THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— May 20, 1856. 
134 
tended upwards as a balustrade, if the situation will allow of 
such, or, if not, by the addition of some other form of fence, 
of sufficient height that would be appropriate, fixed in a 
plinth above the ground-line. But even this, as it were, 
i half-deception, should only be resorted to in cases of ne- 
j cessity; but a full and effective-looking boundary fence 
: should be employed whenever one is required at all. 
1 When a purely architectural fence is employed, it should 
i be in connection with, or, at least, seem to be in connection 
with, some building. Such fences are not appropriate in de¬ 
tached, or remote parts of the grounds (unless of a peculiar 
character) without in some way, real or apparent, having 
such connection. This principle is, however, very far from 
being always recognized ; and the effect of its violation is to 
! give an incongruous appearance, where an opposite character 
j might otherwise be secured. 
An appropriate fence to a garden adds very much to the j 
! general keeping of the whole. Its accomplishment should, 
therefore, be a recognised principle in garden architecture. 
By no means is it necessary that the fence should be wholly 
invisible. Its utility being once acknowledged, why attempt to 
hide it?—G. Lovell, Landscape Gardener, Bag shot. 
SAYES COURT. 
This residence, near Deptford, in Kent, was the residence 
of Sir Richard Browne, during the reign of Queen Eliza¬ 
beth, and it descended to his son and grandson. The royal 
household in those days was supplied with corn and cattle 
from different counties, and the cattle was pastured until 
required upon lands situated at Tottenham and Deptford. 
The lands at Deptford were under the care of Sir Richard 
Browne, grandson of the Sir Richard first named. The 
second Sir Richard had distinguished himself in many 
fights against Charles I., but being appointed one of the 
Commissioners to receive him from the Scotch, he was so 
moved by compassion and by a foreseeing of the con¬ 
sequences that would arise from the fall of the monarchy, 
that he returned to his allegiance, and remained inflexibly 
an adherent to the Stuart dynasty. He \yas a great favourite 
of Charles II., whose resident he was at Paris before the 
restoration, and was soon after created a Baron. In 1000 he 
commanded the militia of London and was its Lord Mayor. 
Evelyn married his only daughter, and received, as part of 
her portion, Sayes Court. It was no poetical fiction when 
Cowley complimented Evelyn on his taste for gardening, for 
his books, and for his happy choice of a wife, who had, as 
the poet says— 
“ The fairest garden in her looks. 
And in her mind the choicest books.” 
She delighted in the same pursuits that afforded her hus¬ 
band his chief pleasures, she helped to cultivate and adorn 
his gardens, and she designed the drawing which is the 
frontispiece of his translation of “ Lucretius.” 
Chief among those gardens was the one at Sayes Court, 
and its beginning is thus worded by Evelyn, under the 
date of January 17th, 1053. “I began to set out the wall 
garden at Sayes Court, which was before a rude orchard, 
and all the rest one entire field of 100 acres, without any 
hedge, except the hither holly-hedge joyning to the bank of 
the mount. This was the beginning of all the succeeding 
gardens, walks, groves, enclosures, and plantations there.” 
On the 19th of February of the same year, we have this 
entry in Evelyn’s Diary, an entry in unison with the opinions 
of those days, “ I planted the orchard at Sayes Court, new 
moone, wind west.” 
In 1690 Evelyn had let Sayes Court to Capt. Benbow, so 
celebrated as an admiral, and Benbow underlet it, in the 
February of 1698, to Peter, the Czar of Russia, during his 
visit to England for the purpose of studying ship-building 
at Deptford dockyard. He was its tenant but three months, 
and Evelyn thus states the result. *• June 9, 1698. I went 
to Deptford to see how miserably the Czar had left my 
house, after three months making it his court. I got Sir 
Christopher Wren, the king’s surveyor, and Mr. London, his 
gardener, to go and estimate the repairs, for which they 
allowed A150 in their report to the Lords of the Treasury.” 
The following relative documents have just been published 
by IV. H. Hart, Esq., in “ Notes and Queries ’’:— 
In the May of 1098, we find Benbow “petitioning the 
Lords of the Treasury that compensation be made him for j 
the damage the Czar had done to his house, garden, and 
furniture. 
“ The proceedings on this petition, which 1 have made the i 
subject of this communication, afford interesting details of 
the dilapidations caused by the Czar’s tenancy of Sayes 
Court, and I believe now meet the public eye for the first 
time. 
“ The petition is as follows :— 
‘“To the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's 
Treasury. 
‘“The humble Pcticion of John Benbow, 
“ * Sheweth,— 
“ ‘That your Petitioner did some time since, take the House of John j 
Evelyn, Esquire, call’d Sayes Court at Deptford, and is hound by Agree- \ 
ment to keep the same (together with the Gardens), Sec. in Good, and 
Sufficient Order and Repair; And to leave them in the same at the Expi¬ 
ration of his Terme ; And so it is (May it pleas your Honours). That his ( 
Czarish Majestic coming to your Petitioner about Three Months agoe, [ 
did request the use of his House, dureing the timeof his Stay in England, as 
also the Furniture in it, as it stood. Hee freely consentented * thereto, and 
imediately removed his Family out of it, and gave him posession ; Sopos- 
ing it might be a pleasure to his good Master the King, and that he would i 
have used his house, Goods, and Gardens, otherwise than he finds he hath ; ; 
which are in so bad a condition that he can scarsly describe to your Ho- ; 
nours : besides much of the Furniture broke, lost, and destroy’d. 
“ ‘ Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that your Honours 
will please fo order a Survey upon the House, Sec. : to see ' 
what damages he hath sustained and that Reparation be j 
made him, that so he may not be a Sufferer, for his Kind- i 
ness ; 
“ ‘And he shall pray, Sec.' ” 
“ On the sixth of May this petition was sent to Sir Chris- j 
topher Wren, who was directed to survey the house, gardens, 
and goods, and to report how much the damage done by the 
Czar and his retinue amounted to. Within a very few days 
Wren, with the assistance of Mr. Sewell, of the moving 
wardrobe, and Mr. London, the king’s gardener, made his 
survey, and estimated the total damages at i‘350 9s. Gd., the 
full particulars of which appear from the following docu¬ 
ments :— 
“ ‘ May 9th, 1698. 
“ ‘ Account of Damrnages done to the building and Fences by the Czar 
of Moscovy and his Retinue at Sayes Court , in Deptford ; 
£ s. d. 
For 150 yards of Painting at. 7 10 0 
For 244 yards of Whiting in the House. 2 0 8 
For 300 Squares in the Windows. 0 15 0 
For 20 Quarries . 0 1 8 
For 3 Brass Locks . 2 8 0 
For 9 more that’s dnmmag’d. 2 5 0 
For keys wanting to all the said Locks. 1 0 0 
For 90 foot of Dutch Tyles to repaire in Chimneys . 1 10 O 
For 100 foot of Flemish Tyle paving to repaire . 1 5 0 
For 90 foot of Purbeck paving to repair in ye Kitchin. 1 10 o 
For mending the Stoves there. 0 10 o 
For plaining the Dressers. 0 10 0 
For repairing an oven dammaged . 0 10 0 
All the floores dammag’d by Grease and Inck. 2 0 0 
For 2 new Deale Dores .. 1 4 0 
For a new Floore to a Bogg House. 0 10 0 
For repairiing 300 foot of flint and Pebble paving. 1 0 0 i 
For 240 foot running of Posts and Pales of Firr. 60 0 0 
For 170 foot running of Posts and Raile of Cake . 17 0 0 
For 100 foot running of border board in ye Garden . 1 13 8 
For new pollishing 4 marble foot paces and a Marble Table.. 14 0 
For 3 wheelbarrows broke and Lost t. 1 0 0 > 
£107 7 0 
Measured by William Dickinson Clarke. 
“ ‘ An Inventory of Admirall Benbpw's Goods that is Lost. Broake, and 
damage done to them while the Czar of Muscovey Lodged theire , is 
valued as followeth. 
£ s. d. 
The Bedchamber hung with blew paragon and a blew pa¬ 
ragon Bed lined with a Buff Colloured silke all much 
stained and spoyled . 4 10 00 
A Japan cornish Broake . 00 10 00 
An indian silke quilted Counterpaine Blanketts and Bedding 
much stained and dirted.:. 02 10 00 
A dressing table lined with silke broake and spoyled . 01 00 *00 1 
A wall nuttree table and stands broake . 00 15 00 
A brass hartli, a pair of tongs, fend iron, fier showell broake 
and some parte lost . 01 00 00 
A feild Bedstead broake to peices, with a crimson paragon 
furniture Lined with a striped persian silke, much tore and 
spoyled. 02 00 00 | 
“ ‘ In the elossett. 
Foure pieces of thread damaske hangings much soyled. 00 10 0 | 
* “ Hie in orig.” 
t “We read that one of the Czar’s favourite amusements at Hayes ! 
Court consisted in being wheeled through Evelyn’s famous holly hedge, j 
Perhaps the barrows mentioned in this item were the identical vehicles in ; 
which His Majesty rode.” 
