54 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Frbruart, 



adapted to the customs and manners of the times in which tlicy were l)uih, 

 was cold and comfortless, compared with modern houses. A large hall, an- 

 ciently used as the dining-rooin, occupied more than half tlie centre ; and 

 the rest helonged to the huttcry and offices, in the manner still preserved in 

 old colleges. The two wings contained rooms, inaccessible, hut liy ])assing 

 through one to the other; and the two opposite sides were so disjoined hy 

 the central hall, that each was entered hy a separate ])orch. 



"The great hall at Cohham has been converted into a music-room, of fifty 

 feet by thirty-six, and thirty feet high ; and is one of the most splendid ajid 

 costly in the kingdom, T)ie rest of the ccjitral building forms the library, 

 or general hving room ; which, instead of looking into an entrance-court, as 

 formerly, now looks into a flower-garden, enriched with marljle statues and a 

 fninitain, forming an ai)propriate frame, or foregrouml, to the landscape of 

 the park. The entrance has been removed to the north front, under an arch- 

 way, or parte coc/iere, over which a walk from the level of the picture gallery 

 (wliich is up stairs) crosses the road, in the manner described by the annexed 

 sketch, tig. 1, representing the north front, as it has been restored to its 

 original character. In this view is also the bastion, by which the teiTaec- 

 walk terminates with a view into the park." 



We cordially agree with Mr. Repton in the following observations " Con- 

 cemhiff improvements." 



" I have frequently been asked, whether the improvement of the coimtrv, 

 in beauty, has not kept pace with the increase of its wealth ; and, perhaps, 

 have feared to deliver my opinion to some who have jmt the cpiestion. I 

 now may speak tlie truth, without fear of offending, since time has brought 

 about those changes which I long ago expected. The taste of the country 

 has bowed to the shrine which all worship ; and the riches of individuals 

 have changed the face of the country. 



" There are too many wiio have no idea of improvement, except by in- 

 creasing the qnantity, the quality, or the value of an estate. The beauty of 

 its scenei7 seldom enters into their thought : and, Mli at will it cost .'"or. 

 What will it jield ? not. How will it look .' seems the general object of in- 

 quiry in all improvements. Formerly, I can recollect the art being compli- 

 mcnti'd as likely to extend it« influence, till all England would become one 

 landscape garden ; and it was then the pride of a conntry gentleman to show 

 the beauties of his place to the public, as at Audley End, Shardeloes, ami 

 many other celebrated parks, through which i)ublic roads were purposely 

 made to pass, and the views displayed by means of sunk fences. Now, on 

 the contrai-y, as soon as a purchase of land is made, the first thing is to seciu-e 

 and shut np the whole hy a lofty close pale, to cut dowm every tree that will 

 sell, and jdough every inch of land that will jiay for so doing. The annexed 

 two sketches, figures 5 and G, sen-e to show the effect of such improvc- 



IHg. 5— View from a public road which passes tlirong-h a forest waste. 



mcnt ; they both represent the same spot ; formerly, the venerable trees 

 m.arked the property of their ancient proprietor ; and the adjoining forest, 

 waste, or common, might, perhaps, produce nothing liut beauty; now the 

 trees are gone, the pale is set at the very verge of the statute width of road, 

 the conmiou is enclosed, and the proprietor boasts, not that it produces corn 

 im man, or gi-ass for cattle, but that it produces him rent : thus money su- 

 persedes every other consideration. 



This eager pursuit of gain has, of late, extended from the new proprietor, 

 whose habits have been connected with trade, to the ancient hereditary gen- 

 tleman, wiio, condescending to become his own tenant, grazier, and butcher, 

 can have little occasion for the landscape gardener : he gives up beauty for 

 gain, and prospect for the produce of his acres. This is the only improve- 

 ment to which the thirst for riches aspires ; and, while 1 witness, too often, 

 the alienation of ancient family estates, Oom waste and extravagance, I fre- 

 quently see the same effect produced by cupidity and mistaken notions of 



sordid improvement, rather than enjoyment of property, Jiut, to whatever \ 



cause it may be attributed, the change of property into new hamis, was never 

 before so frequent ; and it is a painful circumstance to the professional im- 

 prover, to see his favourite plans nipped in the bud, which he fondly hoped 

 would ripen to perfection, and extend their benefits to those friends by whom 

 he is consulted. 



" In jiassing through a distant county, I had observed a part of the road 

 where the scenery was particularly interesting. It consisted of large spread- 

 ing trees, intermixed with thorns : on one side, a view info Lord * * « * 's 

 l)ark was admitted, by the jiale being sunk; and a ladder-stile, placed near an 

 aged beech, tempted me to explore its beauties. On the opposite side, a 

 bench, and an umbrageous |)art of an adjoining forest, invited me to pause, 

 and make a sketch of the spot. After a lapse of ten years, I was surjirised 

 to see the change which had been made. I no longer knew, or recollected. 



Fig. 6- 



-View after the forest waste had been enclosed, and the ground sub- 

 jected to agricultural improvement. 



the same place, till an old lahourer explained, that, on the death of the late 

 loi-d, the estate had been sold to a very rich man, who had improved it ; for, 

 by cutting down the timber, and getting an act to enclose the common, he 

 had doubled all the rents. The old mossy ami ivy-covered pale was replaced 

 by a new and lofty close paling ; not to confine the deer, but to exclude man- 

 kind, and to protect a miserable narrow belt of firs and Lombardy poplars : 

 the bench was gone, the ladder-stile was changed to a caution against man- 

 traps and spring-gims, and a notice that the foot-path was stO])ped by order 

 of the commissioners. As I read the hoard, the old man said, — ' It is very 

 true, and I am forced to walk a mile further round, every night, after a hard 

 day's work.' This is the common consequence of all enclosures : and, we 

 may ask, to whom are they a benefit .' 



" ' Adding to riches an increased store. 

 And making poorer those already poor.' " 



Mr. Repton gives the following interesting testimony to his predecessor 

 Browni, whose example he prided himself in following. 



" Mr. Brown's fame as an architect seems to have been eclipsed by his 

 celebrity as a landscape gardener, he being the only professor of one art, 

 while he had many jealous competitors in the other. But wiien I consider 

 the number of excellent works in architecture designed and executed by him, 

 it becomes an act of justice to his memory to record, that, if he was superior 

 to all in what related to his own peculiar profession, he was inferior to none 

 in wliat related to the comfort, convenience, taste, and propriety of design, 

 in the several m.insions and other buildings which he planned. Having 

 occasionally visited and admired many of them, I was induced to make some 

 inquiries concerning his works ns an architect, and, with the permission of 

 Mr. Holland, to whom, at his decease, he left his drawings, I insert, the fol- 

 lowing list : — 



'• For the Earl of Coventry. Croome, house, oflices, lodges, church, &e., 

 1751. 



The same. S|)ring Hill, a new place. 



Earl of Donegal. Fisherwick, house, oflices, and bridge. 



Earl of Exeter. Burleigh, addition to the house, new offices, &c. 



Ralph Allen, Esq., near Bath, additional building, 1765. 



liOrd Viscount P.almcrslon. Broadland, considerable ailditions. 



Lord Craven. Benham, a new house. 



" Robert Drummond, Esq. Cadlauds, a new house, offices, farm build- 

 ings, &c. 



Earl of Bute. Christ Church, a bathing-place. 



Paul Methuen, Esq. Corshara, the picture gallery, &c. 



Marquis of Staft'onl. Trentham Hall, considerable alterations. 



Earl of Newbuiy. House, offices, &c., 1762. 



Rowland Holt, Esq. Redgiave, large new house, 1765. 



Lord Willoughby de Broke. Compton, a new chapel. 



Marquis of Bute. Cardiff Castle, large additions. 



Earl llarcomt. Nuneham, alterations and new offices. 



Lord Clive. Clermont, a large new house. 



Earl of Warwick, Warwick Castle, added to the entrance. 



