THE ELIZABETHAN FLOWER GARDEN in 



as on December 21st, 1581, Henry Sledd, Queen Elizabeth's 

 fishmonger, wrote to Sir William More offering to buy some 

 carp out of his pond. He offers from I2d. to i8d. a piece, 

 according to their size, and adds, " Yf I see they be more 

 worthe ... I will mend the pryse." 1 



Of the first kind of fountain there were many examples in 

 the finest gardens at the time when Bacon wrote. Frederick, 

 Duke of Wurtemberg, describes the one he saw at Hampton 

 Court in 1592 : 2 " In the middle of the first and principal 

 court stands a splendid high and massy fountain, with an 

 ingenious water-work, by which you can, if you like, make 

 the water to play upon the ladies and others who are standing 

 by, and give them a thorough wetting." Of this same fountain 

 Norden wrote in 1598, " Queen Elizabeth hathe of late caused 

 a very beautiful fountaine there to be erected in the second 

 court, which graceth the Pallace, and serveth to great and 

 necessarie use ; the fountaine was finished in 1590, not without 

 great charge." Another of the same sort was to be seen at 

 Whitehall, and is described by Hentzner, in 1596 : " A jet 

 d'eau with a sundial, which, while strangers are looking at it 

 a quantity of water forced by a wheel which the gardener turns 

 at a distance, through a number of little pipes, plentifully 

 sprinkles those that are standing round." Hentzner also 

 visited Nonsuch, and notices several fountains. In the " privy 

 gardens " were two " that spurt water one round the other like 

 a pyramid upon which are perched small birds that stream 

 water out of their bills." In the " Grove of Diana," was one 

 " with Actseon turned into a stag as he was sprinkled by the 

 goddess and her nymphs," and a " pyramid of marble full of 

 concealed pipes which spurt upon all that come near." The 

 word " jet d'eau " is usually used by contemporary writers 

 for such fountains, and seems to point to their introduction 

 from France. 



Other pieces of water were admitted into gardens ; like 

 the trout stream running through the orchard at Littlecote, 

 or the stream in the Deanery garden at Winchester, where 



1 MS. letter at Loseley, Surrey. 



2 Translation, 1602, printed in England as Seen by Foreigners, by 

 Brenchley Rye, 1865. 



