550 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 



spot having been previously chosen, from the natural picturesque 

 beauties which surround it, by Georgiana Duchess of Bedford. 

 The first stone of the building was laid by her four elder sons, 

 Wriothesley, Edward, Charles Fox, and Francis John, Sept. 

 7. 1810." 



Milton Abbey Free School was founded by the Duchess-Dow- 

 ager of Bedford mentioned above; and the gardens, we were 

 informed by a gardener at work in them, were laid out from the 

 duchess's own designs. Some cottages, also, were built by Her 

 Grace near this school, with suitable gardens round each ; and 

 so anxious was Her Grace to have these gardens properly cul- 

 tivated and kept in good order, that she had openings, like 

 windows, made at regular distances in the boundary hedges next 

 the road, in order that she might see through them from her 

 carriage, as she passed along the road, whether the gardens 

 were properly kept. Every where we found the duchess highly 

 spoken of by the people. 



Tavistock. There is an excellent inn here, the only one we 

 ever recollect to have seen without a sign of any kind, or even a 

 name. There are some bookseller's shops in the town, an 

 excellent subscription library, and, what we particularly admired, 

 some new schools and teachers' houses by Mr. Blore, whose 

 style is always simple and grand, and his chimneys high, bold, 

 and free; that is, with their pedestals raised so high as to be 

 freely separated from the roof and side walls. (See Supp. Cott. 

 Arch., p. 1296. art. iv.) 



Sept. 16. — Tavistock to Bucldand Abbey and, Moreton Hamp- 

 stead. 



BucJcland Abbey ; Sir Trayton Drake. This is an old place 

 situated in a bottom, chiefly remarkable for having been the 

 residence of the circumnavigator Drake, and for containing 

 various articles which he carried round the world with him, 

 including his drum, writing-desk, chest of drawers, &c. There is 

 a curious Elizabethan ceiling in the hall; and there are double 

 windows, and a very ingenious contrivance to prevent the doors 

 from slamming ; viz. a cork put half-way into a tin tube, the 

 latter being fixed to the style of the door in such a manner that 

 the door strikes first on the cork, and consequently its force is 

 broken by the compression of that elastic material. A piece of 

 Indian rubber might be let into the style in such a manner as to 

 have the same effect; and there is an excellent contrivance for the 

 same purpose by Sir John Robison, described in our Architectural 

 Magazine, and in the Supplement to the Encyclopcedia of Cottage 

 Architecture. The farm-yard is close to the house, and the 

 barn is doubtless that which belonged to the monks. We 

 guessed it at 200 ft. long, 30 ft. wide, and 60 ft. to the ridge of 

 the roof. The roof is supported by curved beams or rafters, 





