The gardens, including what are termed the pleasure grounds, consist of* upwards of sixty acres, the 

 original part of which, with the exception of the flower gardens and kitchen garden, were laid out by 

 the celebrated landscape gardener Brown, and teem with those rich and harmonizing effects of which 

 nature is so lavish, when > the genius of man, to use a poetical phrase, " Instructs her youth and yet 

 obeys her laws." 



"The poet Mason's garden," designed by himself, is but little altered, and sufficiently testifies to 

 the skill of that poet, musician, and painter in the art. A path winds from Mason's garden to the 

 flower garden. The adjoining grounds contain memorials not only of Mason, but of Whitehead, 

 Prior, Locke, Cowley, and many other celebrities, with temples and inscriptions to several heroes and 

 heroines of mythological history. Whitehead, Mason, Pope, Gay, and others enjoyed the friendship 

 of Earl Harcourt, and, " among the tall ancestral trees " and beautiful scenery of Nuneham, many 

 delightful hours were passed by them, imparting to its name a memory as unfading as their works, and 

 an interest of a deep and even solemn character. The church was erected in 1764, at the expense 



of Simon Earl Harcourt, after a design of his own, and from many parts of the grounds its appearance 

 is highly ornamental. The altar-piece is by Mason. There is a prettily laid out and pleasant garden 

 on the south terrace of the house, from which a partial view of the " cottages " and the adjoining rustic 

 bridge over the Isis — where the mill mentioned in Domesday probably stood — and eyot is obtained. It 

 is no unfounded assertion to say that few, if any, "Oxonians" ever leave the University without paying 

 a visit to this delightful place, either by boat or drag, to pass at least one day among its beautiful 

 scenery, and to enjoy the real pleasures of a gipsy party. From the garden alluded to (Mason's), 

 in which there is a remarkable specimen of grotto-work, some winding gravel walks lead through screens 

 of thriving shrubbery to the rosery (see Plate), a circular, well-arranged plot of ground, formerly 

 occupied by portions of the home farm, planted with the best sorts of roses, standard and dwarf, 

 and numerous specimens of bedding and decorative plants. A private road separates this part of 

 the ground from the kitchen garden, which is ten acres in extent, divided and subdivided by brick 

 walls, trained with hardy fruit trees in excellent condition. The numerous forcing and other houses are 

 well built and commodious, and contain choice collections of plants and fruits. The gardens have for 

 a great number of years been under the management of Mr Bailey, and their well-ordered and beautiful 

 appearance bespeaks the care bestowed upon them. There is also a pinetum, near the high road* 

 distinguished for the elegance of its specimens and the rich diversity of its general character. 



