THE HISTORY OF GARDEN-MAKING 



with places that called for treatment on a large scale. His system 

 of arranging avenues radiating from a centre, his use of broad and 

 dignified terraces and formal lakes, were frankly adopted in England, 

 and in what remains of the garden work done at this period the 

 signs of his inspiration are not to be mistaken. 



As an example of the results arrived at by following Le Notre's 

 methods, the laying-out of the park and gardens at Badminton can 

 be particularly noted. A description of this place, as it was about 

 the end of the seventeenth century, is given in the admirable book 

 on " The Formal Garden in England," by Mr. Reginald Blomfield 

 and Mr. F. Inigo Thomas : " The approach to the house was 

 formed by a triple avenue, the centre avenue 200 feet wide, the two 

 side avenues 80 feet wide. The entrance gates to this avenue were 

 placed in the centre of a great semicircular wall. The distance from 

 this gateway to the house was 2^ miles. After passing through two 

 more gateways, the avenue opened on to a great oblong open space 

 forming part of the deer park, with avenues on either side, and the 

 entrance gate to the forecourt of the house opposite the end of the 

 main avenue. A broad gravelled path, with grass plots and 

 fountains on either side, led from the entrance gate of the forecourt 

 to a flight of four steps leading to the pavement in front of the 

 house. To the right hand was the base court, with stables and 

 outhouses ; at the back of the house the kitchen and fruit gardens 

 and the pigeon-house. To the left of the house and forecourt were 

 the bowling green and pleasure gardens, with the grove beyond. 

 The latter was divided into four plots, with four-way paths and a 

 circular space and fountain in the centre. Each of the plots was 

 planted with close-growing trees laid out as mazes, and trimmed 

 close and square for a height apparently of some 15 to 20 feet from 

 the ground. Opposite the centre alley was a semicircular bay 

 divided into quadrants, each quadrant with a basin and fountain, 

 and great square hedges trimmed to the same height as the rest of 

 the grove. The whole of these immense gardens were walled in, 

 with the exception of a fence round the grove. Wide gates were 

 set at the ends of all the main paths, and from these, as points of 

 departure, avenues were laid out in straight lines, radiating and 

 intersecting each other in all directions." 



Some of these avenues at Badminton are said to have been as much 

 as six or seven miles long, so that it can be clearly seen that in 

 laying out such a place as this the designer responsible must have 

 been capable of imagining large effects, and must have understood 

 how to plan vast arrangements in which the actual walled garden 

 xii 



