HYDE PARK 
53 
in a dark and dirty shrubbery, the haunt of all the 
ruffians and the worst characters who frequented the Park 
at night. The place was not safe to pass after dark, 
neither had it any beauty to recommend it. It was in 
this state when the present Lord Redesdale became 
Secretary of the Office of Works in 1874. He con¬ 
ceived the idea of turning it into a subtropical garden, 
designed the banks of the little stream, and introduced 
suitable planting, banishing the old shrubs, and merely 
using the best to form a background to the spireas, 
iris, giant coltsfoot, osmundas, day lilies, and suchlike, 
which adorned the water’s edge in front. The dark 
history of the Dell is quite forgotten, and watching the 
ducks and rabbits playing about this pretty spot is one 
of the chief delights of Hyde Park. 
The monolith which stands near was brought from 
Liskeard in Cornwall by Mr. Cowper Temple, when 
First Commissioner of Works, and set up in its present 
place as a drinking-fountain in 1862. In 1887 the 
water was cut off it, the railings altered, and the turf 
laid round it, joining it on to the rest of the Dell. 
To Lord Redesdale are due also the rhododendrons 
which make such a glorious show on either side of 
Rotten Row. He contracted with Messrs. Anthony 
Waterer for a yearly supply, as they only look their 
best for a short time exposed to London air. In his 
time, too, many of the small flower-beds which were 
dotted about without much rhyme or reason were done 
away with, and the borders at the edge of the shrubs 
substituted. 
The latest addition to Hyde Park is the fountain 
presented by Sir Walter Palmer and put up near the 
end of the “Row” in 1906. The sculpture and design 
