IOO 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



The beautiful arcaded hedge of the south garden, 

 with its openings, through which the house is seen, 

 and the colonies of spring flowers which grow up 

 through the grass, is particularly delightful. The 

 noble hedge of the north garden is equally remarkable, 

 and there are grand, freely-growing yews along the 

 edge of the sunken garden there, in which the 

 fountain is to which allusion has been made. There 

 are also one or two fine blue Atlantic cedars, between 

 4oft. and foft. high, the blue-green colouring being 

 very charming and distinctive. Indeed, the yews 

 and the cedars are as much a feature of Montacute 

 as is the enclosed garden with its houses and its 

 balustrade, and they give relief by contrast to the 

 borders of hardy flowers which flourish by them. 

 Roses grow plenteously in this favoured region of 

 England, and very many kinds are cultivated. There 

 are attractions at this place in all seasons of the year, 

 whether in the spring, when the trees are budding 

 and the bulbous plants are lifting their nodding 

 crowns from the grass, or again in autumn, when 

 everything has become glorious under the suns of 

 the summer, and when the ampelopsis, which grows 

 upon some of the walls, has taken on its hue of 

 purple and gold. 



Much might have been said about the history of 

 Montacute, for in the Civil War it was held for the 

 King, and sacked by the Parliament men, but we are 



content here to speak mostly of the garden, over 

 which from the windows of the house there are 

 glorious prospects, and out to the surrounding 

 country, and those who ascend to the summit of the 

 wooded hill, from which the place takes its name, 

 have a magnificent view before them. To the south 

 they look over the hills of Dorset towards Lyme ; 

 on the west lie the heights towards Minehead and 

 Blackdown ; to the north-west are the Quantocks, 

 the Bristol Channel and, far off in the blue distance, 

 the coast of Wales ; while to the north rise the 

 Mendips and Glastonbury Tor. The immediate 

 neighbourhood is one of picturesque beauty, with 

 hill and hollow, woods and fields, rural villages and 

 picturesque lanes. Thus the gardens of Montacute 

 are happily situated in their green and beautiful 

 surroundings. The mansion lies upon the road 

 which passes west from Sherborne and Yeovil to 

 Ilminster, passing thence over the hills into the 

 valley of the Otter. Those who have traversed the 

 country know how beautiful it is, and they have 

 realised that it is full of history. Through this 

 country the Fosse Way passed south, and along it 

 marched ancient civilisation. Here the West 

 Saxons established their power, and later on the 

 country was the favoured seat of Norman barons and 

 Tudor gentlemen, and thus it was that Montacute 

 became the place it is. 



THE RAISED TERRACES OF THE PRIVY GARDEN. 



