38 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 



had a right to the use of the water from the springs in 

 the Park, and the history of their privilege is recorded 

 on a stone which stands above " the Dell " on the north- 

 east of the bridge across the end of the Serpentine. The 

 inscription states that a supply of water by a conduit was 

 granted to the Abbey of Westminster by Edward the 

 Confessor, and the further history of the lands, which 

 passed into Henry VIII. 's hands at a time when all church 

 property was in peril of seizure, is neatly glossed over as 

 the " manor was resumed by the Crown in 1536." The 

 use of the springs, however, was retained by the Abbey, 

 and confirmed to them by a charter of Elizabeth in 1560. 

 Later on the privilege was withdrawn, and in 1663 the 

 Chelsea Waterworks were granted the use of all the 

 streams and springs of Hyde Park. They made in 

 1725 a reservoir on the east side of the Park, opposite 

 Mount Street. The sunk garden, with the Dolphin 

 Fountain, the statue in Carrara marble, and the basin of 

 Sicilian marble, by A. Munro, was made in 1861 on the 

 site of this reservoir, which was abandoned two years 

 earlier. It has been stated that this sunk garden was 

 a remnant of the forts of Cromwell's time, one small 

 one having been near here, but the history of the Chelsea 

 Waterworks reservoir must have been unknown to those 

 who believed the tradition. It contained a million and a 

 half gallons of water, and was protected by a wall and 

 railings, as suicides were once said to have been frequent. 

 When the Serpentine was made by Queen Caroline, con- 

 siderable compensation had to be paid to the Waterworks 

 Company. 



In this age of experiments in plant growing, when 

 American writers glow with enthusiasm on the wonders 

 of the " New Earth," and when science has transformed 



