chiefly between London and Sheffield, 457 



The Birmingham Nurseries. — We had only time to look at that of the 

 Messrs. Pope, which, our readers know from the account given of their Cata- 

 logue in a former volume, contains one of the best collections of herbaceous 

 plants in England, and perhaps only second to that in the Birmingham Bo- 

 tanic Garden. 



Aldershaw, near Lichfield, the Seat of the Rev. Burns Floyer, is a fine old 

 place, laid out in what might be called the transition style adopted by Switzer 

 in the latter years of his practice. A portion of the grounds directly on the 

 lawn front of the house was bounded on the sides by straight walls, and 

 terminated in front in a terrace walk and ha-ha. Beyond on one side is 

 the park, and on the other, a wood laid out in what Switzer calls the rural 

 style ; that is, a wood or shrubbery, with numerous winding walks throughout, 

 inosculating in various ways, and in all directions, so as to create a kind of 

 confusion, " almost as good as a labyrinth." The present proprietor has 

 taken down the wall which formerly separated the Elizabethan garden from 

 the woody labyrinth ; and this removal somewhat injures the effect of both, 

 more especially of the Elizabethan garden. If we were called on to improve 

 this place with a view to retaining the present house, we should recommend 

 the wall to be rebuilt, and the Elizabethan garden restored. A new house, 

 however, is said to be in contemplation, in a different part of the grounds, 

 which will doubtless require new arrangements. Some fine old cedars and 

 other trees have recently been blown down, but the magnificent beech, the 

 dimensions of which are given in our Vol. XII. p. 311., still exists in the 

 greatest vigour, and will probably long do so, as it stands close to a pond. 

 One lesson which the gardener may learn from this place, is the advantage of 

 keeping evergreen trees and shrubs from touching each other, in consequence 

 of which they are feathered to the ground with branches. 



Manly Hall, or Thick Broom, near Shenstone, the Seat of Manly, Esq., 



is a new place in a beautiful well-wooded situation, with a house in a mixed 

 style of baronial Gothic, by Mr. Trubshaw. The general effect of the exterior 

 at a distance is good, and the work is admirably executed in stone. We 

 had not an opportunity of examining the details of the exterior, nor the 

 interior of the mansion ; but we went through the stable offices, which 

 are very complete. What we most admired about the place, next to the 

 natural beauty of the situation, which is very great, is the manner in which 

 two terraced lawns in front of the house are arranged and planted. The 

 worst part of what has been done by art on the grounds is the approach, 

 which crosses a meadow on an embankment, and then a " deep cutting " 

 is made to conduct the road through a hill, thus giving it the character of 

 a common public road between one town and another, instead of an ele- 

 gant approach to a villa. Had the road been carried across the meadow 

 inclining considerably to the right, and on the natural surface instead of 

 on an embankment ; and been then carried round a hill covered with natural 

 wood, gradually rising as it advanced through the wood towards the house ; 

 an approach would have been formed of singular beauty, and one which 

 would not have shown the view obtained from the lawn front of the 

 house before entering it, as is the case with the present line of road. The 

 gardener at this place excels in grafting, and has inserted the pendulous- 

 branched ash on the common species at considerable heights ; one we believe 

 exceeding 40 ft. high. The grounds here are rich in native plants, especially 

 those which grow in woods and moist places. We found Cardamine amara, 

 Veronica, ylnagallis, and various others. The architectural student will find 

 Mr. Humphreys's opinion of the house in the Architectural Magazine, vol. v., 

 on which account we say nothing here on the subject ; but we cannot help 

 expressing our surprise that our esteemed and intelligent friend, Mr. Trub- 

 shaw, should have produced so bad an interior in the entrance lodge. There 

 is a great want of simplicity in the arrangement, and of light in the stairs, 

 besides other points open to fair criticism. 



Drayton Manor, the Seat of Sir Robert Peel, Bart., M. P., is an extensive 



