between London and Cheshunt. 515 



and he would find distant prospect occupying a large portion of the picture, 

 in proportion to that occupied by the foreground, an essential feature. 



The Gothic Cottage, W. Harrison, Esq., and the Swiss Cottage, H. B. Ker, 

 Esq., both at Cheshunt, will form the subjects of future Articles. 



August 10. To Cheshunt, by Whealstone, Oakhill, and Enfield. — ■ To the left 

 of the new road which leads from the Edgware Road to Wheatstone, and 

 between West End and Child's Hill, is a villa building on the summit of a 

 hill, which, in point of architectural taste, is such as, luckily, is not often to 

 be met with. It consists of a centre and two wings. The centre is in the 

 Roman manner, with Grecian architraves and pediments over the windows, 

 and the two wings terminate in towers with Gothic battlements. The towers 

 are high in proportion to their diameter, but still not so high as the main body 

 of the house, which is square, while the towers are round. On the centre of 

 the roof of this main body is a piece of iron framework, which, seen from 

 the road, has the appearance of a tent bed, with the curtains removed. We 

 have seen nothing to compare with this building in the neighbourhood of Lon- 

 don, and should like to know the line of life of the proprietor, and the kind 

 of society in which he moves. Absurdities of this kind may, perhaps, some- 

 times do good, by rousing attention to the subject. What is grossly erro- 

 neous can be more readily detected by the mass of society, than what is 

 perfectly correct or supremely beautiful. 



Oakhill ; Sir Simon H. Clarke, Bart., F.H.S. — We approached this place 

 from Wheatstone, by which road the greater part of the grounds is passed 

 through or seen, before arriving at the house ; the proper approach to the 

 mansion is, however, from the Southgate Road, from which but a small portion 

 of the grounds is seen by a stranger, till he looks from the drawingroom win- 

 dows. In short, the house stands on the top of a bank, and the entrance 

 front is approached over a piece of table land ; plantations to the right and 

 left serving as a screen to the distant prospect, which would otherwise be 

 seen before entering the mansion. The situation of the house is unexception- 

 able; but the grounds on the lawn front are laid out and planted in the com- 

 monplace manner of the past generation, and are greatly in want of reform ; 

 they are, indeed, quite unworthy of the situation. A circumstance the more 

 to be lamented, as they might so easily be made every thing that could be 

 desired. From the Wheatstone approach, the undulations of the ground are 

 seen to great advantage ; more particularly at one point near the lodge, 

 where their intersections form a beautiful foreground to Little Grove, 

 the residence of F. Cass, Esq., a villa which, like Oakhill, stands at the 

 head of a bank. We also see from this approach Boham Lodge, the 

 residence of C. Knott, Esq., a villa very beautifully situated, where several 

 improvements are going forward. Still, were these three villas to be 

 built again, there can be no doubt but that they would be very greatly im- 

 proved, and that they would bear the impress of the age ; which, in this 

 country, is in nothing more remarkable, than in the progress which has been 

 made within the last few years in villa architecture ; notwithstanding the 

 occasional occurrence of such exceptions as that mentioned in the preceding 

 paragraph. 



At Oakhill, the kitchen-garden is the most attractive feature to a gardener. 

 We found it in the highest order in every part ; and we may safely state that 

 we never saw before such extraordinary pines and grapes. We also saw a 

 peach pit 40 ft. long by 13 ft. wide, which was nearly filled by an elruge nec- 

 tarine and a noblesse peach. These, when planted, were one year trained, 

 but with the shoots cut back to the stem, so that they might almost be termed 

 maiden plants ; nevertheless, they completely filled the house in three sea- 

 sons, and bore a good crop of fruit this spring, which had been some time 

 all gathered when we saw the trees. The trees are planted within the pit, and 

 their roots pass through the wall into a border, which is never cropped. All 

 the vines in the different vineries are treated in the spurring-in manner, and no 

 greater quantity of wood or leaves is allowed to be produced, than is necessary 



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