418 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  17,  1900.' 
Rooksnest. 
Never  before  has  the  county  of  Surrey  generally  and  the  district 
of  Oxted  in  particular  been  so  much  discussed  in  the  pages  of  the 
gardening  press  ;  and  this  has  sprung  from  the  suggestion  of  the  council 
of  the  Koyal  Horticultural  Society  to  acquire  land  at  Limpsfield.  On 
one  point  the  controversialists  have  been  unanimous,  and  that  has 
been  to  the  exceptional  natural  beauty  of  this  part  of  Surrey.  It  is 
possible  that  within  a  given  circle  round  Oxted  station  one  can  find 
scenery  that  of  its  kind  is  unexcelled  in  the  British  Isles,  and  which 
is  as  well  worthy  of  the  visits  of  searchers  after  rural  charms  as  the 
more  rugged  crags  of  Scotland,  or  of  Derbyshire.  It  was  not, 
however,  t  o  examine  the  much  debated  Limpsfield  site,  or  to  travel 
far  to  view  the  county’s  beauties  that  the  train  was  left  a  week  or 
so  ago  at  Oxted  ;  the  object  was  to  see  the  compact  gardens  and 
grounds  of  Eooksnest,  which,  situated  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Oxted,  is  at  present  the  residence  of  the  Hon.  P.  C.  Glyn,  head  of 
the  great  house  of  Glyn,  Mills  &  Co.,  who  are  the  bankers  of  the 
Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution, 
villadom.  We  enter  the  park  from  the  main  road,  and  find  it  fl  inked 
on  the  one  hand  by  a  broad  belt  of  trees  crowning  the  rising  ground 
known  as  the  Warren,  and  on  the  other  by  undulating  grass  land  with 
clumps  of  trees,  and  here  and  there  individual  specimens.  The 
expanse  is  not  very  large,  but  it  is  in  good  condition,  and  is 
charmingly  wooded.  This  drive,  moreover,  affords  one  of  the  best 
views  of  the  mansion  of  Rooksnest,  which,  as  the  illustration  shows 
(fig.  112),  is  of  a  formal  rather  than  a  picturesque  character.  It  is 
somewhat  low  perhaps  for  its  other  dimensions,  but  it  gains  from 
this  an  aspect  of  solidarity,  and  creates  an  impression  that  within 
those  square  walls  can  be  found  handsome  and  comfortable  rooms 
such  as  are  absent  from  more  modern  and  possibly  more  ornate 
erections.  Through  the  flanking  tree  belt,  to  which  brief  refer¬ 
ence  is  made  in  this  paragraph,  runs  the  Warren  Path;  a  cool, 
sequestered  walk  that  extends  from  the  gardens  near  the  mansion 
to  the  lodge  at  which  we  entered. 
The  Conservatory  and  its  Camellias. 
The  conservatory,  attached  as  it  is  to  the  mansion  and  built  so  as  to 
harmonise  with  that  structure,  is  one  of  those  erections  which  gardeners 
Fig.  112.— rooksnest. 
The  gardener-in- chief,  or  rather  the  gardener  and  bailiff,  is  Mr. 
Jas.  Friend,  under  whose  guidance  we  were  soon  travelling  over  the 
road  to  Rooksnest.  The  route  leads  through  the  ancient  portion  of 
Oxted,  which  as  a  country  village  has  few  attractions,  though  it  is 
placed  in  such  a  beautiful  setting.  The  old  church  on  the  lower  ground 
looks  well  with  its  foreground  of  gardens  in  all  the  charm  of  the 
period  of  the  fruit  blossom,  and  its  background  of  hills  rising 
abruptly  to  a  considerable  altitude.  Here  and  there  amidst  the 
trees  that  clothe  the  slopes  are  villa  residences,  whose  red  bricks 
show  conspicuously,  if  not  attractively,  from  the  bountiful  vegetation. 
It  is  a  district  of  villas,  possibly  because  it  is  fairly  accessible  from 
London,  but  more  probably  on  account  of  its  great  and  thoroughly 
deserved  reputation  for  healthiness. 
Across  the  Park. 
As  progress  is  made  over  the  road,  however,  the  character  of  the 
surroundings  change  considerably,  and  one  sees  isolated,  old-fashioned 
cottages,  and  the  larger  houses  have  few  indications  of  pretentious 
abhor,  as  it  is  practically  impossible  either  to  give  the  place  a  really 
attractive  appearance  or  to  keep  plants  in  proper  health  therein.  One 
of  its  lofty  sides  is  of  glass,  with  great  stone  pillars  between,  while  the 
back  is  entirely  of  stone  or  brick.  At  one  end  is  the  door,  and  at  the 
other  the  mansion,  to  which  entrance  is  made  by  ascending  a  flight  of 
steps.  The  central  portion  is  occupied  by  a  few  large  Palms,  and  the 
sides  are  partially  clothed  with  any  plants  that  will  travel  upwards 
satisfactorily.  Fuchsias  being  perhaps  the  first  favourites.  Beneath  the 
roof  are  climbers,  with  Roses  as  their  best  representatives  j  to  secure 
the  blooms  it  is  necessary  to  mount  a  twenty-round  ladder.  Then,  too, 
there  are  smaller  foliaged  plants,  and  of  course  when  the  family  is  in 
residence  every  endeavour  is  made  to  keep  the  house  gay  with  flowers. 
One  feature,  however,  it  does  possess,  and  that  is  found  in  the 
Camellias  that  hide  the  back  wall  from  view.  They  are  magnificent 
plants,  and  appear  to  be  in  the  very  best  of  health.  Even  when  not 
producing,  as  they  do  annually,  many  hundreds  of  flowers,  they  are 
peculiarly  handsome  on  account  of  their  dark  green  leathery  looking 
foliage;  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  if  these  were  removed 
