CHARLTON 
359 
probably date from the year 1609, when James I. 
encouraged all his subjects to plant them, and tradition 
points to one as the first brought to England. There is 
an immense horse-chestnut on the lawn, with a wide 
spread of branches which are rooted in the ground all 
round, and among the evergreen oaks and other attrac¬ 
tive trees in the “ Wilderness,” a Judas of great age is 
remarkable. The small house standing near the road 
which passes the parish church, known as the “ Guard 
House,” recalls the time when Prince Henry was living 
there, and his guard of honour kept watch near the 
entrance. The stables are just as they were built by 
Inigo Jones, and the little “ Dutch ” walled garden which 
adjoins them on one side is also a pretty relic of those 
days, and the “ Gooseberry Garden ” near it is a survival 
of the same period. A walk overshadowed by tall yew 
trees stretches across and along the main part of the 
grounds, and hidden away near its southern end is a de¬ 
lightful rose garden. The beautiful lead fountain in the 
centre must have been put there by Sir William Lang- 
horne. His initials appear on the leaden tank, and the 
spray rises from a basin held up by a charming little 
cupid standing on a pedestal surrounded by swans. The 
same group appears without the tank in another part of 
the garden, and there are lead vases and figures, and a 
cistern dated 1777, which add greatly to the old-world 
charm which still lingers. Chemical works and sul¬ 
phurous fumes now work deadly havoc among the old 
trees, but everything that modern science can recommend 
is done to preserve them, and young ones planted to 
keep up the traditions, and bridge over the centuries 
dividing the present from the days of Prince Henry and 
his learned and courtly tutor. 
