CHAPTER VI 



DECLINE OF THE FORMAL, AND EARLY INDICATIONS OF THE 

 NATURAL OR LANDSCAPE GARDEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 

 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 



INSTEAD, the noble seat of Sir Richard Child, with the DANIEL 



finest gardens in the world. You descend from the Salon 

 into the parterre, which hath a Canal in the middle ; on the right 

 a wilderness, and on the left a fine green walk, which ends in a 

 banqueting house. On one side of this green walk stands the 

 green-house, finely adorned with statues, and uncommonly furnished 

 with greens : while behind this green-house are variety of high- 

 hedged walks, affording delicious vistas. At the bottom of the 

 canal is a bowling-green encircled with grottos and seats, with 

 antique statues between each seat ; this bowling-green is separated 

 by a balustrade of iron from another long green walk, which leads 

 you to another long canal. 



On Richmond Green is a fine house and gardens, made by Sir 

 Charles Hedges, but now belonging to Sir Matthew Decker, which 

 are very curios. The longest, largest, and highest hedge of holly 

 I ever saw is in this garden, with several other hedges of ever- 

 greens, vistas cut through woods, grottos with fountains, and a 

 fine canal running up from the river. His duckery, which is 

 an oval pond bricked round, and his pretty summer-house by it, 

 in which to drink a bottle, his stove houses, which are always 

 kept of an equal heat for his citrons and other Indian plants, with 

 gardeners brought from foreign countries to manage them, are 

 very curious and entertaining. 



Sutton Court is une bijoux \ it hath three parterres from the Sutton Court 

 three fronts of the house, each finely adorned with statues. The 



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