GARDENING UNDER WILLIAM AND MARY 209 
been made famous by Bishop Grindal, who introduced the 
tamarisk in Elizabeth’s reign, was further improved by Bishop 
Compton at this date, and there are splendid hickory and other 
trees of his planting still to be seen there. “ He had a thousand 
species of exotick plants in his stoves and gardens, in which 
last place he had endenizoned a great many that have been 
formerly thought too tender for this cold climate. There were 
few days in the years, till towards the latter part of his life, but 
he was actually in his garden, ordering and directing the 
Removal and Replacing of his Trees and plants.” 1 
Besides the private gardens, there were the parks, which 
even then added beauty to the country round London, St. 
James’s Park, and “ another much Larger, Hide parke, w ch 
is for Riding on horseback, but mostly for coaches, there 
being a ring railed in, round w ch a gravel way, . . . the rest 
of the park is green, and full of deer, there are Large ponds 
w th fish and fowle.” 2 Beyond Hyde Park was Kensington, a 
favourite palace of King William, and there, again, was a 
good garden, begun by him, and completed under Queen Anne. 
The gardeners employed there were the famous London and 
Wise, who owned the large nursery at Brompton, hard by. 
This was the finest nursery of the day, and they kept an 
immense collection of plants. The tender greens from the 
gardens at Kensington were housed during the winter at 
Brompton, where, although a fine collection in themselves, 
they took “ but little room in comparison with ” 3 those belong¬ 
ing to the nursery. 
George London, who was the principal founder of the 
Brompton Nurseries, was a pupil of John Rose, and at one 
time gardener to Bishop Compton. He travelled abroad, both 
before and after he established the nursery, and visited Ver¬ 
sailles after the Peace of Ryswick, when he went to France with 
the Earl of Portland. He died in 1713. The nursery “ was 
started by him in the reign of James II. in conjunction with 
Cook, gardener to the Earl of Essex at Cassiobury; Lucre, 
1 Switzer, Ichnographia rustica, 1718. Bishop Compi 
Some of the old trees have lately been blown down. See 
London Parks and Gardens , 1907. 
2 Celia Fiennes’ Diary. 3 Gibson, 1691. 
(1632-1713). 
letails in my 
3 Gibson, 1691. 
