eighty feet. This fountain was designed by Mr. Abraham, but only th e lower
th e height of seventy or
« story o ry 'has h a r b been e e n executed.execute
T h e pagoda, th e Gotoic temple (seen to th e right in 187..,p.. 2 ^ .) , the
range of gilt conservatories, and he imitation of Stonehenge Cfe.185.), form the leading artificial features
of the valley (c m jig . 184.). The valley itself is upwards of a mile in length: it gradually widens from its
commencement a t the stone bridge with the pond above it, till it terminates by opening into the wide
valley containing th e Chumet, there a considerable stream, and a navigable canal. This immense
valley, it is said, th e late earl intended to cover entirely with wa te r; and, as it would have saved the
p n a l company several miles of canal, they offered to fonn th e dam or head a t their own expense. This
Brown thousands of acres, would have been as easily produced as th a t of Blenheim was by
I n approaching from Ckcadlc, we arrive in front of th e castellated stables (t), and see th e abbey
(Jig. 183.) across th e pond above the level of the bridge. Proceeding a little farther towards the dry
bridge, Stonehenge appears in th e foreground, and the tops of th e seven gilt glass domes o fth e range
of conservatories below {Jig. 185.). Raising the eyes, the lofty Gothic temple appears on the left of
the picture ; and on the right, across th e valley, the harper’s cottage. In the centre of th e picture,
over th e domes in the foreground, th e valley loses itself in a winding bank of wood, in a style of great
grandeur and seclusion. None of th e details of the valley here obtrude themselves ; and the effect,
after passing through a wild country, exhibiting no marks of refinement, is singularly impressive. It
fills th e mind with astonishment and delight, to find so much of the magnificence of art, and the
appearance of refined enjoyment, amidst so much of the wildness and solitary grandeur of nature. The
imitation of Stonehenge, too, is a feature in artificial landscape which we have not elsewhere seen ; and
a stranger is puzzled and confounded by finding a stream and a small waterfall supplying a lake on
what he conceives to be th e highest point of high ground.
Thus fa r as to general impressions; wc shall not go into details. It is evident th a t th e contents of
th e valley defy all criticism ; and that, perhaps, is paying the late author of these extravagant fancies a
compliment after his own heart. If his object were originality, and that of a kind which should puzzle
and confound, he has certainly succeeded ; and, having attained the end which he proposed, as far as
respects himself, he is to be considered eminently successful. How far it may be commendable for aman
of wealth to gratify a peculiar taste, ra th e r than one which is generally approved by th e intelligence of
the country in which he lives, is not, in these days, perhaps, a question of much consequence.
John, tke present and seventeenth E a r l of Shrewsbury, has wisely considered it his duty to continue
employing as many hands as were employed by his predecessor ; and his works, on the whole, are in a
taste that will be more generally approved. In the gardens he has obliterated a number of th e walks,
stairs, shell-works, and other petty contrivances ; which, however, we almost regret, because no trifling
alteration can ever improve what is so far out of the reach of reason. To the house he has made, and
is making, extensive additions; and has added, among other things, a picture gallery, which will be
one of the largest in the kingdom. What are wanting to the place are approaches ; not only exhibiting
most interesting views, like the present, but of so uniform and gentle a slope, as to be as rapidly driven
over as if they were on level ground. The main entrance to th e building is also on th e wrong side ; in
consequence of which, a stranger sees the prmcipal beauties of the place before entering the house.
592. Public parks and gardens in London. England was for m a n j years considered
greatly inferior to the Continent in public parks and gardens. I t was even asserted that
amusements in the open air were not suited cither to the climate of to the genius of the
people. After the fall of Napoleon, however, when the Continent was thrown open to
the English, a partial assimilation took place between Englisli and continental manners ;
and, among other things, a taste for amusements in the open air gradually sprung up.
In consequence of this change, the parks and gardens of the metropolis were improved,
and others established in different parts of England.
St. James's P a rk is the oldest in London, as it was enclosed by Henry V III. to serve as pleasure-
grounds to th e palace of St. James’s, having been originally a morass. It did not, however, assume its
present shape till the time of Charles II., who employed th e celebrated Le Nôtre to lay it out, and had
th e walk now called the Mall planted with a straight avenue of trees for the purpose of playing at the
then favourite game called pall mall, and which game required a smooth hollow walk, w’ith an iron hoop
at one extremity, through which a ball was forced to pass. The Birdcage Walk in the time of Charles II.
was hung with cages of foreign birds. About 1832 a portion of the ground, in the centre of the park,
was enclosed and laid out as a garden, having in the centre a lake, on which are a great variety of waterfowl
; and in 1842 a fountain was erected.
The Green P a rk is very small, and consists chiefly of a narrow road leading up an ascent on the
north of Buckingham Palace, called Constitution Hill, and a square pond, forming the reservoir of the
Chelsea waterworks.
/LÿÆePflrÆ was so called from having originally belonged to th e monastery of Hide, from whom it
was taken by Henry V III. It contains nearly four hundred acres, and is laid out in walks, some of
which are bordered by trees. There is a large straight lake in it, called by a curious misnomer the
mected on the side Serpentine River. In 1816 a bridge was erected ( n ex t Kensingtont GG ard‘ens, and the park
was generally improved. In 1834 some plantations of various kinds of trees were made, and about
1838, an avenue of elms was planted, and lodges with ornamental gardens were erected at the principal
gates for the keepers. About 1840 a broad walk was made across the park, and numerous trees and
shrubs were planted.
TheRegent’s Park contains about th ree hundred and fifty-seven acres. It lies on th e north of Oxford
Street towards Primrose Hill and Highgate, and was Jo rm ed partly of what were called Marylebone
Gardens, and partly of some adjoining fields ; th e gardens having originally belonged to a palace which
existed in the time of Elizabeth. This park was first laid out in 1812 or 1815, b u t it has been greatly
improved since th a t time, and it now contains the Zoological aud th e Royal Botanic Gardens, th e latter
occupying the ring or inner circle. There is also an enclosed garden for th e use of the inhabitants of
th e adjoining houses ; but the greater part of the park is laid out in broad gravel walks, which are
planted with trees, and which are open to the public. On the south side of th e park is an ornamental
piece of water, and on the north, what is called the Regent’s Canal.
The Victoria P a rk is near Bethnal Green. An act passed, in 1841, for purchasing the ground, about
280 acres ; but in 1846 scarcely more than a quarte r of it was formed, though it had been for some
time open to the puhlic. The whole of th e 280 acres were then enclosed by a temporary wooden fence,
and th e principal entrance was by a bridge thrown over tlie Regent’s Canal, close to Bethnal Green
church, where a handsome gate and p o rter’s lodge had been erected. After passing along the bridge
a carriage drive, of about twenty-two feet in width, branches off right and left in a straight line nearly
as far as Grove Road in one direction, and to th e eastern boundary on the other. It is planted on either
side with limes and elms, which are about twenty feet apart, and ten feet from the road. A strip of
grass, twenty feet in width, divides the carriage road from a walk ten feet wide ; and this kind of border
it is proposed to carry round the park.
Kensington Gardens may fairly be classed among th e London parks, as they have very little the
character of garden sc e n e ^ . They were laid out by William and Mary, and a t first their extent was
only thirty-six ac res; but Queen Anne added th irty acres, which were laid out by London and Wise,
in the formal style of parterres, and with high yew hedges, some of which remained till th e year 1838.
A few o fth e trees are even still in existence, on th e west side of the gardens, bordering what is called