January  11,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
27 
LONDON  GARDENS  OVER  FIFTY  YEARS. 
No.  17. 
Probably  you  could  not  have  found,  forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  a 
pleasanter  spot  for  a  stroll  than  amongst  the  market  gardens  and 
nurseries  of  Sand’s  End,  Fulham.  These  grounds,  and  sundry  old- 
fashioned  houses  having  large  private  gardens,  occupied  the  space  between 
the'King’s  Eoad  and  the  Tliames,  ending  near  the  bridge.  It  was  not 
long  before  her  Majesty  came  to  the  throne  that  the  king’s  private 
road  to  Fulham  was  thrown  open ;  up  to  1830,  no  vehicles  could  pass 
except  by  tickets  of  admission,  and  from  Buckingham  Palace  to  its 
termination  there  were  placed  no  fewer  than  six  gates  or  bars.  Sand’s 
End,  which  some  think  named  (after  Lord  Sandys  of  Chelsea,  but  in 
fact  we  Cannot  tell,  was  not  more  than  a  half-hour’s  walk  distant  from 
Belgravia ;  on  a  bicycle  ten  minutes  would  have  sufficed  to  carry  one 
there.  But,  on  such  a  machine,  people  could  notithen  have  got  along 
the  narrow  footpaths  or  lanes  amongst  the  gardens,  which  are  now 
merely  memories,  for  it  is  absorbed 
into  London.  Since  1837  the 
growth  of  Fulham  is  very  marked, 
this  suburb  having  advanced  from 
12,000  to  114,000  inhabitants. 
Proceeding  westward  from  Chel¬ 
sea,  and  leaving  behind  us  the 
former  site  of  famous  (or  infamous) 
Cremorne,  also  the  establishments 
of  several  nurserymen  already  men¬ 
tioned,  we  come  to  Stanley  House. 
It  has  a  history  connecting  it  with 
the  Gorges,  the  Stanleys,  and 
others  of  note  ;  to  the  gardener  it 
may  recall  the  Countess  of  Strath 
more.  This  lady  distinguished 
herself  by  her  love  of  horticulture 
in  the  reign  of  George  HI.  At 
this  mansion  she  built  a  number  ot 
conservatories,  and  was  gathering  a 
large  collection  of  exotics,  when 
her  home  was  broken  up  by  mar¬ 
riage  with  a  scoundrel  named 
Bowen  Crossing  the  bridge,  our 
approach  to  the  gardens  was  soon 
intimated  by  a  tavern  bearing  the 
significant  motto  of  the  “  Hand  and 
Flower.”  This  might  indicate  some 
time  the  extensive  culture  of 
flowers  in  the  locality,  but  in  my 
experience  it  chiefly  produced  vege¬ 
tables  and  fruit.  Sand’s  End,  like 
the  rest  of  Fulham,  sending  formerly 
large  supplies  of  both  to  the  mar¬ 
kets  nearly  all  the  year,  for  they 
managed  to  have  a  quick  succession 
of  crops. 
Notable  amongst  the  gardeners 
of  the  place  were  Steel,  Matyear, 
and  the  Bagleys,  who  had  also  land 
in  other  districts.  It  was  a  sight 
not  to  be  forgotten,  the  lines  of 
Apple  and  Plum  trees,  with  their 
autumn  show  of  fruit;  frequently 
there  was  an  undercrop  of  Currants, 
or  vegetables,  but  all  these  orchards 
have  been  swept  away.  It  was  curious,  that  along  some  of  the  hedges 
the  Crab  or  wild  Apple  showed  conspicuously  beside  the  Sloe  and 
Whitethorn,  with  occasional  dwarfed  Oak  and  Holly.  Some  of  these 
gardens  had  no  protection  of  hedges,  but  were  bordered  by  narrow 
ditches ;  they  seemed  exposed  too  much,  especially  when  the  ground 
happened  to  be  thickly  covered  with  hand-glasses  covering  Cucumbers 
or  small  salad,  and  so  in  peril  of  stones,  suffering  too  in  hailstorms. 
Going  along  what  used  to  be  known  as  Bagley’s  Lane,  Sand’s  End, 
some  years  ago,  on  a  June  morning,  I  witnessed  a  remarkable  display 
of  the  insect  called  the  Rose  beetle,  also  Cetonia  aurata.  It  is  a 
beautiful  beetle,  of  golden  hue,  but  a  mischievous  species,  though 
perhaps  not  generally  recognised  as  a  garden  foe.  The  English  name 
was  given  because  it  has  been  seen  haunting  the  Rose ;  in  this  case 
the  attraction  was  a  tall  Privet  hedge  just  in  bloom,  and  it  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  there  were  hundreds  upon  the  wing  in  daylight. 
They  have  been  noticed  to  attack  the  flowers  of  the  Strawberry  with 
their  trenchant  jaws,  also  those  of  the  Turnip  reserved  for  seed.  Less 
observable  are  the  operations  of  the  grub,  which  resembles  that  of 
the  cockchafer,  and  preys  upon  the  roots  of  many  plants,  living  two 
■years  in  its  larval  stage. 
Peterborough  House,  between  Sand’s  End  and  Parson’s  Green, 
claims  a  short  notice.  It  was  famous  for  its  trees  and  flowers.  A 
friend  says  it  has  as  yet  escaped  demolition  ;  no  doubt  its  gardens  are 
diminished.  Faulkner,  writing  of  Fulham,  remarked  that  the  place 
had  “  decayed  ’’  since  last  century  ;  if  so,  it  underwent  a  change  for 
the  better  afterwards.  One  of  the  marvels  of  Peterborough  House  was 
a  Tulip  Tree,  76  feet  in  height  and  5  yards  in  circumference,  since  dead. 
When  I  visited  Sand’s  End,  about  1877,  the  gardens  of  this  house 
were  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Roberts,  who  delighted  to  exhibit  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  the  old  border  flowers ;  he  had  also  many  medicinal  plants. 
Forcing  was  specially  attended  to;  thus  he  provided  Cucumbers  and 
French  Beans  all  the  year  round.  Nearer  the  Thames,  Broomhouse 
Lane  recalls  the  fact  that  in  the  olden  time  a  stretch  of  land  belonging 
to  the  “  Broomhouses  ”  was  covered  with  the  “  bonny  Broom.’’  Part 
of  this  land  became  market  gardens,  then  was  built  over.  The 
neighbourhood  of  Sand’s  End  has  had  its  share  of  aristocratic  visitors 
of  late  years,  who  frequent  Hurlingham  and  its  park. 
But,  to  gardeners  generally  the  centre  of  attraction  at  Fulham  was 
its  famous  nursery,  one  of  those 
London  establishments  which  could 
show  a  long  and  interesting  record. 
This  has  now  disappeared,  though 
part  of  its  site  is  still  open  ground. 
Through  many  years  it  belonged 
to  the  Osborns,  so  was  often  called 
by  their  name  towards  the  close. 
That  of  “  Fulham  Nursery”  seems 
sometimes  to  have  been  applied  to 
that  of  Mr.  Dancer,  near  i  Percy 
Cross.  Few  nurseries  could  boast  of 
a  better  situation — the  trees  and 
plants  were  well  sheltered,  the  soil 
all  that  could  be  wished.  Through 
a  succession  of  years  the  firm  took 
a  creditable  position  at  shows  and 
exhibitions.  The  nursery  occupied 
about  20  acres,  the  greater  part  was 
planted  with  deciduous  ornamental 
trees  and  evergreens,  a  portion  bemg 
allotted  to  fruit  trees.  There  was 
also  additional  ground  at  Sun  bury 
used  for  Conifers,  Roses,  and  mis¬ 
cellaneous  plants.  One  of  the 
facts  that  particularly  impressed  a 
visitor  to  the  Fulham  Nursery  was 
its  tidiness  and  order.  About  the 
houses,  as  a  friend  remarked  a  few 
years  since,  they  ware  divisible  into 
three  groups.  Some  had  an  unmis- 
takeable  appearance  of  old  age,  they 
had  done  long  service ;  and  some 
again,  if  not  venerable,  were  middle 
aged.  Besides  these  were  others, 
evidently  strong  and  youthful, 
which  had  their  work  before  them, 
exhibiting  the  latest  improvements. 
The  exact  date  is  doubtful,  but 
the  nursery  was  certainly  opened 
early  in  Anne’s  reign  by  Chris¬ 
topher  Gray,  presumably  one  of  the 
Scotchmen  to  whom  horticulture 
owes  so  much.  He  was  able  in  1740 
to  print  a  list  of  the  trees  and’plants 
he  had  at  Fulham.  Loudon  and 
others  have  stated  Gray  had  the  first  British  Magnolia  grandiflora. 
This  has  recently  been  questioned,  and  a  claim  made  for  one  of  older 
date  in  the  West  of  England.  Certainly  one  of  the  most  notable  trees 
in  the  nursery  was  a  big  specimen  of  Magnolia  Thompsoniana.  From 
Gray  the  nursery  passed  to  Burchall,  then  to  a  firm  of  three  persons, 
finally  to  the  Osborn  family.  Mr.  Robert  Osborn,  who  became 
proprietor  in  1877,  was  the  grandson  of  the  first  of  the  Osborns.  The 
ground  had  then  been  diminished,  and  in  1882  the  few  acres  left  were 
taken  by  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Sons. 
^JMany  rare  plants  were  sent  to  the  Fulham  Nursery  by  Messrs. 
Garden,  Catesby,  Collinson,  and  Miller,  or  other  celebrated  collectors, 
and  it  had  a  large  number  of  Bishop  Compton’s  exotics.  One  of  the 
remarkable  objects  was  the  Fulham  Oak,  a  curious  variety  of  the  tree, 
which  had  a  resemblance  to  another  sport  of  Nature,  the  Lneombe 
Oak.  Seedlings  from  the  Fulham  Oak  reverted  to  the  usual  type,  so  it 
has  always  been  propagated  by  grafting.  There  were  here  fine 
examples  of  Sophora  pendula  and  Celtis  Occident alis,  and  one  of  the 
houses  displayed  under  the  stage  a  huge  mass  of  the  old  Cape  plant, 
Anomatheca  cruenta,  laden  with  deep  crimson  flowers,  feeveral  of  the 
houses,  even  till  a  recent  date,  had  a  splendid  show  of  Palms  and 
Ferns. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Fig.  4. — Kalanchoe  flammea. 
