274 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



But the thought of their destruction causes 

 genuine distress that men, from a so-called love 

 of Nature, should have dared to tamper with the 

 Gardens that age had mellowed, love had watched, 

 and Art had designed with such symmetrical grace 

 Gardens which possessed a fascination seldom, 

 if ever, found in those based on imitations of 

 natural landscapes. In Kip's view of Knole no 

 Bowling Green is to be seen, but twenty years 

 later, in Badeslade's " Views of Noblemen's and 

 Gentlemen's Seats in the County of Kent," in 

 which Knole appears, many alterations are notice- 

 able, among them a Bowling Green, this being just 

 about the time when the game was most fashion- 

 able though Bowling Greens had been in existence 

 for quite a hundred years. Many old English 

 writers mention them ; William Lawson writes in 

 1618, "it shall be a pleasure to have a Bowling 

 Green." 



In Badeslade's engraving of the west prospect 

 of Knole the house has two large grass Lawns 

 in front of it, divided by a wide Avenue, coming 

 up from the Park beyond ; and trees are planted 

 at equal distances round the Lawn inside the 

 railings. To the right of the entrance tower is 

 a handsome gate opening on to a Terrace leading 

 to the Bowling Green, which is oval in shape, 

 and stands on a higher level, being approached 

 by a double flight of steps. Thick Yew hedges 



