272 Gngor's Eastern Arboretum, 



wait upon the mansion, lending their aid to it in all their varied character, 

 whether placed singly, in lines, groups, or thickets ; as objects merely orna- 

 mental, or valuable on account of their shelter. Otherwise, what are they ? 

 A chaos of beautiful materials, indeed, but serving only to create the more 

 insufferable discord," 



Beeston Park ; Sir Jacob H. Preston, Bart. — " The entrance to the park 

 from the Norwich road is particularly handsome : after passing a sufficiency 

 of plantation to betoken the approach of some place of note, the grounds 

 open with a most magnificent avenue of oaks, exhibiting a sweep of a full 

 quarter of a mile, continuing uninterruptedly almost to the very verge of the 

 mansion." 



Worstead House ; Hon. W. R. Rous. — " The present proprietor has, with 

 good taste, eflfected an entrance to his house at the opposite extremity to that 

 which was previously in use, thereby making the original [entrance hall a tri- 

 bune, and giving an entire suite of apartments the repose and seclusion of a 

 dress-ground, sweeping down to the water's edge." 



Honing Hall ; E. G. Cubitt, Esq. — "Great facilities are afforded for a 

 pleasure-ground and dress-garden ; for, in the immediate vicinity of the house, 

 the trees, both beech and oak, are very fine : we measured several 12 ft. in 

 circumference, with 30 ft. of clear shaft; but this department has been little 

 attended to, and, with the exceptions of a Portugal laurel, one of the finest 

 we have ever witnessed, and a handsome tulip tree, there is little worthy of 

 record." 



Witton Park ; Lord Wodehouse, — " The grand approach, through nearlj^ a 

 mile of fine young thriving wood, gives the place a very imposing character ; 

 and proves that with care and attention most species of wood may be reared, 

 even though exposed to continual sea breezes : v. e, in a great measure, impute 

 this to the large body in which they have been planted." 



Bayfield Hall ; G. N. Best, Esq. — " The ornamental grounds are in good 

 taste, and, with the ruin of Bayfield church peering through ivy and sylvan 

 drapery, makes a happy picture. The lawn breaks and undulates on all sides 

 in very pleasing variet}'." 



Gunthorpe Hall; Rev. J. H. Spar/ce. — *' Some hundreds of acres are here 

 thickly strewed with thorns and holly of most magnificent growth, and ever 

 and anon an old and gnarled oak contrasts and enlivens the scener}'. The 

 gardens are somewhat after the old fashion, and the greenhouse, which is of 

 iron framework of a continuous curve throughout, is the lightest, prettiest, 

 and most convenient we ever beheld. There is a handsome piece of water, 

 fringed chiefly by ash and alder, affording to the grounds a most pleasing 

 termination." 



Letton Park ; T. T. Gurdon, Esq. — " Here, as in many places in Norfolk, 

 nothing strikes us more forcibly than the want of that diversity of surface so 

 necessary to every demesne. Besides creating an impression, a varied and 

 broken outline gives at once scope to the imagination : a small group of trees, 

 happily placed on a knoll, or on the turn of a sloping hill, often deludes one 

 with the idea, that the brokenness of the ground conceals more even than the 

 eye beholds ; but on a level space, a handsome expanse of wood scarcely pro- 

 duces any effect, and many a broad acre of greensward is thereby rendered 

 comparatively of little account. From its being built on so flat a surface, few 

 houses verify this observation more than the one in question ; for, although 

 replete with every possible convenience, and containing a most ample suite of 

 apartments, its appearance does no justice to its interior arrangements." 



Plumstead Hall; Rev. Charles Penrice. — " The house stands in tiie midst 

 of a spacious lawn, surrounded by well-pruned and thriving plantations. Under 

 all circumstances, it would be unreasonable, perhaps, to expect a happier com- 

 bination ; and, without infinite perseverance, nothing so good would have been 

 the result. There is one feature, however, which we cannot connnend. The 

 approach from Norwich, to say nothing of the garden wall and gooseberry 

 bushes, makes sad havoc with the dress-grounds : it precludes their being 



