102 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



clarified honey, coloured with saffron." This dis- 

 covery was proclaimed at S. Paul's Cross by the 

 Bishop of Rochester on February 24, 1538. 



Edward VI., ever a generous and admiring 

 brother of his learned sister Elizabeth, granted her 

 the numerous " manors and lands, among them the 

 parcel of the lands and possession of the late college 

 of Ashridge, with all its edifices, curtilages, orchards, 

 Gardens." A goodly gift! 



A very fair idea of these Gardens can be gained 

 from old monastic records. They were chiefly 

 planted with what would be suitable for domestic 

 use, the cultivation of a flower Garden for its actual 

 beauty having hardly yet come into existence, 

 especially within the precincts of a monastery. 



Edward VI. is supposed to have planted the 

 Western Avenue, still called " Prince's Riding," 

 but from its appearance and age it is much more 

 likely to have been planted in Charles II.'s reign, 

 when such Avenues were popular. 



In 1552 the Princess Elizabeth grew weary of 

 the Court of her sister, Queen Mary, filled as it 

 was with intrigue, and where one day she was the 

 Queen's dearest sister and the next within an ace 

 of prison and perhaps death. At last, after frequent 

 delays Mary never knowing her own mind 

 Elizabeth gained permission to leave for the 

 country. 



Sir Thomas Pope, her friend and the kindest of 



