KENSINGTON PALACE, LONDON 



house. The Temple, or Banqueting House, was 

 built by order of the Queen from designs by Sir 

 Christopher Wren. Queen Caroline, wife of 

 George II, bequeathed the gardens to us in their 

 present form, adding three hundred acres of 

 ground, and forming the Round Pond and the 

 beautiful vistas of trees that radiate from it. 

 Each had a distinct name, such as Old Pond 

 Walk, Bayswater Walk. The groves were filled 

 with squirrels and a large number of tortoises, 

 presented to the queen by the Doge of Genoa. 



Bridgman was the gardener who planned the 

 alterations and invented the sunken fosse dividing 

 the park from the gardens. This was a popular 

 novelty, and from it we may trace the origin of 

 the word, " Ha-ha ! " the surprised exclamation 

 of the pedestrian, meeting an unexpected obstacle 

 to his walk. This fosse was partly filled up in 

 1868. 



The gardens were opened to the public on 

 Saturdays, when the Court went to Richmond, 

 but the company were expected to appear in full 

 dress. On Sundays the Queen held a Court after 

 morning service, an elegant rendezvous taking 

 place on the green in front of the palace. On 



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