220 



GARDENS OLD AND NHU/. 



burgh of the Duchy of Hamilton. Here is the stately palace 

 of the Duke, standing close to the town the place where Mary 

 collected her adherents in 1598. 



At this place the Avon, rising near the bnrder of Ayr, 

 flows into the Clyde. It has passed in its lovely course through 

 the vale to which it has given its name, anJ has entered 

 Hamilton Parish at Millheugh Bridge, a little below which it 

 flows through a m gnificent defile, bounded on each side by 

 majestic rocks of romantic aspect, rising 2Ooft. or 3Ooft., and 

 richly clothed, in some cases almost to the summits, with stately 

 and venerable oaks. Nearly in the centre of tiie defile are the 

 remains of Cadzow Castle, celebrated in Sir Walter Scott's 

 ballad, seated o i a rock which ascends perpendicularly to a 

 height of 20oft. above the bed of the stream, and on the 

 opposite bank is the banqueting-house of the Duke of Hamil'on, 

 a charming creation, modelled upon the design of Chatelherault, 

 from the dukedom of that name which his Grace holds in the 

 peerage of France. It is a region of natural loveliness, the tra- 

 ditions an. I characteristics of which appeal very powerfully to 

 the national sentiment of Scotland, and the course of the Clyde 

 and its tributary the Avon are both memorable in history. 

 The first of these is grand and spacious, the latcer more 

 touched with the beauties of wildness and remoteness. 

 In its romantic gorge are the house and the gardens of 

 Lord Ruthven, illustrated here, rising in terraces on the 

 western bank of the riser, which, after forcing its way 

 along th rocky channel below, flows through the fertile valley 

 and falls into the Clyde, as we have said, near Hamilton 

 Bridge. Very considerable antiquity is assigned to the quaint 

 old gardens in the D..tch taste at Barncluith, and one authority 

 says that they were laid out in or about the year 1583. The 

 terraces formed on the rocky steep are of later date, and the 

 whole garden, in the course of generations, has undergone 

 many changes. The fall of the ground being natural gave 

 many advantages to the garden-maker, but, on the other hand, 

 there were great difficulties, and it was not without the exercise 

 of high skill that the gardens were formed as we see them. 

 Hven now th^y are scarcely finished, some of the balustrades 

 mi the edge of the terraces being wanting. 



Terrace-making is an art tint has exercised the ingenuity 

 of many Scottish gardeners and architects. John Reid, in his 

 "Scots Gurd'ner" (1683), gives instructions to those who 

 would make terraces upon the natural declivity of the land. 

 " As to terrass walks, if the brow on which you make them be 

 not too steep, the work will be the more easy. If you build 

 them up with walls be careful to found deep enough according 

 to the level ; and if the middle of the terrass be on the central 

 line of the house, or of any walk, make the stair to part at a 

 plot on the head, going down on both sides. So much of the 

 staircase may be within as that the outer edge thereof may be 

 in a line with the border of the wall ; by this it mars not the 

 walk ; the rest may be at the ends. Plant the borders at the 

 upper side of the walk with wall trees; the under side, being 

 but an ell high, with laurels, etc. But if your terrass consists 

 only of walk's and si >ping banks you may have tlie border at 

 the head and foot of each bank, on either sid. j of the walks, 

 planted with standard cherries, etc., and the banks of violets, 

 strawberries, or grass." 



There are more stately terraces in Scotland, but, go 

 where we may, we shall find none so full of the ravishing 

 sweetness, or so happily embodying the features of the 

 architectural anJ na.ural styles as those here depicted. 

 Reid's principles rather than his details are exemplified" at 

 Barncluith, the character of the ground having enforced the 

 disposition of the stairways. There are four terraces or walks 

 most picturesquely and beautifully planned and constructed. 

 'I he bed of the Avon is some joft. below the level of he 

 I '.west cit them, and the declivity is very steep. This lowest 

 walk is a grass terrace, deeply shaded by trees, and at one end 

 is a quaint old garden-house, with a twisted double stairway 

 leading to its upper storey, while at the other end is a charming 

 circular basin, from which rises a low fluted column, with a 

 vase-like top filled with tl >wers, throwing up a sparkling jet of 

 water. The balustrade at the edge of the declivity is very 

 charming, and the nature of the slope causes the wall to curve 

 near the fountain. A beautiful acacia grows upon the terrace, 



and its lovely enduring green and beautiful flowers add much 

 to the charm of the place. At the end of the terrace near the 

 fountain are two rustic arches under the upper wall, and a 

 rustic stairway leads up to the higher levels. The retaining 

 wall of the second terrace walk is covered with ivy and 

 climbing plants, and crested with characterise vases. Abjve. 

 upon the 1-vel which it bounds, is a gravel walk, with a border 

 of flowers, giving access at one end to a second garden-house. 

 Roses border the way, and there is a stone bank supporting the 

 next higher level, overgrown with wallflowers, ferns, etc. 

 Still mounting the steep, therefore, we reach the third terrace, 

 which is a beautiful grass walk, bordered by a long flower-bed, 

 and commanding a charming outlook over the sylvan gorge. 

 The retaining wall of the fourth level is agai i clustered with 

 climbing plants, and there are several yew trees along the 

 upper border. Very quaintly are these cut, and they possess 

 a curious attraction, in contrast with the gay flower-beds 

 which neighbour them. A baiustraded wall, with vases, is 

 behind the terrace, and there are many pleasant places to 

 explore, the f recourt of the house being on that side. 



The pictures will show how very delightful is the effect of 

 this terracing upon the declivity above the Avon. The masonry 

 is exceedingly good, and there is a happy union of classic 

 formality with something of rustic charm. There were oppor- 

 tunities which do not fall to every garden-maker's hand, but 

 not every designer would have used them so well. The 

 illustrations will complete the description of this delightful 

 hillside garden. It is a place full of suggestion for tho^e whose 

 houses may lie adjacent to woodland gor.es, which present 

 opportunities that are not always realised, and such places 

 need not always be left in native wildness. The formation at 

 Barncluith is rock, and much excavating must have been 

 required, but the soil is deep enough to give rootage to the 

 splendid trees, while the sunny slop,' is conducive to a luxuriant 

 growth of flowers. The place is as beautiful in winter as in 

 summer, for the green yews are fiere, and the other trees lilt 

 their varied tracery against the sky, while below the rushing 

 sound of the Avon is heard. It is a fine river, full of salmon, 

 trout, perch, lampreys, and silver eel. 



Allusion has been made to the splendid growth of trees in 

 this region. Hamilton Wood, on the Avon and the Barncluith 

 Bum, is a great woodland tract, which, with its g-iarled and 

 venerable trunks, represents practically all that remains of the 

 ancient Caledonian Forest. The storms of centuries have 

 blown over some of the oaks, which thrive extremely well, 

 many being venerable trees of great size, some even measuring 

 36ft. in girth. Larch and Scotch fir are numerous, and the 

 river banks are crowned with luxuriant foliage. Silver and 

 spruce fir succeed, and the cedar of Lebanon has attained 

 considerable size. Here may be seen the only herd left in 

 Scotland of the old white Caledonian wild cattls. The Barn- 

 cluith Burn joins the Avon about half a mile from the town of 

 Hamilton, after flowing down through the wood, and leaping 

 over five or six declivities in brawling picturesqueness, adding 

 greatly to the beauties and attractions of the scenery. 

 " In one impetuous torrent, down the steep 

 It thundering shoots, and shakes the country round, 

 At first, an a/.ure sheet, it rushes broad; 

 Then whitening by degrees as prone it falls, 

 And from the loud resounding rocks bslow 

 Dashed in a cloud of foam it sends alofc 

 A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower." 

 These lines have been used of one of the neighbouring 

 Falls of Clyde, and they may be applied, with modification, 

 to the lesser falls on the Barncluith Burn. The whole 

 of the vala of the Avon, with the gorges of its tributary 

 burns, is markedly beautiful, and has all the charm that 

 is found in Scottish river courses, with a richness that does 

 not invest them all. The gardens of Barncluith have also, 

 as we have seen, a marked and attractive character, and 

 the succession of terraces has probably in its kind no rival in 

 Scotland. There is picturesqueness in their character, arising 

 from varied treatment, too rare in formal gardens, which may 

 serve to show that formal gardening is no bar to the introduction 

 of a sweet naturalness, but rather that it lends itself to such a 

 character. It is a lesson for the garden-maker which the 

 pictures in this volume will not fail stro.igly to enforce. 



