6 



[supplement] 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Mat 18, 1912: 



CHELSEA HOSPITAL 



GARDENS* 



The minds of horticulturists the world 

 over are turning towards Chelsea, and are 

 full of wonderment as to the success of 

 the great Royal International Horticul- 

 tural Exhibition to be held there next 

 week. Garden workers and garden lovers 

 are coming from the " bounds of Empire" 

 and from friendly neighbouring countries, 

 as well as from lands far off, to see the 

 most extensive and magnificent display of 

 horticultural productions ever brought to- 

 gether. In 18f56 the last International 

 Horticultural Exhibition was held at South 

 Kensington, and the site is now built over. 

 One great difficulty that presented itself 

 to the promoters of the present exhibition 



that the hospital, as well as the whole 

 system of army pensions, came into being 

 at the instance of Charles II., whose statue, 

 in Roman style, stands in front of the 

 hospital, and is annually crowned and 

 feted on Oak-apple Day. In those far-off 

 days the army was a small one, and it 

 was hoped that the hospital buildings would 

 be large enough to accommodate all army 

 pensioners. Sir Stephen Fox, the Paymas- 

 ter-General of that time, gave £1,500 to- 

 wards the funds necessary to commence 

 proceedings, and by devious means, in- 

 cluding the deduction of one day s pay per 

 year from the army, he raised a goodly 

 sum ; £7,000 was added from the Secret 

 Service Fund, and £20,000 was raised 



voluntarily. 



The hospital lands cover about sixty 

 acres and as a large portion of this area 



The King strained a point in favour of 

 the Earl of Ranelagh, and granted hi 

 twenty-seven acres, but in 1742 and 1826 

 portions were repurchased, and these con- 

 stitute the attractive and well-designed 

 Ranelagh Gardens, where, if the weather 

 be fine, visitors to the great exhibition will 

 thoroughly enjoy themselves, for here, in 

 the open, with ample space and a fine set- 

 ting of trees and shrubs, the last word in 

 design will find expression in rock gar- 

 dens, water gardens Japanese gardens, 

 etc. No more suitable place for garden 

 exhibits of this kind could be found in 

 London. Noble elms and horse chestnuts, 

 towering poplars and ailanthuses, spread- 

 ing planes, and ancient thorns, as well as 

 rhododendrons, lilacs, hollies, and other 

 shrubs and trees, pleasingly grouped in 

 irreerular belts and masses, with wide areas 



VIEW IN THE RANELAGH GARDENS, ROYAL HOSPITAL, CHELSEA 



was that of site, because extent, ea^ie of 

 access, and a large amount of freedom for 

 constructional purposes, were matters of 

 great moment. How many sites were ex- 

 amined we do not know, but those who 

 know London well were convince^l that, fail- 

 ing the loan of a part of one of London's 

 parks, there was no place so generally suit- 

 able as the gardens and grounds attached 

 to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, with the 

 addition of the Ranelagh Gardens. And 

 this was the site finally selected. 



Although the story ha^ been told pre- 

 viouslv in these columns, a brief history 

 of the famous hospital cannot be out of 

 place when so much of interest to horti- 

 culturists centres in and around it. It 

 is said that the hospital owes its institution 

 to the pleading of Nell Gwynne, whose 

 heart was touched with sympathy for the 

 soldiers of her time who were broken in 



our wars. 



Be 



is open to the public for the greater part 

 of each day, London in general, ami Chel- 

 sea in particular, have cause to bless the 

 memory of the second Charles, and now, 

 we, as horticulturists, mav also be thank- 

 ful that such a site was available for the 

 great exhibition. The gardens and park- 

 like grounds were not all acquired at once. 

 The hospital building occupies the site of a 

 Divinity College built by James I., but 

 which was a failure, and was pulled down. 

 The land, about twenty-seven acres, was 

 granted to the Royal Society, but as this 

 body could put it to no good use the pro- 

 perty was gladly " sold to those who 

 were engaged in the hospital scheme, for 

 £1,300! Just imagine, £48 an acre for 

 land in Chelsea. Times have changed since 

 then. 



From liord Cheyne twonty-f)ne acres 

 were purchased, and other parcels of land 

 acquired brought up the total to 99^ acres. 



of grass, an undulating surface, anu wu 

 ing paths, together form a garden ot aa- 

 mirable design and no mean beauty. ^^^^ 

 summer-house or tea-house on rising g^'^^.. , 

 marks the site of the old Rotunda a buiiu- 

 ing very famous in the days when t 

 Ranelagh Gardens formed the pleasure 

 sort of fashionable iLondon. i 

 The extensive buildings of the hospi^^ 

 were built to the designs of Sir Christopne 

 Wren, and it is estimated that from loo 

 to 1701 not less than £157,000 were 

 pended on building, lands, and f^^^nisnms^ 

 The whole establishment forms ^ "^.qq 

 township, with a population of ^j^. 



people. A gredt deal of the ^^^^J ."^V aied 

 tenance is done by the more 5it)le-ho 

 pensioners, who are paid for 

 done. The management is on 



lines under the governorship 

 George Wihite, of Ladysnnth jai 

 The Great Hall is the centre oi 



tary 



Sir 



work so 



mill' 

 of 



