104 THE FORMAL GARDEN IN ENGLAND v 



wide, but as it was to be divided into ten strips 

 of grass, gravel, and paving, it can hardly be 

 considered a terrace so much as a terrace garden. 

 For the side terrace, he says, the width should 

 not be less than 20 feet or more than 40. In 

 The Theory of Gardenings a terrace, shown on 

 the third plate, scales 40 feet wide to 190 feet 

 long, which is not a very happy proportion. 

 It is impossible to lay down any definite rule 

 for the proportions of a terrace, but, generally 

 speaking, the tendency is to make them too 

 narrow. Another important consideration is 

 the height of the terrace above the garden. 

 On sloping ground this will probably determine 

 itself; but where the terrace is almost entirely 

 artificial, it is not much use making the level of 

 the terrace less than 2 to 3 feet above the 

 garden, and, for effect, the higher the better, 

 within certain limits. Where, however, the fall 

 of the ground is very sudden, it is best to make 

 the terrace in two levels — that is, an upper and 

 a lower terrace, communicating by flights of 

 stairs. At Kingston House, Bradford -on - 

 Avon, the difficulty is got over in a very skilful 

 way. The house is raised 12.0 above the 

 lower garden ; in front of the house is a terrace 

 24 feet wide, with a flight of fourteen steps in 

 the centre, descending to a grass platform with 

 mitred slopes. The path runs to right and left, 

 and descends to the lower garden by flights of 

 seven steps ; off this path, on either side of the 



