178 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



gardener of the day, and author of a work on vineyards, 1 

 had been sent by the Earl of Essex to study gardening at 

 Versailles, and on his return was appointed Royal Gardener to 

 Charles II. 



Although England owed so much to the French horticul- 

 turalists at this period, the influence of their garden designers 

 was even more marked. A great change came over English 

 gardens at the Restoration, and any large new ones were laid 

 out, and many old ones were remodelled, in the French style. 

 The smaller country-seats and manor-houses stuck to the older 

 fashion, not so much from conservatism, but because the new 

 French ideas were extremely expensive, and could only be 

 adopted where there was an ample area, and a sufficiently well- 

 filled purse to carry out the vast projects that the new fashion 

 entailed. The plans 'had to embrace long avenues with broad 

 paths adorned with statues, fountains and cascades, walks 

 with a background of trellis, alcoves and arches of closely 

 clipped trees, together with canals, waterfalls, and woodland 

 groves, all executed with the utmost symmetry and formality. 

 The prophet of this new school was the famous Le Notre, who, 

 with untold sums at his disposal, evolved the wonders of 

 Versailles, and created or transformed most of the magnificent 

 gardens in France. There has always been a legend that he 

 came to England, and time after time it has been asserted 

 as a fact that the alterations made by Charles II. in St. James's 

 Park, Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Whitehall, were carried 

 out under his direction, and also that he laid out the grounds 

 of several country-houses. So long has the statement of the 

 supposed visit of Le N6tre to this country been accepted as 

 true, that I feel great caution is necessary in casting any 

 doubt on such a time-honOured tradition. In spite of diligent 

 search, however, I have been unable to find any definite proof 

 that the visit took place, and have, moreover, come across 

 much indirect evidence, which, but for one curious discovery, 

 goes far towards proving the contrary. Up to the present time 

 no contemporary papers or letters that have come to light 

 mention this journey as an accomplished fact, and no payments 

 were made to him or incurred on his behalf, as far as can be 

 1 The English Vineyard Vindicated, 1666. 



