded
+parts, continued to enjoy their little gardens for many
+centuries. Even after the spoliation of the monasteries,
+the houses rebuilt on their sites had their little enclosures;
+and large houses such as Sir William Pawlet’s,
+on the ground of the Augustine monastery, or later on
+Sir Christopher Hatton’s on Ely Place, had their gardens
+around them. Even now, in the heart of London, a small
+row of shabby old houses survives, each with a small garden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span>
+attached to it. These are called Nevill Court, from the
+site having been within the precincts owned by Ralph
+Nevill, Bishop of Chichester, Chancellor in the time of
+Henry III., who built a great palace near here. One of
+the row belongs to the Moravian Mission, or United
+Brothers, a sect who trace their origin to John Huss.
+They settled in this house in 1737. This old-world
+corner opens out of Fetter Lane. A small wooden
+paling separates the minute strips of blackened garden
+from a narrow paved pathway. There were many such
+gardens in this locality less than a century ago. Charles
+Lamb, when aged six, went to school to a Mr. Bird in
+Bond Stables, off Fetter Lane, now vanished; and, returning
+to the spot in 1825, he recalled the early associations:
+“The school-room stands where it did, looking
+into a discoloured, dingy garden.... Oh, how I remember
+... the truant looks side-long to the garden,
+which seemed a mockery of our imprisonment.” Would
+that some antiquarian millionaire—if such a combination
+exists!—might take into his head to preserve Nevill
+Court, to restore the houses and renovate the gardens,
+and preserve this relic of Old London, to give future
+generations some idea of what the smaller dwelling-houses
+in the old city were like. In most districts these
+little gardens were the usual appendage to dwelling-houses.
+Pepys, living in Seething Lane, often mentions
+his garden. It was there he sat with his wife and taught
+her maid to sing; it was there he watched the flames
+spreading over the town at the time of the Great Fire;
+and in it his money was buried during the scare of the
+Dutch invasion. So carelessly, indeed, was the money
+hidden that 100 gold pieces were lost, but eventually
+most of them recovered by sweeping the grass and sifting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span>
+the soil. The natural way in which Pepys mentions how
+other people—Sir W. Batten and Mrs. Turner—during
+the Fire buried in their city gardens their wine and
+other goods they could not send to the country, that
+is, Bethnal Green, only shows how general these little
+plots were.</p>
+
+<p>Gerard, that delightful old herbalist and gardener to
+Lord Burghley, in Elizabeth’s reign, had his own garden in
+Holborn. In it flourished no less than some 972 varieties
+of plants, of which he published a catalogue in 1596.
+His friend and fellow-botanist, L’Obel, whose name is
+best remembered by the familiar genus Lobelia, testified
+that he had seen all the plants on the list actually growing
+there. The great faith and skill with which these old
+gardeners attempted to grow in London all the newly-acquired
+floral treasures, from all parts of the world, is
+truly touching. To make them “denizons of our
+London gardens” was Gerard’s delight. And this
+worthy ambition was shared by L’Obel, who looked after
+Lord Zouche’s garden in Hackney; by John Parkinson,
+author of the delightful work on gardening; and later
+on, the mantle descended to the Tradescants, who had
+their museum (the nucleus of the Ashmolean) or “Ark”
+and garden in Lambeth; by Sir Hans Sloane, who
+established the Physic Garden in Chelsea, and numerous
+others. It is curious to think how many of the plants
+now familiar everywhere made their first appearance in
+London. They were not reared elsewhere and brought to
+the large shows which are arranged in the metropolis to
+exhibit novelties to the public, but really London-grown.
+They were foreign importations, little seeds or bulbs,
+sent home to the merchants trading with the Levant,
+or brought back by enterprising explorers from the New<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span>
+World and carefully nurtured in the London gardens,
+that the citizens “set such store by.” There were
+several of these “worshipful gentlemen” to whom the
+introduction of flowers is due, and of many a plant
+Gerard could say with pride, they “are strangers to
+England, notwithstanding I have them in my garden.”
+Most plants were grown for use, but others “we have
+them,” says Gerard, “in our London gardens rather
+more for toyes of pleasure than any vertues they are
+possessed with.” Some of the first potatoes introduced
+were grown in London. Gerard had those in his garden
+direct from Virginia, and prized them as “a meat for
+pleasure.” Jerusalem artichokes were brought to London
+by him, and grown there in early days (1617). Parkinson
+also had them, calling them “Potatos of Canada.”
+Bananas were first seen in England in Johnson’s the
+herbalist’s shop in Snow Hill. At a much later date—early
+in last century—the fuchsia was made known for
+the first time to Lee, a celebrated gardener, who saw a
+pot of this attractive plant in the window of a house in
+Wapping, where a sailor had brought it as a present to
+his wife. So attached to it was she, that she only parted
+with it when a sum of eight guineas was offered, besides
+two of the young rooted cuttings. London can claim
+so many flowers, it would be tedious to enumerate
+them all. The first cedars in this country grew in the
+Chelsea Physic Garden, some of the first orchids at
+Loddige’s Garden in Hackney, and many things have
+emanated from Veitch’s Nursery, or the Botanical
+Gardens in Regent’s Park, or the gardens which used
+to belong to the Royal Horticultural Society in South
+Kensington. The chrysanthemum in early days flourished
+in Stoke Newington, and one of the very first results of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span>
+cross-fertilisation, which now forms the chief part of
+scientific garden work, was accomplished by Fairchild, a
+famous nurseryman at Hoxton, who died in 1730.</p>
+
+<p>This same Thomas Fairchild left a bequest for a
+sermon, to be preached annually on Whit Tuesday, at St.
+Leonard’s, Shoreditch, on “the Wonderful Works of God
+in the Creation,” which is still delivered, often by most
+excellent preachers, but to a sadly small and unappreciative
+congregation. Every opportunity ought to be taken
+to awaken the interest in these wonders of creation in
+the vegetable kingdom, and so much might be done in
+London Parks. They are too frequently merely places
+of recreation, and until recently but little has been
+attempted to arouse enthusiasm for the beauties of
+nature, and to make them instructive as well as attractive.
+Even in the crowded heart of London a great deal could
+be effected, and it is a satisfaction to feel that attention
+is being drawn to the subject and an effort being made in
+the right direction. In the summer of 1906 a “Country
+in Town Exhibition” was held in Whitechapel. This
+novel idea was so successful, and met with such appreciation,
+that 33,250 people visited the exhibition during
+the fortnight it was open, besides the hundreds that
+collected to see H.R.H. Princess Christian perform the
+opening ceremony. The available space of the Whitechapel
+Art Gallery was filled with plants that would
+thrive in London; the Office of Works arranged a
+demonstration of potting; bees at work, aquaria, specimens
+dried by children or drawn in the schools, growing
+specimens of British plants, such as the dainty bee-orchis,
+plants and window boxes grown in the district, and such-like,
+made up the exhibits. Lectures were organised on
+plant life and nature in London which were largely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span>
+attended. A series of drawings and plans of the Mile
+End Road and Shadwell, as they are, and as they might
+be, were prepared, and the cost of such transformations
+was worked out. These were exhibited in the hopes of
+awakening the interest of the Corporation who owns the
+site of the disused market in Shadwell, and of causing
+more to be done in the Mile End Road. It appears that
+with a comparatively small expenditure and ultimate loss,
+these plans could be realised, and the physical and moral
+conditions of the whole neighbourhood improved.</p>
+
+<p>Every year it is further to get into the country
+from the centres of population, and the necessity of
+improving existing open spaces becomes all the greater.
+By improving it is not meant to suggest that what are
+sometimes called improvements should be carried out;
+grander band-stands, handsome railings, more asphalt
+paths or stiff concrete ponds. No, it is only more
+intelligent planting, grouping for artistic effect, and
+arranging to demonstrate the wonders of nature in
+spaces already in existence, and to suggest what could
+be done to cheer and brighten the dark spots of the
+city.</p>
+
+<p>The country round London has always been a good
+district for wild flowers; the varied soils, aspects, and
+levels all go to make it a propitious spot for botanising.
+Many places now covered with streets were a few generations
+ago a mass of wild flowers. The older herbalists—Gerard,
+Johnson, and their friends—used to search the
+neighbourhood of London for floral treasures, and incidentally
+in their works the names of these friends, such
+as Mr. James Clarke and Mr. Thomas Smith, “Apothecaries
+of London,” and their “search for rare plants”
+are mentioned. Gerard was constantly on the watch,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span>
+and records plants seen in the quaintest places, such as
+the water-radish, which he says grew “in the joints or
+chincks amongst mortar of a stone wall that bordereth
+upon the river Thames by the Savoy in London, which
+yee cannot finde but when the tide is much spent.”
+Pennyroyal “was found on the common near London
+called Miles ende,” “from whence poore women bring
+plentie to sell in London markets.” The rare adders-tongue
+and great wild valerian grew in damp meadows,
+the fields abounded with all the more common wild
+flowers, and such choice things as the pretty little
+“ladies’ tresses,” grew on the common near Stepney,
+while butcher’s broom, cow wheat, golden rod, butterfly
+orchis, lilies of the valley and royal fern, wortleberries and
+bilberries covered the heaths and woods of Hampstead and
+Highgate. Many another flower is recorded by Gerard,
+who must have had a keen and observant eye which
+could spot a rare water-plant in a ditch while attending
+an execution at Tyburn! yet he meekly excuses his want
+of knowledge of where a particular hawkweed grew,
+saying, “I meane, God willing, better to observe heerafter,
+as oportunitie shall serve me.” That power of observation
+is a gift to be fostered and encouraged, and were
+that achieved by education in Council Schools, a great
+success would have been scored, and probably it would
+be more fruitful in the child’s after life than the scattered
+crumbs from countless subjects with which the brain is
+bewildered. The wild flowers could still be enticed
+within the County of London, and species, which used
+to make their homes within its area, might be induced
+at least to visit some corners of its parks. The more
+dingy the homes of children are, the more necessary it
+must be to bring what is simple, pure, and elevating to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span>
+their minds, and modern systems of teaching are realising
+this. If public gardens can be brought to lend their aid
+in the actual training, as well as being a playground,
+they will serve a twofold purpose. An old writer
+quaintly puts this influence of plant life. “Flowers
+through their beautie, varietie of colour and exquisite
+forme, do bring to a liberall and gentle manly mind,
+the remembrance of honestie, comelinesse, and all kindes
+of vertues. For it would be an unseemly and filthie
+thing, as a certain wise man saith, for him that doth looke
+upon and handle faire and beautifull things, and who frequenteth
+and is conversant in faire and beautifull places,
+to have his mind not faire but filthie and deformed.”</p>
+
+<p>It is not possible for all London children to get into
+the country now that it is further away, so the more
+of nature, as well as true artistic gardening, they can be
+shown in the parks the better. It used in olden days to
+be the custom, among other May Day revels, to go out
+to the country round London and enjoy the early spring
+as the Arabs do at the present time, when they have the
+fête of “Shem-en-Nazim,” or “Smelling the Spring.”
+“On May day in the morning, every man, except impediment,
+would walk into the Sweet Meddowes and
+green woods, there to rejoyce their spirits with the
+beauty and Savour of sweet Flowers, and with the harmonie
+of Birdes, praising God in their kinde.”<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> It
+would surprise many people to learn how many birds
+still sing their praises within the parks of London,
+although the meadows and other delights have vanished.
+This serves to encourage the optimist in believing in
+the future possibilities of London Parks.</p>
+
+<p>There is no “park system” in England as in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span>
+United States of America, where each town provides, in
+addition to its regular lines of streets, and its main
+thoroughfares leading straight from the centre to the
+more suburban parts, a complete system of parks. The
+more old-fashioned town of Boston was behind the rest,
+although it contained a few charming public gardens in
+the heart of the town. Of late years large tracts of
+low-lying waste grounds have been filled up, and one
+piece connected with another, until it, too, rejoices in
+a complete “park system.” Chicago, Pittsburgh, and all
+these modern towns of rapid growth possess a well-ordered
+“park system.” The conditions, the natural
+aspect of the country, and the climate are so unlike our
+own that no comparison is fair. Like everything else in
+the United States, they are on a large scale, and while there
+is much to admire, and something to learn, there is very
+little in the points in which they differ from us that
+could be imitated. London parks and open spaces, taken
+as a whole, are unrivalled. The history and associations
+which cluster round each and all of them, would fill
+volumes if recorded facts were adhered to; and if the
+imagination were allowed to run riot within the range of
+possibility, there would be no limit. Things which have
+grown gradually as circumstances changed can have no
+system. Their variety and irregularity is their charm,
+and no description of either the parks, gardens, or open
+spaces of London can be given as a whole. Each has
+its own associations, its own history, and to glance at
+some of London’s bright spots and tell their stories will
+be the endeavour of these pages.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II"><span id="toclink_23"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER II</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">HYDE PARK</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>The Park shone brighter than the skyes,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Sing tan-tara-rara-tantivee,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>With jewels and gold, and Ladies’ eyes,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>That sparkled and cry’d come see me:</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Of all parts of England, Hide Park hath the name,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>For coaches and Horses and Persons of fame,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>It looked at first sight, like a field full of flame,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Which made me ride up tan-tivee.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">News from Hide Park</span>, an old ballad, <i>c.</i> 1670.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcI"><img src="images/i_idc_i.png" width="178" height="182" alt="I">
+<span class="firstword">In</span> writing about London Parks the
+obvious starting-point seems to be
+the group comprising Hyde, Green,
+and St. James’s Parks, which are so
+intimately connected with London
+life to-day, and have a past teeming
+with interest. What changes
+some of those elms have witnessed!
+Generation after generation of the world of fashion have
+passed beneath their shades. Dainty ladies with powder
+and patches have smiled at their beaux, perhaps concealing
+aching hearts by a light and careless gaiety.
+Stately coaches and prancing horsemen have passed
+along. Crowds of enthusiasts for various causes have
+aired their grievances on the green turf. Brilliant reviews
+and endless parades have taken place on the wide
+open spaces; games and races have amused thousands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span>
+of spectators. In still earlier times there was many a
+day’s good sport after the deer, or many a busy hour’s
+ploughing the abbey lands of the then Manor of Hyde.
+Scene after scene can be pictured down to the present
+time, when, after centuries of change, the enjoyment of
+these Parks remains perhaps one of the most treasured
+privileges of the Londoner.</p>
+
+<p>In tracing the history of their various phases, the
+survival of many features is as remarkable as the disappearance
+of others. The present limits on the north
+and east, Bayswater Road and Park Lane, have suffered
+no substantial alteration since the roads were known as
+the Via Trimobantina and the Watling Street in Roman
+times. The Watling Street divided, and one section
+followed the course of the present Oxford Street to the
+City; the other, passing down the line of Park Lane,
+crossed St. James’s Park, and so to the ford over the
+Thames at Westminster. The Park was never common
+or waste land, but must have been cleared and cultivated
+in very early times. In Domesday Survey the Manor
+was in plough and pasture land, with various “villains”
+and peasants living on it. The Thames was the southern
+boundary of the Manor of “Eia,” which was divided
+into three parts, one being Hyde, the site of the existing
+Hyde Park, the other two Ebury and Neate. Although
+now forgotten, the latter name was familiar for
+many centuries. When owned by the Abbots of Westminster,
+the Manor House by the riverside was of some
+importance, and John of Gaunt stayed there. Famous
+nurseries and a tea garden, “the Neate houses,” marked
+the spot in the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Until the stormy days of the Reformation these lands
+remained much the same. Owned by the Abbey of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span>
+Westminster, they were probably well cultivated by
+their tenants, and doubtless the game with which they
+abounded from early times afforded the Abbot some
+pleasant days’ sport and tasty meals. The first time
+any of the Manor became part of the royal demesne,
+was when the Abbot Islip exchanged 100 acres of what
+is now St. James’s Park, adjoining the royal lands, for
+Poughley in Berkshire, with Henry VIII. in 1531–2.
+This Abbot, who had an ingenious device to represent
+his name—a human eye and a cutting or “slip” of a tree—died
+in the Manor House of Neate or Neyte the
+same year. He gave up the lands from Charing Cross
+“unto the Hospital of St. James in the fields” (now
+St. James’s Palace), and the meadows between the
+Hospital and Westminster. Five years later, when the
+upheaval of the dissolution of the monasteries was
+taking place, the monks of Westminster were forced to
+take the lands of the Priory of Hurley—one of their own
+cells just dissolved—in exchange for the rest of the manor.
+Henry VIII., who loved sport, found these lands first-rate
+hunting-ground. From his palace at Westminster,
+through Hyde Park, right away to Hampstead, he had
+an almost uninterrupted stretch of country, where hares
+and herons, pheasants and partridges, could be pursued
+and preserved “for his own disport and pastime.”
+Hyde Park was enclosed, or “substancially empayled,”
+as an old writer states, and a large herd of deer kept
+there, and various proclamations show that the right
+of sport had to be jealously guarded.</p>
+
+<p>What a gay scene must Hyde Park have often witnessed
+in Elizabeth’s reign. The Queen, when not
+actually joining in the chase, watched the proceedings
+from the hunting pavilion, or “princelye standes therein,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span>
+and feasted the guests in the banqueting-house. There
+were brilliantly caparisoned horses, men and women in
+costly velvets and brocades, stiff frills, plumed hats and
+embroidered gloves. Picture the <i lang="fr">cortège</i> entering by the
+old lodge, where now is Hyde Park Corner, the honoured
+guest, for whom the day’s sport was inaugurated—such
+as John Casimir, son of the Elector Palatine, who showed
+his skill by killing a particular deer out of a herd of 300—surrounded
+by some of his foreign attendants, and
+escorted by all the court gallants of the day.</p>
+
+<p>The Park must then have been as wild as the New
+or Sherwood Forests of to-day. The tall trees, with
+their sturdy stems, were then untouched by smoky
+air, the sylvan glades and pasture lands had no distant
+vistas of houses and chimneys to spoil their rural aspect,
+while far off the pile of the buildings of Westminster
+Abbey—without the conspicuous towers, which were
+not finished till 1714—might be seen rising beyond the
+swamps and fens of St. James’s Park. Hyde Park on
+a May evening even now is still beautiful, if looked at
+from the eastern side across a golden mist, against
+which the dark trees stand up mysteriously, when a
+glow of sunset light seems to transform even ragged
+little Cockney children into fairies. It wants but little
+imagination to see that same golden haze peopled with
+huntsmen, and to hear the sound of the horn instead
+of the roar of carriages.</p>
+
+<p>The next scene which can be brought vividly before
+the mind’s eye is very different from the last pageant.
+These are troublous times. The monarch and his
+courtiers are occupied in far other pursuits than hunting
+deer. Charles I. was fighting in the vain endeavour
+to keep his throne, and Londoners were preparing to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span>
+defend the city. Hyde Park and Green Park became
+the theatre of warlike operations. Forts were raised
+and trenches were dug. Two small forts, one on Constitution
+Hill and one near the present Mount Street
+in Hyde Park, were made, but the more important were
+those on the present sites of the Marble Arch and of
+Hamilton Place. The energy displayed on the occasion
+is described by Butler in “Hudibras,” and the part taken
+by women in the work. Like the “sans culottes” of
+the French Revolution, they helped with their own
+hands.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Women, who were our first apostles,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Without whose aid w’ had all been lost else;</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">March’d rank and file, with drum and ensign,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">T’ entrench the city for defence in;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Rais’d rampires with their own soft hands,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">To put the enemy to stands;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">From ladies down to oyster-wenches</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Labour’d like pioneers in trenches,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Fell to their pickaxes and tools,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And helped the men to dig like moles.”</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Butler’s</span> “<i>Hudibras</i>.”</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The picture of their sombre garments, neat-fitting
+caps, and severe faces, the close-cropped hair and stern
+looks of the men, working with business-like determination,
+stands out a striking contrast to the gay colours
+and cheerful looks of the company engaged in the chase.</p>
+
+<p>The darker trees and sheltered corners of Hyde Park
+afforded covert for the wary “Roundhead” to lie in
+ambush for the imprudent Loyalist carrying letters to the
+King. On more than one occasion the success was on his
+side, and the bearer of news to his royal master was waylaid,
+and the papers secured. The culminating scene of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span>
+this period must have been when Fairfax and the Parliamentary
+army marched through Hyde Park in 1647, and
+were met by the solemn procession of the Mayor and
+Sheriffs of the City of London.</p>
+
+<p>Dismal days for the Parks followed. Although the
+Parks had been declared the property of the Commonwealth,
+it was from no wish to use them for sport or
+recreation. During the latter years of Charles the First’s
+reign Hyde Park had become somewhat of a fashionable
+resort. People came to enjoy the air and meet their
+friends, and it was less exclusively reserved for hunting.
+Races took place, both foot and horse; crowds collected
+to witness them, and ladies, with their attendant cavaliers,
+drove there in coaches, and refreshed themselves at
+the “Cake House” with syllabubs. This latter was
+the favourite drink, made of milk or cream whipped up
+with sugar and wine or cider. But the Puritan spirit,
+which was rapidly asserting itself, soon interfered with
+such harmless amusements. In 1645 the Parks were
+ordered to be shut on the Lord’s Day, also on fast and
+thanksgiving days. In 1649 the Parks, together with
+Windsor, Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Richmond,
+were declared to be the property of the Commonwealth,
+and thrown open to the public. But this did not lead to
+greater public enjoyment of Hyde Park. Far from it,
+for only three years later it was put up to auction in
+three lots. The first lot was the part bounded on one
+side by the present Bayswater Road, and is described
+as well wooded; the second, the Kensington side, was
+chiefly pasture; the third, another well-wooded division,
+included the lodge and banqueting-house and the Ring
+where the races took place. This part was valued at
+more than double the two others, and was purchased by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span>
+Anthony Dean, a ship-builder, for £9020, 8s. 2d. This
+business-like gentleman presumably reserved the use of
+the timber for his ships, and let out the pasture. His
+tenant proceeded to make as much as he could, and
+levied a toll on all carriages coming into the Park. On
+some occasions he extorted 2s. 6d. from each coach. In
+1653 John Evelyn in his diary complains on April 11
+that he “went to take the aire in Hide Park, when every
+coach was made to pay a shilling, and every horse sixpence,
+by the sordid fellow who had purchas’d it of the
+State, as they were call’d.” Cromwell himself was fond
+of riding in the Park, and crowds thronged him as he
+galloped round the Ring. More than one plot was made
+against the life of Cromwell, and the Park was considered
+a likely place in which to succeed. On one occasion the
+would-be assassin joined the crowd, which pursued the
+Protector during his ride, ready, if at any moment he
+galloped beyond the people, to dash at him with a fatal
+blow. The plotter had carefully filed the Park gate off
+its hinges so as to make good his own escape. It is a
+curious fact that Cromwell more nearly met his death in
+Hyde Park by accident than by design. He was presented
+with some fine grey Friesland horses, by the Duke
+of Holstein, and insisted on driving the spirited animals
+himself. They bolted, he was thrown from the box, and
+his pistol went off in his pocket, “though without any
+hurt to himself”!</p>
+
+<p>The Ring, where all these performances took place, was
+situated to the north-east of where the Humane Society’s
+house, built in 1834, now stands, near the Serpentine.
+There are a few remains of very large elm trees still to
+be seen, which probably shaded some of the company
+assembled to watch the coaches driving round and round<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span>
+the Ring, or cheer the winner of a hotly-contested race.
+Even during the sombre days of the Commonwealth sports
+took place in the Park, but with the Restoration it became
+much more the resort of all the fashionable world and the
+scene of many more amusements. The parks were still
+in those days for the Court and the wealthy or well-to-do
+citizens only. Probably to many of the rabble and poorer
+Londoners the nearest view obtained of Hyde Park would
+be the tall trees within its fence or wall, which formed a
+background to the revolting but most engrossing of
+popular sights, the horrors of the gallows at Tyburn.
+The idea of giving parks as recreation grounds for the
+poor is such a novel one that no old writer would think
+of noticing their absence in an age when bull-baiting and
+cock fights were their highest form of amusement.</p>
+
+<p>The Ring was an enclosure with a railing round it
+and a wide road. It is described as “a ring railed in,
+round w<sup>ch</sup> a gravel way, yt would admitt of twelve if
+not more rowes of Coaches, w<sup>ch</sup> the Gentry to take the
+aire and see each other Comes and drives round and
+round; one row going Contrary to each other affords a
+pleaseing diversion.”</p>
+
+<p>The gay companies who assembled to drive round
+and round the Ring, or watch races, sometimes met with
+unusual excitement. On one occasion Hind, a famous
+highwayman, for a wager rode into the Ring and robbed
+a coach of a bag of money. He was hotly pursued across
+the Park, but made his escape, “riding by St. James’s,”
+which then, and until a much later date, was a sanctuary,
+and no one except a traitor could be arrested within it.
+So narrow an escape from justice did he have that he is
+said to have exclaimed, “I never earned £100 so dear in
+all my life!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p>
+
+<p>Numberless entries in Pepys’ Diary describe visits to
+Hyde Park. His drives there in fine and wet weather,
+the company he met, whether his wife looked well or was
+in a good or ill temper, and the latest gossip the outing
+afforded, are all noted. Many times he regrets not having
+a coach of his own, and does not conceal the feelings of
+wounded pride it occasioned. Once he naïvely explains
+that having taken his wife and a friend to the Park
+“in a hackney,” and they not in smart clothes, he “was
+ashamed to go into the tour [Ring], but went round the
+Park, and so, with pleasure, home.” His delight when
+he possessed a coach is unbounded. He made frequent
+visits to the coach-builder, and watched the final coat of
+varnish to “make it more and more yellow,” and at last
+on May Day, 1669, he describes his first appearance in
+his own carriage: “At noon home to dinner, and there
+find my wife extraordinary fine with her flowered tabby
+gown that she made two years ago, now laced exceeding
+pretty, and indeed was fine all over, and mighty earnest
+to go; though the day was very lowering; and she would
+have me put on my fine suit, which I did. And so anon,
+we went alone through the town with our new liveries
+of serge and the horses’ manes and tails tied with red
+ribbons, and the standards gilt with varnish, and all
+clean, and green reines, that people did mightily look
+upon us; and the truth is I did not see any coach more
+pretty, though more gay than ours, all that day ... the
+day being unpleasing though the Park full of Coaches,
+but dusty, and windy, and cold, and now and then a
+little dribbling of rain; and what made it worse, there
+were so many hackney coaches as spoiled the sight of the
+gentlemen’s, and so we had little pleasure. But here
+was Mr. Batelier and his sister in a borrowed coach by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span>
+themselves, and I took them and we to the lodge: and at
+the door did give them a syllabub and other things, cost
+me 12s. and pretty merry.”</p>
+
+<p>What an amusing picture, not only of Hyde Park in
+1669 but of human nature of all time!—the start, the
+pride and delight with their new acquisition, the little
+annoyances, the marred pleasures, the ungenerous dislike
+of the less fortunate who could not afford coaches of
+their own, whose ranks he had swelled the very last drive
+he had taken. Then the little kindness and the refreshment,
+so that the story ends merrily.</p>
+
+<p>The “Lodge” is but another name for the “Cheese-cake
+House” or “Cake House,” or as it was sometimes
+called from the proprietor, the Gunter of those days,
+“Price’s Lodge.” This house, which was a picturesque
+feature, stood near the Ring, on the site of the present
+building of the Humane Society, and must have been
+the scene of many amusing incidents in the lives of
+those who graced the Ring, in the seventeenth and
+eighteenth centuries. A little stream ran in front of
+it, and the door was approached over planks. White
+with beams of timber, latticed windows, and gabled roof,
+a few flowers clustering near, with the water flowing by
+its walls, the old house gave a special charm and rural
+flavour to the tarts and cheesecakes and syllabub with
+which the company regaled themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The gay sights and sounds in Hyde Park were
+silenced during those terrible weeks, when the Great
+Plague spread death and destruction through London.
+As the summer advanced, and the havoc became more
+and more appalling, many of the soldiers quartered in the
+city, were marched out to encamp in Hyde Park. At
+first it seemed as if they would escape the deadly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span>
+scourge, but the men were not accustomed to the
+rough quarters, and soon succumbed.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Our men (ere long) began to droop and quail,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Our lodgings cold, and some not us’d thereto,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Fell sick, and dy’d, and made us more adoe.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">At length the Plague amongst us ’gan to spread,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">When ev’ry morning some were found stark dead;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Down to another field the sick we t’ane,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But few went down that e’er came up again.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus all through the autumn of that terrible year
+the Park was one of the fields of battle against the
+relentless foe. The contemporary poet, whose lines
+have been quoted, describes the return of the few
+saddened survivors to the “doleful” city. They had
+lingered through the cold and wet until December, and
+surely the Park has no passage in its history more
+piteous and depressing than the advent of those
+frightened men who came with “heavy hearts,” “fearing
+the Almighty’s arrows,” only to be overtaken by the
+terror in their plague-stricken camp.</p>
+
+<p>Hyde Park has witnessed other gloomy pictures from
+time to time. Although the colouring of fashion and
+romance has endeavoured to make these incidents less
+repulsive, duels cannot be otherwise than distressing to
+the modern sense. For generations Hyde Park was a
+favourite place in which to settle affairs of honour.
+The usual spot is described by Fielding in “Amelia.”
+The combatants walked up Constitution Hill and into
+Hyde Park “to that place which may properly be called
+the Field of Blood, being that part a little to the left of
+the Ring, which Heroes have chosen for the scene of their
+exit out of this World.” One of the most famous duels
+was that fought between Lord Mohun and the Duke of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span>
+Hamilton on November 15, 1712, which resulted in the
+death of both the combatants—the Duke, whose loss was
+a great blow to the Jacobite cause in Scotland, and the
+Whig opponent. All through the eighteenth century
+Hyde Park was frequently the place in which disputes
+were settled, and one of the last duels recorded, which
+resulted in the death of Captain Macnamara (his
+antagonist, Colonel Montgomery, being tried for manslaughter,
+but acquitted), although fought on Primrose
+Hill, originated in Hyde Park. The cause of quarrel
+was that the dogs of these two gentlemen fought while
+out with them in the Park, whereupon the respective
+masters used such abusive language to each other that
+the affair had to be settled by a duel.</p>
+
+<p>Military displays, for which Hyde Park is still
+famous, have taken place there from early times. The
+works of defence were thrown up, and Fairfax and the
+Parliamentary army arrived there in the times of civil strife,
+but soon after the Restoration Charles II. had a peaceful
+demonstration, and there reviewed his Life Guards.
+Again, in September 1668, there was a more brilliant
+review, when the Duke of Monmouth took command
+of the Life Guards, and the King and Duke of York
+were both present. Pepys was there, and wrote, “It was
+mighty noble, and their firing mighty fine, and the Duke
+of Monmouth in mighty rich clothes; but the well
+ordering of the men I understand not.”</p>
+
+<p>When, in 1715, the fear of a general Jacobite rising
+induced the Whigs to take serious precautions, Hyde
+Park became a camp from July till November. During
+a similar scare in 1722 troops were again quartered there,
+and the camp became the centre of popular attraction;
+gaiety and frivolity were the order of the day, rather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span>
+than business or watchfulness. The Park was also used
+as a camp for six regiments of militia at the time of the
+Gordon Riots in 1780. All through George III.’s long
+reign reviews were frequent, and one of the most popular
+was that held by the Prince Regent before the allied
+sovereigns, the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia,
+in June 1814. Blücher was the popular hero on the
+occasion, and when he afterwards appeared in the Park
+he was so mobbed by the crowd, enthusiastic to see
+something of “Forwärts,” as he was familiarly named,
+that he had to defend himself against their rough
+treatment.</p>
+
+<p>When the Park was again in the King’s hands after
+the Restoration, a Keeper was once more appointed, who
+was responsible for its maintenance. From the time of
+Henry VIII. various well-known people had filled the
+office of Keeper. The first in Henry VIII.’s time was
+George Roper, succeeded in 1553 by Francis Nevill, and
+in 1574 by Henry Carey, first Lord Hunsdon, while in
+1607 Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, was appointed, and
+Sir Walter Cope held the office conjointly with him from
+1610. The name of the first Keeper after the Restoration,
+James Hamilton, is well remembered by the site of
+his house and ground, which are still known as Hamilton
+Place and Gardens. He was allowed to enclose 55 acres
+of park, and to use it as an orchard on the condition that
+he sent a certain quantity of the cider produced from it
+to the King. In his time a brick wall was built round
+the Park, and it was re-stocked with deer. The wall was
+rebuilt in 1726, and not replaced by railings until a
+hundred years later. These iron railings were pulled
+down by the mob in 1866, after which the present ones
+were set up. The deer, which formerly ranged all over<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span>
+the Park, were in course of time confined to a small
+area on the north-west side, called Buckdean Hill.
+They were kept for sport during the first half of the
+eighteenth century, and the last time royalty took part
+in killing deer in the Park was probably in 1768. The
+exact date of the disappearance of all the deer is difficult
+to ascertain. They are remembered by some who saw
+them towards the end of the thirties, but by 1840 or
+soon after they were done away with.</p>
+
+<p>The roads in Hyde Park must have been rather like
+South African tracks at the present day, and driving at
+night was not free from danger even at a comparatively
+late date. Attacks from highwaymen were to be feared.
+Horace Walpole was robbed in November 1749, and the
+pistol shot was near enough to stun though not otherwise
+to injure him. The Duke of Grafton had his collar bone
+broken, and his coachman his leg, some ten years earlier,
+when, on his way from Kensington to “the New Gate to
+make some visits towards Grosvenor Square, the Chariot
+through the darkness of the Night was overset in driving
+along the Road and” fell “into a large deep pit.”</p>
+
+<p>Soon after William III. purchased Kensington Palace
+from the Earl of Nottingham in 1691, he commenced
+making a new road through the Park. This became
+known as the King’s Road, or “Route du Roi”: a corruption
+of the latter is Rotten Row, the name now given
+to King William’s Drive. In the eighteenth century it
+was called the King’s Old Road, and the one which
+George II. made to the south of it was called the King’s
+New Road. When this was finished in 1737, it was
+intended to turf the older “Rotten Row,” but this
+plan was never carried out. The old road was much
+thought of at the time it was made, and the lighting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span>
+of it up at night with 300 lamps caused wonder to all
+beholders.</p>
+
+<p>A young lady, Celia Fiennes, describes the road in
+her diary about 1695. “Y<sup>e</sup> whole length of this parke
+there is a high Causey of a good breadth, 3 Coaches
+may pass, and on each side are Rowes of posts on w<sup>ch</sup>
+are glasses—Cases for Lamps w<sup>ch</sup> are Lighted in y<sup>e</sup>
+Evening and appeares very fine as well as safe for y<sup>e</sup>
+passenger. This is only a private roade y<sup>e</sup> King had
+w<sup>ch</sup> reaches to Kensington, where for aire our Great
+King W<sup>m.</sup> bought a house and filled it for a Retirement
+w<sup>th</sup> pretty gardens.”</p>
+
+<p>The road was in bad repair before the new one was
+in good order, and Lord Hervey, writing in 1736, says
+it had grown “so infamously bad” as to form “a great
+impassable gulf of mud” between London and Kensington
+Palace. “There are two ways through the Park,
+but the new one is so convex, and the old one is so
+concave, that by this extreme of faults they agree in the
+common of being, like the high road, impassable.”</p>
+
+<p>One of the most striking features of Hyde Park
+to-day is the long sheet of water known as the “Serpentine,”
+but this was a comparatively late addition to
+the attractions of the Park. From earliest times there
+was water. The deer came down to drink at pools supplied
+by fresh springs. The stream of the West Bourne
+flowed across the Park from north to south, leaving it
+near the present Albert Gate. Near there it was spanned
+by a bridge, from which the hamlet of Knightsbridge
+derived its name. The water in the Park was used
+to supply the West End of London as houses began to
+be built further from the City, and Chelsea was also
+supplied from it. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span>
+had a right to the use of the water from the springs in
+the Park, and the history of their privilege is recorded
+on a stone which stands above “the Dell” on the north-east
+of the bridge across the end of the Serpentine. The
+inscription states that a supply of water by a conduit was
+granted to the Abbey of Westminster by Edward the
+Confessor, and the further history of the lands, which
+passed into Henry VIII.’s hands at a time when all church
+property was in peril of seizure, is neatly glossed over as
+the “manor was resumed by the Crown in 1536.” The
+use of the springs, however, was retained by the Abbey,
+and confirmed to them by a charter of Elizabeth in 1560.
+Later on the privilege was withdrawn, and in 1663 the
+Chelsea Waterworks were granted the use of all the
+streams and springs of Hyde Park. They made in
+1725 a reservoir on the east side of the Park, opposite
+Mount Street. The sunk garden, with the Dolphin
+Fountain, the statue in Carrara marble, and the basin of
+Sicilian marble, by A. Munro, was made in 1861 on the
+site of this reservoir, which was abandoned two years
+earlier. It has been stated that this sunk garden was
+a remnant of the forts of Cromwell’s time, one small
+one having been near here, but the history of the Chelsea
+Waterworks reservoir must have been unknown to those
+who believed the tradition. It contained a million and a
+half gallons of water, and was protected by a wall and
+railings, as suicides were once said to have been frequent.
+When the Serpentine was made by Queen Caroline, considerable
+compensation had to be paid to the Waterworks
+Company.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p38c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 29em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p038c.jpg" width="522" height="813" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p038c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    DOLPHIN FOUNTAIN, HYDE PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In this age of experiments in plant growing, when
+American writers glow with enthusiasm on the wonders
+of the “New Earth,” and when science has transformed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span>
+the dullest operations of farming and gardening into
+fields for enterprise and treasuries of possible discoveries,
+it is humiliating to find the water in Hyde Park being
+used for like experiments as long ago as 1691–92.
+Stephen Switzer, a gardener, who would have been described
+by his contemporaries as a “lover of ingenuities,”
+was fond of indulging in speculations, and studied the
+effect of water on plants. He quotes a series of experiments
+made by Dr. Woodward on growing plants
+entirely in water, or with certain mixtures. For fifty-two
+days during the summer of 1692 he carefully watched
+some plants of spearmint, which were all “the most
+kindly, fresh, sprightly Shoots I could chuse,” and were
+set in water previously weighed. For this trial he selected
+“Hyde Park Conduit water”—one pure, another had an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span>
+ounce and a half of common garden earth added to it, a
+third was given an equal quantity of garden mould, and
+a fourth was kept on “Hyde Park water distilled.” The
+results in growth, and the quantity of water absorbed,
+were carefully noted at the end of the time.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p39" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p039.jpg" width="525" height="382" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p039_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Dolphin Fountain in Hyde Park</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>When Queen Caroline conceived the idea of throwing
+the ponds in Hyde Park into one, and making a
+sheet of water, the school of “natural” or “landscape”
+gardening was becoming the rage. Bridgeman, a well-known
+garden designer, who had charge of the royal
+gardens, has the credit of having invented the “ha-ha”
+or sunk fence, and thus led the way for merging gardens
+into parks. Kent, who followed him, went still further.
+He, Horace Walpole said, “leaped the fence, and saw
+that all Nature was a garden.” The fashions in garden
+design soon change, and the work of a former generation
+is quickly obliterated. William III. brought with him
+the fashion of Dutch gardening, and laid out Kensington
+Gardens in that style. Switzer, writing twenty-five years
+later, says the fault of the Dutch gardeners was “the
+Pleasure Gardens being stuffed too thick with Box”;
+they “used it to a fault, especially in England, where
+we abound in so much good Grass and Gravel.” London
+and Wise, very famous nursery gardeners, who made
+considerable changes at Hampton Court, and laid out
+the grounds of half the country seats in England, had
+charge of Kensington Palace Gardens, and housed the
+“tender greens” during the winter in their nurseries
+hard by. These celebrated Brompton nurseries were so
+vast that the Kensington plants took up “but little
+room in comparison with” those belonging to the firm.
+Queen Mary took great interest in the new gardens.
+“This active Princess lost no time, but was either<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span>
+measuring, directing, or ordering her Buildings, but in
+Gard’ning, especially Exoticks, she was particularly
+skill’d, and allowed Dr. Pluknet £200 per ann. for his
+Assistance therein.” After his queen’s death William III.
+did no more to the gardens, but they were completed by
+Queen Anne. She appointed Wise to the chief care of
+the gardens, and when in 1712 rules for the “better
+keeping Hyde Park in good Order” were drawn up,
+and people were forbidden to leap the fences or ditches,
+or to ride over the grass, a special exception was made
+in favour of Henry Wise. Switzer, in tracing the history
+of gardening to his day (1715), praises the “late pious
+Queen, whose love to Gardening was not a little,” for
+“Rooting up the <em>Box</em>, and giving an <em>English</em> Model
+to the old-made Gardens at <em>Kensington</em>; and in 1704
+made that new garden behind the Green-House, that
+is esteemed amongst the most valuable Pieces of Work
+that has been done any where.... The place where
+that beautiful Hollow now is, was a large irregular
+Gravel-pit, which, according to several Designs given
+in, was to have been filled, but that Mr. Wise prevailed,
+and has given it that surprizing Model it now
+appears in. As great a Piece of Work as that whole
+Ground is, ’twas near all completed in one Season, (viz.)
+between Michaelmas and Lady Day, which demonstrates
+to what a pitch Gard’ning is arrived within these
+twenty or thirty years.”</p>
+
+<p>When William III. purchased Kensington Palace,
+the grounds covered less than thirty acres. Under
+the management of Wise, in Queen Anne’s time, more
+was added, and the Orangery was built in 1705. Few
+people know the charms of this old building, which
+stands to the north of the original garden, and which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span>
+future alterations may once more bring more into
+sight. As the taste for gardening changed from the
+shut-in gardens of the Dutch style to the more extended
+plans of Wise, the garden grew in size. Again,
+when Bridgeman was gardener, Queen Caroline, wife of
+George II., wished to emulate the splendour of Versailles,
+and 300 acres were taken from Hyde Park to
+add to the Palace Garden. Bridgeman made the sunk
+fence which is still the division between Kensington
+Gardens and the Park; and with the earth which was
+taken out a mount was made, on which a summer-house
+was erected. This stood nearly opposite the present end
+of Rotten Row, and though it has long since ceased to
+exist, the gate into the Gardens is still known as the
+Mount Gate. Kent, who succeeded Bridgeman, continued
+the planting of the avenues and laying out of the
+Gardens, and the greater part of his work still remains.
+The Gardens were reduced in size when the road was
+made from Kensington to Bayswater, and the houses
+along it built about seventy years ago, and the exact
+size is now 274 acres. Queen Caroline would have
+liked to take still more of the Parks for her private use;
+but when she hinted as much to Walpole, and asked the
+cost, he voiced public opinion when he replied, “Three
+crowns.”</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p43" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 49em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p043.jpg" width="781" height="320" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p043_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Fountains at the End of the Serpentine</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The fashion of making sheets of artificial water
+with curves and twists, instead of a straight, canal-like
+shape, was just taking the public fancy, when Queen
+Caroline began the work of converting the rather marshy
+ponds in Hyde Park into a “Serpentine River.” The
+ponds were of considerable size, and in James I.’s time
+there were as many as eleven large and small. Celia
+Fiennes, the young lady who kept a diary in the time of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span>
+William and Mary, which has been already quoted, after
+describing the Ring, says, “The rest of the park is
+green, and full of deer; there are large ponds with fish
+and fowle.” The work of draining the ponds and
+forming a river was begun in October 1730, under the
+direction of Charles Withers, Surveyor-General of the
+Woods and Forests. The cost of the large undertaking
+was supposed to come out of the Queen’s privy purse,
+and it was not until after her death that it was found
+that Walpole had supplemented it out of the public
+funds. The West Bourne supplied the new river with
+sufficient water for some hundred years, after which new
+arrangements had to be made, as the stream had become
+too foul. The water supply now comes from two
+sources—one a well 400 feet deep at the west end of
+the Serpentine, where the formal fountains and basins
+were made, about 1861, in front of the building of Italian
+design covering the well. The sculptured vases and
+balustrade with sea-horses are by John Thomas. The
+water in the well stands 172 feet below the ground level,
+and the depth is continually increasing. It is pumped
+up to the “Round Pond,” and descends by gravity.
+The second supply comes from a well 28 feet deep in
+the gravel on “Duck Island,” in St. James’s Park. The
+water, which is 19 feet below the surface, remains constant,
+that level being the same as the water-bearing
+stratum of the Thames valley in London. It is pumped
+up to the Serpentine, and returns to the lake in St.
+James’s Park, supplying the lake in the gardens of Buckingham
+Palace on the way. The deep well provides
+about 120,000 gallons, and the shallow about 100,000
+a day. The “Round Pond”—which, by the way, is
+not round—affords the greatest delight to the owners,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span>
+of all ages, of miniature yachts of all sizes. There are the
+large boats with skilful masters, which sail triumphantly
+across the placid waters, and there are the small craft that
+spend days on the weeds, or founder amid “waves that run
+inches high,” like the good steamship <i>Puffin</i> in Anstey’s
+amusing poem. When the weeds are cut twice every
+summer, many pathetic little wrecks are raised to the surface,
+perchance to be restored to the expectant owners.</p>
+
+<p>Skating was an amusement in Hyde Park even before
+the Serpentine existed, and the older ponds often presented
+a gay scene in winter, although it was on the
+canal in St. James’s Park that the use of the modern
+skate is first recorded in Charles II.’s time.</p>
+
+<p>During the last hundred years Hyde Park has
+frequently been disturbed by mobs and rioters, until
+it has become the recognised place in which to air
+popular discontent in any form, or to ventilate any
+grievance. The first serious riot took place at the
+funeral of Queen Caroline, in 1821. To avoid any
+popular demonstration of feeling, it was arranged that
+the funeral procession should not pass through the City.
+The Queen had died at Brandenburgh House, and was
+to be interred at Brunswick. Instead of going straight
+by way of Knightsbridge and Piccadilly, a circuitous
+route by Kensington, Bayswater, Islington, and Mile
+End was planned. On reaching Kensington Church,
+the mob prevented the turn towards Bayswater being
+taken. Hyde Park was thronged with an excited crowd,
+trying to force the escort to go the way it wished. At
+Cumberland Gate quite a severe encounter took place,
+in which the Life Guards twice charged the mob.
+Further down Oxford Street were barricades, and to avoid
+further rioting the procession eventually had to take the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span>
+people’s route, passing quietly down to the Strand and
+through the City.</p>
+
+<p>The occasion of the Reform Bill riot in 1831, when
+the windows were smashed in Apsley House, is well
+known, and from 1855 to 1866 Hyde Park witnessed
+many turbulent demonstrations. The first occasion was
+in July 1855 against Lord Robert Grosvenor’s “Sunday
+Trading Bill,” when some 150,000 people assembled,
+and various scenes of disturbance took place. More or
+less serious riots were of frequent occurrence, until they
+culminated in the Reform League riot in July 1866,
+when the railings between Marble Arch and Grosvenor
+Gate “were entirely demolished, and the flower-beds
+were ruined.” The flower-beds had not been long in
+existence when they were wantonly damaged by the mob.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p46c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p046c.jpg" width="785" height="554" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p046c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    AUTUMN BEDS, HYDE PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The idea of introducing flowers into the Park began
+about 1860, and the long rows of beds between Stanhope
+Gate and Marble Arch were made about that time, when
+Mr. Cowper Temple was First Commissioner of Works.
+They were made when “bedding out” was at the height
+of its fashion, when the one idea was to have large, glaring
+patches of bright flowers as dazzling as possible, or minute
+and intricate patterns carried out in carpet bedding. Now
+this plan has been considerably modified. The process of
+alteration has been slow, and the differences in some cases
+subtle, but the old stiffness and crudeness has been
+banished for ever. The harmony of colours, and variety
+of plants used, are the principal features in the present
+bedding out. It seems right that the Royal Parks
+should lead the way in originality and beauty, and
+undoubted success is frequently achieved, although
+even the style of to-day has its opponents. The chief
+objection from the more practical gardeners is the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span>
+putting out of comparatively tender plants in the
+summer months, when the same general effect could be
+got with a less expenditure both of money and plants.
+But on the other hand numbers of people come to study
+the beds, note the combinations, and examine the use of
+certain plants which they would not otherwise have the
+opportunity of testing. The public who enjoy the results,
+and often those who most severely criticise, do not know
+the system on which the gardening is carried out. Many
+are even ignorant enough to suppose that the whole
+bedding out is contracted for, and few know the hidden
+recesses of Hyde Park, which produces everything for all
+the display, both there and in St. James’s Park. The
+old place in which all necessary plants were raised was a
+series of green-houses and frames in front of Kensington
+Palace. The erection of these pits and glass houses completely
+destroyed the design of the old garden, although
+even now the slope reveals the lines of the old terraces;
+and they entirely obscure the beauty of the Orangery.
+A few years ago three acres in the centre of Hyde Park
+were taken, on which to form fresh nurseries. Gradually
+better ranges have been built, and soon the old unsightly
+frames at Kensington will disappear. The new garden is
+so completely hidden that few have discovered its whereabouts.
+The ground selected lies to the north-west of
+the Ranger’s Lodge. There, a series of glass houses on
+the most approved plan, and rows of frames, have been
+erected. The unemployed have found work by excavating
+the ground to the depth of some eight feet, and the
+gravel taken out has made the wide walk across the Green
+Park and the alterations in the “Mall.” A wall and
+bank of shrubs and trees so completely hides even the
+highest house in which the palms—such as those outside<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span>
+the National Gallery—are stored, that it is quite invisible
+from the outside. There are storehouses for the bulbs,
+and nurseries where masses of wall-flowers, delphiniums,
+and all the hardier bedding plants, and those for the herbaceous
+borders, are grown. Of late years the number of
+beds in the Park has been considerably reduced, without
+any diminution of the effect. In 1903 as many as ninety
+were done away with between Grosvenor Gate and Marble
+Arch. There is now a single row of long beds instead of
+three rows with round ones at intervals. But even after
+all these reductions the area of flower beds and borders
+is very considerable, as the following table will <span class="locked">show:—</span></p>
+
+<table id="t48" class="blbr">
+<tr class="bt bb">
+  <td class="tdl"></td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Area of Flower Beds.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Area of Flower Borders.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"></td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Sq. Yds.</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> Sq. Yds.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Hyde Park</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 1742</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 2975</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kensington Gardens</td>
+  <td class="tdc">   345</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 3564</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">St. James’s Park</td>
+  <td class="tdc">     30</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 2642</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Queen Victoria<br>  Memorial in front of<br>  Buckingham Palace</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 1270</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> ...</td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="bt bb">
+  <td class="tdc"> Total</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 3687</td>
+  <td class="tdc"> 9181</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="p1">An event of historic importance which took place in
+Hyde Park was the Great Exhibition of 1851. Various
+sites, such as Battersea, Regent’s Park, Somerset House,
+and Leicester Square, were suggested, and the one chosen
+met with some opposition, but finally the space between
+Rotten Row and Knightsbridge Barracks was decided on.
+Plans were submitted for competition, and though 245
+were sent in not one satisfied the committee, so, assisted
+by three well-known architects, they evolved a plan of
+their own. This was to be carried out in brick; the
+labour of removing it after the Exhibition would have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span>
+been stupendous. It was when this plan was under
+consideration that Paxton showed his idea for the
+building of iron and glass so well known as the Crystal
+Palace. It was 1851 feet long and 408 wide, with
+a projection on the north 936 feet by 48, and the
+building covered about 19 acres.</p>
+
+<p>One stipulation was made before the design was
+accepted, and that was that three great elm trees growing
+on the site should not be removed, but included
+in the building. To effect this, some alterations were
+made, and the trees were successfully encased in this
+Crystal Palace, and the old trunk of one of them is
+still standing in Hyde Park. There is a railing round
+it, but no tablet to record this strange chapter in its
+history. Some smaller trees were cut down, which led
+to a cartoon in <i>Punch</i> and lines on the Prince Consort,
+who was the prime mover in all pertaining to the Great
+Exhibition.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Albert! spare those trees,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Mind where you fix your show;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">For mercy’s sake, don’t, please,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Go spoiling Rotten Row.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Exhibition was opened by the Queen on May
+1st. The enthusiasm it created in all sections of the
+population has known no parallel, and in the success
+and excitement the few small elm trees were soon forgotten
+by the delighted people, who raised cheers and
+<span class="locked">shouted—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent6">“Huzza for the Crystal Palace,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And the world’s great National Fair.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Hyde Park never saw more people than during the
+time it was open from the 1st of May to the 11th of
+October, as 6,063,986 persons visited the Exhibition,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span>
+an average of 43,000 daily. Its success was phenomenal
+also from a financial point of view, as after all
+expenses were deducted there was a surplus of £150,000,
+with which the land from the Park to South Kensington
+was purchased, on which the Albert Hall and museums
+have been built.</p>
+
+<p>It seems to have been the complete originality of
+the whole structure that captivated all beholders. In
+his memoirs the eighth Duke of Argyll refers to the
+opening as the most beautiful spectacle he had ever
+seen. “Merely,” he writes, “as a spectacle of joy and
+of supreme beauty, the opening of the Great Exhibition
+of 1851 stands in my memory as a thing unapproachable
+and alone. This supreme beauty was mainly in the
+building, not in its contents, nor even in the brilliant
+and happy throng that filled it. The sight was a new
+sensation, as if Fancy had been suddenly unveiled.
+Nothing like it had ever been seen before—its light-someness,
+its loftiness, its interminable vistas, its aisles
+and domes of shining and brilliant colouring.”</p>
+
+<p>It was with the recollection of this world-famous
+Exhibition fresh in men’s minds that the site for the
+Albert Memorial was chosen. The idea conceived by
+Sir Gilbert Scott was the reproduction on a large scale
+of a mediæval shrine or reliquary. When it was erected
+an alteration was made in some of the avenues in Kensington
+Gardens, so as to bring one into line with the
+Memorial. A fresh avenue of elms and planes straight
+to the monument was planted, which joined into the
+original one, and a few trees were dotted about to break
+the old line. As first planned, the avenue must have
+commanded a view of Paddington Church steeple in
+the vista.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span></p>
+
+<p>There is no better refutation of the theory that only
+plane trees will live in London, than an examination of
+the trees in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. An
+appendix to this volume gives a list of the trees and
+shrubs which have been planted there, and notes those
+which are not in existence, having proved unsuitable
+to London, or been removed from some other cause.
+Many people will doubtless be surprised at the length
+of the list. A large number of the trees are really fine
+specimens, and would do credit to any park in the
+kingdom. Take, for instance, some of the ash trees.
+There is a very fine group not very far from the Mount
+Gate inside Kensington Gardens. Two specimens with
+light feathery foliage, <i class="flora" lang="la">Fraxinus lentiscifolia</i> and <i class="flora" lang="la">F. excelsior
+angustifolia</i>, when seen like lace against the sky, are remarkably
+pretty trees. Not far from them stand a
+good tulip tree and the last remaining of the old Scotch
+firs. The Ailanthus Avenue from the Serpentine Bridge
+towards Rotten Row, planted in 1876, is looking most
+prosperous. There are a few magnificent ancient sweet
+chestnuts above the bastion near the Magazine. The
+trees planted from time to time have wisely been grouped
+together according to species. Near the Ranger’s Lodge,
+outside the new frame-ground, some birches grow well,
+and their white stems are washed every year. The collection
+of pavias, which flower delightfully in the small
+three-cornered enclosure where the road divides at the
+Magazine, are most flourishing. To the south-west of
+the fountains at the end of the Serpentine, some very
+good Turkey and American oaks are growing into large
+trees. Several really old thorns are dotted about. In
+a walk from the “Round Pond,” by the stone which
+marks the boundary of three parishes, towards Bayswater,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span>
+grand specimens of oak, ash, lime, elm, sweet
+and horse-chestnuts are met with. The avenue of
+horse-chestnuts is just as flourishing as those of planes
+or elms. In fact the whole Park shows how well trees
+will succeed if sufficient care is taken of them. One
+feature of the Park in old days was the Walnut Avenue,
+which grew nearly on the lines of the present trees
+between Grosvenor Gate and the Achilles Statue. They
+were decayed and were cut down in 1811, and the best
+of the wood was used for gunstocks for the army. It
+is a pity no walnut avenue was planted instead, as by
+now it would have been a fine shady walk. The old
+elms, which are of such great beauty in Hyde Park,
+have, alas! often to be sacrificed for the safety of passers-by,
+so that the recent severe lopping was necessary.
+Their great branches are the first to fall in a gale.
+Yet when one has to be removed there is an outcry,
+though people tamely submit to a whole row of trees
+being ruined by tram lines along the Embankment, so
+inconsistent is public opinion. It is almost incredible
+what narrow escapes from destruction even the beauty
+of Hyde Park has had. In 1884 a Metropolitan and
+Parks Railway Bill was before Parliament, which actually
+proposed to cross the Park by tunnels and cuttings which
+would have completely disfigured “The Dell” and other
+parts of the Park. In this utilitarian age nothing is
+sacred.</p>
+
+<p>The Dell had not been ten years in its present form
+when the proposal was made. The site of the Dell was
+a receiving lake, about 200 yards by 70, which had been
+made in 1734. This was done away with in 1844, and
+the overflow of the Serpentine allowed to pass over
+the artificial rocks which still remain. It was enveloped<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span>
+in a dark and dirty shrubbery, the haunt of all the
+ruffians and the worst characters who frequented the Park
+at night. The place was not safe to pass after dark,
+neither had it any beauty to recommend it. It was in
+this state when the present Lord Redesdale became
+Secretary of the Office of Works in 1874. He conceived
+the idea of turning it into a sub-tropical garden,
+designed the banks of the little stream, and introduced
+suitable planting, banishing the old shrubs, and merely
+using the best to form a background to the spireas,
+iris, giant coltsfoot, osmundas, day lilies, and such-like,
+which adorned the water’s edge in front. The dark
+history of the Dell is quite forgotten, and watching the
+ducks and rabbits playing about this pretty spot is one
+of the chief delights of Hyde Park.</p>
+
+<p>The monolith which stands near was brought from
+Liskeard in Cornwall by Mr. Cowper Temple, when
+First Commissioner of Works, and set up in its present
+place as a drinking-fountain in 1862. In 1887 the
+water was cut off it, the railings altered, and the turf
+laid round it, joining it on to the rest of the Dell.
+To Lord Redesdale are due also the rhododendrons
+which make such a glorious show on either side of
+Rotten Row. He contracted with Messrs. Anthony
+Waterer for a yearly supply, as they only look their
+best for a short time exposed to London air. In his
+time, too, many of the small flower-beds which were
+dotted about without much rhyme or reason were done
+away with, and the borders at the edge of the shrubs
+substituted.</p>
+
+<p>The latest addition to Hyde Park is the fountain
+presented by Sir Walter Palmer and put up near the
+end of the “Row” in 1906. The sculpture and design<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span>
+are the work of Countess Feodore Gleichen. The graceful
+figure of Artemis, with bow and arrow, and the supporting
+cariatides, are of bronze, the upper basin of
+Saravezza marble, and the lower of Tecovertino stone.
+The whole is most light and elegant, and shows up well
+against the dark trees.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p54c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p054c.jpg" width="556" height="835" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p054c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    FOUNTAIN BY COUNTESS FEODOR GLEICHEN, HYDE PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>It has only been possible to glance at the history and
+beauties of Hyde Park; many more pages could be
+written without touching on half of the incidents connected
+with it, between the days when it was monastic
+lands to the days of the modern Sunday “Church Parade.”
+It is interesting to trace the origin of the little customs
+with which every one is now familiar, but which once
+were new and original. For instance, the naming of
+trees and flowers in the Parks was first done about 1842,
+the idea having been suggested by Loudon, and carried
+out by Nash the architect, and George Don the botanist.
+Then the system of paying a penny for a seat began in
+1820, but when some of the free seats were removed in
+1859 there was a great outcry, and they were immediately
+put back. Then the meets of the Four-in-hand and
+Coaching Clubs, which are quite an institution in Hyde
+Park, only continue the tradition of the “Whip Club,”
+which first met in 1808. The history of the various
+gates calls for notice. The Marble Arch, designed by
+Nash, with ornaments by Flaxman, Westmacott, and
+Rossi, in Carrara marble, was moved from Buckingham
+Palace to its present position in 1851. Over £4000 was
+expended on the removal, while the original sum spent
+was £75,000. The statue of George IV. by Chantrey,
+now in Pall Mall East, was intended for the top, and cost
+9000 guineas, and the bronze gates are by Samuel Parker.
+Near that corner of the Park was a stone where soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span>
+were shot, and one of the historians of the Park states
+that it is still there, only covered over with earth when the
+new Cumberland Gate was made in 1822. Apsley Gate
+at Hyde Park Corner was designed by Decimus Burton,
+and put up in 1827, and he planned the arch forming
+the entrance to Constitution Hill the following year.
+The stags, by Bartolozzi, on Albert Gate, came from
+the Ranger’s Lodge in Green Park. Grosvenor Gate was
+opened about 1724, and Stanhope Gate some twenty-five
+years later. All the others are more modern.</p>
+
+<p>Those who wish to pursue the subject further will
+find such details more or less accessible in various guide-books.
+But to every one the Park, with all its charms,
+its beauties, and its memories, is open, and it is certain
+that the better it is known the more it will be appreciated.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III"><span id="toclink_56"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER III</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">ST. JAMES’S AND GREEN PARKS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Near this my Muse, what most delights her, sees</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>A living Gallery of Aged Trees:</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Bold sons of Earth, that thrust their Arms so high,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>As if once more they would invade the Sky.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Here Charles contrives the ord’ring of his States;</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Here he resolves his neighb’ring Princes’ Fates;</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>A Prince on whom such diff’rent Lights did smile,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Born the divided World to reconcile.</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Whatever Heav’n or high extracted Blood</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Could promise or foretel, he’ll make it good,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Reform these Nations, and improve them more</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Than this fair Park, from what it was before.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">St. James’s Park</span>: “Poetical Essay,” by Waller.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcT"><img src="images/i_idc_t.png" width="180" height="181" alt="T">
+<span class="firstword">The</span> opening history of St. James’s
+and Green Parks is similar to that
+of Hyde Park. They formed part
+of the same manor in early days,
+and became Crown property in
+Henry VIII.’s time. St. James’s
+Park was chiefly a marsh. The
+Thames overflowed its banks
+nearly every year, and the low-lying parts were a swamp
+and the haunt of wild fowl, and the chief use of the
+Park was for the sport the wild birds afforded. The
+Tyburn flowed through it on its way from where it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span>
+crossed the modern Oxford Street to where it joined
+the Thames, a little west of where Vauxhall Bridge
+afterwards stood. It passed right across Green Park,
+where the depression of its valley can still be traced
+between Half Moon Street and Down Street. The
+name, St. James’s, originated with the hospital for lepers,
+dedicated to St. James, on the site of the present palace.
+The exact date of its foundation is lost in the mists of
+antiquity, but it was established by the citizens of
+London, “before the time of any man’s memorie, for
+14 Sisters, maydens, that were leprous, living chastly
+and honestly in Divine Service.” Later, there were
+further gifts of land and money from the citizens, and
+“8 brethren to minister Divine Service there” were
+added to the foundation. All these gifts were subsequently
+confirmed by Edward I., who granted a fair
+to be held for seven days, commencing on the eve of
+St. James’s Day, in St. James’s Fields, which belonged to
+the hospital. The letting out of the land for booths
+became a source of further income to the lepers. Stowe
+shortly tells the subsequent history. “This Hospital
+was surrendered to Henry the 8 the 23 of his reigne:
+the Sisters being compounded with were allowed Pensions
+for terme of their lives, and the King builded there a
+goodly Mannor, annexing thereunto a Park, closed about
+with a wall of brick, now called St. James’s Parke, serving
+indifferently to the said Mannor, and to the Mannor
+or Palace of Whitehall.” At first sight the summary
+ejection of these helpless creatures appears unusually
+heartless, even for those days; but leprosy, which during
+the time of the Crusades had grown to a formidable
+extent, was declining in the sixteenth century in England.
+It is probable, therefore, that the poor outcast<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span>
+sisters, possessed of their pensions, would be able to find
+shelter in one of the other leper hospitals, of which there
+were still a number in the country.</p>
+
+<p>The space between Whitehall and Westminster,
+acquired from the Abbey, was turned into an orchard.
+The site of Montagu House was the bowling-green of
+the Palace, which stretched to the river. A high terrace
+and flight of steps led to the Privy Garden of Whitehall,
+so, except for the Palace and the Westminster group,
+there were no buildings between the river and the Park.
+It requires some stretch of the imagination to efface the
+well-known edifices which now surround it, and to see it
+in its natural state. Flights of wild birds would pass
+from the marshy ground to the river, unchecked by the
+pile of Government offices. Behind the Leper Hospital
+lay fields and scattered houses. The far-off villages of
+Knightsbridge and Chelsea would scarcely come into sight,
+while beyond the village of Charing the walls and towers
+of the City would loom in the distance. Henry VIII.
+made some alterations, and may have partially drained
+the ground and stocked it with deer. Old maps show
+a pond at the west end, near the present Wellington
+Barracks, called Rosamund’s Pond. The origin of the
+name is uncertain, but “Rosemonsbore, or Rosamund’s
+Bower,” occurs in a lease of land near this spot from the
+Abbey of Westminster as early as 1520. Hard by was a
+“mount,” such as was to be seen in every sixteenth-century
+garden, probably with an arbour and seat on the
+top to overlook the pond. The first mention of St.
+James’s as a Park is in 1539, on an occasion described
+in Hall’s Chronicle, when Henry VIII. held a review
+of the city militia. “The King himself,” writes the
+chronicler, “would see the people of the Citie muster<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span>
+in sufficient nombre....” Some 15,000, leaving the
+City after passing by St. Paul’s Churchyard, went
+“directly to Westminster and so through the Sanctuary
+and round about the Park of St. James, and so up into
+the fields and came home through Holborne.”</p>
+
+<p>It was not until James I.’s time that the Park began
+to be esteemed as a resort for those attached to the Court.
+Prince Henry, the elder brother of Charles I., made the
+tilting-ring on the site of the present Horse Guards’
+Parade, and brought the enclosure more into vogue for
+games. James I. made use of the Park for his own
+hobbies, one of which was the encouragement of growing
+vines and mulberries in England. He planted considerable
+vineyards, and in 1609 he sent a circular letter to
+the Lords-Lieutenant of each county, ordering them to
+announce that the following spring a thousand mulberry
+trees would be sent to each county town, and people
+were required to buy them at the rate of three-farthings
+a plant. To further prosecute his plan, the King set
+an example by planting a mulberry orchard at the end
+of St. James’s Park. The place afterwards became a
+fashionable tea garden, and Buckingham Palace is partly
+built on the site. The King kept also quite a large
+menagerie of beasts and birds presented to him by
+various crowned heads, or sent to him by friends and
+favourites. There are records of elephants, camels,
+antelopes, beavers, crocodiles, wild boars, and sables,
+besides many kinds of birds. The keepers of the
+animals received large salaries, and the cost of the care
+of these beasts would frighten the Zoological Society of
+to-day. No expense was spared to give the best and
+most suitable surroundings to the animals. For instance,
+as much as £286 was expended in 1618 by Robert<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span>
+Wood, the keeper of the cormorants, ospreys, and otters,
+“in building a place to keep the said cormorants in
+and making nine fish-ponds on land within the vine
+garden at Westminster.” Fish were put in for these
+creatures, and a sluice was made to bring water from
+the Thames to fill the ponds. These strange beasts
+and birds and their attendants must have been a
+quaint and unusual sight. The keepers were dressed
+in red cloth (which cost nine shillings a yard), embroidered
+with “I.R.” in Venice gold, and must have
+added to the picturesque appearance of this early
+Zoological Garden.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the Park became more and more a favourite
+place in which to stroll. Others were admitted besides
+the Court circle, the privilege being first accorded to the
+tenants of the houses at Westminster. Milton, who lived
+at one time in Petty France, near where Queen Anne’s
+Gate now stands, planted a tree in the garden overlooking
+the Park, which survived until recent times,
+would be one of those to enjoy the advantage. Charles
+I. passed this way on his last journey to Whitehall on
+the fatal 30th of January, and tradition says he paused
+to notice a tree planted by his brother Henry. During
+the Commonwealth, the Park still was resorted to. In
+the sprightly letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William
+Temple are some vivid little touches in reference to
+it. She writes from the country in March 1654: “And
+hark you, can you tell me whether the gentleman that
+lost a crystal box the 1st of February in St. James’s
+Park or Old Spring Gardens has found it again or not?
+I have a strong curiosity to know.” Again, in June
+of the same year, she writes from London, where she
+was paying a visit: “I’ll swear they will not allow me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span>
+time for anything; and to show how absolutely I am
+governed, I need but tell you that I am every night
+in the Park and at New Spring Gardens, where, though
+I come with a mask, I cannot escape being known nor
+my conversation being admired.”</p>
+
+<p>The most brilliant days of its history began, however,
+in Charles II.’s reign. He entirely remodelled it,
+and began the work soon after his return from exile,
+imbued with foreign ideas of gardening. It has always
+been supposed that Le Nôtre was responsible for the
+designs, and it has often been asserted that he himself
+came to England to see them carried out. But close
+investigation has furnished no proof of this, and it is
+practically certain that, although invited, and allowed
+by Louis XIV. to come to England, he never actually
+did so. Other “French gardeners” certainly came, and
+one of them, La Quintinge, made many English friends,
+and kept up a correspondence with them after his return
+to France. Perrault probably visited London also, and
+may have superintended the “French gardeners” who
+were employed on St. James’s Park. They transformed
+the whole place. Avenues—the Mall and “Birdcage
+Walk”—were planted. A straight canal passed down
+the middle, and at the end, near the present Foreign
+Office, was the duck decoy. The “Birdcage Walk”
+is no fantastic title, for birds were literally kept there
+in cages. These were probably aviaries for large birds,
+and not little hanging cages, as has been sometimes
+suggested. A well-known passage occurs in Evelyn’s
+Diary, 1664, where he enumerates some of the birds
+and beasts he saw during one of his walks through
+the Park. The pelican delighted him, although “a
+melancholy waterfowl,” and he watched the skilful way<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span>
+it devoured fish; and it is not surprising that he recorded
+the strange fact that one of the two Balearian
+cranes had a wooden leg, made by a soldier, with a
+joint, so that the bird could “walk and use it as well
+as if it had been natural”; and he speaks with interest
+of a solan goose, a stork, a milk-white raven, and “a
+curious sort of poultry,” besides “deer of several
+countries,” antelopes, elk, “Guinea goats, Arabian
+sheep, etc.” The duck decoy lay at the south-west end
+of the long canal, which formed part of the new French
+design. This “duck island” was rather a series of
+small islands, as it was intersected by canals and reed-covered
+channels for catching duck. This was a
+favourite resort of Charles II., who has often been described
+feeding his ducks in St. James’s Park. To be
+keeper of the ducks, or “Governor of Duck Island,”
+was granted to St. Evremond, an excuse for bestowing
+a yearly salary on a favourite. The birds continued
+after the King, who had found in them a special recreation,
+had passed away. In William III.’s time the
+Park is still described as “full of very fine walkes and
+rowes of trees, ponds, and curious birds, Deer, and some
+fine Cows.” A Dutch traveller who was in England
+from 1693–96 notices the famous old white raven. By
+that time the ducks were no longer the fashion, and
+evidently there was an inclination to despise the former
+craze for wild fowl. A Frenchman, named M. de
+Sorbiere, visited England about this time, and wrote an
+account of his impressions. Some of his adverse criticisms
+of English people and institutions got him into trouble.
+A supposed translation of his book was published in
+1698, and until 1709 was held to be a correct version.
+In reality it was a clever skit, and not in the least like<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span>
+the original. In the true version he describes the Park
+with its rows of trees and “admirable prospect” of
+the suburbs, and mentions that the King had “erected
+a tall Pile in the Park, the better to make use of
+Telescopes, with which Sir Robert Murray shew’d me
+Saturn and the Satellites of Jupiter.” Not a word about
+the ducks. But in the spurious parody of 1698 there
+is a humorous description, which shows how the next
+generation laughed at the amusements of King Charles II.
+“I was at St. James’s Park; there were no Pavillions,
+nor decoration of Treilliage and Flowers; but I saw
+there a vast number of Ducks; these were a most
+surprising sight. I could not forbear to say to Mr.
+Johnson, who was pleased to accompany me in this
+Walk, that sure all the ponds in England had contributed
+to this profussion of Ducks; which he took so
+well, that he ran immediately to an Old Gentleman that
+sate in a Chair, and was feeding of ’em. He rose up very
+obligingly, embraced me, and saluted me with a Kiss,
+and invited me to Dinner; telling me he was infinitely
+oblig’d to me for flattering the King’s Ducks.”</p>
+
+<p>Little attention was paid to the wild fowl in the
+Park after that date, until the Prince Consort took an
+interest in them. In 1841 he became the Patron of the
+Ornithological Society, and the cottage on Duck Island
+was built for the Bird-keeper. For some thirty years
+the Society flourished, and kept up the supply and cared
+for the birds in the Park. In 1867, however, their
+numbers were greatly reduced, and the Society sold
+their collection of birds to H.M. Office of Works,
+which has since then had them under its charge. It is
+pleasant to know that the old tradition of the wild fowl
+in that part of the Park is maintained. Although the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span>
+duck pond of King Charles’s time must have looked
+somewhat different from that of to-day, the birds can be
+made as much at home, and they nest peacefully on the
+modern Duck Island, its direct descendant. Moorhens
+and dabchicks, or little grebes, have for the last twenty
+years nested in the Park. They used to leave for the
+breeding season, but since 1883, when the first moorhen
+nested, they have gradually taken to remaining contentedly
+all through the year, and bring up their young
+there. Birds seem to choose the Park to rest in, and
+many migratory ones have been noticed. Kingfishers
+have recently been let out near the site of the ancient
+bird cages, in the hope that they may carry on the
+historic association.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p64c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 28em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p064c.jpg" width="478" height="748" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p064c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    CROCUSES IN EARLY SPRING, ST. JAMES’S PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The cows, which were a part of ancient history, as
+were the birds, have not been so fortunate. Although
+a newspaper clamour in defence of the cows was raised,
+the few remaining were finally banished in 1905, when
+the alterations in the Mall were made. These survivals
+standing by the dusty stalls could scarcely be called
+picturesque; and although interest undoubtedly was
+attached to them as venerable survivals of an old custom,
+they hardly suggested the rural simplicity of the days
+when cows were really pastured in the Park. For over
+two centuries grazing was let to the milk-women who
+sold milk at the end of the Park, near Whitehall. They
+paid half-a-crown a week, and after 1772 three shillings
+a week, for the right to feed cattle in the Park. A
+Frenchman, describing St. James’s at that time, is astonished
+at its rural aspect. “In that part nearest Westminster
+nature appears in all its rustic simplicity; it is
+a meadow, regularly intersected and watered by canals,
+and with willows and poplars, without any regard to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span>
+order. On this side, as well as on that towards St.
+James’s Palace, the grass plots are covered with cows
+and deer, where they graze or chew the cud, some
+standing, some lying down upon the grass.... Agreeably
+to this rural simplicity, most of these cows are
+driven, about noon and evening, to the gate which leads
+from the Park to the quarter of Whitehall. Tied to
+posts at the extremity of the grass plots, they swill passengers
+with their milk, which, being drawn from their
+udders on the spot, is served, with all cleanliness peculiar
+to the English, in little mugs at the rate of a penny a
+mug.” The combination of the gay crowd in hooped
+petticoats, brilliant coats, and powdered wigs, with the
+peaceful, green meadows and the browsing deer and cows,
+forms an attractive picture.</p>
+
+<p>All this had changed long before the final departure
+of the cattle, when the last old woman was pensioned off,
+and the sheds carted away. A use was found for the
+fragments of the concrete foundations of the last milkmaid’s
+stall. They were made into a sort of rockery,
+on which Alpine plants grow well, to support the bank at
+the entrance to the new frame-grounds at Hyde Park.</p>
+
+<p>But to return to Charles II.’s time, when the cows
+were undisturbed. The great feature of what Pepys
+calls the “brave alterations” was the canal. He
+mentions more than one visit when the works were in
+progress. In October 1660 he went “to walk in St.
+James’s Park, where we observed the several engines at
+work to draw up water, with which sight I was very
+much pleased.” The canal, when finished, was 2800
+feet long and 100 broad, and ran through the centre of
+the Park, beginning near the north end of. Rosamund’s
+Pond. An avenue of trees was planted on either side,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span>
+passing down between the canal and the duck decoy to
+a semicircular double avenue near the tilting-ground.
+Deer wandered under fine old oaks between the canal
+and the avenues of “the Mall.” These old trees have
+gradually disappeared, as much through gales as from
+the wanton destruction of the would-be improver. At
+the hour of Cromwell’s death, when the storm was so
+fierce the Royalists said it was due to fiends coming to
+claim their own, much havoc was wrought; and from
+time to time similar destructions have taken place, one
+of the most serious being in November 1703, when
+part of the wall and over 100 elms were blown down.
+Another notable gale was on March 15, 1752, when
+many people lost their lives. “In St. James’s Park and
+the villages about the metropolis great numbers of trees
+were demolished.”</p>
+
+<p>The broad pathway, between avenues on the opposite
+side of the Park to the Birdcage Walk, now called the
+Mall, derives this name from the game of “paille-maille,”
+which is known to have been played in France
+as early as the thirteenth century, and which was popular
+in England in the seventeenth. The locality, however,
+where it was first played in James I.’s time was on the
+northern side of the street, which is still called from it,
+Pall Mall. In those days fields stretched away beyond
+where now St. James’s Square lies, and a single row of
+houses lay between the playground and the Park. As
+the game became more the fashion, the coaches and dust
+were found too disturbing for enjoyment, and a new
+ground was laid out, running parallel to the old one,
+but within the Park. The game is considered by some
+to be a forerunner of croquet, as it was played with a ball
+(= <i lang="la">pila</i>) and mallet, the name being derived from these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span>
+two words. One or more hoops had to be passed
+through, and a peg at the further end touched. The
+winner was the player who passed the hoops and reached
+the peg in the fewest number of strokes. The whole
+course measured over 600 yards, and was kept brushed
+and smooth, and the ground prepared by coating the
+earth with crushed shells, which, however, remarked
+Pepys, “in dry weather turns to dust and deads the
+ball.” Both Charles II. and James II. were much
+addicted to the game, and the flattering poet Waller
+eulogises King Charles’s “matchless” <span class="locked">skill:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“No sooner has he touched the flying ball,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But ’tis already more than half the Mall.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Park was by his time a much-frequented spot,
+and crowds delighted to watch the King and his courtiers
+displaying their dexterity. Charles II. is more intimately
+connected with St. James’s Park than any other great
+personage. He sauntered about, fed his ducks, played
+his games, and made love to fair ladies, all with indulgent,
+friendly crowds watching. He stood in the
+“Green Walk,” beneath the trees, to talk with Nell
+Gwynn, in her garden “on a terrace on the top of the
+wall” overlooking the Park; and shocked John Evelyn,
+who records, in his journal, that he heard and saw “a
+very familiar discourse between the King and Mrs.
+Nelly.” Charles’s well-known reply to his brother, that
+no one would ever kill him to put James on the throne,
+was said in answer to James’s protest that he should not
+venture to roam about so much without attendants in
+the Park. His dogs often accompanied him, and
+perhaps, like most of their descendants, these pets had
+a sporting instinct, and ran off to chase the deer. Anyhow,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span>
+they managed frequently to escape their master’s
+vigilance, and fell a prey to the unscrupulous thief, and
+descriptions of the missing dogs were published in the
+Gazette. One, answering to the name Towser, was
+“liver colour’d and white spotted”; and a “dogg of
+His Majestie’s, full of blew spots, with a white cross on
+his forehead about the bigness of a tumbler,” was lost on
+another occasion.</p>
+
+<p>Charles with his dogs, his ducks, his wit, his engaging
+manners, his doubtful morals, is the central figure of many
+a picture in St. James’s Park, but it does not often form
+a background to his Queen. One scene described by
+Pepys has much charm. The party, returning from Hyde
+Park on horseback with a great crowd of gallants, pass
+down the Mall; the Queen, riding hand in hand with
+the King, looking “mighty pretty” in her white laced
+coat and crimson petticoat. Again, on another occasion,
+the Queen forms an attractive vision, as she walks with
+her ladies from Whitehall to St. James’s dressed from
+head to foot in silver lace, each holding an immense
+green fan to shade themselves from the fierce rays of the
+June sun, while a delighted crowd throng round them.</p>
+
+<p>The popularity of the Mall as the rendezvous of all
+classes lasted for over a century. Through the reigns
+of Queen Anne and George I. and II. all the fashionable
+world of London congregated there twice daily. In the
+morning the promenade took them there from twelve
+to two, and after dinner in full dress they thronged
+thither again, not to play the game of paille-maille, which
+was then out of fashion, but simply to walk about under
+the trees and be amused with races, wrestlings, or an
+impromptu dance. Every well-known person—courtiers,
+wits, beaux, writers, poets, artists, soldiers—and all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span>
+beautiful and fascinating women, great ladies as well
+as more humble charmers, and bold adventuresses, were
+to be seen there daily.</p>
+
+<p>The crowds seem to have been very free in their
+admiration of some of the distinguished ladies. When
+the three lovely Misses Gunning captivated everybody
+with their wit and beauty, they had only to appear in
+the Mall to be surrounded by admirers. On one occasion
+they were so pressed by the curious mob that one of
+these matchless young charmers fainted and had to be
+“carried home in a sedan.”</p>
+
+<p>On looking at an old print of the ladies in their thin
+dresses walking in the Mall, it is customary to bemoan
+the change of climate, to wonder if our great-great-grand-mothers
+were supernaturally strong and not sensitive
+to cold, or to conclude that they only paraded there in
+fine weather. Apparently this last is not the correct
+solution, for in 1765 they astonished Monsieur Grosley
+by their disregard of the elements. He is horrified at
+the fog. “The smoke,” he writes, “forms a cloud
+which envelopes London like a mantle; a cloud which
+the sun pervades but rarely; a cloud which, recoiling
+back upon itself, suffers the sun to break out only
+now and then, which casual appearance procures the
+Londoners a few of what they call <em>glorious days</em>. The
+great love of the English for walking defies the badness
+of other days. On the 26th April, St. James’s Park,
+incessantly covered with fogs, smoke, and rain, that
+scarce left a possibility of distinguishing objects at a
+distance of four steps, was filled with walkers, who were
+an object of musing and admiration to me during the
+whole day.” Few ladies nowadays fear a little fog or
+rain, but to walk in it they must be attired in short<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span>
+skirts, thick boots, and warm or mackintosh coats. It
+must have been much more distressing in the days of
+powdered hair, picture hats, and flimsy garments. No
+wonder M. Grosley was astounded at the persistence
+of the poor draggled ladies.</p>
+
+<p>All foreign visitors to London naturally went to
+see the Mall. Here is the account of a German baron,
+describing the man of the world: “He rises late, dresses
+himself in a frock (close-fitting garment, without pockets,
+and with narrow sleeves), leaves his sword at home, takes
+his cane, and goes where he likes. Generally he takes
+his promenade in the Park, for that is the exchange
+for the men of quality. ’Tis such another place as the
+Garden of the Tuileries in Paris, only the Park has a
+certain beauty of simplicity which cannot be described.
+The grand walk is called the Mall. It is full of people
+at all hours of the day, but especially in the morning
+and evening, when their Majesties often walk there, with
+the royal family, who are attended only by half-a-dozen
+Yeomen of the Guard, and permit all persons to walk at
+the same time with them.”</p>
+
+<p>A writer in 1727, waxing eloquent on the charms
+of the Park, gives up the task of describing it, as “the
+beauty of the Mall in summer is almost past description.”
+“What can be more glorious than to view the body of
+the nobility of our three kingdoms in so short a compass,
+especially when freed from mixed crowds of saucy fops
+and city gentry?” But more often the company was
+very mixed, and manners peculiar. This brilliant and
+motley assembly indulged in all kinds of amusements.
+Even the grandest frequenters afforded diversion sometimes
+to the “saucy fops.” Wrestling matches between
+various courtiers attracted crowds, or a race such as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span>
+one between the Duke of Grafton and Dr. Garth,
+of 200 yards, was the excitement of the day. There
+were odd and original races got up, and wagers freely
+staked. Some inhuman parents backed their baby of
+eighteen months old to walk the whole length of the
+Mall (half a mile) in thirty minutes, and the poor little
+mite performed the feat in twenty-three minutes. What
+comments would modern philanthropic societies have
+made on such a performance!</p>
+
+<p>A race between a fat cook and a lean footman caused
+great merriment, but as the footman was handicapped by
+carrying 110 lbs., the fat cook won. Another time it
+was a hopping-race which engrossed attention—a man
+undertook to hop one hundred yards in fifty hops, and
+succeeded in doing it in forty-six—and endless variety
+of similar follies. The crowds who assembled indulged
+in every sort of gaiety; “in short, no freedoms that can
+be taken here are reckoned indecent; all passes for raillery
+and harmless gallantry.”</p>
+
+<p>Although open to all the world for walking, only
+royal personages or a few specially favoured people were
+allowed to drive through. It was one of the grievances
+of the Duchess of Marlborough when the Duke was
+in disgrace that the privilege of driving her coach and
+six through the Park was denied her. The remaining
+restrictions with regard to carriages have only passed
+away in very recent years. The notice board stating that
+Members of Parliament during the session might drive
+through the Park from Great George Street to Marlborough
+House was only removed when the road was
+opened to all traffic in 1887, and Constitution Hill
+only became a public highway in 1889. The use of
+the road passing under the Horse Guards’ Archway is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span>
+still restricted to those who receive special permission
+from the sovereign.</p>
+
+<p>The Park had never been drained, and had always
+shown signs of its marshy origin, and “Duck Island”
+was really a natural swamp. An unusually high tide
+flooded the low-lying end where the Horse Guards’
+Parade and the houses of Downing Street with their
+little gardens now stand. What state secrets they could
+divulge had they the power of speech! The tilting-ground
+was often in a condition quite unfit for the
+exercise of troops, so with a view to preventing this, it
+was paved with stone early in the eighteenth century.
+It has always been used for military displays, and the
+trooping of the colours on the King’s birthday takes
+place on the same ground which witnessed the brilliant
+scene when the colours, thirty-eight in number, captured
+at the battle of Blenheim were conveyed to Westminster
+Abbey. On the parade-ground now stands the gun cast
+at Seville, used by Soult at Cadiz, and taken after the
+battle of Salamanca. Here many an impressive ceremony
+of distributing medals, and countless parades, have
+taken place through many generations. Here, with the
+brutality of old days, corporal punishment was administered,
+and offending soldiers were flogged in full
+view of the merry-making crowds assembled in the Park.
+Round the Park lay other marshy lands, also frequently
+flooded by the Thames, and it was not surprising that
+on one occasion an otter found its way from the river and
+settled down on Duck Island and there grew fat on the
+King’s carp. Sir Robert Walpole sent to Houghton for
+his otter-hounds, and an exciting hunt ensued, in which
+the Duke of Cumberland took part, and the offending
+otter was captured.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span></p>
+
+<p>Rosamund’s Pond had, in the course of time, become
+stagnant and unpleasant, and there were frequent complaints
+of its unsavoury condition. About 1736 a machine
+for pumping out water was invented by a Welshman,
+and used successfully to empty the pond, and it was
+thoroughly cleansed. Thirty years later the same evil
+began again to be a nuisance, and it was decided to drain
+and fill up the pond entirely, which was accomplished
+about 1772. The trees on the island were felled, and
+those near the bank died from the lack of water, so at
+first the absence of the slimy pond must have been disfiguring.
+The shady walk near it, known as the Close
+Walk or the Jacobites’ Walk, must have disappeared
+when the trees died. About the same time the swampy
+moat round Duck Island was filled up and the canal
+cleaned out. When these improvements were completed
+in 1775 some birds were put on the canal. One of them
+was a swan called Jack, belonging to Queen Charlotte,
+which was reared in the garden of Buckingham House.
+This bird ruled the roost for many a day, and was a
+popular favourite. It lived until 1840, when some
+new arrivals, in the shape of Polish geese, pecked and
+ill-treated the poor old bird so seriously that he died.</p>
+
+<p>About 1786 fashion began to desert the Mall for the
+Green Park, and the crowds which collected there were
+no longer intermingled with the Court circle. In a letter
+to her daughter Madame Roland describes the company
+in the Mall as very different from what it was a few years
+earlier, for though it was “very brilliant on a Sunday
+evening, and full of well-to-do people and well-dressed
+women, in general they are all tradespeople and citizens.”
+A generation later the Mall seems to have become quite
+deserted. Sir Richard Phillips, in his morning’s walk<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span>
+from London to Kew in 1817, bemoans the absence of
+the gay <span class="locked">throng:—</span></p>
+
+<p>“My spirits sank, and a tear started into my eyes, as
+I brought to mind those crowds of beauty, rank, and
+fashion which, until within these few years, used to be
+displayed in the centre Mall of this Park on Sunday
+evenings during spring and summer. How often in my
+youth had I been the delighted spectator of the enchanted
+and enchanting assemblage. Here used to promenade,
+for one or two hours after dinner, the whole British
+world of gaiety, beauty, and splendour. Here could be
+seen in one moving mass, extending the whole length of
+the Mall, 5000 of the most lovely women in this country
+of female beauty, all splendidly attired, and accompanied
+by as many well-dressed men. What a change, I exclaimed,
+has a few years wrought in these once happy
+and cheerful personages! How many of those who on
+this very spot then delighted my eyes are now mouldering
+in the silent grave!”</p>
+
+<p>About 1730 Queen Caroline, who was then busy with
+the alterations in Hyde Park, turned her attention to what
+is now known as the Green Park also. It had all formed
+part of St. James’s Park, and was known as the Upper Park
+or Little St. James’s Park. It was enclosed by a brick wall
+in 1667 by Charles II., who stocked it with deer. In the
+centre of the Park an ice-house was made, at that time
+a great novelty in this country, although well known in
+France and Italy. In his poem on St. James’s Park
+Waller alludes to <span class="locked">it:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Yonder the harvest of cold months laid up</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Gives a fresh coolness to the royal cup;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">There ice like crystal firm and never lost</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Tempers hot July with December’s frost.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span></p>
+<p>No further alterations were made, except that, in 1681,
+Charles effected an exchange of land with the Earl of
+Arlington, on which, a few years later, Arlington Street
+was built. The path which runs parallel with the backs
+of these houses was Queen Caroline’s idea, and she used it
+frequently herself, and it became known as the “Queen’s
+Walk.” The houses overlooking the Park went up in
+value as the occupants could enjoy the sight of the Queen
+and the Princesses taking their daily walk. The line of
+this path is no longer the same, as a piece was cut off the
+Park in 1795 and leased to the Duke of Bridgewater to
+add to the garden of his house. The Queen also built
+a pavilion known as the Queen’s Library in the Park,
+where she spent some time after her morning promenades.
+Although Queen Caroline took to the Upper Park, the
+world of fashion did not follow at once, and it was not
+until about 1786 that the Green Park for some reason
+suddenly became the rage. The only incident of historic
+interest between this date and the making of the road
+was the celebration of the end of the War of Succession
+in the spring following the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. A
+great pavilion like a Doric temple, 410 feet long and 114
+feet high, was erected near the wall separating the Green
+Park from St. James’s, and on the 27th of April a grand
+display of fireworks was arranged. A fire, however,
+broke out just as the performance was beginning, when a
+grand overture composed by Handel had been performed,
+and the King and dense crowds were watching the illuminations.
+The flames were got under, but not before
+much of the temporary building had been destroyed, and
+the greater part of the fireworks perished in the flames,
+and several fatal and serious accidents further marred the
+entertainment.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span></p>
+
+<p>Near the top of the Park was a reservoir or “fine
+piece of water” belonging to the Chelsea Waterworks,
+and the path round it was included in the fashionable
+promenade by those who paraded in the Queen’s Walk
+after dinner. Lower down, where there is still a depression,
+was a little pond, originally part of the Tyburn
+stream. The “green stagnant pool” was abused by a
+writer in 1731, who regretted that trees had just been
+planted near it, which probably meant that the offensive
+pool would “not soon be removed.” The prophecy was
+correct, for it was more than a hundred years later before
+this was filled up. The Park wall ran along Piccadilly,
+and here and there, as was often the case in the eighteenth
+century, there were gaps with iron rails, through which
+glimpses of the Park could be obtained. Some persons
+had private keys to the gates leading into the Park from
+Piccadilly. Daring robberies were by no means uncommon,
+and thieves, having done mischief in the streets
+near Piccadilly on more than one occasion, were found
+to be provided with keys to the gates, through which
+they could make their escape into the Park and elude
+their pursuers. The Ranger’s Lodge stood on the
+northern side, and was rebuilt and done up in 1773.
+It was made so attractive that there was great competition,
+when it was completed, to be Deputy-ranger and
+live there. The two stags which now stand on Albert
+Gate, Hyde Park, once adorned the gates of this Ranger’s
+Lodge. It is described in 1792 as “a very neat lodge
+surrounded by a shrubbery, which renders it enchantingly
+rural.” When George III. bought Buckingham
+House, then an old red-brick mansion, he
+took away the wall which separated the Green Park
+from St. James’s, and put a railing instead. In this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span>
+wall was another lodge, and a few trees near it, known
+as the Wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>The aspect of the Mall has greatly changed since
+the days when its fashion was at its height. Then the
+gardens of St. James’s Palace ran the whole length of the
+north side from the Palace towards Whitehall. Stephen
+Switzer, writing in 1715, extols the beauty of the garden,
+which by his time was cut up and partly built on. “The
+Royal Garden in St. James’s Park, part of which is now in
+the possession of the Right Honourable Lord Carlton,
+and the upper part belonging to Marlborough House,
+was of that King’s [Charles II.] planting, which were in
+the remembrance of most people the finest Lines of
+Dwarfs perhaps in the Universe. Mr. London” ...
+presumed “before Monsieur de la Quintinye, the famous
+French gardener, ... to challenge all France with the
+like, and if France, why not the whole World?”</p>
+
+<p>Carlton House, a red-brick building, with the stone
+portico now in front of the National Gallery, was built
+in 1709 on part of this garden. Some twenty years
+later, before it was purchased by Frederick, Prince of
+Wales, the grounds belonging to the house were laid out
+by Kent. Until Carlton House was pulled down in
+1827, therefore, the Mall was bounded on the north by
+choice gardens. Between the Mall and the walls of
+these gardens ran the “Green Walk,” or “Duke
+Humphrey’s Walk,” as it was also often called. The
+origin of the latter name is to be traced to old St. Paul’s.
+The monument to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in the
+centre aisle of old St. Paul’s Cathedral was where “poore
+idlers” and “careless mal-contents” <span class="locked">congregated—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Poets of Paules, those of Duke Humfrye’s messe</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">That feed on nought but graves and emptinesse.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span></p>
+<p>When Duke Humphrey’s Walk in St. Paul’s was
+burnt the name became attached to the walk in St.
+James’s Park, where idlers also sauntered. Some writers
+attribute the transference of the name to the fact that
+the arched walk under the trees was like the cathedral
+aisle. Anyhow the name clung to this walk in the Park
+from 1666 and during the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>When Carlton House became the centre of attraction
+the Park itself was in a very neglected state. The canal
+was turbid, the grass long, and the seats unpainted.
+How long it would have remained in this condition is
+uncertain had not a new impulse of gardening possessed
+the whole nation, and once more it was resolved to alter
+the entire Park.</p>
+
+<p>The rage for landscape gardening was at its height.
+Capability Brown had done his work of destruction, and
+set the fashion of “copying nature,” and his successors
+were following on his lines, but going much further even
+than Brown. The sight of a straight canal had become
+intolerable. The Serpentine was designed when the idea
+that it might be possible to make the banks of artificial
+sheets of water in anything but a perfectly straight line
+was just dawning, but the canal in St. James’s Park was
+transformed when half the stiff ponds and canals in the
+kingdom had been twisted and turned into lakes or
+meres. Brown had had a hand in the alterations at the
+time Rosamund’s Pond was removed, but it was Eyton
+who planned and executed the work fifty years later. It
+was begun in 1827, and a contemporary writer praises
+the result as “the best obliteration of avenues” that
+has been effected. Although he owns it involved “a
+tremendous destruction of fine elms,” he is lost in
+admiration of the “astounding ingenuity” which “converted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span>
+a Dutch canal into a fine flowing river, with
+incurvated banks, terminated at one end by a planted
+island and at the other by a peninsula.” A permanent
+bridge was first made across the water about this time.
+Previously a temporary one had been made when the
+Allied Sovereigns visited London in 1814—a kind of
+Chinese design by Nash, surmounted by a pagoda of
+seven storeys. It was this flimsy edifice which made
+Canova say the thing that struck him most in England
+was that Waterloo Bridge was the work of a private
+company, while this bridge was put up by the Government.
+It was on the canal in St. James’s Park that skates
+of a modern type first appeared in London. Bone ones
+were in use much earlier on Moorfields. Both Evelyn and
+Pepys saw the new pattern first in the Park in 1662.
+Two years later Pepys notes going to the canal with the
+Duke of York, “where, though the ice was broken and
+dangerous, yet he would go slide upon his scates, which
+I did not like, but he slides very well.” Just before the
+alterations began, and the complete change of the canal
+was taken in hand, the Park was lighted with gas lamps,
+an innovation which caused much excitement. At the
+same time orders were issued to shut the gates by ten
+every evening. A wit on this occasion wrote the following
+lines, which were found stuck up on a <span class="locked">tree:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“The trees in the Park</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Are illumined with gas,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But after it’s dark</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">No creatures can pass.</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Ye sensible wights</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Who govern our fates,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Extinguish your lights</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Or open your gates.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span></p>
+<p>The same lamps inspired another poet, who wrote,
+just before the destruction of the avenues took <span class="locked">place:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Hail, Royal Park! what various charms are thine;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Thy patent lamps pale Cynthia’s rays outshine,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Thy limes and elms with grace majestic grow</div>
+    <div class="verse indent8">All in a row.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Yet once more has St. James’s Park been subjected to
+renovation. The work, which is a memorial to our late
+beloved Queen Victoria, is not yet completed, so its
+description must be imperfect. The design aims at
+drawing together the several quarters of the Park
+towards Buckingham Palace and a central group of
+statuary. The Mall is now the scene of ceaseless traffic,
+and the sauntering pedestrian is a thing of the past. A
+wide road runs at right angles across the Green Park,
+and so once again more closely associates the Upper with
+the Lower St. James’s Park. Probably the greatest praise
+of the alterations would be to say that Le Nôtre would
+have approved them. They seem to complete the
+design in a fitting manner, but they banish once and for
+all time, the semi-rural character which for so many
+centuries clung to the Park. The design includes a
+series of formal parterres which are filled with bedding-out
+plants raised in Hyde Park. In the summer of
+1906 they were planted with scarlet geraniums with an
+edging of grasses and foliage and a few golden privets,
+and on hot July days there were many people ready to
+pronounce the arrangement as extremely bad taste. It
+seemed a reversion to the days when a startling mass of
+colour was the only effect aimed at. As they appeared
+all through the mild October days, when a soft foggy
+light enveloped the world, and the trees looked dark and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span>
+dreary, with their leaves, devoid of autumn tints, still
+struggling to hold on, the vivid colouring of the beds
+gave a very different impression. The charm of the warm
+red tone against the cold blue mists must have given a
+sensation of pleasure to any one sensitive to such contrasts.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p81" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p081.jpg" width="529" height="484" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p081_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">A Corner of the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens,
+in front of Buckingham Palace</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The Park in spring has nothing of the stiff, early
+Victorian gardening left. Under the trees crocuses raise
+their dainty heads, as cheerily as from out of Alpine
+snows, and the slopes of grass spangled with a “host of
+golden daffodils” are a delight to all beholders.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span></p>
+
+<p>The palmy days of St. James’s Park may have passed
+away—no longer is the fate of nations and the happiness
+of lives decided under its ancient elms—but those days
+have left their mark. Every path, every tree, every
+green-sward, could tell its story. The Park is now
+more beautiful than it ever was, even though fashion has
+deserted it. The last changes are but one more link in
+the long historic chain. It brings the Park of the Stuarts,
+the Mall of the Queen Anne’s age of letters, down to our
+own great Queen and the days of Expansion and Empire.
+A stroll under its shady trees and by its sparkling water
+must be replete with suggestions to the moralist, with
+thoughts to the poet, and with an inexpressible charm to
+the ordinary appreciative Londoner.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV"><span id="toclink_83"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER IV</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">REGENT’S PARK</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>When Philomel begins to sing</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>The grass grows green and flowers spring;</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Methinks it is a pleasant thing</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent2"><i>To walk on Primrose Hill.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Roxburgh Ballads</span>, <i>c.</i> 1620.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcR"><img src="images/i_idc_r.png" width="180" height="182" alt="R">
+<span class="firstword">Regent’s Park</span> has had but a
+transitory day of fashion, and history
+has not crowded it with associations
+like the other Royal Parks.
+It is the largest and one of the most
+beautiful, yet there is something
+cold and less attractive about it.
+In spring, with its wealth of thorn
+trees, it has a delightfully rural appearance, and it possesses
+many charms on close acquaintance. Its history
+as a Royal Park is as ancient as that of Hyde Park
+or St. James’s, but it remained a distant country sporting
+estate, and only assumed the form of a Park, in
+the modern sense of the word, less than a hundred
+years ago.</p>
+
+<p>In the dim distance of Domesday it formed part of
+the manor of Tybourne. Later on the manor became
+Marylebone or Mary le Bourne, the Church of St. Mary
+by the Burn, the brook in question being the Tyburn.
+The manor in Domesday is described as part of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span>
+lands belonging to the Abbey of Barking in Essex. In
+the thirteenth century it was held by Robert de Vere,
+and passed by descent through his daughter to the
+Earls of Arundel. Later on the manor was divided,
+and a fourth share came to Henry V. as heir to the
+Earls of Derby. The greater part of the manor was
+bought by Thomas Hobson, and his son, who was Lord
+Mayor in 1544, exchanged it with Henry VIII. for some
+church lands elsewhere. So it became part of the royal
+hunting-ground, and the same enactment concerning
+the preservation of game applied to Marylebone Park,
+situated within the manor, as to Hyde Park. Queen
+Elizabeth leased part of the manor to a certain Edward
+Forset, and James I. sold him all the manor except the
+part known as Marylebone Park, now Regent’s Park.
+It was again sold by the grandson of Edward Forset
+to John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, and passed to his
+daughter, who married Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford,
+and through their daughter, who married the second
+Earl of Portland, to the Bentinck family. The Park
+has always remained Crown property, although it has
+frequently been let by the reigning sovereign. Charles I.
+granted it to Sir G. Strode and J. Wandesford as a
+payment of a debt of £2318 for arms and ammunition.
+It was sold by Cromwell with all the other
+royal lands, but after the Restoration it went back
+to its former holders till the debt was discharged,
+and after that to various other tenants. It was on
+the expiration of a lease to the Duke of Portland in
+1811 that the laying out of the Park in its present
+form commenced.</p>
+
+<p>During the early period incidents connected with
+it are meagre. It is for the most part only in royal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span>
+accounts that references to Marylebone Park are found,
+and they are merely a bare statement of facts. But
+that hunting-parties, with all the show and splendour
+attending them, took place frequently, is certain. Among
+the Loseley MSS. occur, in 1554, instructions to Sir
+Thomas Cawarden, as “Master of the Tents and
+Toiles,” to superintend the making of “certaine banquiting
+houses of Bowes [= boughs] and other devices of
+pleasure.” One of these was made in “Marybone
+Parke,” and a minute description is given. It was
+40 feet long, and “wrought by tymber, brick, and
+lyme, with their raunges and other necessary utensyles
+therto insident, and to the like accustomed.” Also
+three “standinges” were made at the same time, “all
+of tymber garnished with boughes and flowers, every
+[one] of them conteynenge in length 10 foote and in
+bredth 8 foote, which houses and standings were so
+edified, repaired, garnished, decked, and fynyshed against
+the Marshall Saint Andrewes comynge thethere by speciale
+and straight comandement, as well of the late King
+as his counsell to Sir Tho<sup>s.</sup> Cawarden, Knt. M<sup>r.</sup> of
+the said Office of Revels; and Lawrence Bradshaw,
+Surveior of the King’s works, exhibited for the same
+w<sup>t.</sup> earnest charge done, wrought and attended between
+the 27th of June and the 2 of August in the said year”
+[4th of Edward VI.]. Employed on the above works
+for 22 days at all hours, a space to eat and drink
+excepted, “Carpenters, bricklayers, 1d. the hour;
+labourers, ½d. p. hour; plasterers, 11d. a day; painters,
+7d. and 6d. a day.” “Charges for cutting boughs in
+the wood at Hyde Park for trimming the banquetting
+house, gathering rushes, flags, and ivy; painters, taylors
+for sewing roof, etc., basket makers working upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span>
+windows, total cost, £169, 7s. 8d.” Only about half of
+this total was due to the work in Marylebone, as a similar
+pavilion, and three other “standings,” were made in
+Hyde Park at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>Hall, the chronicler of Henry VIII.’s time, inveighs
+against the fashion of making these sumptuous banqueting
+houses. They were not only a regal amusement,
+but the citizens built in their suburban gardens “many
+faire Summer houses ... some of them like Mid-summer
+Pageants, with Towers, Turrets, and Chimney
+tops, not so much for use or profit, as for shew and
+pleasure, and bewraying the vanity of men’s mindes,
+much unlike to the disposition of the ancient Citizens,
+who delighted in building of Hospitals and Almes-houses
+for the poore.” There stood in Marylebone
+parish a banqueting house where the Lord Mayor and
+aldermen dined when they inspected the conduits of the
+Tybourne. On one occasion they hunted a hare before
+dinner, and after, “they went to hunt the fox. There
+was a great cry for a mile, and at length the hounds
+killed him at the end of St. Giles.” During this run
+the hunt must have skirted the royal preserves of
+Marylebone. In Elizabeth’s time a hunting-party on
+3rd February 1600 is recorded, in which the “Ambassador
+from the Emperor of Russia and the other
+Muscovites rode through the City of London to
+Marylebone Park, and there hunted at their pleasure,
+and shortly after returned homeward.”</p>
+
+<p>Marylebone was a retired spot for duels, and many
+took place there down to the time when duelling ceased.
+The quarrel which led to one in Elizabeth’s reign is
+most typical of that age. Sir Charles Blount, afterwards
+Earl of Devonshire, handsome and dashing,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span>
+distinguished himself in the lists, and won the approbation
+of Queen Elizabeth. She presented him with a
+chessman in gold, which he fastened on his arm with
+a crimson ribbon. This aroused the jealousy of Essex,
+who said with scorn, “Now I perceive that every fool
+must have a favour.” Whereupon Blount challenged
+him. They met in Marylebone Park, and Essex was
+disarmed and wounded in the thigh.</p>
+
+<p>In Mary’s time the Park witnessed a warlike scene
+in connection with one of the organised attempts to
+dethrone the Queen. The indictment of Sir Nicholas
+Throgmorton for high treason, because he, with Sir
+Thomas Wyatt and others, “conspired to depose and
+destroy the Queen,” states that “the said Sir Nicholas
+plotted to take and hold the Tower, levy war in
+Kent, Devonshire, etc., and, with Sir Henry Isley and
+others, on 26 January 1554, rose with 2000 men,
+marched from Kent to Southwark, and by Brentford and
+Marylebone Park to London, the Queen being then at
+Westminster, but were overthrown by her army.” The
+incidents which centre round this Park are few. Even
+in the accounts of all the royal lands it does not often
+occur. In 1607 one item in the Domestic State
+Papers, a list of nine parks, from each of which four
+bucks were to be taken, includes Hyde Park, but
+Marylebone is not mentioned, and in orders to the
+keepers it does not often occur.</p>
+
+<p>During the Commonwealth it comes more into
+notice, from the sad fact that it was then sold and disparked,
+and the trees cut down. When Cromwell sold
+it to “John Spencer of London, gent.,” the proceeds
+were settled on Col. Thomas Harrison’s regiment of
+dragoons for their pay. The existing Ranger, John<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span>
+Carey, was turned out, and Sir John Ipsley put in his
+place. The price given for the Park was £13,215, 6s. 8d.,
+which included £130 for deer and £1774 for timber,
+exclusive of 2976 trees which were marked for the
+Royal Navy. Cromwell probably knew the Park and
+its advantages well, as some years before, when he
+was a boy, his uncle had had permission to hunt in
+any of the royal forests. The warrant is dated 15th
+June 1604, “to the lieutenants, wardens, and keepers
+of the forests, chases, and parks, to permit Sir Oliver
+Cromwell, Knt., Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, to
+hunt where he shall think fit.” The work of hewing
+the timber began at once. On October 19, 1649, the
+Navy Commissioner was instructed to “repair the
+crane at Whitehall for boating timber, which is to go
+from Marylebone Park to the yards to build frigates.”
+Again, Sir Henry Mildmay was ordered to “confer
+with Mr. Carter, Surveyor of Works, for the timber
+in Marylebone Park to be brought through Scotland
+Yard, to be boated there for use of the navy.” Cromwell
+converted the Park to other uses, as in June the
+same year orders were given to put to grass in Marylebone
+Park all the artillery horses “bought by Captain
+Tomlins for Ireland till Monday week.” That a number
+were turned out there for a time is clear from the further
+warrant, dated July 12, to “permit William Yarvell,
+Carriage Master, to put all the horses provided for
+Ireland, which cannot be accommodated in Marylebone
+Park, into Hyde Park to graze.” No doubt they found
+excellent pasture, in spite of the game. Still, the deer
+must have been fairly numerous, considering the price
+paid for those left when the Park was sold. One
+hundred of the “best deer” were first ordered to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span>
+removed from there to St. James’s Park, “Colonel Pride
+to see to the business.”</p>
+
+<p>At the Restoration the former tenants were reinstated
+until the debt was discharged, and John Carey was compensated
+for his loss of the rangership; but the Park
+was never re-stocked with deer. It is supposed that the
+Queens, Mary and Elizabeth, sometimes resided at the
+Manor House belonging to the Manor, which stood at
+the south side of what is now Marylebone Road, and
+was built by Henry VIII. A drawing of the house in
+1700 exists, and it is not the same as Oxford House,
+with which it has sometimes been confused, belonging to
+Lord Oxford, which contained the celebrated Harleian
+collection of MSS. Henry VIII.’s Manor House was
+pulled down in 1790. It is not until after that date that
+anything further has to be recorded of the Park; until then
+it remained let out as farms. In 1793 Mr. White, architect
+to the Duke of Portland, the tenant of the Park from
+the Crown, approached Mr. Fordyce, the Surveyor-General,
+with his ideas and plans for the improvement
+of the whole of the area. During the previous fifty
+years the streets and squares between Oxford Street and
+Marylebone had been growing up. Foley House, a large
+building, stood on the site of the present Langham
+Hotel; and in the lease by which the land was held
+from the Duke of Portland, it was covenanted that no
+buildings should obstruct the view of Marylebone Park
+from this house. When, in 1772, the Brothers Adam
+designed Portland Place, they made it the entire width
+of Foley House, so that the agreement was fulfilled to
+the letter. In those days the street ended where No. 8
+Portland Place now stands; then came the railings which
+enclosed Marylebone Fields, with its buttercup meadows<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span>
+and country lanes and hedgerows. White’s idea commended
+itself to Fordyce, and he approached the Treasury
+on the subject. The total area, according to the survey
+in 1794, was 543 ac. 17 p. This was disposed chiefly
+between three farms of about 288, 133, and 117 acres
+respectively. From the first all the plans embraced
+extensive buildings, as well as a proportion of park.
+Inspired by Fordyce, the Treasury offered a prize, not
+exceeding £1000, for the best design, and several were
+submitted. Fordyce aimed at something between the
+most extreme votaries of the landscape school and the
+older, debased, formal styles—a compromise which Loudon
+was at that time trying to bring into vogue. A “union
+of the ancient and modern styles of planting,” he called it,
+which led by stages to the Italian parterres and brilliant
+bedding out of the early Victorian gardens. Fordyce
+did not live to see any plan put into execution. At his
+death the Surveyor-General of Land Revenues and the
+Commissioners of Woods and Forests were amalgamated,
+and Leverton and Chawner, architects to the former, and
+Nash, architect to the latter, submitted designs—Nash’s
+being eventually accepted. The other design cut up the
+whole ground into ornamental villas with pleasure
+grounds, with a sort of village green or central square,
+with a church in the middle, and a site for a market and
+barracks. White’s views were more like Nash’s in some
+respects, as he had artificial water and a drive round the
+Park. The lease held by the Duke of Portland fell in,
+in 1811, and soon after the work of carrying out Nash’s
+design was begun by James Morgan. The Regent’s
+Park Canal was included in the same plan, and begun in
+1812 and finished in 1820. Its length from Paddington
+to Limehouse is 8¾ miles, and the total fall 84 feet.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p90c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 55em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p090c.jpg" width="870" height="552" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p090c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    AUTUMN IN REGENT’S PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span></p>
+
+<p>Although the planting and levelling began in 1812,
+the buildings rose up slowly. Of the villas in the Park
+only two were built in 1820, the rent demanded for the
+ground being extremely high. But two or three years
+later the whole thing was more or less as it is now, so far
+as the general outline and buildings are concerned. The
+cost by May 1826 was £1,533,582, and the estimated
+probable revenue £36,330. The Prince Regent took
+the greatest interest in the proceedings, and Nash’s design
+included a site for a palace for him, though even contemporary
+writers condemned the suggestion, as the
+situation was damp—“the soil was clay, ... and the view
+bad.” It was only natural that the Park should henceforth
+become the Regent’s, and not Marylebone Park,
+and the “new street” to connect it with Carlton House
+be called Regent Street.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to judge Regent’s Park with an unprejudiced
+eye. The exaggerated praise it called forth
+when just completed is only equalled by the unmeasured
+censure of the next generation. Of the houses which surround
+it the following are two descriptions. The first, in
+1855, calls them “highly-embellished terraces of houses,
+in which the Doric and Ionic, the Corinthian, and even
+the Tuscan orders have been employed with ornate effect,
+aided by architectural sculpture.” Fifty years later the
+same houses are summed up with very different epithets:
+“Most of the ugly terraces which surround it exhibit
+all the worst follies of the Grecian architectural mania
+which disgraced the beginning of this century”! It
+may not be a style which commends itself to modern
+taste, but one thing is certain, that having embarked on
+classical architecture it was best to stick to it and complete
+the whole. It is as much a bit of history, and as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span>
+typical of the age, as Elizabethan or Tudor architecture
+is of theirs, and as such it is best to treat Regent’s Park as
+an interesting example of early nineteenth-century taste.</p>
+
+<p>This ground was country when building was begun,
+and when one thinks of the streets and crescents that
+grow up when the country touches the town, and the incongruous
+ugliness of most of them, there is much to
+be said for the substantial uniformity of Regent’s Park.
+What can be argued from the surroundings of the other
+parks? Would Regent’s Park have been improved by
+the erection of rows of houses of the Queen Anne’s
+Mansion type? One cannot help wondering what Stowe
+would have thought of such a production, when he
+instances “a remarkable punishment of Pride in high
+buildings,” how a man who built himself a tower in
+Lime Street, to overlook his neighbours, was very soon
+“tormented with gouts in his joynts, of his hands and
+legs”—that he could go no “further than he was led,
+much lesse was he able to climbe” his tower! What
+retribution would he have thought sufficiently severe for
+the perpetrators of Park Row Buildings, New York, with
+their thirty-two storeys?</p>
+
+<p>Anyhow, Regent’s Park was welcomed by the generation
+who watched it grow. A writer in 1823 says:
+“When first we saw that Marylebone Fields were enclosed,
+and that the hedgerow walks which twined through
+them were gradually being obliterated and the whole
+district artificially laid out, ... we underwent a painful
+feeling or two.... A few years, however, have elapsed,
+and we are not only reconciled to the change alluded to,
+but rejoice in it. A noble Park is rapidly rising up, and
+a vast space, close to the metropolis, not only preserved
+from the encroachment of mean buildings, but laid out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span>
+with groves, lakes, and villas, ... while through the
+place there is a winding road, which commands at
+every turn some fresh feature of an extensive country
+prospect.” This enthusiast winds up by saying, “We
+do not envy the apathy of the Englishman who can
+walk through these splendid piles without feeling his
+heart swell with national pride.” We may smile at such
+high-sounding language, but, after all, it was an innocent
+form for national pride to take.</p>
+
+<p>The special feature which the plan of the Park embraced,
+was the villas, standing in their own pleasure
+grounds. These were all built in the same Grecian style—most
+of them designed by Decimus Burton, who was
+also the architect of Cornwall Terrace, the only one not
+by Nash. St. Dunstan’s Villa, now belonging to Lord
+Aldenham, and containing his precious library, was his
+work. It was built by the Marquis of Hertford, and
+the name is taken from the two giant wooden figures of
+Gog and Magog, which formerly stood by St. Dunstan’s
+Church in Fleet Street. They had been placed there in
+1671, and struck the hours on a large clock (the work
+of Thomas Harrys), one of the curiosities of the City.
+It was with reference to them that Cowper’s lines on a
+feeble, uninspired poet were <span class="locked">written:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“When Labour and when Dullness, club in hand,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Like the two figures of St. Dunstan’s stand,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Beating alternately, in measured time,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The clock-work tintinabulum of rhyme,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Exact and regular the sounds will be,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But such mere quarter strokes are not for me.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Lord Hertford used to be taken to see them as a
+child, and had a child’s longing to possess the monsters.
+Unlike most childish dreams, he was able, when the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span>
+church was rebuilt in 1832, to realise it and to purchase
+the figures, and remove them to strike the hours in
+his new villa. St. John’s Lodge is another of these
+detached villas, with a fascinating garden, built by
+Burton, for Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid; and also in
+the inner circle there is South Villa, with an observatory,
+erected in 1837 by Mr. George Bishop, from which
+various stars and asteroids were discovered by Dawes
+and Hinde.</p>
+
+<p>The most interesting of the houses in the park is
+St. Katharine’s Lodge, not from any special beauty of
+its own, but from the sad association of its history.
+On the east of the road which encircles the Park is
+St. Katharine’s Hospital, built by A. Poynter, a pupil
+of Nash, in 1827, when the “act of barbarism” of removing
+the Hospital from the East End was committed.
+The home of the Hospital, with its church and almshouses,
+was close to the Tower, and after a peaceful
+existence of nearly seven hundred years it was completely
+swept away to make room for more docks.
+There is nothing to redeem the crude look of uselessness
+that the new buildings in Regent’s Park present.
+They seem out of place, and as if stranded there by
+accident. Even thirty years after their removal an official
+report on the revenues of the hospital shows some signs of
+repentance. The writers sum up the increased income,
+then about £11,000 a year, and wonder if in this far-away
+spot it is being put to the best uses; and the
+report even goes so far as to suggest its restoration to
+the populous East End, where the recipients of the
+charity would spend their lives in the cure of souls, or as
+nurses and mission-women among the poor. Since then,
+an improvement has set in as it has become the Central<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span>
+House for Nurses for the Poor, known as the Jubilee
+Nurses, as the funds to provide them were raised by the
+women of England as a Jubilee Gift to Queen Victoria.</p>
+
+<p>The Hospital of St. Katharine was founded by Queen
+Matilda, “wife to King Stephen, by licence of the Prior
+and Convent of the Holy Trinity in London, on whose
+ground she founded it. Elianor the Queene, wife to
+King Edward the First, a second Foundresse, appointed
+to be there, one Master, three Brethren Chaplaines and
+three Sisters, ten poore women, and six poore clerkes.
+She gave to them the Manor of Clarton in Wiltshire
+and Upchurch in Kent, etc. Queene Philip, wife to
+King Edward the Third, 1351, founded a Chauntry
+there, and gave to that Hospital tenne pound land by
+yeere; it was of late time [1598] called a free Chappell, a
+Colledge and an Hospital for poore sisters. The Quire
+which (of late yeares) was not much inferior to that of
+Pauls, was dissolved by Doctor Wilson, a late Master
+there.” Such is Stowe’s account of the foundation.</p>
+
+<p>Even in those days the district was becoming crowded,
+“pestered with small Tenements,” chiefly owing to the
+influx from Calais, Hammes, and Guisnes when those
+places were lost in Mary’s reign. Many, “wanting
+Habitation,” were allowed a “Place belonging to St.
+Katharine’s.” The curious name, “Hangman’s Gains,”
+in that locality was said to be derived from a corruption
+of two of the places the refugees came from.</p>
+
+<p>In Henry VIII.’s time a Guild or Fraternity was
+“founded in the Church of this Hospital of St. Katharine
+to the Honour of St. Barbara.” Katharine of Aragon
+and Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey belonged to it,
+and many other “honourable persons.” The object was
+to secure a home for any “Brother or Sister who fell into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span>
+Decay of worldly Goods as by Sekenes or Hurt by the
+Warrys, or upon Land or See, or by any other means.”
+Those belonging to the Fraternity who had paid the full
+sum due, namely 10s. 4d., in “money, plate, or any other
+honest stufe,” were entitled to fourteen pence a week,
+house-room and bedding, “and a woman to wash his
+clothes and to dresse his mete; and so to continue Yere
+by Yere and Weke by Weke durynge his Lyfe,” like a
+modern benefit society. The fine old church contained
+many monuments, some of which were transferred to the
+new church when the removal took place. Among them
+the effigy of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, and one of
+his wives, dating from 1447, reposes under a fine canopy.
+The stalls and pulpit of the sixteenth century were also
+brought to the new building. Thus shorn of all its
+associations and all its beauty, the foundation remains,
+like a flower ruthlessly transplanted too late to take root
+and regain its former charm.</p>
+
+<p>The Master’s house makes a most delightful residence,
+and has always been let. Mr. Marley, the present tenant,
+who has filled the house with works of art, has made a
+very charming garden also, more like an Italian than an
+English villa garden, as the view reproduced in this
+volume testifies.</p>
+
+<p>Three Societies occupy pieces of ground within the
+Park. The most ancient and least well known is the
+Toxophilite. Archery has for many hundred years been
+practised by the citizens of London. The ground chosen
+for shooting was chiefly near Islington, Hoxton, and
+Shoreditch. To encourage the use of bows and arrows
+Henry VIII. ordered Sir Christopher Morris, Master of
+Ordnance, to form the “Fraternitye or Guylde of Saint
+George” about 1537, and these archers used to shoot in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span>
+Spital Fields. About the time of the Spanish Armada
+the Honourable Artillery Company was formed, which
+possessed a company of archers, and for over two hundred
+years archery was kept alive by this corps, and, following
+them, by the Finsbury Archers. Just at the time
+when the corps was abolished Sir Ashton Lever formed
+the Toxophilite Society in 1781, and the archers of the
+Honourable Artillery Company became merged in the
+new Society, which then shot on Blackheath. George IV.
+belonged to it, and it henceforth became the Royal Toxophilite
+Society, and settled on ground given to it in
+Regent’s Park in 1834, where it remains, as the lineal
+descendant of the old historic Guild of Archers. It
+possesses several interesting relics; a shield given by
+Queen Mary, and silver cups of the Georgian period,
+besides a valuable collection of bows and arrows. The
+hall where the members meet, built when the Society
+moved to Regent’s Park, and added to since, has
+beneath it some curious cellars with underground
+passages branching off from them, which it has been
+suggested may have been part of the outhouses belonging
+to the Royal Manor House, which stood not far off, on
+ground now outside the Park. The large iron hooks
+that were until recently in the cellar walls, seemed suggestive
+of venison from the Park for the royal table. The
+ground of the Society is suitably laid out, with a fine sunk
+lawn for the archery practice. By an arrangement with
+the Toxophilite Society, “the Skating Club” have their
+own pavilion, and the lawn is flooded during the winter
+for their use. There is so much talk about the change
+of the climate of England, and of the so-called old-fashioned
+winters, that the record kept by this Skating
+Club since its foundation in 1830 of the number of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span>
+skating days in each winter is instructive. Taking the
+periods of ten years during the first decade, 1830–40, there
+was an average of 10.2 skating days per winter. In
+1833–34 there were none, in 1837–38 thirty-seven days.
+Between 1850–60 the average was only 8.5, while the last
+ten years of the century it was 16.8. It is difficult to
+see how any argument could be deduced from such
+figures in favour of the excess of cold in the good old
+days! When the freezing of the Thames is quoted to
+prove the case, people forget that the Thames has completely
+changed. The narrow piers of old London
+Bridge no longer get stopped with ice-floes, and the
+current is much more rapid now that the whole length is
+properly embanked. In the days when coaches plied from
+Westminster to the Temple Stairs as in 1684, or when
+people dwelt on the Thames in tents for weeks in 1740,
+all the low land was flooded and the stream wider and
+more sluggish. The believers in the hard winters generally
+maintain the springs were warmer than now, May
+Day more like what poets pictured, even allowing the
+eleven days later for our equivalent. But in 1614 there
+was snow a foot deep in April, and those who went in
+search of flowers on May Day only got snowflakes. In
+1698, on May 8th, there was a deep fall of snow all over
+England, and many other instances might be quoted. So
+it seems, though people may grumble now, their ancestors
+were no better off.</p>
+
+<p>In the centre of the ground is the Royal Botanical
+Society of London, founded in 1839. At one time the
+Society was greatly in fashion, and the membership was
+eagerly sought after. No doubt such will be the case
+again, although for some reason the immense advance in
+gardening during the last ten years has not met with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span>
+response looked for from this Society, and hence a certain
+decrease instead of increase in popularity—a phase which
+can but be transitory. The botanical portions of the
+grounds illustrative of the natural orders were arranged
+by James de Carle Sowerby, son of the author of the
+well-known “English Botany,” assisted by Dr. Frederick
+Farre and others, and the ornamental part of the garden,
+with the lake, by Marnoch. The designs were severely
+criticised by Loudon in the first instance, who prophesied
+failure to the garden, but was well satisfied
+when the modified plans were announced. Some of
+the earliest flower shows in the modern sense were
+held there. And this Society was the pioneer in exhibitions
+of spring flowers. The first was held in 1862,
+and was quite a novel departure, although summer and
+autumn floral shows had been instituted for more than
+thirty years. These exhibitions and fêtes became very
+fashionable, and people flocked to them, and numbers
+joined the Society. It is always difficult to combine
+two objects, and this is the problem the Botanical Society
+now has to face. It is almost impossible to keep up
+the Botanical side and at the same time make a bid for
+popular public support by turning the grounds partly
+into a Tea Garden. Now that gardening is more the
+fashion than it has ever been, it is sad to see this ancient
+Society taking a back place instead of leading. It is
+actual horticulture that now engrosses people, the practical
+cultivation of new and rare plants, the raising and hybridising
+of florists’ varieties. The time for merely well-kept
+lawns and artificial water and a few masses of bright
+flowers, which was all the public asked for in the Sixties,
+has gone by. A thirst for new flowers, for strange combinations
+of colours, for revivals of long-forgotten plants<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span>
+and curious shrubs, has now taken possession of the
+large circle of people who profess to be gardeners. Apart
+from the question whether the present fashion has taken
+the best direction for the advancement of botany and
+horticulture, it is evident no society can prosper unless
+it directs its attention to suit the popular fancy. No
+doubt this worthy Society will realise this, and emerge
+triumphant from its present embarrassments.</p>
+
+<p>The third and best known of the societies is the
+Zoological one. What London child has not spent
+moments of supreme joy mingled with awe on the back
+of the forbearing elephant? And there are few grown
+persons who do not share with them the delight of an
+hour’s stroll through the “Zoo.” More than ever,
+with the improved aviaries and delightful seal ponds, is
+the Zoo attractive. It was the first of the three Societies
+to settle in the Park, having been there since 1826.
+Some of the original buildings were designed by Decimus
+Burton, who, next to Nash, is the architect most associated
+with the Park. The Society was the idea of
+Sir Thomas Raffles, who became the first President in
+1825. In three years there were over 12,000 members,
+and the gardens were thronged by 30,000 visitors. A pass
+signed by a member was necessary for the admission of
+every party of people, besides the payment of a shilling
+each. An abuse of this soon crept in, and people waited
+at the gates to attach themselves to the parties entering,
+and well-dressed young ladies begged the kindness of
+members who were seen approaching the gates. Now
+only Sunday admittance is dependent on the members.
+A Guide to Regent’s Park in 1829 gives engravings of
+many of the animals, and shows the summer quarters
+of the monkeys—most quaint arrangements, like a pigeon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span>
+cot on a pole, to which the monkey with chain and ring
+was attached, to race up and down at will.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p101" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p101.jpg" width="527" height="398" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p101_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Stone Vase in Regent’s Park</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The only alterations of importance after the completion
+of the Park were the making of the flower
+garden, and the filling up of the artificial water to a
+uniform depth of 4 feet, after a terrible accident had
+occurred in 1867, when the ice broke and forty skaters
+lost their lives. The flower-beds are now one of the
+most attractive features in the Park, and were originally
+designed by Nesfield in 1863. The centre walk continues
+the line of the “Broad Walk” avenue at its
+southern end. In the middle is a fine stone vase supported
+by griffins, and other stone ornaments in keeping
+with the formal style.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span></p>
+
+<p>The frame-ground in Regent’s Park has to be a
+spacious one, to produce all that is required in the
+way of spring and summer plants. The fogs are the
+greatest enemies of the London gardener, and more
+especially on the heavier soil of Regent’s Park. Not
+even the most hardy of the bedding-out plants will
+survive the winter, unless in frames. Even wall-flowers
+and forget-me-nots will perish with a single bad night
+of fog, unless under glass. Although, on the other
+hand, it is surprising how some species apparently unsuited
+to withstand the climate will survive. Among
+the rock plants growing in a private rock-garden within
+the Park <i class="flora" lang="la">Azalia procumbens</i>, that precarious Alpine, is
+perfectly at home. Clumps of <i class="flora" lang="la">Cypripedium spectabele</i> come
+up and flower year after year, and <i class="flora" lang="la">Arnebia echioides</i>, the
+prophet flower, by no means easy to grow, seems quite
+established. But to return to the frame-ground, from
+whence all the bedding plants emanate. Violas are a
+special feature in the Park, and one which is much to
+be commended, as their season of beauty is so protracted.
+They are all struck in frames, one row of fifty-three
+lights being devoted to them, in which 23,750 cuttings
+are put annually. The green-houses are used for storing
+plants not only for the decoration of the Park
+but for some fourteen other places outside. The
+Tower, the Law Courts, Mint, Audit Office, the
+Mercantile Marine in Poplar, are all supplied from
+Regent’s Park. The Tate Gallery and Hertford
+House have to be catered for also. Whether the
+visitors to the Wallace Collection even notice the
+plants it is impossible to say; they might miss their
+absence. But the gardeners have to give these few
+pots considerable care, as they will only stand for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span>
+very short time inside the building, and after three
+weeks’ visit return to hospital.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p102c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 52em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p102c.jpg" width="826" height="553" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p102c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    SPRING IN REGENT’S PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Of late years a considerable alteration has been
+made in the arrangement of the beds in the flower-garden
+of the Park, chiefly with a view to reducing
+the bedding and yet obtaining a better effect. Long
+herbaceous borders have been substituted for one of the
+rows of formal beds, requiring a constant succession
+of plants. This has necessitated the removal of some
+of the flowers shown in the view of this garden taken
+in the spring. The loss of these is compensated by
+the new arrangement of beds, separated from the Park
+by a hedge and flowering shrubs.</p>
+
+<p>Very few of the old trees remain in Regent’s Park;
+what became of them between the time when only a
+portion were marked for the navy by Cromwell, and
+the present day, there is no record as yet forthcoming.
+Two elms near the flower-garden are, however, remarkably
+fine specimens, as the branches feather on to the
+ground all round. A <i class="flora" lang="la">Paulownia tomentosa</i> is well worthy
+of notice. It must have been one of the earliest to
+be planted in this country, and is a large spreading tree.
+It stands on what is known as the Mound, near Chester
+Gate. Nineteen years ago it flowered, and in the unusually
+warm autumn of 1906 it was covered with buds
+of blossom, all ready to expand, when, alas! the long-delayed
+frost arrived in October, just too soon for
+them to come to perfection. Not far from it is a
+large tree of <i class="flora" lang="la">Cotoneaster frigida</i>, which has masses of
+red berries every year.</p>
+
+<p>The railings of Regent’s Park have always been of
+timber, but it is now threatened to alter this survival
+of the days when it first changed from Marylebone Farm.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span>
+The present timber fence has stood for forty years, so
+even from an economical point of view iron, which requires
+painting, could not be recommended. It is to be
+hoped the old traditional style of fence of this delightful
+Park may be continued.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of Regent’s Park, and only divided
+from it by a road, lies Primrose Hill. This curious
+conical hill, 216 feet high, so well known as an open
+space enjoyed by the public, formerly belonged to
+Eton College, but became Crown property about the
+middle of last century, and is now under the Office of
+Works, who keep it in order, and have done all the
+planting which has of late years improved this otherwise
+bare eminence. Some of the guide-books to London
+refer to the lines of Mother Shipton’s prophecy that
+Primrose Hill “must one day be the centre of London.”
+The passage this is supposed to be based on, is that
+which used to be said to foretell railways, and now
+people see in it a foreshadowing of motor cars. At
+one time also the marriage reference which is in the
+same poem was applied to Queen Victoria. The lines
+are <span class="locked">these—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Carriages without horses shall go,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And accidents fill the world with woe:</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Primrose Hill in London shall be,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And in its centre a Bishop’s see.</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">The British Olive next shall twine,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In marriage with the German Vine.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The early editions of the prophecy contain none of
+these lines except the two last, which are quoted in the
+1687 edition, and are there interpreted to refer to the
+marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James I., and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span>
+Elector Palatine. The Primrose Hill lines first made
+their appearance in 1877! So, although now quite
+surrounded by houses, and well within the County of
+London, that this would be so in time to come, was not
+foretold three hundred years ago.</p>
+
+<p>The delightfully rural name dates from the time of
+Queen Elizabeth, and is said to be derived from the
+number of primroses which grew there. The earlier
+name was Barrow Hill, from supposed ancient burials.
+After the mysterious murder of Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey
+in October 1678, his body was found in a ditch
+at the foot of the hill. At one time the superstitious
+thought his ghost haunted the place, and a contemporary
+medal has this <span class="locked">inscription—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Godfrey walks up hill after he was dead;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">[St.] Denis walks down hill carrying his head.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The fresh air and pleasant view from the top of the
+hill, and the cheery sounds of games, have long ago
+dispelled all these gloomy memories.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V"><span id="toclink_106"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER V</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">GREENWICH PARK</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Towered cities please us then,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>And the busy hum of men,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Where throngs of knights and barons bold</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>In weeds of peace high triumphs hold,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>With store of ladies, whose bright eyes</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Rain influence, and judge the prize</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Of wit, or arms, while both contend</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>To win her grace, whom all commend.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Milton.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcI"><img src="images/i_idc_i.png" width="178" height="182" alt="I">
+<span class="firstword">It</span> would not occur to most people
+to reckon Greenwich among the
+London Parks. But it is well
+within the bounds of the County
+of London, and now so easy of
+access that it should have no
+difficulty in substantiating its
+claim to be one of the most beautiful
+among them. Both for natural features and
+historic interest it is one of the most fascinating.</p>
+
+<p>Its Spanish chestnuts are among the distinguishing
+characteristics, and although smoke is slowly telling on
+them, numbers of these sturdy timber trees are still
+in their prime, and it would be hard to find a more
+splendid collection in any part of the country. One
+of the giants is 20 feet in girth at 3 feet from the
+ground, and contains 200 feet of timber.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span></p>
+
+<p>Those who are the ready champions of the rights of
+the people to the common lands, and who justly inveigh
+against all encroachments, must feel bound to admit that,
+in the case of Greenwich Park, what they would call
+pilfering in other instances is thoroughly justified. The
+land which forms the Park was part of Blackheath until
+Henry VI., in the fifteenth year of his reign, gave his
+uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, licence to enclose
+200 acres of the wood and heath “to make a park in
+Greenwich.”</p>
+
+<p>The modern history of Greenwich Park may be said
+to begin in Duke Humphrey’s time, but it was a favourite
+resort long before that. Situated on the high ground
+above the marshy banks of the river, and near the Watling
+Street between London and Dover, Greenwich was
+found suitable for country residence in Roman times.
+On one of the hills in the Park, with a commanding view
+over the river, the remains of a Roman villa have been
+excavated. Over 300 coins were found, dating from
+35 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> to <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 423. Bronzes, pottery, a tesselated
+pavement, and the remains of painted plaster were
+discovered, showing that it must have been a villa of
+“taste and elegance,” and there were indications that
+the final destruction of this charming abode was by fire.
+A peep into the past might reveal the last of its
+Roman occupants flying before the barbarian Jute.</p>
+
+<p>Doubtless in its prime there would be a garden near
+the villa—perhaps a faint imitation of those Roman
+gardens like Pliny’s. There, “in front of the portico,”
+was “a sort of terrace, embellished with various figures
+and bounded with a box-hedge,” which descended “by an
+easy slope, adorned with the representation of divers
+animals in box,” to a soft lawn. There were shady trees<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span>
+and a splashing fountain, and sunny walks to form “a
+very pleasing contrast,” where the air was “perfumed
+with roses.” The slopes of Greenwich may have presented
+such a scene in the days when Roman galleys
+rowed up the Thames.</p>
+
+<p>In another part of the Park, Roman graves have been
+found, and other burying-places of a later date suggest a
+very different picture from that of Roman times. These
+tumuli are very numerous, and although over twenty
+remain, a much greater number existed, and have been
+rifled from time to time, or excavated, as in 1784, when
+some fifty were opened, and braids of human hair, fragments
+of woollen cloth, and beads were found. These
+graves suggest the occupation of these heights by the
+Danes, who were encamped there for some three years
+about 1011. Wild and lawless must have been the
+aspect then, and the incident that stands out prominently
+is the martyrdom of St. Alphege, the Archbishop, slain
+here by the Danes in 1012.</p>
+
+<p>There was probably some royal residence at Greenwich
+from the time of Edward I., but it was not
+until it came to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, that
+the Palace much used in Tudor times was built. This
+building faced the Thames, and went by the name of
+“Placentia” or “Plaisance,” and round it there was a
+garden. The royal licence, which gave the Duke leave
+to enclose a portion of the heath, provided that he might
+also build “Towers of stone and lime.” The tower
+stood on the hill now crowned by the Observatory, and
+was pulled down when Charles II. had the Observatory
+erected from designs by Wren in 1675. The plan included
+a well 100 feet deep, at the bottom of which the
+astronomer Flamsteed could lie and observe the heavens.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span>
+All through the earlier history of the Park this tower
+must have been a conspicuous object. During Tudor
+times Greenwich was much lived in by the Sovereign, and
+many a gay pageant enlivened the Park. Jousts and tournaments,
+Christmas games and May Day frolics, were of
+yearly recurrence in the early days of Henry VIII.
+The Court moved there regularly to “bring in the
+May.” A picturesque account is given of one of these
+merry-makings by the Venetian Ambassador and his
+Secretary. The Ambassador was charmed with the King.
+“Not only,” he writes, is he “very expert in arms and
+of great valour, and most excellent in personal endowment,
+but is likewise so gifted and adorned with mental
+accomplishments of every sort.” He joined in the May
+Day proceedings, which must indeed have presented a
+brilliant spectacle, with the oaks and hawthorn, and all
+the wild beauty of Greenwich Park, as a background.
+Katharine of Aragon, “most excellently attired and very
+richly, and with her twenty-five damsels mounted on
+white palfreys, with housings of the same fashion most
+beautifully embroidered in gold,” and followed by
+“a number of footmen,” rode out into the wood,
+where “they found the King with his guard, all clad in
+a livery of green with bowers [boughs] in their hands,
+and about 100 noblemen on horseback, all gorgeously
+arrayed.” “In this wood were certain bowers filled purposely
+with singing birds, which carrolled most sweetly.”
+Music played, and a banquet under the trees followed,
+then the procession with the King and Queen together
+returned to the Palace. The crowds flocking round them
+the Venetian estimated “to exceed ... 25,000 persons.”</p>
+
+<p>Queen Mary was born at Greenwich, and there she
+was betrothed to the Dauphin of France. She resided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span>
+here much during her short and troublous reign; and
+perhaps her fondness for this Palace came from the
+association of her early youth, when she was the centre
+of attraction. Greenwich cannot always have been
+pleasant for the Princess Mary, for here came Anne
+Boleyn. From Greenwich she was escorted in state to
+London by the Lord Mayor, who was summoned by the
+King to fetch her, and from Greenwich she was taken up
+the river, her last melancholy journey to the Tower. The
+oak under which Henry VIII. is said to have danced
+with her is still standing. It is a huge, old, hollow stem,
+though quite dead, kept upright by the ivy. The trunk
+has a hole 6 feet in diameter, and it is known as Queen
+Elizabeth’s Oak, as tradition also says she took refreshments
+inside it. It was fitted with a door, and those who
+transgressed the rules of the Park were confined in this
+original prison. It was at Greenwich that Queen Elizabeth
+was born; and to Greenwich Henry brought his
+fourth bride, when poor Anne Boleyn’s short-lived favour
+was at an end, and Jane Seymour dead. The less beautiful
+Anne of Cleves, who so signally failed to please the King,
+was escorted in state from Calais by thirty gentlemen,
+with their servants, “in cotes of black velvet with cheines
+of gold about their neckes.” On January 3, 1540, the
+King rode up from the Palace to meet her on Blackheath
+with noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, and citizens, all
+in velvet with gold chains. The King rode a horse with
+rich trappings of gold damask studded with pearls, a
+coat of purple velvet slashed with gold, and a bonnet
+decorated with “unvalued gems.” Anne came out of
+her tent on the Heath to meet him, clad in cloth of gold,
+and mounted on a horse with trappings embroidered with
+her arms, a lion sable. She rode right through the Park<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span>
+from the Black Heath to the northern gate and round
+through the town to the Palace, the guns firing from the
+Tower in her honour.</p>
+
+<p>It was at Greenwich that the boy king, Edward VI.,
+died, and Mary and Elizabeth were constantly there.
+Their state barges bearing them to and from the Palace
+must have been no uncommon sight on the Thames. It
+was on landing on one of these occasions that the famous
+episode of Sir Walter Raleigh laying his cloak in the
+mud for the Queen to tread on, happened. One of the
+many brilliant scenes in the Park took place after Elizabeth’s
+accession, when the citizens of London, overjoyed,
+wished to give her a very special greeting. It was on
+July 2, 1559, that “the City of London entertained the
+Queen at Greenwich with a muster, each Company
+sending out a certain number of men-at-arms” (1400
+in all), “to her great delight.... On the 1st of July
+they marched out of London in coats of velvet and
+chaines of gold, with guns, moris pikes, halberds, and
+flags; and so over London Bridge unto the Duke of
+Suffolk’s Park in Southwark; where they all mustered
+before the Lord Mayor, and lay abroad in St. George’s
+Fields all that night. The next morning they removed
+towards Greenwich to the Court there; and thence to
+Greenwich Park. Here they tarried till eight of the
+clock; then they marched down into the Lawn, and
+mustered in arms: all the gunners in shirts of mail. At
+five of the clock at night the Queen came into the
+gallery over the Park Gate, with the Ambassadors, Lords,
+and Ladies, to a great number. The Lord Marquis,
+Lord Admiral, Lord Dudley, and divers other Lords
+and Knights, rode to and fro to view them, and to set
+the two battles in array to skirmish before the Queen:<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span>
+then came the trumpets to blow on each part, the drums
+beating, and the flutes playing. There were given three
+onsets in every battle; the guns discharged on one
+another, the moris pikes encountered together with great
+alarm; each ran to their weapons again, and then they
+fell together as fast as they could, in imitation of close
+fight. All this while the Queen, with the rest of the
+Nobles about her, beheld the skirmishings.... After
+all this, Mr. Chamberlain, and divers of the Commons of
+the City and the Wiflers, came before her Grace, who
+thanked them heartily, and all the City: whereupon
+immediately was given the greatest shout as ever was
+heard, with hurling up of caps. And the Queen shewed
+herself very merry. After this was a running at tilt.
+And lastly, all departed home to London.”</p>
+
+<p>This fête took place on a Sunday, and the time
+between the muster and the fight was probably mostly
+spent in refreshment. The account for the supplies of
+the “Mete and Drynke” for 1st day of July and Sunday
+night supper is preserved. They were far from being
+starved, as, among other items, 9 geese, 14 capons, 8
+chickens, 3 quarters and 2 necks of mutton, 4 breasts of
+veal, beside a sirloin of beef, venison pasties, 8 marrow-bones,
+fresh sturgeon, 3 gallons of cream, and other
+delicacies were provided for them. Floral decorations
+in their honour were not forgotten, and appear in the
+accounts—“gely flowers and marygolds for iii garlands,
+7d.; strawynge herbes, 1/4; bowes for the chemneys, 1d.;
+flowers for the potts in the wyndowys, 6d.”</p>
+
+<p>There is no end to the gay scenes that the Park
+and even some of the most ancient trees have witnessed.
+“Goodly banquetting houses” were built of “fir poles
+decked with birch branches and all manner of flowers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span>
+both of the field and garden, as roses, gilly flowers,
+lavender, marigold, and all manner of strewing herbs and
+rushes” (10th July 1572); and many a brilliant pageant
+took place under the greenwood tree as well as in the
+Palace, where Shakespeare acted before the Queen.</p>
+
+<p>Although the days of sumptuous pageantry ended
+with Elizabeth, much was done for Greenwich by the
+Stuarts. James I. replaced the wooden fence of the
+Park by a brick wall, 12 feet high and 2 miles round.
+At various times sections have been altered or replaced
+by iron rails, but the greater part of the wall remains as
+completed between 1619–25.</p>
+
+<p>The “Queen’s House,” which is the only portion of
+the older building which still exists, was begun under
+James I., and completed by Inigo Jones for Queen
+Henrietta Maria. It was called the House of Delight
+or the Queen’s House, and still bears the latter title.
+Although the sale does not appear to have been actually
+completed, Greenwich is among the Royal Parks the
+Parliament intended to sell. The deer at the time must
+have been numerous and in good condition, for during
+the Commonwealth the fear of their being stolen was
+such, that soldiers were posted in the tower for their
+preservation. Not any great change, however, took
+place; the Park remained as it was until completely
+remodelled by Charles II.</p>
+
+<p>Le Nôtre’s name is associated with the changes at
+Greenwich, as it is with those in St. James’s Park, and the
+style was undoubtedly his; but it is not at all likely that
+he ever actually came to England, but sent some representative
+who helped to carry out his ideas. The alterations
+were under the superintendence of Sir William
+Boreman, who became Keeper of the Park about that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span>
+date. In March 1644 John Evelyn made a note in his
+Diary about planting some trees at his house of Sayes
+Court, Deptford, and adds, “being the same year that
+the elms were planted by His Majesty in Greenwich
+Park.” The avenues and all the fine sweet chestnuts
+were planted about this time, besides coppices and
+orchards. John Evelyn must have approved of these
+avenues, as in his “Sylva” he praises the chestnut for
+“Avenues to our Country-houses; they are a magnificent
+and royal Ornament.” Their nuts were not appreciated
+in England. “We give that food to our swine,” Evelyn
+continues, “which is amongst the delicacies of Princes
+in other Countries; ... doubtless we might propagate
+their use amongst our common people ... being a Food
+so cheap and so lasting.”</p>
+
+<p>A series of terraces sloping down from the tower
+formed part of the design, and their outline can still be
+traced between the Observatory and the Queen’s House,
+which faces the hill at the foot. Each terrace was 40
+yards wide, and on either side Scotch firs were planted
+24 feet apart. These trees were brought by General
+Monk from Scotland in 1664, and until forty years ago
+many were standing, and the line of the avenue was still
+traceable; some of the trunks measured 4 feet in diameter
+at the ground. Smoke tells so much more on all the
+coniferous tribes than on the deciduous trees, that they
+have all now perished. The last dead stump had to be
+felled some ten years ago. The old Palace was much
+gone to decay when Charles II. began the alterations,
+so he pulled it down with the exception of the Queen’s
+House, the only part said to be in good repair, and
+commenced a vast building designed by Wren, one
+wing of which only was completed in his reign.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span></p>
+
+<p>Pepys, who always did the right and fashionable
+thing, of course often went to Greenwich, and mentions
+many pleasant days there. On one occasion (June 16,
+1662) he went “in the afternoon with all the children
+by water to Greenwich, where I showed them the King’s
+yacht, the house, and the parke, all very pleasant; and
+to the taverne, and had the musique of the house, and so
+merrily home again.” This excursion having been so
+successful, he soon after escorted Lady Carteret with
+great pride, “she being very fine, and her page carrying
+up her train, she staying a little at my house, and then
+walked through the garden, and took water, and went
+first on board the King’s pleasure-boat, which pleased her
+much. Then to Greenwiche Parke; and with much ado
+she was able to walk up to the top of the hill, and so
+down again, and took boat....” His wife and servants,
+unencumbered by the fine clothes and the page, had
+evidently not minded the steep ascent as did this “fine”
+lady, who, however, was “much pleased with the ramble
+in every particular of it.”</p>
+
+<p>Greenwich Fair was always a great institution, and as
+a rule it was a riotous and disorderly gathering. Two
+took place each year, in May and October, and lasted
+several days. During the seventeenth and following
+centuries the fairs were notorious, and finally had to be
+suppressed in the middle of the nineteenth.</p>
+
+<p>When William III. altered the building of Charles II.
+from a palace to a hospital for seamen in 1694 the Park
+was kept separate, and the Ranger lived in the “Queen’s
+House.” It was not until Princess Sophia held the office
+in 1816 that the residence was changed to the house
+which still goes by the name of the Ranger’s Lodge, and
+was lived in by the last Ranger, Lord Wolseley. This<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span>
+Ranger’s House had formerly belonged to Lord Chesterfield,
+and many of the famous letters to his godson are
+dated from there. No special feature in the garden,
+which was thrown open to the public with the Park in
+1898, can be attributed to him. He was not, as Lord
+Carnarvon’s memoir of him points out, fond of the
+country; though he “took some interest in growing
+fruit in his garden at Blackheath, he had no love for his
+garden like Bacon” or Sir William Temple. There are
+some fine trees in the grounds, especially a copper beech,
+with a spread 57 feet in diameter, and a good tulip tree.
+Queen Caroline, as Princess of Wales, was Ranger in
+1806, and lived in Montague House, since pulled down,
+and the “Queen’s House” was appropriated to the Royal
+Naval School. At the same time the “Ranger’s” was
+inhabited by the Duchess of Brunswick, her mother, and
+it was on her death that it was purchased by the Crown,
+and Princess Sophia, daughter of the Duke of Gloucester,
+came to live there as Ranger. The last royal personage
+to stay in the house was the Duke of Connaught, when
+studying at Woolwich; and now it serves as refreshment
+rooms for the numberless trippers who enjoy Greenwich
+Park in the summer.</p>
+
+<p>The most recent changes in the Park have all been
+improvements, and now it is beautifully kept. There is
+much that is still wild, and the flora and fauna of the
+Park would astonish many. Among the wild flowers
+butcher’s broom, spindle, and the parasites on the heather
+and the broom, dodder and broom-rape are to be found,
+and hart’s-tongue, wall rue, polypody and male and lady
+ferns. The list of birds that breed there still is a long
+<span class="locked">one:—</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span></p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>Barndoor owl.</li>
+<li>Spotted fly-catcher.</li>
+<li>Missel and the song thrush.</li>
+<li>Blackbird.</li>
+<li>Hedge sparrow.</li>
+<li>Robin.</li>
+<li>Sedge and reed warblers.</li>
+<li>Black-cap.</li>
+<li>White-throat.</li>
+<li>The great, blue, and cole tits.</li>
+<li>Pied wagtail.</li>
+<li>Common bunting.</li>
+<li>House sparrow.</li>
+<li>Greenfinch.</li>
+<li>Linnet.</li>
+<li>Bullfinch.</li>
+<li>Starling.</li>
+<li>Carrion crow.</li>
+<li>Jackdaw.</li>
+<li>Green woodpecker.</li>
+<li>Tree creeper.</li>
+<li>Wren.</li>
+<li>Nuthatch.</li>
+<li>Swallow.</li>
+<li>Ring, turtle, and stock doves.</li>
+<li>Pigeon.</li>
+<li>Moorhen.</li>
+<li>Lesser grebe.
+</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>The part of the Park fenced off and known as the
+Wilderness is quiet and undisturbed; there under the
+big trees, among long grass and bracken, the young fawns
+are reared every year. They are most confiding and
+tame—those in the Park too much so; for they are only
+too ready to eat what is given them, and tragic deaths
+from a surfeit of orange-peel or such-like delights are
+the result.</p>
+
+<p>The lake is prettily planted, and red marliac varieties
+of water-lilies now float on the surface in the summer.
+The dell, planted with a large collection of flowering
+shrubs, is well arranged, and many choice varieties,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Solanum crispum</i>, gum cistus, magnolias, <i class="flora" lang="la">Buddlea intermedia</i>,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Indigofera gerardiana floribunda</i>, and such-like are
+doing well. The frame-ground is most unostentatious,
+and it is satisfactory to see how much can be produced.
+The climate allows of the spring bedding plants and
+hardy chrysanthemums for autumn being raised out of
+doors; and the small amount of glass shelters the standard
+heliotropes, <i class="flora" lang="la">Streptosolens Jamesoni</i>, and the like for bedding.
+Lilies do well in the open; <i class="flora" lang="la">superbum</i>, tiger, <i class="flora" lang="la">thunbergium</i>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span>
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Henryii</i>, &amp;c., and pots of <i class="flora" lang="la">longifolium</i> flower
+strongly after doing duty for three years. There is now
+a fair-sized garden, where these plants are displayed,
+near the Wilderness, adjoining Blackheath; while the
+rest of the Park, with the deer wandering under the
+chestnuts, is still left delightfully wild. Under the
+shady trees on a summer’s day it would still be possible
+to dream of Romans and Danes, of pageants and tournaments,
+and to people the scene with the heroes and
+heroines of yore.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI"><span id="toclink_119"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER VI</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">MUNICIPAL PARKS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Let cities, kirks, and everie noble towne</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Be purified, and decked up and downe.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Alexander Hume</span> (1557–1609).</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcL"><img src="images/i_idc_l.png" width="176" height="180" alt="L">
+<span class="firstword">London</span> is almost completely surrounded
+by a chain of parks.
+Luckily, as the town grew, the
+necessity for fresh air began to be
+realised, and before it was too late,
+in the thickly-populated districts
+north, south, east, and west, any
+available open space has been converted
+into a public garden, or into a more ambitious
+park. Would that this laudable spirit had moved people
+sooner, and then there might have been a Finsbury Park
+nearer Finsbury, and the circle of green patches on the
+map might have been more evenly dotted about some of
+the intervening parishes. Many of the open spaces are
+heaths, or commons, or Lammas Lands, which have
+various rights attached to them, and, in consequence,
+have been saved from the encroachments which have
+threatened them from time to time, and have thus been
+preserved, in spite of the growth of the surrounding
+districts. Of late years the rights have in many instances
+been acquired by public bodies, so as to keep for ever
+these priceless boons. It was not until the middle of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span>
+last century that the movement in favour of city parks
+assumed definite form. They were in contemplation
+before 1840, but none were completed until several years
+later. Victoria was the first, opened in 1845; Battersea,
+although begun then, was not ready for planting till
+1857; Kennington, Finsbury, and Southwark had followed
+before 1870, and, since then, every few years new
+open spaces have been added. They have been purchased
+by public bodies for the most part, but a large share of
+the honour of acquiring these grounds is due to private
+munificence and individual enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>Irrespective of the commons which link them together,
+the principal parks are the following. Beginning on the
+extreme north there is Golder’s Hill, then to the east of
+Hampstead lies Waterlow, the next going eastwards is
+Finsbury, then Clissold and Springfield, and down
+towards the east Victoria. In South London, between
+Woolwich and Greenwich, lies Maryon Park; then, west
+of Greenwich, Deptford and Southwark; then a densely
+built-over district before Kennington, Vauxhall, and
+Battersea are reached; while away to the south lie
+Camberwell, Ruskin, Brockwell, and Dulwich; right
+away into the country, on the south-east, Avery Hill and
+Eltham; and back again west, across the river again, in
+Hammersmith, is Ravenscourt. These parks of varying
+sizes, and smaller recreation grounds between, make up
+the actual parks, although some of the commons, with
+playgrounds, artificial water, and band-stands, can hardly
+be distinguished from the true park.</p>
+
+<p>The oldest of the parks now under the London County
+Council—Battersea, Kennington, and Victoria—were for
+many years under the Office of Works, and on the same
+footing as the Royal Parks. Government, and no municipal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span>
+authority, has the credit of their formation. Then
+came several formed by or transferred to the Metropolitan
+Board of Works. To all these, already over
+2050 acres, the London County Council automatically
+succeeded. After the Bill reorganising the disposal of
+the funds of the London Parochial Charities in 1883, a
+part of their money was allotted to provide open spaces,
+and they helped to purchase many of the parks—Clissold,
+Vauxhall, Ravenscourt, Brockwell, and so on. The
+acquisition of parks has, in many cases, been due to
+private individuals, who helped to raise the necessary
+funds, and themselves contributed, and were generally
+assisted by the local vestries, and, later on, Borough
+Councils. Miss Octavia Hill, by writing and trying to
+influence public opinion, made many efforts to secure
+open spaces. At her instance the Kyrle Society was
+founded for the general improvement of homes, of disused
+burial-grounds, and open spaces; and from this
+developed the Metropolitan Gardens Association, of
+which the Earl of Meath is Chairman. Immense credit
+is due to this Society, both for acquiring new sites and
+beautifying existing ones, and being instrumental in
+having countless places opened to the public. And to
+private individuals who have given whole parks, or
+largely contributed to others, too much gratitude cannot
+be expressed. Since they came into office, the London
+County Council has had added some 2300 acres of
+open spaces and parks to those under its care, which have
+been purchased, or given in whole or in part, by private
+individuals or other public bodies. Some of the last
+acquisitions of the London County Council lie quite
+outside the county boundary, so are beyond the limit
+set to this volume. Marble Hill is away at Twickenham,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span>
+but half the purchase-money of £72,000 was paid
+by the London County Council, and the entire cost of
+alteration and maintenance is found by it. The place
+was bought chiefly to preserve the wooded aspect of the
+view from Richmond Hill. The Forest of Hainault is
+also outside the bounds, near Epping. The 805 acres
+there are partly fields, and in part the remains of the old
+Forest of “Hyneholt,” as it was often written, a section
+of the Royal Forest which covered a large tract of Essex.</p>
+
+<p>The most natural division, when dealing with these
+open spaces, is the river, and it is a division which strikes
+a fairly even balance. Including Royal Parks, which
+contain some 1266 acres, the northern side can claim the
+larger area, as, irrespective of squares and churchyards
+and gardens, there are about 3141 acres of green. The
+south side has only Greenwich Park of 185 acres of
+Royal Park, and, exclusive of that, there are quite 2169
+acres, as against 1875 of the municipal areas on the
+northern side, when the Crown land is deducted. Besides
+these, there are 226 acres maintained by the Borough
+Councils; so in round numbers London has about
+5721 acres of open space. These figures are only rough
+estimates, and do not include all the smaller recreation
+grounds or gardens of less than an acre.</p>
+
+<p>These parks scattered around London are enjoyed by
+hundreds of thousands annually, and yet, to a comparative
+handful of people who live near Hyde Park, they
+are as much unexplored country as the regions of Timbuctoo.
+The bicycling craze of ten years ago suddenly
+brought Battersea Park into fashion; but the miles of
+crowded streets, with their rushing trams and top-heavy
+omnibuses, put a considerable bar between the “West
+End” and those more distant favoured spots. There is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span>
+much variety in these parks, both north and south, and
+the chief difference lies in their origin. When a suburban
+manor-house, standing in its own grounds, with
+well-timbered park and a garden of some design, has
+been acquired, a much finer effect is produced than when
+fields or market-gardens have been bought up and made
+into a park.</p>
+
+<p>Finsbury Park, for instance, was merely fields, while
+Waterlow has always been part of a private demesne.
+It is the same on the south of the river. Brockwell is an
+old park and garden. Battersea was entirely made. Each
+park has features which give it an individual character,
+while there is and must be a certain repetition in describing
+every one separately.</p>
+
+<p>Many details are of necessity more or less the same in
+each. The London County Council is responsible for
+the greater number, and in every case they have thought
+certain things essential. For instance, the band-stand; no
+park, large or small, is considered complete without one.
+It is hardly necessary to mention each individually, though
+some are of the ordinary patterns, others more “rustic”
+in construction (as in Brockwell Park), with branching
+oak supports and thatched or tiled roofs. Every park,
+except Waterlow, which is too hilly, furnishes ample area
+for games. Cricket pitches by the dozen, and space for
+numerous goal-posts is provided for, in each and all of
+the larger parks. Gymnasiums, too, are included in the
+requirements of a fully-equipped park. Swings for the
+smaller children, bars, ropes, and higher swings for older
+boys and girls, are supplied. Bathing pools of greater or
+less dimensions are often added, the one in Victoria
+Park being especially large and crowded. Then the larger
+parks have green-houses, and a succession of plants are on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span>
+view all the year round. The chrysanthemum time is one
+specially looked forward to in the East End districts.
+Iron railings and paths, of course, are the inevitable
+beginnings in the creation of a park, and more or less
+ambitious gates. It is only in the larger ones, such as
+Finsbury, Victoria, Dulwich, and Battersea, that carriages
+are anticipated. Though there is a drive through Brockwell,
+and the steep hill in Waterlow might be climbed,
+and the avenue in Ravenscourt is wide enough, it is
+evidently only foot passengers who are expected, as a
+rule. Fancy ducks and geese attract the small children
+on all the ponds, and some parks have enclosures for
+deer or other animals. Sand gardens, or “seasides” for
+children to dig in, are also frequently included.</p>
+
+<p>The larger parks are self-contained—that is to
+say, the bedding out and all the plants necessary
+for the flower-gardens are reared on the premises.
+There is a frame-ground with green-houses attached,
+where the stock is kept and propagated. Of course,
+much depends on the soil and locality. In some parks
+the things will stand the winter much better than in
+others, where fog and smoke and damp work deadly
+havoc.</p>
+
+<p>A great deal is now done with simple, hardy flowers,
+which give just as good an effect as more elaborate and
+expensive bedding. Roses in the show beds will do well
+for two or even three years; with a few annuals between
+they make charming effects. In Finsbury Park, the dark
+red roses with Canterbury bells, and fuchsias with a
+ground of alyssum, were effective and simple. In some
+parks the spring plants will thrive all through the winter.
+Beds of white Arabis with pink tulips between; forget-me-nots
+with white tulips; mixed collections of auriculas,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span>
+that dear old-fashioned “bear’s ears,” put in about the
+end of October, make a little show all the winter, and
+produce a mass of colour in spring. There is still room
+for improvement in the direction of the planting, but of
+late years the war waged against the monopoly of calceolarias,
+geraniums, and blue lobelias has, fortunately, had
+its effect in a marked degree on the London Parks,
+municipal as well as royal.</p>
+
+<p>There is apt to be a great uniformity in the selection
+of plants, more especially among the trees and bushes.
+The future should always be borne in mind in planting,
+and alas! that is not always the case. Anything that will
+grow quickly is often put in, whereas a little patience
+and a much finer effect would be the result in the end.
+Privet grows faster than holly, but can the two results be
+compared? There is a very fine old elm avenue in
+Ravenscourt; trees which the planter never saw in perfection,
+but which many generations have since enjoyed.
+But will the avenue of poplars in Finsbury Park have
+such a future? After thirty-five years’ growth they are
+considerable trees, but how long will they last? The
+plane does grow remarkably well, there is no denying,
+but is it necessary for that reason to exclude almost every
+other tree? Ash trees thrive surprisingly. Some of the
+oaks take kindly to London, yet how few are planted.
+Richard Jefferies, that most delightful of writers on nature,
+bemoans the lack of English trees in the suburban gardens
+of London, and the same may be said of the parks to
+some extent. “Go round the entire circumference of
+Greater London,” he writes, “and find the list ceaselessly
+repeated. There are acacias, sumachs, cedar
+deodaras, araucarias, laurels, planes, beds of rhododendrons,
+and so on.” “If, again, search were made in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span>
+these enclosures for English trees and English shrubs, it
+would be found that none have been introduced.”</p>
+
+<p>It would be even more charming in a London Park
+than a suburban garden to plant some of the delights of
+our English country, such as thorns, crab apples, elder,
+and wild roses, with horse-chestnuts, and hazel. What can
+be more beautiful than birches at all times of the year?
+That they grow readily, their well-washed white stems
+in Hyde Park testify. Birds, too, love the native trees,
+and some of the songsters, which till lately were plentiful
+in many parks, might return to build if thus encouraged.</p>
+
+<p>There is much monotony in the laying out of all
+these parks. The undulating green turf with a wavy
+line of bushes seems the only recognised form. A narrow
+strip of herbaceous plants is put between the smutty
+bushes and well-mown turf, and the official park flower-border
+is produced. Curving lines of uncertain direction,
+tortuous paths that carefully avoid the straight line, are
+all part of the generally received idea of a correct outline.
+It is always more easy to criticise than to suggest, but
+surely more variety would be achieved if parks were
+planted really like wild gardens—the groups of plants
+more as they might occur in a natural glade or woodland.
+Then let the herbaceous border be a thing apart—a garden,
+straight and formal, or curved and round, but not always
+in bays and promontories jutting into seas of undulating
+green. A straight line occasionally is a great rest to the
+eye, but it should begin and end at a definite and tangible
+point. The small Park in Camberwell has a little avenue
+of limes running straight across, with a centre where seats
+can be put and paths diverge at right angles. It is quite
+small, and yet the Park would be exactly like every other
+piece of ground, with no particular design, without this.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span>
+It gives a point and centre to the meandering paths, and
+comes as a distinct relief. In Southwark Park an avenue
+is growing up into fairly large trees. It seems stuck on to
+the Park—it is not straight, but it is not a definite curve,
+and it ends somehow by turning towards the entrance at
+one end and twisting in the direction of the pond at the
+other. So it remains a shady walk, but not an avenue
+with any pretension to forming part of a design.</p>
+
+<p>It is not for the formal only this appeal is made, it is
+for less formality and more real wildness, also a protest
+against the monotony of the green banks, and bunches of
+bushes, and meaningless curves, too often the only form
+of design. The aim in every case must be to have as
+much variety as possible without incongruity, and to make
+the utmost use of the ground; to give the most pleasure
+at the least expense.</p>
+
+<p>One of the great difficulties must always be the
+numbers of people who enjoy these parks. The grass
+suffers to such an extent that portions must be periodically
+enclosed to recover. Then the children have to
+be kept at a certain distance from the flowers, or the
+temptation to gather one over-masters the fear of the
+park-keeper.</p>
+
+<p>A green walk between trees would be a pleasing
+change from gravel and asphalt in a less-frequented
+part of some park, but it would doubtless have to
+be closed in sections, or there would soon be no turf
+left; but such an experiment might well be tried.
+The attempts in Brockwell, Golder’s Hill, and Ravenscourt
+at “old English gardens” are most successful,
+and a welcome change in the monotony, and one has
+only to look at the crowded seats to see how much
+they are appreciated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span></p>
+
+<p>The effort to make use of the parks to supplement
+nature-teaching in the schools is also an advance
+in the right direction, and one that could be followed
+up with advantage.</p>
+
+<p>The trials of the climate of London, and the hurtful
+fogs, must not be forgotten when criticising. They
+are no new thing, and gardeners for two hundred
+years have had to contend with the smoke, and wage
+war against its effects. But the evil has, of course,
+become greatly intensified during the last fifty years.
+Fairchild, the author of the “City Gardener,” in 1722,
+regrets that plants will not prosper because of the
+“Sea Coal.” Mirabeau, writing from London in 1784,
+deplores the fogs in England, and especially “those
+of London. The prodigious quantity of coal that is
+consumed, adds to their consistence, prolongs their
+duration, and eminently contributes to render these
+vapours more black, and more suffocating—you feel
+this when rising in the morning. To breathe the
+fresh morning air is a sort of happiness you cannot
+enjoy in this immense Capital.” Yet in spite of this
+gloomy picture there are trees now within the London
+area, which were getting black when Mirabeau wrote.
+Smuts are by no means solely responsible for trees
+dying. There are many other contributory causes.
+The drainage and want of water is often a serious
+danger, and bad pruning in the case of the younger
+trees is another. When branches begin to die, it is a
+very safe and salutary precaution to lop them off, as
+has lately been done to such a noticeable extent in
+Kensington Gardens. But the cutting and pruning of
+trees by those employed by various municipal bodies is
+often lamentably performed. The branches are not cut<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span>
+off clean, or to a joint, where fresh twigs will soon
+sprout and fill in and make good the gaps. Often
+they are cut leaving a piece of wood, which decays
+back to the young growth, and rots into the sound
+part of the tree.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the worst enemies of the gardener are the
+electric power-stations. The trees suffer terribly from
+the smoke they emit. Even healthy young shrubs and
+bushes, such as laurels, are destroyed by it. In a very
+short time they become completely dried up, brown, and
+shrivelled. In a memorandum on the Electric Power
+and Supply Bill of 1906, the First Commissioner of
+Works pointed out these disastrous effects. He says,
+“The case is not entirely one of the emission or consumption
+of black or sooty or tarry matters. The
+other products of combustion, such as sulphurous and
+sulphuric acid, with solid particles of mineral matter
+or ash, are very deleterious to vegetation.” It appears
+from the report of Dr. Thorpe, of the Government
+Laboratory, that the production of sulphuric acid could
+be “much diminished, if not entirely prevented, by
+pouring lime-water on the coal before it goes into the
+furnaces, but from the look of trees in some neighbourhoods
+this precaution does not appear to be taken.”
+These hindrances are often very disheartening, and the
+many and serious difficulties that have to be contended
+with, must never be lost sight of in any review of
+the parks.</p>
+
+<p>In every case the park is thoroughly appreciated by
+the inhabitants, and no one can overestimate the
+health-giving properties of these lungs of the city. It
+would be vain repetition to point out the fact in each
+case, or to picture the crowds who enjoy them on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span>
+Sundays—who walk about, or lounge, or listen to the
+bands, or to what appears still more stimulating, to the
+impassioned harangue of some would-be reformer or
+earnest preacher. The densely-packed audiences, the
+gesticulations and heated and declamatory arguments, are
+not confined to Hyde Park. Victoria Park gathers just
+such assemblies, and every park could make more or
+less the same boast. The seats are equally full in each
+and all, and the grass as thickly strewn with prostrate
+forms. Perambulators are as numerous and children
+as conspicuous in the north, south, and eastern parks
+as in those of the west.</p>
+
+<p>In looking round the parks it will be well to take
+a glance at the smaller ones, then to consider each of
+the larger ones more in detail, in every case missing
+out some of the obvious appendages which are
+characteristic of all.</p>
+
+<p>How pathetic some of these little parks are, and what
+a part they play in the lives of those who live in the
+dingy streets near. Take, for instance, one with a
+high-sounding name, Avondale Park. It is little more
+than ten minutes’ walk from Shepherd’s Bush Station or
+Notting Hill Gate. Yet, on inquiry for the most direct
+road, nobody can give a satisfactory answer. One man
+will say, “I have lived here for years and never heard of
+it”; another, “I don’t think it can be in this district.”
+The same would be the result even nearer to it; but ask
+for the recreation ground, and any child will tell you.
+“Down the first narrow turning and to the right again,
+by the pawnbroker at the corner.” It is a melancholy
+shop, with the plain necessaries of life and tiny babies’
+boots for sale on the trays outside the door—what a
+volume of wretchedness and poverty those poor things<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span>
+bespeak. A few yards further, and the iron railings of
+the “Park” come in view. The happy shrill voices of
+children resound, the swings are in full motion, the seats
+well filled, and up and down the asphalt walk, old and
+young are enjoying themselves. When the band plays
+the place is packed. “I’ve calculated as many as nine
+hundred at one time,” says the old guardian, who is proud
+of the place, “and as for the children, you often can’t see
+the ground for them.” Yes, this open space of four and
+a quarter acres is really appreciated. It is difficult for
+those in easier circumstances to realise what a difference
+that little patch of green, those few bright flowers, make
+to the neighbourhood, or the social effect of the summer
+evenings, when the band and the pleasant trees offer a
+counter-attraction to the public-house. For some twelve
+years this little Park has been enjoyed. Formed by the
+vestry, and kept up by the Royal Borough of Kensington,
+it greatly pleases, although it scarce can be called beautiful.
+The centre is given over to the children, and the
+boys have ample room, and the girls and infants keep
+their twenty-four swings in constant motion. A path
+twists round the irregular plot, and most of the way is
+bordered by those London-loving plants, the iris, and
+the usual groups of smutty bushes. Along the front
+runs a wide asphalt walk, well furnished with seats, a
+band-stand half way, and a fountain at one end. Some
+bedding out with gay flowers is the attraction here. A
+gardener and a boy keep it in order, while for about £20
+a year a nurseryman supplies all the necessary bedding-out
+plants. The old guardian sweeps the scraps of
+paper up and sees the children are not too riotous
+at the swings. Thus, for no great expense, widespread
+pleasure is conferred.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span></p>
+
+<p>The Embankment Gardens, between Westminster and
+Blackfriars, are much frequented. At all seasons of the
+year the seats are crowded, and now, with the statues,
+bands playing in summer, refreshment buffet, and newspaper
+kiosk, they look more like a foreign garden than
+the usual solemn squares of London. During the
+dinner-hour they are filled with the printers from the
+many newspaper offices near, and the band was in the
+first instance paid for by the Press.</p>
+
+<p>They are divided into three sections, and measure
+ten acres in all, not including the garden beyond the
+Victoria Tower. The peace has been utterly destroyed
+by the din of trams, which are for ever passing and re-passing,
+and it is much to be feared that the trees next
+the river, which were growing so well, will not withstand
+the ill-treatment they have received—the cutting of
+roots and depriving them of moisture. The Gardens
+are entirely on the ground made up when the Embankment
+was formed, between 1864 and 1870.</p>
+
+<p>The Gardens were opened in 1870, but many improvements
+have since been made in the design, and various
+statues put up to famous men. One is to John Stuart
+Mill, and at the Westminster end, one of William
+Tyndall, the translator of the New Testament and Pentateuch,
+to which translation is due much of the beautiful
+language of the Authorised Version of the Bible.</p>
+
+<p>Of the old gardens and entrances to the great houses
+which stretched the whole length of the river bank, from
+Westminster and Whitehall to the City, only one trace
+remains. It is the Water Gate of York House. The
+low level on which it stands, below the terrace end of
+Buckingham Street, shows to what point the river rose.
+York House was so called as it was the town house of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span>
+the Archbishops of York, but none of them ever lived
+there except Heath, in Queen Mary’s time, who was the
+first to possess it. It was let, as a rule, to the Keepers
+of the Great Seal, and Bacon lived there. George Villiers,
+Duke of Buckingham, pulled down most of the old
+house, and commenced rebuilding. Nothing now remains
+but the Water Gate, supposed to be by Inigo Jones,
+although the design is also attributed to Nicholas Stone,
+who built it. The house and gardens were sold and
+divided in 1672. Buckingham Street and the streets
+adjoining are built on the site, and all that is left is
+the fine old gateway, with most modern-looking gardens
+between it and the river, which once flowed up to its
+arches.</p>
+
+<p>Another Embankment recreation ground is the Island
+Garden, Poplar, and it is one that is also much appreciated.
+It was made on some ground not required for ship-building
+or docks on the river front of the Isle of Dogs, and
+opened to the public in 1895. The idea of making a
+garden of it had for some few years been in contemplation,
+and as soon as the necessary funds were found, this
+space, somewhat less than three acres, was saved from
+being built over, and a wide walk of about 700 feet
+made along the river embankment. The view from the
+seats, with which it is plentifully supplied, over towards
+Greenwich Hospital and Park makes it a really charming
+promenade. The quaint name of this part of London is
+said to be derived from the fact that the kennels of the
+sporting dogs of the royal residents of Greenwich Palace
+were kept there, “which usually making a great noise,
+the seamen and others thereupon called the place the Isle
+of Dogs.” This seems the most plausible of the various
+definitions of the name of this peninsula—for it is only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span>
+an island by means of the dock canal, made in 1800.
+A quotation from a play of Middleton and Dekker,
+in 1611, shows that then, at any rate, it was associated
+with actual dogs.</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Moll Cutpurse</i>: O Sir, he hath been brought
+up in the Isle of Dogs, and can both fawn like a
+spaniel and bite like a mastiff, as he finds occasion.”</p>
+
+<p>The ground in those days and until much later
+times was a fertile marsh, subject to frequent inundations,
+but affording very rich pasture. Breaches in the
+embankment occurred at intervals until a solid pile and
+brick wall was made in the last century, above which
+the “Island Gardens” were laid.</p>
+
+<p>Further along the north bank of the river there is
+another and a larger garden, kept up by the London
+County Council, although it is in East Ham and not
+within the County of London. This was made on
+the site of the North Woolwich Tea Gardens, which
+enjoyed a kind of popularity for some fifty years.
+Having been started in 1851, they kept up their reputation
+for “Baby Shows,” “Beard Shows,” and such-like
+attractions, until the ground became too valuable
+for building, and too heavily rated for them to exist,
+and, but for timely interference, this open space would
+have been converted into wharves.</p>
+
+<p>The story of the Bethnal Green Gardens is very
+different. Although it was only in 1891 that the
+present arrangements with regard to keeping up the
+Gardens were established, the 15½ acres of which they
+form part has a long history. As far back as 1667
+the land was purchased by a group of residents, who
+collectively subscribed £200, and by a trust-deed dated
+1690 conveyed the land to trustees, to be administered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span>
+for the benefit of the poor. It had been purchased
+and enclosed, the deed specified, “for the prevention
+of any new building thereon.” Of this ground 9 acres
+form the present Garden; on part of the remainder
+St. John’s Church was built, and in 1872 the Bethnal
+Green Museum, an offshoot from South Kensington,
+was opened on another section. The most exhaustive
+work on Municipal Parks says that when the land
+“came into the possession of the London County
+Council” it “consisted of orchard, paddock, kitchen
+garden, and pleasure grounds, all in a rough and
+neglected condition.” Under the levelling hand of
+the London County Council it has been made to look
+exactly like every other public garden, with “ornamental
+wrought-iron enclosing fences, broad walks,
+shrubberies,” and so on, at a cost of over £5000,
+and was opened in 1895. There is no trace of its
+former condition, nothing to point to its antiquity or
+any difference in its appearance from the most modern
+acquisition. Perhaps after all it is as well, for among
+the thousands of that poor and crowded district that
+use and enjoy it, there is not one to whom a passing
+thought of the old weavers who were settled there
+when the land was given, or to whom the legend of
+pretty Bessee the Blind Beggar’s daughter of Bethnal
+Green would occur. Though the design is prosaic, the
+gardens are made cheerful and gay, and if they add
+a gleam of brightness to the lives of toil of those living
+near them, they must be said to fulfil their purpose.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Victoria Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Victoria Park was the first of the modern Parks to
+be laid out, and it is the largest. When the advantage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span>
+of an East End Park was admitted, the work of
+forming one was carried out by the Commissioners of
+Woods and Forests. An Act passed in 1840 enabled
+them to sell York House to the Duke of Sutherland
+(hence it became Stafford House), for £72,000, and
+to purchase about 290 acres of land in the East End
+in the parishes of Hackney, Bethnal Green, and Bow.
+Part of this was reserved for building improved dwellings,
+and 193 acres formed Victoria Park, the laying
+out of which began in 1842. Thirty years later, when
+some of the land adjoining was about to be built on,
+the Metropolitan Board of Works bought some 24 acres
+to add to the Park, the whole of which, including
+the new part, was under the Office of Works. Other
+additions have been made from time to time, chiefly
+with a view to opening entrances to the Park, so as
+to make it as easy of access as possible from the crowded
+districts in the direction of Limehouse and the docks,
+and round Mile End Road.</p>
+
+<p>The ground which the Park covers was chiefly
+brick-fields and market-gardens, and Bishop’s Hall
+Farm. The latter place is the only part with any
+historical association. The farm was in the manor of
+Stepney, which was held by the Bishops of London,
+and Bishop’s or Bonner’s Hall was the Manor House.
+Many of the Bishops of London resided here in early
+days. Stowe, in 1598, referring to Bishop Richard de
+Gravesend in 1280, writes: “It appeareth by the
+Charter [of free] warren granted to this Bishop, that (in
+his time) there were two Woods in the Parish of Stebunheth
+[Stepney], pertaining to the said Bishop: I have
+(since I kept house for my selfe) knowne the one of
+them by <i class="flora">Bishops Hall</i>, but now they are both made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span>
+plaine of wood, and not to be discerned from other
+grounds.” These woods were on the ground covered
+by the Park. Stowe notices in his short accounts of
+the Bishops of London that Ralph Stratford, who was
+Bishop from 1339 to 1354, “deceased at Stebunhith.”
+The name Bonner’s Hall somehow became attached to
+the Manor House. The same chronicler also records
+that Bishop Ridley gave the manors of Stepney and
+Hackney to the King in the fourth year of Edward VI.,
+who granted them to Lord Wentworth. Bonner, therefore,
+would be the last Bishop who could have resided
+there. The old Manor House was not destroyed till
+1800, when part of the material was taken to build
+a farm-house, which was cleared away when the Park
+was formed.</p>
+
+<p>The first laying out of the Park does not seem to
+have been altogether satisfactory. A writer in 1851
+criticises it very severely. The roads and paths, he says,
+were so badly laid as to require almost reconstruction.
+The “banks of the lake must be reduced to something
+like shape to resist the wash of the water,” and the remodelling
+of the plantations will be “a work of time.”
+Just then Mr. Gibson assumed the charge of the Park,
+and even this captious critic seems to have been well
+satisfied that he had “begun in real earnest” to carry
+out the necessary improvements. Modern gardeners
+might not applaud all his planting quite so enthusiastically
+as his contemporaries. For instance, the rage for
+araucarias—monkey puzzles—has somewhat subsided,
+though the planting of a number met with great praise
+in the Fifties. Most of the Park was planted with
+discrimination. In a line with the canal which forms
+one boundary, an avenue was put, now a charming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span>
+shady road with well-grown trees. The artificial water
+with fancy ducks, in which is a wooded island with
+a Chinese pagoda, is a great delight for boating. The
+bathing-lake has still greater attraction, and thousands
+bathe there daily all through the summer months.
+It is said, as many as 25,000 have been counted on a
+summer’s morning. Bedding out was at its height
+when Victoria Park was laid out, so the flower-garden
+included some elaborate scroll designs which were
+suited to the style of carpet-bedding then in vogue.
+Now, though less stiff, the formal bedding is well done,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span>
+and attracts great attention. Those in the East End
+have just as keen an appreciation as the frequenters of
+Hyde Park, of the display of flowers. The green-house
+in winter is much enjoyed, and a succession of bright
+flowers is kept there during the dark months of the
+year. The children’s sand garden is also a delight.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p138" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 29em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p138.jpg" width="462" height="465" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p138_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Pagoda on the Island, Victoria Park.</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In spite of its situation in a densely-populated district,
+the feathered tribes have not quite deserted the Park.
+The moor-hen builds by the lake and the ringdove
+nests in the trees. Though the greenfinch and the wren
+have vanished, some songsters still gladden the world.
+Blackbirds, thrushes, and chaffinches are by no means
+uncommon. Some of these latter get caught, and take
+part in the popular amusement of singing-matches.
+Many men in the district keep chaffinches in cages, and
+bring them to the Park on a Sunday morning that they
+may practise their notes in chorus with their wild
+associates, and so beat the caged bird of some rival.
+Sometimes the temptation is too great, and the wild birds
+are kidnapped to join the competition.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Finsbury Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Finsbury is second in size, and second in date of construction,
+of the Parks of North London. It is far from
+Finsbury, being really in Hornsey, but as the idea, first
+expressed about 1850, was to make a Park for the
+borough of Finsbury, the name was retained although
+the land acquired some years later was somewhat
+remote.</p>
+
+<p>The movement was first set on foot when building
+began to destroy all the open spaces near Finsbury Fields.
+Some of these, like Spa Fields, had been popular places
+of resort as Tea Gardens, but were being rapidly covered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span>
+with houses, and separating Finsbury altogether from the
+country. Many delays, owing to changes of Government,
+occurred before the necessary legislation was accomplished.
+When the Metropolitan Board of Works came into being,
+it took up the scheme, and it was finally under its auspices
+that the land was purchased, and the Park, 115 acres in
+extent, was opened in 1869.</p>
+
+<p>On the highest point of the ground there is a
+lake, which was in existence before it became a public
+park. Near there stood Hornsey Wood House, a Tea
+Garden of some reputation in the eighteenth century.
+About the year 1800 the old house was pulled down,
+and the new proprietor built another tavern, and converted
+part of the remains of Hornsey Wood into an artificial
+lake for boating and angling. This second house existed
+until it was pulled down in 1866, when the Park was in
+progress. Hornsey Wood was part of the forest which
+bounded London on the north, and the site of the Park
+was in the manor of Brownswood, which was held by the
+See of London.</p>
+
+<p>Accounts of various incidents which are connected
+with this spot are given in histories of Hornsey. The
+most picturesque is that in which the ill-fated little King
+Edward V. is the central figure, overshadowed by his
+perfidious uncle. “The King on his way to London
+[from Ludlow] was on the fourth of May met at Hornsey
+Park (now [1756] Highgate) by Edmund Shaw, the
+Mayor, accompanied by the Aldermen, Sheriffs and five
+hundred Citizens on Horseback, richly accoutered in
+purple Gowns; whence they conducted him to the City;
+where he was received by the Citizens with a joy inexpressible....
+In this solemn Cavalcade, the Duke of
+Gloucester’s Deportment was very remarkable; for riding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span>
+before the King, uncovered, he frequently called to the
+Citizens, with an audible voice, to behold their Prince
+and Sovereign.” What a scene must the site of Finsbury
+Park have presented that May morning. The
+Londoners, incensed at Gloucester’s having taken possession
+of the young King, no doubt meet him with
+distrust and anger, and while the procession moves on
+towards the City he allays their suspicions, acting a
+part to deceive them.</p>
+
+<p>The trees in Finsbury are beginning to grow up, and
+the Park is losing the new, bare look which made it unattractive
+in its early years. Poplars (fast-growing trees)
+have been largely used. That is very well for a beginning,
+but others of a slower growth, but making finer timber,
+are the trees for the future. There is nothing very
+special to notice in the general laying out of the grounds,
+as beyond the avenue of black poplars and the lake, there
+are no striking features. The view from the high ground,
+towards Epping, adds to the attractions of this useful
+open space but not very interesting Park. One of the
+most pleasing corners is the rock garden, not far from
+the lake. The plants seem well established and very
+much at home. The green-houses, too, are well kept
+up, and in the gloomy seasons of the year especially
+are much frequented.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Clissold Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Clissold, or Stoke Newington Park, is one of the
+parks which has the advantage of having been the
+grounds of a private house, and enjoys all the benefits
+of a well-planted suburban demesne. The old trees at
+once give it a certain <i lang="fr">cachet</i> that even County Council
+railings, notice-boards, and bird-cages cannot destroy.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span>
+It has the additional charm of the New River passing
+through the heart of it, and, furthermore, the ground is
+undulating.</p>
+
+<p>One of the approaches to the Park still has a semi-rural
+aspect and associations attached to it. This is
+Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, with a row of fine elm trees,
+under which the Queen may have passed as a girl while
+staying in seclusion at the manor-house, then in the
+possession of the Dudley family, relations to the Earl of
+Leicester. Stoke Newington, until lately, was not so
+overrun with small houses as most of the suburbs. In
+1855 it was described as “one of the few rural villages
+in the immediate environs [of London]. Though, as the
+crow flies, but three miles from the General Post Office,
+it is still rich in parks, gardens, and old trees.” The last
+fifty years have quite transformed its appearance. “Green
+Lanes,” which skirts the west of the Park, though with
+such a rural-sounding name, is a busy thoroughfare, with
+rushing trams; and, but for Clissold Park and Abney
+Park Cemetery, but little of its former attractions would
+remain. The Cemetery is on the grounds of the old
+Manor House, where Sir Thomas Abney lived, and “the
+late excellent Dr. Isaac Watts was treated for thirty-six years
+with all the kindness that friendship could prompt, and
+all the attention that respect could dictate.” The manor
+was sold by direction of Sir Thomas’s daughter’s will, and
+the proceeds devoted to charitable purposes. The old
+church, with its thin spire, and the new large, handsome
+Gothic church, built to meet the needs of the growing
+population, stand close together at one corner of the
+Park, at the end of Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, and on all
+sides the towers among the trees form pretty and conspicuous
+objects. The house in the Park, for the most<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span>
+part disused, stands above the bend of the New River,
+which makes a loop through the grounds. It is a white
+Georgian house with columns, and looks well with
+wide steps and slope to the water’s edge, now alas!
+disfigured by high iron railings. The place belonged to
+the Crawshay family, by whom it was sold. The
+daughter of one of the owners had a romantic attachment
+to a curate, the Rev. Augustus Clissold, but the
+father would not allow the marriage, and kept his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span>
+daughter more or less a prisoner. After her father’s
+death, however, she married her lover, and succeeded
+to the estate, and changed its name from Crawshay
+Farm to Clissold Place. This title has stuck to it,
+although it reverted to the Crawshays, and in 1886
+was sold by them.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p143" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p143.jpg" width="467" height="510" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p143_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Stoke Newington Church from Clissold Park</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The Park measures 53 acres. There is a small
+enclosure with fallow deer and guinea-pigs, some artificial
+water, and wide green spaces for games; but the special
+beauty of the Park consists in the canal-like New River,
+with walks beside it, and in places foliage arching over
+it, and the fine large specimen trees round the house.
+There are some good cedars, deciduous cypress, ilex,
+thorns, and laburnums; a good specimen of one of the
+American varieties of oak, <i class="flora" lang="la">Quercus palustris</i>; also acacias
+and chestnuts—all looking quite healthy.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Springfield Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Not very far from Clissold lies Springfield Park, in
+Upper Clapton, opened to the public in 1905. It also
+has the advantage of being made out of well laid out
+private grounds. The area, 32½ acres, embraced three
+residences, two of which have been pulled down, while
+the third, Springfield House, which gives its name to
+the Park, has been retained, and serves as refreshment
+rooms. The view from the front of the house over
+Walthamstow Marshes is very extensive. The ground
+slopes steeply to the river Lea, and beyond on the plain,
+like a lake, the reservoirs of the “East London Works,”
+now part of the Metropolitan Water Board, make a
+striking picture. Springfield House was, until lately,
+one of those pleasant old-fashioned residences of which
+there were many in this neighbourhood, standing in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span>
+well-planted gardens overlooking the marshes and fertile
+flats below. These delightful houses are becoming more
+rare every year, and it is fortunate that the grounds of
+one of the most attractive should have been preserved as
+a public park. The place was well cared for in old days,
+as the good specimen trees testify. A flourishing purple
+beech is growing up, also a sweet chestnut and several
+birches. A very old black mulberry still survives,
+although showing signs of age. There are other nice
+timber trees on the hillside, and among the shrubs an
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Arbutus unedo</i>, the strawberry tree, is one of the most
+unusual. This Park, though small, is quite unlike any
+other, and has much to recommend it to the general public,
+while in the more immediate neighbourhood it is greatly
+appreciated.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Waterlow Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the parks is
+Waterlow, the munificent gift of Sir Sydney Waterlow.
+Its situation near Highgate, above all City smoke; its
+steep slopes and fine trees; its old garden and historic
+associations, combine to give it a character and a charm
+of its own. It is small in comparison with such parks
+as Victoria, Battersea, or Finsbury, being only 29 acres,
+but it has a fascination quite out of proportion to
+its size. There are few pleasanter spots on a summer’s
+day, and at any season of the year it would well repay a
+visit. It is especially attractive when the great city with
+its domes and towers is seen clearly at the foot of the
+hill. London from a distance never looks hard and
+sharp and clear, like some foreign towns. The buildings
+do not stand up in definite outline like the churches of
+Paris looked down upon from the Eiffel Tower: the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span>
+soft curtain of smoke, the mysterious blue light, a
+gentle reminder of orange and black fog, shrouds and
+beautifies everything it touches. On a June day, when
+the grass is vivid and the trees a bright pale green,
+Waterlow Park is at its best. The dome of St. Paul’s,
+the countless towers of Wren’s city churches, the pinnacles
+of the Law Courts, the wonderful Tower Bridge,
+dwarfing the old Norman White Tower, all appear in
+softened beauty behind the fresh verdure, through well-contrived
+peeps and gaps in the trees.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the ground is too steep for the cricket and
+football to which the greater part of other parks are given
+over. Only lawn tennis and bowls can be provided for, on
+the green lawns at the top of the Park. A delightful
+old pond, with steep banks overshadowed by limes and
+chestnuts, has a feeling of the real country about it. The
+concrete edges, the little patches of aquatic plants and neat
+turf, are missing. The banks show signs of last year’s
+leaves, fallen sticks, and blackened chestnuts, and any green
+near it, is only natural wild plants that enjoy shade and
+moisture. It is the sort of place a water-hen would feel
+at home in, and not expect to meet intruding Mandarin
+ducks or Canadian geese. Let us hope this quiet spot
+may long remain untouched. There are two newer lakes
+lower down, laid out in approved County Council style,
+trim and neat, with water-fowl, water-lilies, and judicious
+planting round the banks of weeping willows and
+rhododendron clumps. Probably many visitors find
+them more attractive than the upper pool. There is
+no fault to find with them, and they are perhaps more
+suited to a public park, but they are devoid of the
+poetry which raises the other out of the commonplace.
+As the slopes towards the lower lakes are the playground<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span>
+of multitudes of babies, it is necessary to protect them
+from the water’s edge by substantial railings, but most
+of the Park is singularly free from these unsightly but
+often necessary safeguards. The trees all through the
+grounds are unusually fine. Four hickories are particularly
+worthy of note. They are indeed grand and
+graceful trees, and it is astonishing they should be so
+little planted. These are noble specimens, and look
+extremely healthy.</p>
+
+<p>The most characteristic feature in the Park is the
+house it contains and the garden immediately round it.
+This was built for Lauderdale, the “L” in the Cabal of
+Charles II., probably about 1660. When this unattractive
+character was not living there himself, he not unfrequently
+lent it to Nell Gwynn. The ground floor of
+the house is open to the public as refreshment rooms,
+and one empty parlour with seats has much good old
+carving, of the date of the house, over the mantelpiece,
+also in a recess which encloses a marble bath known as
+“Nell Gwynn’s bath.” It is said to have been from a
+window in Lauderdale House that she held out her son
+when Charles was walking below, threatening to let him
+drop if the King did not promise to confer some title
+upon him. In response Charles exclaimed, “Save the
+Earl of Burford,” which title (and later, that of Duke
+of St. Albans) was formally conferred upon him.</p>
+
+<p>The terrace along which the King was walking is still
+there. A little inscription has been inserted on a sun-dial
+near the wall, to record the fact that the dial-plate is level
+with the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral. A flight of steps
+leads to a lower terrace. This is planted in a formal
+design consisting of three circles, the centre one having
+a fountain. Two more flights of steps descend, in a line<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span>
+from the fountain, to a broad walk bordered with flowers
+leading to one of the entrances to the Park. At right
+angles to the other steps a walk leads from the fountain
+to another part of the garden, which is planted with old
+fruit-trees on the grassy slope. It is at the foot of these
+steps that the water-colour sketch is taken. The “eagles
+with wings expanded” are the supporters of the Lauderdale
+arms. The whole garden is delightful, and so much
+in keeping with the house that it is easy to picture the
+much-disliked Lauderdale, the genial King, and fascinating
+“Nell,” living and moving on its terraces. Pepys
+gives a glimpse of one of these characters at home. He
+drove up alone with Lord Brouncker, in a coach and six.
+No doubt the hill made the six very necessary, as in
+another place Pepys talks of the bad road to Highgate.
+They joined Lord Lauderdale “and his lady, and some
+Scotch people,” at supper. Scotch airs were played by
+one of the servants on the violin; “the best of their
+country, as they seemed to esteem them, by their praising
+and admiring them: but, Lord! the strangest ayre that
+ever I heard in my life, and all of one cast. But strange
+to hear my Lord Lauderdale say himself that he had
+rather hear a cat mew, than the best musique in the
+world; and the better the musique, the more sick it
+makes him; and that of all instruments, he hates the
+lute most, and next to that the baggpipe.” These
+sentiments may not prove that Lauderdale was “a
+man of mighty good reason and judgement,” as Lord
+Brouncker assured Pepys when he said he thought it
+“odd company,” but at least it shows him honest!
+How many people who sit patiently through a performance
+of the “Ring” would have as much courage
+of their opinions?</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p148c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 52em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p148c.jpg" width="826" height="548" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p148c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    WATERLOW PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p>
+
+<p>Within the grounds of the present Park, near Lauderdale
+House, stood a small cottage in which Andrew
+Marvel lived, which was only pulled down in 1869. It
+was considered unsafe, and no National Trust Society
+was then in existence to make efforts for its preservation.
+In a “History of Highgate” in 1842 the connection
+between the place and this curious personage, political
+writer, poet, Member of Parliament, and friend of Milton
+is barely commented on. “Andrew Marvel, a writer
+of the seventeenth century, resided on the Bank at Highgate
+in the cottage now occupied by Mrs. Walker.” The
+reader of these lines is penetrated with a feeling that he
+ought to know all about Mrs. Walker, rather than the
+obscure writer!</p>
+
+<p>The kitchen-garden is large, with charming herbaceous
+borders, and a long row of glass-houses and vineries,
+and the grapes produced have hitherto been given to
+hospitals. Let us hope that the same complaint will not
+arise here as in another Park, where out-door fruit was
+distributed, and caused such jealousies that the practice
+was discontinued.</p>
+
+<p>With such a high standard set by the existing gardens,
+it is curious that the new bedding should be as much out
+of harmony as possible. The beds which call forth this
+remark are those round the band-stand. The shape of
+them it is impossible to describe, for they are of uncertain
+form and indistinct meaning. The flowers are in bold
+groups, and yet they look thoroughly out of place.</p>
+
+<p>Wandering one summer’s day near the statue, erected
+to Sir Sydney Waterlow, the writer overheard some girls,
+who looked like shop-girls out for a holiday, discussing
+who it was. The most enterprising went up and read
+the inscription. “To Sir Sydney H. Waterlow, Bart.,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span>
+donor of the Park 1889, Lord Mayor of London
+1872–73. Erected by public subscription 1900.” “Why,
+it’s to some chap that was once Lord Mayor,” was the
+remark to her friend, following a close scrutiny of this
+bald inscription. The impulse to explain the meaning of
+the word “donor” was irresistible; it was evidently quite
+Greek to these two Cockney young ladies. On learning
+the meaning they were very ready to join in a tribute of
+gratitude to the giver of such a princely present. Surely
+a few words expressing such a feeling would have been
+appropriate on the statue so rightly erected in memory
+of the gift! Profound feelings of thanks to the giver
+must indeed be experienced by every one who has
+the privilege of enjoying this lovely Park, one of the
+most charming spots within easy reach of the heart
+of the City.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Golder’s Hill Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Golder’s Hill Park joins the western end of
+Hampstead Heath, but its park-like appearance and
+house and garden are quite a contrast to the wilder
+scenery of the Heath, although Golder’s Hill seems
+more in the country than Hampstead, as the houses
+near are so well hidden from it. The mansion has
+a modern exterior, although parts of it are very old,
+and the fine trees in the grounds show that it has
+been a pleasant residence for some hundreds of years.
+The estate of 36 acres was bought in 1898 from the
+executors of Sir Spencer Wells, the money in the first
+instance being advanced by three public-spirited gentlemen,
+anxious to save the charming spot from the hands
+of the builder. The view from the terrace of the house,
+which now serves as a refreshment room, is very pretty,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span>
+with a gently sloping lawn in front, park-like meadows,
+and fine trees beyond the dividing sunk fence, and distant
+peeps of the country towards Harrow. The approach
+from the Finchley Road is by an avenue of chestnuts, and
+a flat paddock on one side is a hockey and cricket-ground
+for ladies. There are some really fine oaks, good beeches,
+ash, sycamore, Spanish chestnuts, and Scotch firs; but the
+most remarkable tree is a very fine tulip, which flowers
+profusely nearly every year. At the bottom of the Park
+an undisturbed pond, with reedy margin, is much frequented
+by moor-hens. The valley above is railed off for
+some red deer, peacocks, and an emu, while three storks
+are to be seen prancing about under the oak trees in the
+open Park. The most attractive corner is the kitchen-garden,
+which, like the one in Brockwell, has been turned
+into an extremely pretty flower-garden. On one side is a
+range of hothouses, where plants are produced for bedding
+out, and a good supply of fruit is raised and sold
+to the refreshment-room contractor on the spot. Two
+sides have old red walls covered with pear trees, which
+produce but little fruit, and the fourth has a good
+holly hedge. The vines from one of the vineries have
+been planted out, and they cover a large rustic shelter,
+and have picturesque though not edible bunches of
+grapes every year. The way the planting of roses,
+herbaceous and rock plants, and spring bulbs is arranged
+is very good; but the same misleadingly-worded notice
+with regard to the plants of Shakespeare is placed here
+as in the Brockwell “old English garden.”<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> There
+is a nice old quince and other fruit-tree standards in
+this really charming garden. In another part of the
+grounds there is an orchard, not “improved” in any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span>
+way, but left as it might be in Herefordshire, with grass
+and wild flowers under the trees, which bear bushels of
+ruddy apples every year.</p>
+
+<p>Part of the Park is actually outside London, but it is
+all kept up by the London County Council. The parish
+boundary of Hampstead and Hendon, which is also the
+limit of the County of London, is seen in the middle
+among the oak trees.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Ravenscourt Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Ravenscourt is another of those parks the nucleus of
+which was an old Manor House, hence the existence
+of fine old trees, which at once lift from it the crudeness
+which is invariably associated with a brand-new Municipal
+Park. A bird’s-eye view of the ground is familiar to
+many who pass over the viaduct in the London and
+South-Western trains. These arches intersect one end of
+the Park, and cut across the beginning of the fine old
+elm avenue, one of its most beautiful features. A bright
+piece of garden, typical of every London Park, with raised
+borders in bays and promontories, jutting into grass and
+backed by bushes, lies to the south of the viaduct.
+Where two paths diverge there is a pleasing variation to
+the usual type—a sun-dial—erected by Sir William Bull
+to “a sunny memory.” The arches have been utilised
+so as to compensate for the intrusion of the railway.
+Asphalted underneath, they form shelters in wet weather—one
+is given over to an aviary, two to bars for the
+elder children to climb on, and one is fitted with swings
+for the babies. This arch is by far the most popular,
+and it requires all the vigilance of the park-keeper to see
+that only the really small children use the swings, or
+the bigger girls would monopolise them. Perhaps the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span>
+indulgent and fatherly London County Council will
+provide swings for the elders, too, some day, and so
+remove the small jealousies.</p>
+
+<p>To the west of the long avenue lies the orchard. A
+stretch of grass, devoted to tennis-courts and bowling-greens,
+separates the pear trees from the walk. These
+pears and the solitary apple tree are delightful in spring,
+and a temptation in autumn. Round the house, which
+is not by any means as picturesque as the date of its
+building (about 1649) would lead one to expect, are some
+good trees—planes that are really old, with massive
+stems, horse-chestnuts and limes, acacias that have seen
+their best days, cedars suffering from age and smoke,
+and a good catalpa. The Manor House which preceded
+the present building was of ancient origin. In early
+times it was known as the Manor House of Paddenswick,
+or Pallenswick, under the Manor of Fulham, and was
+the residence of Alice Perrers, the favourite of Edward
+III. It was seized in 1378, when she was banished
+by Richard II.; but after the reversion of her sentence,
+she returned to England as the wife of Lord Windsor,
+and the King, in 1380, granted the manor to him. It is
+not heard of again till Elizabeth’s time, when it belonged
+to the Payne family, and was sold by them in 1631 to
+Sir Richard Gurney, the Royalist Lord Mayor, who
+perished in the Tower. After his death it was bought
+by Maximilian Bard, who probably pulled down the old
+house and built the present one, which is now used as
+the Hammersmith Public Library. In the eighteenth
+century the name was changed from Paddenswick (a
+title preserved by a road of that name running near the
+Park) to Ravenscourt, an enduring recollection of the
+device of a black raven, the arms of Thomas Corbett,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span>
+Secretary to the Admiralty, who owned the place for a
+few short years. Nearly every vestige of the surroundings
+of the old manor was obliterated and improved away
+by Humphrey Repton, the celebrated landscape gardener.
+He filled up most of the old moat, except a small piece,
+which was transformed into a lake, more in harmony
+with the landscape school to which he belonged. This
+piece of water is a pretty feature in the Park, and an
+attempt has been made to recall the older style, by introducing
+a little formal garden in an angle of the enclosing
+wall of the Park. The square has been completed with
+two hedges, one of them of holly, and good iron gates
+afford an entrance. The “old English garden,” from
+which dogs and young children, unless under proper
+supervision, are excluded, is laid out in good taste—a
+simple, suitable design, with appropriate masses of roses
+and herbaceous plants, arches with climbers, and an
+abundance of seats. It has the same misleading notice
+with regard to Shakespearian plants, as in Golder’s Hill
+and Brockwell, one of the South London Parks, which
+must now be looked at.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII"><span id="toclink_155"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER VII</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">MUNICIPAL PARKS IN SOUTH LONDON</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>No fresh’ning breeze—no trellised bower,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>No bee to chase from flower to flower;</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>’Tis dimly close—in city pent—</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>But the hearts within it are well content.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Eliza Cook.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcO"><img src="images/i_idc_o.png" width="181" height="186" alt="O">
+<span class="firstword">Of</span> the South London Parks Battersea
+is the largest and most westerly,
+and the best known to people
+outside its own district. Battersea
+is entirely new, and has no
+history as a Park, for before the
+middle of last century the
+greater part was nothing but a
+dismal marsh. The ground had to be raised and
+entirely made before the planting of it as a park could
+begin at all. The site was low-lying fields with reeds
+and swamps near the water, and market-gardens
+famous for the asparagus, sold as “Battersea bundles,”
+growing around it. In the eighteenth century three
+windmills were conspicuous from the river. One ground
+corn, another the colours, and the third served to grind
+the white lead for the potteries. This was during
+the time when Battersea enamel was at its height, and
+snuff-boxes were being turned out in quantities. On
+the banks of the river stood a tavern and Tea Garden,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span>
+known as the Red House for many generations. It was
+much resorted to, but latterly its reputation was none
+of the best. Games of all kinds took place in its
+gardens, and pigeon-shooting was one of the greatest
+attractions there, during the first half of the nineteenth
+century. Although for long, crowds enjoyed harmless
+amusements there—“flounder breakfasts,” and an annual
+“sucking-pig dinner,” and such-like—towards the end
+of the time of its existence, it became the centre
+of such noisy and riotous merrymakings that the
+grounds of the Red House became notorious. The
+Sunday fairs, with the attendant evils of races, gambling,
+and drinking, were crowded, and thousands of the
+less reputable sections of the community landed every
+Sunday at the Red House to join in these revellings.
+It was chiefly with a view to doing away with this
+state of affairs, that the scheme was set on foot, for
+absorbing the grounds of the Red House, and other
+less famous taverns and gardens that had sprung up
+round it, and forming a Park.</p>
+
+<p>Battersea, or “Patricesy,” as it is written in
+Domesday, was a manor belonging to the Abbey of
+Westminster until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
+The name is most probably derived from the fact that
+it was lands of St. Peter’s Abbey “by the water.”
+Later on it came into the St. John family, and Henry
+St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, was born and died in
+Battersea. After his death it was purchased by Earl
+Spencer, in whose family it remains. Part of the
+fields were Lammas Lands, for which the parish was
+duly compensated. The gloomy wildness of the fields
+gave rise to superstitions, and a haunted house, from
+which groans proceeded and mysterious lights were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span>
+seen at night, at one time scared the neighbourhood,
+and enticed the adventurous. The only historical
+incident, connected with the fields, is the duel fought
+there in 1829 between the Duke of Wellington and
+the Marquess of Winchelsea; the latter having personally
+attacked the Duke during the debates on the
+Catholic Emancipation Bill. The Duke aimed his
+shot through his adversary’s hat, who then fired in
+the air, and the affair of honour was thus settled.
+Battersea Fields were approached, in those days, by the
+old wooden Battersea Bridge which had superseded
+the ferry; the only means of communication till 1772.
+The present bridges at either corner of the Park have
+both been built since the Park was formed.</p>
+
+<p>Like Victoria Park, Battersea was administered
+with the other Royal Parks, in the first instance. The
+Act of Parliament giving powers to the “Commissioners
+of Her Majesty’s Woods” to form the Park
+was passed in 1846, but so much had to be done to
+the land, that the actual planting did not begin until
+1857. The ground had all to be drained, and raised,
+and a proper embankment made to keep out the river.
+Just at this time the Victoria Docks were being excavated,
+and the earth dug out of them was conveyed
+to Battersea. Places were left, to form the shallow
+artificial lake, mounds raised, to make the ground round
+the water undulating, and the rest of the surface of
+the Park levelled. Altogether about a million cubic
+yards of earth were deposited in Battersea Park. The
+extent is 198 acres, and from the nature of the
+ground, except the artificial elevations near the lake, it
+is quite flat. The design was originally made by Sir
+James Pennethorne, architect of the Office of Works,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span>
+and the execution of it completed by Mr. Farrow.
+The chief features, are the artificial water (for the
+most part supplied by the Thames), and the avenue
+of elms which traverses the Park from east to west,
+and cross walks, with a band-stand and drinking-fountain
+at the converging points. Round the Park
+runs a carriage drive, and, following a different line,
+a track for riders—with the usual spaces for games
+between. The trees are growing up well, so already
+any bareness has disappeared. The absolute flatness,
+which makes the open spaces uninteresting, is relieved
+by the avenue, which will some day be a fine one.</p>
+
+<p>It is an object-lesson to show the advantage of
+avenues and shady walks, too often ignored by modern
+park designers, or only carried out in a feeble, half-hearted
+way. The chief variation in Battersea Park
+was achieved by John Gibson, the Park Superintendent,
+who made the sub-tropical garden in 1864. His experience,
+gained on a botanical mission to India, which
+he undertook for the Duke of Devonshire, well fitted
+him for the task. This garden has always been kept
+up and added to, and specially improved in the Seventies,
+while the present Lord Redesdale was at the
+Office of Works.</p>
+
+<p>A sub-tropical garden was quite a novelty when
+first started here, and caused much interest to horticulturalists
+and landscape gardeners. The “Sub-tropical
+Garden,” by W. Robinson, and other writings on the
+subject, have since made the effects which can be produced
+familiar to all gardeners; but in 1864 to group
+hardy plants of a tropical appearance, such as aralias,
+acanthus, eulalias, bamboos, or fan palms, was a new
+idea. During the summer, cannas, tobacco, various<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span>
+palms, bananas, and so on, were added to the collection,
+and caused quite an excitement when they first appeared
+at Battersea. The garden is still kept up, and looks
+pretty and cool in summer, and on a cold winter’s
+day is sheltered and pleasant. But much of the
+charm and originality of the early planting has been
+lost, in the present official idea of what sub-tropical
+gardens should contain, which carries a certain stereotyped
+stiffness with it.</p>
+
+<p>In 1887 the Park, at the same time as Victoria
+and Kennington, was given up to the Metropolitan
+Board of Works, and since then the control has passed
+to its successor, the London County Council. The
+gardens are kept up, more or less, as before, with a
+few additions. An aviary with a restless raven, fat
+gold and silver pheasants, and contented pigeons,
+delights the small children, who are as plentiful in
+Battersea as in all the other London playgrounds.
+Like the other parks, Saturdays and Sundays are the
+great days. The games of cricket are played as close
+together as possible, until to the passer-by the elevens
+and even the balls seem hopelessly mixed. The ground
+not devoted to games is thickly strewn with prostrate
+forms, and certainly, in this, Battersea is by no means
+singular! In autumn, one of the green-houses, in which
+the more tender sub-tropical plants are housed is given
+up to chrysanthemums. This flower is the one of
+all others for London. It will thrive in the dingiest
+corners of the town, and display its colours long after
+the fogs and frosts have deprived the parks and gardens
+of all other colour. The shows in the East End testify
+to what can be achieved, even by the poorest, with
+this friendly plant. Every year at Shoreditch Town<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span>
+Hall the local exhibition takes place, and there are
+many similar institutions, where monster blooms, grown
+on roofs or in small back gardens, would compete
+creditably at a national show. The popularity of the
+chrysanthemums in Battersea Park is so great, that
+on a fine Sunday there is a string of people waiting
+their turn of walking through, stretching for fifty
+yards at least from the green-house to the entrance to
+the frame-ground. Certainly the arrangement of the
+green-house is prettily done. The stages are removed,
+and a sanded path with a double twist meanders among
+groups of plants sloping up to the rafters, and a few
+long, lanky ones trained to arch under the roof. The
+show is much looked forward to, and the colours and
+arrangements compared with former years, praised or
+criticised, such is the eager interest of those who crowd to
+take their turn for a peep. It is delightful to watch the
+pleasure on all faces, as a whole family out for their Sunday
+walk, press in together. It is only one more instance
+of the joy the London Parks bring to millions of lives.</p>
+
+<p>The world of fashion has only attacked Battersea
+Park spasmodically. When it was new, and the sub-tropical
+garden a rarity, people drove out from Mayfair
+or Belgravia to see it. Again Battersea became
+the fashion when the cycling craze began. In the
+summer of 1895 it suddenly became “the thing” to
+bicycle to breakfast in Battersea Park, and ladies who
+had never before visited this South London Park
+flocked there in the early mornings. It was away
+from the traffic that disturbed the beginner in Hyde
+or St. James’s Park, and perhaps the daring originality
+of cycling seemed to demand that conventions should
+further be violated; and nothing so commonplace as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span>
+Hyde Park would satisfy the aspirations of the newly-emancipated
+lady cyclists. What would their ancestors,
+who had paced the Mall in powder and crinolines,
+have said to the short-skirted, energetic young or even
+elderly cyclist? No doubt some of that language
+which shocks modern ears, used by the heroines in
+“Sir Charles Grandison,” would have been found equal
+to the occasion. The great cycling rage is over, and
+Battersea is again deserted by fair beings, who now
+prefer to fly further afield in motors, but the Park
+is just as crowded by those for whose benefit it was
+really made—the ever-growing population of London
+south of the river.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Vauxhall Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Going east from Battersea the next Park is Vauxhall,
+a small oasis of green in a crowded district. Although
+only 8 acres in extent, it is a great boon to the neighbourhood,
+and hundreds of children play there every day.
+It has been open since 1891, the land, occupied by houses
+with gardens, having been acquired and the houses demolished,
+and the little Park is owned and kept up by
+Lambeth Borough Council.</p>
+
+<p>It has nothing to do with the famous Vauxhall
+Gardens, to which the rank and fashion of the town
+flocked for nearly two hundred years; and the country
+visitor to Vauxhall Park could hardly speak of it in such
+glowing terms as Farmer Colin to his wife in 1741 of
+the famous Vauxhall Spring <span class="locked">Gardens:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“O Mary! soft in feature,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">I’ve been at dear Vauxhall;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">No paradise is sweeter,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Not that they Eden call.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span>
+  </div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Methought, when first I entered,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Such splendours round me shone,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Into a world I ventured</div>
+    <div class="verse indent2">Where rose another sun.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The site of these Gardens, which covered some twelve
+acres with groves, avenues, dining-halls, the famous
+Rotunda and caverns, cascades and pavilions, is now all
+built over. It lay about as far to the south-east of
+Vauxhall Bridge as the little Park is to the south-west.
+In name Vauxhall sounds quaint and un-English. In
+earlier times it was known as Foxhall, or more correctly
+Foukeshall, from Foukes de Breant, who married a sister
+of Archbishop Baldwin in the latter half of the twelfth
+century.</p>
+
+<p>The land of the present Park was purchased in May
+1889.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> Then it was covered by houses standing in
+their own grounds. The largest of these was Carroun
+or Caroone House, which had been built by Sir Noel de
+Caron, who was Ambassador of the Netherlands for
+thirty-three years, during the reigns of Elizabeth and
+James I.—the others, a row of eight with gardens, were
+known as “The Lawn.” In front of them was a long
+pond, said to have been fed by the Effra River. This
+stream, which rose in Norwood and flowed into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span>
+Thames at Vauxhall, has, like most of the other streams
+of London, become a sewer, and the pond is no more.
+In one of these houses (51 South Lambeth Road) Mr.
+Henry Fawcett resided, and when the houses were pulled
+down to form the Park his was left, the intention being
+to make it into some memorial of him. It was found to
+be too much out of repair to retain, and had to be pulled
+down. With the sum which the sale of materials from
+the old house realised, it was proposed to erect a memorial
+drinking-fountain. This idea bore fruit, as Sir Henry
+Doulton sold one to the vestry for less than one-third of
+its value, and moreover gave a further memorial to the
+courageous blind Postmaster-General of a portrait statue
+by Tinworth, with appropriate allegorical figures.
+This fine group recording the connection of Henry
+Fawcett with the place is the most conspicuous feature
+of the Park. The trees are growing up, and an abundance
+of seats and dry walks made it an enjoyable if not
+beautiful garden. The swings and gymnasiums are
+numerous and large, but what gives most pleasure is
+the sand-garden for little children. For hours and hours
+these small mites are happily occupied digging and making
+clean mud pies, while their elders sit by and work. It is
+touching to see the miniature castles and carefully patted
+puddings at the close of a busy baby’s day. In the
+summer, when the sand is too dry to bind, some of the
+infants bring small bottles, which they manage to get
+filled at the drinking-fountain, and water their little handfuls
+of sand. These children’s sand-gardens, common in
+parks in the United States, are a delightful invention for
+the safe amusement of these small folk, and the delight
+caused by this one, which was only made in 1905, shows
+how greatly they are appreciated. Many of the parks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span>
+and some of the commons now have their “sea-side” or
+“sand-pit,” and probably not only do they give immense
+pleasure, but they act as a safety-valve for small mischievous
+urchins, who otherwise could not resist trespassing
+on flower-beds.</p>
+
+<p>The grass in this, as in all the parks, has to be enclosed
+at times, to let it recover, the tramp of many feet.
+The wattled hurdles which are often used in the London
+Parks for this purpose, have quite a rustic appearance.
+They are like those which appear in all the agricultural
+scenes depicted in fifteenth century MSS. It is much to
+be hoped that no modern invention in metal will be
+found to take their place.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Kennington Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Not very far from Vauxhall, beyond the famous
+Oval, lies the larger and more pretentious Kennington
+Park of 19½ acres. This has a long history as Kennington
+Common. It formed part of the Duchy of Cornwall
+estates, having been settled by James I. on Prince Henry,
+and has since belonged to each succeeding Prince of
+Wales. In still earlier times there was a Royal Palace
+at Kennington, which fell into decay after Henry
+VIII.’s reign. Here as on all similar commons, the
+people had a right of grazing cattle for six months of
+the year. But the moment it was open to them in the
+spring such a number of beasts were turned on to the
+ground, that in a very short time “the herbage” was
+“devoured, and it remained entirely bare for the rest of
+the season.”</p>
+
+<p>The Common was a great place for games of all sorts,
+particularly cricket. When in 1852 it was turned into
+a Park, and play could not go on to the same extent, by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span>
+suggestion of the Prince Consort, a piece of land, then
+market-gardens, was let by the Duchy to the Surrey
+Cricket Club, which was formed for the purpose of
+maintaining it. This is the ground that has since
+gained such notoriety as the Oval, the scene of many
+a match historical in the annals of cricket. The
+Common, too, was famous for the masses that collected
+there to hear Whitfield preach. His congregations
+numbered from 10,000 to 40,000 persons, and his
+voice would carry to the “extremest part of the
+audience.” He notes in his diary, Sunday, May 6,
+1731—“At six in the evening went and preached at
+Kennington; but such a sight I never saw before. Some
+supposed there were above 30,000 or 40,000 people, and
+near fourscore coaches, besides great number of horses;
+and there was such an awful silence amongst them, and
+the Word of God came with such power, that all seemed
+pleasingly surprised. I continued my discourse for an
+hour and a half.” The last time he preached there was
+a farewell sermon before he went to America in August
+1739.</p>
+
+<p>Two other incidents are connected with Kennington
+Common, neither so pleasant—the scenes of the execution
+for high treason, with all the attendant horrors,
+of the “Manchester rebels” after the ’45; and the
+great Chartist revolutionary meeting under Feargus
+O’Connor in 1848. The precautions taken by the
+Duke of Wellington saved the situation, and the
+200,000 people who it had been proposed should
+march to Westminster melted away, and the whole
+thing was a fiasco.</p>
+
+<p>It was soon after this episode that the Common was
+converted into a Park. The ground, including all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span>
+Common and the site of the Pound, was handed over
+by the Duchy of Cornwall (by Act of Parliament),
+to be laid out as “Pleasure grounds for the recreation
+of the public; but if it cease to be so maintained”
+to “revert to the Duchy.”</p>
+
+<p>The transformation has been very successful, and the
+design was suitable and well conceived. The large greens
+are divided by wide paths shaded by trees, and each
+section can be closed in turn to preserve the grass. There
+is a sunk formal garden, bedded out with bright flowers,
+which show up well on the green turf; and at one
+end there are shrubberies with twisting walks in the
+style that is truly characteristic of the English Park, and
+seems to appeal to so many people. The whole space is
+not large, but the most is made of it, and both the formal
+and the “natural” sections have their attractions. At
+the “natural” end, near the church—which, by the way,
+was built as a thank-offering after Waterloo—is a handsome
+granite drinking-fountain, designed by Driver,
+and presented by Mr. Felix Slade; and in the centre of
+the Park is a fountain, given by Sir Henry Doulton,
+with a group of figures by Tinworth, emblematic of
+“The Pilgrimage of Life.” The Lodge was the model
+lodging-house erected by the Prince Consort in the
+Great Exhibition of 1851.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Myatt’s Fields</span></h3>
+
+<p>Myatt’s Fields or Camberwell Park is but a short
+distance to the south-west of Kennington. This Park
+of 14½ acres was one of those princely gifts which
+have been showered on the inhabitants of London. It
+was presented by Mr. William Minet, in whose family
+the land has been since 1770. His ancestors were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span>
+Huguenots who had come to England at the time of
+the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p167" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p167.jpg" width="529" height="788" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p167_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Fountain by Tinworth, Kennington Park</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>It was handed over to the newly-formed County
+Council in 1889, having been previously laid out. The
+way in which this was done with an avenue, which will
+some day be one of the great beauties of the neighbourhood,
+and which is in the meantime a pleasant shady
+walk, has already been commented on. For its size,
+Myatt’s Fields is one of the most tasteful of the new
+parks. Its quaint name is a survival of the time
+when the ground was a market-garden leased by a
+certain Myatt from 1818–69. The excellent qualities
+of the strawberries and rhubarb raised there, gave the
+Fields such a good reputation in the district, and the
+name became so familiar, that it was retained for the
+Park.</p>
+
+<p>Camberwell Green is a distinct place, not far distant,
+and is noticed among the village greens of London.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Ruskin Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Ruskin Park, the newest of all the parks, is not very
+far from Camberwell, and has been formed of a cluster of
+houses, with grounds of their own, on Denmark Hill,
+known as the Sanders’ Estate. The name, which has an
+“Art Nouveau” sound about it, and raises an expectation
+of something beautiful, was given to it because John
+Ruskin for many years lived in the neighbourhood. From
+1823, when he was four, to 1843, his home was 28 Herne
+Hill, and there he wrote “Modern Painters.” From then
+until 1871 he lived even nearer the present Park, at 163
+Denmark Hill. Describing the house, Ruskin wrote of
+it: “It stood in command of seven acres of healthy
+ground ... half of it meadow sloping to the sunrise,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span>
+the rest prudently and pleasantly divided into an
+upper and lower kitchen-garden; a fruitful bit of
+orchard, and chance inlets and outlets of wood walk,
+opening to the sunny path by the field, which was
+gladdened on its other side in springtime by flushes of
+almond and double peach blossom.” Such might have
+been the description of the houses and grounds now
+turned into a park. Some of the lines of the villa
+gardens have been retained, and some wise and necessary
+additions and changes have been made to bring the whole
+together; but even the inspiration of Ruskin has not
+kept out the inevitable edges and backbones of uninteresting
+evergreens. Some of the green-houses have been kept,
+but six dwellings have been demolished, and one of the
+two retained will be used as a refreshment room. The
+outside wall of the garden front of one, covered with
+wistaria, has been left, facing its own little terrace and lawn
+and cedars, and soon after the opening, in February 1907,
+many people found it was possible to get sun and shelter
+and enjoy the prospect from the seats in front of the
+ruined drawing-room windows. The dividing wall of
+two houses has been cleverly turned into what will be a
+charming pergola, and below, the ground has been levelled
+to form a bowling-green. The terraces and steps from
+one level to another are a pleasing feature in the design.
+The ground is not yet finished, and it is greatly to be
+hoped that the usual clumps of evergreens will not be
+multiplied, but Ruskin’s description borne in mind, and
+let there be almonds and double peaches to gladden the
+spring, and not drooping, smutty evergreens, or “ever
+blacks,” as they might be more fittingly called, to jar on
+the picture of fresh young growth. The pond, a stiff
+oval, has had to have the necessary iron railings, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span>
+trees near it have been substantially barricaded with rustic
+seats—a most important addition. The avenue of chestnuts
+which crosses the open part of the ground has been
+left; and there are other good young trees growing up,
+and a fine old ilex and mulberry. There is already
+a question of adding a further 12 acres to this Park,
+which is 24 acres at present, but the scheme is still
+under consideration.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Brockwell Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Those who want a change, from the roar and bustle
+of streets, can attain their object very quickly by the
+expenditure of a few pence and fifteen minutes in the
+train. Getting out at Herne Hill Station, in a few
+seconds the gates of Brockwell Park are reached. The
+old trees and undulating ground are all that could be
+desired, but the chief attraction, and the object that well
+repays a visit, is the old walled garden. It is a high
+brick enclosure, with fine old trees peeping above, and
+festoons of climbing plants brightening the dull red
+walls. The narrow paths, running in straight lines
+round and across, are here and there, spanned by rustic
+arches covered with roses, or clematis, or gourds, from
+which hang glowing orange fruit in autumn. In the
+centre of the garden a small fountain plays on to moss-grown
+stones, and on a hot summer’s day the seats,
+shaded by the luxuriant Traveller’s Joy, make a cool
+resting-place, though not so sequestered as the arbours
+in the angles of the wall, darkened by other climbers.
+The rest of the garden is a delightful tangle of herbaceous
+plants. All the old favourites are there, and a small
+notice near the entrance announces to those in search of
+knowledge that the garden contains all herbs and garden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span>
+plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. A little knowledge
+is a dangerous thing, and the unwary might not
+realise that the flowers of Shakespeare’s time, although
+undoubtedly there, only form a small portion of the
+whole display. The board is literally true, but visitors
+are apt to go away with the idea that brilliant dahlias,
+and gaudy calceolarias, or even the most modern introduction,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Kochia tricophila</i>, were friends of Shakespeare’s!
+A large number of the plants, however, are truly of the
+Elizabethan age, that golden time of progress in gardening
+as well as of other arts, when spirited courtiers and
+hardened old sailors alike scoured the seas and brought
+strange plants from new lands. Many of these now
+familiar treasures from east and west flourish in this little
+enclosure, and recall the romantic days of the sixteenth
+century: the Marvel of Peru—the very name tells the
+delight that heralded its arrival from the West—the
+quaint Egg-plant (<i class="flora" lang="la">Solanum ovigerum</i>) brought from
+Africa, and the bright-seeded Capsicums from India.
+Even the bush, with its wealth of white or purple flowers,
+the <i class="flora" lang="la">Hibiscus Syriacus</i>, was known in those days, though
+not by that name. Gerard, in describing it, says it was
+a stranger to England; “notwithstanding, I have sowen
+some seedes of them in my garden, expecting successe.”
+That delightful confidence, which is the great characteristic
+of all these old gardeners, was not abused, apparently,
+in this case, for two years later, in the catalogue
+of plants in his garden, 1599, this great tree mallow was
+flourishing. Many of the gourds, which are grown to
+great advantage in this little garden, were also known at
+an early date. Gerard says of them, “they joy in a
+fruitful soil, and are common in England.” Were it not
+for the conspicuous little notice-board, no fault could be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span>
+found with the selection of plants which, from early
+spring till late autumn, brighten this romantic little
+garden. The <i class="flora" lang="la">Solanum jasminoides</i> is none the less
+graceful because it has only found a home in sheltered
+corners in England, for the last seventy years. <i class="flora" lang="la">Cobæa
+scandens</i>, which festoons very charmingly some of the
+arches, is certainly an old friend, having been over a
+hundred years in this country; but it is a new-comer
+when compared with the Passion Flower growing in
+profusion near it, and even that did not appear until
+after Shakespeare’s death. It was unknown to Gerard,
+but his editor, Thomas Johnson, illustrates it in the
+appendix to the edition of 1633. It had then arrived
+from America, “whence it hath been brought into
+our English gardens, where it growes very well, but
+floures only in some few places, and in hot and seasonable
+yeares: it is in good plenty growing with Mistresse
+Tuggy at Westminster, where I have some years seene
+it beare a great many floures.” Mistress Tuggy and
+her friend would have rejoiced at the sight of the
+house in the centre of Brockwell Park on a warm
+October day, thickly covered with the golden fruit as
+well as star-like flowers of their precious “Maracoc or
+Passion-floure.”</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p172c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p172c.jpg" width="553" height="669" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p172c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    OLD ENGLISH GARDEN, BROCKWELL PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>This delightful walled garden was the old kitchen-garden.
+Luckily, the fashion for the gardens of a past
+generation was growing at the time the Park was purchased,
+and the London County Council must be congratulated
+on the good taste displayed in dealing with it.
+The history of the acquisition of the ground is soon told.
+The desire for a park in this neighbourhood led those
+interested to try and arrange to buy Raleigh House in
+the Brixton Road, with some 10 acres of land, for about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span>
+£40,000. Having got an Act of Parliament to allow
+this, Brockwell Park came into the market with a ready-made
+park of 78 acres. The Act of 1888 was repealed,
+and eventually a sum of nearly £120,000 was spent on
+the purchase of Brockwell, which was opened to the
+public in 1892. Near the entrance gates, close to Herne
+Hill Railway Station, a drinking-fountain, with a graceful
+figure of “Perseverance” and portrait bust, has been
+erected to Mr. Thomas Lynn Bristowe, M.P. for Norwood,
+who was chiefly instrumental in obtaining the
+Park, and whose death occurred with tragic suddenness
+at the opening ceremony. It is quite a steep hill up
+to the house, which is of no great antiquity or beauty,
+having been built at the beginning of last century, when
+the older manor-house was pulled down, by Mr. Blades,
+the ancestor of the last owner. The view on all sides is
+extensive, and the timber is fine. There are good old
+oaks, as well as elms and limes; and it is satisfactory to
+see that, in the recent planting, limes have been given a
+place, and not only the overdone plane. As a contrast
+to the delightful formal garden, some pretty wild grouping
+has been carried out beside the artificial water. This
+series of ponds are an addition to the Park as originally
+purchased. It now measures 84 acres, and the extra
+piece contained water, which has been enlarged into a big
+bathing-pool and a so-called “Japanese garden.” These
+ponds are well arranged; and although there are various
+kinds of ducks and geese and black swans, and concrete
+edges and wire netting are inevitable, they are not so
+aggressive as in many parks. In places tall plants have
+been put in behind the railings and allowed to hang over,
+to break the undue stiffness. In the late autumn purple
+Michaelmas daisies nearly touched the water, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span>
+red berries of the Pyracantha overhung the ducks
+without apparent disagreement.</p>
+
+<p>The opening of Brockwell as a public Park has had
+the effect of banishing most of the rooks. There was a
+large rookery, but year by year the nests decrease. In
+1896 there were thirty-five nests, the next year twenty,
+while in 1898 there were only eight or ten. Thus every
+season they are getting fewer, but still, in the spring of
+1907, one pair of rooks were bold enough to build.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Dulwich Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Dulwich Park is not very far from Brockwell, but
+its surroundings are more open. A few of the roads
+near it have some feeling of the country left. The
+houses that are springing up are of a cheerful villa
+type, and have nothing of the monotony and dulness
+of most of the suburbs. Fine old trees grow along
+many of the roads. The chestnuts, for instance, in
+Half Moon Lane between Herne Hill and Dulwich
+are charming, and also on the further side of the Park,
+where the celebrated inn, the “Green Man,” was situated,
+there is a rural aspect and a delightful walk between
+trees. It was within the grounds of the “Green Man”
+that the Wells of chalybeate water were situated. The
+Wells had been discovered in the reign of Charles II.,
+and the water sold in London, but the “Green Man”
+did not become a popular resort until after 1739. A
+story connected with this popular spa is recorded in the
+“Percy Anecdotes” in 1823. A well-known literary
+man was invited to dinner there, and wished to be
+directed. However, he inquired vainly for the “Dull
+Man at Greenwich,” instead of the “Green Man at
+Dulwich.” One of the entrances to the Park is close<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span>
+to the site of the once famous Wells. The Park itself,
+which covers 72 acres, was the munificent gift of
+Dulwich College. The gift was confirmed by an Act
+of Parliament in 1885, and the Park opened to the
+public in 1890. The College was founded by Edward
+Alleyn in 1614, who called it “The College of God’s
+Gift.” Originally, there were besides the Master,
+Warden, and four Fellows, six poor brethren and six
+sisters, and thirty out-members. The value of the
+property has so enormously increased that the number
+of scholars has been very greatly added to, and now
+hundreds of boys, some quite free, and some for a very
+low fee, obtain a sound commercial education. The
+founder was a friend of Shakespeare, and one of the
+best actors of his plays in the poet’s lifetime. His
+early biographers go out of their way to refute the
+alleged reason of his founding “God’s Gift College,”
+namely, that when on one occasion he was personating
+the devil, the original appeared, and so frightened him
+that he gave up the stage to devote himself to good
+works. Were this story true, the vision was certainly
+well timed, and has produced unexpected and far-reaching
+results. The educational work, the picture gallery,
+and the well laid out estate of Dulwich Manor, including
+the large public Park, are all the direct result!</p>
+
+<p>There are a few fine old trees in the Park, particularly
+a row of gnarled oaks near the lake. This is a
+small sheet of water on the side nearest the College. The
+carriage road, which encircles the Park, crosses by a
+stone bridge the trickling stream, formed by the overflow
+from the lake. On the south-east side of the Park
+there are but few trees, but large masses of rhododendrons
+and azaleas have been planted, which make a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span>
+brilliant show in the summer. The most distinctive
+feature is the rock gardening. There is a very large
+collection of Alpine and rock plants, which are growing
+extremely well and covering the stones with delicious
+soft green cushions, which turn to pink, yellow, white,
+and purple, as the season advances. Even in the cold,
+early spring, snowdrops, and the pretty little Chionodoxa,
+the “Glory of the Snow,” begin to peep out amongst
+the rocks, and these are the harbingers of a succession
+of bloom, through the spring and summer months. On
+either side of one of the entrances, a long and pleasing
+line of this rock-work extends, but the plants for the most
+part are grown on mounds like rocky islands rising up
+from a sea of gravel. There are several of these isolated
+patches in the middle of the carriage drive. It is certainly
+fortunate, for those who only drive round the
+Park, thus to have a full view of the charming rock
+plants; but to compare such a display to the rock
+garden at Kew is misleading. There may be nearly as
+many plants at Dulwich as at Kew, but the arrangement
+of that charming little retired valley at Kew is
+so infinitely superior that the comparison is unjustified.
+The small stream which leaves the lake, and other
+places in the Park, offer, just as good a foundation for
+a really effective rock garden as the one at Kew. Such
+an arrangement would give a much better idea of the
+plants, in their own homes, than the islands in the
+roadway, that must suffer from dust, besides looking
+stiff and unnatural. It is, however, delightful to see how
+well these plants are thriving. This is hardly astonishing,
+as it is not in a crowded, smoky district, but in
+one of the most favoured of suburbs. Dulwich Park
+adds greatly to the advantages of the neighbourhood:<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span>
+it has not hitherto been crowded, and is by no means
+a playground of the poorest classes, but now the advent
+of electric trams and rapid communication may somewhat
+lessen its exclusiveness.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Horniman Gardens</span></h3>
+
+<p>There are gardens of a very different character round
+the Horniman Museum, not far distant. This collection,
+as well as the 9¼ acres of ground adjoining it on
+Forest Hill, were the gift of the late Mr. J.&nbsp;F. Horniman,
+M.P., and the garden, kept up by the London
+County Council, was opened in June 1901. The situation
+is extremely attractive. A steep walk up an avenue
+from London Road, Forest Hill, near Lordship Lane
+Station, leads to a villa standing in its own grounds,
+which is utilised for refreshment rooms and caretaker’s
+house, &amp;c. The lawns descend steeply on three sides,
+and on the western slope there is a wide terrace, with
+a row of gnarled pollard oaks. From this walk there
+is a wide and beautiful view, over the hills and parks,
+chimney-pots and steeples of South London, with the
+lawns and pond of Horniman Gardens in front. On
+this terrace a shelter and band-stand have been put
+up, and no more favoured spot for enjoying the open-air
+town life, so common on the Continent, but until
+lately so rare in England, can well be imagined. The
+country round is still fairly open, between Forest Hill
+and Brixton. Near the foot of Horniman Gardens lies
+Dulwich Park, with the shady path known as “Cox’s
+Walk,” from the proprietor of the “Green Man,” and
+the roads lined with trees connect Dulwich with Brockwell
+Park, Herne Hill, so that this corner of London is
+well supplied with trees.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span></p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Deptford Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Deptford Park is a complete contrast to the semi-rural
+Dulwich. It is in one of the most densely-populated
+and poor districts, where it is greatly needed, and has
+been open since 1897. The site was market-gardens,
+and was sold by the owner, Mr. Evelyn, below its value,
+to benefit the neighbourhood. It is merely a square,
+flat, open space of 17 acres, with only a few young
+trees planted round the outskirts. Near the principal
+entrance in Lower Road, the approach is by a short
+walk between two walls. Along either side of the pathway,
+and for some little distance to the right and left,
+after the open space is reached, a nice border of herbaceous
+plants has been made along the wall, and a few
+beds placed in the grass on either side, and ornamental
+trees planted. Thus the entrance to this wide playground
+is made cheerful and attractive, and a pleasant
+contrast to the grimy streets outside.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Telegraph Hill</span></h3>
+
+<p>Between these two extremes lies a small Park known
+as Telegraph Hill. It is only 9½ acres, and is cut in
+two by a road, but it is very varied in surface. The
+origin of its name is from its having been a station
+for a kind of telegraphy that was invented before the
+electric telegraph had been discovered. Two brothers
+Chappé invented the system, and were so successful in
+telegraphing the news of a victory in 1793, that their
+plan was adopted in France, and soon throughout
+Europe. In Russia a large sum was expended in
+establishing a line of communication between the
+German frontier and St. Petersburg; but so slow was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span>
+the building that the stations were hardly at work
+before they were superseded by electricity. The signals
+were made by opening and shutting six shutters, arranged
+on two frames on the roofs of a small house, and by
+various combinations sixty-three signals could be formed.
+The Admiralty established the English line, of this form
+of telegraphy between Dover and London in 1795, and
+the first public news of the battle of Waterloo actually
+reached London by means of the one on “Telegraph
+Hill.” The place was well chosen, for even now, all
+surrounded by houses, the hill is so steep and conical, that
+a very extensive view is still obtained. The site of the
+semaphore station is now a level green for lawn tennis.
+On the other side of the roadway, the descent is steep into
+the valley, and there are two small ponds at the bottom.
+The cliffs are covered with turf, interspersed by the usual
+meaningless clumps of bushes, and a few nice trees.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Southwark Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>Southwark Park lies far away from Southwark, beyond
+Bermondsey, in Rotherhithe. It was in the parliamentary
+borough of Southwark, hence the misleading name. The
+Park is a gloomy enough place when compared with the
+more distant or West End Parks, but a perfect paradise in
+this crowded district. Between its creation in 1864 and
+its completion in 1869, a great reformation was worked
+in the district. Close to the docks, and intersected by
+streams and canals, with the poorest kind of rickety
+houses so vividly described by Dickens in “Oliver Twist,”
+the surroundings were among the most dismal imaginable.
+The actual site of the Park was partly market-gardens,
+which had for long been established in this
+locality owing to the fertility of the alluvial soil.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span>
+Vines were grown here for wine with success in the
+first half of the eighteenth century, when there was a
+revival in grape-growing, and vineyards were planted
+at Hoxton and elsewhere. Over 100 gallons of wine
+were made in a year in Rotherhithe. Some of the
+earth excavated from the Thames Tunnel was put on the
+ground covered by the Park before the laying out commenced.
+When the land, 65 acres, was bought, only
+45 were to be kept for the Park, and the rest were
+reserved for building. But when the day of building
+arrived there was such an outcry that the whole plan
+was remodelled, the drives which encircled it done away
+with, and tar-paved paths substituted, only one driving
+road crossing it being left, and the ponds added. It
+is more the want of design, than any special style, that is
+conspicuous, and a good deal more could have been done
+to make the Park less gloomy. An avenue is growing
+up, but it will never have the charming effect of the one
+across Battersea, as the line is neither straight nor a
+definite curve. The wild fowl on the pond are such
+an attraction, that perhaps it may be that the wire netting
+and asphalt edges they apparently require are not drawbacks,
+but they are not beautiful. The gateway into the
+Park, near Deptford Station, has rather the grim look of
+a prison, and yet, with the forest of masts behind, all it
+requires is a climbing plant or two to make a picture.
+On the opposite end of the Park runs Jamaica Road,
+which perpetuates the name of a well-known Tea Garden,
+Jamaica House. Pepys records a visit there, on a Sunday
+in April 1667. “Took out my wife, and the two Mercers,
+and two of our maids, Barker and Jane, and over the
+water to Jamaica House, where I never was before, and
+there the girls did run for wagers over the bowling-green;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span>
+and there, with much pleasure, spent little and so home.”
+Pepys’ home in Seething Lane near the Tower would be
+an easy distance from the Tea Gardens of Redriff, as
+Rotherhithe was called then, and in the days when Swift
+made Gulliver live there. There were other well-known
+Tea Gardens near, the “Cherry Garden,” “Half-way
+House,” and at a much later date “St. Helena’s Gardens,”
+which were only closed in 1881. The disappearance of
+all the Tea Gardens and open spaces made the necessity
+of a Park very obvious, and it was to meet this want that
+Southwark Park was made.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Maryon Park</span></h3>
+
+<p>There is one more small Park to complete the line of
+South London Parks, for which the public is indebted to
+Sir Spencer Maryon-Wilson, the lord of the manor of
+Charlton, in which parish it is situated. It lies between
+Greenwich and Woolwich, and the South-Eastern Railway
+skirts the northern side. The ground was chiefly large
+gravel pits, and has a hill in the middle partly caused by
+the excavations. This hill has some pretty brushwood
+still growing on its slope, showing it was once joined to
+Hanging Wood, a well-known hiding-place of highwaymen.
+It was conveniently thick, and there are many tales
+of pursuit from Blackheath which ended by losing the
+thieves in Hanging Wood. The hill in the Park is
+locally known as Cox’s Mount, having been rented by
+an inhabitant of that name in 1838, who built a summer-house
+there and planted poplars. The area of the Park
+is about 12 acres, and except for one or two trees on the
+Mount and patches of brushwood, it is open grass. The
+boys on the <i>Warspite</i> training ship anchored near are
+allowed to play cricket there, provision for this having<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span>
+been made by the generous donor of the Park in the
+deed of gift to the London County Council in 1891.</p>
+
+<p>Quite outside these crowded districts, yet within the
+County of London, lie three more Parks maintained by
+the County Council. The one nearest the heart of
+London is Manor Park, or Manor House Gardens, between
+the High Road, Lee, and Hither Green Station,
+opened in 1902. There are 8¾ acres here attached to the
+Lee Manor House, a substantial building in the Adams
+style, now used as the Public Library. The Gardens slope
+gently away from the house to a large pond—or lake as
+the Council would prefer to call it—and beyond to a
+rapid little stream, the Quaggy, a tributary of the
+Ravensbourne. Beyond the Quaggy’s steep banks, well
+protected by spiked railings, is a flat green devoted to
+games. The chief beauty of this little Park is four
+magnificent old elms and a few other good trees—beech,
+chestnut, <i class="flora" lang="la">Robinia speudo acacia</i>, &amp;c. In the
+spring of 1907 the pond was in process of cleaning, so
+no rooks had ventured to build within the Park, but
+just at the gates a large elm in a small garden had been
+favoured by these capricious birds, and their hoarse voices
+were making a deliciously countrified sound.</p>
+
+<p>The other London County Council Parks are in what is
+still nearly open country, although rows of villas are being
+rather rapidly reared in the district. Eltham is one of
+these. It is at present not enclosed with massive iron
+railings, but the wide, flat stretch of smooth turf, studded
+with patriarchal trees, is left untouched, except that a few
+spaces have been levelled for games. This Park of 41
+acres was bought in 1902, the Borough of Woolwich paying
+half the cost of purchase—£9600—with the Council.</p>
+
+<p>Still further into the country is Avery Hill, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span>
+the large house and grounds, extending over 84 acres,
+built and laid out by Colonel J.&nbsp;T. North. The London
+County Council were offered this estate in 1902, if purchased
+within a certain limit of time, for £25,000.
+Usually the Council, in making a purchase, have ascertained
+beforehand what contributions the local Boroughs
+were prepared to subscribe towards the total cost, but,
+on this occasion, the Boroughs were invited to share the
+expense after the purchase had been made, with the result
+that all those concerned—Camberwell, Lewisham,
+Greenwich, Deptford, and Woolwich—refused; so the
+whole of the purchase and upkeep devolved on the
+London County Council. The large mansion is now
+used as a teachers’ training college for girls, but the
+greater part of the grounds, and the immense winter
+gardens are open to the public. It is still so far from
+the centres of population that the public who make use
+of these spacious gardens is very limited. The nearest
+railway station, New Eltham, is three-quarters of a mile
+distant from the Park, and half-an-hour or more by train
+from Charing Cross. Although it is now so far into the
+country, and some people would deprecate the purchase,
+it is only fair to remember that most of the crowded
+districts were also country not long ago, and that when
+land is dear and houses being built is not a favourable
+moment to purchase. As a rule it is want of foresight
+that is the complaint, and not excess of zeal, as in this
+case. The garden is made use of to furnish supplies
+of plants to some of the smaller parks, and a portion is
+being reserved for growing specimens for demonstration
+in the Council Schools. On the west side of the house
+there are three terraced gardens, prettily planted with
+roses and fruit-trees. In front of the house a sloping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span>
+lawn, with a few large beds, touches the park-like
+meadows studded with trees. Sheep feeding with their
+tinkling bells gives a rural appearance. To the large,
+modern, very red brick house is attached a huge winter
+garden. This is on a very large scale, with lofty palms,
+date, dom, and cocoa-nut growing with tropical luxuriance
+in the central house, with a large camellia house on
+one side and a fernery with rock-work, pools, and goldfish
+on the other. All this requires a good deal of
+keeping up—nearly £3000 a year—and although it has
+been open now some five years, it has been enjoyed by
+few. It is greatly to be hoped that it has a much-appreciated
+future before it.</p>
+
+<p>Such is a slight sketch of some of London’s Parks.
+No doubt there is much that could be changed for the
+better, both in design and planting: less sameness and
+meaningless formality without true lines of beauty in
+design would be an improvement. In planting, there
+might be more variety of British trees—alder, oak, ash,
+and hawthorn; and a wider range of foreign ones—limes,
+American or Turkey oaks, and many others; more
+climbing plants, such as Virginian creepers, more simple
+herbaceous borders and fewer clumps of unattractive
+bushes, and more lilacs, laburnums, thorns, almonds,
+cherries, and medlars in groups on the grass. If greater
+originality was displayed and a thorough knowledge of
+horticulture were shown, especially by the authorities
+that supervise the largest number of these parks, many
+improvements in existing ones could be easily achieved,
+and in forming new parks the same idea need not be so
+rigidly followed. But, in spite of small defects, the
+Parks as a whole are extremely beautiful, and Londoners
+may well be proud of them.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII"><span id="toclink_185"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER VIII</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">COMMONS AND OPEN SPACES</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>’Tis very bad in man or woman</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>To steal a goose from off the common,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>But who shall plead that man’s excuse</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Who steals the common from the goose?</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">An Old Ditty.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcI"><img src="images/i_idc_i.png" width="178" height="182" alt="I">
+<span class="firstword">It</span> was only fifty years ago, when the
+want of fresh air and room for
+recreation was being realised, that
+people began to wake up to the
+truth that there were already great
+open spaces in London which ought
+to be cared for and preserved. It
+was brought home by the fact that
+over £1000 an acre was being paid to purchase market-gardens
+or fields so as to transform them into parks,
+while at the same time land which already belonged to
+the people was being recklessly sold away and built over.
+All through the history of most of the common lands
+encroachments of a more or less serious nature are recorded
+from time to time. The exercise of common
+rights also was often so unrestrained as to inflict permanent
+injury on the commons. The digging for gravel was
+frequently carried to excess, whins and brushwood were
+cut, and grass over-grazed until nothing remained. At
+last, in 1865, a Commons Preservation Society was formed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span>
+with the view of arousing public attention to the subject.
+As is often the case, some people ran to the opposite
+extreme, and wished to transform the commons into
+parks without giving compensation to the freeholders
+and copyhold tenants, who thereby would lose considerable
+benefits. In some cases after the Metropolitan
+Commons Act of 1866 was passed, the Lord of the
+Manor, on behalf of all the freeholders, disputed the
+right of the Metropolitan Board of Works to take
+the land without compensation to the owners. The
+lord of the manor was considered unreasonable by some
+of the agitators for the transference of the common lands
+to public bodies, but he was fighting the battle of all the
+small owners. The freeholders in some cases were as
+many as fifty for some 40 acres. Many of the commons
+were Lammas Lands. The freeholders, of which there
+were a large number, had the use of the land from the
+6th of April until the 12th of August, and the copyhold
+tenants of the manor had the right of grazing during
+the remainder of the year. The number of cattle each
+could graze was determined by the amount of rent they
+paid, and the grazing was regulated by the “marsh
+drivers,” men elected annually by the courts of the
+Manor for the purpose. A curious incident in connection
+with these rights happened on Hackney Downs in
+1837. The season was late, and the steward of the
+Manor put up a notice to the effect that as the freeholders’
+crops were not gathered the grazing on the
+Downs could not begin until the 25th, instead of the
+usual 12th of August. The marshes and other common
+lands in the parish were open, so there was actually plenty
+of pasture available for those entitled to it. There was a
+fine crop of wheat on some plots on the Downs, and on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span>
+the morning of Monday the 14th August, “a few persons
+made their appearance and began to help themselves to
+the corn.” Summoned before the magistrates, the bench
+decided that after the usual opening day the corn “was
+common property, and could be claimed by no one
+parishioner more than another.” On the strength of this
+decision the whole parish turned out, and a terrible scene
+of looting the crop took place, while the poor owners
+vainly tried to save what they could. The freeholder
+with the most wheat, a Mr. Adamson, lost over £100
+worth, although he worked all night to save what he
+could. A case followed, as Mr. Adamson prosecuted
+Thomas Wright, one of the many looters who thought
+they had a right to it, for stealing his wheat. This time
+the magistrates fined the man twenty shillings, and half-a-crown,
+the value of the wheat he had actually taken,
+as he had no right to take away the crop, although he
+had a right to put cattle on the Downs. Further trials
+for riot before the Court of Queen’s Bench resulted in
+the prisoners being discharged after they had pleaded
+guilty. It appeared both the looters and Mr. Adamson
+were in the wrong. They had no right to remove the
+corn, neither had he, after the 12th August, and those
+who had grazing rights could have turned on their
+cattle to eat the standing corn. This incident just
+shows how the right of freeholders and copyholders
+could not lightly be trifled with.</p>
+
+<p>The report of the Select Committee on Open Spaces
+in 1865 pointed out in the same way, that although the
+right to these common lands had been enjoyed from time
+immemorial, the rights were vague as far as the public
+at large were concerned. They were probably limited to
+a certain defined area or body of persons, as the inhabitants<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span>
+of a parish, and it was doubtful if the custom
+would hold good at law for such a large place as
+London. Thousands of people from all parts of London
+trampling over a common was a very different thing to
+the free use of it by the parishioners. This report led to
+the passing of the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866.
+Both before and after this Act there were several others
+for the maintenance and regulation of the commons and
+all the parks, gardens, and open spaces too numerous to
+mention.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a></p>
+
+<p>Under the present system most of the metropolitan
+commons and heaths are in the hands of the County
+Council, and in some cases considerable sums have been
+spent on them. Among the smaller ones is London
+Fields, Hackney, the nearest open space to the city.
+This was in a very untidy state when first taken in hand
+after 1866. The grass was worn away, and it was the
+scene of a kind of fair, and the resort of all the worst
+characters in the neighbourhood. It used to be known
+as Shoulder of Mutton Fields, and the name survives in
+a “Cat and Mutton” public-house on the site of a
+tavern which gave its name to the fields. It was in the
+eighteenth century a well-known haunt of robbers and
+footpads, and in spite of a watch-house and special
+guard robberies were frequent. The watch must have
+been rather slack, as about 1732 a Mr. Baxter was robbed
+about five in the morning “by two fellows, who started
+out on him from behind the Watch-House in the
+Shoulder of Mutton Fields.” Hackney is rich in open
+spaces, as besides London Fields there is Hackney or
+Well Street Common, near Victoria Park, Mill Fields,
+Stoke Newington and Clapton Commons, Hackney Downs<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span>
+(over 40 acres) on the north, and Hackney Marshes
+(337 acres) on the east. These were Lammas Lands, and
+the marshes were used for grazing until within the last
+few years, when the rights were bought up and the land
+finally thrown open to the public in 1894. The river
+Lea skirts the marsh, and used not unfrequently to
+flood, doing considerable damage. The London County
+Council have made four cuts across the bends of the
+river, forming islands. The water now can more easily
+flow in a wet season, and the periodical inundations no
+longer occur. The planting of these islands has not
+been carried out at all satisfactorily. An utter want
+of appreciation of the habits of plants or the localities
+suited to them has been shown. A stiff row of the
+large saxifrage, <i class="flora" lang="la">S. cordifolia</i>, charming in a rock garden
+or mixed border, has been put round the water’s
+edge, and behind it, berberis, laurels, and a few flowering
+bushes suited to a villa garden shrubbery. The
+opportunity for a really pleasing effect has thus been
+missed, and money wasted. A few willows and alders,
+with groups of iris and common yellow flags, and free
+growing willow herb, and purple loosestrife, would soon,
+for much less expense, have made the islands worthy of
+a visit from an artist. Instead, an eyesore to every
+tasteful gardener and lover of nature has been produced.
+The beauty of the marsh has always been appreciated by
+the dwellers in Hackney and Clapton. The view over
+the fertile fields from the high land was one of the attractions
+since the time when Pepys wrote, “I every day
+grow more and more in love with” Hackney.</p>
+
+<p>Hackney Downs now form a large open area for
+recreation, but they were fruitful fields sixty years ago.
+An engraving, from a drawing by W. Walker, dated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span>
+1814, represents a “Harvest Scene, Hackney Downs,
+with a View of the Old Tower, and Part of the Town
+of Hackney,” and gives a delightful picture of harvesters
+reaping with sickles, and binding up sheaves of
+the tall, thick-growing corn. That some of the Downs
+were arable land was a grievance to those who had
+grazing rights, and there was a considerable agitation
+to get the freeholders to lay it all down in
+grass, after the incident of looting the corn in 1837,
+already referred to. The Downs continued rural within
+the memory of many still living. The Lord of the
+Manor remembers that an inhabitant stated that she had,
+whilst walking across the Downs, startled a wild hare
+from her form. This would be about the year 1845,
+and for ten or twelve years later there were partridges
+in the larger fields of turnip and mangold-wurzel which
+adjoined the Downs. The rural character has quite
+changed, and now the Downs are a large open space, with
+young trees growing up to supply shade along the roads
+which encircle the wide grassy area.</p>
+
+<p>Highbury Fields, although much smaller than
+Hackney Downs, being only 27 instead of 41 acres, play
+as important a part in the north of London, as the
+Downs do in the north-east. They are not, however,
+Common Lands, but until recently were actually fields
+with sheep grazing in them. Tradition points to Highbury
+Fields as the site of the Roman encampment during
+the final struggle with Boadicea. In the Middle Ages
+they belonged to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem,
+and there the rebels of the Wat Tyler rising, headed by
+Jack Straw, camped after leaving Hampstead. There
+are a few old trees still standing in the Fields, which
+were formerly within the grounds of two detached residences,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span>
+one of them the Manor House. An old “moated
+grange,” or barn, belonging to the ancient Priory, gives
+its name to the public-house, Highbury Barn, the goal of
+motor omnibuses. The moat was only filled up fifty
+years ago, and the old buildings pulled down, after enjoying
+some notoriety as a Tea Garden for over a century.
+A part of the present Fields was called “the Reedmote,”
+or “Six Acre Field,” and is also shown on old
+maps as “Mother Field.” When Islington Spa was a
+fashionable resort, and Sadler’s Wells at the height of its
+prosperity, the houses facing the Fields were built. On
+the north-west the row is inscribed in large letters,
+“Highbury Terrace, 1789,” and this, according to old
+guide-books, “commands a beautiful prospect.” On the
+east lies another substantial row of eighteenth-century
+mansions, and the inhabitants are proud to point out to
+strangers No. 25 Highbury Place as the house in which
+Mr. Chamberlain lived, from the age of nine until he was
+eighteen, when he went to live in Birmingham. His
+present home, now so well known, was built in 1879,
+and was named in remembrance of Highbury Place. In
+the early years of the nineteenth century several well-known
+people were living in these houses. John Nichols,
+the biographer of Hogarth, who was for fifty years editor
+of the <i>Gentleman’s Magazine</i>, died there in 1826. A few
+years later a historian of Islington describes Highbury
+Place as “thirty-nine houses built on a large scale, but
+varying in size, all having good gardens, and some of
+them allotments of meadow land in the front and rear.
+The road is private, and is frequented only by the carriages
+passing to and from the several dwellings situated
+between the village and Highbury House.” This description
+draws a very rural picture, of which nothing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span>
+now remains but the name. The Fields were turned
+into a public Park in 1885, and now consist of wide
+open spaces for games, with intersecting paths well
+planted with limes, elms, chestnuts, and planes, and an
+abundance of seats. Near the point where Upper Street,
+Islington ends and Holloway Road joins it, a memorial
+to the soldiers and volunteers of Islington who fell in
+the Boer War has been erected, and the figure of Victory
+stands conspicuously facing the approach from the city.</p>
+
+<p>By far the most beautiful and the most frequented
+of all London Commons is Hampstead Heath. The
+original Heath measured 240 acres, but, with the addition
+of Parliament Hill, there are now over 500 acres of wild
+open country for ever preserved for the benefit of Londoners.
+’Appy ’Ampstead, the resort not only of ’Arrys
+and ’Arriets, but poets, artists, and people of every rank
+in life, is too well known to demand description. The
+view from it seems more beautiful every time the occasional
+visitor ascends the hill, and gazes down on London
+and away over the lovely country of the Thames valley.
+The County Council, the present holders of this public
+trust, have mercifully refrained from turning it into a
+park—the original intention of those who first wished to
+preserve it. The bracken still flourishes, the gorse still
+blooms, and there is yet a wild freshness about it that
+has not been “improved” away.</p>
+
+<p>Hampstead has had periods of fashion as a residence.
+In the eighteenth century it is described as “a village in
+Middlesex, on the declivity of a fine hill, 4 miles from
+London. On the summit of this hill is a heath, adorned
+with many gentlemen’s houses.... The water of the
+[Hampstead] Wells is equal in efficacy to that of Tunbridge,
+and superior to that of Islington.” These Wells<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span>
+appear to have first attracted notice in the time of
+Charles II. In 1698, Susanna Noel and her son, third
+Earl of Gainsborough (then the owner of the soil), gave
+the Well, with six acres of ground, to the poor of
+Hampstead. For more than thirty years the Wells,
+with all the attendant attractions of the pump-room,
+with balls and music, drew the fashionable world up to
+Hampstead. It was said to be “much more frequented
+by good company than can well be expected, considering
+its vicinity to London; but such care has been taken to
+discourage the meaner sort from making it a place of
+residence, that it is now become ... one of the Politest
+Public Places in England.” Here Fanny Burney made
+her heroine, Evelina, attend dances, and it plays a part
+in the fortunes of Richardson’s Clarissa Harlowe; and
+here all the wits and poets of the time mingled in the
+gay throng. Many have been the celebrated residents
+in Hampstead—Lord Chatham, Dr. Johnson, Crabbe,
+Steele, Gay, Keats, William Blake, Leigh Hunt, Romney
+and Constable, John Linnell, and David Wilkie among
+the number. The site of the pump-room is all built
+over, but some fine old elm trees in Well Walk, still have
+an air of romance and faded glory about them. The
+houses near the Heath—such as Shelford, afterwards
+Rosslyn House, with a celebrated avenue of Spanish
+chestnuts, The Grove, Belsize Park, the residence of Lord
+Wotton, and then of Philip, Earl of Chesterfield—have
+all been consumed by the inroads of bricks and mortar.
+It is more than likely that the Heath would have shared
+the same fate, had not the inhabitants taken active steps
+to arouse public attention to preserve this wild heath,
+unequalled near any great city. Already aggressive red
+villas were making their appearance in far too great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span>
+numbers. The western side was dotted over with them.
+That the purchase of it for the public benefit has been
+appreciated it is not difficult to prove, when over 100,000
+visit it on a Bank Holiday. It was the commencement of
+building operations near the Flagstaff by the lord of the
+manor, Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson, in the heart of the
+Heath, that brought things to a crisis in 1866. A case
+began against the lord of the manor, but he died before
+it was ended, and his brother, Sir John, being willing to
+compromise, the sum of £47,000 was agreed on for the
+sale of the Heath to the Metropolitan Board of Works.
+The few houses dotted about on the Heath are those of
+squatters, who have established their right by the length
+of time they have been in possession. The small hamlet
+or collection of houses in the “Vale of Health,” those
+near the “Spaniards” and round Jack Straw’s Castle,
+have existed from time immemorial, although few old
+houses of interest remain, and large, unsightly buildings
+have taken the place of the picturesque ones. In the
+Vale of Health the houses are chiefly given up to catering
+for holiday-makers. The “Spaniards,” at the most
+northerly point of the Heath, is a genuine old house,
+and it still has a nice garden, although all the alleys
+and fantastic ornaments which made it popular, in the
+eighteenth century, have vanished. The name came from
+the fact that the first owner was a Spaniard. The next
+proprietor was a Mr. Staples, who “improved and beautifully
+ornamented it.” The house was on the site of the
+toll-gate and lodge to Caen Wood, and its position saved
+that house from destruction, at the time of the Gordon
+riots. The rioters had burnt and wantonly destroyed
+Lord Mansfield’s house in Bloomsbury Square. Maddened
+with drink, and flushed with triumph at the success<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span>
+of their outrages, they made a bonfire in the square of
+the invaluable books collected by Lord Mansfield. Their
+temper may be imagined as they marched by Hampstead
+to commit the same violence at Caen Wood, Lord Mansfield’s
+country house. The proprietor of the “Spaniards”
+invited them in, and threw open his cellars to the mob.
+Fresh barrels of drink were sent down from Caen Wood,
+and meanwhile messengers were despatched for soldiers;
+so that by the time all the liquor had been consumed, and
+the drunken rioters began to proceed, they were confronted
+by a troop of Horse Guards, who, in their addled condition,
+soon put them all to flight. The name of the
+other inn on Hampstead Heath, which stands conspicuously
+on the highest point, 443 feet above the sea,
+is Jack Straw’s Castle, and has also some connection with
+a riot. Jack Straw was one of the leaders in the Wat
+Tyler rebellion, and after burning the Priory of St. John
+of Jerusalem, he came up to Hampstead and Highgate,
+though there is no direct evidence to connect him, in
+1381, with any tavern on the spot on which the inn
+stands. The addition of Castle to the name is from
+the fact, that there was some sort of fortress or earthworks
+on this commanding point. The inn on the
+site was known as the Castle Inn, and not until 1822
+is there any mention of it as Jack Straw’s Castle. The
+wood of the gallows on which a famous highwayman
+was hung behind the house in 1673 was built into
+the wall. Jack Straw’s Castle is now quite modernised,
+but the view from it, on all sides, is still as lovely as
+ever. The Whitestone Pond in front is really a
+reservoir, and to the south of that lies the Grove, with
+fine trees and some old-fashioned houses. The most
+picturesque walk is that known as the Judges’ or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span>
+King’s Bench Walk, from a tradition that justice was
+administered under the trees there, when the judges
+fled from London at the time of the Great Plague.
+This walk is on the south-west side of the Heath,
+the Well Walk on the south-east. To the east of
+the highest point with Jack Straw’s Castle and the
+road which runs northwards towards the “Spaniards”
+is the Vale of Health, and below are a series of
+ponds. Hampstead has always furnished a water-supply
+for the city at its feet. When more water
+was required, in the sixteenth century, the Lord Mayor
+proposed to utilise the springs there, and convey the
+water to London by conduits. A pound of pepper
+at the Feast of St. Michael annually to the “Bishop
+of Westminster,” was the tribute for the use of the
+water, as the land belonged to the Abbey of Westminster,
+having been granted to it by King Ethelred
+in 986. The managers of water-supply in 1692 were
+a company known as the Hampstead Water Company,
+which became absorbed in the New River Company.
+The lakes are very deep, and dangerous for boating,
+bathing, and skating, although used for all those
+purposes.</p>
+
+<p>The hill which rises beyond the ponds and stretches
+away to the east, is part of the land adjoining the true
+Heath, which was bought in 1887, so as to double
+the area of open country, and prevent that side of
+the Heath being overlooked by houses. The character
+is quite a contrast, and lacks the wildness, but it is
+pretty, park-like scenery, and Hampstead Heath would
+have been greatly spoilt had this further wide space
+of pasture land not been saved. The first hill to
+the east of the Heath is crowned by a mound or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span>
+tumulus, which was opened a few years ago; the
+investigations leading scientists to believe that it was
+a British burial-place of the bronze age. This used to
+be very picturesque with a group of Scotch firs—now,
+alas! all dead. The next hill is Parliament or Traitor’s
+Hill, and there is no very definite solution of the
+name. It may have been a meeting-place of the
+British “Moot” or Parliament, or the origin may
+only be traced to Cromwell’s time. As if to encourage
+the tradition being kept up, a stone suggests that
+meetings may take place within 50 yards of the spot
+by daylight. Below the hill are flat meadows by Gospel
+Oak, said to be so named from its being a parish
+boundary, and the Gospel was read under the tree
+to impress the parishioners, with the same object as
+the other and more familiar form of beating the
+bounds. These Gospel Oak fields are the typical
+London County Council greens for games, so gradually,
+after leaving the summit of the Heath, the descent is
+made, from the artistic and picturesque, to the practical
+and prosaic.</p>
+
+<p>Hampstead was always famous for its wild flowers.
+The older botanists roamed there in search of rare
+plants, and the frequent references in their works,
+especially in Gerard’s “Herbal,” show how often
+they were successful. Osmundas, or royal ferns,
+sundew or drosera, and the bog bean grew in the
+damp places, and lilies of the valley were among the
+familiar flowers. As late as 1838 a work on London
+Flora enumerates 290 genera, and no less than 650
+species, as found round about the Heath. The soil, the
+aspect, the situation, are all propitious. Even now it is
+so far above the densest smoke-fogs that much might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span>
+be done to encourage the growth of wild flowers.
+It is true notice-boards forbid the plucking of them,
+and that is a great step in advance—but the sowing
+of a few species, which have become extinct, would add
+greatly to the charm of the place. It is also still
+the favourite haunt of wild birds, and the more the
+true wildness is encouraged, the more likely they are
+to frequent it. It is much to be hoped that the
+London County Council will refrain in their planting,
+from anything but native trees and bushes which look
+at home, and which would attract our native songsters.
+Within the last ten or twelve years a very great variety
+of birds have been recorded either as nesting there
+or as visitors. The following list (taken from “Birds
+in London” by W.&nbsp;H. Hudson, 1898) may interest
+bird <span class="locked">lovers:—</span></p>
+
+<p>Wryneck, cuckoo, blackcap, grasshopper, sedge,
+reed and garden warblers, both white-throats, wood
+and willow wrens, chiff-chaff, redstart, stonechat, pied
+wagtail, tree pipit, red-backed shrike, spotted fly-catcher,
+swallow, house martin, swift, goldfinch, wheat-ears
+in passage, fieldfare in winter, occasionally redwings,
+also redpoles, siskin, and grey wagtail.</p>
+
+<p>This list is certainly a revelation to those who only
+associate dusty sparrows and greedy wood-pigeons with the
+ornithology of London. No better testimony is wanted to
+prove that Hampstead is still the beautiful wild Heath
+that has given pleasure to so many generations.</p>
+
+<p>The only other large space of common land, north of
+the river within the London area, is Wormwood Scrubs,
+of very different appearance and associations from Hampstead.
+The manorial and common rights were purchased
+by the War Office, and the ground made over to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span>
+the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1879, with reservations
+for the rifle range and military exercises.
+The space is altogether over 200 acres. The ground
+in ancient times was a wood, adjoining “Old Oak
+Common,” just beyond the London boundary, which
+was covered with patriarchal oaks. The last was felled
+in 1830. The ground, being flat, is admirably suited for
+the War Office purposes; it has gone through a process
+of draining, and the only part not downtrodden by
+soldiers has been “improved” by the London County
+Council, so there is little wildness or attraction in the
+place. The presence of a prison, erected in 1874, still
+further diminishes its charm as an open space.</p>
+
+<p>This completes the open large spaces on the north;
+the south of the river is even richer in commons. One
+of the most thoroughly rural spots within the London
+area is Bostall Wood. There is nothing to spoil the
+illusion, and for quite a considerable walk it would be
+easy to imagine that a journey on the magic horse of the
+“Arabian Nights” had been taken to some distant forest
+land, to forget that the roar of the town was barely out
+of one’s ears, and that ten minutes’ walk would take one,
+out of the enchanted land, back to suburban villas and
+electric trams.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the inevitable band-stand, which attracts
+thousands on a summer Sunday evening, there is nothing
+to jar, and spoil the illusion of real country. The woods,
+and Bostall Heath which adjoins them, can be reached
+from Plumstead or Abbey Wood Station, in twenty
+minutes’ walk up the steep hill. Pine woods crest the
+summit, and below them stretches a delightful thicket,
+chiefly of oaks and sweet chestnut, with an undergrowth
+of holly and a pleasant tangle of bracken and bramble,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span>
+where the blackbirds, chaffinches, and robins call to each
+other and flit across the path. Steep slopes, and valleys,
+and hollows clothed with trees, give possibilities of real
+rambles, in a truly sylvan scene. Under the pines, which
+are tall enough to produce that soothing, soughing sound
+even in the most gentle breeze, the carpet of pine needles
+is cushioned here and there with patches of vivid green
+moss where the moisture has penetrated. Beyond the
+Wood lies the Heath, studded with birch trees, among
+gorse and bracken. There are narrow gullies and glades,
+like miniature “gates” or “gwyles” of the sea coast, and
+at the foot of the Heath lie the marshes, often in the
+soft light as blue as the sea, and the silver Thames, a
+bright streak across the picture, chequered with the red
+sails of the barges, and tall masts of the more stately ships.</p>
+
+<p>The whole area of woods and common is only about
+133 acres, but the varied surface, and the distant views
+from it, make it appear of larger extent. It is little
+known to most Londoners, although the Heath was purchased
+as far back as 1877, and the Wood bought by the
+London County Council in 1891. The place, however, is
+much frequented and duly appreciated by the neighbouring
+population. This peaceful country-side could be
+reached within an hour, from any point in the City. It is
+attractive at all times of the year, especially in spring,
+when the green is pale and the young brackens, soft and
+downy, are uncurling their fronds, and the dark firs stand
+up in sharp contrast to the tender greens. Or, perhaps,
+still more delightful is it in autumn, when</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+“Red o’er the forest gleams the setting sun,”
+</p>
+
+<p class="in0">and the oaks have turned a rich russet, and the birches,
+of brilliant yellow, shower their tiny leaves on the mossy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span>
+earth, like the golden showers which fell on Danaë in her
+prison.</p>
+
+<p>The attractive wood-clad hills of Bostall are the
+most remote of all London’s open spaces. They lie the
+furthest east on the fringe of the suburbs. From Bostall
+westward roofs and chimney-pots become continuous—Woolwich,
+Greenwich, Deptford, Bermondsey, Southwark
+getting more and more densely crowded. But
+westward also begins the chain of commons which circle
+the town round the southern border—with breaks, it is
+true, yet so nearly continuous that from the highest
+point of one, the view almost ranges on to the next.</p>
+
+<p>Only a deep valley, with Wickham Lane on the track
+of a Roman road, divides Bostall Wood from Plumstead
+Common. This is open and breezy, standing high
+above what was in ancient times the marsh overflowed by
+the Thames. The greater part is, however, used by the
+military, and the trample of horse artillery makes it look
+like a desert. It is a curious effect to see this part of
+the Common in winter. It has probably been used for
+manœuvring all the week, and by Saturday afternoon
+there are pools of mud, and ruts, and furrows, and hoofmarks
+all over it. On this dreary waste hundreds of
+boys and young men, sorted according to age, play more
+or less serious football matches. The coats of the
+players, in four little heaps, do duty for goal-posts,
+and these are so thickly strewn over the surface, and
+the players so closely mingled, that the effect is like
+bands of savages fighting among their slain—the ancient
+barrow in the centre of the ground gives colour to the
+supposition.</p>
+
+<p>A sudden deep valley, called “the Slade,” cuts the
+Common in two. In the hollow there are ponds, and on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span>
+the high ground beyond stood a windmill, the remains of
+which are embedded in the Windmill Tavern.</p>
+
+<p>The next common west of Plumstead, is Woolwich,
+maintained by the War Office and given up to military
+exercises. The extent is 159 acres. It is so much
+absorbed by the requirements of the War Office that it
+cannot be classed among London’s playgrounds.</p>
+
+<p>Going westward, the next large space is Blackheath,
+whose history is wrapped up with that of Greenwich,
+the beautiful Greenwich Park having once been part of
+the Heath. It is high ground, for the most part bare of
+trees, and with roads intersecting it—one of them, the
+old Roman Watling Street. The wild, bare summit of
+the Heath was a dangerous place for travellers, and many
+was the highway robbery committed there in times past.
+It is of very large extent, some 267 acres, and has been
+effectually preserved for public use, for some thirty-five
+years, since early in the Seventies.</p>
+
+<p>The Heath has played its part in history—gay scenes,
+such as when the Mayor and aldermen of London flocked,
+with a great assemblage, to welcome Henry V. after the
+battle of Agincourt, or more ominous and hostile demonstrations,
+as when Wat Tyler collected his followers
+there, or when Jack Cade, some seventy years later, did
+the same thing. A few fine old eighteenth-century houses
+still stand on the edge of the Heath, and an avenue,
+“Chesterfield Walk,” perpetuates the name of one of
+the distinguished residents. Morden College, at the
+south-east corner of the Heath, is a fine old building
+of Wren’s design, founded by Sir John Morden, for
+merchants trading with the East who, through unforeseen
+accidents, had lost their fortunes.</p>
+
+<p>To the west of Blackheath there was once a Deptford<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span>
+Common, but it has long since been built over, and,
+with the exception of the small Deptford Park, there is
+a large district of dense population without any open
+space. The nearest is Hilly Fields on the south. This
+is a steep, conical hill, with little beauty to recommend
+it, except its breezy height, and views over chimney-pots
+to the Crystal Palace. A large, bleak-looking building,
+with a small enclosure on the highest point—at present
+for sale—marked the West Kent Grammer School,
+does not improve the appearance of this open space.
+There are some 45 acres of turf, and a line of old
+elms and another of twisted thorns show that there were
+once hedgerows. There is some promiscuous planting
+of young trees, and iron railings, and of course a band-stand;
+otherwise no particular “beautifying” has been
+attempted since it was opened to the public in 1896.</p>
+
+<p>In the valley of the Ravensbourne, below the hill
+stretches the long, narrow strip of the Ladywell Recreation
+Ground. It lies on either bank of the stream
+between Ladywell and Catford Bridge stations. It is
+intersected by railways, and the pathway passes sometimes
+over, sometimes under the lines, and constant trains
+whizz by. But in spite of such drawbacks, the place
+has a special attraction in the stream which meanders
+through the patches of grass devoted to games. Where
+the stream has been untouched, and allowed to continue
+its course unmolested between iron railings, even the railings
+cannot destroy a certain rural aspect it has retained.
+Alders and elms, with gnarled and twisted roots, lean
+over the banks, and hawthorns dip down towards the
+rather swiftly flowing water. When the land was bought
+for public use in 1889 the stream frequently overflowed
+its sandy banks, and one or two necessary cuttings were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span>
+made across some of the sharpest curves, to allow a better
+flow of water. This has stopped all the objectionable
+flooding, but the melancholy part is that, having been
+obliged to make these imperative but necessarily artificial
+cuttings, the London County Council did not plant them
+with alders, thorns, and willows, like the pretty, natural
+stream; but instead, the islands thus formed, and the
+banks, were dotted about with box and aucuba bushes.
+The babbling stream seems to jeer at these poor sickly
+little black bushes, as if to say, “What is the good of
+bravely playing at being in the country, and trying to
+make believe trout may jump from my ripples and water-ousels
+pop in and out of my banks, if you dreadful
+Cockneys disfigure me like that?” Very likely it does
+not jar on the feelings of the inhabitants of Lewisham
+or Catford, but when public money is spent by way of
+improvement, it is cruel to mar and deform instead.
+Where the churchyard of St. Mary’s, Lewisham, touches
+the stream is a pretty spot, but, in places, untidy little
+back-gardens are the only adornment; but that is not
+the fault of the London County Council.</p>
+
+<p>Peckham Rye Common is more or less flat, without
+any special feature of interest, except at the southern
+end, which has been converted into a Park. The Rye—what
+a quaint name it is! and there is no very satisfactory
+derivation. It may either come from a stream of that
+name, long since disappeared, or from a Celtic word,
+<em>rhyn</em>, a projecting piece of land—Peckham Rye, the village
+on the spur of the hill, now known as Forest Hill and
+Honor Oak. This “Rye” has been a place of recreation
+from time immemorial, and at one time must
+have extended so as to embrace the smaller patches of
+common known as Nunhead Green (now black asphalt),<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span>
+and Goose Green. The Common was secured by purchase
+from further encroachments in 1882.</p>
+
+<p>The Park has much that savours of the country. An
+enclosure within it, is not open to the public, and for that
+very reason is one of the most rural spots. There is a
+delightful public road across it, known as “the Avenue.”
+The old trees form an archway overhead, and on either
+side of the fence the wood is like a covert somewhere
+miles from London; brambles and fern and brushwood
+make shelter for pheasants, and squirrels run up the
+trees. The farm-house, and its out-buildings with
+their moss-grown tiled roofs, have nothing suburban
+about them. The front facing the Rye Common has a
+notice to say it is the Friern Manor Dairy, but even that
+is not aggressive, as the name carries back the history
+to the time of Henry I., when the manor was granted to
+the Earl of Gloucester, and on till it was given by his
+descendants to the Priory of Halliwell, which held it
+until the church property was taken by Henry VIII. and
+granted to Robert Draper, and so on till modern days.
+There is, besides this attractive farm, a regular piece of
+laid-out garden, and a pond and well-planted flower-beds;
+but the little walk among trees, beside a streamlet which
+has been formed into small cascades, and crossed by rustic
+bridges, is a more original conception, and is decidedly a
+success, and a good imitation of a woodland scene. The
+contrast is all the greater as Peckham is so eminently
+prosaic, busy, and unpicturesque; the old houses having
+for the most part given place to modern suburban
+edifices.</p>
+
+<p>Due west of Peckham lies Clapham, the largest of
+the South London Commons, 220 acres in extent;
+although, being flat and compact in shape, it does not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span>
+appear larger than Tooting, which is really only 10 acres
+less, but of more rambling shape. The Common has
+suffered much less than most of its neighbours from
+enclosures. It was shared between two manors, Battersea
+and Clapham, and the rival lords and commonalities, each
+jealous of their own special rights, were more careful to
+prevent encroachments than was often the case. At one
+time Battersea went so far as to dig a great ditch to
+prevent the cattle of the Clapham people coming into
+its part of the ground. The other parish resisted and
+filled up the ditch, and was sued for trespass by Battersea,
+which, however, lost its case—this ended in 1718. The
+Common has an air of dignified respectability, and is still
+surrounded with some solid old-fashioned houses, although
+modern innovations have destroyed a great number of
+them. A nice old buttressed wall, over which ilex trees
+show their heads, and suggest possibilities of a shady
+lawn, carries one back to the time when Pepys retired
+to Clapham to “a very noble house and sweete place,
+where he enjoyed the fruite of his labour in great
+prosperity”; or to the days when Wilberforce lived
+there, and he, together with the other workers in the
+same cause, Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and Zachary
+Macaulay, used to meet at the house of John Thornton
+by the Common.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing wild now about the Common, and
+the numbers of paths which intersect it are edged by high
+iron railings, to prevent the entire wearing away of the
+grass. The beauty of the ground is its trees. They
+proclaim it to be an old and honoured open space, and
+not a modern creation. Only one tree has any pretentions
+to historical interest, having been planted by the eldest son
+of Captain Cook the explorer, but only a stump remains.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span>
+The ponds are the distinctive feature of the Common,
+and there are several of them dotted about, the joy of
+boys for bathing and boat-sailing. The origin of most
+of them has been gravel pits dug in early days. There
+is the Cock Pond near the church, the Long Pond, the
+Mount Pond, and the Eagle House Pond, some of them
+fairly large. The Mount Pond was at one time nearly
+lost to the Common, as about 1748 a Mr. Henton
+Brown, who had a house close by, and who kept a boat
+on the water, obtained leave to fence it in for his own
+private gratification. It was not until others followed
+Mr. Brown’s example, and further encroachments began
+to frighten the parish, that it repented of having let in
+the thin end of the wedge. A committee was formed
+to watch over the interests of the Common lands, and
+took away Mr. Brown’s privileges; but in spite of their
+vigilance other pieces were from time to time taken away.
+A little group of houses by the Windmill Inn are on
+the site of one of these shavings off the area, for a house
+called Windmill Place. The church was built on a
+corner of the Common in 1774, and has a peaceful, solid,
+dignified appearance, standing among fine old elms and
+away from the din of trams, which rush in all directions
+from the corner hard by. It was built to replace an
+older parish church, which was described as “a mean
+edifice, without a steeple” by a writer of the eighteenth
+century, who admired the “elegant” one which took its
+place. The present generation would hardly apply that
+epithet to the massive Georgian edifice, but it seems to
+suit its surroundings: substantial and unostentatious,
+recalling memories of the evangelical revival, it seems an
+essential part of the Common and its history.</p>
+
+<p>Away to the south-west of Clapham lies Tooting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span>
+(why does the very name sound comic, and invariably
+produce a laugh?), another Common, nearly as large, and
+much more wild and picturesque. Clapham is essentially
+a town open space, like an overgrown village green; but
+on Tooting Common one can successfully play at being
+in the country. The trees are quite patriarchal, and have
+nothing suburban about them, except their blackened
+stems. There are good spreading oaks and grand old
+elms, gnarled thorns, tangles of brambles, and golden
+gorse. The grass grows long, with stretches of mossy
+turf, and has not the melancholy, down-trodden appearance
+of Clapham or Peckham Rye.</p>
+
+<p>Fine elm avenues overshadow the main roads, and no
+stiff paths with iron rails, take away from the rural effect.
+Even the railway, which cuts across it in two directions,
+has only disfigured and not completely spoilt the park-like
+appearance. The disused gravel-pits, now filled with
+water, have been enlarged since the London County Council
+had possession; and if only the banks could be left as wild
+and natural, as nature is willing to make them, they may
+be preserved from the inevitable stamp which marks every
+municipal park. The smaller holes, excavated by virtue
+of the former rights of digging gravel, and already overgrown,
+assist rather than take away from the charms of
+the Common.</p>
+
+<p>Tooting Common consists of two parts, belonging to
+two ancient manors. The smallest is Tooting Graveney,
+which derives its name from the De Gravenelle family,
+who held the manor soon after the Conquest, on the
+payment of a rose yearly at the feast of St. John the
+Baptist. The larger half, Tooting Beck, takes its name
+from the Abbey of Bec in Normandy, which was in
+possession of the Manor from Domesday till 1414,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span>
+when it came to the Crown. Both manors can be traced
+through successive owners until the rights were purchased
+in 1875 and 1873 by the Metropolitan Board of Works.
+The avenue of elms which runs right across the Common
+divides the two. Tooting Beck is more than twice the
+size of Graveney, and has the finest trees. One of the
+oldest elm trees, now encircled by a railing, was completely
+hollow, but now has a young poplar sprouting
+out of its shell. Tradition associates this tree particularly
+with Dr. Johnson, and though he did not
+compose his Dictionary under it, it is more than likely
+he often enjoyed the shade of what must have been a
+very old tree in his day. For fifteen years he was a
+constant visitor at Thrale Place close by. “He frequently
+resided here,” says a contemporary guide-book,
+“and experienced that sincere respect to which his
+virtues and talents were entitled, and those soothing
+attentions which his ill-health and melancholy demanded.”
+The house stood in 100 acres of ground
+between Tooting and Streatham Commons, and has
+since been pulled down and built over. During these
+years, no doubt, Tooting as well as Streatham Common
+was often trodden by the brilliant circle who drank
+tea and conversed with the accomplished Mrs. Thrale—Sir
+Joshua Reynolds, Burke, Garrick, Goldsmith—to
+all of them the woodland scenes of both Commons
+were familiar.</p>
+
+<p>To prevent the too free use of the turf by riders,
+a special track has been made for them, skirting the
+Common, and passing down one of the finest avenues.
+It may save the grass from being too much cut up, but
+to those who don’t feel called to gallop across the Common,
+the loss of the green sward under the tall feathery<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span>
+elms is a cause of regret. It is such, perhaps necessary,
+alterations which spoil the delusion of genuine country,
+otherwise so well counterfeited on Tooting Common.
+A charming time is when the may is out and the gorse
+ablaze with bloom, the chestnuts in blossom, and birds
+are singing all around; or if one happens to be there
+on a winter’s day, when it is too cold for loungers or
+holiday-makers, there are moments when the nearness
+of streets and trams could be forgotten. The frosty
+air, and dew-drops on the vivid green grass, the brown
+of the fallen leaves, the dark stems clear against an
+amber sky, with the intense blue distance, which London
+atmosphere produces so readily, combine harmoniously
+into a telling picture, which remains photographed “upon
+that inward eye, which is the gift of solitude.” The
+dream is as quickly dispelled. A sight, a sound, recalls
+the nearness of London, which makes its presence felt
+even when one is trying to play Hide-and-seek with
+the chimney-pots. How well Richard Jefferies, that
+inimitable writer on nature, describes his feelings in the
+neighbourhood of London, in spots only a little further
+from Hyde Park Corner than Tooting <span class="locked">Beck:—</span></p>
+
+<p>“Though my preconceived ideas were overthrown by
+the presence of so much that was beautiful and interesting
+close to London, yet in course of time I came to
+understand what was at first a dim sense of something
+wanting. In the shadiest lane, in the still pine-woods, on
+the hills of purple heather, after brief contemplation
+there arose a restlessness, a feeling that it was essential to
+be moving. In no grassy mead was there a nook where
+I could stretch myself in slumbrous ease and watch the
+swallows ever wheeling, wheeling in the sky. This was
+the unseen influence of mighty London. The strong<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span>
+life of the vast city magnetised me, and I felt it under
+the calm oaks.”</p>
+
+<p>The most remote of London open spaces in this
+direction is Streatham, to the south-east of Tooting,
+close to Norwood, and on the very extremity of the
+County of London. Much smaller than the other
+commons, it possesses attractions of its own. It is
+less spoilt by modern buildings than any of these once
+country villages, but ominous boards foretell the rapid
+advance of the red-brick villa. The houses which
+now overlook the upper part are substantial, in the
+solid, simple style of the eighteenth century, In those
+days Streatham possessed a mineral spring, and for a
+few years people flocked to drink at it. But long
+before the end of the eighteenth century other more
+fashionable watering-places had supplanted it, and in
+1792 Streatham is described as “once frequented for
+its medicinal waters.” The spring was in the grounds
+afterwards belonging to a house called the Rookery,
+and near the house called Wellfield, on the southern
+side of the Common. The waters were said to be so
+strong that three glasses of Streatham were equivalent
+to nine of Epsom. Although so near London, the
+journey to the springs presented some dangers, as this
+was one of the most noted localities for footpads and
+highwaymen. The woods of Norwood, which came
+close to the Common, afforded covert and an easy means
+of escape. This road from London, which went on
+to Croydon and Brighton, had such a bad reputation
+that the risk of an adventure must have counterbalanced
+some of the health-giving properties to any nervous
+invalid! The lower part of the Common, near the
+road, is flat and open, and not particularly inviting.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span>
+The charms of the top of the hill are all the more
+delightful, as they come as a surprise. There are fine
+old trees, and a wealth of fern, thorns, and bramble,
+and the short grass is exchanged for springy turf the
+moment the crest of the steep hill is reached. But by
+far the greatest surprise is the glorious view. Away
+and away over soft, hazy, blue country the eye can
+reach. It may or may not be true that Woolwich,
+Windsor, and Stanmore can be seen: nobody will care
+who gazes over that wide stretch of country bathed in
+a mysterious light, perhaps with the rays of the sun,
+like golden pathways from heaven, carrying the thoughts
+far from the prosaic villas or harrowing slums concealed
+at one’s feet. Only the wide expanse and the
+waving bracken and tangled brushwood fill the picture—while
+one rejoices that such a beautiful scene should
+be within the reach of so many of London’s toilers.</p>
+
+<p>Wandsworth is among the least beautiful and the
+most cut-up of the commons. Large and straggling
+in extent, it has been so much encroached upon that
+roads, and houses, and railways cross it. It is narrowed
+to a strip in places, and all the wildness and all the
+old trees have gone. Some young avenues by the main
+road have been planted, and no more curtailments can
+be perpetrated, as it was acquired for the use of the
+public in 1871. For many years the encroachments
+had roused the inhabitants, and about 1760 a species
+of club was formed to protect the rights of the commoners.
+When enclosures took place, the members all
+subscribed and went to law, and often won their cases.
+The head was called the “Mayor of Garratt,” from
+Garratt Lane, near the Common, where a “ridiculous
+mock election” was held. A mob collected, and encouraged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span>
+by Foote, Wilkes, and others, witty speeches
+were made. Foote wrote a farce called “The Mayor
+of Garratt,” which for some time gave the ceremony
+no small celebrity. The rowdyism becoming serious
+at the sham elections, they were suppressed in 1796.
+When the Common was eventually saved, it was in a
+bad and untidy state: quantities of gravel had been
+dug, and holes, some of them filled with water, were
+a danger; the trees had all disappeared, and the whole
+surface was bare and muddy. It has improved since
+then, but there is nothing picturesque left. The “Three
+Island Pond,” which is supposed to be its greatest
+beauty, is stiff, formal, and new-looking, with a few
+straggly trees growing up. Still it is safely preserved
+as an open space, and makes a good recreation ground.</p>
+
+<p>All round London, besides the larger commons,
+smaller greens are to be found, which are survivals of
+the old village greens. They recall the time when
+London was a walled city, and thickly scattered round
+it were the little hamlets which have now been absorbed
+by the ever-growing, monster town.</p>
+
+<p>There is little that is distinctive about them. For
+the most part they are simply open spaces of well-worn
+turf without trees. Shepherd’s Bush is one of these.
+Brook Green, in Hammersmith, not very far from it,
+has the remains of a few fine elm trees. In Fulham
+there are Parson’s Green and Eel Brook Common.
+Away in South London, Goose Green and Nunhead
+Green are other examples where grass is even more
+inconspicuous.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p214" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p214.jpg" width="528" height="770" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p214_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Statue of Mrs. Siddons, Paddington Green</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>On the north lies Paddington Green, which is small
+in extent, but close to the large graveyard turned into a
+public garden. In the centre of the Green a statue to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span>
+Mrs. Siddons, by Chevaliand, was erected in 1897, as
+she lived in the neighbourhood when Paddington was
+still rural. There is nothing beautiful about the asphalt
+paths between high iron railings surrounding the small
+space of grass and trees. Some of the other greens are
+more of the ordinary public garden type. Islington Green
+has been planted with trees, and outside the railings
+stands a statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton, who died in
+1631, representing him holding a plan of the New River.
+Stepney was once a very large green, and has still
+3¼ acres of garden cut up into four sections. Some
+quaint old houses, wood with tiled roofs, and good
+seventeenth-century brick ones, still overlook the
+gardens. The gardens have been made exactly like
+every other, with a slightly serpentine path, a border
+running parallel in irregular curves not following the
+line of the path, and trees dotted about. One really
+fine, thick-stemmed laburnum shows how well that tree
+will do in smoke, and some curious old wooden water-pipes
+dug up in 1890, dating from 1570, are placed at
+intervals in the grass.</p>
+
+<p>Camberwell has one of the large village greens of
+South London, and has been made into a satisfactory
+garden. All the trams seem to meet there, but in
+spite of the din it is a pleasant garden in which to
+rest. The 2½ acres are well laid out, and the clipped
+lime-trees round the railings are a protection from the
+street which other places would do well to copy. When
+the trees are in leaf the garden is partially hidden even
+from those on the tops of omnibuses.</p>
+
+<p>These greens scattered round London help to connect
+the larger areas, thus forming links in the chain
+of open spaces which encircles London. These natural<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span>
+recreation grounds are the admiration of all foreigners,
+and a priceless boon to the citizens, ensuring the preservation
+of green grass and green trees to refresh their
+fog-dimmed eyes, at no great distance from the throng
+of city life.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX"><span id="toclink_217"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER IX</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">SQUARES</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Fountains and Trees our wearied Pride do please,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Even in the midst of Gilded Palaces;</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>And in our Towns, that Prospect gives Delight,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Which opens round the Country to our Sight.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—Lines in a Letter from <span class="smcap">Sprat</span> to <span class="smcap">Sir Christopher<br>Wren</span> <span class="l2">on the Translation of Horace.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcN"><img src="images/i_idc_n.png" width="179" height="181" alt="N">
+<span class="firstword">Nothing</span> is more essentially characteristic
+of London than its
+squares. They have no exact
+counterpart in any foreign city.
+The iron railings, the enclosure
+of dusty bushes and lofty trees,
+with wood-pigeons and twittering
+sparrows, have little in common
+with, say for instance, the Place Vendôme in Paris,
+or the Grand’ Place in Brussels, or Madison Square,
+New York. The vicissitudes of some of the London
+Squares would fill a volume, but most of them have
+had much the same origin. They have been built
+with residential houses surrounding them, and though
+some have changed to shops, and in others the houses
+are dilapidated and forsaken by the wealthier classes,
+nearly every one has had its day of popularity.</p>
+
+<p>In some of those now deserted by the world
+of fashion, the gardens have been opened to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span>
+public, but by far the greater number of squares are
+maintained by the residents in their neighbourhood,
+who have keys to the gardens. But even though they
+are kept outside the railings the rest of the public
+receive a benefit from these air spaces and oxygen-exhaling
+trees. Sometimes the public get more direct
+advantage, as in such cases as Eaton Square, where
+seats are placed down the centre on the pavement
+under the shade of the trees inside the rails, and are
+much frequented in hot weather; or in Lower Grosvenor
+Gardens, which are open for six weeks in the autumn,
+when most of the residents in the houses are absent.</p>
+
+<p>Squares are dotted about nearly all over London,
+but they can, for the most part, be grouped together.
+There are the older ones, of different sizes, and varying
+in their modern conditions. Among such are Lincoln’s
+Inn Fields, Charterhouse, Soho, Golden, Leicester, and
+St. James’s Squares. Then there is the large Bloomsbury
+group, and further westward the chain of squares
+begins with Cavendish, Manchester, Portman, on the
+north, and Hanover and Grosvenor to the south of
+Oxford Street. Then follow the later continuations
+of the sequence—Bryanston, Montagu, and so on to
+Ladbroke Square, nearly to Shepherd’s Bush. To the
+south of the Park lies the Belgravia group, with more
+and more modern additions stretching westward till
+they join the old village of Kensington, with dignified
+squares of its own, or till their further multiplication
+is checked by the River.</p>
+
+<p>To describe most of these squares would imply a
+vast amount of vain repetition. Few have anything
+original either in design or planting. The majority
+have elms and planes mixed with ailanthus, while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span>
+aucubas, euonymous, and straggling privet form the
+staple product of the encircling borders, with a pleasant
+admixture of lilac and laburnum, and generally a
+good supply of iris facing the gravel pathway. A few
+annuals and bedding-out plants brighten the borders
+in summer, and some can boast of one or two ferns.
+Occasionally the luxury of a summer-house is indulged
+in, and here and there a weeping ash has been ventured
+upon by way of shelter; a secluded walk or seat is
+practically unknown. The older gardens have some
+large trees, and the turf in all of them is good, and
+when it is with “daisies pied” it forms the chief delight
+of the children who play there. It may be that the
+distance of Notting Hill Gate from the smoke of
+the East End has encouraged more enterprise in
+gardening; certainly the result of the planting in
+Ladbroke Square is satisfactory. Several healthy young
+oaks are growing up; and a fountain and small piece
+of formal gardening round it, on the highest point of
+the long, sloping lawn, is effective. In the older
+squares, such as Grosvenor Square, the bushes are high,
+and the openings so well arranged that the lawns in
+the centre are perfectly private, and hidden from the
+streets. In the less ancient ones, such as Eccleston
+and Warwick, Connaught and Montagu Squares, the
+long, narrow strip leaves little scope for variation.</p>
+
+<p>An innovation of the usual square is to be seen
+in Duke Street, Grosvenor Square. This small
+square, which was laid out as a garden with sheltered
+seats, was made when the new red-brick dwellings
+replaced the smaller and more crowded houses. The
+middle is now the distributing centre of an electric
+power-station, but the roof is low and flat, and has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span>
+successfully transformed into a formal garden, with
+trees in tubs and boxes of flowers.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p220" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p220.jpg" width="529" height="408" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p220_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Winter Garden, Duke Street, Grosvenor Square</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Some of the squares have finer trees than others, and
+in many a statue is a feature. Originally these statues
+formed the central object towards which the garden
+paths converged, but most of the central statues have
+been moved, though in a few, like St. James’s and
+Golden Squares, they are still in the middle. These
+statues were evidently a good deal thought of by
+Londoners, but they did not strike foreigners as very
+good. In one of Mirabeau’s letters he writes in 1784
+from London: “The public monuments in honour of
+Sovereigns, reflect little honour on English Sculpture....
+The Statues of the last Kings, which adorn the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span>
+Squares in the new quarters of London, being cast in
+brass or copper, have nothing remarkable in them but
+their lustre; they are doubtless kept in repair, cleaned
+and rubbed with as much care as the larger knockers at
+gentlemen’s doors, which are of similar metal.” The
+usual plan now is to place the statue facing the street,
+where a background of green shows it off to the
+passer-by. Thus Lord George Bentinck is prominent
+in Cavendish Square, from which the equestrian central
+statue of the Duke of Cumberland has gone; and from
+Hanover Square, built about the same time as Cavendish
+(between 1717–20), Chantrey’s statue of Pitt gazes
+down towards St. George’s Church. In Grosvenor
+Square no statue has replaced the central one of
+George I. by Von Nost, which was placed there in 1726,
+and is described by Maitland as a “stately gilt equestrian
+statue.” This Square is older than the two last mentioned,
+having been built in 1695. In those days each
+of the spacious houses had its large garden at the back,
+with a view of the country away to Hampstead and
+Highgate. The garden was designed by Kent, but a plan
+of it about 1750 shows a considerable difference between
+the arrangements then and now, although some details
+are the same. The raised square of grass in the centre
+where the statue stood has now a large, octagonal, covered
+seat, apparently formed with the old pedestal. The
+walk round and the four wide paths to the centre are
+retained, but the smaller intersecting paths are replaced
+by lawns on which grow some fine old elms. The railings
+with stone piers and handsome gates, shown in the
+engraving, have given place to much less ornamental
+iron rails.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p220c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p220c.jpg" width="421" height="781" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p220c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    STATUE OF PITT, HANOVER SQUARE
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Manchester Square is of later date. It was an open<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>
+space approached by shady lanes from Cavendish Square
+for some fifty years after that was built. The houses in
+Manchester Square were not begun till 1776—some ten
+years after the commencement of Portman Square. This
+district was all very semi-rural and unfinished until much
+later. Southey, in a letter, writes of Portman Square as
+“on the outskirts of the town,” and approached “on
+one side by a road, unlit, unpaved, and inaccessible by
+carriages.” The large corner house, now occupied by
+Lord Portman, was built for Mrs. Montagu, “Queen
+of the Blue Stockings,” and during her time “Montagu
+House” was the salon to which the literary celebrities
+of the day flocked. When Mrs. Montagu moved
+there from Hill Street she wrote to a friend, “My
+health has not been interrupted by the bad weather
+we have had; I believe Portman Square is the Montpellier
+of England.” In the centre of the Square garden
+was planted a “wilderness,” after the fashion of the day,
+and early in the nineteenth century, when the Turkish
+Ambassador resided in the Square, he erected a kiosk in
+this “wilderness,” where he used to smoke and imagine
+himself in a perfumed garden of the East. It is still
+one of the best kept-up of the squares.</p>
+
+<p>Berkeley Square dates from nearly the same time as
+Grosvenor, having been begun in 1698, on the site of the
+extensive gardens of Berkeley House, which John Evelyn
+so much admired, and where flourished the holly hedges
+of which he advised the planting. The central statue
+here was one by Beaupré and Wilton of George III.,
+which was removed in 1827, and the base of the statue
+made into a summer-house. In the place of the usual
+statesman, a drinking fountain, with a figure pouring
+the water—the gift of the Marquess of Lansdowne—has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span>
+been placed outside the rails at the southern end.
+The plane trees are very fine, and were planted at the
+end of the eighteenth century, it is said, by Mr. Edward
+Bouverie in 1789. The plane has been so long grown
+in London these cannot be said with certainty to be the
+oldest, as is so often stated. Some in Lincoln’s Inn
+Fields are decidedly larger. In 1722 Fairchild writes
+in praise of the plane trees, about 40 feet high, in
+the churchyard of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. Loudon
+mentions one at the Physic Garden, planted by Philip
+Miller, which was 115 feet high in 1837 (a western
+Plane—not the great oriental Plane which fell down a
+few years ago). The western Plane (<i class="flora" lang="la">Platinus occidentalis</i>)
+was introduced to this country many years after the
+eastern Plane (<i class="flora" lang="la">Platinus orientalis</i>). The tree most common
+in town is a variety of eastern Plane called <i class="flora" lang="la">accrifolia</i>,
+known as the “London Plane”: this must have been a
+good deal planted all through the eighteenth century,
+so it is difficult to assign to any actual tree the priority.</p>
+
+<p>St. James’s Square is older than any of the squares
+already glanced at, having been built in the time of
+Charles II. It was known as Pall Mall Field or Close,
+originally part of St. James’s Fields, and the actual site
+of the Square was a meadow used by those attached to
+the Court as a sort of recreation ground. Henry
+Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, leased it in 1665 from
+Charles II., and began to plan the Square or “Piazza,”
+as it was called at first. The deadly year of the Plague,
+followed by the Great Fire, delayed the building, and
+the houses were not finished and lived in till 1676.
+No. 6 in the Square, belonging to the Marquess of
+Bristol, has been in his family since that time. Every
+one of the fine old houses has its story of history and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span>
+romance. Here Charles II. was frequently seen visiting
+Moll Davis, Sir Cyril Wyche, and the Earl of Ranelagh.
+The Earl of Romney, and the Duke of Ormond, and
+Count Tallard the French Ambassador, are names connected
+with the Square in William III.’s time, and
+Josiah Wedgwood lived at No. 7. But these and many
+other historical personages did not look from their
+windows on to a well-ordered garden, and the Court
+beauties did not wander with their admirers under the
+spreading trees. The centre of the Square was left open,
+and merely like a field. The chief use to which the
+space seems to have been put was for displays of fireworks.
+One of the great occasions for these was after
+the Peace of Ryswick, but unfortunately they were not
+always very successful. An eye-witness, writing to Sir
+Christopher Hatton, says of Sir Martin Beckman, who
+had the management of them, that he “hath got the
+curses of a good many and the praises of nobody.” The
+open space eventually became so untidy that the residents
+in 1726 petitioned Parliament to allow them to levy a
+special rate to “cleanse, adorn, and beautify the Square,”
+as “the ground hath for some years past lain, and doth
+now lie, rude and in great disorder, contrary to the
+design of King Charles II., who granted the soil for
+erecting capital buildings.” So badly used was it that
+even a coach-builder had erected a shed in the middle of
+it, in which to store his timber. Strong measures were
+taken, and any one “annoying the Square” after May 1,
+1726, was to be fined 20s., and any one encroaching
+on it, £50. No hackney coach was allowed to ply
+there, and unless a coachman, after setting down his fare,
+immediately drove out of the Square, he was to be fined
+10s. The whole place was levelled and paved, and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>
+round basin of water, which was intended to have a
+fountain in it, and never did, was dug in the centre.
+Round it ran an octagon railing with stone obelisks, surmounted
+with lamps at each angle. A road of flat paving-stones
+with posts went round the Square in front of the
+houses; the rest was paved with cobble stones. As early
+as 1697 it was proposed to place a statue of William III.,
+and figures emblematical of his victories, in the Square,
+but nothing was done. In 1721 the Chevalier de David
+tried to get up a subscription for a sum of £2500 for a
+statute of George I. to be done by himself and set up,
+but, as he only collected £100 towards it, that scheme
+also fell through. Once more an effort was made
+which bore tardy fruit, for in 1724 Samuel Travers
+bequeathed a sum of money by will “to purchase and
+erect an equestrian statue in brass to the glorious
+memory of my master, King William III.” Somehow
+this was not carried out at the time, but in 1806 the
+money appeared in a list of unclaimed dividends, and
+John Bacon the younger was given the commission to
+model the statue, which was cast in bronze at the
+artist’s own studio in Newman Street, and put up in
+the centre of the pond. Thus it remained until towards
+the middle of last century the stagnant pool was drained.
+In the 1780 riots the mob carried off the keys of Newgate
+and flung them into this basin, where years afterwards
+they were found. It was 150 feet in diameter,
+and 6 or 7 feet deep. When the pond was drained, the
+garden was planted in the form it now is, and the statue
+left standing in the centre. St. James’s is still one of
+the finest residential squares in London, and the old
+rhyme, picturing the attractions in store for the lady of
+quality who became a duchess and lived in the Square,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span>
+might have been written in the twentieth instead of the
+eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“She shall have all that’s fine and fair,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And the best of silk and satin shall wear;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And ride in a coach to take the air,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And have a house in St. James’s Square.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<figure id="i_p226c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p226c.jpg" width="554" height="830" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p226c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    STATUE OF WILLIAM III. IN ST. JAMES’S SQUARE
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Less cheerful has been the fate of Golden Square,
+which has a forsaken look, and the days when it may
+have justified its name are past. Originally Gelding
+Square, from the name of an inn hard by, the grander-sounding
+and more attractive corruption supplanted the
+older name. Another derivation for the word is
+also given—“Golding,” from the name of the first
+builder; but anyhow it was called Golden Square soon
+after it came into being. The houses round it were
+built about the opening years of the eighteenth century,
+when the dismal memories of the Plague were growing
+faint. For the site of Golden Square, “far from the
+haunts of men,” was one of the spots where, during
+the Plague, thousands of dead were cast, by scores
+every night. These gloomy scenes forgotten, the Square
+was built, and at one time fashionable Lord Bolingbroke
+lived here, while Secretary for War. It is still
+“not exactly in anybody’s way, to or from anywhere.”
+The garden is neat, with a row of trees round the
+Square enclosure, and a path following the same lines.
+In the centre stands a statue of George II., looking
+thoroughly out of place, like a dilapidated Roman
+emperor. It was bought from Canons, the Duke of
+Chandos’s house, near Edgware, when the house was
+pulled down and everything sold in 1747. There are
+a few seats, but they are rarely used, and it has a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span>
+very quiet and dreary aspect when compared with the
+cheerful crowds enjoying the gardens in its larger
+neighbour, Leicester Square. This was known as
+Leicester Fields, and was traversed by two rows of
+elm trees; and even after the houses round it were
+begun, about 1635, the name of Fields clung to
+it. The ground was part of the Lammas Lands belonging
+to the parish of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, and
+Robert Sydney, Earl of Leicester, who built the house
+from which the Square takes its name, paid compensation
+for the land, to the poor of the parish £3 yearly.
+The house occupied the north-east corner of the Square,
+and in after years became famous as a royal residence.
+It has been called “the pouting-place” of princes,
+as it was to Leicester House that the Prince of Wales
+retired when he quarrelled with his father, George I.;
+and there Caroline the Illustrious gathered all the
+dissatisfied courtiers, and such wit and beauty as could
+be found, round her. When he became George II.,
+and quarrelled in his turn with his son, Frederick,
+Prince of Wales, the latter came to live in Leicester
+House. The statue of George I. which stood in the
+centre of the garden was, it was said, put up by
+Frederick, with the express purpose of annoying his
+father. A view of the Square in 1700, shows a neatly-kept
+square garden with four straight walks, and trees
+at even distances, and Leicester House standing back,
+with a forecourt and large entrance gates, and a garden
+of its own with lawns and statues at the back. Savile
+House, next door to Leicester House, on the site
+of the present Empire Theatre, was also the scene
+of many interesting incidents, until it was practically
+destroyed during the Gordon Riots. The list of great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span>
+names connected with the Square is too long to recite,
+but four of the greatest are commemorated by the four
+busts in the modern garden—Sir Joshua Reynolds,
+Hogarth, John Hunter, the eminent surgeon, and Sir
+Isaac Newton. But before these monuments were
+erected Leicester Square Garden had gone through a
+period of decay. It was left unkept up and uncared
+for; the gilt statue was tumbling to pieces, and was
+only propped up with wooden posts. The garden
+from 1851 for ten years, was used to exhibit the Great
+Globe of Wylde, the geographer, who leased the space
+from the Tulk family, then the owners of the land.
+Leicester House, after it ceased to be a royal residence,
+was in the hands of Sir Ashton Lever, who turned
+it into a museum, which was open from 1771 to 1784,
+but failed to obtain much popularity. The collection
+was dispersed, and soon after the house was pulled
+down and the site built over, and the Square was
+allowed to get more and more untidy. Several efforts
+were made to purchase it for the public, but the price
+asked was prohibitive, as the owners wished to build
+on it. When, however, after much litigation, the
+Court of Appeal decided it could not be built on,
+but must be maintained as an open space, they were
+more ready to come to terms. A generous purchaser
+came forward, Mr. Albert (afterwards Baron) Grant,
+who bought the land, laid it out as a garden, and
+presented it to the public, to be kept up by the
+Metropolitan Board of Works. The plans for the
+newly-restored garden, were made for Mr. Grant by
+Mr. James Knowles, and the planting done by Mr.
+John Gibson, who was then occupied with the sub-tropical
+garden in Battersea Park. The statue of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span>
+Shakespeare in the centre, and the four busts, were
+also the gift of the same public benefactor, who
+presented the Square complete, with trees, statues,
+railings, and seats, in 1874.</p>
+
+<p>Soho Square was another of the fashionable squares of
+London, now gloomy and deserted by its former aristocratic
+residents. The gardens are kept up for the benefit
+of those living in the Square only, and are not enjoyed
+by the masses, like Leicester Square. Maitland describes
+the building and consecration of St. Anne’s, Soho, or, as
+he calls it, St. Anne’s, Westminster, which was in 1685
+separated from St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, and a new
+parish created, just in the same way as scores of parishes
+have to be treated nowadays, to meet the needs of the
+much more rapidly-growing population. Of the new
+parish, he says the only remarkable things were “its
+beautiful streets, spacious and handsome Church, and
+stately Quadrate, denominated King’s-Square, but vulgarly
+Soho-Square.” Various suggestions have been made as
+to the origin of the name, and the most popular explanation
+is that it was a hunting-cry used in hunting hares,
+which sport was indulged in over these fields. The word
+Soho occurs in the parish registers as early as 1632.
+When first built the Square was called King Square, from
+Geoffrey King, who surveyed it, not after King Charles II.
+But the old name of the fields became for ever attached
+to the Square, to the entire exclusion of the more modern
+one, after the battle of Sedgemoor. Monmouth’s supporters
+on that occasion took the word Soho for their
+watchword, from the fact that Monmouth lived in the
+Square. In 1690 John Evelyn notes that he went with
+his family “to winter at Soho in the Great Square.”
+Monmouth House was built by Wren, when the Square<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span>
+was begun in 1681, and it was pulled down, to make
+room for smaller houses on the south side of the Square, in
+1773. There are some fine old trees in the garden, and
+a statue of Charles II. used, till the middle of last century,
+like the one in St. James’s Square, to stand in a basin of
+water, with figures round it, emblematic of the rivers
+Thames, Severn, Tyne, and Humber, spouting water.
+Nollekens, the sculptor, who was born in 28 Dean Street,
+Soho, in 1738, recalled how he stood as a boy “for hours
+together to see the water run out of the jug of the old
+river-gods in the basin in the middle of the Square, but
+the water never would run out of their jugs but when
+the windmill was going round at the top of Rathbone
+Place.” The centre of the Square was in 1748 “new
+made and inclosed with iron railings on a stone kirb,”
+and “eight lamp Irons 3 ft. 6 in. high above the spikes
+in each of the Eight corner Angles”: the “Channell all
+round the Square” was paved with “good new Kentish
+Ragg stones.”</p>
+
+<p>Beyond Oxford Street are collected a great number of
+squares in the district of Bloomsbury. They are all surrounded
+by solid, well-built houses, which seem to hold
+their own with dignity, even though fashion has moved
+away from them westward. Before the squares arose,
+this was the site of two great palaces with their gardens.
+One of them, Southampton House, afterwards known as
+Bedford or Russell House, was where Bloomsbury Square
+now is. In 1665, February 9, Evelyn notes that he
+“dined at my Lord Treasurer’s the Earl of Southampton,
+in Bloomsbury, where he was building a noble square or
+piazza, a little town; his own house stands too low—some
+noble rooms, a pretty cedar chapel, a naked garden
+to the North, but good air.” This house was pulled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span>
+down in 1800, and Russell Square was built on the
+garden. Both Bloomsbury, or Southampton Square, as it
+was sometimes called, and Russell Square have good trees,
+and in each garden there is a statue by Westmacott.
+Charles James Fox, seated in classical drapery, erected in
+1816, looks down Bedford Place, where stood Southampton
+House, towards the larger statue, with elaborate
+pedestal and cupids, of Francis, Duke of Bedford, in
+Russell Square. This is one of London’s largest
+Squares, being only about 140 feet smaller than Lincoln’s
+Inn Fields, and included most of the garden of
+Southampton House, with its fine limes, and a large
+locust-tree, <i class="flora" lang="la">Robinia pseudo acacia</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The laying out is more original in design than most
+of the squares, having been done by Repton in 1810.
+In Repton’s book on Landscape Gardening he goes
+fully into his reasons for the design of Russell Square.
+“The ground,” he said, “had all been brought to one
+level plain at too great expense to admit of its being
+altered.” He approves of the novel plan of placing the
+statue at the edge instead of in the usual position in the
+centre of the Square. “To screen the broad gravel-walk
+from the street, a compact hedge is intended to be kept
+clipt to about six feet high; this, composed of privet
+and hornbeam, will become almost as impervious as a
+hedge of laurels, or other evergreens, which will not
+succeed in a London atmosphere.” He says he has not
+“clothed the lawn” with plantation, so that children
+playing there could be seen from the windows, to meet
+“the particular wishes of some mothers.” “The outline
+of this area is formed by a walk under two rows of lime-trees,
+regularly planted at equal distances, not in a perfect
+circle, but finishing towards the statue in two straight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span>
+lines.” He imagines that fanciful advocates of landscape
+gardening will object to this as too formal, and be “further
+shocked” by learning that he hoped they would be kept
+cut and trimmed. Within were to be “groves in one
+quarter of the area, the other three enriched with flowers
+and shrubs, each disposed in a different manner, to indulge
+the various tastes for regular or irregular gardens.” He
+ends his description by saying: “A few years hence, when
+the present patches of shrubs shall have become thickets—when
+the present meagre rows of trees shall have
+become an umbrageous avenue—and the children now in
+their nurses’ arms shall have become the parents or grand-sires
+of future generations—this square may serve to
+record, that the Art of Landscape Gardening in the
+beginning of the nineteenth century was not directed
+by whim or caprice, but founded on a due consideration
+of utility as well as beauty, without a bigoted adherence
+to forms and lines, whether straight, or crooked, or
+serpentine.”</p>
+
+<p>Repton always put forth his ideas in high-sounding
+language, often not so well justified as in the present
+case. The lime-trees have been allowed to grow taller
+than he desired, and yet are not fine trees from having at
+one period been kept trimmed; but they certainly form an
+attractive addition to the usual design, and looking at
+them, after nearly a hundred years, from the outside,
+where they form a background to the statue, the effect
+in summer is very attractive.</p>
+
+<p>Bedford Square is on the gardens of the other great
+house—Montagu House, built by the Duke of Montagu.
+Evelyn also notes going to see that. In 1676, “I dined,”
+he says, “with Mr. Charleton and went to see Mr.
+Montagu’s new palace near Bloomsbury, built by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span>
+Mr. Hooke of our Society [the Royal] after the French
+manner.” This house was burnt down ten years later,
+and rebuilt with equal magnificence; but when the Duke
+moved to Montagu House, Whitehall, in 1757, it became
+the home of the British Museum. The old house was
+pulled down and the present building erected in 1845.
+The Square was laid out at the end of the eighteenth
+century on the gardens and the open fields of the parish
+of St. Giles-in-the-Fields beyond. Lord Loughborough
+lived in No. 6, and after him Lord Eldon from 1804 to
+1815. At the time of the Gordon Riots in 1780, when
+Lord Mansfield’s house was plundered, troops were
+stationed near, and a camp formed in the garden of the
+British Museum. That garden was also of use when, in
+March 1815, Lord Eldon’s house in Bedford Square was
+attacked by a mob, and he was forced to make his escape
+out of the back into the Museum garden.</p>
+
+<p>Of Queen’s Square, built in Queen Anne’s time,
+but containing a statue of Queen Charlotte, and all the
+other squares of this district there is little of special
+interest to record directly connected with their gardens.
+They all have good trees, and are kept up much in the
+same style.</p>
+
+<p>Red Lion Square is an exception. It has a longer
+history, and now its garden differs from the rest, as it
+is open to the public, and a great boon in this crowded
+district. It takes its name from a Red Lion Inn, which
+stood in the fields long before any other houses had
+grown up near it. It was to this inn that the bodies
+of the regicides Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were
+carried, when they were exhumed from Westminster Abbey
+and taken, with all the horrible indignities meted out to
+traitors, to Tyburn. A tradition, probably without foundation,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span>
+was for long current that a rough stone obelisk,
+which stood afterwards in the Square, marked the spot
+where Cromwell’s body was buried by friends who rescued
+the remains from the scaffold. The houses were built
+round it at the end of the seventeenth century, but the
+space in the middle seems, like all other squares at this
+time, to have been more or less a rubbish heap, and a
+resort of “vagabonds and other disorderly persons.” In
+1737 the inhabitants got an Act of Parliament to allow
+them to levy a rate to keep the Square in order. A
+contemporary, in praising this determination to beautify
+the Square, “which had run much to decay,” hopes that
+“Leicester Fields and Golden Square will soon follow these
+good examples.” The “beautifying” consisted in setting
+up a railing round it, with watch-houses at the corners,
+while the obelisk rose in the centre out of the rank grass.</p>
+
+<p>The present garden, when first opened to the public,
+was managed by the Metropolitan Gardens Association,
+but since 1895 the London County Council have looked
+after it; the inhabitants having made a practically free
+gift of it for the public benefit. The nice old trees,
+flowers, seats, and fountain make it a much less gloomy
+spot than during any time of its history since the Red
+Lion kept solitary watch in the fields.</p>
+
+<p>The largest of all the squares is Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
+The garden, which is 7¼ acres in extent, was, after
+many lengthy negotiations, finally opened to the public
+in 1895. The fine old houses which survive, show the
+importance and size of Inigo Jones’s original conception.
+It has been said that the Square is exactly the same size
+as the base of the Great Pyramid, but this is not the case.
+The west side, which was completed by Inigo Jones, was
+begun in 1618, but the centre of the Square was left an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span>
+open waste till long after that date. The Fields, before
+the building commenced, were used as a place of execution,
+and Babington and his associates met a traitor’s
+death, in 1586, on the spot where it was supposed they
+had planned some of their conspiracy. The surrounding
+houses had been built, and the ground was no longer an
+open field when William, Lord Russell, was beheaded
+there in 1683. The scaffold was erected in what is now
+the centre of the garden. The Fields for many years
+bore a bad name, and were the haunt of thieves and
+ruffians of all sorts. When things reached such a climax,
+that the Master of the Rolls was knocked down in crossing
+the Fields, the centre was railed in. This was done
+about 1735, with a view to improving their condition,
+and they remained closed, and kept up by the inhabitants,
+until a few years ago. The chief feature in the pleasant
+gardens now are the very fine trees. There are some
+patriarchal planes, with immense branches, under which
+numbers of people are always to be seen resting. The
+houses, Old Lindsay House, Newcastle House, the
+College of Surgeons, Sir John Soane’s Museum, with
+long histories of their own, and all the lesser ones, with
+a sleepy air of dingy respectability and ancient splendour,
+now look down on a most peaceful, well-kept garden, and
+Gay’s lines of warning are no longer a necessary <span class="locked">caution:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Where Lincoln’s Inn wide space is rail’d around,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Cross not with venturous step; there oft is found</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The lurking thief, who, while the daylight shone,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Made the walls echo with his begging tone;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">That crutch, which late compassion moved, shall wound</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Thy bleeding head, and fell thee to the ground.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Adjoining the Fields is New Square, which used to be
+known as Little Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and earlier still as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span>
+Fickett’s Field or Croft. It was built in 1687. Fickett’s
+Fields occupied a wider area, and until 1620 they, like
+the larger Fields, were a place of execution. The site of
+New Square was planted and laid out in very early days.
+The Knights of St. John in 1376 made it into a walking
+place, planted with trees, for the clerks, apprentices, and
+students of the law. In 1399 a certain Roger Legit was
+fined and imprisoned for setting mantraps with a “malicious
+intention to maim the said clerks and others,” as
+they strolled in their shaded walks. This Square, like all
+others, went through phases of being unkept and untidy,
+but was finally remodelled, into its present neat form, in
+1845.</p>
+
+<p>Eastwards, into the heart of London there are the
+squares which are the remains of the open ground
+without the City walls. Charterhouse Square, which is
+now a retired, quiet spot with old houses telling of a
+former prosperity, has a history reaching back to the
+fourteenth century. In the days of the Black Death,
+when people were dying so fast that the Chronicler of
+London, Stowe, says that “scarce the tenth person of all
+sorts was left alive,” the “churchyards were not sufficient
+to receive the dead, but men were forced to chuse out
+certaine fields for burials: whereupon Ralph Stratford,
+Bishop of London, in the yeere 1348 bought a piece of
+ground, called <em>No man’s land</em>, which he inclosed with a
+wall of Bricke, and dedicated for buriall of the dead,
+builded thereupon a proper Chappell, which is now
+enlarged, and made a dwelling-house: and this burying
+plot is become a faire Garden, retaining the old name
+of Pardon Churchyard.” It was very soon after this
+purchase, that the Carthusian monastery was founded
+hard by; but although the land was bought by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span>
+Order, Pardon Churchyard was maintained as a burial-ground
+for felons and suicides. After the dissolution
+of the monasteries, when Charterhouse School and
+Hospital had been established by Thomas Sutton, the
+houses round the other three sides of the Square began
+to be built. One of the finest was Rutland House, once
+the residence of the Venetian Ambassador. It is still a
+quiet, quaint place of old memories; and the garden,
+with two walks crossing each other diagonally, and some
+fair-sized trees, has a solemn look, as if, even after all
+the centuries that have passed, it had some trace of its
+origin. Finsbury Circus and Finsbury Square are very
+different. They are more modern, bustling places which
+have entirely effaced the past. That they were, for long
+years, the most resorted to of open spaces, where Londoners
+took their walks is well-nigh forgotten, except
+in the name Finsbury, or Fensbury, the fen or moor-like
+fields without the walls. Bethlehem Hospital,
+known as Bedlam, was, for many generations, the only
+large building on the Fields. Finsbury Square was
+begun more than a hundred years ago, and but for the
+few green trees, nothing suggests the former country
+origin. Trinity Square, by the Tower, is so unique
+in aspect and association that it must be mentioned. In
+the sixteenth century the “tenements and garden plots”
+encroached on Tower Hill right up to the “Tower
+Ditch,” and from the earliest time some kind of garden
+existed at the Tower. When it was a royal residence,
+frequent entries appear in the accounts of payments for
+the upkeep of the garden. Although so much has
+changed, and the wild animals that afforded amusement
+for centuries are removed, it is pleasant to see the moat
+turned into walks, and well planted with iris and hardy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span>
+plants, and making quite a bright show in summer, in
+contrast to the sombre grey walls.</p>
+
+<p>Away in the East End there are numbers of other
+gloomy little squares whose gardens are the playground
+of the neighbourhood. They are useful spaces of air
+and light, and the few trees and low houses surrounding
+them give a little ventilation in some of the very crowded
+districts. They are all much alike; in some more care
+has been taken in the planting and selection of the trees
+than in others. There is De Beauvoir Square, Dalston;
+Arbour Square, off the Commercial Road; York Square,
+Stepney; Wellclose, near the Mint and London Docks;
+Trafalgar Square, Mile End; and many others dotted
+about among the dismal streets. Turning to the
+West End again, the largest of the square spaces is
+Vincent Square, which forms the playground of the
+Westminster boys. It derives its name from Dr. Vincent,
+the head-master who was chiefly instrumental in obtaining
+it for the use of the boys. It was first marked
+out in 1810, and enclosed by railings in 1842. The
+10 acres of ground were part of Tothill Fields, and the
+site was a burial-place in the time of the Great Plague.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing of historical interest in the Squares
+of Belgravia. The ground covered by Belgrave Square
+was known as Five Fields, which were so swampy that
+no one had attempted to build on them. It was the
+celebrated builder, Thomas Cubitt, who in 1825 was
+able by draining, and removing clay, which he used for
+bricks, to reach a solid foundation, and in a few years
+had built Belgrave and Eaton Squares and the streets
+adjoining. The site of the centre of Belgrave Square
+was then a market-garden. Ebury Square, the garden
+of which is open to the public, and tastefully laid out,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span>
+was built about 1820. The farm on that spot, which
+in 1676 came to the Grosvenor family, was a farm of
+430 acres in Queen Elizabeth’s time, and is mentioned
+as early as 1307, when Edward I. gave John de
+Benstede permission to fortify it. There was only one
+road across the swampy ground from St. James’s to
+Chelsea, and that was the King’s Road, which followed
+the line of the centre of Eaton Square. There were,
+however, numerous footpaths, infested by footpads and
+robbers at night, and bright with wild flowers and
+scented by briar roses by day. There is a great sameness
+among all the squares between Vauxhall Bridge
+and the Pimlico Road. Of this latter original-sounding
+name there seems no satisfactory explanation. The
+space between Warwick Street and the river, was in
+old times occupied by the Manor House of Neyte,
+and in later days by nurseries and a tea garden, known
+as the Neat House. The ground near Eccleston Square
+was an osier bed. The whole surface was raised by
+Cubitt, with soil from St. Katherine’s Docks in 1827,
+and the houses built, and square gardens laid out; Eccleston
+in 1835, Warwick 1843, St. George’s 1850, and so
+on until the whole was covered. The gardens are all
+in the same style, and have no horticultural interest.
+The garden in front of Cadogan Place varied most from
+the usual pattern, having been designed by Repton.
+“Instead of raising the surface to the level of the street,
+as had usually been the custom, by bringing earth from
+a distance,” he “recommended a valley to be formed
+through its whole length, with other lesser valleys flowing
+from it, and hills to be raised by the ground so
+taken from the valleys.” The original intention was to
+bring the overflow of the Serpentine down Repton’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span>
+valley, but this was never done, and the gardens now
+only show the variation of level in one part. There is
+a good assortment of trees, and a group of mulberries
+which bear fruit every year.</p>
+
+<p>Further west again, the old hamlet of Brompton has
+small, quiet squares of its own. The trees of Brompton
+Square, that quiet <i lang="fr">cul-de-sac</i>, and the way through with a
+nice row of trees to Holy Trinity Church (built in 1829),
+with Cottage Place running parallel with it, is rather
+unlike any other corner of London. Before it was
+built over Brompton was famous for its gardens—first
+that of London and Wise, in the reign of William III.
+and Anne, and then that of William Curtis, the editor
+of the <i>Botanical Magazine</i>. A guide-book of 1792, describes
+Brompton as “a populous hamlet of Kensington,
+adjoining Knightsbridge, remarkable for the salubrity
+of its air. This place was the residence of Oliver
+Cromwell.” Kensington Square is older than any of the
+Brompton Squares, having been begun in James II.’s
+reign, and completed after William III. was living in
+Kensington Palace. From the first it was very fashionable,
+and has many celebrated names connected with
+it—Addison, Talleyrand, Archbishop Herring, John
+Stuart Mill, and many others. The weeping ash trees
+and circular beds give the gardens a character of their
+own. Edwardes differs from all other London Squares.
+The small houses and large square garden are said by
+Leigh Hunt, who lived there at one time, to have been
+laid out to suit the taste of French refugees, who it was
+thought might take up their quarters there. The small
+houses were to suit their empty pockets, and the large
+garden their taste for a sociable out-of-door life.
+Loudon was an admirer of the design of the garden,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span>
+which he says was made by Aiglio, an eminent landscape
+painter, in 1819. The arrangement is quite distinct
+from other squares—small paths, partly hidden by
+groups of bushes and larger trees, all round the edge,
+and from them twisting walks diverge towards the
+centre. At their meeting-point now stands a shell
+from the battle of the Alma. The Square with its nice
+trees, standard hollies, and even a few conifers and
+carefully-planted beds, is further original in possessing
+a beadle. This gentleman, who lives in a delightful
+little house, with a portico in which the visitors to
+the Square can shelter from the rain, looks most imposing
+in his uniform and gold-braided hat, and adds
+greatly to the old-world appearance of the place. It
+is sad to think the leases all fall in within the next
+few years, and this quaint personage and vast garden
+(it is 3¼ acres) and funny little houses may all disappear
+from London.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible in such a hasty glance to give
+more than a very faint sketch of the story of the
+squares, or a mere suggestion of the romance attached
+to them. Though the gardening in many leaves much
+to be desired, it is well to appreciate things as they
+are, and enjoy to the full the pleasure the sight of
+the huge planes in Berkeley or Bedford Squares, or
+Lincoln’s Inn Fields, can bring even to the harassed
+Londoner. When the sun shines through the large
+leaves, and the chequered light and shade play on the
+grass beneath, and sunbeams even light up the massive
+black stems, which defy the injurious fogs, they possess
+a soothing and refreshing power. They, indeed, add to
+the enjoyment, the health, and the beauty of London.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X"><span id="toclink_242"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER X</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">BURIAL-GROUNDS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Praises on tombs are trifles vainly spent,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>A man’s good name is his best monument.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Epitaph in St. Botolph, Aldersgate.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcT"><img src="images/i_idc_t.png" width="180" height="181" alt="T">
+<span class="firstword">The</span> disused burial-grounds within
+the London area must now be
+counted among its gardens. There
+are those who would not have the
+living benefit by these hallowed
+spots set apart for the dead, but
+the vast majority of people have
+welcomed the movement which
+has led to this change. In some instances there is no
+doubt the transformation has been badly done. Here
+and there graves have been disturbed and tombstones
+heedlessly moved, but on the whole the improvement
+of the last fifty years has been immense. It is appalling
+even to read the accounts of many of the London graveyards
+before this reaction set in. The hideous sights,
+the foul condition in which God’s acre was often allowed
+to remain, as revealed by the inquiry held about 1850,
+together with the horrors of body-snatchers, are such
+a disagreeable contrast to the orderly graveyards of
+to-day, that the removal of a few head-stones is a much
+lesser evil.</p>
+
+<p>Loudon, in the <i>Botanical Magazine</i>, was one of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span>
+the first to write about the improvement of public
+cemeteries, and to point out how they could be beautified,
+and the suggestion that the smaller burial-grounds
+could be turned into gardens was made as early as 1843
+by Sir Edwin Chadwick. But the closing of them did
+not come until ten years later, and it was many years
+after that, before any attempt was made to turn them
+into gardens. By 1877 eight had been transformed,
+and from that time onwards, every year something has
+been done. The Metropolitan Gardens Association,
+started by Lord Meath (then Lord Brabazon) in 1882,
+has done much towards accomplishing this work. One
+of the earliest churchyards taken in hand was that of St.
+Pancras, and joined to it St. Giles-in-the-Fields. The
+Act permitting this was in 1875. Perhaps because it
+was one of the first, it is also one of the worst in taste
+and arrangement. The church of St. Pancras-in-the-Fields
+is one of the oldest in Middlesex. “For the
+antiquity thereof” it “is thought not to yield to St.
+Paul’s in London.” In 1593 the houses standing near
+this old Norman church were much “decaied, leaving
+poore Pancras without companie or comfort.” The
+bell of St. Pancras Church was said to be the last tolled
+in England at the time of the Reformation, to call
+people to Mass. In the seventeenth and eighteenth
+century, adjoining to the south side of the churchyard,
+was “a good spaw, whose water is of a sweet taste,”
+very clear, and imbued with various medicinal qualities.
+These “Pancras Wells” had a large garden, which
+extended from the Spa buildings by the churchyard,
+between the coach road from Hampstead, and the footpath
+across the meadows to Gray’s Inn. As late as 1772
+the coach was stopped and robbed at this corner, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span>
+the footpads, armed with cutlasses, made off through
+the churchyard. It was of this then lonely, rural churchyard
+that it was said the dead would rest “as secure
+against the day of resurrection as ... in stately Paules”;
+but, alas for modern exigencies, the Midland Railway
+now spans the sacred ground by a viaduct, and the
+would-be improvers, in turning what remained into a
+garden, have moved the tombstones, levelled the undulating
+ground, and heaped the head-stones into
+terrible rocky mounds, or pushed them in rows along
+the wall. Numerous were the interesting monuments it
+contained; many a courtly French <i lang="fr">emigré</i> here found
+a resting-place, such as the Comte de Front, on whose
+tomb was the line, “A foreign land preserves his ashes
+with respect.” Although a monumental tablet put up
+to record the opening, and the names of the designers
+of the garden, proclaims it to be “a boon to the living,
+a grace to the dead”; it is doubtful how that respect
+to the dead was shown. The lines go on to say it was
+“not for the culture of health only, but also of
+thought.” Surely health and thought could have been
+equally well stimulated by making pretty paths, lined
+with trees and flowers, wind reverently in and out
+among the tombs, and up and down the undulating
+ground, with seats in shade or sun, arranged with peeps
+of the old church; and there might even have been
+room for the fine sun-dial (the gift of Baroness
+Burdett-Coutts) without levelling the whole area and
+laying it out with geometrically straight asphalt walks.
+The asphalt paths are in themselves a necessity in
+most cases, as the expense of keeping gravel in order
+is too great, and the majority of the renovated disused
+burial-grounds suffer from this fact.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span></p>
+
+<p>Westward from St. Pancras the next large churchyard
+is that of Marylebone, and further to the north
+is St. John’s Wood burial-ground. Its large trees and
+shaded walks are familiar to the thousands who go
+every year to Lord’s Cricket Ground. Another large
+one, still more westward, now used as a garden, is
+Paddington. The small green patch round St. Mary’s
+Church, and a large cemetery beyond, together make
+over 4 acres. All round London these spaces are being
+used, and in most cases little has been done to upset the
+ground—among the more prominent are St. George’s,
+Hanover Square, in Bayswater; St. John’s, Waterloo
+Road; Brixton Parish Church, with a row of yew
+trees; Fulham Parish Church, with Irish yews, and tall,
+closely clipped hollies; St. Mary’s, Upper Street, Islington,
+and many others. Some are large spaces, such as
+St. John-at-Hackney, which covers 3 acres, and in it
+stands the tower of the old church, the present very
+large church which dominates it being in the Georgian
+style of 1797.</p>
+
+<p>Stepney is the largest of all these disused churchyards,
+and covers 7 acres. It was opened as a public
+garden in 1887. The beautiful old Perpendicular
+church of St. Dunstan, with its carved gargoyles and
+fine old tower, which escaped the fire that destroyed the
+roof, stands on a low level, with the large square stone
+graves, of which there are a great quantity, on higher
+mounds round it. The central path, the old approach
+to the church, has trees on either side, and runs straight
+across the graveyard, and is as peaceful-looking as the
+walk in many a country churchyard. The way the laying
+out as a garden has been carried out is unfortunate
+in many respects. The number of the big, stone, box-like<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span>
+monuments made it difficult to carry intersecting paths
+across between them, so a plan hardly to be commended
+has been followed, of half burying a number of these, and
+planting bushes in the earth thus thrown about, and
+putting the necessary frames for raising plants in the
+centre. To place the frames against the wall, and make
+a raised path or terrace among the tombs, and not to
+have banked them up with a kind of rockery of broken
+pieces, might have been more fitting. The part of the
+ground which is less crowded is well planted. Birch and
+alder (<i class="flora" lang="la">Alnus cordifolia</i>) are doing well, and a nice clump
+of gorse flourishes.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best-arranged of these old East End
+graveyards is that of St. George’s-in-the-East, near
+Ratcliffe Highway. It is kept up by the Borough
+of Stepney, having been put in order under the direction
+of the rector, Rev. C.&nbsp;H. Turner (now Bishop of
+Islington), at the expense of Mr. A.&nbsp;G. Crowder, in
+1866. The tombstones have for the most part been
+placed against the wall, or left standing if out of the
+way, as in the case of the one to the Marr family, whose
+murder caused horror in 1811. In the centre stands the
+obelisk monument to Mrs. Raine, a benefactress of the
+parish, who died in 1725. The whole of the ground is
+laid out with great taste and simplicity, and is thoroughly
+well cared for. The flowers seem to flourish particularly
+well, and the borders in summer are redolent with the
+scent of old clove carnations, which are actually raised
+and kept from year to year on the premises. A small
+green-house supplies the needs of the flower-beds, The
+superintendence of the garden is left to Miss Kate Hall,
+who takes charge of the Borough of Stepney Museum in
+Whitechapel Road, and also of the charming little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span>
+nature-study museum in the St. George’s Churchyard
+Garden. What formerly was the mortuary has been
+turned to good account, and hundreds of children in the
+borough benefit by Miss Hall’s instruction. Aquaria both
+for fresh-water fish and shells, and salt-water collections,
+with a lobster, starfish, sea anemones, and growing sea
+weeds are to be seen, and moths, butterflies, dragon-flies,
+pass through all their stages, while toads, frogs, and
+salamanders and such-like are a great delight. The
+hedgehog spends his summer in the garden, and
+hibernates comfortably in the museum. The bees at
+work in the glass hive are another source of instruction.
+Outside the museum a special plot is tended by
+the pupils, who are allowed in turn to work, dig, and
+prune, and who obtain, under the eye of their sympathetic
+teacher, most creditable results. The charm of
+this East End garden, and the special educational uses it
+has been put to, shows what can be achieved, and sets a
+good example to others, where similar opportunities exist.
+A less promising neighbourhood for gardening could
+hardly be imagined, which surely shows that no one need
+be disheartened.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the burial-grounds were in such a shocking
+state before they were taken in hand, that very few of
+the head-stones remained in their right places, and many
+had gone altogether, while some even reappeared as paving-stones
+in the district. Spa Fields, Clerkenwell, had a
+very chequered history. The site was first a tea garden,
+near the famous Sadler’s Wells. For a few years, from
+1770, its “little Pantheon” and pretty garden, with a
+pond or “canal” stocked with fish, and alcoves for tea
+drinkers, was thronged by the middle class, small tradesmen,
+and apprentices, while the more fashionable world<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span>
+flocked to Ranelagh or Almack’s. It was the sort of
+place in which John Gilpin and his spouse might have
+amused themselves, on a less important holiday than their
+wedding anniversary. Twenty years later the scene had
+changed. The rotunda was turned into a chapel, by the
+Countess of Huntingdon, who took up her residence in
+a jessamine-covered house that had been a tavern, near
+to it. The gardens had already been turned into a
+private burial-ground, which soon became notorious for
+the evil condition in which it was kept. There every
+single gravestone had disappeared long before it was converted
+into the neat little garden, the delight of poor
+Clerkenwell children. The rotunda was at length
+pulled down, and in 1888 a new church was erected on
+the site. The same disgraceful story of neglect and
+repulsive overcrowding, can be told of the Victoria Park
+Cemetery, although the ground had not such a strange
+early history. It was one of those private cemeteries
+which the legislation with regard to other burial-places
+did not touch. It was never consecrated, and abuses of
+every kind were connected with it. It is a space of 9½
+acres in a crowded district between Bethnal Green and
+Bow, a little to the south of Victoria Park. After
+various difficulties in raising funds and so forth, it was
+laid out by the Metropolitan Gardens Association,
+opened to the public in 1894, and is kept up by the
+London County Council, and is an extremely popular
+recreation ground, under the name of “Meath Gardens.”</p>
+
+<p>One of the quiet spots near the City is Bunhill Fields.
+This has for over two hundred years been the Nonconformist
+burial-ground. The land was enclosed by a brick
+wall, by the City of London in 1665 for interments “in
+that dreadful year of Pestilence. However, it not being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span>
+made use of on that occasion,” a man called “Tindal took
+a lease thereof, and converted it into a burial-ground for
+the use of Dissenters.” As late as 1756 it appears to
+have been known as “Tindal’s Burial-ground.” The
+name Bunhill Fields was given to that part of Finsbury
+Fields, on to which quantities of bones were taken from
+St. Paul’s in 1549. It is said “above a thousand cartloads
+of human bones” were deposited there. No
+wonder the ghastly name of “bone hill,” corrupted into
+Bunhill, has clung to the place. At the present time
+the gravestones here are undisturbed, and more respect
+has been shown to them than to the bones in the sixteenth
+century. Asphalt paths meander through a forest
+of monuments, and a few seats are placed in the shade
+of some of the trees. Those who live in this poor
+and busy district no doubt make much use of these
+places of rest, but the visitor is only brought to this
+depressing, gloomy spot on a pilgrimage to the tomb
+of John Bunyan. He rests near the centre of the
+ground, under a modern effigy. Not far off is the
+tomb of Dr. Isaac Watts, whose hymns are repeated
+wherever the British tongue is spoken, and near him lies
+the author of “Robinson Crusoe,” Daniel Defoe. This
+quaint old enclosure opens off the City Road, opposite
+Wesley’s Chapel, and on the western side it is skirted
+by Bunhill Row. But a few yards distant is another
+graveyard of very different aspect, as it contains only
+one stone, and that a very small one, with the name of
+George Fox, who died in 1690. The other graves in
+this, the “Friends’ Burial-ground,” never having been
+marked in any way, it has the appearance of a dismal
+little garden, like the approach or “gravel sweep” to
+a suburban villa. But it is neatly kept.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span></p>
+
+<p>Of all the churchyards, that of St. Paul’s is best
+known, and least like the ordinary idea of one. But
+this was not always so. It was for centuries an actual
+burying-place. When the foundations of the present
+cathedral were dug, after the Great Fire, a series of early
+burials were disclosed. There were Saxon coffins, and
+below them British graves, where wooden and ivory pins
+were found, which fastened the woollen shrouds of those
+who rested there, and below that again, between twenty
+and thirty feet deep, were Roman remains, with fragments
+of pottery, rings, beads, and such-like.</p>
+
+<p>The original churchyard was very much larger, as the
+present houses in “St. Paul’s Churchyard” are actually
+on part of the ground included in it. It extended from
+Old Change in Cheapside to Paternoster Row, and on
+the south to Carter Lane, and the whole was surrounded
+by a wall built in 1109, with the principal gateway opening
+into “Ludgate Street.” This wall seems to have
+been unfinished, or else part of it became ruinous in
+course of time, and the churchyard became the resort
+of thieves and ruffians. To remedy this state of things,
+the wall was completed and fortified early in the fourteenth
+century. It had six gates, and remained like this
+until the Great Fire, although long before that date
+houses had been built against the wall both within and
+without. Round here were collected the shops of the
+most famous booksellers, such as John Day, who came
+here in 1575.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p250c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p250c.jpg" width="553" height="741" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p250c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>On the north side was a plot of ground known as
+Pardon’s Churchyard, and here was built a cloister in
+Henry V.’s time, decorated with paintings to illustrate
+Lidgate’s translation of “The Dance of Death.”
+Here, too, was a chapel and charnel-house, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span>
+whole was pulled down by order of the Protector
+Somerset, who used some of the material in building
+Somerset House. It was on that occasion that the
+cartloads of bones were removed to Finsbury Fields.
+There, covered with earth, they made a solid, conspicuous
+hill on which windmills were erected. It was
+part of this same ground which has already been referred
+to as Bunhill Fields. Great as was the damage done by
+the Fire, perhaps no site has been so completely altered as
+that of St. Paul’s. The modern cathedral, dearly loved
+by all Londoners, stands at quite a different angle from
+the old one, the western limit of which is marked by the
+statue of Queen Anne. Nestling close to the south-west
+corner of the great Gothic cathedral with its lofty spire,
+was the parish church of St. Gregory, and the crypt was
+the parish church of St. Faith’s. Both these parishes
+were allocated a portion of the churchyard for their
+burials.</p>
+
+<p>To the north-east of the cathedral stood Paul’s
+Cross, the out-door pulpit whence many notable sermons
+were preached. It is described by Stowe. “About the
+middest of this Churchyard is a pulpit-crosse of timber,
+mounted upon steps of stone, and covered with Lead, in
+which are Sermons preached by learned Divines, every
+Sunday in the fore-noone. The very antiquity of which
+Crosse is to me unknowne.” The earliest scene he
+records as taking place at this “crosse,” was when
+Henry III., in 1259, commanded the Mayor to cause
+“every stripling of twelve years of age and upward to
+assemble there,” to swear “to be true to the King and
+his heires, Kings of England.” In later times, the most
+distinguished preachers of the day were summoned to
+preach before the Court and the Mayor, Aldermen and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span>
+citizens, and the political significance of such harangues
+may well be imagined. It was here Papal Bulls were
+promulgated; here Tyndal’s translation of the New
+Testament was publicly burnt; here Queen Elizabeth
+listened to a sermon of thanksgiving on the defeat of
+the Armada—only to mention a few of the associations
+that cling round the spot, which, until within the last
+fifty years, was marked by an old elm tree which kept its
+memory green. Now it is treated with scant respect.
+There is, indeed, a little wooden notice-board, like a
+giant flower-label, stuck into the ground by an iron
+support, which records the fact that here stood Paul’s
+Cross, destroyed by the Fire of 1666. The notice is not
+so large or conspicuous as the one a few feet from it,
+beseeching the kindly friends of the pigeons not to feed
+them on the flower-beds! It is to be hoped that before
+long the bequest of £5000 of the late H.&nbsp;C. Richards,
+for the re-erection of the Cross, may be embodied in some
+visible form.</p>
+
+<p>What a picture such recollections call up!—the excited
+crowds with all the colour of Tudor costumes, the
+eager, fanatical faces of the “defenders of the Faith,”
+the sad and despondent faces of the intensely serious
+Reformers, as they see the blue smoke curl upwards, and
+the flames consume the sacred volumes.</p>
+
+<p>Picture the churchyard once more in still earlier
+times, when strange, fantastic customs clung round the
+cathedral services. One of the most original seems to
+have arisen from the tenure of land in Essex granted to
+Sir William Baud by the Dean and Chapter. The
+twenty-two acres of land were held on the condition
+that “hee would (for ever) upon the Feast day of the
+Conversion of Paul in Winter give unto them a good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span>
+Doe, seasonable and sweete, and upon the Feast of the
+Commemoration of St. Paul in Summer, a good Buck,
+and offer the same at the high Altar, the same to bee
+spent amongst the Canons residents.” On the appointed
+days the keeper who had brought the deer carried it
+through the procession to the high altar. There the
+head was severed, and the body sent off to be cooked,
+while the horns, stuck on a spear, were carried round the
+cathedral. The procession consisted of the Dean and
+Chapter in their copes—special ones for the two occasions—one
+embroidered with does, the other with bucks,
+the gift of the Baud family, and on their heads garlands
+of roses. Having performed the ceremony within the
+church, the whole procession issued out of the west
+door, and there the keeper blew a blast upon his horn,
+and when he had “blowed the death of the Bucke,”
+the “Horners that were about the City presently answered
+him in like manner.” The Dean and Chapter paid the
+blowers of horns fourpence each and their dinner, while
+the man who brought the venison got five shillings and
+his food and lodgings, and a “loafe of bread, having the
+picture of Saint Paul upon it,” to take away with him.
+What a strange picture of mediæval life and half-pagan
+rites! yet all conducted with perfect good faith, in all
+seriousness. It is just one of the great charms of knowing
+London and its traditions, that one is able to clear
+away in imagination the growth of centuries, and throw
+back one’s mind to the past—to stand at the top of
+Ludgate Hill and to remove Wren’s building and to
+see the Gothic pinnacles; to blot out the garden and
+fountain and modern seats, and see Paul’s Cross; on
+the left to see the arches of the cloisters, and on the
+right the high wall and timbered houses; then to open<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span>
+the western door and see this strange procession issue
+forth, with the antlers borne aloft, and hear the bugle-blast
+and answering notes.</p>
+
+<p>Surely no place can be more crowded with memories
+than busy, “roaring London,” and nowhere are the
+past and present so unexpectedly brought together.
+The City is full of surprises to those who have leisure
+to wander among its narrow, crowded streets. The
+quiet little graveyards afford many of these telling
+contrasts. Suddenly, in the busiest thoroughfares, where
+a constant stream of men are walking by every weekday,
+come these quiet little back-waters. In many
+cases the churches themselves have vanished, or only
+remain in part. St. Mary’s Staining is one of these,
+so hidden away that one might walk along Fenchurch
+Street hundreds of times and never find it. The
+approach is by a very narrow alley, at the end of
+which is this quiet little graveyard, where, among
+other worthies, reposes Sir Arthur Savage, knighted
+at Cadiz in 1596. The church, all except the tower,
+was destroyed in the Great Fire, and never rebuilt.
+The picturesque old tower stands in the centre of
+this little plot, which now forms the garden of the
+Clothworkers’ Company, whose hall opens on to one
+side of it.</p>
+
+<p>Another church which perished in the Fire and was
+never rebuilt is St. Olave’s, Hart Street, but its churchyard
+remains, and a few large tombs stand in a small
+garden with seats, where at all times of the year some
+weary wayfarers are resting.</p>
+
+<p>Another such graveyard where the burnt church
+was not restored is at the corner of Wood Street and
+Cheapside. The old tree inside the closed railings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span>
+may have inspired the lark to carol so joyously as to
+call up the “vision of poor Susan.”</p>
+
+<p>St. Botolph’s, Aldersgate, has one of the largest
+churchyards in the City, but it really consists of four
+pieces of land thrown into one in 1892, by a scheme
+under the London Parochial Charities, which contributed
+part of the purchase-money of some of the
+land, and gives £150 a year for the upkeep—£100
+being paid to them by the General Post Office, which
+has the right of light over the whole space. One-half
+of the churchyard is St. Botolph’s, and the rest
+is made up of the burial-grounds of St. Leonard,
+Foster Lane, and Christ Church, Newgate Street,
+and a strip of land which might have been built
+on, but which, under the revised scheme in 1900,
+became permanently part of this open space. The
+garden is carefully laid out; there are nice plane trees
+and a little fountain, regular paths and numerous seats.
+A sheltered gallery runs along one side, and in it
+are tablets to commemorate deeds of heroism in humble
+life—Londoners who lost their lives in saving the lives
+of others. The church of St. Botolph was one which
+escaped the Fire, but had fallen into such disrepair
+that it was rebuilt, by Act of Parliament, in 1754.
+The Act specially stipulates that none of the gravestones
+were to be removed, but where some of them
+are, now that it is a trim garden, it would be hard to
+say. Being not far from the General Post Office, this
+garden is so much used by its officials during the middle
+of the day, it has earned the name of the “Postman’s
+Park.”</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p256" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 31em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p256.jpg" width="523" height="752" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p256_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Sun-dial, St. Botolph’s</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Another much-frequented but much smaller churchyard
+is that of St. Katharine Coleman. Suddenly, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span>
+a corner of crowded Fenchurch Street, comes this
+retired shade. The church, with its old high pews,
+and tiny graveyard, devoid of monuments, is a peaceful
+oasis. These surprises in the densest parts of the
+City are very refreshing, and they are too numerous
+to mention each individually. Most of them now are
+neatly kept, though some look dreary enough. None
+of them recall the neglect of half a century ago.
+St. Olave’s, Hart Street, in Seething Lane, is perhaps
+among the most gloomy. It is the church Pepys
+speaks of so often as “our owne church,” and was
+one of the churches that escaped the Fire. The archway
+with the skulls over it, leads from Seething Lane
+to the dismal-looking churchyard. Nothing is done
+to alter or brighten this place of many memories.
+One shudders to think of what it must have been like
+when Pepys crossed it for the first time after the
+Great Plague, when he went to the memorial service
+for King Charles I., on 30th January 1666. No
+wonder he says it “frighted me indeed to go through
+the church more than I thought it could have done,
+to see so many graves lie so high upon the churchyard,
+where people have been buried of the Plague.
+I was much troubled about it, and do not think to
+go through it again a good while.” The parish
+registers show that no less than 326 were interred in this
+very small place, during the previous six months, so
+Pepys’ feelings were well justified. The old church
+has a special interest to lovers of gardens, as in it is
+the tomb of William Turner, the author of the first
+English Herbal.</p>
+
+<p>In more than one City churchyard a portion of
+the old wall makes its appearance. There is St.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span>
+Alphage, London Wall, and Allhallows-in-the-Wall,
+where the little gardens by the wall have been formed
+with a view to preserving it. The most picturesque
+is St. Giles’s, Cripplegate, where Milton is buried. The
+graveyard is large, and the ground rises above the
+footpath, which was made across it some thirty years
+ago, to a bastion of the wall, of rough stones and
+flint, which is in its old state, although part of the
+wall was rebuilt in 1803. There has been no attempt
+here to make it a resting-place for the living, although
+it is used as a thoroughfare.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p258c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 54em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p258c.jpg" width="852" height="569" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p258c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE BANK GARDEN
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Few people who have not entered the Bank of England
+would suspect it of enclosing an extremely pretty
+garden. There the inner courtyard possesses tall lime
+trees, gay rhododendrons, and a cool splashing fountain,
+with ferns and iris glistening in the spray. It is quite
+one of the most delightfully fresh and peaceful corners
+on a hot summer’s day, and carries one in imagination to
+Italy. Yet this is but another of the many old City
+churchyards. The parish of St. Christopher-le-Stocks
+was absorbed, with five other parishes, into St. Margaret’s,
+Lothbury, in 1781. Some of the tombs, and pictures of
+Moses and Aaron, were removed from it, and are still
+to be seen in St. Margaret’s, which is crowded with
+monuments from all six churches. The Bank was
+already in possession of most of the land within the
+parish, and by the Act of Parliament of 1781, the church
+and churchyard became part of the Bank premises, which
+cover nearly three acres. The church site was built
+over, but the graveyard became the garden. This
+enclosure at first was a simple grass plot, as shown in
+an engraving dated 1790. The lime trees may have
+been planted soon after, as they appear as large trees<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span>
+sixty years later, and are spoken of in 1855 as two of
+the finest lime trees in London. The fountain was put
+up in 1852 by Mr. Thomas Hankey, then the governor.
+The water for it came from the tanks belonging to the
+Bank, supplied by an artesian well 330 feet deep, said to
+be very pure, and free from lime. Perhaps that is why
+the rhododendrons look so flourishing. Most of the
+Bank, as is well known, was the work of the architect Sir
+John Soane, but some of the portions built by Sir Robert
+Taylor, before his death in 1788, when Soane was appointed
+to succeed him, are to be seen in the garden
+court. It is said that the last person buried there
+was a Bank clerk named Jenkins, who was 7½ feet
+in height. He was allowed to rest there, as he feared
+he might be disinterred on account of his gigantic
+proportions.</p>
+
+<p>Very different is the churchyard of St. Martin’s, on
+Ludgate Hill. It belongs to Stationers’ Hall, and
+although it boasts of one fine plane tree, is an untidy,
+grimy, dingy little square. By permission of all the
+necessary authorities, the coffins (480 in number) were
+removed and reverently buried in Brookwood Cemetery
+in 1893, a careful register of all the names and dates,
+that could be deciphered, being kept. This having
+been done, the earth was merely left in an irregular
+heap round the tree, and no attempt has been made
+to improve in any way the forsaken appearance of the
+place.</p>
+
+<p>This sketch does not aim at being a guide-book,
+and it would only be tedious to enumerate the many
+churchyards, without as well as within the City, which
+of late years have been made worthy “gardens of sleep.”
+St. Luke’s, Old Street; St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span>
+St. Anne’s, Soho; St. Sepulchre, Holborn, and many
+others in every part of the town, from being dreary
+and untidy, have become orderly and well kept; and instead
+of being unwholesome and unsightly, have become
+attractive harbours of refuge in the sea of streets and
+houses.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI"><span id="toclink_261"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER XI</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">INNS OF COURT</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Sweete Themmes! runne softly, till I end my Song.</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent2"><i>At length they all to mery London came,</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>There when they came, whereas those brickly towers</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>The which on Themmes brode aged backe doe ryde</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Where now the studious Lawyers have their bowers,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>There whylome wont the Templer Knights to byde,</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Till they decayed through pride:</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Sweete Themmes! runne softly, till I end my Song.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Spenser</span>: “Prothalamion, or a Spousall Verse.”</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcT"><img src="images/i_idc_t.png" width="180" height="181" alt="T">
+<span class="firstword">There</span> are no more peaceful gardens
+in all London than those among
+the venerable buildings devoted to
+the study of the law. There is
+a sense of dignity and repose, the
+moment one has entered from the
+noisy thoroughfares which surround
+these quiet courts. They
+may be dark, dull, and dingy, as seen by a Dickens, and
+sombre and serious, to those whose business lies there;
+but to the ordinary Londoner, who loves the old world
+of the City, and the links that bind the present with the
+past, there are no more reposeful places than these
+gardens. The courts and buildings seem peopled with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span>
+those who have worked and lived there. If stones could
+speak, what tales some of these could tell!</p>
+
+<p>The best-known, perhaps, of the gardens are those
+belonging to the Inner and Middle Temple, as their
+green lawns are visible from the Embankment. They
+add greatly to the charm of one of London’s most
+beautiful roadways, now, alas! desecrated by the rush of
+electric trams, and its fine young trees sacrificed to make
+yet more rapid the stream of beings hourly passing
+between South London and the City. The modern
+whirl of business life can leave nothing untouched in
+this age of bustle, money-making, ceaseless toil, and care.
+Even pleasures have to be provided by united effort, and
+partake of noise and hurry. Thought and contemplation
+are hardly counted among the pleasures of life; yet
+to those who value them, even to look through the
+iron railings on the smooth turf brings a sense of relief.
+Even to those who scarcely seem to feel it, the very
+existence of these haunts of comparative peace, which
+flash on their vision as they hurry by, leaves something,
+a subtle influence, a faint impression on the brain. It
+must make a difference to a child who knows nothing
+beyond the noisy streets and alleys in which its lot is
+cast, to hear the rooks caw and the birds sing in the
+quiet gardens of Gray’s Inn. It must come as a welcome
+relief, even though unperceived and unappreciated, from
+the din and clatter in which most of its days are passed.
+One cannot be too grateful that it has not been thought
+necessary to change and modernise “our English juridical
+university.”</p>
+
+<p>Although the four great Inns of Court are untouched,
+the lesser Inns have vanished or are vanishing. Clement’s
+Inn has gone. The garden there was small, but had a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span>
+special feature of its own—a sun-dial upheld by the kneeling
+figure of a blackamoor. This is now preserved in the
+Temple Garden, where it appeared soon after Clement’s
+Inn was disestablished in 1884. Clement’s Inn, which
+appertained to the Inner Temple, was so named from the
+Church of St. Clement Danes and St. Clement’s Well,
+where “the City Youth on Festival Days used to entertain
+themselves with a variety of Diversions.” The sun-dial
+is said to have been presented to the Inn by a Holles,
+Lord Clare, and some writers state that it was brought
+from Italy. It was, however, more probably made in
+London by John Van Nost, a Dutch sculptor, who came
+to England in William III.’s time, and established himself
+in Piccadilly. When he died in 1711 the business
+was continued by John Cheere, brother of Sir Henry
+Cheere, who executed various monuments in Westminster
+Abbey. Similar work is known to have issued from this
+studio. At Clifford’s Inn, which was also attached to the
+Inner Temple, there is still a vestige of the garden, but it
+looks a miserable doomed wreck, a few black trees rising
+among heaps of earth and rubbish. It was described in
+1756 as “an airy place, and neatly kept; the garden being
+inclosed with a pallisado Pale, and adorned with Rows
+of Lime trees, set round the gravel Plats and gravel
+walks.” Its present forlorn appearance is certainly not
+suggestive of its past glories. Barnard’s Inn has been
+converted into a school by the Mercers’ Company; it
+also has its court and trees on a very small scale. Staples
+Inn, so familiar from the timbered, gabled front it presents
+to Holborn, carefully preserved by the Prudential
+Assurance Company, its present owners, still has its
+quiet little quadrangle of green at the back. It was of
+that Dickens wrote such an inimitable description. “It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span>
+is one of those nooks, the turning into which out of the
+clashing streets imparts to the relieved pedestrian the
+sensation of having put cotton in his ears and velvet soles
+on his boots.” Furnival’s, Thavies’, and all the other
+Inns famous in olden days, have disappeared, and their
+quiet little gardens with them.</p>
+
+<p>The Temple Gardens are larger now than in the
+earlier days of their history, as then there was nothing
+to keep the Thames within its channel at high tide.
+The landing steps from the river were approached by
+a causeway of arches across the muddy banks. It was
+not until 1528 that a protecting wall was built, and a
+pathway ran outside the wall between it and the river.
+Gardens must have existed on this site from a very
+early date. When the Templars moved there from
+Holborn and built the church in 1185, it was all open
+country round, with a few great houses and conventual
+buildings standing in their own orchards and gardens.
+After the suppression of the Order, it was in the hands
+of Aimer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and in 1324
+the land was given to the Knights of St. John. As
+they had their own buildings and church not far off,
+they granted it “to the Students of the Common Lawes
+of England: in whose possession the same hath sithence
+remained.” All the consecrated land, and all within the
+City, was included in the grant to the Knights of St.
+John: besides this there was some land outside the City,
+or the Outer Temple, part of which remained in secular
+hands, and in later times was covered by Essex House,
+with its famous gardens. The section belonging to the
+Law Societies, beyond the City, is spoken of in early
+records as the Outer Garden, and from time to time
+buildings were erected on it—at first under protest,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span>
+as in 1565 there was an order “for the plucking down
+of a study newly erected,” and again in 1567, “the
+nuisance made by Woodye, by building his house in
+the Outer Garden, shall be abated and plucked down,
+or as much thereof as is upon Temple ground.” All
+this garden has long ago been completely built over,
+and the large spaces now forming the Temple Gardens
+are those anciently known as the “Great Garden,”
+belonging to the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple
+Garden. The Outer Temple (never another Inn) was
+merely the ground outside the limits of the City.</p>
+
+<p>The long green slopes down to the Embankment,
+are much larger than the older gardens, as the wall
+which was built in 1528 to keep out the river, cut
+across from where No. 10 King’s Bench Walk now
+stands. The wall must have been a vast improvement,
+and was greatly appreciated. In 1534 a vote of thanks
+was passed by the “parliament” of the Inner Temple
+to the late Treasurer, John Parkynton, who had “takyn
+many and sundrie payns in the buylding of the walle
+betwene the Thamez and the garden,” for which
+“greate dyligens” they gave unto him “hartey thankes.”
+And, indeed, the garden must sorely have needed this
+protection. It is difficult to picture the Temple in
+the sixteenth century, and the little gardens must
+have been as bewildering as the present courts and
+buildings. In the records there are references to various
+gardens, no doubt small enclosures like the present
+courts, besides the Great Garden and the kitchen-garden.
+There was the nut garden, perhaps adorned
+with nut trees, as Fig-tree Court probably was with
+figs. There is more than one record of payments for
+attending to the fig-tree or painting rails round it.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span>
+In 1610, just at the time James I. brought them into
+notice, a mulberry was “set in Fairfield’s Court.” In
+1605 seats were set “about the trees in Hare’s Court”;
+thus all the courts were more or less little gardens.
+In 1510 a chamber is assigned to some one “in the
+garden called le Olyvaunte.” This was probably the
+Elephant, from a sign carved or painted to distinguish
+a particular house facing it. There was similarly “le
+Talbott,” probably from a greyhound sign, in another
+court. The houses facing the Great Garden apparently
+had steps descending into it from the chief rooms,
+and it was a special privilege to have your staircase
+opening on to it. Thus, “May 1573, Mr. Wyott and
+Mr. Hall, licensed to have ‘a steeyrs’ (stairs) from
+their chamber into the garden.” The Great Garden
+was constantly being encroached on as new chambers
+were built. Entries in the records with regard to permission
+to build into the garden often occur; for
+<span class="locked">instance—</span></p>
+
+<p>“1581. Thomas Compton ... to build ... within
+the compass of the garden or little Court ... from the
+south corner of the brick wall of the said garden ...
+57 feet ... and from the said wall into the garden
+22 feet.”</p>
+
+<p>On one occasion a license to build was exceeded, and
+the offence further aggravated by cutting down “divers
+timber trees.” The offender was at first put out of
+commons, and fined £20, which was afterwards mitigated
+to £5, with the addition of a most wise proviso, that
+“he shall plant double the number of trees he caused
+to be cut down.” Would that the fault of felling
+timber always met with the same punishment!</p>
+
+<p>When houses were put on the site of the present<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span>
+Paper Buildings in 1610, the Great Garden was cut in
+two, and the eastern portion went to form the broad
+stretch with its trees known as King’s Bench Walk.
+Elm trees were planted, and the walks and seats under
+them repaired from time to time, and kept in good
+order. The part to the west was carefully tended, and
+became from that year the chief garden. In James I.’s
+reign, that age of gardening, when every house of any
+pretensions was having its garden enlarged, and Bacon
+was laying out the grounds of Gray’s Inn, the Temple
+was not behind-hand. The accounts show constant
+repairs and additions and buying of trees. The items
+for painting posts and rails are very frequent. Probably
+they do not always refer to outer palings, but it
+may be that the Tudor fashion of railing round the
+beds, with a low trellis and posts at the angles, still
+prevailed. One of the largest items of the expenses
+was for making “the pound” in 1618. This, it is
+said, was a pond, but no record of digging it out, or
+filling it with water occurs, while all the payments
+in connection with it went to painters or carpenters,
+and therefore it was more probably a kind of garden-house,
+much in favour at that time, made by the wall,
+to command a view over the river. The chief items
+with regard to it <span class="locked">are:—</span></p>
+
+<p>“1618, To John Fielde, the carpenter, for making
+‘the pound’ in the garden, £19.”</p>
+
+<p>“To Bowden, the painter, for stopping and ‘refreshing’
+the rails in the ‘wakes’ (walks), the posts, seats
+and balusters belonging to the same, and for stopping
+and finishing the ‘pound’ by the waterside, £9, 10s.”</p>
+
+<p>Again in 1639 the entry certainly implies some kind
+of summer-house and not “a pond”: “Edward Simmes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span>
+carpenter, for repairing ‘the pound’ and other seats in
+the garden and walks, &amp;c., £15, 8s.” There must have
+been another summer-house at the same time, unless the
+sums paid to a plasterer “for work done about the
+summer-house in the garden,” in 1630, refers to the
+same “pound.”</p>
+
+<p>A great deal seems to have been done to the Garden
+during the first few years of the Commonwealth, and
+large sums were expended in procuring new gravel and
+turf: “392 loads of gravel at 2s. 6d. the load” is one
+entry. But the chief work was the re-turfing. An
+arrangement was made, by payment of various small
+sums to the poor of Greenwich, to cut 3000 turfs on
+Blackheath, and convey them in lighters to the Temple
+Stairs. A second transaction procured them 2000
+more, each turf being a foot broad and a yard long.
+These amounts would cover a third of an acre with
+turf. The head gardeners seem to have been particularly
+unruly people. Although they remained in
+office many years, there were frequent complaints. On
+one occasion this official had cut down trees, another
+time he had the plague, and his house was frequented
+by rogues and beggars. At first the gardener’s house
+was on the present King’s Bench Walk side of the
+Garden, near the river; later on, near where Harcourt
+Buildings are now. In 1690 the house, then in Middle
+Temple Lane, was turned into an ale-house, and evidently
+none of the quietest, for the occupier was forbidden
+to sell drink, and the “door out of the gardener’s
+lodge towards the water gate” was ordered to be bricked
+up, so as to prevent all the riffraff from the river rioting
+in his rooms. Yet the post descended from father
+to son. In 1687 Thomas Elliott succeeded his father,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span>
+Seth Elliott, who had been there some years, and when
+in 1708 Charles Gardner had taken the second Elliott’s
+place, his daughter Elizabeth’s name occurs as a recipient
+of money, and Elliott himself received a pension of £20
+a-year, although he was the culprit of the riotous ale-house.
+During the years succeeding the Restoration, the
+Garden seems to have been little touched. The kitchen-garden
+would still be maintained, and either it was
+farmed by the gardener, or its supplies were inadequate,
+as on fast-days there was always a special payment to the
+gardener for vegetables. Such items as the following are
+of frequent occurrence: “Sallating for the hall in grass
+week, strewings and ‘bow pots’ for the hall in Easter
+and Trinity terms.”</p>
+
+<p>Though the French fashions in gardening of Charles
+II.’s reign do not seem to have affected the Temple precincts,
+yet the Dutch influence that came in with
+William and Mary made itself felt. A small garden
+was specially set apart for the Benchers, and done up
+entirely in the prevailing style. A piece of ground
+between King’s Bench Office and Serjeants’ Inn was made
+use of for this. It had been let to the Alienation Office,
+but after the Great Fire the Temple resumed the control
+of it, and finally did it up and replanted it for the use
+of the Benchers. It was known as the “Benchers’,” the
+“Little” or the “Privy” Garden, and great care,
+attention, and money were expended on it. Turf,
+gravel, and plants were bought; a sun-dial put on
+the wall; orange trees set out in tubs; and a fountain
+erected in the middle. This fountain must have been
+the chief feature of the Garden, and from the immense
+amount of care it required to keep it in order, it seems
+that it was one of those elaborate “waterworks,” without<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span>
+which no garden was then complete. Such fountains
+were made with secret arrangements for turning on the
+water, which dropped from birds’ bills, or spurted out of
+dolphins or such-like, with an unpleasant suddenness
+which gave the unwary visitor a shower-bath. Other
+fountains played tunes or set curious machinery in
+motion, or otherwise surprised the beholder. From
+the descriptions, this one in the Benchers’ Garden
+doubtless concealed some original variation. It consisted
+of a lion’s face with a copper scallop shell, and
+a copper cherry-tree with branches, and perhaps the
+water dropped from the leaves. One payment in 1700
+occurs for “a new scallop shell to the fountain, for a
+cock and a lion’s face to draw the water out of the
+fountain, and for keeping the fountain in repair, £12.”
+The copper cherry-tree was painted, and perhaps the
+Pegasus—the arms of the Inner Temple—figured in the
+strange medley, as the cost of painting the tree and “gilding
+the horse” are together paid to the man “Fowler,”
+who had charge of the fountain. The “best way to
+bring the water” had to be carefully considered for
+these “waterworks” which Fowler was designing and
+carrying out, and it evidently was brought up to the
+pitch of perfection required of a fountain in those days.
+There was also a summer-house with a paved floor, and
+an alcove with seats. Altogether, even without the
+glories of the strange fountain, the little enclosed Dutch
+garden must have been an attractive place.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p270c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 47em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p270c.jpg" width="747" height="545" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p270c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE INNER TEMPLE GARDEN
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>While the Benchers’ Garden was being made, the
+Great Garden was not neglected. Its form was altered
+to suit the prevailing taste. This remodelling must
+have begun in the winter of 1703, as it was then resolved
+that “the trees in the Great Garden be cut down, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span>
+the Garden to be put in the same model as the gardener
+hath proposed.” The delightful terrace, which is still
+one of the most beautiful features in the Garden, existed
+before these alterations began, but the sun-dial which still
+adorns it was added during these changes. The payment
+for it was made to Strong, who was contractor for
+St. Paul’s under Wren: “To Edward Strong, for the
+pedestal for the dial in the Great Garden steps, &amp;c.,
+£25.” The beautiful gates of wrought iron were put
+up in 1730. The design shows the arms of Gray’s Inn,
+as well as the winged horse of the Inner Temple, in
+compliment to the other learned society, its close ally.
+In the same way the Pegasus occurs at Gray’s Inn. It
+was probably along this terrace that some of the orange
+trees in pots were placed during the summer. The pots
+in which these oranges and other “greens” were grown
+seem to have been specially decorative. It was a serious
+offence when Allgood, a member of the Inn, broke some,
+and was obliged to “furnish other pots of like fashion
+and value,” otherwise he would “be put out of commons.”
+After this others were purchased, as the payment
+of £8 was made “for a large mould, carved in
+wood, for casting of earthen pots for the Garden”;
+and in other years further similar expenses occur, one in
+1690 “to the potter for a large pot made for the Garden,
+painted in oil, £1, 5s.” Some of the plants grown
+would stand the winter in the open, but after the oranges
+made their appearance a shelter had to be provided.
+Green-houses owed their origin to this necessity, and as
+they were only used in winter, and merely sheltered the
+large pots of “greens,” these green-houses or orangeries
+were built like rooms, and used as summer-houses during
+warm months. All the larger gardens had their green-houses,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span>
+but the smaller proprietors frequently sent their
+plants away to a nurseryman to be housed during the
+winter. Even the “greens” at Kensington Palace were
+kept by London and Wise, until the new orangery was
+built. The Temple orange trees were first sent to the
+house of Cadrow at Islington. In 1704 the green-house
+seems to have been made, and used as a garden-house in
+summer. Such items in the accounts as “a chimney-glass
+and sconces for the green-house” show that it was
+in the usual solid architectural style then in fashion.
+That the “panierman,” an officer, one of whose duties
+was to summon members to meals by blowing a horn,
+was appointed to take charge of it as well as of the library,
+is a further proof that it bore the character of a room,
+and was more or less outside the gardener’s department.
+The panierman also had the care of the elaborate fountain,
+after it had been supervised for some years by the
+maker. This green-house stood at the end of the terrace,
+which still runs parallel with Crown Office Row, and
+near the site of Harcourt Buildings, behind the gardener’s
+house. This gardener’s house was pulled down
+two or three years later to make way for Harcourt
+Buildings, which was joined to the summer-house. The
+first or ground floor opened on to the garden below the
+“paved walk” or terrace, on which level stood the
+summer-house.</p>
+
+<p>The most fascinating feature of a garden ought to
+be its flowers, and of these also some particulars can be
+gleaned from the accounts. There is enough to show
+that the Temple Garden was quite up to date in its horticulture,
+and that it followed fashion as closely in its
+plants as in its design. It is not surprising to find Dutch
+bulbs, and especially tulips, being bought when such a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span>
+lover of those flowers as Sir Thomas Hanmer was a
+member. He was one of those who devoted much time
+to the culture of that flower, when the tulip mania was
+at its height, and raised new varieties, which were known
+by his name, “the agate Hanmer.” In 1703 the list of
+bulbs purchased is carefully noted. There were “200
+‘junquiles’ at 6s. a hundred; for 200 tulips at 5s. a
+hundred; for 100 yellow Dutch crocus, for 50 Armathagalum.”
+The spelling of “junquiles” is much more
+correct than our modern “jonquil,” and all the old
+writers would have written it so. Parkinson, in 1629,
+describes them as “Narcissus juncifolius” or the “Junquilia
+or Rush Daffodill”; but “Ornithogalum” was too
+much for the Temple scribe. The “Ornithogalum” or
+“Starre of Bethlehem,” and probably one of the rarer
+varieties, must be meant by “Armathagalum.” The
+Arabian variety was then “nursed in gardens,” but it
+should be “housed all the winter, that so it may bee
+defended from the frosts,” wrote Parkinson, and sadly
+admitted that the two roots sent to him “out of Spain”
+had “prospered not” “for want of knowledge” of this
+“rule.” There was also the “Starre flower of Æthiopia,”
+which “was gathered by some Hollanders on the
+West side of the Cape of Good Hope”; and this is more
+likely to have been the variety bought for the Temple
+with the other Dutch bulbs. Among the other purchases
+were various shrubs, on which the topiary art was
+then commonly practised. There were “15 yew trees
+for the Great Garden in pots, ... 4 box trees for the
+grass plots, ... 12 striped ‘fillerayes’”—this latter being
+variegated phillyreas (most likely <i class="flora" lang="la">angustifolia</i>), which were
+largely used for cutting into quaint shapes. Another
+account is for “28 standard laurels, 4 ‘perimic’ (laurels),<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span>
+6 junipers, 4 hollies, and 2 perimic box trees.” These
+“perimetric” trees had already gone through the necessary
+clipping and training, to enable them to take their
+place in the trim Dutch garden. Another year flowering
+shrubs are got for the Benchers’ Garden: “2 messerius
+at 2s., and 2 lorrestines at 2s.” The <i class="flora" lang="la">Daphne mezereum</i>
+had been a favourite in English gardens from the earliest
+times, and the laurestinus (<i class="flora" lang="la">Viburnum tinus</i>) came from
+South Europe in the sixteenth century. Parkinson, the
+most attractive of all the old gardening authors, has a
+delightfully true description of the “Laurus Tinus,” with
+its “many small white sweete-smelling flowers thrusting
+together, ... the edges whereof have a shew of a wash
+purple or light blush in them; which for the most part
+fall away without bearing any perfect ripe fruit in our
+countrey: yet sometimes it hath small black berries, as if
+they were good, but are not”! Fruit-trees were also to
+be found—peaches, “nectrons,” cherries, and plums,
+besides figs and mulberries. That the walls were
+covered with climbing roses and jessamine is certain,
+from the oft-recurring cost of nailing them up. “Nails
+and list for the jessamy wall,” and the needful bits of
+old felt required to fasten them up, was another time
+supplied by “hatt parings for the jessamines.”</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is easy, bit by bit, out of the old accounts,
+to piece together the Garden, until the mind’s eye can see
+back into the days of Queen Anne, and take an imaginary
+walk through it on a fine spring evening. The Bencher
+walks out of the large window of the “green-house” on
+to the terrace, where the sun-dial points the hour: the
+orange trees, glossy and fresh from their winter quarters,
+stand in stiff array, in the large artistic pots. Down the
+steps, a few stiff beds are bright with Dutch bulbs in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span>
+flower. The turf, well rolled (for a new stone roller has
+just been purchased), stretches down to the river between
+straight lines of quaintly cut box, yews, and hollies.
+He sees Surrey hills clear in the early evening light, and
+the barges sail by, and boats pass up and down the river.
+He may linger on one of the seats in the garden-house
+overlooking the river, or wander back under the stately
+elms of King’s Bench Walk, to rest awhile in the Privy
+Garden, where the air is scented with mezereum, and
+cooled by the drops that fall from the metal leaves
+hanging over the basin of the fountain.</p>
+
+<p>The Middle Temple, too, had its Benchers’ Garden,
+and part of it survives to this day in the delightful
+Fountain Court. The Benchers’ Garden was larger,
+covering the ground where Garden Court now stands,
+up to the wall of the famous gardens of Essex House.
+A garden covered the space where the library has been
+built, and the terrace and steps in front of the fountain
+reached right across to the Essex House wall. Below
+the beautiful old hall which Queen Elizabeth opened in
+person, and where Shakespeare’s contemporaries witnessed
+“Twelfth Night,” lay the rest of the Garden, with green
+lawns and shady trees down the water’s edge. The
+fountain, once the glory of the Benchers’ private garden,
+is still one of the most delightful in all London. Sir
+Christopher Hatton, whose garden of Ely Place—wrung
+by Queen Elizabeth from the unwilling Bishop—was
+not far off, was an admirer of the Middle Temple
+fountain. It was kept, he says, “in so good order as
+always to force its stream to a vast and almost incredible
+altitude. It is fenced with timber palisades, constituting
+a quadrangle, wherein grow several lofty trees,
+and without are walks extending on every side of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span>
+the quadrangle, all paved with Purbeck, very pleasant
+and delightful.” In an eighteenth-century picture, with
+groups of strollers and a lady passing the gay company
+in her sedan chair, the palings are superseded by fine
+iron railings enclosing the lofty jet, its marble basin, and
+shady trees. The pavement ended with the terrace wall
+overlooking the garden below, and the Thames covered
+at high tide what is now the lower part of the lawn.
+The Fountain Court has inspired many a thought which
+has found expression in prose and verse, but no picture
+is more vivid or well known than the figure of Ruth
+Pinch, in “Martin Chuzzlewit,” waiting for her brother
+“with the best little laugh upon her face that ever
+played in opposition to the fountain,” or the description
+at the end, of that crowning day to her happiness, when
+she walks there with John Westlock, and “Brilliantly
+the Temple Fountain splashed in the sun, and laughingly
+its liquid music played, and merrily the idle drops of
+water danced and danced, and peeping out in sport
+among the trees, plunged lightly down to hide themselves,
+as little Ruth and her companion came towards
+it.” The fountain has suffered some modernising
+changes since Dickens wrote those lines; but in spite of
+them there is still music in its sound, which calls up
+dreams of other ages and of brighter gardens as it
+tosses its spray into the murky air.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Away in the distance is heard the vast sound</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">From the streets of the city that compass it round,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Like the echo of mountains or ocean’s deep call:</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Yet that fountain’s low singing is heard over all.”</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Miss Landon.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of all the incidents that are associated with particular
+places, none stands out more vividly than the scene told<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span>
+by Shakespeare, of the first beginning to the Wars of the
+Roses in the Temple Garden.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p276c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 53em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p276c.jpg" width="841" height="554" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p276c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE FOUNTAIN COURT, MIDDLE TEMPLE
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Richard Plantagenet, with the Earls of Somerset,
+Suffolk, and Warwick, Vernon, and a lawyer, enter the
+Temple Garden (“Henry VI.” Pt. I. Act 2, sc. iv.).</p>
+
+<div id="dialog">
+<p class="speaker"><i>Suffolk.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Within the Temple Hall we were too loud;<br>
+The garden here is more convenient.</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Plantagenet.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Then say at once if I maintained the truth,<br>
+Or else was wrangling Somerset in the error?</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="p1 b1">The direct answer being evaded, Plantagenet <span class="locked">continues—</span></p>
+
+<p class="dialog">Since you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak,<br>
+In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts;<br>
+Let him that is a true-born gentleman,<br>
+And stands upon the honour of his birth,<br>
+If he suppose that I have pleaded truth,<br>
+From off this brier pluck a white rose with me.</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Somerset.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Let him that is no coward nor no flatterer,<br>
+But dare maintain the party of the truth,<br>
+Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Warwick.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">I pluck this white rose with Plantagenet.</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Suffolk.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">I pluck this red rose with young Somerset.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Vernon.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">I pluck this pale and maiden blossom here,<br>
+Giving my verdict on the white rose side.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Lawyer</i> (to <i>Somerset</i>)</p>
+<p class="dialog">... The argument you held was wrong in you,<br>
+In sign whereof I pluck a white rose too.</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Plan.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Now, Somerset, where is your argument?</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Som.</i></p>
+<p>Here, in my scabbard, meditating that<br>
+Shall dye your white rose in a bloody red.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Plan.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Hath not thy rose a canker, Somerset?</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Som.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Hath not thy rose a thorn, Plantagenet?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span><br></p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Plan.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Ay, sharp and piercing to maintain his truth;<br>
+Whiles thy consuming canker eats his falsehood.</p>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Som.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">Well, I’ll find friends to wear my bleeding roses,<br>
+That shall maintain what I have said is true.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p class="speaker"><i>Warwick.</i></p>
+<p class="dialog">And here I prophesy this brawl to-day,<br>
+Grown to this faction in the Temple-garden,<br>
+Shall send between the red rose and the white<br>
+A thousand souls to death and deadly night.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>With such a tradition the Temple Garden should
+never be without its roses. They are one of those
+friendly plants which will do their best to fight against
+fog and smoke, and flower boldly for two or three years
+in succession: so a supply of red and white, and the
+delightful <i class="flora" lang="la">Rosa mundi</i>, the “York and Lancaster,”
+could without much difficulty be seen there every
+summer. Certainly some of the finest roses in existence
+have been in the Temple Gardens, as the Flower Shows,
+which are looked forward to by all lovers of horticulture,
+have for many years been permitted to take place in these
+historic grounds. How astonished those adherents of
+the red or white roses would have been to see the colours,
+shades, and forms which the descendants of those briars
+now produce. The Plantagenet Garden would not contain
+many varieties, although every known one was
+cherished in every garden, as roses have always been first
+favourites. Besides the briars, dog roses, and sweet
+briars, there was the double white and double red, a
+variety of <i class="flora" lang="la">Rosa gallica</i>. Many so-called old-fashioned
+roses, such as the common monthly roses, came to England
+very much later, and the vast number of gorgeous
+hybrids are absolutely new. Elizabethan gardens had a
+fair show of roses with centifolia, including moss and
+Provence roses, and York and Lancaster, <i class="flora" lang="la">Rosa lutea</i>, musk,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span>
+damask, and cinnamon roses in several varieties; and as
+the old records show, the Temple Garden was well supplied
+with roses. All these probably flourished there in the
+days of Shakespeare, and would readily suggest the scene
+he immortalised.</p>
+
+<p>Among the spirits that haunt the Temple Garden,
+there is none that seems to cling to it more than that of
+Charles Lamb. It should be a pride of these peaceful
+gardens that they helped to mould that lovable and
+unselfish character. A schoolfellow, who describes his
+ways as a boy at Christ’s Hospital, recalls how all his
+young days were spent in the solemn surrounding of the
+Temple, and how, while at school, “On every half holiday
+(and there were two in the week), in ten minutes he was
+in the gardens, on the terrace, or at the fountain of the
+Temple. Here was his home, here his recreation; and
+the influence they had on his infant mind is vividly
+shown in his description of the old Benchers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Shadows we are and like shadows depart,” suggests
+the sun-dial on the wall of Pump Court, but shadows of
+such gentle spirits as Charles Lamb leave something
+behind, and those “footprints on the sands of time”
+are nowhere more traceable than in these solemn
+precincts of law with their quiet, restful gardens.</p>
+
+<p>The attractions of the Temple are so great, one feels
+loth to cross the noisy thoroughfare and plunge
+through the traffic till the stately old gateway out of
+Chancery Lane, on which Ben Jonson is said to have
+worked, affords an opening towards the spacious gardens
+of Lincoln’s Inn.</p>
+
+<p>Lincoln’s Inn Gardens have a special claim to
+antiquity as they are partly on the site of the famous
+garden of the Earl of Lincoln, of which some of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span>
+accounts are preserved in a splendid big old manor roll
+now at the Record Office. It is supposed that at his
+death in 1311, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln,
+assigned these lands to the “Professors of the Law as a
+residence.” Additions were made later from the ground
+belonging to the Bishop of Chichester, round the palace
+which Ralph Neville had built in 1228. Part of the
+site was the “coney garth,” which belonged to one
+William Cotterell, and hence is often mentioned as
+“Cotterell’s Garden.” Garden of course only meant a
+garth or yard, and though the name now signifies an
+enclosure for plants, in early times other enclosures
+were common. There was the “grass yard” or lawn,
+the “cook’s garth” or kitchen-garden, and “coney
+garth” where rabbits were kept, as well as the “wyrt
+yard” or plant yard, the “ort yard” or orchard, apple
+yard, cherry yard, and so on. The coney garth was not
+a mere name, but was well stocked with game, and even
+at a much later date, from Edward IV. to Henry VIII.,
+there were various ordinances in force for punishing law
+students who hunted rabbits with bows and arrows or
+darts.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p280c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p280c.jpg" width="555" height="691" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p280c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    LINCOLN’S INN
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In the first year of Queen Elizabeth the Garden was
+separated from the fields by a clay embankment, and a
+little later a brick wall was added, with a gate into the
+fields, which is probably the same as the present little
+gate to the north of the new hall, at the end of the
+border, shown in the illustration. The Garden continued
+much further along the wall then, and only was curtailed
+when the new hall and library were built in 1843.
+The delightful terrace which is raised against the wall
+overlooking the “fields” was made in 1663. On June
+27th of that year, Pepys, who on other occasions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span>
+mentions his walks there with his wife, went to see the
+alterations. “So to Lincoln’s Inne, and there walked
+up and down to see the new garden which they are
+making, and will be very pretty.” The outside world
+seems to have had easy access to the gardens of all the
+Inns of Court in those days, but it was regarded as a
+special privilege granted to a very wide circle, and a
+favour not accorded to the public at large. In the
+<cite>Tatler</cite> occur such passages as, “I went into Lincoln’s
+Inn walks, and having taken a round or two I sat down
+according to the allowed familiarity of these places.”
+Again, “I was last week taking a solitary walk in the
+garden of Lincoln’s Inn, a favour that is indulged me by
+several of the benchers who are my intimate friends.”</p>
+
+<p>They were, however, so much frequented by all the
+fashionable world of London, that the foreigner arriving
+there naturally took them for public gardens. Mr.
+Grosley, who came to London in 1765, thus describes
+<span class="locked">them:—</span></p>
+
+<p>“Besides St. James’s Park, the Green Park, and Hyde
+Park, the two last of which are continuations of the first,
+which, like the Tuileries at Paris, lie at the extremity of
+the metropolis, London has several public walks, which
+are much more agreeable to the English, as they are less
+frequented and more solitary than the Park. Such are
+the gardens contained within the compass of the Temple,
+of Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. They consist of grass
+plots, which are kept in excellent order, and planted with
+trees, either cut regularly, or with high stocks: some of
+them have a part laid out for culinary uses. The grass
+plots of the gardens at Lincoln’s Inn are adorned with
+statues, which, taken all together, form a scene very
+pleasing to the eye.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span></p>
+
+<p>The students must certainly have aimed at keeping
+their gardens from the vulgar gaze, and showed their
+displeasure at some one who had built a house with
+windows overlooking the Garden in 1632 in an uproarious
+manner. They flung brickbats at the offending window
+until “one out of the house discharged haile shot upon
+Mr. Attornie’s sonne’s face, which though by good chance
+it missed his eyes yet it pitifully mangled his visage.”</p>
+
+<p>Old maps of the gardens show a wall dividing the
+large upper garden from the smaller, but by 1772 the
+partition had disappeared. It was doubtless unnecessary
+when the terrace was made and the rabbits done away
+with.</p>
+
+<p>The 1658 map with the wall in it shows the upper
+garden intersected by four paths, and an avenue of trees
+round three sides, and the small garden with a single row
+of trees round it divided into two large grass plots.
+The lovely shady avenue below the terrace in the large
+garden has still a great charm, and although not so
+extensive as it once was, the great green-sward and walks
+seem very spacious in these days of crowding. The
+terrace overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields, with the broad
+walk and border of suitable old-fashioned herbaceous
+plants, has great attractions. The view from here must
+have improved since the days when the Fields were a
+wild-looking place of evil repute, and the scene of bloody
+executions. In the lonely darkness below the terrace wall,
+deeds of violence were only too common.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Though thou are tempted by the linkman’s call,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Yet trust him not along the lonely wall.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">In the mid-way he’ll quench the flaming brand,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And share the booty with the pilfering band.”</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Gay.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span></p>
+<p>Certainly when one is sentimental over the departed
+charms of Old London, it would be an excellent antidote
+to call up some of the inconveniences that electric light
+and the metropolitan police have banished.</p>
+
+<p>There is more character about the gardens of Gray’s
+Inn than either the Temple or Lincoln’s Inn. They have
+come down with but little alteration from the hands of
+that great lover of gardens, Bacon. But long before his
+time gardens existed. The land on which Gray’s Inn
+stands formed part of a prebend of St. Paul’s of the
+manor of Portpoole, and subsequently belonged to the
+family of Grey de Wilton, and in the fourteenth century
+the Inn of Court was established. Between its grounds
+and the villages of Highgate and Hampstead was an
+unbroken stretch of open country. There, in Mary’s
+reign, Henry Lord Berkeley used daily to hunt “in Gray’s
+Inne fields and in those parts towards Islington and Heygate
+with his hounds,” and in his company were “many
+gentlemen of the Innes of Court and others of lower
+condition ... and 150 servants in livery that daily
+attended him in their tawny coates.” In Bacon’s time
+it must still have been as open, and Theobald’s Road a
+country lane with hedgerows. The Garden already
+boasted of fine trees, and among the records of the
+Society there is a list of the elms in 1583 all carefully enumerated,
+and the exact places they were growing: “In
+the grene Courte xi Elmes and iii Walnut trees,” and so
+on. Eighty-seven elms, besides four young elms and one
+young ash, appear on the list; so the Garden was well furnished
+with trees even before Bacon commenced his work.
+Gray’s Inn was the most popular of the four Inns of Court
+in the Elizabethan period, and many famous men, such
+as Lord Burghley, belonged to it. It was in 1597 that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span>
+Bacon took the Garden in hand, some ten years after
+he became a Bencher. In the accounts of that year
+£7. 15s. 4d. appears “due to Mr. Bacon for planting
+of trees in the walkes.” In 1598 it was resolved to
+“supply more yonge elme trees in the places of such as
+are decayed, and that a new Rayle and quicksett hedge
+be sett upon the upper long walke at the good discretion
+of Mr. Bacon, and Mr. Wilbraham, soe that the charges
+thereof doe not exceed the sum of seventy pounds.” On
+29th April 1600, £60. 6s. 8d. was paid to “Mr. Bacon
+for money disbursed about garnishing of the walkes.”</p>
+
+<p>Bacon’s own ideas of what a garden should be
+are so delightfully set forth in his essay on gardens,
+that the whole as it left his hand is not difficult to
+imagine. The fair alleys, the great hedge, were
+essentials, and the green, “because nothing is more
+pleasant to the eye than green grass kept finely shorn.”
+His list of plants which bloom in all the months of
+the year was compiled of those specially suited “for
+the Climate of London,” so no doubt some would
+be included in this Garden under his eye, although
+they do not appear in the records. He wished “also
+in the very middle a fair mount,” and even this desire
+he carried out in Gray’s Inn. In a description of the
+Garden as late as 1761, a summer-house which Bacon
+put up in 1609 to the memory of his friend Jeremiah
+Bettenham is mentioned as only recently destroyed.
+“Till lately,” it says, “there was a summer-house
+erected by the great Sir Francis Bacon upon a small
+mount: it was open on all sides, and the roof supported
+by slender pillars. A few years ago the uninterrupted
+prospect of the neighbouring fields, as far as the hills
+of Highgate and Hampstead, was obstructed by a handsome<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span>
+row of houses on the north; since which the above
+summer-house has been levelled, and many trees cut
+down to lay the Garden more open.” The view, even
+then, was fairly open, as Sir Samuel Romilly, in 1780,
+complains of the cold, as there was “only one row
+of houses” between him and Hampstead, and “a north-west
+wind blows full against” his chambers. This
+“most gallant prospect into the country, and its
+beautiful walks” were the great attractions of these
+Gardens. They appear to have been one of the most
+fashionable walks, especially on Sundays. Pepys was
+frequently there, and his diary records, several times,
+that he went to morning church, then had dinner,
+then to church again, and after went for a walk
+in Gray’s Inn. That he met there “great store of
+gallants,” or “saw many beauties,” is the usual comment
+after a visit. On one occasion, he took his wife there
+to “observe the fashions of the ladies,” because she
+was “making some clothes.” The walks and trees
+are redolent with associations, and the Gardens, though
+curtailed, have much the same appearance as of yore.
+When a portion of the ground was sacrificed to the
+new buildings, those who loved the Garden deeply
+bewailed. “Those accursed Verulam Buildings,” wrote
+Charles Lamb, recalling his early walks in Gray’s Inn
+Gardens, “had not encroached upon all the east side
+of them, cutting out delicate green crankles, and
+shouldering away one of two stately alcoves of the
+terrace. The survivor stands gaping and relationless,
+as if it remembered its brother. They are still the
+best gardens of any of the Inns of Court—my beloved
+Temple not forgotten—have the gravest character,
+their aspect being altogether reserved and law-breathing.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span>
+Bacon has left the impress of his foot upon their
+gravel walks.”</p>
+
+<p>After such a delightful summary of their charms
+it seems cruel to try and dispel one of their most
+treasured traditions—namely, that Bacon planted the
+catalpa. It is a splendid and venerable tree, and
+there is no wish to pull it from its proud position of
+the first catalpa planted, and the finest in existence
+in this country; but it is hard to believe that Bacon
+planted it, in the light of the history of the plant.
+There is no mention of a catalpa in any of the
+earlier writers—Gerard did not know it, and it is not
+in the later edition of his work by Thomas Johnson,
+in 1633, or in Parkinson’s “Paradisus,” in 1629, or in
+Evelyn’s “Sylva,” in 1664, all published after Bacon’s
+death.</p>
+
+<p>The tree was first described by Catesby in his
+“Natural History of Carolina,” a splendid folio which
+appeared in 1731. There it is classed as <i class="flora" lang="la">Bignonia
+urucu foliis</i>, or <i class="flora" lang="la">Catalpa</i>, as it was not until later that
+Jussieu separated the genus <i class="flora" lang="la">Catalpa</i>. He says the
+tree was not known to the inhabitants of Carolina
+till the seeds “were brought there from the remoter
+parts of the country,” “and though the inhabitants
+are little curious in gardening, the uncommon beauty
+of this tree induced them to propagate it, and it is
+become an ornament to many of their gardens, and
+probably will be the same to ours in England, it being
+as hardy as most of our American plants: many of
+them, now at Mr. Bacon’s, at Hoxton, having stood
+out several winters without any protection, except the
+first year.” Hoxton was then a place famous for its
+nursery gardens. In 1767, in Catesby’s volume on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span>
+the trees of North America, he gives the same story,
+and adds, “in August 1748” it produced, “at Mr.
+Gray’s, such numbers of blossoms, that the leaves were
+almost hid thereby.” This Mr. Gray owned the
+nurseries in Brompton, famous under the management
+of London and Wise.</p>
+
+<p>In Philip Miller’s dictionary, Catesby’s history of
+the plant is referred to, and also in 1808, in the
+<i>Botanical Magazine</i>, when the plant was figured.
+There it says the plant “has been long an inhabitant
+of our gardens, being introduced by the same Botanist
+[Catesby] about the year 1728.” “It bears the smoke
+of large towns better than most trees; the largest
+specimen we have ever seen grows in the garden
+belonging to the Society of Gray’s Inn.” There is
+no hint that the tree in question could have been
+here before Catesby’s discovery, and it is not till
+Loudon’s Encyclopædia in 1822 that the planting is
+attributed to Bacon. Such a remarkable tree could
+hardly have escaped all gardeners for more than a
+century, during a time when gardening was greatly
+in fashion, and every new plant greedily sought after.
+We know that nearly a hundred years ago this specimen
+was the finest in England, and therefore it may have
+been planted not more than a hundred years or so
+after Bacon’s death. Raleigh very likely walked with
+Bacon on the spot where it now stands, but, alas! the
+possibility that he brought Bacon a tree from Virginia,
+which was only discovered near the Mississippi a century
+later, is hardly credible.</p>
+
+<p>The entrance to the Gardens on the Holborn side
+is through massive wrought-iron gates, on which the
+date 1723 is legible. The letters “<span class="smcap">W.&nbsp;I.&nbsp;G.</span>” are the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span>
+initials of the Treasurer during whose tenure of office
+they were erected, the “T” above standing for Treasurer.
+In the Inns of Chancery a “P” for Principal, associated
+with the various initials, is often to be noticed. These
+fine gates are a charming approach to the sequestered
+walks and ancient trees. Gray’s Inn Gardens have
+another delightful speciality, in that the rooks delight
+to honour them by building there. They have a warm
+welcome, and good food in cold weather, and seem
+likely to remain. Looking through the lofty iron
+gates, the rooks’ nests are seen, and the pleasant cawing
+sound adds greatly to the attraction of the place.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p288c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 46em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p288c.jpg" width="731" height="550" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p288c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE GARDEN GATES, GRAY’S INN
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII"><span id="toclink_289"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER XII</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">HISTORICAL GARDENS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>History is philosophy teaching by examples.</i></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Bolingbroke.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcA"><img src="images/i_idc_a.png" width="178" height="180" alt="A">
+<span class="firstword">Although</span> their number has sadly
+diminished of late years, London
+still has a few spaces remaining
+which may be classed as gardens.
+Often they are merely green
+patches of a formal type, which
+are better suited to the present
+climate than attempts at flowers;
+but a few regular gardens still exist, bringing dreams
+of a former period. In St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, the
+oldest of all such institutions, the square, with a handsome
+fountain in the centre, is more what one expects
+to find in Italy than in Smithfield. It is this sort of
+surprise that makes the charm of London, and renders
+a wander through its mazes so attractive. What a
+contrast the walk of a few minutes can bring in the
+heart of London! but of all these changes none is
+more impressive than the hush of the Charterhouse
+after the rush of Aldermanbury or the noise of Clerkenwell.
+There is still lingering there the touch of the
+old monastery; a breath of a bygone age seems to
+pervade the courtyards and gateways, and something in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span>
+the silence speaks of another world. The first indication
+of its hidden green courts are the mulberry leaves
+peeping over the worn stone wall, near the gateway
+which leads to the weathered archway, the entrance of
+the old Carthusian monastery. This is the very spot
+where, with the brutal severity of Tudor times, the
+arm of the last Prior was exposed after his cruel
+execution at Tyburn. The monastery, founded in 1371,
+was dissolved with unusual barbarity, and passed into
+secular hands. The possession of it by the Duke of
+Norfolk has left its mark in many of the existing
+buildings, as he converted it from a cloister to a palace,
+but its palatial days did not last long. It was bought
+by the benevolent Thomas Sutton, a portion of whose
+large fortune, amassed from profitably working coal
+mines, was bestowed in founding “a hospital for poor
+brethren and scholars.” The scholars have been taken
+away from the historical associations, to the purer air
+of Godalming, and the parts of the buildings devoted
+to their accommodation were in 1872 bought by the
+Merchants Taylors’ Company for their school. The
+playing field of the boys is the ample space which was
+enclosed by the cloister of the monastery. Part of the
+land to the north has been built over, and a tall warehouse
+overlooks the burying-ground of the monks,
+which is still a large green sward of hallowed ground,
+with a row of mulberries. This lies so far below the
+level of Clerkenwell Road that a flight of steps leads
+to the postern gate in the high wall, overhung with
+climbing plants. This “God’s acre” is covered with
+smooth turf, and some day the two walnut trees planted
+by the master in 1901 may afford grateful shade. It
+is in keeping with the spirit of the place to plant trees<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span>
+of such slow and stately growth. The Preachers’ Court
+and the smaller Pensioners’ Court are like college quadrangles,
+with that perfect turf that England alone produces.
+The smooth surface is broken only by the
+regular intersecting gravel paths, and one row of mulberry
+trees some seventy years old. The red-brick
+buildings have a venerable appearance, although they
+do not carry the weight of centuries with dignity, like
+the “Wash-house Court,” the hall, the library, or the
+brick cloister, and the delightful old walls with their
+deliciously-scented fig-trees. The whole place has a
+mediæval look and feeling, and teems with ghosts and
+recollections of the monks of the early peaceful days,
+and their courageous successors at the Dissolution. The
+pious founder, as the chorus of the old Carthusian
+melody says, must not be <span class="locked">forgotten:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Then blessed be the memory</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Of good old Thomas Sutton,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Who gave us lodging, learning,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">As well as beef and mutton.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of the shades which surround these peaceful green
+courts none appear more real than that of Colonel
+Newcome. The guardian will point out the room in
+which he died, or his pew in the chapel, as if he
+belonged to history as much as Wray, who bequeathed
+the old books in the “Officers’ Library,” or any of the
+well-known pensioners. With such true and pathetic
+touches has Thackeray drawn the character of Colonel
+Newcome that fiction has here become entwined round
+the walls almost as closely as fact.</p>
+
+<p>Further eastward is an open piece of ground, which is
+hardly a garden; but as it is green, and took the place of
+what was known as the Artillery Garden, it may claim a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span>
+moment’s consideration. Push open a door in the
+modern-looking castellated building in the City Road
+near Bunhill Fields, and a large, quiet, open space is
+discovered. Old guns look inoffensively down on a
+wide square of green turf. This is the home of the
+Honourable Artillery Company, the descendants of the
+“Trained Bands” of citizens, first enrolled in 1585 in
+the fear of a Spanish invasion. They have been here
+since 1622, when they moved from near Bishopsgate
+Without. “Artillery Garden,” or Teazel Close or
+Garden, was the name of the older place, from the teazel
+grown there for the cloth workers.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Teazel of ground we enlarge St. Mary’s Spittle,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Trees cut down, and gardens added to it,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Thanks to the lords that gave us leave to do it,”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="in0">says an old poem. The existing Artillery Ground was
+a great place for cricket matches, where county met
+county in the eighteenth century. It was here that a
+vast crowd witnessed the first balloon ever launched into
+the air in England, sent up by Count Zambeccari in
+1783. The next year, from the same place, Lunardi was
+more ambitious, and actually went up in his balloon.
+It proved too small for the friend who was ready to
+risk his life in his company, so he took a dog, a cat, and
+a pigeon with him instead.</p>
+
+<p>Passing on into the City, the remains of the once
+extensive Drapers’ Garden is met with.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> Only a small
+piece, seen from the street through iron railings, and
+approached through the hall, has been retained; a few
+trees and bright flowers survive of what was once a
+fashionable and much sought after resort.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span></p>
+
+<figure id="i_p293" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p293.jpg" width="525" height="377" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p293_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Trinity Almshouses, Mile End Road</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Most of the other patches of green in the City are
+disused burial-grounds, and are considered in a chapter
+by themselves. Beyond the City, on the east, in the Mile
+End Road, is the quiet old Trinity Hospital. It stands
+on the north of that wide road, which might be made
+one of the most beautiful entrances to the City. The
+simple good taste of these delightful old almshouses is
+a great contrast to some of the surroundings. They
+were probably designed by John Evelyn, with the assistance
+of Wren. His father-in-law, Sir Richard Browne,
+founded and built very similar almshouses at Deptford,
+long since swept away. Of these Evelyn writes, “It
+was a good and charitable work and gift, but would have
+been better bestowed on the poor of that parish than on
+seamen’s widows, the Trinity Company being very rich,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span>
+and the rest of the poor of the parish exceedingly indigent.”
+In spite of these sentiments, he is believed to
+have had a hand in the Mile End Almshouses, which
+were founded by Captain Henry Mudd of Ratcliffe,
+Captain Sandes or Sanders, and Captain Maples. The
+two last are remembered by statues still standing in the
+little formal gardens. Maples, who appears in the dress
+of a naval officer of the period, left a fortune for the use
+of the guild in diamonds, collected in India, where he
+was an early pioneer, and where he died in 1680. A
+similar endowment in Hull is described in a poem in
+<span class="locked">1662:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“It is a comely built, well-ordered place,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">But that which most of all the house doth grace</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Are rooms for widowes, who are old and poore,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And have been wives to mariners before.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="in0">Certainly Trinity Hospital, Mile End, is comely and
+well ordered. The pensioners take a pride in keeping
+every nook and corner scrupulously clean. Everything
+is, in fact, in “ship-shape” order. The grass is neatly
+mown, the trees on either side well trimmed and clipped.
+Outside each little house a few plants are carefully
+tended, the pots arranged with precision, and every
+flower looked after with pride. It is indeed a peaceful
+place for these old people to pass their declining years
+in, and the sight makes the regret for St. Katharine’s and
+the other vanished charitable buildings all the more keen.</p>
+
+<p>The site of another benevolent institution near is
+fulfilling a useful and delightful task, although the
+old houses attached to it have disappeared. It was
+a row of almshouses founded by a member of the
+Brewers’ Company, named Baker, about 150 years ago,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span>
+for widows. The garden was much too large for these
+decrepid old women to cultivate, so the place was taken
+in hand some twenty-five years ago by the Rev. Sidney
+Vatcher, who built the beautiful church of St. Philip,
+Stepney, hard by, and he became the tenant of the
+Brewers’ Company. This charming garden was at first
+more or less opened by him to the parish, but lately it
+has been put to the most suitable use of giving a quiet
+place for rest and recreation to the nurses of the London
+Hospital. The almshouses were pulled down about
+four years ago, to make way for the laundries of the
+Hospital. Here, indeed, is one of those sudden and
+surprising contrasts to be found in London. A high
+brick wall encloses this oasis, and the nurses and some
+privileged people have keys to the door, which opens,
+from a side street close to the noise of the Mile End
+Road, suddenly into a peaceful, picturesque garden. The
+idea in the formation was a willow-pattern plate, and the
+little bridge over a miniature stream is reproduced.
+Plane trees in a formal array are kept trimmed to give
+a dense shade, and the hammocks hung from them in
+summer provide the most ideal resting-places for the
+worn-out nurses. At one time animals were kept here
+in cages, as a kind of small “Zoo” for Whitechapel;
+but since the last alterations the animals have been relinquished,
+and the bear-pit makes a delightful rock
+garden, and the various other cages form summer-houses.
+One thoughtful addition of the vicar was placing a small
+stove in one of these shelters, with an array of kettles,
+teapots, cups and saucers, so that any of the nurses
+resting can have their <i lang="it">al fresco</i> cup of tea—and what
+could be more grateful and comforting? A French
+writer who recently gave her impressions of L’Ile Inconnue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span>
+was charmed with the peace and repose of this
+little East End Paradise. After seeing the Hospital and
+all its wonderful appliances, “You will now see our
+Eden,” said the guide. “Ici! l’Eden! m’écriai-je, après
+le péché alors!” Then, when she had for a moment looked
+within those mysterious high walls, “N’avais-je pas raison
+d’appeler ce jardin l’Eden?” said the friend. “Oui,
+repondis-je, c’est l’Eden après la Rédemption.” Certainly
+any one who sees this little garden, and realises
+the devoted lives of those who made it and those who
+enjoy it, must agree with this writer.</p>
+
+<p>It is not often that, when the old almshouses vanish,
+the neighbourhood benefits to such an extent. What
+will be the fate of the Ironmongers’ Almshouses in
+Kingsland Road, between Shoreditch and Dalston? A
+large board in the garden that fronts the street announces
+the site is for sale!</p>
+
+<p>The Foundling Hospital has large green courts, on
+which the merry but sombrely-clad little children are
+seen running about, through the fine iron gates which
+face Guildford Street. This was founded in 1739 by
+Captain Thomas Coram, who gave so much of his wealth
+to objects of charity and philanthropy that a subscription
+had to be raised to support him in his old age. Theodore
+Jacobson (died 1772) was the architect of the
+building. A colonnade runs round the whole length of
+the forecourt up to the gates, part of which is used as
+laundries, or other things necessary to the institution.
+A writer in 1773 describes the “large area between the
+gates and the hospital” as “adorned with grass plats,
+gravel walks, and lamps erected upon handsome posts:
+beside which there are two convenient gardens,” and
+exactly the same description holds good to-day. Brunswick<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span>
+Square lies to the west, and Mecklenburgh Square
+to the east, so the Hospital grounds are still airy. There
+is a small garden at the back of the building in front of
+the Infirmary; on the east is the Treasurer’s Garden,
+a fair-sized enclosure, and on the other side, with the
+poplars growing in Brunswick Square overhanging it, lies
+the other and larger of the two “convenient gardens.”
+There is nothing old-fashioned or attractive in these
+gardens left; merely a green lawn, a weeping ash, and a
+few commonplace “bedding-out” plants; not altogether
+in keeping with the age or dignity of the building and
+spacious forecourt.</p>
+
+<p>Less well known is the delightful Garden of the Grey-coat
+School in Westminster. Most of the old foundations
+in Westminster have vanished, such as Emanuel
+Hospital and the “Blue-coat School,” which disappeared
+a few years ago, but so far this charming old house has
+been respected. Quaint figures of the children in the
+dress of the time—it was founded by the citizens of
+Westminster in 1698—stand on either side of the
+entrance. The children from the parishes of St.
+Margaret and St. John the Evangelist, who have
+attended the elementary schools for three years, are
+eligible for admission, up to the age of ten. The
+school was reconstituted as a day school for 300 girls
+in 1873, and, in spite of all educational vicissitudes, has
+been allowed to survive, and the sweet and wholesome
+influence of those old-fashioned surroundings would be
+a great loss, should it ever be swept away. The Garden
+is delightful. It is practical as well as ornamental, as it
+furnishes the staff of teachers with a good supply of
+vegetables. They have each a small flower-bed too,
+tended with great care, and the children are allowed a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span>
+place of their own, where they work, dig, and plant.
+Down the centre runs a wide gravel walk, with a deep
+herbaceous border along either side, sweet-scented pinks
+and low-growing plants near the front, then a long row
+of spiderwort, and behind that a regiment of magnificent
+hollyhocks. The spiderwort or Tradescantia is a flower
+eminently suited to London gardens, not only because it
+seems to withstand any amount of smoke and bad air,
+but because of its association with the famous garden in
+Lambeth, where it was first grown. Parkinson, in 1629,
+gives the history of his friend’s introduction of the plant.
+“The Spiderwort,” he writes, “is of late knowledge, and
+for it the Christian World is indebted unto that painfull
+industrious searcher, and lover of all nature’s varieties,
+John Tradescant (sometimes belonging to the Right
+Honourable Lord Robert Earle of Salisbury, Lord
+Treasurer of England in his time, and unto the Right
+Honourable the Lord Wotton at Canterbury in Kent,
+and lastly unto the late Duke of Buckingham), who first
+received it of a friend, that brought it out of Virginia,
+thinking it to bee the Silke Grasse that groweth there,
+and hath imparted hereof, as of many other things,
+both to me and others.” “Unto this plant I confess I
+first imposed the name ... which untill some can finde
+a more proper, I desire may still continue ... John
+Tradescant’s Spider Wort of Virginia.” Courageous as
+herbalists generally were in tasting plants, Parkinson
+confesses there had “not beene any tryall made of the
+properties” or “vertues.” Luckily no one has disputed
+Parkinson’s choice of a name, and his friend’s
+memory is still preserved. The plant is not confined
+to Virginia, but grows much further into the Wild West,
+and is common in Kansas, Nebraska, and distant States.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span>
+Yet it will still adapt itself to the grimy limits of a
+London garden, and flower year after year. The Grey-coat
+School Garden is quite refreshing; the plants look
+so healthy and prosperous that it is really encouraging.
+The interior of the house, with oak beams and
+panels, is all in keeping, and the long class-room, with
+windows looking out on the bright Garden, is most ideal.
+As, at the close of their afternoon studies, the girls, singing
+sweetly in parts, join in some familiar hymn, and the
+melodious sounds are wafted across the sunlit Garden, it
+is hard to believe in the existence of the crowded, unsavoury
+slums of Westminster, only a stone’s throw from
+this “haunt of ancient peace.”</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p298c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 31em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p298c.jpg" width="547" height="774" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p298c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    GREY COAT SCHOOL, WESTMINSTER
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Among its many charms and associations Westminster
+Abbey can lay claim to possessing one of the oldest
+gardens in England. The ground still occupied by the
+space known as the “College Garden” was part of the
+infirmary garden of the ancient monastery. It cannot
+trace back its history with the Abbey to the Saxon
+Sebert, but when Edward the Confessor’s pile began to
+rise, and all the usual adjuncts of a monastery gathered
+round it, the infirmary with the necessary herb-garden of
+simples for treating the sick monks would be one of the
+first buildings to be completed. One of the most peaceful
+and retired spots within the Abbey precincts is the
+Little Cloister, which was the infirmary in early days.
+When the Great Cloister was finished in 1365, the
+Little Cloister was taken in hand. Payments for work
+on “the New Cloister of the Infirmary” appear in the
+accounts from 1377, and it was completed in 1390, and
+that year the centre was laid down in turf. The garden
+belonging to the infirmary covered all the space now
+occupied by the “College Garden,” and joined the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span>
+“Grete Garden,” which lay to the west. It was probably,
+like all the gardens of that date, laid out in long,
+narrow, straight beds, in which were grown all the healing
+herbs used for the sick of the monastery. Probably
+there were fruit-trees, too, as in 1362 John de Mordon,
+the infirmarer, got 9s. for his apples, and the following
+year 10s. for pears and apples. No doubt the favourite
+Wardon pear was among them, as in another record,
+between 1380–90, it is specially mentioned. The chapel
+of St. Katharine, which stood on the north side of the
+Garden, was destroyed in Elizabeth’s reign. This, the
+infirmary chapel of Norman building, was as replete
+with history as every other nook and corner of the Abbey
+buildings. Here St. Hugh of Lincoln and most of the
+early bishops were consecrated, and here took place the
+unseemly dispute for precedence, between the Primates of
+Canterbury and York in 1186, which led to the settling
+of their respective ranks by the Pope. While so many
+changes have swept over the Abbey, and whole buildings
+have vanished, the herb-garden of early days has kept its
+place, and is still a garden, though bereft of its neat little
+beds.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p301" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 28em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p301.jpg" width="545" height="874" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p301_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Abbey Garden, Westminster</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The Little Cloister has been greatly altered since then,
+having been refashioned in the early part of the eighteenth
+century under the influence of Wren. Although so changed
+since the time when strange decoctions of medicinal herbs
+were administered within its walls, it has retained much
+of its fascination, and the approach to it by the dim
+vaulted entrance, dating from the Confessor’s time, out
+of the narrow passage known as the “Dark Entry,” adds
+to its charm. The sun streams down on this small
+court, with its tree and ferns and old moss-grown fountain,
+lighting it with a kind of “dusky splendour.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span>
+Any one standing in this suggestive spot will feel with
+Washington Irving, that “The Cloisters still retain
+something of the quiet and seclusion of former days.
+The gray walls are discoloured by damps, and crumbling
+with age; a coat of hoary moss has gathered over the
+inscriptions of the mural monuments, and obscured
+the death’s heads, and other mural emblems. The
+sharp touches of the chisel are gone from the rich
+tracery of the arches; the roses which adorned the
+keystones have lost their leafy beauty; everything bears
+marks of the gradual dilapidations of time, which yet
+has something touching and pleasing in its very decay.”</p>
+
+<p>These lines refer to the Great Cloister, but the quiet
+and repose are still more noticeable in the Little Cloister,
+which rarely echoes to the sound of hurrying feet. The
+noise and laughter of Westminster scholars is only dimly
+heard in this secluded corner. The boys are not as
+boisterous as when Horace Walpole feared to face them
+alone, even to visit his mother’s tomb. “I literally had
+not courage to venture alone among the Westminster
+boys; they are as formidable to me as the ship carpenters
+at Portsmouth,” he wrote in 1754. Even in those days
+the list of eminent scholars was already a long one—Hakluyt,
+Ben Jonson, George Herbert, Dryden, Wren,
+being on the roll of those who had passed away, besides
+others then living, such as Gibbon and Warren Hastings,
+who carried on the tradition of this classic ground.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p302c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 31em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p302c.jpg" width="556" height="792" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p302c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE LITTLE CLOISTER, WESTMINSTER ABBEY
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In monastic times there were many gardens within the
+precincts of the Abbey, besides the infirmary garden; but
+it is difficult to locate all of them with certainty, although
+the sites of some are known. The abbot’s garden lay
+in the north-west angle of the wall, and must have
+covered part of the present Broad Sanctuary, including<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span>
+the spot where the Crimean monument now stands.
+Beyond the abbot’s house, just west of the cloister, was
+the abbot’s little garden. The northern part of Dean’s
+Yard was from very early times known as “The Elms,”
+from the grove of fine trees, some of which remain. It
+is said that when Elizabeth ascended the throne and
+summoned Abbot Feckenham, who had been reinstated
+by Mary, he was planting some, perhaps these identical,
+elm trees. Among them formerly stood a huge oak,
+which was blown down in 1791. The horse pool was
+on the west of the Elms, and beyond both to the south
+lay the numerous adjuncts of the monastery, the brewhouse,
+bakehouse, and granaries. Skirting this enclosure
+was the “Long Ditch,” which flowed by the line of the
+present Delahay Street and Prince’s Streets, and passed
+along outside of the wall of the Infirmary Garden, in what
+is now Great College Street, and fell into the Thames.
+This stream turned the mill from which “Millbank”
+took its name. In it, to the south of the granary, was
+a small island osier bed. The sale of the osiers on it
+used to bring in 10s. annually in the fourteenth century.
+Beyond the stream were more gardens. The “Hostry
+Garden” was a large one on the site of the church
+of St. John, and next to it the “Bowling Alley,” where
+Bowling Street ran in later times, and to the west of that
+was a kitchen-garden. Somewhere also on the west of
+the “Long Ditch,” before it turned towards the Thames
+near the osier island, must have been the “Precentor’s
+Mede,” or, as it was sometimes called, the “Chaunter’s-hull,”
+and also the “Almoner’s Mede” or “Almery
+Garden.” On the other side of the “Hostry Garden,”
+southwards on the site of “Vine Street” and “Market
+Street,” was situated the vineyard, without which no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span>
+thirteenth-century monastery was complete, and “Market
+Mede.” Even this does not exhaust the list of separate
+gardens, but the others probably lay further away. The
+cellarer had charge of a large garden, which may have been
+the “Convent Garden,” which is so familiar as “Covent
+Garden” that the connection between the site of the
+market and the Abbey has been lost sight of. One
+of the large gardens which was generally let was
+“Maudit’s Garden.” In the records it is spoken of as
+“Maudit’s” or “Caleys.” The name Maudit was given
+to it because Thomas Maudit, Earl of Warwick, in the
+thirteenth century effected an exchange of lands with
+the Abbey, of which the garden formed a part. The
+other name, “Caleys,” was “Calais,” named from the
+wool staplers who came from that town and resided
+near there, just as “Petty France” (where Milton lived)
+was called so from the French merchants. An Act of
+interchange of land between Henry VIII. and the Abbey,
+in the twenty-third year of his reign, mentions “a
+certain great messuage or tenement commonly called
+Pety Caleys, and all messuages, houses, barns, stables,
+dove-houses, orchards, gardens, pools, fisheries, waters,
+ditches, lands, meadows, and pastures.” Part of this was
+“Maudit’s” garden, which was sometimes in the hands
+of the convent, but more frequently let out. Among
+the muniments in 1350, “a toft called Maudit’s garden,
+and a croft called Maudit’s croft,” are referred to. There
+seems to have been an enclosure within this “toft” which
+was let out separately, and in the twentieth year of
+Edward IV., Matilda, the widow of Richard Willy, who
+had held it, gave up this enclosure or “conyn garth.”
+This was probably a “coney garth” or rabbit enclosure,
+like the one at Lincoln’s Inn, which was kept up for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span>
+a long time. Such rabbit gardens were by no means
+uncommon. All gardening operations must at times
+have been rendered difficult by reason of the wet soil
+and frequent flooding of the river, but with the patient
+persistence characteristic of gardeners in those days, the
+gardens in monastic times were probably well kept, and
+yielded profitable crops. It is delightful to know that,
+in spite of all the changes, one portion of the old gardens
+actually remains to this day.</p>
+
+<p>Lambeth, on the opposite bank, fared no better than
+Westminster for high tides, and wet seasons did occasional
+damage there. In Archbishop Laud’s Diary, he notes
+the inroad of a high tide, which certainly would be destructive:—“November
+15, 1635, Sunday. At afternoon
+the greatest tide that hath been seen. It came
+within my gates, walks, cloysters, and stables at
+Lambeth.” Nothing of great antiquity now remains
+in these Lambeth Gardens, although they are indeed
+historic ground. The long terrace and wide herbaceous
+border, with a profusion of madonna lilies, backed by
+a wooden paling, and fruit-trees peeping over, is now a
+charming walk. The trees on the right of the illustration
+are planes, ailanthus, and catalpas, all smoke-resisting
+and suitable, but not such as would have
+ornamented the Garden in older days, when Archbishop
+Cranmer adorned his garden with “a summer-house of
+exquisite workmanship.” It was designed by his chaplain,
+Dr. John Ponet or Poynet, who is said to have
+had “great skill and taste in works of that kind.” The
+summer-house was repaired by Archbishop Parker, but
+afterwards fell into decay and was removed, and in 1828
+not even a tradition of where it had stood remained.
+The site of “Clarendon’s Walk,” another historical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span>
+corner of the Lambeth Garden, is also uncertain. It
+appears to have received the name from a conversation
+which took place in the Garden between Laud and
+Hyde, in which the latter seems to have told the
+Archbishop pretty plainly that “people were universally
+discontented ... and many people spoke extreme ill
+of his grace,” on account of his discourteous manners,
+which culminated on one occasion by his telling a guest
+“he had no time for compliments,” which greatly incensed
+him. The only survivals of former years are
+the delightfully fragrant fig-trees, which flourish between
+the buttresses on the sunny side of the library—the
+great hall rebuilt by Archbishop Juxon after the
+destruction in Cromwell’s time. These figs are now
+fair-sized trees, but they are only cuttings of the older
+ones destroyed in 1829, when Archbishop Howley
+commenced his rebuilding. The two parent trees, in
+1792, measured 28 inches and 21 inches in circumference,
+and were 50 feet high and 40 feet in breadth,
+and, according to contemporary evidence, bore delicious
+fruit of the white Marseilles variety. Tradition ascribed
+their planting to Cardinal Pole during his brief sojourn
+as Archbishop.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p306c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 42em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p306c.jpg" width="670" height="521" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p306c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    HERBACEOUS BORDER, LAMBETH PALACE
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Latimer seems much to have appreciated the Lambeth
+Garden, when business called him to the Palace. Sir
+Thomas More describes, in 1534, how he watched him
+walking in the Garden from the windows. Latimer
+himself, in writing to Edward VI., says, “I trouble my
+Lord of Canterbury, and being at his house now and
+then, I walk in the Garden looking at my book, as I
+can do but little good at it. But something I must
+needs do to satisfy the place. I am no sooner in the
+Garden and have read awhile, but by-and-by cometh<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span>
+there some one or other knocking at the gate. Anon
+cometh my man and saith, ‘Sir, there is one at the
+gate would speak with you.’” How many of us
+that have been called in from a pleasant garden to
+perform some unpleasant task will sympathise with the
+Bishop!</p>
+
+<p>One famous inhabitant of the Garden lived through
+many and great changes. This was a tortoise, which is
+said to have been put into the Garden by Archbishop
+Laud, and lived until 1757, when he perished by the
+negligence of a gardener. This legend is apparently quite
+true, so it had been there for over 110 years.</p>
+
+<p>A short account of the principal gardens near London,
+written by Gibson in 1691, describes that of Lambeth
+Palace. It “has,” he says, “little in it but walks, the
+late Archbishop [Sancroft] not delighting in” gardens,
+“but they are now making them better; and they have
+already made a green-house, one of the finest and costliest
+about the town. It is of three rooms, the middle having
+a stove under it; ... but it is placed so near Lambeth
+Church, that the sun shines most on it in winter after
+eleven o’clock, a fault owned by the gardener, but not
+thought of by the contrivers. Most of the greens are
+oranges and lemons, which have very large ripe fruit on
+them.” The Archbishop who thus took the garden in
+hand was Tillotson, and it is not surprising to find him
+adopting that keenness for gardening and the cultivation
+of “greens” brought into fashion by William III.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly ten acres of the extensive grounds of Lambeth
+Palace have now been put under the management of the
+London County Council, and made open to the public
+as “Archbishop’s Park.” For many years this Park
+had been used for cricket and so on, but the transference<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span>
+entailed some alterations, and extended its use
+to a wider circle.</p>
+
+<p>The Garden of Fulham, the other ecclesiastical palace
+of London, is even more interesting than Lambeth, on
+account of the fine trees still remaining of which the
+history is known. Among the Bishops of London
+several have shown great interest in the gardens,
+and two especially, Grindal and Compton, were
+eminent gardeners. The tamarisk was introduced by
+Bishop Grindal, and in the golden age of gardening
+he was in the foremost rank of the patrons of
+the art, with Bacon and Burghley. He used to send
+Queen Elizabeth presents of choice fruits from his
+garden, and on one occasion got into trouble by sending
+fruit, when one of his servants was supposed,
+unjustly, to have the plague. He wrote (5th August
+1566) to Burghley, to say he was sorry he had “no
+fruit to offer him but some grapes.” These grapes
+were of course produced out of doors, as growing
+vines in green-houses was a fashion unknown until
+some 150 years later. Even before the additions of
+Grindal, the gardens were extensive, and Bonner is said
+to have been much in his garden, not from the love of
+its repose, but, according to contemporary but prejudiced
+chroniclers, because in the further arbours of
+the garden he could with the rod or by other equally
+stringent measures, “persuade” undisturbed those of
+the reformed religion to recant and adopt his views.
+His successor, Grindal, used the Garden for more laudable
+and peaceful practices, and his work of planting
+was much appreciated in that garden-loving age. Bishop
+Aylmer, who, after Sandys, succeeded Grindal in 1577,
+was accused of destroying much of Grindal’s work and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span>
+cutting down his trees, then some thirty-five years old.
+Strype, however, protests that he only cut down “two
+or three of the decayed ones.” That there should be
+a controversy on the subject only shows how much
+was thought of Grindal’s planting. The same thing
+happened after the death of Compton, the next great
+planter, as Robinson, who followed him, let the gardener
+sell and cut down as much as he liked. In our
+own day, even, some of Compton’s elms have been
+removed, to make the alterations in the Bishop’s Park
+when it was opened to the public. The Bishop’s Park
+is the long, narrow strip of land between the moat and
+the river. Flowering shrubs on the bank of the moat,
+and rows of cut plane trees by the river, have been
+planted. There are two long asphalt paths, and some
+bedding out and rock gardening between the grass
+lawns. It is now kept in order by the Borough of
+Fulham, which reminds the public of the fact by the
+notices stuck up: “Ratepayers, protect your property.”</p>
+
+<p>The Elm Avenue was part of Compton’s design, and
+many very fine trees known to be his remain to this
+day. During the long duration of his episcopate—1675
+to 1714—he had time to see his plants grow and flourish.
+His gardening achievements were much appreciated in his
+own day. John Evelyn, a great authority on horticultural
+matters, was often at Fulham. He notes in his
+Diary on Oct. 11, 1681: “To Fulham to visit the
+Bishop of London, in whose garden I first saw the <i class="flora" lang="la">Sedum
+arborescens</i> in flower, which was exceedingly beautiful.”
+Richard Bradley, a well-known gardener, in his book
+published in 1717, quotes many of the plants at Fulham
+as examples in his pages. With regard to the
+passion flower, his notice is interesting, as it gives the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span>
+name of Bishop Compton’s gardener. “That [the
+passion flower] may bear fruit,” he writes, “we must
+Plant it in very moist and cool places, where it may be
+continually fed with Water; this I had from the Curious
+Mr. Adam Holt, Gardener to the late Bishop of
+London, who shew’d me a letter from the West Indies,
+from whence I learnt it was an Inhabitant of Swampy
+Places.” Bradley had seen the pistachio fruiting against
+a wall at Fulham, and he thought he had also noticed an
+olive flourishing there. From time to time there have been
+special notices of the trees round the Bishop’s palace. Sir
+William Watson wrote a paper on them for the Royal
+Society, in which he gives a list of thirty-seven special
+trees, many of them the finest of their kind in England.
+“For exemplification of this I would,” he says, “recommend
+to the curious observer the black Virginian walnut
+tree, the cluster pine, the honey locust, the pseudo-acacia,
+the ash maple, &amp;c., now remaining at Fulham.”
+Many of the later bishops have paid great attention to
+the grounds. Bishop Porteous (1787–1809) who planted
+cedars; Howley (1813–1828), and especially Blomfield
+(1828–1856), all took delight in the Garden. Bishop
+Blomfield planted a deciduous cypress and the ailanthus,
+which now measures 10 feet 4 inches at 4 feet from the
+ground, curiously exactly the same girth as the one at
+Broom House close by. In 1865, Bishop Tait had the
+old trees measured, and there are later measurements of
+some of the finest. The cork tree was 13 feet 9 inches,
+and although sadly shattered, part of this magnificent old
+tree, with its thick cork bark, still holds its own. The
+great black walnut or hickory has not been so fortunate,
+and died about ten years ago, and only a venerable
+stump is left; but a good specimen still stands in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span>
+meadow. The great tree in 1865 measured 15 feet
+5 inches; in 1894, 17 feet 3 inches. The tulip tree died
+about the same time as the hickory. The honey locust
+(<i class="flora" lang="la">Gleditschia triacanthos</i>), one of Bishop Compton’s trees,
+only died last year, the large white elm in 1904, and,
+sad to say, the flowering ash (<i class="flora" lang="la">Fraxinus ornus</i>) was blown
+down in March 1907. The Wych elm and a beautiful
+walnut still flourish, and also the variety of Turkey oak
+(<i class="flora" lang="la">Quercus cerris lucumbeana</i> or <i class="flora" lang="la">fulhamensis</i>), so in spite of
+many disasters Fulham Palace still can show some fine trees.</p>
+
+<p>Chelsea still abounds in gardens. There are the
+modern plots along the Embankment, laid out with
+the wriggling path that municipal authorities seem to
+deem necessary nowadays. The private gardens in front
+of some of the houses are an older institution, and some
+can boast of delightful patches of old gardens in their rear
+also. Behind Lindsay House the Moravian burial-ground
+is hidden away, and part of its wall may be the actual wall
+of Sir Thomas More’s garden. There are the remains of
+elms and several good mulberry trees. The large mulberry
+on the Embankment near looks as if it once might have
+been in the garden too. Chelsea further possesses one of
+the first botanical gardens in England, the Duke of York’s
+School with large grass area and fine elm trees, and the
+spacious grounds that surround the Hospital. Much
+of the old stately simplicity still clings to these latter,
+although last century saw many variations in their plan.</p>
+
+<p>The site was occupied by King James’s College,
+founded by Matthew Sutcliffe, Dean of Exeter, in 1610,
+which, in spite of the King’s patronage and the interest
+of Prince Henry, was a failure. It added to, rather
+than allayed, religious discussion, and was familiarly
+known as “Controversy College.” The ground was,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span>
+in 1669, given to the Royal Society, but the buildings
+were too dilapidated for them to use. To Sir Stephen
+Fox is probably due the idea of founding a hospital
+for disabled soldiers, although tradition also attributes
+some of the credit to Nell Gwynn, who is said to
+have appealed to Charles II. on their behalf. The King
+laid the foundation-stone, on the 12th of March 1682,
+of the building designed by Wren. John Evelyn, as
+one of the Council of the Royal Society, had been
+consulted when the idea was first mooted, and in
+January 1682 he notes in his Diary a talk on the
+subject with Sir Stephen Fox, who asked for Evelyn’s
+assistance with regard to the staff and management.
+So in Sir Stephen’s study, as Evelyn writes, “We
+arranged the governor, chaplain, steward, housekeeper,
+chirurgeon, cook, butler, gardener, porter, and other
+officers, with their several salaries and entertainments.”
+This list of officials shows the importance of the Garden
+from the first—and no wonder, as the grounds occupied
+some twenty-six acres. A survey made in 1702 shows
+how this space was divided. The largest part, lying
+to the north of the Hospital, is what is now known
+as “Burton’s Court,” and is used as a recreation ground
+for the soldiers in the barracks near, and a cricket
+ground for the brigade of Guards. The avenue down
+the central walk, “planted with limes and chestnuts,”
+was included in the early design, and “Royal Avenue”
+is a continuation of it, Queen Anne having, it is said,
+intended to carry it on to Kensington. This part,
+called “the great court north of the buildings,” occupied
+over thirteen acres. The rest was divided into grass
+plots between the quadrangle courts and canals, nearly
+three acres; the “garden on the east, now the governor’s,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span>
+about two acres; a kitchen-garden towards the
+river of more than three acres, two L-shaped canals
+with wide walks between, an “apothecary’s garden”
+for medicinal herbs, bleaching yards, and the churchyard.
+The front garden, with its canals in Dutch
+style, ended in a terrace along the river. This garden
+was subject to much abuse by the landscape school
+of designers. “It was laid out,” wrote one in 1805,
+“when the art of landscape gardening was at its
+lowest pitch; the principal absurdity in the garden
+is cutting two insignificant canals as ornaments, whilst
+one side of the garden is bounded by the noble stream
+of the Thames.” The writer adds that the gardens
+were open on Sundays in summer, and were much
+frequented as a public promenade. These severely-criticised
+canals were filled up in the middle of last
+century, and the space is now grass with avenues on
+either side, and a central obelisk, a monument to our
+soldiers who fell in the battle of Chillianwallah.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p312c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p312c.jpg" width="550" height="744" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p312c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    STATUE OF CHARLES II., CHELSEA HOSPITAL
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The statue of Charles II. as a Roman emperor, by
+Gibbons, in the centre of the court, was given by Tobias
+Rustat. The view over the simple, spacious garden
+from this central court, to the long balustrade with
+steps down to the lower terrace, is very satisfying, and
+in keeping with the stately architecture. The Governor’s
+house has its own special garden, a fine, wide terrace
+and large, straight beds, and a delightful red-brick wall
+covered with trailing plants and fine iron gateway. The
+old pensioners, in their long coats and weather-beaten
+faces, enjoying their “peace pipe” and their well-earned
+repose, add very greatly to the picturesque
+effect of the Garden, and all its surroundings. The
+churchyard, clearly seen through the railings along<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span>
+Queen’s Road from Chelsea Barracks, has an air of
+dignified repose. It has been closed since 1854. The
+first soldier buried there in 1692, Simon Box, had
+served four kings: Charles I., Charles II., James II.,
+and William III. The tombs are much worn with age,
+and it is no longer possible to find some of those
+known to have been laid to rest there. Among them
+are two women who had served as privates; one of
+them, who died in 1739, Christian Davies or “Mother
+Ross,” had served in Marlborough’s campaigns. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span>
+extraordinary number of centenarians this small burying-ground
+contains is astounding. William Hisland surely
+beats the record, as he was married when he was over
+a hundred! He was born in August 1620, and died
+in February 1732. Another veteran of 112 died five
+years later, while another, Robert Comming, who was
+buried in 1767, was 115, and before the end of the
+eighteenth century three others, aged respectively 102,
+111, and 107, were interred. The eldest of these
+three, who died in 1772, had fought in the Battle of
+the Boyne! It certainly speaks well for the care and
+attention bestowed on them in the Hospital.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p314" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p314.jpg" width="523" height="537" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p314_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">Garden Gate, Chelsea Hospital</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The garden to the east of the buildings was part
+of the original ground, but has had a career and history
+of its own. It was the famous Ranelagh Gardens, which
+enchanted the beaux and fair ladies of the eighteenth
+century. From 1742 to 1803 its glories lasted. Ranelagh
+House was built by the Earl of that name, who
+was Paymaster to the Forces in the reign of James II.,
+a clever, unscrupulous person, who amassed considerable
+wealth in the course of his office-work. He obtained
+a grant of the land from Chelsea Hospital, built a house
+and laid out a garden, where the “plots, borders, and
+walks” were “curiously kept, and elegantly designed.”
+After passing through the hands of his daughter, Lady
+Catherine Jones, the property was sold to Swift and
+Timbrell, who leased it to Lacey, the patentee of Drury
+Lane Theatre. The idea was to turn it into a winter
+Vauxhall. Eventually it was open from Easter till
+the end of the summer, and effectually outshone Vauxhall.
+Walpole, in a letter two days after it was first
+opened, did not think much of it. “I was there, last
+night, but did not find the joy of it. Vauxhall is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span>
+little better, for the garden is pleasanter, and one goes
+to it by water.” Two years later he wrote in a very
+different strain. “Every night constantly I go to
+Ranelagh, which has totally beat Vauxhall. Nobody
+goes anywhere else—everybody goes there. My Lord
+Chesterfield is so fond of it, that he says he has
+ordered all his letters to be directed thither.” Fanny
+Burney, in “Evelina,” to bring out the character of
+the “surly, vulgar, and disagreeable man,” makes him
+abuse the place which fascinated polite society. “There’s
+your famous Ranelagh, that you make such a fuss
+about; why, what a dull place is that!” The chief
+amusement was walking about and looking at each
+other, as the poem by Bloomfield puts <span class="locked">it—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“We had seen every soul that was in it,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Then we went round and saw them again.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The great attraction was the Rotunda, supposed to
+be like the Pantheon at Rome. The outside diameter
+was 185 feet. An arcade ran all round, and above it a
+gallery, with steps up to it through four Doric porticos.
+Over the gallery were sixty windows, and the whole was
+surmounted by a slate roof. In the middle, supporting
+the roof, was a huge fireplace, on the space at first
+occupied by the orchestra. “Round the Rotunda,”
+inside, were “47 boxes ... with a table and cloth
+spread in each; in these the company” were “regaled,
+without any further expense, with tea and coffee.” The
+whole was adorned with looking-glasses and paintings,
+imitation marble, stucco, and gilding. Dr. Arne wrote
+music for the special performances; breakfasts were at
+one time the rage, and at another masquerades were the
+order of the day; while fireworks and illuminations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span>
+amused the company at intervals, all through the years
+in which Ranelagh was prosperous.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“There thousands of gay lamps aspir’d</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">To the tops of the trees and beyond;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And, what was most hugely admired,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">They looked upside-down in a pond.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">The blaze scarce an eagle could bear</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And an owl had most surely been slain;</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">We returned to the circle, and then—</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And then we went round it again.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the last entertainments at Ranelagh was the
+Installation Ball of the Knights of the Bath in 1803;
+and a few years afterwards all trace of Ranelagh House,
+the Rotunda, and even the Garden was gone. The
+ground reverted to Chelsea Hospital, and not a vestige
+of the former glories is left. The pleasant shady walks
+and undulating lawns on the site, bear no resemblance
+to the lines of the former gardens, and only some of the
+older trees can have been there when Lord Chesterfield
+and Walpole were paying it daily visits.</p>
+
+<p>The most important of Chelsea gardens, and one of
+the most interesting in England, is the Physic Garden,
+which lies between the Embankment and Queen’s Road,
+now called Royal Hospital Road. The Garden, both
+horticulturally, botanically, and historically, has claims
+on every Londoner. England was much behind the
+rest of Europe in starting botanic gardens. That of
+Padua, begun in 1545, was the first on the Continent,
+and it was nearly a hundred years later before any
+were attempted in this country. Oxford led the way
+in 1632, and the Chelsea one followed in 1673. Its
+formation was due to the Apothecaries’ Company, and
+its first object the study of medicinal herbs. In those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span>
+days botany and medicine were closely entwined. Every
+botanical and horticultural work was occupied with the
+virtues and properties of plants, far more than their
+structural peculiarities, or their beauties of form or
+growth. Gerard, Johnson, and less well-known botanists,
+were herbalists and apothecaries, so it was only natural
+that the Worshipful Company of Apothecaries should
+be the founders of a garden. It was not the first of its
+kind in London, but it ranks now as the second oldest
+in England, as its predecessors in London, such as
+Gerard’s Garden in Holborn, and the Tradescants in
+Lambeth, have long since passed away. It probably,
+moreover, embodies the earlier one at Westminster,
+which was under the care of Hugh Morgan, said by his
+contemporaries to be a very skilful botanist. The Westminster
+Garden seems to have been still flourishing when
+the Apothecaries started theirs in Chelsea, but three years
+later it was bought by them, one of the conditions of sale
+being that the plants might be moved to Chelsea. The
+land in Chelsea was leased from Lord Cheyne. By the
+time the lease had expired, Sir Hans Sloane was owner of
+the property, having purchased it from Lord Cheyne
+in 1712. He granted the land to the Apothecaries’
+Company on a yearly rent of £5, on condition that it
+should always be maintained as a Physic Garden, and
+certain other conditions, such as supplying a number
+of specimens to the Royal Society. The deed of gift
+further provided that should the Apothecaries not continue
+to fulfil their obligation, the Garden should be held
+in trust by the Royal Society, and should they not wish
+to take it over, by the College of Physicians. It was
+acting in conformity with these wishes, that, when the
+Apothecaries ceased to desire to maintain it, the Charity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span>
+Commissioners, in 1898, established a scheme for the
+management of the Garden: £800 towards its maintenance
+was provided by the London Parochial Charities,
+who became trustees of the Garden, and £150 by the
+Treasury. A committee was appointed to manage the
+Garden, and see that it fulfilled the founder’s intentions.
+The original societies mentioned by Sir Hans
+Sloane, the Treasury, the London County Council,
+and other modern bodies each nominate one representative
+on the board of management, and the trustees
+appoint nine. It has been worked under this scheme
+since May 1899. The buildings and green-houses,
+which were tumbling down, have been rebuilt, and now
+include up-to-date conveniences for growing and rearing
+plants, and a well-fitted laboratory and lecture room.
+The Garden is certainly now fulfilling the purposes
+for which it was founded. It has proved to be of the
+greatest use to the students of the Royal College of
+Science, and members of schools and polytechnics. Cut
+specimens, for demonstration at lectures, are sent out in
+quantities during the summer, often as many as 750 in a
+day. Students and teachers have admission to the Garden,
+and the numbers who come (nearly 3000 is the average
+annual attendance) show it is appreciated. Lectures on advanced
+botany have been attended by an average of seventy
+students, and research experiments are carried on in the
+laboratory. Seeds are exchanged with botanical gardens
+all over the world, to the extent of over a thousand
+packets in a year. In this it is carrying on a very early
+tradition, as seeds were exchanged with the University of
+Leyden in 1682, after Dr. Herman, from that city, had
+visited Chelsea.</p>
+
+<p>Even in its early days the Apothecaries found the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span>
+Garden expensive to keep up. When in 1685 it cost
+them £130, besides the Curator’s salary, they made an
+arrangement, by which they paid him £100 a year, out
+of which he had to keep up the Garden, and was allowed
+to sell the plants. Watt was the first Curator under this
+new plan, and Doody, a botanist of some standing who
+succeeded him, was under the same conditions. Philip
+Miller was appointed Curator, after the land had been
+given by Sir Hans Sloane, and other well-known men
+have been connected with it. After 1724, besides the
+Curator, a “Præfectus Horti,” or Director, was appointed
+to visit and inspect the Garden, and report on its condition
+to the Company. Sometimes there was a little
+rivalry between the two, and at one time this occasioned
+two lists of the plants contained in the Garden being
+published, one by Isaac Rand, the other by Philip Miller.
+Among the famous names in botany or horticulture connected
+with the Garden are Dr. Dale, Mrs. Elizabeth
+Blackwell, James Sherard and his brother William,
+Joseph Millar, William Curtis, Forsyth, Robert Fortune
+and Dr. Lindley, and Nathaniel Ward, the inventor of
+“Wardian Cases.” But of all the Curators, Philip
+Miller was one of the most eminent, and did most
+for the Garden. His Dictionary was for years the
+standard work on horticulture, and went through
+numerous editions and translations. He published a
+catalogue of plants in the Physic Garden in 1730.
+The last “Præfectus Horti” was Lindley, who held
+the office from 1835 to 1853. During that time the
+expenses were getting too heavy for the Society, and
+after his death no successor was appointed. Thomas
+Moore, who was co-editor with Lindley of the well-known
+“Treasury of Botany,” and author of several<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span>
+works on British ferns, continued alone as Curator. He
+held the office from 1848 to 1887. During his later years
+the Garden gradually declined for want of funds, and
+after his death no new appointment was made by the
+Apothecaries, and a labourer looked after the grounds.
+With the advent of the new authority and great expansion
+of work, the office was once more bestowed on a
+competent man, William Hales, the present Curator, who
+ably maintains the old traditions of the garden.</p>
+
+<p>One of the institutions of early days which has had
+to be discontinued was the “herborising.” Expeditions
+in search of herbs were undertaken by the students, in
+company of their teacher, in the neighbourhood. After
+1834, owing to the spread of London, these excursions
+had to be abandoned.</p>
+
+<p>The famous cedars were planted in Watt’s time, and
+from contemporary references to them, there seems no
+doubt that they were the first to be grown in England.
+John Evelyn in his “Sylva” in 1663, writing of the
+cedar, says, “Why should it not thrive in Old England?”
+and Ray is astonished in 1684 to see the young trees
+flourishing at Chelsea without protection. They are
+shown in a plan of the Garden in 1753 (the year of Sir
+Hans Sloane’s death) at the four corners of a pond,
+which no longer remains in the same position. Eighteen
+years later the two furthest from the river were cut
+down (1771), “being in a decayed state” (and no wonder)
+from the rough usage they had been subjected to. The
+timber, 133¾ feet, was sold at 2s. 8d. a foot, and, together
+with the branches, the trees fetched £23, 9s. 8d. The
+two specimens nearest the river were for nearly a hundred
+years a conspicuous object, although much injured by
+snow in 1809. By 1871, only one remained, and, in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span>
+report of the Garden seven years later, it was said to be
+in a “dying condition.” At the time the new Management
+Committee came into office, that one was quite
+dead. They left the tree standing until the fungi on it
+became a danger to the rest of the trees in the Garden,
+when most reluctantly it was felled in March 1904, all
+the sound parts of the timber being carefully preserved.
+Miller gives a good account of them in his time. “The
+four trees,” he writes, “(which as I have been credibly
+informed) were planted there in the year 1683, and at
+that time were not above three feet high; two of which
+Trees are at this time (viz. 1757) upwards of eleven
+feet and a Half in girt, at two Feet above ground, and
+thereby afford a goodly shade in the hotest Season of the
+Year.” He goes on to point out that they were planted
+so near the pond, which was bricked up to within two
+feet of them, that the roots could not spread on one
+side. Whether the water was good for them he is not
+sure, but feels certain it was injurious to cramp the
+roots. The two specimens nearest the green-house had
+had some of their branches lopped off, to prevent their
+shading the grass, and suffered in consequence. Though
+one remained for nearly 150 years after Miller gave these
+measurements, it was only 13 feet round the trunk
+at the base when it was felled, and was so completely
+rotten it must soon have fallen. Miller records that
+three of the trees began producing cones about 1732,
+and that in his time the seeds ripened, and germinated
+freely, so it is probable that many plants in England are
+descendants of the Chelsea trees. That these were
+actually the first to be grown in England there is not
+much doubt. Evelyn regrets in his “Sylva” the absence
+of the cedars in England. The only trees which have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span>
+put forth rival claims to the Chelsea ones are those of
+Bretby and Enfield. The Bretby one is undoubtedly
+very old, but there is no early reference to it in histories
+which mention the Enfield trees, and the famous one at
+Hendon, traditionally planted by Queen Elizabeth and
+blown down in 1779, and a few others; and there is no
+contemporary evidence of the date of its planting to
+warrant the assumption that it was before 1683. The
+Enfield tree in the garden of Robert Uvedale was said, in
+1823, by Henry Phillips, to be about 156 years old, therefore
+older than the Chelsea ones by some six years; but
+there is no evidence to corroborate this. When Gibson
+describes the Garden in 1691, he makes no mention of it,
+and it seems unlikely he would have omitted such an
+important tree. There exists much correspondence with
+Uvedale and botanists of his time, but in none of the
+letters or early notices is the cedar mentioned before
+Ray’s note of the Chelsea trees, or even referred to as
+the first planted in England, so it seems the Chelsea
+trees’ claim to be the first is fairly established.</p>
+
+<p>The oriental plane, which fell just as it was going to be
+taken down in 1904, was one of the finest in London,
+planted by Philip Miller, and is quoted by Loudon, in
+1837, as then 115 feet high. Some of the other famous
+trees have also died, such as the cork trees and paper
+mulberries; but some have been more fortunate, and are
+among the oldest of their kind in England. The <i class="flora" lang="la">Koelreuteria
+paniculata</i> is probably the finest in this country,
+and the other old trees which were noted as being particularly
+fine specimens in 1813 or 1820, and which
+are still alive, are <i class="flora" lang="la">Diospyros Virginiana</i>, the Persimmon
+or Virginian date plum, the Quercus ilex, black walnut,
+mulberry, and <i class="flora" lang="la">Styrax officinale</i>. <i class="flora" lang="la">Rhus juglandifolia</i>, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span>
+grows by the wall, was probably planted when introduced
+from Nepaul in 1823. The wistaria and pomegranate
+are old and still flourishing, and young plants
+of the trees once famous in the Garden are doing
+well. The amount of attention the novelties in the
+Physic Garden used to attract is well shown by the
+spurious translation of De Sorbière’s travels. The little
+book, published in 1698, purported to be a translation
+of De Sorbière, but was really an original skit. The
+writer pretends De Sorbière visited the Garden, and reported
+a delightful series of imaginary flowers. “I was
+at Chelsey, where I took particular notice of the plants
+in the Green House at that time, as <i class="flora" lang="la">Urtica male oleus
+Japoniæ</i>, the stinking nettle of Japan; <i class="flora" lang="la">Goosberia sterelis
+Armenia</i>, the Armenian gooseberry bush that bears no
+fruit (this had been potted thirty years); <i class="flora" lang="la">Brambelia fructificans
+Laplandiæ</i>, or the Blooming Bramble of Lapland;
+with a hundred other curious plants, and a particular
+Collection of Briars and Thorns, which were some part
+of the curse of the Creation.” That it was worth while
+laughing at the Garden in a popular skit, shows what
+an important position it had taken. The green-houses
+were among the earliest attempted, and many scientific
+visitors describe their plans and arrangements. They
+were rebuilt at great cost in 1732. The statue to Sir
+Hans Sloane, by Michael Rysbrach, stood in a niche in
+the green-house wall. It was moved to the centre of the
+Garden in 1751, where it still stands. The Garden was
+honoured by a visit from the great Linnæus in 1736, and
+he noted in his diary: “Miller of Chelsea permitted me
+to collect many plants in the Garden, and gave me several
+dried specimens collected in South America.” Among
+the valuable bequests to the Garden were collections of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span>
+dried plants, now in the British Museum of Natural
+History, and a library left by Dr. Dale in 1739, on condition
+that “suitable and proper conveniences” were
+made for them at the Physic Garden. They should be
+there still, and the new buildings are eminently suited
+for their reception; and their use to students would be
+very great, now that the Garden is well equipped for
+supplying all the requirements for the modern teaching
+of botany.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p324c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 47em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p324c.jpg" width="741" height="556" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p324c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Before quitting these gardens of historic interest,
+there is one which must not be forgotten, although its
+former charms have vanished, and it can no longer claim
+such botanical curiosities as the Chelsea Physic Garden—that
+is, the remains of John Evelyn’s Garden of Sayes
+Court. The Garden is now enjoyed by numbers in that
+crowded district of Deptford, through the kindness of
+Mr. Evelyn, the descendant of the famous diarist, John
+Evelyn, who keeps it up as well as opens it to the public.
+The Manor of Deptford was retained by the Crown in
+James I.’s time, and Sayes Court was leased to Christopher
+Browne, the grandfather of Sir Richard Browne,
+whose only daughter and heiress John Evelyn married.
+After his wife had succeeded to the property, and they
+had lived there some years and made the Garden, John
+Evelyn purchased the freehold land from Charles II.
+The delight he took in his garden, how he exchanged
+seeds and plants, imported rare specimens from abroad,
+through his many friends, and grew them with success,
+is well known. The ruthless way his treasures were
+treated by Peter the Great was a sore trial to Evelyn.
+The Czar amused himself, among other acts of vandalism,
+by being wheeled about the beds and hedges
+in a wheelbarrow. The holly hedge, even, he partially<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span>
+destroyed. In writing of the merits of holly in his
+“Sylva,” Evelyn says of this one: “Is there under
+heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the kind,
+than an impregnable Hedge a hundred and sixty feet in
+length, and seven feet high, and five in diameter, which
+I can shew in my poor Gardens at any time of the year,
+glittering with its armed and vernish’d leaves? the taller
+Standards at orderly distances blushing with their natural
+Corall. It mocks at the rudest assaults of the Weather,
+Beasts, and Hedgebreakers.” This hedge has long since
+departed, but young hollies, planted in groups on the
+same part of the Garden, keep up the old associations.
+One wing of the house is standing, and is at present used
+as a school. The walled garden on the south side is
+still there, and on the north a wide terrace walk, with a
+straight grass lawn with large beds, is in keeping with
+the old place. But instead of the views over the river,
+and the Garden descending to the water’s edge, there is a
+high rampart of the buildings of the Foreign Cattle
+Market, from whence the sounds of lowing oxen mingle
+with the din of streets which close round the Garden on
+the three other sides. In spite of these drawbacks, it is
+delightful to know, that the surviving portion of the once-beautiful
+Garden is fulfilling a want among the poor in
+a way that would have appealed to the generous and
+kind-hearted author.</p>
+
+<div class="tb">* * * * *</div>
+
+<p>These are some of the chief gardens of historic
+interest, but it by no means exhausts the list of the
+smaller ones rich in associations, green courts attached to
+schools, almshouses, hospitals, or such-like, which are
+hidden away in unexpected corners throughout London.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII"><span id="toclink_327"></span><span class="gesperrt">CHAPTER XIII</span><br>
+
+<span class="subhead">PRIVATE GARDENS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>Even in the stifling bosom of a town</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms</i></div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>That soothe the rich possessor</i>; ...</div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="attrib">—<span class="smcap">Cowper.</span></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="idc idcI"><img src="images/i_idc_i.png" width="178" height="182" alt="I">
+<span class="firstword">In</span> writing of the private gardens of
+London it is difficult to know
+where to begin. There are a few
+large and beautiful gardens, but
+for the most part the smaller they
+are, and the less there is to write
+about them of interest to the
+general reader, the more they are
+of value to the happy possessors. It is the minute
+back-garden, invaded by all the cats of the neighbourhood,
+with a few plants on which an infinity of time
+and trouble, care and thought, have been expended,
+that is the real typical London garden. What a joy to
+see the patches of seeds come up in the summer, and
+with what expectation are the buds on the one lilac
+bush examined to see if really at last it is going to
+flower! What pleasure the fern dug up on a summer
+holiday gives, as it bravely uncurls its fronds year by
+year! What delight is occasioned if the Virginian
+creeper, which covers the wall, grows more luxuriantly
+than those of the houses on either side, and what excitement<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span>
+if it really turns red once in a way in October,
+instead of shrivelling up to an inglorious end! What
+grief is felt when the fuchsia, purchased as a fitting
+centre-piece to the formal geranium bed, loses its buds
+one by one before they expand! These and many
+similar joys and sorrows are the portion of those who
+tend small gardens in London. How fascinating it is
+to look into back-gardens as the train passes over
+viaducts out of the heart of the town. Certainly the
+differences in their appearance show what skill and
+devotion can accomplish. Nothing but real love of
+the plants, and a tender solicitude for their welfare, can
+induce them to exist in the confined areas and stifling
+atmosphere of the average London garden. But even
+these inauspicious surroundings may be brightened by
+flowers. When those absolutely ignorant of the requirements
+of plant life take to gardening in the country,
+they have Nature at hand to help them. The sunlight,
+air, and good soil supplement their deficiencies of knowledge,
+and, though terribly handicapped by careless
+planting, unsuitable situations, want of water, and such
+drawbacks, the plants can struggle with success to maintain
+their natural beauty. But let the ignorant try in
+town to grow plants, where all the conditions militate
+against them, instead of assisting, and the results are
+very different. For instance, many a small back-garden,
+or even window box, is planted year after year with no
+renewal of the soil. The crumbling mould, which is
+either caked hard or pours like dust from the hand, is
+completely exhausted, and the poor plants are starved.
+They should be given plenty of what in gardeners’
+slang is called “good stuff,” if they are to grow in such
+adverse conditions. A little of the money expended on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span>
+plants which dwindle and die, spent on manure or good
+soil, would better repay the would-be gardener. Many
+plants require a good deal of water when making their
+growth, and if that is denied them they will not thrive,
+no matter how great the solicitude for their welfare in
+other ways. Washing the leaves, especially of evergreens,
+and scrubbing stems is also a great help, as leaves
+choked with dirt have no chance of imbibing the life-giving
+properties necessary to the plant.</p>
+
+<p>The back-garden has many enemies besides soot and
+fogs. Cats are one of the greatest trials, and most
+destructive. Sparrows also are very mischievous. They
+will pick the flower-buds off trees just at the critical
+moment. A wistaria climber laden with young blossoms
+they will destroy in a few days, just before the purple
+buds appear. But, notwithstanding all these pests
+and difficulties, it is surprising how many things will
+not only survive, but grow well. The task becomes
+more and more easy as the houses recede from the City.
+In St. John’s Wood, Bayswater, or Earl’s Court, in
+Camberwell or Stoke Newington, plants will grow better
+than in Bloomsbury or Southwark. But yet it is possible
+to grow many things even in Whitechapel.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to prescribe the best plants for all
+London gardens, as there is such a great difference in
+soil and aspect, that what does well in one part will not
+flourish in another. The heavy soil of Regent’s Park,
+for instance, is well suited to peonies, which do not seem
+at home in Chelsea. On the other hand, some of the
+showy, hardy spring flowers, such as wallflowers and
+forget-me-nots, die off with fogs much more quickly
+in the Regent’s Park than in other districts. Any
+deciduous tree or shrub thrives better than an evergreen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span>
+or a conifer in any part of London. The fresh growth
+of clean leaves every year, by which the plant absorbs
+much of its nourishment, must necessarily be better
+for it than dried-up, blackened leaves. Among flowering
+shrubs, a great number grow sturdily in London.
+Laburnums of all kinds, thorns in many varieties, flower
+well; lilacs grow and look fresh and green everywhere,
+but cannot be depended on always to flower; almonds,
+snowy medlars, double cherries, weigelas or diervillas
+succeed; broom, Forsythias, acacia, syringa, many kinds
+of prunus, ribes, rose acacia, Guelder rose, Japanese red
+peach, <i class="flora" lang="la">Kerria japonica</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Hibiscus Syriacus</i>, or <i class="flora" lang="la">Althæa frutex</i>,
+are all satisfactory, and many more could be mentioned.
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Yucca gloriosa</i> will stand any amount of smoke, and
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Aralia spinosa</i> does well in many parts; and among
+evergreens, <i class="flora" lang="la">Arbutus Andrachne</i> can be recommended.
+Fruit-trees, pears, and apples are charming when in
+bloom, and in a large space, or to cover a wall, figs
+are valuable.</p>
+
+<p>Alpines grow astonishingly well, and though a considerable
+percentage will die from the alternating damp
+fogs and frost in the winter, many will really establish
+themselves, and be quite at home, much nearer the
+heart of London than Dulwich, where many have
+been cultivated. “I know a bank whereon the wild
+thyme grows” in London—not a green, mossy bank,
+but rather a blackened rockery; still the slope is
+really covered with large patches of wild thyme, purple
+with bloom in the summer, carefully marked by the
+London County Council “<i class="flora" lang="la">Thymus serpyllum</i>,” for the
+benefit of the inquiring. Several of the other thymes,
+which form good carpets, will also grow. <i class="flora" lang="la">Antennaria
+dioica</i>, a British plant, forms a pretty silvery groundwork<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span>
+on beds or rockeries, and nothing seems to kill
+it. Saxifrages in great numbers are suitable, beginning
+with the well-known mossy green <i class="flora" lang="la">hypnoides</i>, to the
+giant known as <i class="flora" lang="la">Megasia cordifolia</i>, also sedums, semper-viviums,
+aubrietias, phloxes, tiarella, dianthus in variety;
+and several other Alpines have succeeded in different
+parks and gardens, such as <i class="flora" lang="la">Androsace sarmentosa</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Dryas
+octopetala</i>, yellow fumitory, <i class="flora" lang="la">Cotoneaster frigida</i>, the small
+ivy <i class="flora" lang="la">Hedera conglomerata</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Achillea tormentosa</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Lychnis
+Haageana</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Linnæa borealis</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Azalea procumbens</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Campanula
+garganica</i>, only to mention some that have been noticed;
+even edelweiss has been successfully grown in the centre
+of London.</p>
+
+<p>A few annuals will make a good show, and nothing
+is better in a window-box or really dingy corner than
+Virginian stock; but, as a rule, it repays trouble best
+to rear perennials. Seedling wallflowers, sweet Williams
+and Canterbury bells, and such like, make a border
+bright. The great secret of success in growing annuals
+is to thin them out well; the patches of seedlings are
+too often left far too much overcrowded. This
+“thinning” is even more important than good soil and
+careful watering. Marigolds thrive best of all, and
+will often seed themselves, but a few other annuals
+can be safely recommended.</p>
+
+<ul class="list">
+<li>Candytuft.</li>
+<li>Catchfly. (Silene pendula and</li>
+<li>armeria).</li>
+<li>Erysinum perofskianum (a kind of</li>
+<li>Treacle mustard).</li>
+<li>Eschscholzia.</li>
+<li>Flax (scarlet).</li>
+<li>Godetias.</li>
+<li>Ionopsidium acaule (violet cress).</li>
+<li>Larkspur (annual).</li>
+<li>Love-in-a-mist (Nigella).</li>
+<li>Nasturtiums.</li>
+<li>Phlox drummondi.</li>
+<li>Snapdragon (Antirrhinum).</li>
+<li>Toadflax (Linaria).</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span></p>
+
+<p>Very many things may succeed well that are not
+specially noted here, but the following list of fifty herbaceous
+plants have all been seen really growing, and
+coming up, year after year, in private gardens in London.
+Some are not so sturdy as others; for instance, neither
+alyssum nor phlox flourish as well as thrift or the
+members of the iris tribe, but all are hardy in London.
+Thomas Fairchild, who had a famous nursery garden
+at Hoxton, writing of City gardens in 1722, gives his
+experience of plants that succeed best, and many on
+his list are those that do well still. He specially notes
+some growing in the most shut-in parts of the City,
+which were flourishing: fraxinella in Aldermanbury,
+monkshood and lily of the valley near the Guildhall,
+bladder senna in Crutched Friars, and so on, mentioning
+many of those which still prove the most smoke-resisting.
+One large, coarse, but handsome plant deserves mention,
+as it grows so well it will seed itself, and that is the
+giant heracleum. It propagates itself in the garden of
+Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore, and in much more
+confined spaces, even in the garden used by the London
+Hospital, near the Mile End Road.</p>
+
+<h3>LIST OF FIFTY HERBACEOUS PLANTS</h3>
+
+<ul class="list">
+<li>Alyssum.</li>
+<li>Auricula.</li>
+<li>Bachelors’ buttons.</li>
+<li>Buglos.</li>
+<li>Campanula—several varieties.</li>
+<li>Candytuft.</li>
+<li>Carnations.</li>
+<li>Centaurea.</li>
+<li>Chrysanthemums.</li>
+<li>Columbines.</li>
+<li>Comfrey.</li>
+<li>Crane’s bill.</li>
+<li>Creeping Jenny.</li>
+<li>Crown Imperial.</li>
+<li>Cyclamen.</li>
+<li>Day lilies.</li>
+<li>Dictamnus fraxinella (burning bush).</li>
+<li>Doronicum (leopard’s bane).</li>
+<li>Erigeron (Fleabane).</li>
+<li>Funkias (Plantain lilies).<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span></li>
+<li>Galega officinalis.</li>
+<li>Golden rod (solidago).</li>
+<li>Heucheras.</li>
+<li>Hollyhocks.</li>
+<li>Iris—several varieties, especially those with rhizomes and non-bulbous roots.</li>
+<li>Japanese anemone.</li>
+<li>Larkspur.</li>
+<li>Lilies of the valley.</li>
+<li>Lilies—</li>
+<li>    Canadense.</li>
+<li>    Candidum.</li>
+<li>    Davuricum.</li>
+<li>    Lancifolium (speciosum).</li>
+<li>    Martagon dalmaticum.</li>
+<li>    Pyrenaicum.</li>
+<li>    Tigrinum.</li>
+<li>London Pride (also many other Saxifrages).</li>
+<li>Lupin.</li>
+<li>Mallow.</li>
+<li>Michaelmas daisies.</li>
+<li>Monkshood.</li>
+<li>Montbretia.</li>
+<li>Pansies.</li>
+<li>Periwinkle.</li>
+<li>Phlox.</li>
+<li>Polygonum.</li>
+<li>Primroses (also Japanese primulas, cowslips, and polyanthus).</li>
+<li>Pyrethrum.</li>
+<li>Rock roses.</li>
+<li>Solomon’s seal.</li>
+<li>Southernwood.</li>
+<li>Speedwell (Veronica amethystina and others).</li>
+<li>Spiræa (S. aruncus, venusta, &amp;c.).</li>
+<li>Sunflower (perennial, including Harpalium).</li>
+<li>Thrift.</li>
+<li>Tradescantia.</li>
+<li>Trollius.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>Of climbing plants the Virginian creeper, which
+makes a green bower of so many London houses, must
+come first, but the real grape vine is quite as successful.
+In several parts of London vines laden with grapes may
+be seen in the autumn, by those on the look-out for
+such things. One vine in Buckingham Gate had forty
+bunches of fruit that ripened in 1906. On one branch
+of a vine, near Ladbroke Square, fourteen purple bunches
+were hanging in a row at the same time, and in other
+parts of the town well-cared-for vines will bear well.
+Wistaria also thrives, and jasmine, yellow or white, and
+ivy. Besides these in constant use, for more special
+gardens there are Everlasting peas, Dutchman’s pipe
+(<i class="flora" lang="la">Aristolochia</i>), clematis, Jackmani, Montana, or the Wild<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span>
+Traveller’s Joy, and Passion flower; also convolvulus,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Cobæa scandens</i>, and gourds of all kinds for the
+summer.</p>
+
+<p>Spring flowers planted in autumn succeed, and even
+those in pots or boxes in windows or on roof gardens
+flower freely. Hyacinths, crocus, tulips, daffodils, and
+narcissus do well; snowdrops are not so successful as a
+rule, but Spanish Iris will make a good show when the
+earlier bulbs are over. The minute green-house which
+often opens out of a staircase window in London houses
+can easily be made gay in spring by this means. Acorns
+and chestnuts sown in the autumn in shallow pans and
+covered with moss make a delightful small forest from
+May onwards. Foxgloves dug out of the woods will
+flower well in these dingy little green-houses, and are a
+delightful contrast to the ferns which will flourish best
+in them. A few other plants are sturdy for this purpose,
+such as the fan palms, <i class="flora" lang="la">Chamærops excelsa</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Fortunei</i>, and
+<i class="flora" lang="la">humilis</i>, Aspidistra, <i class="flora" lang="la">Aralia Sieboldii</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Selaginella Kraussina</i>,
+the Cornish money-wort (Sibthorpia). Geraniums will
+flower well, and Imantophyllums (or Clivias) are one of
+the most accommodating plants for such small green-houses,
+as although they take up an undue share of
+room on account of the large pots necessary, they will
+flower well every year.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p334c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 49em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p334c.jpg" width="776" height="521" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p334c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE GARDEN OF SIR LAURENCE ALMA-TADEMA, R.A.
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Roses only do fairly well; but though they sometimes
+will last two or three years, they are apt to give
+disappointments and must often be renewed. The
+climbing roses, however, in some gardens are very
+charming. In one of the prettiest in London—that
+belonging to Sir Laurence Alma-Tadema, in Grove End
+Road—the illustration shows how charmingly an iron
+trellis is covered with red and white roses. The garden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span>
+is most artistically arranged and is a good illustration of
+how much can be made of a small space. A large evergreen
+oak overhangs the basin with a stone margin and
+splashing fountain, on which water-lilies gracefully float.
+The variety and harmony of the whole garden, with its
+paths shaded by fig-trees, apples and pears, cherries and
+lilacs, sunny borders with Scotch roses, Day lilies, foxgloves,
+and iris, and formal fountains, all in a small space,
+yet not crowded, and bright with flowers, is delightful.
+Another small garden in Kensington—tended by Lady
+Bergne—of quite another type, contains nearly all the
+flowers that have been mentioned as growing well in
+London. It is only the stereotyped long narrow strip
+at the back of the house; but by putting a path and
+rock-work and pools of water on one side, and having
+grass and flower borders on the other, backed by flowering
+shrubs and ferns at the shaded end, a great variety
+of plants have been grown successfully.</p>
+
+<p>In most London gardens very little enterprise is
+shown. The old system of bedding out is adhered to.
+Of the large London houses standing by their own
+lawns, none have gardens of any horticultural interest.
+Montagu House is on the site of the extensive gardens
+of Whitehall, and the present lawn is where the bowling
+green, with its gay throng of players, lay in former
+years, and the terrace keeps up the tradition of the wide
+terraces that descended from the palace to the green.
+The turf is still fair and green, and is brightened in
+summer by lines of geraniums, white daisies, and
+calceolarias. Devonshire House garden, on the site
+of the famous one belonging to Berkeley House that
+covered all the present Square, is in the same way
+merely planted with the usual summer bedding plants.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span>
+Lord Portman’s house, 22 Portman Square, is where
+Mrs. Montagu, the Queen of the Blue-Stockings, held
+her court. The present garden, with spacious lawn,
+has no horticultural peculiarity, but its historical interest
+lies in the fact that it was here that Mrs. Montagu
+entertained the chimney-sweeps, every year on the 1st of
+May. She is said to have done so, to give these poor
+children “one happy day in the year,” and when the
+horrors and tragedies attending the lives and often
+deaths of these cruelly treated little creatures is realised,
+it is not to be wondered at that one lady was humane
+enough to befriend them.</p>
+
+<p>A quaint pathetic poem by Allan Cunningham,
+written in 1824, records in characteristically stilted
+language an incident supposed to have occurred to
+Mrs. Montagu. A sad boy, whose life was spent in
+climbing flues, is pictured, and one lady he supplicates
+turns away—“And lo! another lady came,” and spoke
+kindly to him, asked him why he thus spent his life,
+listened to his tale of how he was an orphan and “sold
+to this cruel trade.”</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“She stroked the sooty locks and smiled,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">While o’er the dusky boy,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">As streams the sunbeam through a cloud,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">There came a flash of joy.</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">She took him from his cruel trade,</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">And soon the milk-white hue</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Came to his neck; he with the muse</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">Sings, ‘Bless the Montagu.’”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Her kindness is recorded in other poems, and in
+her lifetime took the practical shape of a sumptuous
+spread of beef and plum-pudding on the lawn of her
+house in Portman Square.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span></p>
+
+<p>Grosvenor House garden, with terrace and lawn
+sloping down to large trees, has natural advantages for
+a beautiful garden, but a row of beds along the terrace
+are the only flowers. The owners of these large London
+gardens have such an abundance of floral display elsewhere
+that no real gardening seems to be attempted.
+To understand what are the horticultural possibilities of
+London, it is in the minute back-garden that the
+lesson must be learned, and the subject studied.
+Holland House is an exception to this rule, for there
+the most beautiful garden, in keeping with the magnificent
+old house, is kept up, and the greatest care and
+skill were bestowed on it with wonderful results by
+the late Earl of Ilchester.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p340c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 47em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p340c.jpg" width="742" height="552" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p340c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    THE LILY POND, HOLLAND HOUSE
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>No house, perhaps, has more associations than
+Holland House. Its history has been so often written,
+that to go over it in detail would be superfluous.
+Built by Sir Walter Cope, while Elizabeth was on the
+throne, from the designs of Thorpe, it doubtless from
+the first had a good garden, as in those days great care
+was expended on the surroundings of a house, for
+people realised, as did Bacon, that, “men come to build
+stately, sooner than to garden finely; as if gardening
+were the greater perfection.” The second stage in its
+history, when it passed to Henry Rich, through his
+marriage with Sir Walter Cope’s daughter and heiress,
+was even more eventful. He enlarged the house,
+which became known as Holland House after Charles I.
+had created him Baron Kensington and Earl of Holland.
+His wonderful personal charm, inherited from his mother,
+the “Stella” of Sir Philip Sidney, made him a general
+favourite; but not even his attachment to the Queen
+preserved him from disloyalty, although in the end he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span>
+fought for the King’s cause. While he was on the
+Parliamentary side, Holland House was often the
+meeting-place of its leaders. Cromwell and Ireton
+talked together in the centre of the field in front of
+the house, so that their raised voices, occasioned by
+Ireton’s deafness, should not be overheard. For a time
+after the Restoration, Holland House was tenanted by
+various people of note, to whom it was let out in
+suites by the widowed Countess. One among them, the
+Frenchman Chardin, who became famous by his travels
+to Persia, it has been surmised, may have brought some
+of the rare plants to the garden. The connection with
+Addison came from his marriage with the Dowager
+Lady Warwick, to whom the house belonged, the
+second Lord Holland having succeeded his cousin as
+Earl of Warwick. He must have delighted in the
+gardens of Holland House, although they were hardly
+so wild as the ideal one he describes in the <i class="flora" lang="la">Spectator</i>.
+There he said, “I look upon the pleasure which we
+take in a garden as one of the most innocent delights
+in human life.” No doubt he found some solace in
+the beauties of Holland House garden to cheer the
+depression of the unhappiness the marriage had
+brought him. The brilliant days of Holland House
+continued after it changed hands, and was owned by
+Henry Fox, second son of Sir Stephen Fox,
+who was chiefly instrumental in starting Chelsea
+Hospital. Henry Fox eloped with Lady Caroline
+Lennox, and was afterwards created Lord Holland.
+He took great interest in his garden, and was advised
+and helped by the well-known collector and horticulturist,
+Peter Collinson. This friend was the means
+of introducing many new plants to this country—a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span>
+genus Collinsonia was named after him—and he must
+have been pleasant and good besides, for his biographer
+says to him was attached “all that respect which is due
+to benevolence and virtue.” He was in correspondence
+with leading men in America, and was constantly receiving
+seeds and plants, and his own garden contained “a
+more complete assortment of the <i class="flora" lang="la">orchis</i> genus than,
+perhaps, had ever been seen in one collection before.”
+No doubt some found their way to the gardens of his
+friend, Lord Holland. How astonished they both would
+be could they peep for a moment at the orchids displayed
+in the tents of the Horticultural Society’s shows,
+which have been allowed to take place in the park
+where Cromwell conversed? At this time the gardens
+must have been considerably remodelled, as the taste
+for the formal was waning, and the “natural” school
+taking its place. One of the pioneers of the natural
+style, Charles Hamilton, assisted the new design. His
+own place, Painshill, near Cobham, in Surrey, embraced
+all the newest ideas, groves, thickets, lakes, temples,
+grottos, sham ruins, and hermitages. A contemporary
+admirer, Wheatley, says of Painshill, it “is all a new
+creation; and a boldness of design, and a happiness of
+execution attend the wonderful efforts which art has
+there made to rival nature.” No doubt this adept in
+the new art would introduce many changes. The
+“Green Lane” was a road shut up by Lady Holland,
+and Hamilton is said to have suggested turfing it. He
+appears to have been fond of woodland glades and turfed
+the shaded walks in his own creation, so it seems very
+likely that the idea of grass was his. In the Green Lane,
+Charles James Fox, son of the first Lady Holland, who
+closed the road, loved to walk, and still the Green Lane<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span>
+is one of the most attractive spots in all London. The
+fame of Holland House increased as time went on, and
+some of its most brilliant days were during the time
+of the third Lord Holland, when Lady Holland drew
+all the wit and fashion of London to her salon.
+Although it is no longer a country place, and though
+no highwaymen have to be braved to reach it, and
+though its surroundings are completely changed, the
+garden of Holland House was never more beautiful
+than it is to-day. It is easy to forget it is a London
+garden, the flowers look so clean and fresh. The long
+vista into the rose garden from the lawn, which lies
+to the north, is flanked on either side with pink roses,
+that pretty free-flowering Caroline Testout. To the
+west, overlooking the Dutch garden, the view is even
+more attractive, and the garden so well harmonises with
+the house that it is easy to picture the beaux in wigs,
+and ladies in hoops and powder, moving among the
+box-edged beds. On the south, the wide terrace shown
+in the sketch was made in 1848, when the footpath was
+altered and the entrance to the house changed to the
+eastern side. The stone basin in the centre was put
+in by the late Lord Ilchester. The hybrid water-lilies,
+raised by Marliac, grow well in it, and that rather
+delicate, but most beautiful of the Sagittarias, <i class="flora" lang="la">montevidensis</i>
+has flowered there. The raised terrace on the
+arches of the old stables, which encloses one side of
+the garden and is covered with a tangle of ivy, affords
+a charming view over the Dutch garden. Beyond
+is the old ballroom, orangery and garden enclosed by
+arches of cut limes. A terrace runs to the south of
+the Dutch garden and orangery, and the Italian garden
+which lies here is in itself as complete a contrast to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span>
+box-edged beds of the Dutch garden as is the Japanese
+garden, a new addition which lies further to the north.
+It was near here that the fatal duel between Lord
+Camelford and Colonel Best took place in 1804. There
+is yet another small enclosed garden cut off by thick
+yew hedges and fat hollies from the rest. In it is the
+seat inscribed with lines to the poet <span class="locked">Rogers:—</span></p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indentq">“Here Rogers sat, and here forever dwell</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0">With me those Pleasures that he sings so well.”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In this garden, year by year, dahlias have grown
+ever since they were first successfully grown in England.
+In 1789 the dahlia came for the first time from the
+New World to the Old. It was then sent to Spain,
+and that same year Lady Bute procured some from
+Madrid. She was not, however, successful in growing
+it and it quite died out, until it was reintroduced by
+Lady Holland in 1804. The plants remained rare in
+England for some years. It was being grown in France,
+Germany, and Holland, but little had been done to
+improve the original plant. When, however, a larger
+supply was available in England after 1814, the English
+growers took it up, and produced, before long, the
+round very double flowers which soon became the rage.
+In stilted style a writer in 1824 describes the dahlia
+mania, after giving the history of its introduction. “It
+was left to English capital and perseverance,” he says,
+“to illuminate the northern part of the globe by the
+full brilliancy of these floral luminaries.” Thus in
+extravagant language he continues to sing the praises
+of the dahlia. It is curious that the name is now
+generally pronounced as if it were “dalea,” forgetful
+of the fact that there is a flower, something like a vetch,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">342</span>
+called “Dalea” by Linnæus, after Dr. Samuel Dale, who
+died in 1739, a well-known botanist and friend of Ray.
+The dahlia was named long after in honour of the
+Swedish botanist Dahl.</p>
+
+<p>The so-called “Japanese garden” was made by the
+late Lord Ilchester. It is extremely pretty, but is
+entirely an English idea of what a Japanese garden is
+like, and, however pleasing it may be to the uninitiated,
+would probably shock the Japanese gardener, who is
+guided by as precise rules in his garden, as the painter
+in his art. In Japan the rules governing the laying-out
+of a garden are so exact that, apparently, it requires
+years of study to acquire the rudiments. The Japanese
+garden at Holland House, which is pleasing to the
+English eye, consists of a little stream descending
+through grassy lawns, with groups of plants, a stone
+lantern, and rustic bridges, and water plants at each
+little pond. The delightful <i class="flora" lang="la">Iris kæmpferi</i> flowers well,
+and yuccas, which, by the way, come from America,
+and not Japan; neither do <i class="flora" lang="la">Aralia spinosa</i> or <i class="flora" lang="la">Saxifraga
+peltata</i>, which together form charming groups, with
+auratum lilies in the summer and other Japanese plants.
+The French hybrid water-lilies, of varying shades of
+pink, red, and yellow, here too make a picture, with
+their brilliant blossoms floating on the miniature pools—while
+bamboos, maples, and eulalias, true natives of
+Japan, make a soft and feathery background. Above
+the Japanese garden there is a well-furnished rock
+garden, and between that and the roses, which make
+such a grand display on the north of the house, green
+walks through rhododendrons and flowering shrubs
+unite the gardens. There are some really fine trees,
+as well as all the charming flowers, in the grounds.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">343</span>
+Near the bridge leading to the Japanese garden there
+is a beautiful evergreen oak and rare forest trees, while
+on the lawn some old cedars, planted by Charles James
+Fox, are showing signs of decrepitude, although the
+delightful picturesque effect a cedar always has, adds
+one more to the many charms of this, the most beautiful
+as well as the largest of London gardens.</p>
+
+<p>There is a charming group of houses standing in
+their own grounds still left on Campden Hill, although
+Campden House has been demolished and its site built
+over within the last few years. The property on which
+Campden House stood, and some authorities say the
+house itself, was won over some game of chance in
+James I.’s time by Sir Baptist Hicks, afterwards Viscount
+Campden, from Sir Walter Cope, the builder of Holland
+House, hard by. It was to Campden House that Queen
+Anne’s little son, the Duke of Gloucester, was taken
+for country air. The air is still pleasant on these
+heights, and the open tract of Holland Park gives so
+much freshness that plants flourish wonderfully. There
+are good gardens attached to many of the houses—Cam
+House, Blundell House, Aubrey House, Thornwood,
+Holly, and Moray Lodges, and several others. Holly
+Lodge is noteworthy as having for a few years been
+the residence of Lord Macaulay. There are some
+charming trees in the grounds, even yews (which are
+among the first to suffer from smoke) looking well; a
+good old mulberry and silver elms, and a camellia in a
+border near the wall, which often flowers out of doors,
+although some years the half-open buds drop off from
+the effects of frosty fogs.</p>
+
+<p>Cam House has one of the most charming gardens.
+It is now lived in by Sir Walter Phillimore, and has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">344</span>
+been in his family for some 150 years. It was well
+known as Argyll Lodge, as the late Duke bought the
+lease and made it his town residence from the time
+he first took office in Lord Aberdeen’s ministry in 1852.
+Before that it was known as Bedford Lodge, as the
+Duchess of Bedford, step-mother of Lord John Russell,
+the Prime Minister, had lived there and laid out and
+planted most of the garden. The “two very old oaks,
+which,” wrote the Duke of Argyll, “would have done
+no discredit to any ancient chase in England,” are still
+to be seen. The Duke was also delighted with the wild
+birds which there made their homes in the garden; in
+fact, he says in his Memoirs, it was the sight of the
+“fine lawn covered with starlings, hunting for grubs
+and insects in their very peculiar fashion,” the nut-hatches
+“moving over the trees, as if they were in
+some deep English woodland,” the fly-catchers and the
+warblers, that made him decide to take the house.
+During the half-century he lived there many of the
+birds, the fly catchers, reed-wren, black cap, and willow-wren,
+and nut-hatches, deserted the garden, but even
+now starlings and wood-pigeons abound, and, what is
+even more rare in London, squirrels may be seen
+swinging from branch to branch of the old trees. Besides
+the two old pollard oaks there are good beech and
+copper-beech, elder, chestnuts, snowy medlar, sycamore,
+several varieties of thorn, and a large Scotch laburnum,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Laburnum alpinum</i>, which flowers later than the ordinary
+laburnum, and is therefore valuable to prolong the
+season of these golden showers. The leaves are broader
+and darker, and growth more spreading. On the vine
+trellis is a curious old vine with strongly scented flowers.
+All the plants which thrive in London are well grown<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">345</span>
+in the charming formal garden and along the old wall,
+which is covered with delicious climbing plants. So
+luxuriously will some flowers grow, that the hollyhocks
+from this garden took the prize at the horticultural
+show held in the grounds of Holland House, in a
+competition open to all the gardens in the Kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>At Fulham there is a charming garden, with trees
+which would be remarkable anywhere, and appear still
+more beautiful from their proximity to London. These
+trees in the grounds of Broom House have fared on
+the whole better than those at Fulham Palace, hard by.
+It is separated from the Palace by the grounds now
+attached to the club of Hurlingham. Of Hurlingham
+there is not much early history. Faulkner, the authority
+for this district, writes in 1813: “Hurlingham Field
+is now the property of the Earl of Ranelagh and the
+site of his house. It was here that great numbers of
+people were buried during the Plague.” The same
+authority mentions: “The Dowager Countess of Lonsdale
+has an elegant house and gardens here in full view
+of the Thames,” and Broom House is shown on
+Rocque’s map of 1757. The estate was bought by Mr.
+Sulivan from the Nepean family in 1824, and his
+daughter, Miss Sulivan, keeps up the garden with the
+utmost good taste and knowledge of horticulture. The
+ailanthus, with a trunk 10 feet 4 inches in girth at
+4 feet from the ground, is probably one of the finest
+specimens in England. The one in Fulham Palace
+garden is exactly the same girth, but does not appear
+to be so lofty. The liquidamber is also a magnificent
+tree, and the false acacia is quite as fine as the one in
+Fulham Palace, and was probably planted at the same
+time. There are still two cedars left, although the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">346</span>
+finest was blown down some years ago, and the timber
+afforded panelling for a large room and many pieces of
+furniture. Perhaps the most beautiful of the trees is
+the copper or purple beech. Not only is it very tall
+and has a massive trunk (14 feet 6 inches at 2 feet from
+the ground), but the shape is quite perfect, and its
+branches are furnished evenly all round. There are
+also good evergreen oaks, elms, chestnuts and Scotch
+firs. There is a large collection of flowering shrubs,
+which are in no way affected by the smoky air. Standard
+magnolias, grandiflora, conspicua and stellata, many
+varieties of the delightful autumn-flowering plant, the
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Hibiscus syriacus</i>, known to older gardeners as <i class="flora" lang="la">Althæa
+frutex</i>, and recommended under that name by Fairchild
+in 1722 as suited to London, <i class="flora" lang="la">Cratægus pyracantha</i>, <i class="flora" lang="la">Choysia</i>,
+<i class="flora" lang="la">Pyrus spectabilis</i>, and many other equally delightful shrubs
+all appear most flourishing. These, together with herbaceous
+plants and ornamental trees, well grouped in a
+garden of good design, with the river flowing at the foot
+of it, make the grounds of Broom House rank among
+the most attractive about London.</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p346c" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 53em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p346c.jpg" width="842" height="555" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p346c_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    ST. JOHN’S LODGE, REGENT’S PARK
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>A few of the gardens, like this one, have succeeded
+in keeping the real stamp of the country, in spite of the
+encroachments of the town and the advance of trams and
+motor omnibuses, but they are every day becoming more
+scarce. Hampstead and Highgate have many such, and
+here and there, to the north and on the south of the
+river, such delightful spots are to be found, although the
+temptation to cut them up and build small red villas on
+the sites is very great. Towards the north of London
+there are many small gardens which are bright and attractive,
+and without going so far as Hampstead, pleached
+walks and small but tastefully arranged grounds are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">347</span>
+met with. Within Regent’s Park there are several
+charming gardens round the detached villas, which have
+been already noticed in the chapter on that Park. The
+two most interesting from a horticultural point of view
+are St. Katharine’s and St. John’s Lodges. The fountain
+in the former is the frontispiece to this volume, and
+that view says more than any elaborate description. It
+might be in some far-away Italian garden, so perfectly
+are the sights and sounds of London obliterated. On
+a still, hot day, when the fountain drips with a cool
+sound and there is a shimmering light of summer over
+the distant trees beyond the terrace, the delusion is perfect.
+Most of the herbaceous plants which take kindly
+to London grow in the border—hollyhocks, day lilies,
+poppies, peonies, pulmoneria and lilies, while there is a
+large variety of flowering shrubs—ribes, lilacs, buddleias,
+shumachs and <i class="flora" lang="la">Aralia spinosa</i>. The kitchen-garden produces
+good crops of most of the ordinary vegetables.
+The garden is arranged with a definite design; there is
+nothing specially formal, no cut trees or anything associated
+with some of the formal ideas in England, but there
+is method in the design; the trees and plants grow as
+Nature intended them, but they are not stuck about in
+incongruous disorder and meaningless, distorted lines,
+as is so often thought necessary, in designing a garden or
+“improving” a park.</p>
+
+<p>St. John’s Lodge has also a well-thought-out garden,
+some of it of a distinctly formal type. The coloured
+illustration of it is taken from a part of the garden
+enclosed with cut privet hedges, with a fountain in the
+centre, on which stands a statue of St. John the Baptist,
+by Mr. Johnes. Between the four wide grass walks
+there are masses of herbaceous plants, backed by rhododendrons,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">348</span>
+which, as the picture shows, stand out with
+brilliant colour in summer against the green background.
+This garden opens into a bowling-green enclosed by
+cut lime trees, and a cool walk for summer shaded by
+pleached lime trees. A seductive broad walk bordered
+with fruit-trees is another feature. This attractive garden
+has been made within the last eighteen years. The conception
+of it was due to Lord Bute, and the designing
+and carrying out to Mr. Schultz. The other side of
+the house, with a wide terrace and park stretching
+down toward the water, has no special horticultural
+feature, but the formal garden is full of charm, and
+the plants are thriving and trees growing up so fast
+there is no trace of its newness. It only shows how
+much can be done where knowledge and good taste are
+displayed.</p>
+
+<p>St. James’s Park is still skirted by garden walls—Stafford,
+Clarence, and Marlborough Houses, as well as
+St. James’s Palace, though their gardens are hardly as
+elaborate as those of former years. The garden of that
+Palace delighted the Sieur de la Serre, who accompanied
+Marie de Medicis when she came to pay a visit to
+Henrietta Maria and Charles I. and was lodged in
+St. James’s Palace. After describing the house, “there
+were, besides,” he writes, “two grand gardens with
+parterres of different figures, bordered on every side
+by a hedge of box, carefully cultivated by the hands
+of a skilful gardener; and in order to render the
+walks on both sides which enclosed it appear more
+agreeable, all sorts of fine flowers were sowed....
+The other garden, which was adjoining and of the
+same extent, had divers walks, some sanded and others
+grass, but both bordered on each side by an infinity of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">350</span>
+fruit-trees, which rendered walking so agreeable that one
+could never be tired.”</p>
+
+<figure id="i_p349" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 29em;">
+  <img src="images/i_p349.jpg" width="527" height="814" alt="">
+  <figcaption class="caption"><p class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_p349_large.jpg">(Large)</a></p><br>
+    <span class="smcap">In the Garden, St. John’s Lodge</span>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The garden of Bridgewater House was a little slice
+taken off Green Park. On the advice of Fordyce, the
+Crown in 1795 granted a lease, on certain conditions, to
+the Duke of Bridgewater and other proprietors near
+their respective houses, on the ground that it would
+improve rather than injure the Park. In 1850 the
+question arose whether the plans Barry had just made
+for the garden of Bridgewater House infringed the terms
+of the lease, and Pennethorne, architect to the Office of
+Works, had to report on the question. It being finally
+settled that the proposed wall and terrace would not
+hurt the Park, the alterations were allowed.</p>
+
+<p>Last, but by no means least, either in size or importance,
+the gardens of Buckingham Palace must be glanced
+at. The Palace is so modern, when compared with the
+older Royal residences, that it is easy to forget the
+history of the forty acres enclosed in the King’s private
+garden, yet they have much historical interest. In the
+time of James I. a portion of the ground was covered
+by a mulberry garden, which the King had planted,
+in pursuance of his scheme to encourage the culture
+of silkworms, in 1609. That year he spent £935 in
+levelling the four acres of ground and building a wall
+round it for the protection of the trees. A few years
+later most of the enclosure became a tea-garden, while
+part was occupied by Goring House. There are many
+references to these famous tea-gardens, called the
+“Mulberry Garden,” in plays and writings of the seventeenth
+century. Evelyn notes in his “Diary,” on 10th
+April 1654: “My Lady Gerrard treated us at Mulberry
+Garden, now the only place of refreshment about the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">351</span>
+town for persons of the best quality to be exceeding
+cheated at, Cromwell and his partisans having shut
+up and seized Spring Garden, which till now had been
+the usual rendezvous for the ladies and gallants at this
+season.”</p>
+
+<p>Goring House stood just where Buckingham Palace
+does now, and was the residence of George Goring, Earl
+of Norwich, and of his son, with whom the title became
+extinct. It was let in 1666, by the last Earl of Norwich,
+to Lord Arlington, and became known sometimes as
+Arlington House. It was burnt in 1674, and Evelyn
+notes in his “Diary” of 21st September: “I went to see
+the great losse that Lord Arlington had sustained by fire
+at Goring House, this night consumed to the ground,
+with exceeding losse of hangings, plate, rare pictures, and
+cabinets; hardly anything was saved of the best and
+most princely furniture that any subject had in England.
+My lord and lady were both absent at the Bath.” Buckingham
+House, which was built in 1703 on the same
+site for the Duke of Buckingham, must have been very
+charming. Defoe describes it as “one of the beauties
+of London, both by reason of its situation and its building....
+Behind it is a fine garden, a noble terrace
+(from whence, as well as from the apartments, you have
+a most delicious prospect), and a little park with a pretty
+canal.” The Duke of Buckingham himself gives a full
+description of his garden in a letter to a friend, telling
+him how he passed his time and what were his enjoyments,
+when he resigned being Privy Seal to Queen
+Anne (1709). “To the garden,” he writes, “we go
+down from the house by seven steps into a gravel walk
+that reaches across the garden, with a covered arbour at
+each end. Another of thirty feet broad leads from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">352</span>
+front of the house, and lies between two groves of tall
+lime trees, planted on a carpet of grass. The outsides
+of those groves are bordered with tubs of bays and
+orange trees. At the end of the broad walk you go up
+to a terrace 400 paces long, with a large semicircle in
+the middle, from where are beheld the Queen’s (Anne’s)
+two parks and a great part of Surrey: then, going down
+a few steps, you walk on the bank of a canal 600 yards
+long and 17 broad, with two rows of limes on either
+side. On one side of this terrace a wall, covered with
+roses and jessamines, is made low to admit the view of a
+meadow full of cattle just beneath (no disagreeable
+object in the midst of a great city), and at each end is a
+descent into parterres with fountains and waterworks.
+From the biggest of these parterres we pass into a little
+square garden, that has a fountain in the middle and
+two green-houses on the sides ... below this a kitchen-garden ...
+and under the windows ... of this green-house
+is a little wilderness full of blackbirds and
+nightingales.” This is truly an entrancing picture of
+a town garden.</p>
+
+<p>The waterworks, those elaborate fountains then in
+vogue, were supplied by water pumped up from the
+Thames into a tank above the kitchen, which held fifty
+tons of water. Buckingham House was then a red-brick
+building, consisting of a central square structure, with
+stone pillars and balustrade along the top, and two
+wings attached to the main building by a colonnade.
+It was this style of house when King George III. bought
+it, originally for a dower-house for Queen Charlotte,
+instead of Somerset House, where the Queens-Dowager
+had previously lived. These formal gardens were not
+suited to the taste of the time, and George IV. had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">353</span>
+all the garden altered, as well as the house rebuilt by
+Nash. The whole of the parterres, terraces and
+fountains and canal were swept away, and most of the
+lime-trees cut down. A wide lawn and five acres of
+ornamental water, glades, walks and thickets took their
+place. When first made the water was severely criticised
+by a writer of the landscape school, the chief
+fault he found being that too much was visible at once
+from the path which encircled it, so that the limits were
+not well concealed. This seems to have been altered
+to the satisfaction of later critics. Dennis, writing in
+1835, gives a plan in which the path has been made
+a little distance from the water’s edge, and the outline
+broken by clumps of trees and a promontory, which
+later on was turned into an island, on which a willow
+from Napoleon’s tomb at St. Helena is said to have
+been planted, though no old willow now exists. This
+writer gives great praise to Aiton, who superintended all
+the execution of the plans. The pavilion in the grounds
+was added in 1844, and decorated with paintings of
+scenes from Milton’s <cite>Comus</cite> by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer
+and other artists, with borders and gilt ornaments
+by Gruner.</p>
+
+<p>During the last four years his Majesty has had a
+great deal done to improve the grounds. His appreciation
+of what is beautiful in gardening has led him to
+effect several changes, which, while keeping the park-like
+character of the gardens, have added immensely
+to their scenic beauty and horticultural interest. The
+dead and dying trees and others of poor and stunted
+growth have been removed, giving air and light to
+those remaining. Several good specimens of plane, lime,
+elm, beech, ash, ailanthus and hawthorn have thus secured<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">354</span>
+more space to develop. A very large assortment of all
+the best flowering shrubs which will flourish in London
+have taken the place of worn-out evergreens. The best
+of the hollies, arbutus and healthy evergreens have been
+encouraged by careful attention. The great object in
+laying out the garden originally was naturally to obtain
+as much privacy as possible, and the earth taken out of
+the lake was formed into a great bank, which was
+thickly planted to screen the stables and distant houses.
+This bank, which was stiff and formal in appearance,
+has now been artistically broken by planting and rock-work—not
+merely by a few stones, which would seem
+small, unnatural, and out of place, but by bold crags,
+over which roses climb, and where gorse, savin and
+broom, and countless other suitable plants look perfectly
+at home. The aspect of the lake is also
+greatly enhanced by the substitution of rustic stone
+bridges for the iron structures, The water’s edge is
+well furnished with iris and other water-loving plants—the
+finest Marliac lilies brighten its surface—and
+the stiff, round island is now varied by striking rocky
+promontories and is prettily adorned with broom and
+cherries.</p>
+
+<p>The colossal vase by Westmacott, executed as a
+memento of the Battle of Waterloo, has lately been
+placed on one of the lawns in an amphitheatre of trees.
+It stands in front of his Majesty’s summer-house,
+which is quaint in design, and was brought from the
+old Spring Gardens at Whitehall. The views down
+the wide glades, with the groups of tall trees, the
+bridges, the herbaceous borders, and the wealth of
+flowering shrubs, make the garden altogether one of
+singular charm considering it is even more truly “in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">355</span>
+the midst of a great city” than when the Duke of
+Buckingham described the same spot nearly 200 years
+ago.</p>
+
+<p>The Buckingham Palace Gardens show how much
+judicious planting can do, and how much is lost in
+many of the parks as well as gardens by not sufficiently
+considering the decorative value of plants. The
+old landscape gardeners, in their desire to copy nature
+and depart from all formality, forgot the horticultural
+part of their work in their plans for the creation of
+landscapes. They had not studied the effects which
+skilful planting will produce, and ignored flowers as a
+factor in their scenery. They had not got the wealth
+of genera which the twentieth century possesses, and of
+which, in many instances, full use is made. But in a
+review of London Parks and Gardens, it is impossible
+not to notice effects missed as well as success achieved.
+The immense advance gardening has made of late years,
+and the knowledge and wide range of plants, makes it
+easier to garden now than ever before. The enormous
+number of trees and flowers now in cultivation leaves a
+good choice to select from, even among those suitable
+for the fog-begrimed gardens of London. The carpets
+of spring flowering bulbs, the masses of brilliant rhododendrons,
+the groups of choice blossoming trees, which
+so greatly beautify many of the parks and gardens, are
+all the result of modern developments. Experience, too,
+has pointed out the mistakes in landscape gardening,
+which is for the most part the style followed in London,
+and it should be easy to avoid the errors of earlier
+generations. In formal designing, also, the recent introductions
+and modern taste in flowers should have a
+marked influence. In all the parks and gardens, public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">356</span>
+and private, the chief aim should be to make the best
+use of the existing material, to draw upon the vast
+resources of horticulture, which have never been so great
+as at the present time, and thus to maintain the position
+of superiority of London gardens among the cities of
+the world.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">357</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_TO_PRIVATE_GARDENS"><span id="toclink_357"></span><span class="gesperrt">APPENDIX TO PRIVATE GARDENS</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<h3>CHARLTON</h3>
+
+<p class="idc idcO"><img src="images/i_idc_o.png" width="181" height="186" alt="O">
+<span class="firstword">Owing</span> to unavoidable circumstances
+it was not possible to
+include Charlton in the foregoing
+chapter on private gardens, but
+some account of this place of
+historic interest is necessary to
+complete this book. Further
+from the centres of fashion, on
+the eastern limits of London, it has not been the scene
+of such brilliant assemblies as Holland House on the
+west; yet its early days share that speculative fascination
+which gathers round the personality of Henry, Prince of
+Wales, who figures for such a short time on the pages of
+English history. Only two miles from Greenwich, in the
+hundred of Blackheath, lies the manor of Charlton, which
+was bestowed by William the Conqueror on his half-brother,
+Odo of Bayeux. Later on it passed by gift to
+the Priory of Bermondsey, and so remained until the Dissolution
+of the Monasteries, when it became crown land
+until James I. gave it to Sir Adam Newton, “who built
+a goodly brave house” thereon. Born in Scotland, Sir
+Adam had spent much of his life in France, and passing
+himself off as a priest, had taught Greek at St. Maixant
+in Poitou. On his return to Scotland in 1600, he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">358</span>
+appointed tutor to Prince Henry, and was in attendance
+on him as secretary when the Prince grew up. In 1607
+he commenced to build Charlton for him, Inigo Jones
+being the architect, and after the Prince’s death in 1612,
+the King granted Sir Adam the manor, in lieu of payment
+for the expenses he had incurred in building the
+house. The owner of Charlton continued to enjoy royal
+favour, became Treasurer of the Household to Prince
+Charles, was created a baronet in 1620, and married a
+daughter of Sir John Puckering, who had been Keeper of
+the Great Seal to Queen Elizabeth. His second son, Sir
+Henry Newton, who succeeded him at Charlton, and took
+the name of Puckering from estates inherited from his
+uncle, was an ardent supporter of Charles I. He sold
+the property to Sir William Ducie, Viscount Downe, at
+whose death it was again sold. The purchaser, Sir
+William Langhorne, was a wealthy East India merchant,
+who was, from 1670 to 1677, Governor of Madras. On
+his death it passed by entail to his cousin Mrs. Maryon,
+and eventually to her great-granddaughter, the wife of
+Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, in whose family Charlton
+still remains.</p>
+
+<p>The gardens show traces of all the many owners, and
+in spite of the growth of London and its attendant drawbacks,
+they are still charming. The house stands in
+about 150 acres of undulating deer park, with some fine
+old trees, an avenue of English elms on the east, and one
+of horse-chestnuts, forming the approach on the west.
+Perhaps the planting of the tulip tree near the present
+lodge was due to John Evelyn, the friend of Sir Henry
+Puckering. Evelyn’s liking for tulip trees is well known,
+and this specimen looks old enough to claim his acquaintance.
+The two shattered but grand old mulberry trees<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">359</span>
+probably date from the year 1609, when James I.
+encouraged all his subjects to plant them, and tradition
+points to one as the first brought to England. There is
+an immense horse-chestnut on the lawn, with a wide
+spread of branches which are rooted in the ground all
+round, and among the evergreen oaks and other attractive
+trees in the “Wilderness,” a Judas of great age is
+remarkable. The small house standing near the road
+which passes the parish church, known as the “Guard
+House,” recalls the time when Prince Henry was living
+there, and his guard of honour kept watch near the
+entrance. The stables are just as they were built by
+Inigo Jones, and the little “Dutch” walled garden which
+adjoins them on one side is also a pretty relic of those
+days, and the “Gooseberry Garden” near it is a survival
+of the same period. A walk overshadowed by tall yew
+trees stretches across and along the main part of the
+grounds, and hidden away near its southern end is a delightful
+rose garden. The beautiful lead fountain in the
+centre must have been put there by Sir William Langhorne.
+His initials appear on the leaden tank, and the
+spray rises from a basin held up by a charming little
+cupid standing on a pedestal surrounded by swans. The
+same group appears without the tank in another part of
+the garden, and there are lead vases and figures, and a
+cistern dated 1777, which add greatly to the old-world
+charm which still lingers. Chemical works and sulphurous
+fumes now work deadly havoc among the old
+trees, but everything that modern science can recommend
+is done to preserve them, and young ones planted to
+keep up the traditions, and bridge over the centuries
+dividing the present from the days of Prince Henry and
+his learned and courtly tutor.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">361</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_SOME_OF_THE_WORKS_CONSULTED"><span id="toclink_361"></span>LIST OF SOME OF THE WORKS CONSULTED.</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="b1 center smaller">(<i>The date does not always refer to the first edition, but to the one consulted.</i>)</p>
+
+<ul class="list">
+<li>Ambulator. A Pocket Companion in a Tour Round London. 1792.</li>
+
+<li>Amusements of Old London. Boulton. 1900.</li>
+
+<li>Argyll, Autobiography of George Douglas, Eighth Duke of. Ed. by the Dowager Duchess of Argyll. 1907.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Baker, T.&nbsp;H. Records of Seasons and Prices.</li>
+
+<li>Battersea, All About. H.&nbsp;S. Simmonds. 1882.</li>
+
+<li>Birds in London. W.&nbsp;H. Hudson. 1898.</li>
+
+<li>    „      of London. H.&nbsp;K. Swann. 1893.</li>
+
+<li>Bloomsbury. Chronicle of Blemundsbury. W. Blott. 1892.</li>
+
+<li>          „          and St. Giles. George Cluich. 1890.</li>
+
+<li>Bradley, Richard. New Improvements of Planting and Gardening. 1717.</li>
+
+<li>Burial Grounds, London. Mrs. Basil Holmes. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>Butler, Samuel. Hudibras. Notes by Grey and Nash. 1847.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Calendar of State Papers. 1557, &amp;c. Ed. J. Redington.</li>
+
+<li>Camberwell. Parish of All Saints. T.&nbsp;J. Gaster. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>      „                Ye Parish of Camerwell. W.&nbsp;H. Blanch. 1875.</li>
+
+<li>Catesby, Mark. Natural History of Carolina. 1731–43.</li>
+
+<li>    „                „      Hortus Europæ Americanus. 1767.</li>
+
+<li>Chelsea. Memoirs of the Botanic Garden. Henry Field. 1820.</li>
+
+<li>        „                „          „                  „                    Ed. by R.&nbsp;H. Semple. 1878.</li>
+
+<li>        „        An Account of Chelsea Hospital. 1805.</li>
+
+<li>        „        Historical Notes. Isabella Burt. 1871.</li>
+
+<li>        „        Hospital. Thomas Faulkener. 1805.</li>
+
+<li>        „        Thomas Faulkener. 1810.</li>
+
+<li>Cleveland. Character of a London Diurnal. 1647.</li>
+
+<li>        „            Poems, annotated by J.&nbsp;M. Berden. 1903.</li>
+
+<li>Cole, John. A Pleasant and Profitable Journey to London. 1828.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">362</span></p></li>
+
+<li>Commons. A Glance at the Commons and Open Spaces of London. 1867.</li>
+
+<li>Curtis, William. Botanical Magazine. 1787–1906.</li>
+
+<li>    „                „          A Catalogue of the Plants Growing Wild in the Environs of London. 1774.</li>
+
+<li>    „                „          Flora Londinensis. 1777–1828.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Dennis, John. The Landscape Gardener. 1835.</li>
+
+<li>Domesday Book. Ed. 1812.</li>
+
+<li>Draper, W.&nbsp;H. The Morning Walk; or, City Encompass’d. 1751.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Evelyn, John. Diary.</li>
+
+<li>      „            „      Sylva. 1664.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Fairchild, Thomas. The City Gardener. 1722.</li>
+
+<li>Fiennes, Celia. Through England on a Side-Saddle in the Time of William and Mary. Ed. Hon. Mrs. Griffiths. 1888.</li>
+
+<li>Foreign Visitors to England. Smith. 1889.</li>
+
+<li>Fulham, Old and New. C.&nbsp;J. Feret. 1900.</li>
+
+<li>    „      and Hammersmith. Faulkener. 1813.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Gardeners’ Magazine. Conducted by J.&nbsp;C. Loudon. 1826–43.</li>
+
+<li>Gardening. History of, in England. Alicia Amherst. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>Gerard. Herbal. 1597.</li>
+
+<li>      „            „        Ed. by T. Johnson. 1633.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Catalogus. 1599.</li>
+
+<li>Greenwich. W. Howarth. 1886.</li>
+
+<li>          „          and Blackheath. Half Holiday Hand-book Series. 1881.</li>
+
+<li>          „          Park: Its History and Associations. Angus D. Webster. 1902.</li>
+
+<li>          „          The Palace and Hospital. A.&nbsp;G.&nbsp;K. L’Estrange. 1886.</li>
+
+<li>Grosley. A Tour to London. 1765.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Hackney. Magazine and Parish Reformer. 1833–38.</li>
+
+<li>      „          Collecteanea Geographica, &amp;c. 1842.</li>
+
+<li>      „          History and Antiquities of. William Robinson. 1842.</li>
+
+<li>Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Passages from English Note-Books. 1870.</li>
+
+<li>Hazlitt, W.&nbsp;C. Gleanings in Old Garden Literature. 1887.</li>
+
+<li>Highgate, History of. Frederick Prickett. 1842.</li>
+
+<li>Hook, Dean of Chichester. Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. 1875.</li>
+
+<li>Hyde Park, from Domesday to Date. J. Ashton. 1900.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">363</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Index Kewensis. 1893, &amp;c.</li>
+
+<li>Inns of Court. Inner Temple Records, F.&nbsp;A. Inderwick. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>    „              „        Inner and Middle Temple. H.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;L. Bellot. 1902.</li>
+
+<li>    „              „        Lincoln’s Inn. Douthwaite. 1886.</li>
+
+<li>    „              „        Gray’s Inn. Douthwaite. 1886.</li>
+
+<li>    „              „        and Chancery. W.J. Loftée. Illustrations by Herbert Railton. 1893.</li>
+
+<li>Islington. History of the Parish of St. Mary. S. Lewis. 1842.</li>
+
+<li>Issue Rolls. James I., &amp;c.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Lamb, Charles, Life of. E.&nbsp;V. Lucas. 1905.</li>
+
+<li>Lambeth, History of. Ducarel. 1785.</li>
+
+<li>      „                  „              Thomas Allen. 1828.</li>
+
+<li>      „          Palace and its Associations. J.&nbsp;C. Browne. 1883.</li>
+
+<li>Laud, Archbishop’s, Diary.</li>
+
+<li>Loimographia: An Account of the Great Plague. W. Boghurst. 1894.</li>
+
+<li>London, Ancient and Modern, from a Sanitary Point of View. G.&nbsp;V. Poore. 1889.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Birds and Insects. T.&nbsp;D. Pigott. 1892.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Botanic Gardens, Pierre E.&nbsp;F. Perrédès. Pub. by Wellcome Chemical Research Laboratories. No. 62.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Bygone. F. Ross. 1892.</li>
+
+<li>      „        City Suburbs as they are To-Day. 1893.</li>
+
+<li>      „        City: Its History, &amp;c. W.&nbsp;J. Loftie.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Curiosities of. Timbs. 1868.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Environs of. Daniel Lysons. 1790–96.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Familiar, J.&nbsp;C. L’Estrange. 1890.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Fascination of. Series ed. by Sir W. Besant.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Flora. Alexander Irvine. 1838.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Garland. W.&nbsp;E. Henley. 1895.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Greater. E. Walford. 1893–95.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Hand-book of. Peter Cunningham. 1850.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Highways and Byways in. Mrs. E.&nbsp;T. Cook. 1903.</li>
+
+<li>      „        History of. Noorthouck. 1773.</li>
+
+<li>      „                „              William Maitland. 1756.</li>
+
+<li>      „                „              Plantagenet, Tudor Times, &amp;c. Sir W. Besant.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Illustrata. Wilkinson.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Its Neighbourhood, &amp;c. Hughson David. 1805–9.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">364</span></p></li>
+
+<li>      „        Journey to. John Cole. 1825.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Knight, Charles. Revised by E. Walford.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Life Seen Through German Eyes. Brand. 1887.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Memories. C.&nbsp;W. Heckethorne. 1900.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Our Rambles in Old. E.&nbsp;S.&nbsp;M. Smith. 1895.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Pageant of. Richard Davey. 1906.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Past and Present. H.&nbsp;B. Wheatley and P. Cunningham, 1891.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Pleasure Gardens of the Eighteenth Century, W. Wroth. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Redivivium. James Peter Malcolm. 1807.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Reliques of Old London and Suburbs. H. B, Wheatley. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Round About. W.&nbsp;J. Loftée, 1893.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Signs and Inscriptions, Wheatley and Philip Norman. 1893.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Some Account of. Thomas Pennant. 1793.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Soul of. F.&nbsp;H. Madox Heuffer. 1905.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Story of. H.&nbsp;B. Wheatley. 1904.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Survey of. (London County Council.) C.&nbsp;R. Ashbee. 1900.</li>
+
+<li>      „                „            Stowe. Several Editions. 1598, 1633, &amp;c.</li>
+
+<li>      „        of To-Day. C.&nbsp;E. Pascoe. 1885.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Town. Marcus Fall. 1880.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Vanished and Vanishing. P. Norman, 1905.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Vestiges of Old. Archer J. Wykeham. 1851.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Walks Through. Hughson David. 1817.</li>
+
+<li>      „            „            In. Augustus Hare. 1901.</li>
+
+<li>Londres et Les Anglais en 1771. Join Lambert. 1890.</li>
+
+<li>London, G., and H. Wise. Complete Gardener. 1701.</li>
+
+<li>Loudon, J.&nbsp;C. Arboretum. 1838.</li>
+
+<li>      „                    Encyclopædia of Gardening. 1822.</li>
+
+<li>      „                          „              of Plants. 1838.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Gardeners’ Magazine.</li>
+
+<li>      „        Laying Out, &amp;c., of Cemetries, 1843.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Magalotti. Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through England, 1669. 1821.</li>
+
+<li>Maitland, William. History and Survey of London. 1756.</li>
+
+<li>Marylebone, Random Sketches in. F.&nbsp;H. Hallam. 1885.</li>
+
+<li>      „                and St. Pancras, G. Cluich. 1890.</li>
+
+<li>Mayfair and Belgravia. G. Cluich. 1892.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">365</span></p></li>
+
+<li>Miller, Philip. Gardeners’ and Florists’ Dictionary. 1724.</li>
+
+<li>    „              „              „                Dictionary. 1759.</li>
+
+<li>Mirabeau. Letters during his Residence in England. 1832.</li>
+
+<li>Misson, H. Memoirs and Observations in his Travels over England. Translated by Mr. Ozell. 1719.</li>
+
+<li>Montagu, Letters of Mrs. E. 1809–13.</li>
+
+<li>      „          Mrs. E. By J. Doran. 1873.</li>
+
+<li>Montgomerie, James. Chimney Sweepers’ Friend. 1824.</li>
+
+<li>Municipal History, Bibliography of. Cross. 1897.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Nichol. Progress of Queen Elizabeth.</li>
+
+<li>Nisbet, J. British Forest Trees. 1895.</li>
+
+<li>Norden. Notes on his Map of London, 1593. H.&nbsp;B. Wheatley. 1877.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Open Lands, Inclosure and Preservation of. Sir Robert Hunter. Reprint. 1897.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Parliamentary Reports—</li>
+<li>    Committee on the Public Parks, &amp;c. 1887.</li>
+<li>            „                „      Best Means of Preserving ... Use of Forests, Commons, &amp;c. 1865.</li>
+<li>    Other Reports: see Catalogue of Parliamentary Papers, 1801–1908. P. and S. King &amp; Co.</li>
+<li>    Plan of Improvements proposed opposite Buckingham Palace. 1850.</li>
+<li>    Return of the Outlay on Battersea Park. 1856.</li>
+<li>    Select Committee on Open Spaces. 1865.</li>
+
+<li>Parks, Gardens, &amp;c., of London. Edward Kemp. 1851.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Hyde Park, from Domesday to Date. J. Ashton. 1896.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Municipal, and Gardens. Lieut.-Col. J.&nbsp;G. Sexby. 1905.</li>
+
+<li>    „        and Pleasure Grounds. C.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;J. Smith, 1852.</li>
+
+<li>    „          „    Open Spaces. London County Council Sixpenny Guide. 1906.</li>
+
+<li>    „          „              „      and Thoroughfares. A. M’Kenzie. 1869.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Royal, and Gardens. N. Cole. 1877.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Story of the London. Jacob Larwood. 1872.</li>
+
+<li>Parkinson, John. Paradise in Sole. 1629.</li>
+
+<li>Pepys, Samuel. Diary.</li>
+
+<li>Piccadilly and Pall Mall, Round About. H.&nbsp;B. Wheatley. 1817.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">366</span></p></li>
+
+<li>Philips, Henry. Sylva Florifera. 1823. Flora Historica, &amp;c.</li>
+
+<li>Phillips, Sir Richard. Morning Walk to Kew. 1817.</li>
+
+<li>Pulteney, Richard. History of the Progress of Botany in England. 1790.</li>
+
+<li>Pyne, Wm. H. History of the Royal Residences. 1819.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Regent’s Park. Some Account of the Improvements. 1814.</li>
+
+<li>    „        „                „            „            „        .  John White. 1815.</li>
+
+<li>    „        „              Literary Pocket Book. 1823.</li>
+
+<li>    „        „              Picturesque Guide to. 1829.</li>
+
+<li>Repton. Landscape Gardening. Ed. J.&nbsp;C. Loudon. 1840.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">St. Botolph, Aldgate. A.&nbsp;G.&nbsp;B. Atkinson. 1898.</li>
+
+<li>St. James’s Square. Dasent. 1895.</li>
+
+<li>Selby, P.&nbsp;J. British Forest Trees. 1841.</li>
+
+<li>Shipton, Mother. Life and Death of. 1687.</li>
+
+<li>    „                „          Prophecies. Ed. E. Pearson. 1871.</li>
+
+<li>    „                „                „                C. Hindley. 1877.</li>
+
+<li>Soho, Two Centuries of. J.&nbsp;H. Cardwell. 1898.</li>
+
+<li>    „      and its Associations. E.&nbsp;F. Rimbault. 1895.</li>
+
+<li>Sorbière, Samuel de. A Journey to London. [William King.] 1698.</li>
+
+<li>    „                        „          A Voyage to England. 1709.</li>
+
+<li>    „                        „          Journey to London. 1832.</li>
+
+<li>    „                        „          Reponse aux Faussetés ... dans la relation du Voyage en Angleterre. 1675.</li>
+
+<li>Stepney. Two Centuries of History. W.&nbsp;H. Frere. 1892.</li>
+
+<li>Stowe. Survey of London. 1598.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Munday’s Edition. 1633.</li>
+
+<li>    „        Strype’s Edition. 1720.</li>
+
+<li>Suburban Reliques of Old Londons. H. B, Wheatley. Drawn by T.&nbsp;R. Way. 1715.</li>
+
+<li>Switzer, Stephen. Nobleman, Gentleman, and Gardener’s Recreation. 1715.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Tradescant, John. Museum Tradescantianum. 1656.</li>
+
+<li>Trinity Hospital, Mile End Road, C.&nbsp;R. Ashbee, 1896.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Westminster, Antiquities of. John T. Smith. 1807.</li>
+
+<li>        „                Abbey. W.&nbsp;J. Loftie. 1890.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">367</span></p></li>
+
+<li>        „                  „          Dean Stanley.</li>
+
+<li>        „                  „          MSS. Records.</li>
+
+<li>        „                  „          Richard Widmore. 1751.</li>
+
+<li>        „                Memorials of the City, St. Peter’s College, &amp;c. Rev. MacKenzie E.&nbsp;C. Walcott. 1849.</li>
+
+<li>Wheatley. Observations on Modern Gardening. 1793.</li>
+
+<li>Whitten, W. London in Song. 1898.</li>
+
+<li>Wren, Christopher. Parentalia. 1750.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">368</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="HYDE_PARK_AND_KENSINGTON_GARDENS"><span id="toclink_368"></span>HYDE PARK AND KENSINGTON GARDENS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<h3>LIST OF TREES AND SHRUBS</h3>
+
+<p class="p2 b2 smaller"><i>N.B.</i>—Those marked thus * are not in existence at the present time.
+A small number proved unsuitable for London, and others have been
+removed from the plantations for various reasons.</p>
+
+<ul class="list">
+<li>Acer campestre.</li>
+<li>  „      circinatum.</li>
+<li>  „      creticum.</li>
+<li>  „      dasycarpum.</li>
+<li>  „      macrophyllum.</li>
+<li>  „      Negundo.</li>
+<li>  „            „          foliis variegatis.</li>
+<li>  „      palmatum.</li>
+<li>  „      platanoides.</li>
+<li>  „                „              Reitenbachii.</li>
+<li>  „                „              Schwedleri.</li>
+<li>  „      Pseudo-platanus.</li>
+<li>  „          „              „            foliis variegatis.</li>
+<li>  „          „              „            purpureum.</li>
+<li>  „      rubrum.</li>
+<li>  „      saccharum.</li>
+<li>  „      saccharum nigrum.</li>
+<li>  „      tartaricum.</li>
+<li>Æsculus Hippocastanum.</li>
+<li>      „                    „                laciniata.</li>
+<li>      „                    „                rubicunda.</li>
+<li>Ailantus glandulosa.</li>
+<li>Alnus barbata.</li>
+<li>    „      glutinosa.</li>
+<li>    „              „            incisa.</li>
+<li>    „              „            laciniata.</li>
+<li>    „              „            quercifolia.</li>
+<li>Amorpha fruticosa.</li>
+<li>Amygdalus (Prunus) communis.</li>
+<li>        „                „                „            amara.</li>
+<li>Amygdalus communis macrocarpa.</li>
+<li>        „          nana.</li>
+<li>Amelanchier canadensis.</li>
+<li>          „            vulgaris.</li>
+<li>Aralia chinensis.</li>
+<li>    „        spinosa.</li>
+<li>Arbutus Andrachne.</li>
+<li>      „        Unedo.</li>
+<li>      „            „        rubra.</li>
+<li>Aristolochia Sipho.</li>
+<li>Armeniaca (Prunus) sibirica.</li>
+<li>Artemisia arborescens.</li>
+<li>Asimina triloba.</li>
+<li>Aucuba japonica.</li>
+<li>    „              „            maculata.</li>
+<li>    „              „            viridis.</li>
+<li>Azalea (Rhododendron) sinense.</li>
+<li>    „        pontica.</li>
+<li>    „        nudiflorum.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Berberis Aquifolium.</li>
+<li>      „          Darwinii.</li>
+<li>      „          Fortunei.</li>
+<li>      „          japonica.*</li>
+<li>      „          repens.</li>
+<li>      „          stenophylla.</li>
+<li>      „          vulgaris.</li>
+<li>      „                „            foliis purpureis.</li>
+<li>Betula alba.</li>
+<li>    „          „        pendula.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">369</span></p></li>
+<li>Betula fruticosa.</li>
+<li>    „        lenta.</li>
+<li>    „        nana.</li>
+<li>    „        nigra.</li>
+<li>    „        populifolia.</li>
+<li>    „        urticifolia.</li>
+<li>Buxus balearica.</li>
+<li>    „      caucasica.</li>
+<li>    „      sempervirens arborescens.</li>
+<li>    „                „              aureo-marginita.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Caragana arborescens.</li>
+<li>      „          Chamluga.</li>
+<li>      „          frutescens.</li>
+<li>      „          spinosa.</li>
+<li>Carpinus betulus.</li>
+<li>Carya amara.</li>
+<li>Caryopteris Mastacanthus.</li>
+<li>Castanea sativa.</li>
+<li>Catalpa bignonioides.</li>
+<li>Cedrus Deodora.*</li>
+<li>      „        Libani.</li>
+<li>Cerasus. <i>See</i> <a href="#Prunus">Prunus</a>.</li>
+<li>Cercis Siliquastrum.</li>
+<li>Cistus florentinus.</li>
+<li>    „        ladaniferus.</li>
+<li>    „        monspeliensis.</li>
+<li>Clematis Flammula.</li>
+<li>      „          Jackmani.</li>
+<li>      „          montana.</li>
+<li>      „          Vitalba.</li>
+<li>Celtis Tournefortii.</li>
+<li>Clerodendron trichotomum.</li>
+<li>Colutea arborescens.</li>
+<li>Cornus alba.</li>
+<li>    „          „        Spæthii.</li>
+<li>    „        Mas.</li>
+<li>    „          „      aurea elegantissima.</li>
+<li>    „          „      variegata.</li>
+<li>    „        sanguinea.</li>
+<li>    „        stolonifera.</li>
+<li>Coronilla Emerus.</li>
+<li>Coryllus Avellana.</li>
+<li>      „          maxima atropurpurea.</li>
+<li>Cotoneaster acuminata.</li>
+<li>          „            bacillaris.</li>
+<li>Cotoneaster frigida.</li>
+<li>          „            horizontalis.</li>
+<li>          „            microphylla.</li>
+<li>          „            Nummularia.</li>
+<li>          „            Simmonsii.</li>
+<li>Cratægus altaica.</li>
+<li>      „          Azarolus.</li>
+<li>      „          coccinea.</li>
+<li>      „          cordata.</li>
+<li>      „                „          accrifolia.</li>
+<li>      „                „          maxima.</li>
+<li>      „          Crus-galli.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              ovalifolium.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              pyracanthafolia.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              splendens.</li>
+<li>      „          dippeliana.</li>
+<li>      „          heterophylla.</li>
+<li>      „          macrantha.</li>
+<li>      „          nigra.</li>
+<li>      „          orientalis.</li>
+<li>      „          Oxyacantha.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              aurea.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              eriocarpa.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flexuosa.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore pleno albo.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore pleno coccineo.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore pleno puniceo.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore pleno roseo.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore pleno rubro.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              flore roseo.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              laciniata.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              pendula.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              præcox.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              quercifolia.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              stricta.</li>
+<li>      „          punctata.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              brevispina.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              xanthocarpa.</li>
+<li>      „          pyracantha.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              Lalandi.</li>
+<li>      „          siniaca.</li>
+<li>      „          spathulata.</li>
+<li>      „          tanacetifolia.</li>
+<li>Cupressus Lawsoniana.*</li>
+<li>        „          Nootkatensis.*</li>
+<li>        „          sempervirens.*<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">370</span></p></li>
+<li>Cydonia japonica.</li>
+<li>      „        Maulei.</li>
+<li>      „        vulgaris lusitanica.</li>
+<li>      „              „          maliformis.</li>
+<li>Cytisus albus.</li>
+<li>      „        alpinus.</li>
+<li>      „        nigricans.</li>
+<li>      „        præcox.</li>
+<li>      „        racemosus.</li>
+<li>      „        scoparius.</li>
+<li>      „        sessilifolius.</li>
+<li>      „        tinctoria.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Daphne Mezereum.</li>
+<li>    „        pontica.</li>
+<li>Diospyros Lotus.</li>
+<li>        „          virginiana.</li>
+<li>Diplopappus chrysophylla.</li>
+<li>Deutzia crenata.</li>
+<li>      „              „          flore pleno.</li>
+<li>      „              „          gracilis.</li>
+<li>      „        scabra.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Elæagnus angustifolia.</li>
+<li>      „          argentea.</li>
+<li>Euonymus europæus.</li>
+<li>      „                  „            fructo albo.</li>
+<li>      „          japonicus.</li>
+<li>      „                  „            argenteus.</li>
+<li>      „                  „            aureo-variegatus.</li>
+<li>      „                  „            radicans.</li>
+<li>      „                  „                  „            foliis pictis.</li>
+<li>      „          latifolius.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Fagus sylvatica.</li>
+<li>    „              „            cuprea.</li>
+<li>    „              „            pendula.</li>
+<li>    „              „            purpurea.</li>
+<li>    „              „                  „            pendula.</li>
+<li>Fatsia japonica.</li>
+<li>Ficus Carica.</li>
+<li>Fontanesia phillyræoides.</li>
+<li>Forsythia intermedia.</li>
+<li>        „          suspensa.</li>
+<li>        „          viridissima.</li>
+<li>Fraxinus americana cinerea.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          elliptica.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          juglandifolia.</li>
+<li>      „          excelsior.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          angustifolia.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          aurea.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          heterophylla.</li>
+<li>      „                  „          pendula.</li>
+<li>      „          Ornus.</li>
+<li>      „              „        angustifolia.</li>
+<li>      „          parvifolia.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Genista hispanica.</li>
+<li>Gleditschia triacanthos.</li>
+<li>          „            sinensis.</li>
+<li>          „                  „            nana.</li>
+<li>Gymnocladus canadensis.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Halesia diptera.</li>
+<li>      „        tetraptera.</li>
+<li>Halimodendron argenteum.</li>
+<li>Hamamelis virginica.</li>
+<li>Hedera Helix.</li>
+<li>    „            „        arborescens.</li>
+<li>    „            „        caenwoodiana.</li>
+<li>    „            „        canariensis.</li>
+<li>    „            „                  „              arborescens.</li>
+<li>    „            „        chrysocarpa.</li>
+<li>    „            „        colchica.</li>
+<li>    „            „        dentata.</li>
+<li>    „            „        digitata.</li>
+<li>    „            „        lucida.</li>
+<li>    „            „        maderensis variegata.</li>
+<li>    „            „        minima.</li>
+<li>    „            „        taurica.</li>
+<li>    „            „        variegata.</li>
+<li>Hibiscus syriacus—and numerous garden varieties.</li>
+<li>Hippophæ rhamnoides.</li>
+<li>      „          salicifolia.</li>
+<li>Hydrangea hortensia.</li>
+<li>        „          paniculata grandiflora.</li>
+<li>Hypericum calycinum.</li>
+<li>        „          elatum.</li>
+<li>        „          hircinum.</li>
+<li>        „          patulum.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">371</span></p></li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ilex Aquifolium.</li>
+<li>  „              „              albo-picta.</li>
+<li>  „              „              altaclerense.</li>
+<li>  „              „              angustifolia.</li>
+<li>  „              „                        „                variegata.</li>
+<li>  „              „              argentea variegata.</li>
+<li>  „              „              argentea marginata.</li>
+<li>  „              „              aureo-picta.</li>
+<li>  „              „              aureo-regina.</li>
+<li>  „              „              balearica.</li>
+<li>  „              „              camelliæfolia.</li>
+<li>  „              „              ferox.</li>
+<li>  „              „                  „        argentea.</li>
+<li>  „              „                  „        aurea.</li>
+<li>  „              „              fructo luteo.</li>
+<li>  „              „              heterophylla.</li>
+<li>  „              „              Hodginsii.</li>
+<li>  „              „              latispina.</li>
+<li>  „              „              laurifolia.</li>
+<li>  „              „              myrtifolia.</li>
+<li>  „              „              recurva.</li>
+<li>  „              „              scotica.</li>
+<li>  „              „              Shepherdii.</li>
+<li>  „              „              Watereriana.</li>
+<li>  „      dipyrena</li>
+<li>  „      latifolia.</li>
+<li>  „      opaca.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Jasminum fruticans.</li>
+<li>      „          humile.</li>
+<li>      „          nudiflorum.</li>
+<li>      „          officinale.</li>
+<li>Juniperus chinensis.*</li>
+<li>          „          communis.*</li>
+<li>          „          nana.*</li>
+<li>          „          Sabina tamariscifolia.</li>
+<li>          „              „        procumbens.</li>
+<li>          „          virginiana.*</li>
+<li>Juglans cinerea.</li>
+<li>      „        nigra.</li>
+<li>      „        regia.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Kerria japonica.</li>
+<li>Koelreuteria paniculata.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Laburnum alpinum.</li>
+<li>      „          vulgare.</li>
+<li>      „                „        quercifolium.</li>
+<li>      „                „        Watereri.</li>
+<li>Laurus nobilis.</li>
+<li>Leycesteria formosa.</li>
+<li>Ligustrum Ibota.</li>
+<li>        „          japonicum.</li>
+<li>        „          lucidum.</li>
+<li>        „          ovalifolium.</li>
+<li>        „                    „              foliis aureis.</li>
+<li>        „          Quihoui.</li>
+<li>        „          vulgare.</li>
+<li>Liquidamber styraciflua.</li>
+<li>Liriodendron tulipifera.</li>
+<li>Lonicera Caprifolium.</li>
+<li>      „          flexuosa.</li>
+<li>      „          involucrata.</li>
+<li>      „          Periclymenum.</li>
+<li>Lycium chinense.</li>
+<li>      „      hamilifolium.*</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Magnolia acuminata.</li>
+<li>      „          conspicua.</li>
+<li>      „                  „            Soulangeana.</li>
+<li>      „          grandiflora.</li>
+<li>      „          stellata.</li>
+<li>Morus alba.</li>
+<li>    „        „        pendula.</li>
+<li>    „      nigra.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Osmanthus Aquifolium ilicifolius.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Pavia (Æsculus) flava.</li>
+<li>    „                              „        purpurascens.</li>
+<li>    „                          glabra arguta.</li>
+<li>    „                          humulis.</li>
+<li>    „                          neglecta.</li>
+<li>    „                          parvifolia.</li>
+<li>    „                          rubra.</li>
+<li>Philadelphus coronarius.</li>
+<li>          „                      „              tomentosus.</li>
+<li>          „              floribundus.</li>
+<li>          „                        „              verrucosus.</li>
+<li>          „              Gordonianus.</li>
+<li>          „              grandiflorus floribundus.</li>
+<li>          „              hirsutus.</li>
+<li>          „              inodorus.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">372</span></p></li>
+<li>          „              Lemoinei.</li>
+<li>Phillyrea angustifolium.</li>
+<li>        „          decora.</li>
+<li>        „          latifolia.</li>
+<li>Photinia serrulata.</li>
+<li>Pinus cembra.*</li>
+<li>      „      insignis.*</li>
+<li>      „      Laricio.*</li>
+<li>      „      sylvestris.</li>
+<li>Planera aquatica.*</li>
+<li>        „        Richardi.*</li>
+<li>Platanus accrifolia.</li>
+<li>Populus alba.</li>
+<li>      „          „        pyramidalis (bolleana).</li>
+<li>      „        balsamifera.</li>
+<li>      „        canescens.</li>
+<li>      „        deltoidea.</li>
+<li>      „                „            aurea.</li>
+<li>      „        macrophylla.</li>
+<li>      „        nigra.</li>
+<li>      „            „        betulæfolia.</li>
+<li>      „            „        pyramidalis.</li>
+<li>      „        tremula.</li>
+<li>      „              „          pendula.</li>
+<li><a id="Prunus"></a>Prunus including Cerasus and persica.</li>
+<li>    „        persica camelliæflora.</li>
+<li>    „              „        flore roseo pleno.</li>
+<li>    „              „            „      alba pleno.</li>
+<li>    „              „        dianthiflora pleno.</li>
+<li>    „        Avium.</li>
+<li>    „            „        flore pleno.</li>
+<li>    „            „        pendula.</li>
+<li>    „        cerasifera.</li>
+<li>    „                „              atropurpureum.</li>
+<li>    „        communis.</li>
+<li>    „        (Cerasus) acida semperflorens.</li>
+<li>    „        japonicas flore roseo pleno.</li>
+<li>    „        pseudo-cerasus.</li>
+<li>    „        (Padus) Mahaleb.</li>
+<li>    „                              „          pendula.</li>
+<li>    „        Padus.</li>
+<li>    „        rotundifolia.</li>
+<li>    „        serotina.</li>
+<li>    „        (Laurocerasus) caucasica.</li>
+<li>    „                  „              colchica.</li>
+<li>    „                  „              Laurocerasus.</li>
+<li>    „        serrulata.</li>
+<li>    „        spinosa.</li>
+<li>    „        triloba.</li>
+<li>    „        Watereri.</li>
+<li>Ptelea trifoliata.</li>
+<li>Pterocarya caucasica.</li>
+<li>Pyrus Aria.</li>
+<li>    „        „        salicifolia.</li>
+<li>    „        „        undulata.</li>
+<li>    „      amygdaliformis.</li>
+<li>    „      arbutifolia.</li>
+<li>    „      Aucuparia.</li>
+<li>    „      auricularis.</li>
+<li>    „      baccata.</li>
+<li>    „      communis.</li>
+<li>    „      floribunda.</li>
+<li>    „      hybrida.</li>
+<li>    „      intermedia.</li>
+<li>    „      lanata.</li>
+<li>    „      malus astracanica.</li>
+<li>    „      nivalis.</li>
+<li>    „      pinnatifida.</li>
+<li>    „      rivularis.</li>
+<li>    „      spectabilis.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Quercus Ægilops.</li>
+<li>      „        cerris.</li>
+<li>      „            „          cana-major.</li>
+<li>      „            „          cana-minor.</li>
+<li>      „            „          fulhamensis.</li>
+<li>      „        coccinea.</li>
+<li>      „        fastigiata.</li>
+<li>      „        filicifolia.</li>
+<li>      „        Ilex.</li>
+<li>      „        „  Gramuntia.</li>
+<li>      „        lucombeana.</li>
+<li>      „        palustris.</li>
+<li>      „        pedunculata.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              fastigiata.</li>
+<li>      „        rubra.</li>
+<li>      „            „        longifolia.</li>
+<li>      „        Suber.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Rhamnus Alaternus maculata.</li>
+<li>      „        alpina.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">373</span></p></li>
+<li>      „        cathartica.</li>
+<li>      „        Frangula.</li>
+<li>      „        infectoria.</li>
+<li>Rhododendron Cunninghami.</li>
+<li>          „              dauricum.</li>
+<li>          „              hybrids in variety.</li>
+<li>          „              ponticum.</li>
+<li>          „              præcox.</li>
+<li>Rhus canadensis.</li>
+<li>  „      copallina.</li>
+<li>  „      cotinus.</li>
+<li>  „      glabra laciniata.</li>
+<li>  „      typhina.</li>
+<li>  „            „          frutescens.</li>
+<li>Ribes alpinum.</li>
+<li>    „            „          pumilum.</li>
+<li>    „      aureum.</li>
+<li>    „          „          præcox.</li>
+<li>    „      Diacantha.</li>
+<li>    „      nigrum variegatum.</li>
+<li>    „      Sanguineum.</li>
+<li>    „              „              albidum.</li>
+<li>Robinia hispida.</li>
+<li>      „        inermis.</li>
+<li>      „        Pseudacacia.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              angustifolium.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              bessoniana.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              Decaisneana.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              dubea.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              elegans.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              fastigiata.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              heterophylla.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              inermis.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              monophylla.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              semperflorens.</li>
+<li>      „                  „              tortuosa.</li>
+<li>      „        viscosa.</li>
+<li>Rosa arvensis.</li>
+<li>  „      Banksiæ.</li>
+<li>  „      canina.</li>
+<li>  „      damascena.</li>
+<li>  „      gallica centifolia.</li>
+<li>  „            „        muscosa.</li>
+<li>  „      indica.</li>
+<li>  „      multiflora.</li>
+<li>  „      noisettiana.</li>
+<li>  „      rubiginosa.</li>
+<li>  „      rugosa.</li>
+<li>  „          „          flore pleno.</li>
+<li>  „      wichuraiana.</li>
+<li>  „      hybrids in variety.</li>
+<li>Rosmarinus officinalis.</li>
+<li>Rubus fruticosus.</li>
+<li>    „              „              albo-pleno.</li>
+<li>    „              „              rubra-pleno.</li>
+<li>    „      laciniatus.</li>
+<li>    „      nutkanus.</li>
+<li>Ruscus aculeatus.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Salisburia (Ginkgo) adiantifolia.</li>
+<li>Salix alba.</li>
+<li>    „      babylonica.</li>
+<li>    „      Caprea.</li>
+<li>    „    daphnoides.</li>
+<li>    „      rosmarinifolia.</li>
+<li>    „      viminalis.</li>
+<li>Sambucus nigra.</li>
+<li>      „              „        laciniata.</li>
+<li>      „              „        foliis aureis.</li>
+<li>      „          racemosa.</li>
+<li>      „                „            plumosa.</li>
+<li>      „                „                  „          aurea.</li>
+<li>Skimmia Fortunei.</li>
+<li>      „        japonica.</li>
+<li>Spartium junceum.</li>
+<li>Smilax aspera.</li>
+<li>    „        glauca.</li>
+<li>    „        rotundifolia.</li>
+<li>Sophora japonica.</li>
+<li>Spiræa bullata.</li>
+<li>    „        canescens.</li>
+<li>    „        cantoniensis.*</li>
+<li>    „        chamædrifolia.*</li>
+<li>    „        discolor.*</li>
+<li>    „        japonica.*</li>
+<li>    „              „            Bumalda.</li>
+<li>    „        prunifolia flore pleno.</li>
+<li>    „        salicifolia.</li>
+<li>    „        sorbifolia.</li>
+<li>    „        Thunbergii.</li>
+<li>Symphoricarpus orbiculatus.</li>
+<li>            „                racemosus.<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">374</span></p></li>
+<li>Syringa Emodi.</li>
+<li>      „        Josikæa.</li>
+<li>      „        persica.</li>
+<li>      „              „          alba.</li>
+<li>      „        vulgaris.</li>
+<li>     And many garden varieties.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Taxodium distichum.</li>
+<li>Taxus baccata.</li>
+<li>    „            „          adpressa.</li>
+<li>    „            „                „            aurea.</li>
+<li>    „            „          Dovastoni.</li>
+<li>    „            „          fastigiata.</li>
+<li>    „            „          fructo luteo.</li>
+<li>    „      canadensis.</li>
+<li>    „      cuspidata.</li>
+<li>Thuja dolobrata.*</li>
+<li>      „      japonica.*</li>
+<li>      „      occidentalis.</li>
+<li>      „      orientalis.</li>
+<li>      „              „              aureo-variegata.</li>
+<li>      „      plicata.*</li>
+<li>Tilia americana.</li>
+<li>    „      argentea.</li>
+<li>    „      cordata.</li>
+<li>    „      dasystyla.</li>
+<li>    „      petiolaris.</li>
+<li>    „      platyphyllus asplenifolia.</li>
+<li>    „      vulgaris.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Ulex europæus.</li>
+<li>  „            „            flore pleno.</li>
+<li>  „      nanus.</li>
+<li>Ulmus americanus.</li>
+<li>    „              „              pendula.</li>
+<li>    „      campestris.</li>
+<li>    „              „              Louis van Houtte.</li>
+<li>    „              „            sarniensis.</li>
+<li>    „              „            Wheatleyi.</li>
+<li>    „      glabra.</li>
+<li>    „          „          cornubiensis.</li>
+<li>    „          „          stricta.</li>
+<li>    „      montana.</li>
+<li>    „            „          atropurpureum.</li>
+<li>    „            „          fastigiata aurea.</li>
+<li>    „            „          pendula.</li>
+<li>    „            „          vegeta.</li>
+<li>    „      pedunculata.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Veronica cupressoides.</li>
+<li>      „          Traversii.</li>
+<li>Viburnum dentatum.</li>
+<li>      „          Lantana.</li>
+<li>      „          Lentago.</li>
+<li>      „          Opulus.</li>
+<li>      „              „          sterile.</li>
+<li>      „          Tinus.</li>
+<li>      „              „        hirtum.</li>
+<li>      „          plicatum.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Weigela (Diervilla) florida.</li>
+<li>      „                                hybrida.</li>
+<li>      „                                Looymansi aurea.</li>
+<li>Wistaria chinensis.</li>
+<li>      „          multijuga.</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Xanthorrhiza apiifolia.*</li>
+
+<li class="ifrst">Yucca angustifolia.</li>
+<li>    „      filamentosa.</li>
+<li>    „                „              flaccida.</li>
+<li>    „      gloriosa.</li>
+<li>    „      recurvifolia.</li>
+</ul>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">375</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="EXAMPLES"><span id="toclink_375"></span>EXAMPLES OF PLANTING FLOWER-BEDS
+IN HYDE PARK IN <span class="locked">1905–6</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 1.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:—Hyacinths, margin of Saxifrage.
+Day Lily, thinly planted, for bright green foliage growing up
+with and above the Hyacinths.</p>
+
+<p>2. Spring planting for early summer flowers:—Pansies for margin 18
+inches wide, the centre of bed planted with Ragged Robin.</p>
+
+<p>3. Summer planting for later summer and autumn display:—Large
+plants of Calceolaria Burbidgeii 8 feet high, Cassia corymbosa 6 feet
+high, Heliotrope 6 feet to 7 feet high, finishing off with Nicotiana affinis
+and sylvestris, Lantana Drap d’Or with Lilium longifiorum interspersed.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 2.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:—-Tulips, margin of Saxifrage.
+Iris germanica for foliage planted thinly with bulbs.</p>
+
+<p>2. Delphiniums, deep blue, 18 inch margin of yellow Pansies.</p>
+
+<p>3. Broad margin of Dell’s dark Beet, remainder of bed well planted
+with Cannas, Alphonse Bouvier, and Flambeau, brilliant crimson flowers.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 3.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:—-Narcissus Emperor with a
+6 to 1 mixture of Hyacinth King of the Blues, margin of Saxifrage.</p>
+
+<p>2. Broad margin of Pansies, remainder of bed filled with Erigeron
+speciosum.</p>
+
+<p>3. Large plants in pots of Ivy-leaved Pelargonium Madame Crousse,
+6 feet high, placed 5 feet apart. Margin and intermediate spaces planted
+with dwarf plants of a deeper coloured Ivy-leaved Pelargonium.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 4.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:—-Hyacinths Czar Peter,
+light-blue, Gigantea blush, margin of Saxifrage.</p>
+
+<p>2. Dictamnus in two colours, about 2 feet apart, ground of bed
+Anemone coronaria margined with Saxifraga Camposii.</p>
+
+<p>3. Gymnothrix latifolia, Kochia scoparia tricophylla interspersed with
+Acalypha musaica.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">376</span></p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 5.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Dark Wallflowers with margin of Gardiner’s Garter (Phalaris).</p>
+
+<p>2. Pelargonium Achievement 4 feet high and 4 feet apart, centre of
+bed and margin planted with dwarf plants of same variety.</p>
+
+<p>3. Celosia pyramidalis crimson and gold, with some crimson Cockscombs
+intermixed, the remaining portion of bed thickly planted to the
+margin with Leucophytum Brownii.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Bed 6.</span></h3>
+
+<p>1. Autumn planting for spring flowers:—Hyacinth Grande Maitre,
+blue.</p>
+
+<p>2. An interesting combination of the following flowers in rotation,
+fresh ones being introduced as others faded:—Linum perenne, Ixias,
+Sparaxis, and Calochortus, in variety, Oxalis rosea, Camassia esculenta,
+Lychnis Viscaria, Crassula coccinea, Balsams with double pink blooms.
+The setting for these flowers was a variegated grass. A good effect
+was the result for many weeks.</p>
+
+<p>3. For the remainder of the season this bed was filled with a succession
+of Lilium speciosum roseum on a green ground, with a margin of
+Agathea cœlestis.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="section">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="ERRATA"><span class="gesperrt">ERRATA</span></h2>
+
+<div class="center-container">
+<div class="container">
+Page 16, line 24, <i>for</i> ‘Sir John Sloane’ <i>read</i> ‘Sir Hans Sloane.’<br>
+  „     42,    „    4, <i>for</i> ‘places’ <i>read</i> ‘plans.’<br>
+  „     77,    „  15, <i>for</i> ‘Quintinge’ <i>read</i> ‘Quintinye.’<br>
+  „   241,    „    7, <i>for</i> ‘battle of Alma’ <i>read</i> ‘battle of the Alma.’
+</div></div>
+<div>                                                                                                                                                                                                                           </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter footnotes">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES"><span class="gesperrt">FOOTNOTES</span></h2>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">1</a> Close Roll, Henry VII.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a> MSS. Manor Roll in the Record Office.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a> MSS. Manor Roll, Archives of Ely Cathedral.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a> See Alexander Necham, <cite lang="la">De Naturis Rerum</cite>, twelfth century.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a> Stowe, “Survey of London.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a> Stowe’s “Survey of London.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a> See <a href="#Page_171">p. 171</a>.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a> As Vauxhall is not included in Lieut.-Col. Sexby’s exhaustive book,
+the following details are not very accessible. It was bought from Mr.
+Cobeldick for £43,500.</p>
+
+<table id="t162">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Made up by Lambeth Vestry</td>
+  <td class="tdr">£11,746 17 6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="d162">„</span> Charity Commissioners</td>
+  <td class="tdr">12,500 0 0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="d162">„</span> London County Council</td>
+  <td class="tdr">11,746 17 6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="d162">„</span> Donations and other sources</td>
+  <td class="tdr">7,506 5 0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr bt">£43,500 0 0</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The fencing and laying out was done by the Kyrle Society. The Park
+was opened by the present King and Queen, July 7, 1890.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a> See “Chitty’s Statutes,” by J.&nbsp;M. Lely, under “Metropolis.”</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a> See <a href="#Page_12">page 12</a>.</p>
+
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">377</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX"><span id="toclink_377"></span><span class="gesperrt">INDEX</span></h2>
+
+<div class="index">
+<ul class="index">
+<li class="pix">A</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Acreage of Parks, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Aiglio, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Albert Memorial, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Alma-Tadema, Sir Laurence, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Alpine plants, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Anne Boleyn, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— of Cleves, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Queen, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Annual flowers, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Apothecaries’ Garden, Chelsea, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Archbishop’s Park, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Archery, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Argyll Lodge, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Artillery Garden, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Ground, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Austin Friars, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Avery Hill, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Avondale Park, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">B</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bacon and Gray’s Inn, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Balloon ascents, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bank of England, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Banqueting-houses, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Barnard’s Inn, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Battersea enamel, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Battersea Park, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155–161</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— bicycling in, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— chrysanthemums in, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— duel in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— early history of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Red House in, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— sub-tropical garden in, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bayard’s Castle, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bergne, Lady, garden in Kensington, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam), <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bethnal Green Gardens, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Birdcage Walk, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Birds, wild, in Greenwich Park, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Victoria Park, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— on Hampstead Heath, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blackfriars, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Blackheath, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bostall Wood, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Botanical Garden, Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Society, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brewers’ Almshouses, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bridgeman, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bridgewater House, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Broad Walk, Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brockwell Park, <a href="#Page_170">170–174</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— old English garden in, <a href="#Page_170">170–172</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— purchase of, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— rooks in, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brook Green, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Broome House, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Brown, Sir Richard, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Buckingham House, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Palace, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350–355</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bunhill Fields, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248–251</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Bunyan, John, tomb, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Burial-grounds, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242–260</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Friends’, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in the City, <a href="#Page_254">254–259</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Marylebone, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— St. John’s Wood, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— St. Pancras, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Stepney, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Burton’s Court, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">378</span>Burton, Decimus, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">C</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cadogan Place, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cake-house in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Camberwell Park, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Green, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cam House, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Campden Hill, gardens on, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Carlton House, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Caroline, Queen, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Catalpa, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cedars, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chamberlain, Mr., house at Highbury, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charles I., <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charles II., <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charlton, <a href="#Page_357">357</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Charterhouse, <a href="#Page_289">289–291</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chelsea, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Ranelagh Gardens, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Waterworks, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chelsea Hospital, <a href="#Page_311">311–317</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— burial-ground, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— statue in, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chelsea Physic Garden, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— cedars, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— curators of, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— new management of, <a href="#Page_319">319</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— trees in, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— visit of Linnæus, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Chrysanthemums, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">City Corporation Parks, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clapham Common, <a href="#Page_205">205–207</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clement’s Inn, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clifford’s Inn, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Climate, changes of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Clissold Park, <a href="#Page_141">141–144</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Commons, <a href="#Page_185">185–216</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Clapham, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Deptford, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Hackney, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Old Oak, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Peckham Rye, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Plumstead, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Streatham, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Tooting, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Wandsworth, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Commons’ Preservation Society, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Commonwealth, sale of Royal Parks in time of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cost of maintenance of Parks, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">County in Town Exhibition, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cox’s Walk, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cromwell, Oliver, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Cromwell, Thomas, seizure of gardens by, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">D</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dahlia, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Deer, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dell in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Deptford Park, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Devonshire House, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dolphin Fountain, Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Downing Street, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Drapers’ Company Garden, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Duck Island, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Duels, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Duke Humphrey’s Walk, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Duke of York’s School, Chelsea, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dulwich College, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Dulwich Park, <a href="#Page_174">174–177</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— rock garden in, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">E</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Eel Brook Common, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Eltham Park, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ely Place, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Embankment Gardens, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Enfield, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Evelyn, John, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325–326</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Exhibition of 1851, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">F</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fairchild, Thomas, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fawcett, Henry, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fetter Lane, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fickett’s Field, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Finsbury Circus, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Park, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139–141</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Square, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fire of London, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Flowers at the Grey-coat School, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">379</span>—— in Greenwich Park, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Holborn, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_46">46–48</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Municipal Parks, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in the Temple Gardens, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— of Shakespeare, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— suited to London, <a href="#Page_330">330–335</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fogs, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Foley House, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fordyce, Mr., <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Foundling Hospital, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">French Gardeners, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fuchsia, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Fulham Palace, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— gardens at, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">G</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gardeners, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Company, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gardens, Castle, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— City, <a href="#Page_14">14–16</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— monastic, <a href="#Page_7">7–8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gay, lines on Lincoln’s Inn Fields, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gerard, John, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gibson, Mr., <a href="#Page_137">137–158</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Godfrey, Sir Edmondsbury, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Goose Green, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gordon riots, <a href="#Page_194">194–233</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gospel Oak, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grant, Baron, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gray’s Inn, <a href="#Page_283">283–288</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Green Park, <a href="#Page_56">56–73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— fireworks in, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— railings round, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Ranger’s lodge in, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Green Walk, St. James’s Park, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Greens, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Greenwich Fair, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Greenwich Park, <a href="#Page_106">106–118</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— birds in, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— burials in, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— flowers in, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Queen’s House, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— royal pageants in, <a href="#Page_109">109–113</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— wild flowers in, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grey-coat School, Westminster, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grosley, Mr., <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Grosvenor House, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Gunning, The Misses, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">H</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hackney, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Commons, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Downs, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Marsh, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hainault, Forest of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hamilton Place, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hampstead Heath, <a href="#Page_192">192–198</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Jack Straw’s Castle, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Spaniards, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Wells, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— wild flowers, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hatton, Sir Christopher, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Heath, Bostall, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Hampstead, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Henry VIII. and Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— at Greenwich, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Henry, Prince of Wales, <a href="#Page_357">357–359</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Highbury Fields, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Highgate, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hilly Fields, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Holborn, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Holland House, <a href="#Page_337">337–343</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Honourable Artillery Company, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Horniman Gardens, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hornsey Wood, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Horse Guards’ Parade, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Horticultural Society, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hoxton, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hunting, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85–86</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hyde, Manor of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_23">23–55</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— area of flower beds, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— boundaries, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— cake-house in, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— deer in, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— dell, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— duels in, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— flowers in, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— forts erected in, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— fountains in, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— frame-ground in, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— gates, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— hunting in, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— keepers of, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">380</span>—— Parliamentary army in, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Plague in, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— railings round, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— reviews in, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Ring in, <a href="#Page_28">28–30</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— roads in, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— sale of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— trees in, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— water in, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">I</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ice accident, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ice-house in Green Park, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Inns of Court, <a href="#Page_261">261–288</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ironmongers’ Almshouses, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Island Garden, Poplar, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Isle of Dogs, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Islip Abbot, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">J</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Jack Straw’s Castle, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Jacobite Walk, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">James I., <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">James II., <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Jefferies, Richard, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Johnson, Thomas, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">K</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kennington Common, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kennington Park, <a href="#Page_164">164–166</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— fountain in, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— historical incidents, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kensington Gardens, <a href="#Page_41">41–50</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— trees in, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kensington Palace, <a href="#Page_36">36–40</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kent, landscape gardener, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Kyrle Society, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">L</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ladywell Recreation Ground, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lamb, Charles, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lambeth, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lammas Lands, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Latimer, Bishop, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Laud, Archbishop, <a href="#Page_305">305–306</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Le Nôtre, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lincoln, Earl of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lincoln’s Inn, <a href="#Page_279">279–282</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Lincoln’s Inn Fields, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">L’Obel, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Loddige, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">London and Wise, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">London County Council, equipment of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— expenditure on parks, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— inappropriate planting by, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— parks owned by, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">London Fields, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Hospital Garden, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Loudon, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">M</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mall, The, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Manor Park or Manor House Gardens, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Marble Arch, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Hill, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Marvel, Andrew, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mary, Queen, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Marylebone Fields, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— origin of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Marylebone Park, <a href="#Page_84">84–89</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— called Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— lease to the Duke of Portland, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Manor-house in, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Maryon Park, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mayor of Garrett, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Meath Gardens, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Earl of, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Metropolitan Commons Act, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Gardens Association, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Milton, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Minet, Mr. William, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mirabeau, letters of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Monastic gardens, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Montagu House, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Montagu, Mrs., <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moorfields, <a href="#Page_10">10–12</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">381</span>Moorgate, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Moravian Mission, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">More, Sir Thomas, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Mother Shipton, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Municipal Parks, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— acreage of, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— criticisms upon, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— equipment of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— flowers in, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— formation of, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— green-houses in, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— laying out of, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— old English gardens in, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— situation of, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Myatt’s Fields, Camberwell, <a href="#Page_166">166–168</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— avenue in, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">N</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Naming plants, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Nash, architect, <a href="#Page_90">90–91</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Navy, timber in Marylebone Park used by Cromwell for, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Neate or Neyte, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Nell Gwynn, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Nesfield, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Nevill, Bishop of Chichester, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Court, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">New River, <a href="#Page_142">142–143</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">North Woolwich tea garden, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Nunhead Green, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">O</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Observatory, Greenwich, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Old English Gardens,” <a href="#Page_151">151–154</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Open Spaces, Select Committee on, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Osborne, Dorothy, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">P</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paddington Green, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pall Mall, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pardon Churchyard, Charterhouse, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— St. Paul’s, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parkinson, John, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parks, acreage of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— classes of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— duels in, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— lighting of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— maintenance of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Municipal, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Royal, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— sale of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Park system, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parliament Hill, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Parson’s Green, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Paul’s Cross, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pawlet, Sir William, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Peckham Rye, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pennethorne, Sir James, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Pepys, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Piccadilly, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Placentia or Plaisance, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plague, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plane trees, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plants suited to London, <a href="#Page_330">330–335</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Plumstead Common, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Portland Place, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Postman’s Park, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Potatoes, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Primrose Hill, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Private gardens, <a href="#Page_327">327–356</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">Q</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Quaggy River, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Queen’s House, Greenwich, <a href="#Page_113">113–114</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Queen’s Walk, Green Park, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Quintinye, de la, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">R</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ranelagh Gardens, <a href="#Page_315">315</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ranger’s Lodge, Green Park, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Greenwich Park, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ravensbourne, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ravenscourt Park, <a href="#Page_152">152–154</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— old English garden in, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— trees in, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Red House, Battersea, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Reform Bill riots, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_83">83–105</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— architecture and houses, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— banqueting houses in, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">382</span>—— canal, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— deer, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— duels in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— flowers in, <a href="#Page_101">101–102</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— formerly Marylebone Park, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— hunting in, <a href="#Page_85">85–86</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Manor-house in, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— railings, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— sale by Cromwell, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Societies in, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— stone vase in, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— villas in, <a href="#Page_93">93–94</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Repton, Humphrey, <a href="#Page_231">231–239</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rhododendrons in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ring in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_28">28–30</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Riots in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rock gardens, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rooks, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rosamond’s Pond, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Roses, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Rotten Row, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Round Pond, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Royal Avenue, Chelsea, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Ruskin Park, <a href="#Page_168">168–170</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">S</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Saint Alphege, London Wall, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Bartholomew’s Hospital, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Botolph’s, Aldersgate, <a href="#Page_255">255–256</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Christopher-le-Stocks, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Dunstan’s Lodge, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Dunstan’s, Stepney, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— George’s-in-the-East, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Giles, Cripplegate, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— James’s Palace, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— James’s Park, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56–82</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— animals and birds in, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>,73</li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— canal in, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— cows in, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— driving privileges in, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— Duck Island, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— flowers in, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— leper hospital in, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— a races in, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— Rosamond’sPond, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— —— tilting ring, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— John at Hackney, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— —— Knights of, <a href="#Page_7">7–8</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— John’s Lodge, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Katherine Coleman, <a href="#Page_255">256</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Katharine’s, Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_347">437</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Leonard’s, Shoreditch, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Martin, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Mary Staining, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Mary, Islington, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Olave’s, Hart Street, <a href="#Page_254">254–257</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Pancras-in-the-Fields, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Paul’s Churchyard, <a href="#Page_250">250–254</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sand gardens for children, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sayes Court, Deptford, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Scott, Sir Gilbert, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Seething Lane, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Serpentine, <a href="#Page_37">37–38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42–45</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shakespeare, flowers of, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shepherd’s Bush, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Shrubs suitable for London, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Skating, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— club, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sloane, Sir Hans, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Smoke, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Spa Fields, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">“Spaniards,” Hampstead, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Spring flowers suitable for London, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Springfield Park, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Spring Gardens, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Squares, <a href="#Page_217">217–241</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Bedford, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Belgrave, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Berkeley, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Bloomsbury, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Brompton, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Brunswick, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Cadogan Place, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Cavendish, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Eaton, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Finsbury, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Golden, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Grosvenor, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Hanover, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Belgravia, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Bloomsbury, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in the East End, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Kensington, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">383</span>—— Ladbroke, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Leicester, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Lincoln’s Inn Fields, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Manchester, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Mecklenburgh, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— New, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Portman, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Queen’s, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Red Lion, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Russell, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Saint James’s, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Soho, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Southampton, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— statues in, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Trinity, <a href="#Page_237">237</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Vincent, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sorbiere, M. de, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">South London Parks, <a href="#Page_155">155–184</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Southwark Park, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Stepney, Manor of, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Museum, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Stoke Newington or Clissold Park, <a href="#Page_141">141–144</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Streatham Common, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Sub-tropical Garden, Battersea, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Summer-houses, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Switzer, Stephen, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">T</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Telegraph Hill, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Templars, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Temple, The, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264–279</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Bencher’s Garden, Inner, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Bencher’s Garden, Middle, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Temple Garden, chambers built on the, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— flowers in, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Fountain, <a href="#Page_269">269–275</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— green-house, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— iron gates, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— re-turfing, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— sun-dial, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Wars of the Roses begin in, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Thrale Place, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tinworth, sculpture by, <a href="#Page_163">163–166</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tooting Beck, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Common, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Graveney, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tortoise at Lambeth, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Toxopholite Society, <a href="#Page_307">307</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tradescant, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Trees at Fulham, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Chelsea Physic Garden, <a href="#Page_321">321–323</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Greenwich Park, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Hyde Park, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Municipal Parks, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>,
+    <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in Regent’s Park, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— in squares, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— pruning of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Trinity Hospital, Mile End, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Turner, William, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Tyburn, Manor of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">U</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Upper Park, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Uvedale, Robert, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">V</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vatcher, Rev. Sidney, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vauxhall Gardens, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vauxhall Park, <a href="#Page_161">161–164</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— purchase of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Veitch, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Verjuice, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Victoria Docks, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Victoria Park, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135–139</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— birds in, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— planting in, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Victoria Park Cemetery, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Victoria, Queen, Memorial, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vineyards, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Vintage, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">W</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wages in 1554, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wandsworth Common, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Waterlow Park, <a href="#Page_145">145–150</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— historical events in, <a href="#Page_147">147–149</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— ponds in, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">384</span>—— trees in, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Waterlow, Sir Sidney, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Waterworks Company, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Westminster, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Westminster Abbey, <a href="#Page_299">299–305</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— gardens in monastic times, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">—— Little Cloister, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Whip Club, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Whitechapel, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Whitfield, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wild flowers near London, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">William III., <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wine, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Winter Garden, Duke Street, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wise, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Woolwich, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Wormwood Scrubs, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">Y</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Yews, Irish, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+
+<li class="pix">Z</li>
+
+<li class="indx">Zoological Society, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">Zouche, Lord, Garden in Hackney, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="p2 center wspace smaller">THE END</p>
+
+<p class="p2 center smaller vspace">
+Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson &amp; Co.</span><br>
+Edinburgh &amp; London
+</p>
+
+<figure id="i_mapback" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img src="images/i_map.jpg" width="1005" height="826" alt="map">
+  <figcaption class="large">
+    <a href="images/i_map_large.jpg">(Large)</a>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<div class="chapter transnote">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2>
+
+<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made
+consistent when a predominant preference was found
+in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p>
+
+<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced
+quotation marks were remedied when the change was
+obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.</p>
+
+<p>Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned
+between paragraphs and outside quotations. In versions
+of this eBook that support hyperlinks, the page
+references in the List of Illustrations lead to the
+corresponding illustrations.</p>
+
+<p>The Errata following <a href="#ERRATA">page 376</a> have been corrected
+in this eBook.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#FOOTNOTES">Footnotes</a>, originally at the bottoms of the pages that referenced them,
+have been collected, sequentially renumbered, and placed near the end of
+the book, just before the index.</p>
+
+<p>The <a href="#INDEX">index</a> was not checked for proper alphabetization
+or correct page references.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#Page_203">Page 203</a>: “West Kent Grammer School” was printed
+that way.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#Page_277">Pages 277–278</a>: In the original book, the speakers’ names were to the
+left of the dialog. In this eBook, they are above the dialog.</p>
+
+<p>Ditto marks in the <a href="#LIST_OF_SOME_OF_THE_WORKS_CONSULTED">Appendices</a> of this eBook are not aligned as nicely
+as in the original book.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#Page_368">Pages 368–374</a>: In the original book, asterisks
+indicating “not in existence” were positioned
+at the left sides of the lines. In this ebook,
+they are positioned at the right sides.
+</p>
+</div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76057 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
diff --git a/76057-h/images/cover-small.jpg b/76057-h/images/cover-small.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..356ad42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/cover-small.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/cover.jpg b/76057-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a900eaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_a.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_a.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..179cd0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_a.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_i.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_i.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..615bbb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_i.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_l.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_l.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7fbcfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_l.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_n.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_n.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57e4239
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_n.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_o.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_o.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c278943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_o.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_r.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_r.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..024dd1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_r.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_idc_t.png b/76057-h/images/i_idc_t.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bff65da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_idc_t.png
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_map.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_map.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0beb2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_map.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_map_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_map_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f48d37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_map_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p001c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p001c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..faf886d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p001c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p001c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p001c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f0a280
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p001c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p038c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p038c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39862f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p038c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p038c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p038c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f74d6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p038c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p039.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p039.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d40e182
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p039.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p039_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p039_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86975ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p039_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p043.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p043.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..494b8b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p043.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p043_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p043_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27e25ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p043_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p046c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p046c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df1e474
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p046c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p046c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p046c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13d4b96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p046c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p054c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p054c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43eac16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p054c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p054c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p054c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..500416d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p054c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p064c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p064c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d16b043
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p064c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p064c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p064c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52cd8c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p064c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p081.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p081.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04658ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p081.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p081_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p081_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af2e67d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p081_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p090c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p090c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..106e7cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p090c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p090c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p090c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..300f1e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p090c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p101.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p101.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1490f8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p101.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p101_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p101_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..647db34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p101_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p102c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p102c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddfd6f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p102c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p102c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p102c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..259f5a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p102c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p138.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p138.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bab8da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p138.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p138_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p138_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..428f92c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p138_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p143.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p143.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b06813
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p143.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p143_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p143_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a56bb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p143_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p148c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p148c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..224d71d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p148c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p148c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p148c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41ca957
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p148c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p167.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p167.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..90c2e29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p167.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p167_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p167_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c5591c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p167_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p172c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p172c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..787ac60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p172c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p172c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p172c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d56567
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p172c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p214.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p214.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d07049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p214.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p214_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p214_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79173c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p214_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p220.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p220.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95e1a6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p220.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p220_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p220_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3953e43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p220_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p220c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p220c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57e12a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p220c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p220c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p220c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca09424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p220c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p226c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p226c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f07497
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p226c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p226c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p226c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f70bfd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p226c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p250c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p250c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3add915
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p250c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p250c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p250c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4f9b5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p250c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p256.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p256.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3964b6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p256.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p256_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p256_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d790c9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p256_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p258c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p258c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..74c9c30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p258c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p258c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p258c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e748978
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p258c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p270c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p270c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e0a4c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p270c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p270c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p270c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b761045
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p270c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p276c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p276c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ed83d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p276c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p276c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p276c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b7896b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p276c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p280c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p280c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..33b6fc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p280c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p280c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p280c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb5a89c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p280c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p288c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p288c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75ecad3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p288c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p288c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p288c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41bfbf8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p288c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p293.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p293.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f7ee6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p293.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p293_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p293_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa63772
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p293_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p298c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p298c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44ad6f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p298c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p298c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p298c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59b4a26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p298c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p301.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p301.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc1182d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p301.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p301_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p301_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6032f45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p301_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p302c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p302c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8699df0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p302c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p302c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p302c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efa6e6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p302c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p306c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p306c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9cba7a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p306c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p306c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p306c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..426ded4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p306c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p312c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p312c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2bf0a95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p312c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p312c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p312c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27c9168
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p312c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p314.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p314.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..052259b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p314.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p314_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p314_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a1d435
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p314_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p324c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p324c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..588152b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p324c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p324c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p324c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5bd6640
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p324c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p334c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p334c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dff7442
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p334c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p334c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p334c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f69f3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p334c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p340c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p340c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7e330d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p340c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p340c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p340c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..908b06b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p340c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p346c.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p346c.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..844a26e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p346c.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p346c_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p346c_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..673f370
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p346c_large.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p349.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p349.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de5e45d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p349.jpg
diff --git a/76057-h/images/i_p349_large.jpg b/76057-h/images/i_p349_large.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91b8986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/76057-h/images/i_p349_large.jpg
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5dba15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this book outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d9a294
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+book #76057 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76057)