552 Notices of some Gardens and Country Seats 



in very suitable places. No tree is put down except on the 

 precise spot chosen by Lord Clifford, who, from the remarks he 

 made to us, and the operations going forward, we should con- 

 clude to be possessed of good taste in landscape-gardening. The 

 house is a square mass, pierced with equidistant windows all of 

 the same size, without any other merit ; it is too meagre to be 

 called elegant, and not lofty enough to be considered grand. A 

 house, however, is within the power of man, but the grounds and 

 the woods of Ugbrook can only be produced by a fortunate con- 

 currence of natural circumstances many years in operation. 



September 18. — Exeter. Viewing the cathedral and other 

 objects in the town. 



September 19. and 20. — Bicton ; Lady Rolle. This is an ex- 

 tensive place, celebrated for its improvements, for the collection 

 of rare plants of every kind, for its arboretum on a large scale 

 recently planted, and for its very high keeping. Too much can 

 hardly be said in honour of the late Lord Rolle, through whose 

 munificence the improvements were made, or of the present Lady 

 Rolle, by whose taste and energetic mind His Lordship was 

 stimulated to do so much ; and by whom, since His Lordship's 

 death, the improvements have been continued, and the place kept 

 up with a degree of care very rarely to be met with in similar 

 cases. 



The surface of the grounds at Bicton would be described as 

 greatly varied in any other English county than Devonshne, 

 but even in that picturesque county they contain many striking 

 beauties. The park is situated within 2^ miles of the sea, of 

 which from various points it affords fine views ; and in the 

 interior the landscape is bounded by ranges of hills, some of 

 which are covered with wood, others with cultivated fields, 

 and some are in a wild state. The soil is chiefly sand and 

 sandy loam. The house, which is well placed on a knoll, is 

 extensive and commodious, containing a suite of magnificent 

 apartments on the principal floor, and very extensive offices, 

 but without any pretensions to architecture. The grounds have 

 been judiciously laid out by Mr. Gilpin, and a piece of water 

 formed by Mr. Glendinning under his direction has an ex- 

 cellent effect. There are two approaches, the one from Exeter, 

 and the other from Sidmouth ; the latter passes through an 

 avenue of araucarias, planted in 1842. There are an outer 

 and inner park, and also outer and inner lodges, but none of 

 these lodges has much merit. 



In a gardening point of view the most interesting feature 

 about Bicton is the arboretum, which extends from the house, 

 along the boundary of the inner park, till it reaches the flower- 

 garden, at the distance of 1 12 chains, or nearly a mile and a half. 

 The average width is about 3 chains, which will give from S3 to 



