NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 



some centuries old are also to be found at Hovingham Hall (Plate 

 LVIII.) ; they make a sheltering wall round the rose garden, and pro- 

 vide with their dark foliage a singularly effective background for the 

 masses of delicately coloured flowers with which the garden is filled 

 the contrast is undeniably pleasing. Another interesting feature 

 at Hovingham Hall is a walk through an avenue of yew-trees which 

 have been left to grow in their natural form. 



At Hutton John (Plates LIX. and LX.), the seat of the Speaker of / 

 the House of Commons, another good illustration is provided of the 

 harmonious relation which exists between an old house and the old 

 gardens by which it is surrounded. The whole place is pervaded by 

 the sentiments of quiet and restful age, and it has an air of remoteness 

 from the noise and bustle of the modern world that is curiously per- 

 suasive. The quaintness of the garden is due in great measure to 

 the use that is made in it of topiary work of a large and simple type ; 

 on the terrace in front of the house is a row of ancient yews, trimmed 

 into definite and massive shapes without any grotesqueness of form, 

 and in other parts of the grounds clipped trees are introduced with 

 excellent appreciation of their decorative value. The small sundial 

 garden with its profusion of flowers is a very pleasant nook ; and 

 there are in the grounds many pretty walks from which fascinating 

 peeps of the Cumberland Hills can be obtained. Jesmond Dene 

 House (Plates LXI. and LXII.) stands about two miles from the ^ 

 city of Ncwcastle-on-Tyne beside the famous valley known as 

 Jesmond Dene. Through the grounds runs a deep ravine with 

 wooded sides and a stream at the bottom which is crossed by two 

 rustic bridges ; and at the end of the gardens by the Dene is a high 

 stone bridge with a single arch which tells as a fact of much im- 

 portance in the general plan of the place. In another part an arched 

 subway leads to an old stone quarry which has been converted into 

 an exquisite garden ; and there is elsewhere a " dell garden " which 

 is very well seen from a walk above. The whole of this place is 

 absolutely informal : the natural characteristics of the ground have 

 been very cleverly turned to account in working out a scheme of wild 

 gardening on thoroughly appropriate lines. 



At Kirklees (Plates LXIII. and LXIV.) the gardens are neither large 

 nor elaborately arranged but they have the merit of being suited in 

 their natural character to the place in which they are situated and to 

 the house to which they belong. The pool in the lower garden is 

 skilfully contrived and has a picturesqueness that can be frankly 

 admired, and there is a grass walk bordered with flowers which is, 

 in a very quaint, old-fashioned way, of quite noteworthy beauty. 



xxvii 



