PRIVATE GARDENS 
353 
all the garden altered, as well as the house rebuilt by 
Nash. The whole of the parterres, terraces and 
fountains and canal were swept away, and most of the 
lime-trees cut down. A wide lawn and five acres of 
ornamental water, glades, walks and thickets took their 
place. When first made the water was severely criti¬ 
cised by a writer of the landscape school, the chief 
fault he found being that too much was visible at once 
from the path which encircled it, so that the limits were 
not well concealed. This seems to have been altered 
to the satisfaction of later critics. Dennis, writing in 
1 835, gives a plan in which the path has been made 
a little distance from the water’s edge, and the outline 
broken by clumps of trees and a promontory, which 
later on was turned into an island, on which a willow 
from Napoleon’s tomb at St. Helena is said to have 
been planted, though no old willow now exists. This 
writer gives great praise to Aiton, who superintended all 
the execution of the plans. The pavilion in the grounds 
was added in 1844, and decorated with paintings of 
scenes from Milton’s Comus by Eastlake, Maclise, Land¬ 
seer and other artists, with borders and gilt ornaments 
by Gruner. 
During the last four years his Majesty has had a 
great deal done to improve the grounds. His apprecia¬ 
tion of what is beautiful in gardening has led him to 
effect several changes, which, while keeping the park¬ 
like character of the gardens, have added immensely 
to their scenic beauty and horticultural interest. The 
dead and dying trees and others of poor and stunted 
growth have been removed, giving air and light to 
those remaining. Several good specimens of plane, lime, 
elm, beech, ash, ailanthus and hawthorn have thus secured 
