NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATION'S 



crowded. It has the precision and neatness which come from 

 careful tending, and is characteristically well kept. Brome Hall 

 (Plates XIV. to XVII.) has a garden which is formal in plan, but 

 less strictly regulated in detail. A terrace runs along the south and 

 west fronts of the house and below is another terrace laid out 

 with box-edged, geometrical beds ; and on these terraces and else- 

 where in the grounds there is much topiary work. The clipped 

 hedges and trees are, however, cleverly combined with trees and 

 shrubs of freer growth, so that they do not produce any excessive 

 effect of formality and they add markedly to the variety and 

 interest of the garden as a whole. A row of tall, pointed yew 

 arches is one of the features of the place ; and on its terraces and 

 in its pleasant walks there is ample evidence of the artistic 

 ingenuity with which the whole design has been contrived. 

 The terrace garden at Canons Ashby (Plates XIX. to XXI.) is said 

 to date from the time of Queen Anne, and certainly the magnificent 

 proportions of the cedars which flank the steps from the upper to 

 the lower terrace would seem to imply that the plan, in which these 

 trees form a very salient feature, was settled some centuries ago. 

 The effect of the group of cedars in giving picturesque irregularity 

 to the terraces is invaluable ; and they dominate the garden with 

 their towering trunks and wide-spreading branches. The ground 

 below the terraces is laid out with moderate formality and clipped 

 trees have been placed discreetly in appropriate situations. More 

 modern methods can be detected in the gardens of Carrow Abbey 

 and Carrow House (Plates XXII. to XXIV.), which are wanting 

 neither in grace of line nor in judicious spacing. The rose garden, 

 especially, shows an unusual perception of the decorative possibilities 

 of a plan in which elegance and simplicity are aimed at specifically. 

 A place of far greater pretension is Castle Ashby (Plates XXV. to 

 XXVIII.), the history of which goes back for many years. It is 

 not a single garden but rather a group of gardens laid out at 

 different dates and differing much in character, the work of a 

 series of designers from Capability Brown onwards. These gardens 

 are mostly rectangular in form, and as they are not all on the same 

 level they are divided one from the other by terraces, and con- 

 nected by broad flights of steps. The architectural details at Castle 

 Ashby are, indeed, of unusual significance because they help to 

 link together harmoniously the various parts of an extremely 

 complex scheme, and because they often have a quite distinctive 

 beauty. Terra-cotta has been extensively used in the terrace 

 balustrades and garden ornaments. Although there is no very 

 xxiv 



