164 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



The ancestors of Sir Henry Lennard are of old standing in 

 this part of Kent. In the time of Edward II., the manor of 

 Wickham was the property of the Huntingfields, of whom Sir 

 Walter, for his advantage, procured the grant of a weekly 

 market for the place, long since disused, in 1318. The manor 

 passed thereafter through several families, and at length came 

 to the hands of Sir Henry Heydon, who, about the time of 

 Henry VII., built the quadrangular house of brick, with the 

 characteristic angle turrets, which still remains, after having 

 undergone changes about a century ago. It received consider- 

 able additions in the time of the late baronet. John Lennard, 

 o Knole and Chevening, who was Gustos Brevium in the 

 reign of Elizabeth, purchased the manor from Sir William 

 Heydon. His eldest son married the Baroness Dacre, in her 

 own right, while his youngest son was knighted, and was 

 the father of Sir Stephen Lennard, created a baronet in 

 1642. This baronetage became extinct in 1727, in the 

 person of Sir Samuel Lennard of Wickham Court, M.P., 

 and the estate then passed tli rough female heirs. Another 



grown and embattled angle turrets will impress all students of 

 domestic architecture. The material is brick, with stone 

 dressings, and there is great character in the mullioneJ 

 windows and good chimneys. The walls are richly clothed 

 with ivy, but not to the concealment of architectural features. 

 Quaintness characterises the house everywhere, and its 

 picturesqueness is most attractive. 



In the immediate neighbourhood of the mansion are 

 excellent examples of brick terrace walling, and lofty piers 

 flanking the approach from the forecourt. The two yews cut 

 into cubes, with triple circles above, and birds on the top, are 

 notable examples of the topiary art, and their quaintness is 

 undeniable. Such works fall admirably into such a picture. 

 Evidently the hand of the tree pruner is constantly at work 

 here, with excellent result. The dense hedges cut to a gable 

 shape at the top, which flank that beautiful grass walk leading 

 from the house, are as good as can be found anywhere. 

 Otherwise there is little formality in the place. Banks of 

 rhododendrons and az.ileas are a feature and in the enclosed 



THE EAST FRONTAGE. 



baronetage was created, however, in iS8o, in favour of 

 the late Sir J >hn Farnaby Lennard, who in 1861 had taken 

 the name of Lennard in lieu of his own patronymic of Cator, 

 under the testamentary injunction of Sir Charles Farnaby, 

 Bart., of Wickham and Kippington. Sir John Farnaby had 

 married the daughter and heiress of Sir Samuel Lem.ard before 

 mentioned, and their daughter married General Sir William 

 Cator, K.C B., a veteran of the Peninsula, father of Sir John 

 Farnaby Lennard, first baronet of the new creation. The 

 second wife of this gentleman was the only daughter of Henry 

 Hallam, the historian, who lived in the same neighbourhood, 

 and whose portrait hangs at Wickham Court with many other 

 interesting pictures, including one of Sir Walter' Raleigh and 

 his son by Zucchero. 'I he present baronet, who is lord of the 

 manor of West Wickham, and of Baston and Keston, derives 

 his name of Henry Arthur Hallam Farnaby Lennard from the 

 descents which have been recited above. 



His house is a truly excellent example of the mi Jdle period 

 of English domestic architecture, and the quaintness of its ivy- 



garden, where Canterbury bells are predominant, the hardy 

 flowers, backed by the ye.v hedges, make delightful colour 

 pictures from early spring until the latter days of windy 

 autumn. The turf is excellent, and the trees are of great 

 magnificence. The long occupation of the place by descendants 

 of the builder h.is given it many possessors who have valued 

 it and have delighted to adorn it. A fine old garden figure, a 

 recumbent " nymph of the grot" with her water urn, remains 

 to indicate what were the adornments of the garden in an 

 earlier time. 



It will be seen that Wickham Court, though it lies within a 

 few miles of St. Paul's, still retains, and we may hope long will 

 continue to do so, all the excellent features of an old country 

 mansion, dignified by its antiquity, and valued and adorned in 

 existing t mes. H; reabout the luxuriant woods, the breezy com- 

 mons, and the rich pastures, all present the character of country 

 life, and it is a thing not to be under-valued that such an ancient 

 house as Wickham Court should, from Tudor times to tnese 

 days, have been preserved so near to the fringe of London town. 





