Book I. 



GARDENS OF DERBYSHIRE. 



1077 



Hasleu Hall, — near Rugstone ; Lord Curzon. A finely si- 

 tuated house, and the artificial scenery around it very judi- 

 ciously disposed. 



X ingestree Hall, — near Stafford ; Earl Talbot. A respect- 

 able Elizabethean edifice, surrounded by grounds in the an- 

 cient style, but in a great degree modernised by the present 

 proprietor. 



Little Aston, — near Tamworth ; . A splen- 



did mansion, surrounded by an extensive lawn, finely varied by 

 trees, and embellished with a noble lake. Over the latter is 

 thrown a very handsome stone bridge, and opposite to it stands 

 an elegant stone conservatory. 



Prestwood, — near Dudley; Sir Thomas Littleton. A fine 

 modern house, the surrounding pleasure-grounds exhibiting 

 a most delightful variety of hill and dale, wood and water, 

 effected chiefly by the hand of nature. 



Sandon, — near Newcastle ; Lord Harrowby. An elegant 

 mansion, finely situated on the declivity of a considerable emi- 

 nence, commanding noble and luxurious prospects. 



Sandtvetl Park, — near West Bromwich ; Earl Dartmouth. 



7571. WARWICKSHIRE. A surface of 639,760 acres ; elevated, not much varied., well wooded to- 

 wards the north ; the other parts fertile in corn and minerals. There are many neat cottage-gardens r.i 

 the county, especially near Coventry. The principal nursery is at Birmingham, and there are several 

 market-gardens for the commoner culinary crops near that place. 



Elizabethean mansion of stone, commanding agreeable views. 

 The park and gardens agreeable, but rather neglected. 



A quadrangular brick building, stuccoed, situated in a roman- 

 tic valley, and surrounded with a charming lawn, laid out with 

 the highest degree of taste and judgment. 



X Shugborough House, — near Rudgeiey ; Lord Anson. An 

 elegant Grecian mansion, in a low situation, over-watered by 

 the Trent. The grounds were laid out at great expense by the 

 late Thomas Anson, Esq. and contain numerous and well-exe- 

 cuted ornamental buildings, in different styles of architecture. 

 The present proprietor cultivates a farm in a very scientific 

 manner. 



X Trenlham, — near Newcastle-under-line ; Marquis <jf Staf- 

 ford, A low situation, with abundance of water, and some 

 rising grounds. Great expense has lately been incurred on 

 the house, and a tine mausoleum built opposite the entrance- 

 gates, from the designs of Tatham ; but nothing will ever 

 render this place truly grand. The kitchen -garden is good, 

 and no nobleman encourages every kind of improvement 

 more than the present marquis. (See Loch's Acoouid of Im- 

 provements, &c. 8vo. 1819.) 



AnsleyHall,—neax Oldbury ; I. N. Ludford, Esq. An ir- 

 regular mansion, with an extensive jjark, in which, on an in- 

 sulated spot, is a Chinese temple, by Sir W, Chambers ; and in 

 another appropriate spot is a hermitage. 



Aubrey Hall, — near Astley ; F. P. Newdigate, Esq. An ele- 

 gant specimen of the florid Gothic, divested of the exuberant 

 and grotesque ; the park fine and extensive, well wooded, and 

 adorned with artificial expanses of wood and water. 



Bilston House, — near Bilston ; Hon. J. Simpson. A spacious 

 but irregular mansion, entered by iron folding gates, which 

 conduct to a venerable porch. The gardens are extensive, and 

 preserved in all the formality of the old taste. One walk is still 

 termed Addison's, whose seat this was, and where he generally 

 resided after his marriage with the Countess of Warwick. The 

 grounds being let, are going fast to decay. 



Guy's Cliff] — near Warwick ; B. Greathead, Esq. A singu- 

 larly picturesque combination of rock, wood, meadow, and the 

 windings of the Avon, with a mansion respectable both in size 

 and character. 



Mmmilc, — near Atherstone ; D- S.Dugdale, Esq. A hand- 

 some residence ; the grounds particularly rich in fine and vener- 

 able oaks. 



- near Coventry ; Lord Hood. A 



7572. The following are first-rate residences : — 



Coombe Abbey (Crvm, or Cumbe, a low or hollow place), 



near Coventry ; Earl Craven. A noble mansion, in part by 

 Inigo Jones, in a park of 600 acres, well varied by wood anct 

 water. 



X Ragley Hall, — near Alcester ; Marquis of Hertford. A 

 spacious mansion, improved by Wyatt, on the summit of a 

 round knoll, in an extensive park abounding in majestic oak- 

 trees, and also in voung plantations, with a fine lake and every 

 feature worthy of this noble seat. The kitchen-gardens are 

 noted for the extent of their hot-houses, and for the cultivation 

 lake of the pine-apple, especially of the Providence kinds. 



X WarnHck Castle, — Warwick ; Earl of Warwick. An an- 

 cient Gothic structure, on a steep rock rising from the Avon, 

 with a large garden-court, flanked by towers, and with a gate 

 and portcullis, &c. in a truly baronial style, and in excellent 

 preservation. The park is very extensive and finely adorned 

 by wood, and watered by the Avon, as well as some artificial 

 lakes. The pleasure-grounds contain a fine course of broad 

 gravel-walks, and some luxuriant and bulky cedar-trees. 



Whitby Hall, — near Coventry ; .Lord Hood. A capacious 



7573. LEICESTERSHIRE. A surface of 522,240 acres; low, generally flat, and one of the richest 

 grazing counties in England. It does not abound in gentlemen's seats ; and the farmers, though often 

 rich, have seldom good gardens. 



Beaumanor, — near Ashby de la Zouch ; W. Herrick, Esq. 

 The park extolled for picturesque beauty, combined with se- 

 renity and sublimity of character ; it abounds in venerable oaks, 

 ash, elm, and willow. 



X Donningtoti Park, — near Donnington ; Marquis of Hast- 

 ings. A magnificent pile of ecclesiastic Gothic.by \V. Wilkins, 

 sen. surrounded by a park containing very old trees. The 

 building is in a bottom, half earthed up, and the approach 

 descending to it has a very bad effbet. The pleasure-grounds 

 contain a small piece of water, and were laid out by H. Repton. 



Gopsal Hall, — near Bosworth; Lady Howe. An elegant 

 mansion, which, with the improvements on the grounds, is 

 said to have cost 100,000/. In the park are some fine temples 

 and carved seats. 



Lockington Hall, — near Keyworth ; Rev. P. Stony. The 

 grounds much improved by the present possessor. 



Presiwould Hall, — near Prestwould ; C.J. Packe, Esq. A 

 large modern mansion and finely wooded park. 



Queenby Hall, — near Frisby ; Mrs. Latham. A large build- 

 ing on a finely wooded avenue, with a terrace-walk command- 

 ing very fine prospects of hanging hills with scattered woods 

 and neatly cultivated enclosures. 



Stanton Harold, — near Bredon ; Earl Ferrars. A large 

 pile of brick and stone, in a park of 150 acres, containing a 

 lake of thirty acres, and a handsome stone bridge. 



Wanlip Hall, — near I^eicester ; Sir G. C. Hudson. The 

 pleasure-grounds laid out with much taste. 



7574. DERBYSHIRE. A surface of 720,640 acres; hilly, irregular, and in some parts mountainous; 

 the valleys rich and beautiful. There is a good nursery and florists' garden at Derby, by Joseph Mason, 

 and some neat cottage-gardens in the county. 



gooseberry-tree which covers a wall fifty -one feet long, and six 

 feet high. It is of the small rough red sort, and bears well. A 

 grove of 100 birch-trees on this estate have been tapped for 

 upwards of sixty or seventy years for their sap: thirty or more 

 trees are tapped in a season, and the sap sola to the makers of 

 British wine in the neighborhood. (See Farey's excellent 

 Survey of this County, 3 vols. Svo.) 



Shipley, — near Belper; E. M. Munday, Esq. The house 

 is modem and elegant, the grounds very well disposed and 

 wooded, and the gardens celebrated of late for their orange- 

 trees. 



Willersley Castle, — near Matlock ; R. Arkwright, Esq. The 

 castellated mansion is romantically situated in Matlock Dale, 

 and surrounded by lawns, rocks, and natural woods, and washed 

 on one side by the Dove. The kitchen-garden and hot-houses 

 are good and well attended to. 



Wingernorth, — near Chesterfield; Sir William Hunlocke. 

 A noble seat, improved from a comparative bald state (Jig. 

 749.) by Repton, who enlarged the water, and planted some 

 trees, and gave breadth to the lawn in front of the house. 

 ifig. 750.) 



Dretliy Park, — near Bretby ; Earl of Chesterfield. A fine 

 old structure was taken down some years ago, which is said to 

 have been surrounded with gardens disposed after the plan of 

 Versailles, with terraces, statues, and fountains. (See a bird's- 

 eye view by Kip, in Nouvcau Theatre de la Grande Bretagne, and 

 The Topographer, vol. ii.) 



Chaddesdon, —near Derby ; Sir R. M. Wilmot. A neat villa, 

 with a good kitchen-garden. 



Foremark, — near Repton ; Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. The 

 house is an elegant and substantial modem building ; and the 

 park and gardens respectable. 



LockePark, — near Locke; William Prury Lowe, Esq. The 

 grounds are naturally much varied, and contain a handsome 

 artificial lake ; but the plantations having been made when the 

 geometric taste was in fashion, do not accord well with the 

 variations of surface. 



Otbaston, — near Derby ; Sir Robert Wilmot. The house is 

 a large handsome edifice ; the grounds were laid out by Eames ; 

 the pleasure grounds occupy five acres, and are very agreeably 

 disposed. 



Overton Hall, — near Derby ; Lady Banks. In the garden a 



