CHARLTON 359 



probably date from the year 1609, when James I. 

 encouraged all his subjects to plant them, and tradition 

 points to one as the first brought to England. There is 

 an immense horse-chestnut on the lawn, with a wide 

 spread of branches which are rooted in the ground all 

 round, and among the evergreen oaks and other attrac- 

 tive trees in the " Wilderness," a Judas of great age is 

 remarkable. The small house standing near the road 

 which passes the parish church, known as the " Guard 

 House," recalls the time when Prince Henry was living 

 there, and his guard of honour kept watch near the 

 entrance. The stables are just as they were built by 

 Inigo Jones, and the little " Dutch " walled garden which 

 adjoins them on one side is also a pretty relic of those 

 days, and the " Gooseberry Garden " near it is a survival 

 of the same period. A walk overshadowed by tall yew 

 trees stretches across and along the main part of the 

 grounds, and hidden away near its southern end is a de- 

 lightful rose garden. The beautiful lead fountain in the 

 centre must have been put there by Sir William Lang- 

 horne. His initials appear on the leaden tank, and the 

 spray rises from a basin held up by a charming little 

 cupid standing on a pedestal surrounded by swans. The 

 same group appears without the tank in another part of 

 the garden, and there are lead vases and figures, and a 

 cistern dated 1777, which add greatly to the old-world 

 charm which still lingers. Chemical works and sul- 

 phurous fumes now work deadly havoc among the old 

 trees, but everything that modern science can recommend 

 is done to preserve them, and young ones planted to 

 keep up the traditions, and bridge over the centuries 

 dividing the present from the days of Prince Henry and 

 his learned and courtly tutor. 



