October  26,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
353 
LONDON  GARDENS  OYER  FIFTY  YEARS. 
No.  14. 
We  left  the  reader  of  our  last  article  in  a  central  part  of  Chelsea, 
standing  where  Oakley  Street  enters  the  King’s  Road,  with  Albert 
Bridge  in  view  on  the  south,  and  to  the  north  rising  the  tower  of  what 
used  to  be  called  Chelsea  New  Church.  This  reminds  us  of  the  improve¬ 
ment  carried  out  during  1887,  whtn  the  four  acres  attached  to 
■St.  Luke’s  were,  at  a  cost  of  £4000,  converted  from  a  gloomy,  insalu¬ 
brious  churchyard,  into  a  pleasant,  well-kept  garden.  Oakley  Street 
cuts  across  the  old  nursery  ground  of  Rolle,  one  of  the  many  Huguenot 
gardeners  who  settled  about  Chelsea,  and  have  left  descendants  in  the 
locality,  their  names  oddly  altered  sometimes. 
By  an  old  and  honoured  resident,  Mr.  Phene,  who  is  skilled  in 
antiquarian  lore,  Oakley  Street  was  planted  with  trees  in  1850.  It  is 
stated  to  be  the  first  London  thoroughfare  so  adorned.  This  was  seen 
by  the  Prince  Consort,  and,  in  consequence,  a  row  placed  along  the  front 
of  the  Kensington  Museum  soon  after.  It  must  have  been  rather  before 
my  time  when  Paultons  Square  was  built,  beyond  Church  Street,  on 
what  was  originally  the  garden  of  Danvers  House.  Part  of  the  old 
wrall  yet  remains,  and  while  Mr.  Shepard,  or  Shepherd,  had  the  ground 
for  a  nursery,  he  unearthed  some  of  the  ruins  of  the  mansion.  Lord 
Danvers,  about  1618 — 20,  laid  out  his  principal  garden  in  the  Italian 
style,  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  example  seen  in  England. 
Rectors  of  Chelsea,  during  the  good  old  times,  had  a  fine  extent  of 
glebe  land,  between  40  and  50  acres,  but  then  of  course  this  did  not 
bring  in  much,  when  used  for  pasture  only.  The  garden  attached  to 
the  rectory  house  was  extensive,  especially  the  kitchen  garden, 
authority  to  lease  which  was  obtained  by  means  of  a  special  Act  in 
1870.  There  yet  remains  a  pleasant  garden  around  the  quaint  mansion 
of  very  mingled  styles  and  uncertain  age.  Here,  for  some  years  past, 
the  worthy  rector  has  allowed  “  Chelsea  Flower  Shows”  to  be  held, 
designed  to  encourage  the  growth  of  flowers  by  cottagers. 
Going  a  little  farther  along  the  King’s  Road  we  pass  on  our  right 
the  spot  where  the  Vale  Nursery  was;  I  do  not  know  whether  this 
really  dated  back  to  the  time  of  the  French  refugees,  of  late  years  it  was 
well  known  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Tebbutt.  Writing  upon 
the  “Village  of  Palaces”  a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Martin  expatiates  on 
the  beauty  of  the  remnant  of  Old  Chelsea  in  which  this  nursery  is 
situate.  “Turning  down  a  rural  lane,”  says  he,  “  we  stroll  into  the 
Vale,  and  find  a  clump  of  cottages  grown  about  with  greenery  ;  flowers 
blow  freely,  cocks  crow,  and  an  air  of  country  unconcern  covers  the 
place.”  No  longer  is  it  so,  for  the  nursery  was  cleared  in  1884,  the 
trees  and  plants  removed,  the  greenhouses  pulled  down,  to  make  way 
for  the  builder.  From  the  Vale  Nursery  many  plants  went  to  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  exhibitions,  and  Mr.  Tebbutt  obtained 
various  prizes,  amongst  them  for  his  Giant  Musk  and  Lilies  of  the 
Valley — very  suitable  to  the  spot. 
Elm  Park  Gardens,  to  the  north,  now  the  abode  of  some  celebrated 
men,  is  on  the  border  of  Chelsea.  This  fine  park  was  cut  up,  and  the 
mansion  pulled  down,  in  1876,  when  part  of  the  trees  had  to  be  felled 
which  gave  the  later  name;  at  one  time  it  was  Chelsea  Park,  before 
that  Wharton  Park.  Its  handsome  avenues  of  Elms  must  have  been 
planted  soon  after  most  of  the  Mulberries  were  removed,  which  figure 
prominently  in  its  history.  Probably  some  of  those  trees  still  flourish 
in  other  places.  For  a  good  while  there  was  a  notion  prevalent  in 
England  that  rearing  silkworms  and  producing  silk  on  a  large  scale 
■might  pay  well,  and  sundry  experiments  were  made.  One  of  the 
latest  of  these  was  at  Chelsea  Park,  its  light  dry  soil  and  slight 
elevation  being  thought  suitable  for  the  Mulberry  and  the  worms. 
Hence  a  joint-stock  company  was  formed  in  1718  ;  one  John  Appletree 
is  mentioned  as  a  leading  promoter,  and  it  was  calculated  that  £14,000 
could  be  easily  made  yearly  by  silk.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  well 
for  Mr.  Appletree  if,  taking  a  hint  from  his  name,  he  had  spent  his 
-money  on  fruit  culture  that  would  pay,  rather  than  on  rearing  silk¬ 
worms.  It  is  said  about  2000  Mulberry  trees  were  planted  in  the 
park.  I  fancy  this  is  an  exaggerated  statement ;  however,  in  a  few 
years  the  project  had  to  be  dropped,  and  Elm  Park  shortly  after 
became  a  private  residence,  the  mansion  being  built  by  Mr.  Broom¬ 
field,  a  surgeon.  The  best  known  tenant  was  Sir  H.  W  ilson. 
Long  indeed  is  the  list  of  famous  medical  men  who  made  Chelsea 
their  home,  and  several  of  them  are  linked  with  the  horticultural 
history  of  the  place.  Ashburnham  House,  now  defunct,  recalls  two  of 
these.  It  has  gone,  but  we  have  the  name  preserved  in  Ashburnham 
Road  and  Nursery.  This  mansion  was  erected  by  Dr.  Hoadley  in 
1747 ;  it  was  near  the  Thames  bank,  and  had  a  conservatory  “  built  in 
the  antique  style,”  whatever  that  might  be.  Its  grounds  of  10  acres 
reached  to  the  King’s  Road.  The  doctor  planted  a  large  number  of 
shrubs,  especially  those  with  showy  flowers,  such  as  the  Orange  and 
Magnolia.  Subsequently  the  property  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
Ashburnham  family,  hence  the  name,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any 
of  them  ever  made  it  their  home.  Then  Dr.  Cadogan  had  the  house 
for  a  short  term,  and  planted  in  the  gardens  a  quantity  of  medicinal 
species,  many  uncommon. 
Other  changes  followed,  till,  in  1862,  the  grounds  were  opened  as 
a  popular  resort;  this  did  not  answer,  and  a  portion  was  cut  across  by 
new  roads,  and  then  built  over,  but  a  part  fortunately  was  reserved 
for  nursery  purposes.  The  place  was,  however,  little  important  till  it 
came  into  the  hands  of-  the  late  Mr.  J.  W.  Wimsett.  That  would  be 
about  forty  years  ago ;  since  the  progress  of  the  nursery  has  been 
steady,  and  the  establishment,  under  the  title  of  the  Royal  Ash¬ 
burnham  Park  Nursery,  has  had  for  its  leading  feature  the  promotion 
of  domestic  floriculture.  The  decorations  and  displays  to  be  seen 
from  time  to  time  at  Buckingham  Palace,  also  at  many  club  houses 
and  mansions,  testify  to  the  skill  of  its  present  proprietors.  Its  Palms 
and  Ferns  have  been  special  objects  of  admiration.  Of  the  old 
Ashburnham  House  there  yet  remain  the  rock  garden  and  some  of 
Fig.  68. — Plum  The  Czar.  ( Seepage  350.) 
the  statuary.  When  Cremorne  Gardens  were  closed  a  slight  addition 
of  land  was  made  to  one  side  of  the  nursery,  beyond  which,  near 
Stanley  Bridge,  formerly  stood  Ormson’s  horticultural  works,  where 
now  we  see  a  timber  yard. 
Before  we  reach  its  site,  as  we  pass  along  the  King’s  Road,  the 
din  of  the  factory  of  Messrs.  Weeks  &  Co.  rises  above  the  sound 
of  street  traffic,  telling  of  a  brisk  trade  in  their  particular  line.  Chelsea 
has  also,  in  Danvers  Street,  the  firm  of  James  Gray  &  Co.,  long 
renowned  for  greenhouses  and  garden  apparatus.  But  the  name  of 
Weeks  carries  us  back  to  the  early  years  of  the  century,  while  Chelsea 
was  still  a  mere  village.  It  was  in  or  about  1816  that  Mr.  E.  Weeks 
is  stated  to  have  commenced  a  nursery  at  West  Chelsea,  north  of  the 
King’s  Road,  Mr.  Bull’s  houses  being  now  on  a  part  of  the  ground;  here 
he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Parkinson.  Some  years  later  he  had  taken  a 
plot  of  land  between  Church  Street  and  the  Vale,  opposite  ^Shepherd  s 
nursery ;  its  position  is  marked  by  the  factory  of  Messrs.  Ransom  and 
Co.,  also  by  the  houses  of  Hortulan  Place.  There  it  was  Mr.  Weeks 
