202 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND 



very much in vogue. The ideas for them came from abroad, 

 both from France and Holland. Fountains in the French style 

 were conspicuous jets of water or cascades falling into stone 

 basins, but these " waterworks " of quaint forms and surprise 

 arrangements were typical of Dutch gardens, and William of 

 Orange brought them into popular favour in this country, 

 together with many other Dutch fashions. In 1621, Lord 

 Chaworth in his diary 1 remarks on the " verie fyne gardens " 

 surrounding the house of the Infanta Isabella in Brussels, 

 " wherein are y e most varietie of the best waterworks of y e 

 world." The gardens at Boughton, Northamptonshire, were 

 laid out during this reign, when the house was rebuilt by 

 Ralph, first Duke of Montague. They were very extensive, 

 covering over a hundred acres, and were remarkable for the 

 " sumptuous waterworks." There was the " parterre of 

 statues, the parterre of Basins and the water parterre, wherein 

 is an octagon basin whose circumference is 216 yards, which 

 in the middle of it has a jet d'eau, whose height is above 50 

 feet, surrounded with other smaller jet d'eaus. . . . The 

 Canal at the bottom of all, is about 1,5.00 yards in length in 

 four lines falling into each other at right angles. At the lower 

 end of it is a very noble Cascade . . . adorned with vases and 

 statues. The Cascade has five falls. The perpendicular about 

 seven feet. A line or range of j et d'eaus in number thirteen are 

 placed at the Head of the Cascade. . . . There are also several 

 jet d'eaus in the basin underneath. Also the knot of regu- 

 larly figur'd Islets beset with Aquatick Plants." 2 Such cascades 

 were quite formal, all built of solid masonry, and are totally 

 unlike the " cascades " or miniature waterfalls of a later period. 

 The gardens at Boughton were in the French style, but the 

 head-gardener at this time was a Dutchman called Vandert- 

 meulen. 



The gardens described by Celia Fiennes have all alike 

 gravel and grass walks, shady alleys of clipped trees, " some 

 walks like arbours close, others shady, others open, some 

 gravel, some grass." Standard cypress or yews " cut in 

 severall forms were dotted about." Trim hedges of holly, 



1 Loseley MSS. 



2 Natural History of Northamptonshire, by John Morton, 1712. 



