260 



GARDENS OLD AND KEW. 



eulogy, for he it was, as we most credibly hold, who took the 

 Duke of Orleans on the field. The shocking massacre of the 

 fight is well known, and although the circumstances are 

 somewhat obscure, it is on record that Waller laid hands on the 

 Duke, who, for his welfare, was discovered alive under a heap 

 of the slain. It has, indeed, been asserted that Sir John 

 Cornwall was the actual captor, but the statement can scarcely 

 be correct, for, though Cornwall afterwards had charge of the 

 Duke, there can be no doubt that the noble captive was 

 confided to the custody of Sir Richard Waller, as was his due, 

 who held him captive at Groombridge. It would appear that 

 the seizure of this important prisoner was profitable to the 

 Kentish knight, for he rebuilt the house on the old foundations, 

 and was a benefactor to Speldhurst Church. The Duke was 

 afterwards confided to Sir Thomas Chamberworth, and then 

 to Sir John Cornwall. Waller is said to have had, as an 

 addition to his achievement, the arms of France on an 



Lord Dorset in France in I<MO, afterwards going as envoy to 

 Denmark. He gained the favour of many great people, and 

 had profitable offices conferred upon him. About the year 

 1618 he had grown rich enough to buy Groombridge, and 

 in 1625 he rebuilt the chapel there in gratitude for Prince 

 Charles's return from Spain, and perhaps with an ide.i of 

 further Royal favour. As a matter of fact, Charles gave 

 him a manor in Berkshire at the coronation, and he had 

 possessions elsewhere. Charles doubtless felt that he could 

 depend upon Mr. Packer, but when loans were asked in 

 1639-40, it is on iccord that the squire of Groombridge refused, 

 and forthwith allied himself with the Parliament. Unkind 

 persons have represented him as self-seeking, avaricious, and 

 even treacherous ; he certainly was a good business man. He 

 may also have imbibed new political doctrines from his friend 

 Sir John Eliot, but the Cavaliers naturally did not like him, 

 and all his property, save Groombridge, was sequestrate 1. 



THE CONSTANT RUNNING STREAM. 



escutcheon hanging by a label on a walnut tree, with the 

 motto " Fructus Virtutis." 



His grandson, William Waller of Groombridge, was Sheriff 

 of the County in 1530. To him succeeded another William, 

 whcse son, Sir Walter Waller, buried at Speldhurst, was the 

 father of Ge rge Waller and of Sir Thomas, who, though his 

 younger son, succeeded him at Groombridge. The latter was 

 Lieutenant of Dover Castle in the time of James I. He 

 alienated the estate to Thomas Sackville, harl of Dorset, 

 Lord Treasurer of England, but that nobleman's grandson 

 conveyed it to John Packer, Esq., Clerk of the Privy Seal 

 to Charles 1., who rebuilt Groombridge Chapel. 



In the new possessor we encounter another interesting 

 man. Packer, who was born at Twickenham, and had studied 

 both at Cambridge and Oxford, grew to high favour at Court, 

 under the patronage of Burghley, of two successive Earls 

 of Dorset, and of Buckingham, and he travelled with Thomas 



It was by Mr. Packer's son Philip, to whom Groombridge 

 came, that the present house was built, and to the same date 

 we may attribute the gardens. They underwent many changes 

 later on, it is true, but perhaps in the general disposition of them, 

 within and without the moat, and on the slope, where those 

 enchanting terraces are, the arrangements remain the same. 

 Mr. Phil'p Packer had good friends and advisers, and among 

 them John Evelyn, who appears to have been liis intimate for 

 many years. The author of "Sylva" would have liked to 

 see the house in a higher situation, for the outlook, but he 

 must have recognised the great advantages the moat and the 

 embosoming foliage presented. The moat was bridged, and 

 the gardens were laid out afresh. The place became much 

 ' what it now is, though t!:e grounds have since grown in 

 richness and character, and are more beautiful than ever they 

 could have been in the times of Philip Packer and John Evelyn. 

 Perhaps the peacocks of Groombridge, which are famous now, 



