August ^18, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
137 
rr u = 
A VISIT TO SPEDDOCH AND 
ITS FAMOUS VINE. 
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F ROM a distance one would hardly imagine that such a lovely 
place as Speddoch was hidden away among the bleak hills 
that border the valley of the Cairn. The road from Dumfries, 
running for the first five miles through the open country, enters 
this mountainous district at Irongray Church, where the prototype 
of Jeanie Deans is buried, and where the country parson once 
ministered to a flock scanty enough to leave him leisure in plenty 
for his recreations. Then the country becomes wilder and more 
rugged. On one side are rounded hills, now beginning to put on 
their imperial mantle of purple Heather, while across the river are 
thickly wooded slopes, a solid mass of greenery, save where the grey 
rock appears through the foliage. Mountain streams cross the 
road at intervals, the dark brown waters of which show the colour 
of the peat moss, and testify to their origin in the moorlands. 
Nine miles from Dumfries the traveller turns aside through 
a gate, no more pretentious than a dozen he has passed on the 
road, into a long avenue of Limes and Chestnuts, and soon the 
quaint old mansion of Speddoch is reached. At first there is apt 
to be a little disappointment with the long low house devoid of 
all architectural adornment, to say nothing of the rococo finery of 
the modern country dwelling. But there is a quiet beauty, a 
charm of retirement, that gradually steals upon one as the noise 
of the wheels on the gravel dies away, and the protecting presence 
of those great trees begins to be felt. In that sheltered nook no 
rude wind may blow. On the uplands around the storm may rage 
in all its fury, but down in the valley there is peace. It is not 
surprising to learn that many plants, which are too delicate to 
thrive anywhere in the neighbourhood, are to be found at 
Speddoch in perfectly healthy growth. 
On that plain two-storeyed house, for instance, are creepers 
such as one finds in the favoured climate of the South of England 
rather than among the bleak hills of Scotland. On one end is a 
fine plant of Aristolochia sipho, which in summer covers the entire 
gable with its beautiful large foliage, while the other end is clad 
with the purple blossoms of an old Wistaria. Half of the front 
is covered with a noble Gloire de Dijon Rose, yielding upwards 
of fifty blooms daily for many weeks every summer, and the other 
half is divided between a splendid specimen of Clematis Jackmani 
and an enormous plant of Chimonanthus, the flowers of which 
scent the whole house in winter when it is in bloom. We are 
told that within there are many wonderful things in the shape of 
ancient carved oak furniture, curious weapons, valuable books 
yellow with age, and antiquarian treasures of many kinds. 
Our business, however, is not with the house itself and its 
contents, but with its surroundings, and we gladly accept the 
leadership of Mr. Smith, who has been gardener at Speddoch for 
over twenty years, and knows every plant and tree as one knows 
the friends of his youth. He points out to us the extensive view, 
comprising glimpses of the Lowther Hills and the distant cone of 
Queensberry. He calls our attention to a magnificent purple 
Beech, the bronze foliage of which shows in fine contrast to the 
greenery around it ; to an Oak of beautiful form, with top rounded 
as if regularly trimmed, the stem, a yard above the ground, 
measuring 12 feet in circumference ; to a Douglas Spruce, only 
some thirty-five years old, which yet measures 100 feet in height, 
though it has lost its top more than once, with branches coming 
No. 634.—Vo L. XXV., Third Series.; 
out from the stem only 6 inches above the ground, which cover an 
area 60 feet across ; to another Oak, with a girth of 15 feet ; to 
some fine specimens of Picea Lowi, Sequoia gigantea, and Abies 
Albertiana, as well as to a collection of Hollies of a size and 
variety such as one seldom sees. 
Then we enter the garden and make our way over the trim 
gravel walks direct to the house which contains the famous Vine. 
As we go Mr. Smith tells us of the great anxiety he had for its 
safety in spring. Phylloxera attacked the smaller Vines in the 
adjoining house, and they had to be removed with much care and 
labour, and all the soil carted to a distance. The work of purifica¬ 
tion occupied many weeks, but fortunately the old Vine remained 
unharmed, while the young plants with which the victims of the 
disease were replaced are thriving satisfactorily. 
This year the ancient Vine bears a crop of Grapes far sur¬ 
passing that of any previous season, and Mr. Smith is so well 
satisfied with it that he declares himself prepared to challenge 
the world. The Hampton Court Vine may possess a greater 
antiquity, and its branches may cover a wider area, but the size 
and flavour of its fruit and the weight of its crop are far 
inferior to this. The Manresa Vine at Roehampton may send 
its rods to a distance of 224 feet from the parent stem, and hang 
out its seven rows of bunches in their purple pride, but at best 
it is only an unwieldy giant, producing, with all its acreage, a 
crop inferior in weight, and fruit inferior in size and flavour, to 
those of the Speddoch Vine. The Vine at Kinnell, much as its 
praise has been spoken, must yield to its Dumfriesshire rival, 
and concede to the Speddoch Vine, with the best grace it may, 
the honour of being the finest Vine in Britain. 
The story of the Speddoch Vine reads like a romance. Its 
parent was the historical Vine at Hampton Court. Somewhere 
about the beginning of the century the grandfather of the present 
proprietor, Mr. Clark, visiting Hampton Court while pruning was 
going on picked up some pieces which were lying on the floor, and 
asked if he might have them. His request was, of course, 
acceded to at once, and an eye being planted in the usual way the 
Speddoch Vine was the result. The house in those days was quito 
a small one, only 20 feet long, and it was occupied by several other 
Vines. But this scion of the Hampton Court Vine made head¬ 
way, and one by one the others were removed, till in time it had 
the whole place to itself, and soon its abode had to be enlarged by 
the addition of 20 feet to the house. Its rapid growth continuing 
more space still was required, and the present house was built over 
the old one in 1871. It is a very substantial structure, measuring 
60 feet by 20, and it might have been made much larger but for 
the conformation of the ground. The front parapet consists of 
two courses of Ashlar freestone, with freestone mullions, from 
which rafters 26 feet in length extend, supported in the centre by 
tubular pillars of malleable iron. The stem of the Vine, which, 
as anyone who knows the Hampton Court Vine will be aware, is 
of the Black Hamburgh variety, is at one end of the house. Its 
girth at the ground just before it branches is 2 feet 4 inches. 
There are' thirteen rods, together with one grafted rod of the 
Buckland Sweetwater, and these extend, not horizontally, as is 
often the case, but vertically. The Vine, with its clustering 
bunches, now in beautiful colour, is wonderful to see. The 
bunches are not distributed at wide intervals, as in so many 
Vines which make a great assumption of superiority, but are set 
close together, so that when viewed from one end the roof seems 
a solid mass of purple fruit. This season the bunches number 
considerably over 500. The smallest of them cannot be much 
under 2 lbs. in weight, while some of the largest must weigh 
4 or 5 lbs. and upwards. The weight of fruit obtained last year 
was considerably over 1000 lbs., and those who are best qualified 
to judge estimate that this season there will be at least 200 lbs. 
more. “ By their fruits ye shall know them ! ” Manresa and 
Kinnell may boast their branches spreading under yards and 
No. 2290.—Vol. LXXXVII, Old Series. 
