42-1 



JOUENAL OP HOKTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ November 11, 1875. 



ally to Bee Landor, he haci, it is believed, neyer been in Bath 

 until after he wrote Pickwick, and that the scene in that work 

 descriptive of characters in the Assembly Rooms owed its 

 origin not to personal experience, but to the force of imagina- 

 tion, which gathered the materials out of common rumour. 

 But on the Bath road lies Pickwick. 



Clote by, turning off to the right, is Hartham Park, in the 

 county of Wilts, owned by William Henry Poynder.Esq., Lord 

 of the Manor of Hilmonton in the same county, one of a family 

 long known and respected in North Wilts for their untiring 

 efforts in doing good, and for munificence to the poor and 

 needing. Some gentlemen of high position and wealth are 

 respected — this is much ; but there are a select few who 

 attain to something higher — viz., who are loved as well as 

 respacted, and such is the most enviable position of the squire 

 of Hartham. 



The Hartham Park estate has passed through many hands, 



as is the case with most properties. Hartham is mentioned in 

 Domesday Book six times under the name of " Heartham." 

 In about a.d. 1-tOO it belonged to Henry de Hartham ; in 1640 

 it passed to the well-known Wiltshire families of Goddard and 

 Dackett. The former owned the present Hartham Park and 

 Rudlow, and their house stood on the site of the present man- 

 sion. The residence of the Diicketts, which stood near, close 

 to the present stables of Hartham Park, was taken down some 

 years ago. Lady .Tames, widow of a Sir William James, a 

 director of the E. I. Company, built the present mansion — 

 that is, the older part. Hartham was purchased by the first 

 Lord Mothven, but sold afterwards to tho late Mr. Thomas 

 Poynder, who built so largely, making such considerable addi- 

 tions in 1860, that from simply a country gentleman's residence 

 Hartham Park became a large and imposing-looking mansion. 

 The interior contains pictures of great value, and the library 

 is rich in rare copies of works splendidly bound. 



Fi^. 03. — HaiiTUAU PAitK— west-esu vmw of the mansion. 



Hartham is somewhat connected with English literature. 

 Thus, the Lady James mentioned was a friend and corre- 

 spondent of Laurence Sterne ; and Edmund Smith, a friend of 

 Steele and Addison, author of " Phfedia and Hippolytns," and 

 translator of " Longinus on the Sublime," died at Hartham in 

 1709. The father of Lord Broughton, Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, 

 lived at Hartham House. The readers of Lord Byron's works 

 will remember Lord Broughton, then Sir John Cam Hobhouse, 

 as a friend of the poet's. That amusing gossip, John Aubrey, 

 has a word to say about Hartham, for he thus writes : — " It is 

 said that the eonigre (rabbit warren) here turns the breed of 

 black conies white, and its pasture grounds make the breed of 

 black cattle pied ;" but he shrewdly adds, " Let him that knows 

 this believe it," but goes on to say, " The rest of the country 

 hereabouts is much inclined to pied cattle, but commonly the 

 colour is Mack, or browne, or deepe red. The men and women 

 strong, and something warme and well coloured, a drawnlng 

 opeech sometbicg heavy and melancholy, as under Saturn." 



One fine afternoon this autumn foufld me on my way to 

 Hartham Park. Leaving Corsham Court on the left I soon 

 turn to the right, and pass near to Hartham Episcopal Chapel, 

 built by the late Mr. Thomas Poynder for the place of worship 

 of his family and dependents, and the inhabitants near. Tliis 

 was a kind act, as Corsham parish church lies too far off to 

 benefit the aged and infirm. Oh, would that other large 



owners would do the like ! Entering the park gates and follow- 

 ing the course of a well-planned meandering approach I am 

 soon at the east or front entrance of the house, wondrously 

 enlarged and improved since I knew it first. The view from 

 the front door is somewhat blocked by a clump which was 

 planted to screen the house from the road, and which has now 

 grown over-large. This could easily be remedied, as a much 

 lower screen would keep the road from view, and the noble 

 Elms around would stand out in their full beauty. The Elm 

 is well called by John Evelyn " the Wiltshire weed." 



The head gardener, Mr. Thomas Carter, formerly under Mr. 

 Fleming at 'Trentham, in at hand to show me, by Mr. Poynder's 

 kind permission, everything that is to be seen. We pass to 

 the flower garden on the south side of the house, a plan of 

 which is engraved. This garden is somewhat sunk, and wisely, 

 to avoid the strong westerly gales, and is overlooked by the 

 drawing-room and library windows. The plan of the garden 

 suits the house, and the planting shows Mr. Carter's good 

 taste. Passing along this garden I ascend by steps to the 

 terrace garden, a garden wholly on grass, from which the beds 

 below tell well. Ascending some more steps I come to the top 

 lawn, a spacious smooth-shaven turf, out of which rise well- 

 kept trees and shrubs. Two splendid Cedars of Lebanon cast 

 their deep layers of shade around, making a fine contrast to 

 the light and graceful Tulip Trees near, and with the hand- 



