286 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



CapyrinU. 



THE ROSERY. 



'Country Life." 



as being too much of a stringing together of ornament, without 

 solidity of design. Our readers will form their own conclusions 

 from the appearance of the front presented in these pages, but 

 it is certain that there is no over-elaborate ornament. The 

 pilasters are severe and good, the windows in just proportion 

 to the wall spacing, and the wings so lofty that the florid 

 decoration of the gables is not overdone. The finest feature 

 of the house is the great hall ; it is this which occupies the 

 greater part of the square turreted mass in the centre, which 

 dominates the whole. The view of the interior here given 

 >ho\vs what was the idea of the builder, and how it fits into 

 the uses of modern occupation. The beauty of the carving on 

 the gallery of stone and the lighting from the windows above, 



THE CONSERVATORY GARDEN. 



whose lofly bases are 3;ft. from the ground, are al,so seen. 

 The terrace on which the house stands is reached from the 

 gardens by flights of stairs rounded at the base, and thence 

 mounting straight to the terrace above. The view across the 

 flower garden shows better than words could describe what is 

 that "good prospect to be beholden far and wide" which 

 Camden noted. It is characteristic of the richness of the land 

 round "fair Nottingham," the queen of the Midlands and of 

 Midland shires. The lake and the long avenue make two points 

 of beauty to which the eye is led. If what was anciently 

 called "grace of congruity " can be obtained by art in 

 making landscape on a large scale, this lake is worth 

 remembrance. It forms a curve away from the house at 



such a distance that it makes 

 a centre of light far beyond 

 the foreground, but instead of 

 stretching out as far as 

 possible parallel with the 

 house front, it curves until it 

 runs directly from it, giving 

 a vista like the bend of a 

 river. 



From the evidence of 

 the gardens themselves, and 

 the records of books and 

 pictures, there is reason to 

 believe that they were for- 

 merly even more extensive 

 than at present. Before they 

 were laid out in their present 

 form they were designed to 

 satisfy an exacting taste for 

 regularity and geometrical 

 proportion. The date was 

 very early, for the design and 

 plan are shown in a picture 

 in the hall dated 1695. This 

 picture, painted by Liebrichts, 

 is exceedingly interesting and 

 valuable for purposes of com- 

 parison, and enables us to see 



"Country r.ife." 



