264
the “ w inter walk.” Caroline, the Queen of George II., was very partial to these gardens, and added
to them th ree hundred acres, taken from Hyde P ark. This addition was laid out by Bridgeman, and
it comprises all th e portion of the gardens which lies south of the palace, and all th a t is east of th e
broad walk from Bayswater to Knightsbridge. The piece of water to th e east of the palace was among
the additions made by Bridgeman. The gjirdens, in their present state, are three miles and a half in
circumference. F or many years after the death of Queen Caroline very little was done to them, and
th e trees, not being thinned in the plantations, were drawn up so as to become unnaturally tall and
slender. In 1832 they were partially thinned ; and about 1838, several having been blown down in a
violent storm, they were again thinned, and a new plantation made so as to form a belt extending nearly
th e wliolo length of tbe garden on the southern boundary, and about half the length on the northern side.
In 1842 the trees and shrubs in these gardens were named by labels, made of cast and wrought iron, being
affixed to each. The name is printed in black letters on a white ground, on a cast-iron plate, 14 inches by
7 inches, nearly half an inch thick, with the corners rounded off, and the edges turned up. The plate is
riveted to a wrought-iron shank two feet in length, so th a t when th e shaft is stuck into the ground, the
label is so placed as to be easily read by any passer by. It is no small gratification to us to reflect that
we first suggested the idea of naming these plants, though no notice was taken of the suggestion, till Lord
Lincoln was placed at the head of this department of th e government. It is also a source of satisfaction,
and, we tru st, one which will be considered laudable, th a t the names adopted are those of the Arboretum
et Fruticctum Britannicum. T h e names have been selected and applied by Mr. George Don, F .L . S.,
than whom a more fit person could not have been employed for this purpose. (See Gard. Mag. tor
1842, p. 664.) In 1842 a drooping fountain was erected in that p a rt of Kensington Gardens which adjoins
Hyde P ark. This fountain, which is placed in th e middle of the river, consists of a series of circular
cast-iron basins, arranged on a vertical axis one above another, exactly like an old-fashioned
dumb-waiter. T h e cast-iron axis rises abruptly from th e water ; and th e whole, which may be ten or
twelve feet high, is painted white. Anything less in accordance with th e surrounding scenery it is
difficult to imagine. We have often, when passing this fountain, asked ourselves whether it be possible
th a t the Commissioners of Woods and Forests can approve of i t ; and, if they do not approve of it, how
it happens th a t such a hideous object, or, indeed, any object intended to be ornamental, could be put
up without thcir knowledge and approbation. If this fountain had risen out of a base of rockwork
it would have been less hideous, but still liable to the objection of being altogether incongruous
to th e scene in which it is placed. A single bold jet from a mass of rock in such a scene we hold to be
admissible, but by no means either a je t o r a drooping fountain from sculpture or regular architecture.
Th e most appropriate fountain which could be introduced in th is p a rt of the water in Kensington
Gardens would be one consisting of huge masses of rock in the form of a source, placed where the
mock bridge now stands, from which the water might trickle down in streamlets. We say this kind
of fountain would have been the most appropriate ; because, being a t the upper end or commencement
o fth e river, or, rather, lake, it would have indicated how it was supplied, while no violence would have
been done to tlie character of the scenery. Instead of exhibiting a source of this kind, and disguising
th e termination o f th e lake by one or two islands, an attempt is made to keep up th e character of a
river by building three arches as a termination, the commonplace resource in places of this kind in
the infancy of the natural style of laying out grounds, but long since rejected by artists of cultivated
taste. The fountain a t present only plays occasionally; but if a rocky source were substituted, the
supply of water might be easily so regulated as to flow throughout th e whole of th at portion of every
day during which the gardens arc open to the public. {Gard. Mag. for 1842, p. 382.)
Another park is now (1849) being laid out on th e Surrey side of th e Thames, near Battersea Bridge.
593. Public pleasure-grounds, partaldng of the nature of both park and garden, have,
since the year 1830, been formed in vai-ious parts of Great Britain as places for recreation
aud enjoyment for persons in the open air. “ Till within these few years, there
have not been many such public gardens or promenades iu Britain, except in the metropolis,
though they have long been common on the Continent. There is no town of any
consequence in France or Gennany that has not either a regular enclosed garden, ia
which flowers, as well as trees and shrubs, are cultivated, and the gates of which arc
attended by keepers to exclude dogs, &c.; or a promenade, in which various Idnds of
trees and shi-ubs are grown, and scats placed in different situations: and both, sometimes,
also contain temples or covered scats, as resting-places, and cottages or pavilions,
as coffee-houses. The finest public flower-gai-den in Germany is, unquestionably, that
of F ran k fo rt; and the finest promenade garden on the Continent is the English garden
at Munich.” (Gard. Mag., for 1835, p. 644.) “ Public opinion,” says a writer in the
Westminster Review, for April 1841, “ is gradually awakening to a sense of the importance
of open spaces for air and exercise, as a necessary sanatoiy provision for the
inhabitants of all lai-ge towns. Some little sympathy, too, is beginning to be felt for
those who have hitherto suffered almost a total privation of every innocent pleasurable
excitement, and a desfre exists in influential quarters to extend the rational enjoyments
of the working classes. It is five years since Mr. Buckingham, member for Sheffield,
moved in the House of Commons that the inhabitants of large towns should be empowered
to rate themselves for the purpose of providing public gardens, or open spaces,
for the healthful recreation of the class now pent up in courts and alleys, or confined to
crowded streets. In 1837, Mr. Hume succeeded in cai-rying a resolution, as one of the
standing orders of the House, that in all new cuclosui-e bOIs, some portion of the waste
lands about to be appropriated should be set apart for the healthful recreation of the
inliabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages. Since the resolution was adopted
by the House, sixty-three enclosivre bills have passed into law, and several hundred acres
of land, which would otherwise have become private property, have been secured to the
public.” “ It is to Mr. Hume we are also principally indebted for preserving Primrose
Hill from the grasp of private speculators. He successfully resisted the project of converting
this favourite resort of Londoners into a private cemetery, and was the means of
inducing government to purchase the property from E ton college and Lord Southampton;
a purchase which has recently been effected, to the extent of fifty-eight acres, for the
benefit of the public, at a cost of 300/. per acre.” Among other gratifying facts, it is
pleasant to dwell on the conduct of one individual, the late Mr. Joseph Strutt. “ His
late giit to the town of Derby is one of the noblest benefactions of modern times: one
which we delight to notice, because it has no tendency to frustrate the lessons of forethought
and self-dependence which nature teaches, to pauperise industry, or make the
poor man trust to the bounty of the rich, instead of the energies which an honest pride
would raise within liim.” r(W estminster Rt ev?iew, ef.o.,r. Aa—prinl 1841.\) ^
of w h "* f a p articular description ; not only as being one of the first gardens
munificent gift of a private individual to
n / r h ! /I V ^ P'®®®, of ground, eleven acres in extent, was presented to the town of
Derby, by Joseph S tru tt Esq., as a place of recreation for the general population of th e town. “ The
instructions given to us by Mr. S trutt, respecting laying out this piece of ground, were, that the garden
was intended to be one of recreation for th e inhabitants of Derby and the neighbourhood, and for all
other persons who chose to come and see i t ; th at it should be open two days i / the week, knd that oX
of these days should be Sunday, during proper hours ; and that on other days a small sum should be
required from p r s o n s entering th e garden ; or yearly admissions should be granted for certain moderate
■ " f t ? " “ » a*.not to beftxpendvo to keep u p f S S
to« ftantatiiAT aireid^eVsting.ft'hould.Tf’^YsibtoT
preserved; th a t two lodges with gates, a t the two
extremities, should be b u ilt; and th a t each lodge should have a room, to be considered as a public
room, mto which strangers might go and sit dow- ~
any charge being made by the occupant of the 1<
knives and forks, &c., were required, in which <
re MU MMi.i,,Lu<ti, «cicu luugc snouiQ nave a room, be considered as room down, taking their own refreshments with them, wfthout
occupant of the lodge, unless some assistance, such as hot-water, plates
m which case a small voluntary gratuity might be given. T h at
t ^ r e should be proper yards and conveniences a t each lodge for th e use of th e public, apart from
toose to be e x c ^ iv e ly used by the occupant of the lodge. T h at there should be open spaces in two or
more parts of th e garden, in which lofcr/i fnnfic Tv,Tryv.f v.« pitched, a band of ___ music . i placed,*
dancing carried
on, &c.” {Gai^.Mag. for 1840, p. 533.) [T h e instructions given ‘----------------” were fuUy c a - rried r i e d °o u f rb y ^ Ir! '
Loudon'^
garden v
it lived t . .......................
« ° Ìk c f a r b o r e tu m , and the was opened to thè
public on th e 16th of September, 1840. It is pleasant to reflect that Mr. Stru tt lived to see his muniffceiit
gift fully enjoyed and appreciated by the' persons for whose
It was designed, and that, to his
great s^sfaction,^ in 11884422 , tthhee ppeeooppllee ooll DDeerrbbyy ssuubbssccrriibbeedd ttoo ppuurrcchhaassee a piece of meadow ground to
enable them to enjoy foot-ball, cricket, and other field exercises, without incurring anv dancer of in .
f® j " ‘■h® Arboretum. In this additional piece of ground were formed two walks, each
18 feet wide, and together extending ending 3600 feet;fe et; and in ordOT order to do honour to Mr. S Strutt,tru ifth he e w was a rre re
q J e s tS
to plant in the ground a younung » Jtpp tree, t-to o ho be ofiiiofi called th j-Ko e tvo..Derby Kx. »Oak,v-v „.which us-v, ......was planted on ... a
.
exactly as was recommended bj
by Mr Loudon for th e trees in the Arboretum J . W .Z.]
Pleasure-grounds for the pu!Dublic have ________
been laid out since th e opening of th e Derby Arbor
Liverpool and Manchester, and several other
594. O f gardens belonging to public companies there axe a few in England, and these
are chiefly the gardens of botanical and horticultui*al societies, which will be noticed
under the head of “ Botanic Gai'dens,” of zoological societies, and of proprietors of medicinal
each
ok_..rek U-. . . .quested
mound,
Derby Arboretum at
springs, or baths, &c.
Tke garden o f the Zoological Society, in the Regent’s; P__a_r_k, s comm ence d in -1r8e2-u6.. It i.qs, of limited
extent, but full of interest from the number of structures which it contains for animals; and as a garden
it displays some v ^ e d borders, well stocked with showy plants, and kept in excellent order. There
are also several walks planted with Turkey oaks and other ornamental trees.
The garden q f the Surrey Zoological Society was commenced in 1830; it contains some handsome
structures, and, m particular, a curvilinear menagerie {Jig. 195.), which combines a series of tropical
quadrupeds and birds with exotic plants. ^
195
Of tke gardens o f watering-places, that of Cheltenham is the most celebrated in England, though not
eminent for its garden scenery. At Wingfield Spa, in Windsor Forest, extensive walks are laid out
in a natural coppice wood, and ornamented with seats, and rustic buildings. A rustic pump-room
(fig. 196.) has also been erected, and a deserted nobleman’s house in the neighbourhood has been turned
into an hotel. At Norwood, in Surrey, the gardens at the Beulah Spa present a considerable variety of
scenery, and exhibit a tolerable collection of plants ; they are entered by a picturesque lodge {fig. 197.),
and contain a number of curious and ornamental buildings. The taste for public gardens of this
I ' I
! ' i