VI 



BECKETT, BERKSHIRE 



A WAY down near Faringdon, in Berkshire, is 

 ** to be found one of the greatest treasures in 

 the way of Garden Architecture no other than 

 the first reputed Garden-building in England ; 

 built and designed by Inigo Jones, the magnificent 

 designer of later Renaissance Art on the lines of 

 Palladio. 



This Garden House has been called by various 

 names : " Banqueting Room," " Summer House," 

 "Fishing Lodge," "Tea House," or "China 

 House." It overhangs an artificial piece of water, 

 close to the house at Beckett, belonging to Viscount 

 Barrington. A quaint, fantastic building, said to 

 be the forerunner of all the numerous Temples, 

 Banqueting-houses, and Casinos, built to suit the 

 fashion which sprang up during the Stuart period 

 for such Garden-houses. Like most fashions, in the 

 end it became an extravagance, but the first of 



