sKssioN 1898-99. xlvii 



Field Meeting, 13th May, 1899. 

 KNEBWORTH PARK. 



The chief object of the first fiehl lueoting in the year was to 

 give the members of the Society the oi)portuuity of seeing the 

 gardens of Knebworth House, permission having been kindly 

 granted by Lord Strathcoua and Mount lloyal. The meeting was 

 under the direction of Mr. llopkinson, who conducted a party of 

 cyclists from St. Albans, by Sandridge and AVheathampstead, 

 through Lamer Park, past the picturesciue ruined church of Ayot 

 St. Lawrence, and by way of Ayot Park and Codicote Bottom 

 across the pretty valley of the Mimram, leaving the village of 

 Codicote on the right. 



Tlie place of meeting was Knebworth Church, where the cyclists 

 found several members who had come by train awaiting them and 

 were soon joined by others who had driven from St. Albans. The 

 church stands in the park a short distance to the east of the house, 

 and is surrounded by trees, the fresh vernal foliage of which 

 formed a pleasing contrast with the dark grey walls of the building. 

 It consists only of chancel, nave, and tower at the western end 

 surmounted by a good specimen of the short steeple characteristic 

 of the county and known as the " Hertfordshire spire." It has 

 one or two Norman arches, but the prevailing style of architecture 

 is Early English. There are several brasses, the finest one, on the 

 floor in the middle of the chancel, representing a priest, and 

 bearing the date "mccccxiiii." But the principal attraction of 

 the interior is the Lytton Chapel, which is situated on the north 

 side of the chancel, and contains several marble monuments and 

 other memorials of the distinguished literary family whose name is 

 indissolubly associated with the locality. 



On leaving the church, the members entered the private grounds 

 of Knebworth House, and, in the absence of Lord Strathcona, were 

 received by his son-in-law, Mr. Howard, and shown over the 

 gardens by him and the head-gardener, Mr. John Kipling, who is 

 an old servant of the Lyttons and pointed out the favourite nooks 

 of the gi'eat novelist and some of the improvements made by him. 

 The Italian garden, with its fountains, statues, and extensive 

 parterres ; the maze ; the shady fernery with its winding walks ; 

 and the wilderness, were successively visited. 



The Italian Garden is four acres in extent, and in it are 

 some of the finest conifers in the grounds, the most notable being 

 a Wellingtonia gigantea 45 feet high,'^' a very healthy and evergreen 

 Japanese cedar {Cryptomeria japonica) 35 feet high, a Cedrus 

 deodara 45 feet high with branches 52 feet in length, and a liaud- 

 some monkey-puzzle tree {Arancaria imhricata). In other parts 

 of the gardens are fine specimens of Cupressus Lawsoniana 35 feet 

 high. Thuja gigantea 30 feet high, Ahies Smithiana 25 feet high, 

 and the Himalayan weeping- pine {Pinus excelsa). The most 

 interesting portion of the grounds to naturalists is the wilderness, 

 * The measurements are by Mr. Kipling. 



