M \\ |o\ 1-l-KKI RS. 



20.1 



: ihildless, and his estate passed to his w 

 Kachel, the daughter r U -.Hum HcUar, a member 

 of" an okl Cornish family. 



\ ^t. in I louse and other property remained 

 with the Hclvar family until one of its members, 

 wishing to concentrate his possessions m Somerset, 

 sold it, early in the last century, to Mr. Kdward 

 Collins (a member of an old Cornish family who 

 served their county in Parliament and in the shrievalty 

 in medieval times), whose third son is the present 

 proprietor. 



The house of Newton Ferrers stands finely in a 

 pleasant situation upon the slope of a hill, with a 

 very beautiful outlook across the country and the 



one not only admits the propriety of the design, but 

 one delights in the original and wholly appropriate 

 effect propiucd. A flight of segmental steps leads 

 down from the doorway to a level space of grass, 

 with a stone pathway down the middle. At the 

 outer edge of this frontage of grass runs the first line 

 of balustrading from winfj to wing of the house, thus 

 making an enclosure of the hollow square. Ivy 

 clothes with its dark vesture the grey granite of' the 

 walls in places, ami the green things that love a nnky 

 rootage are flourishing in the interstices of the stair 

 \sa\ In- which we descend. The balustrade, beautiful 

 in its severe simplicity, is divided at intervals by 

 squared pedestals, e.uh i rested with a ball, while two 





COKN1&H STOXE. 



river below. There are woods and fields and 

 shadowy lanes, and that general richness of vegetation 

 which is so characteristic of that part of F.ngland. 

 The spirit of the soil is in the place. The hard 

 granite gives its individuality alike to the house and 

 the garden. It is used even for the gateposts in the 

 fields, and it has a very quaint and beautiful effect in 

 the old ball-topped and shield-adorned piers of the 

 entrance gateway at Newton Ferrers House. The 

 terracing on the garden side has a character all its 

 own. No Bath stone balustrading would ever be 

 made, or look well if made, with balusters so simply 

 massive and so sparsely placed. But the moment one- 

 recognises the texture and hardness of the material, 



taller pillars, each also with its globe, flank the way 

 to the terrace below. Here, until recently, ivy grew 

 rampantly, as it will when not judiciously thinned, to 

 the concealment of the architectural features. This 

 strong and vigorous climber has a wonderful value in 

 gardens ; but it must be kept under control, and 

 mere pruning only serves to make it grow thicker. 



Descending now to the second level by another 

 segmental stairway, we are better able to view 

 the surroundings. There is a larger outlook, and we 

 notice that the ground falls to the left into a hidden 

 region of sylvan beauty, where the terrace walls arc 

 strongly buttressed. All is velvety turf now 

 where we tread, and a delightful level platform 



