EARLY TUDOR GARDENS 79 



We have already had occasion to refer to Hampton Court in 

 describing the characteristics of Tudor gardens. There are 

 such full accounts left of the expenses incurred in making these 

 gardens, both under the direction of Cardinal Wolsey and of 

 Henry VIII., that, although the exact plan is unknown, a 

 very fair idea of what they were like may be gathered. The 

 land which Wolsey covered with the building, gardens, and 

 park, consisted of two thousand acres. In the south-west 

 corner of this ground stood the old manor house, and round this 

 the Cardinal laid out gardens and orchards, separated by brick 

 walls, and, beyond the walls, a park. He retained part of the 

 manor house garden, for it is noted several times as " the old 

 garden." John Chapman was head-gardener at this time, 

 and remained in that position, with a salary of £12 a year, when 

 the King took possession of the disgraced Cardinal's lands in 

 1529. The gardens were soon after greatly enlarged. A new 

 orchard was made to the north of the old gardens, and pears, 

 damsons, medlars, cherries, apples, cucumbers, and melons 

 were grown, and forty- three bushels of strawberries were planted 

 at one time. There was a flower-garden which supplied the 

 Queen with roses, and a kitchen garden, where " herbes for 

 the king's table " were grown. A part of these gardens was 

 destroyed when the new ones were made in 1533. The ground 

 was then manured and carefully measured out into several 

 plots, each surrounded by a brick wall. The largest plot was 

 the King's new garden, the site of which is now called the 

 " Privy Garden." In this there were gravel paths, and little 

 raised mounds with sundials on them, and between the paths, 

 railed beds cut in the grass. The rails were trained with roses, 

 and yew, cypress, or juniper trees planted in the centre of each 

 bed ; while along the walls were apple, pear, and damson trees, 

 and under them " violets, prymroses, sweet williams, gillifer 

 slips, mynt, and other sweete flowers," and this garden con- 

 tained the mount and arbour. Another plot was the " Pond 

 Garden," which merely seems to have contained the ponds, 

 and was only decorated with the " beestes," as there is no 

 mention of flowers being planted in it. There was the " little 

 garden," of which not much is known, except that sixty-seven 

 apple-trees were bought for it from " William gardener of 



