MARLBOROUGH HOUSE 75 



corner of St. James's Park, and is mentioned in the next 

 paragraph. 



Knyff's plan also shows that towards the end of the 

 seventeenth century, nearly the whole of the ground east of 

 St. James's Palace, north of the Mall and south of the very 

 few houses then built in Pall Mall, extending as far as the 

 present new Admiralty Arch, were occupied by gardens. 

 That at the extreme east being a place of public resort, 

 called Spring Garden from a well of water it contained. 

 At the west end of this row of gardens, separated only by 

 a few yards from the Palace, was built, in 1661—62, a Friary 

 for the priests who came to England with Catherine of 

 Braganza. The site had been formerly used as a royal 

 pheasantry. But from here the whole length of the ground 

 to Spring Garden was laid out in walks and parterres as 

 the private pleasance of the palace. Evelyn, on at least 

 one occasion, walked in the garden here with Charles H. 

 For in 1671 he writes, "I thence walk'd with him thro' 

 St. James's Parke to the garden, where I both saw and heard a 



very familiar discourse between and Mrs. Nellie, as they 



call'd an impudent comedian, she looking out of her garden on 



a terrace at the top of the wall, and standing on a green 



walk under it." This, of course, means Nell Gwynn, who 

 occupied one of the few houses on the south side of Pall 

 Mall. The blanks can only refer to the King. The scene 

 of this interview, so briefly and yet graphically described, 

 was within a few yards of the spot on which Marlborough 

 House now stands. 



After the death of Charles and until the early years of 

 the eighteenth century little further change took place in 

 park or gardens. But a great alteration was made when 

 Anne came to the throne. Her favourite, the friend by 

 whom she was so much influenced as to have had but little 

 will of her own, the famous Sarah Jennings, was wife to the 

 Duke of Marlborough. He was now at the highest point 

 of his powerful career. Anne could deny nothing to her 

 familiar, and leased on very easy terms the western end of 



