i 7 8 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



as those of Kccvil Manor, presents conspicuous 

 testimony to the contrary. 



The historian has had little to say of this quaint 

 old place. It does not seem to have witnessed any 

 striking events in former times, to be associated with 

 any dramatic story, or to have offered any signal 

 interest to the chronicler. Its attraction for us is in 

 the admirable spirit of its architectural forms and 

 details, and the very notable character of its gardens. 

 The high-pitched gables give boldness and variety to 

 the structure, the many windows with their mullions 

 and transoms are appropriate and good, and there 

 is a very notable porch with a chamber over it, the 

 doorway having a low Tudor arch, flanked by 



something ot spiritual or reflective character, perhaps 

 in some carving, some bit of painted glass, or some 

 Biblical verse raised aloft in places, and seen in its 

 perforations against the sky. There were buildings, 

 like Longford Castle, and a triangular lodge at 

 Rushton Hall, which were said to be symbolical of 

 the Trinity. Out into the garden went the same 

 spirit, and we see how at Keevil Manor it has found 

 expression in the giant clipped yews, known as the 

 Twelve Apostles. They are magnificent examples of 

 topiary skill, and of patient and continued labour and 

 care in this engaging department of the gardener's 

 craft. In form, these mighty yews approximate to 

 the magnified shape of a pawn upon a chessboard ; 



THE ENTRANCE FRONT. 



well-proportioned classic columns. More notable still 

 is the gateway through which the forecourt is entered, 

 this being a remarkable and beautiful example ot the 

 English Renaissance, lacking, perhaps, a little light- 

 ness and grace, but sound and good in design and 

 masonry. The arch, the patterns in the spandrels, 

 the pillars, the open strapwork cresting and the 

 very handsome niches on either side are all of great 

 interest to the student of architecture, and rank with 

 the garden architecture at Montacute, Canons Ashby 

 and Gayhurst. 



Our other pictures arc chiefly devoted to 

 exhibiting the gardens' one very singular feature. It 

 pleased the old Englishman to invest his house with 



but it were, perhaps, vain to enquire from what 

 veritable objects they took their sculptured bulk. 

 Their inner significance is their greatest interest, 

 and even the old satirists of "clipped greens " would 

 have found merits in these Wiltshire examples. 

 They are of the same simple and reserved character 

 as those at Bradfield and at St. Catherine's Court, 

 and much better than the shapeless, if amusing, 

 set at Treworgey. 



At Keevil they exhibit the same right sense 

 of proportion as does the house itself, which is, 

 in its perfect simplicity and restraint, a good proof 

 of how difficult it seems to be for the modern 

 architects, who pretend to copy seventeenth century 



