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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 5, 1872. 



Hindlip, or as it was then spelled, Hindelep, is noticed in 

 Domesday Book, bat there were then residing there only seven 

 rustics and a priest. The manor passed to various proprietors, 

 the Dabetots, the Solleys, and the Coningshys, until it came 

 to the Hahingtons. Mr. John Habington, cofferer to Queen 

 Elizabeth, is believed to have erected the mansion, a date in 

 one of the parlours being 1572. Yet there is reason for be- 

 lieving that he, as certainly was his son Thomas, was a Roman 

 Catholic. The secret recesses, concealed rooms, and private 

 passages were so numerous, that when, after the discovery 

 of the Gunpowder Plot, the house was searched for some of 

 the conspirators, twelve days elapsed before they could be 

 ferreted out. Mrs. Habington, wife of Thomas, is traditionally 

 believed to have written the letter to her brother, Lord Mont- 

 eagle, that led to the discovery of the plot, and it is certain 

 that her and Lord Monteagle's intercession obtained, a pardon 

 for her husband, who was condemned to die for concealing the 

 conspirators. How long Hindlip continued with the Habington 

 family we have no information, but at the beginning of the 

 present century it had become a ladies' boarding school, and 

 then, or subsequently, it was the property of Mrs. Graves, 

 and a few years afterwards it passed to the proprietorship of 

 Henry Allsopp, Esq. 



The modern mansion is seated on an eminence of sufficient 

 height to command extensive views over the neighbouring 

 country, without being too bleak and high, for it is well 

 sheltered by healthy and promising timber trees judiciously 

 planted, especially on the north and north-western sides, 

 while to the east, south, and south-west the view is over one 

 of the richest cultivated districts in England. Immediately in 

 front the ground sinks gently to the south, as likewise it does 

 to the east and south-west, while the carriage front is to the 

 north, and is approached by a pleasant drive of upwards of a 

 mile from the lodge. The road, for a considerable part of the 

 way, is skirted by a belt of trees on one side, while the park 

 extends on the other, and there are gas lamps at proper in- 

 tervals along the side. The east, south, and west sides of the 

 mansion all more or less face the pleasure ground, but the 

 mansion does not exactly align with the cardinal points, the 

 principal front facing the south-east. But as this is of no 

 consequence to the general reader, I may say that the prin- 

 cipal view takes in the taU spires of the Worcester churches 

 and the stately cathedral, as well as a largo portion of the 

 city and its suburbs, while far beyond, rising partly in the 

 mist, are the Malvern Hills. The district around Worcester is 

 sufficiently diversified by gentle hill and dale to afford soft and 

 smiling scenery, and yet meet the views of the practical 

 farmer who lilies fields neither too flat nor too hilly. The whole 

 is sufficiently embellished by rich woods, and now and then 

 orchards alm ost vieing with the woods in the magnitude of the 

 trees. To complete the picture, the majestic Severn rolls down 

 the valley some two or three miles to the right of Hindlip, and 

 passes Worcester, where it forms a stream of much more im- 

 portance than I expected. At a convenient distance from the 

 mansion the railway from Birmingham to Worcester passes 

 the pretty and interesting village of Fearnal Heath, where 

 there is a station. 



Viewed at a short distance off the mansion might easily be 

 taken for being of Bath stone, but on closer inspection the 

 material is found to be a light-coloured brick, but of so smooth 

 and fine a kind, that the wonder is how it was made. It 

 is said each brick (the ordinary size), cost upwards of 2d. 

 The design is Grecian, as will be seen by the accompanying 

 representation taken from a photograph by Mr. Evans, Tallow 

 Hill, Worcester. Dressed grounds surround the house on all 

 sides or nearly so, and there is a liberal display of shrubs and 

 ornamental trees, but less flower garden than is often met 

 with in places of only moderate extent, Mr. Allsopp justly 

 regarding the present rage for floral display during the few 

 months of the latter summer as a pursuit not worthy the 

 attention so many expend upon it. He is an enthusiast in 

 fruits and a larger and finer collection of thes is cultivated 

 here than in most private places, Pears especially being re- 

 markably good. Separated from the dressed ground by belts 

 of shrubs is the kitchen garden, lying to the westward of 

 the mansion, and surrounded by high walls and outside slips. 

 The ground inclines towards the south-west. The wall on the 

 slip side at the south-west corner was quite 20 feet high, but 

 in general about 12 feet was the greatest height inside. The 

 north wall was all covered with glass, and there were some 

 other glass houses in a slip at one corner. I learned from 

 Mr. Moffat that there are nineteen houses in all, and none of 



them small ones, so it will be seen that fruit-growing has a 

 chance to be well carried out at this remarkable place. At the 

 time of my visit (the early part of September) there was an 

 abundance of Peaches under glass, while the Pear trees on the 

 walls were in luxuriant health and bearing heavy crops of 

 fruit, in some cases under a system of treatment differing from 

 that generally given to this fruit. A few notes respecting them 

 may, therefore, not be out of place. 



Mr. Moffat, the able gardener here, is a great advocate of 

 the orchard-house principle of growing fruits as practised by 

 Messrs. Pearson, Bivers, and others ; and in one of the houses 

 I entered, a Peach house, about 75 feet long, a " lean-to," 

 some thirty trees in pots occupied the front or body of the 

 house, and I was told a good crop had been gathered from 

 them, while against the back wall, which appeared to be quite 

 12 feet high, were planted about fifty Peach trees, each trained 

 with only one stem in a diagonal direction against the wall, 

 the inclination being something like 60° with the horizon. 

 Contrary to the general mode of treatment adopted with the 

 Peach tree, these were spurred-in in much the same way as 

 common hardy fruits usually are. At the time of my visit 

 there were some excellent fruit still remaining, and the trees 

 were the picture of good health; neither did they appear to 

 have run away at any particular place into coarse useless wood, 

 but theh look indicated the prospect of as good a crop for next 

 year as they had borne in the present. Amongst the fifty 

 trees occupying this wall I did not notice one that failed to do 

 its part, and be it remembered this mode of training does not 

 admit of one tree of a better growth than its neighbour doing 

 a part of that neighbour's duty. All were trained to single 

 stems, all were spurred into a bearing state, and all or there- 

 abouts had reached the top of the house, and were also clothed 

 with fruitful spurs to the bottom, the whole forming a fea- 

 ture in Peach-growing not commonly met with, and reflecting 

 great credit on Mr. Moffat for guiding the growth of each tree 

 with such accuracy as to preserve the proper balance between 

 all. The trees in pots were also good, but as these had fruited 

 I did not see them to such advantage. I may add that there 

 were other houses conducted on similar principles that had 

 fruited earlier ; and I am not certain how long the Peach 

 season had lasted, but it must have been a considerable time, 

 and was far froni being exhausted when I was there. 



Equally good with the Peaches just alluded to, were the 

 Grapes, in a house 65 feet long and of proportionate width, for 

 there was an excellent crop, and the bunches all that could be 

 desired, and although there was a good variety here, Mr. 

 Moffat was less inclined to multiply varieties of this fruit than 

 he was of some others, justly observing that few of the new 

 kinds would bear the test of time as the old ones had done, 

 and jocosely remarked he did not care how many new kinds 

 were sent out, if they all turned out Black Hamburghs. 

 Nevertheless, in the house alluded to there was sufficient 

 variety to court remark, and amongst them the following were 

 very good — viz., Foster's White Seedling, an excellent Grape, 

 not so much grown in the neighbourhood of London as it de- 

 serves to be ; Child of Hale, also a large bunch, in the way of 

 the Nice, but said to be of better table quality ; White Treb- 

 biano, very large. Amongst black Grapes the Alicante was 

 well represented, and deservedly so, for it is an excellent 

 Grape when well grown ; Mrs. Pince was also in a promising 

 condition, and more compact than we often see this Grape, 

 wliile the indispensable Lady Downes' was in full force, and 

 promised to do good service in 1S73. Other kinds were also 

 there, but I regret not having had on opportunity of noticing all. 

 The whole were in excellent condition, and fully confirmed 

 what I had heard of the excellent fruit grown at .this place. 

 The condition of the earlier houses showed that a good crop 

 might also be looked for next year. 



As regards Figs, some good fruit were ripening on trees in 

 pots that had been retarded ; the earlier crop had been long 

 gathered, and the trees were at rest, so necessary for renewed 

 exertions another year. Circumstances , unfortunately, hurried 

 me through several other of the houses without having time to 

 look at the inmates, but amongst plants I noticed some excel- 

 lent bushes of Roses in pots, which at the fitting season, no 

 doubt, yielded their full shore of bloom and buds ; neither 

 were other things wanting to complete the catalogue of useful 

 occupants of a range of glass so well arranged as that at 

 Hindlip. 



On passing out of the glass houses one of the first objects 

 I saw was a border of cordon Apples trained horizontally on 

 wire at about 15 or 18 inches from the ground, and like the 



