w^ 



140 THE PRAISE OF GARDENS 



WILLIAM Coach-painter, portrait and historical painter, sculptor, architect, furniture 

 KENT and dress designer, and landscape gardener; patro?iised by the Earl of 



(1684-1748). Bzirlington, the great amateur-architect, with whom he lived and died. He 

 sculptured Shakespeare' s monumejit in Westminster Abbey, and painted an 

 altar-piece for St Clement Dane's Church, of St Cecilia, afterwards removed to 

 the Vestry Hall. Hogarth's Caricature ' The Man of Taste ' places Kent on 

 the summit of Burli?igton Gate, with Pope his patron lower dowti ; and his 

 opinion of Ke7it as a painter was that 'neither England nor Italy ever produced 

 a more contemptible dauber' 



^HEN Kent had returned to England, about 1730, he first 

 distinguished himself as an architect and ornamental 

 gardener at his great patron's, Lord BurHngton's villa at Chiswick ; 

 and his additions to the plans of Bridgman and Vanbrugh, at 

 Stowe, firmly established his fame. Esheri and Claremont ^ are 

 cited as his best works; yet the garden laid out for General 

 Dormer at Rousham, in Oxfordshire, was more agreeable to our 

 noble author. 



Of the beautiful scenes which have been created upon Kent's 

 system, and since his death, some account is necessary with a 

 view to the date and progress of the art. 



A new application of it, comprehending the grounds destined 

 to agriculture, by including them in the whole scheme, and im- 

 perceptibly connecting them with the more embellished portion, 

 was first successfully practised by Mr Philip Southcote, at Woburn 

 farm, in Surrey. Hence the origin of that description of pleasure- 

 ground which has since received the French designation oi fer?ne 

 ornee. Pain's hill, in the same country, soon followed the new 

 attempt, and exceeded it in point of taste, variety, and extent. 

 Its author, the Hon. C. Hamilton, was a man of genius, who 

 dedicated all his powers to this pursuit, and sad to say, expended 

 his private fortune in the completion of improvements which 

 continually presented themselves. 



1 See Illustration in Appendix. 



2 Whateley, when speaking of Kent's work at Claremont, confers a very 

 eleo-ant eulogy, and communicates an idea of a perfect garden. ' The whole 

 is a place wherein to tarry with secure delight, or to saunter with perpetual 

 amusement.' 



