GARDENS
The Knights Hospitallers had 'a
garden and one dove-cote' belonging
to their camera at Hampton. (fn. 1) Wolsey
surrounded the parks, which then consisted of about
2,000 acres, with a red brick buttressed wall, part
of which still remains; (fn. 2) and the house and gardens
with a moat The metrical version of Cavendish's
Life of Wolsey gives a pleasant picture of the cardinal's garden:-
'My gardens sweet enclosed with walles strong
Embanked with benches to sytt and take my
rest.
The knots so enknotted, it cannot be expresst
With arbors and alyes so pleasant and so dulce
To pestilent ayers with flavors to repulse.' (fn. 3)
The moat remained till the time of William III,
and is mentioned as one of the defences when
Edward VI and his uncle the Lord Protector
caused the palace to be prepared for a siege. (fn. 4)
Traces of the moat are still to be seen on the north
side of the palace, and the passage leading to the
Wilderness from Tennis Court Lane is known as
'The Moat Lane,' and the portion in front of the
main entrance has now been cleared of the earth
and rubbish which filled it, and has been restored
to its former condition. There are numerous
entries in the Chapter House Accounts which show
that 'My Lordes garthinges at Hampton Courte'
were laid out on a generous scale. (fn. 5) They were on
the south side of the Base and Clock Courts, where a
little inclosure, known as
'the Pond Garden,' no
doubt retains some of the
cardinal's style, though it
was probably designed in
something like its present
form after Henry VIII
had taken possession. (fn. 6)
Henry had also a 'Privy
Garden' and a 'Mount
Garden,' (fn. 7) which occupied
the site of the present
South or Private Gardens, (fn. 8)
but no traces of them
remain. There are accounts for roses (at 4d. the
hundred), violets, primroses, 'gilliver-slips, mynts,
and other sweet flowers,'
'rosemary of 3 yeres old,'
and Sweet Williams (at
3d. the bushel); but the
chief decoration of a
Tudor garden consisted
of anything but flowers. (fn. 8a)
In the walled parterres
there were no doubt sheltered alleys and arbours;
among the items in Wolsey's accounts is one for
'twix to bind therber,' (fn. 9)
but the embellishments
were chiefly carved and
painted heraldic 'beasts' (fn. 10)
in stone or timber, on
stone pedestals, and brass
sundials, of which there
were an extraordinary number, though none now
remain. (fn. 11) The flower beds were edged with
wooden rails or trellis-work, painted white and
green. (fn. 12) The plan adopted for the use of these
edgings can be very well seen in the background
of the picture, said to be by Holbein, of Henry VIII
and his family, in the cloisters of Hampton Court. (fn. 13)
Hampton Court Palace: The Pond Garden
The Pond Garden is rectangular, surrounded
by a low brick wall with stone coping, now surmounted by a hedge of trimmed lime trees, and
laid out in three terraces following the shape of the
garden and rising one above another, with retaining
walls and copings, also of stone. On this stone can
be seen the holes whereby the posts were fastened
which sustained the thirty-eight fantastic beasts. (fn. 14)
No doubt the beds were surrounded by the green
and white railings, and the posts painted in those
colours. In the centre is now one pond, with
a jet of water flowing over a mound of moss in
the middle of it. Originally there were apparently several ponds. (fn. 15) Opposite the entrance is an
arbour of clipped yew. (fn. 16) There was an oblong
building facing the river, called the 'Little Tower
in the Glass-Case Garden,' which probably stood
where the Banqueting House of William III now
is. (fn. 17) The 'Mount' was also characteristic of the
Tudor period. It was constructed in 1533, on a brick
foundation, and planted with 'quycksetts' in the
'Tryangell.' (fn. 18) At the top was no doubt an arbour
or pavilion. Judging from other 'Mount-gardens'
of the period it was probably laid out in terraces. (fn. 19)
It was certainly surrounded by a border of rosemary, (fn. 20)
and embellished as usual with sundials and 'beestes'
and painted railings. Henry had also kitchen gardens, (fn. 21) and two orchards, 'The Great Orchard' for
which among others 600 cherry trees at 6d. a hundred were bought, (fn. 22) and the 'New Orchard,' where
he built the banqueting houses and arbours, of
which the roofs just appear in Wynegaarde's picture
of the north of the palace. (fn. 23) These orchards occupied the space now known as 'The Wilderness,'
and part of the nursery garden, which at present
extends over all the 'Tilt Yard' as well. (fn. 24) They
were separated by the moat, but with a drawbridge
between them, decorated as usual with the 'Kinges
Beastes.' (fn. 25) The 'Great Orchard' must always be
memorable because it was there that Cavendish
went to wait on Henry with the news of Wolsey's
death, and found him shooting at a mark with
Anne Boleyn. (fn. 26) One of the customs of Henry's
gardeners (fn. 27) seems to have been that when Princess
Mary came to the palace a basket of flowers or of
strawberries was generally brought to her, a compliment she acknowledged by giving the sender a
present of money. (fn. 28)
The next description of Hampton Court garden in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, refers to
the 'sundry towers, or rather bowers, for places
of recreation and solace, and for sundry other uses,'
which were to be seen in the gardens, and also of
the 'rosemary so nailed and planted to the walls
as to cover them entirely.' (fn. 29) It was much the
fashion at that time to trim and clip everything
possible into wonderful and extraordinary shapes,
'that the like could not easily be found.' (fn. 30) Elizabeth was fond of walking in her gardens, 'to
catch her a heate in the cold mornings,' (fn. 31) and
she had them carefully kept up and improved, (fn. 32)
though she did not actually alter or enlarge
them. The Duke of Wurtemberg described the
fountain she had erected in the garden as a
'splendid, high, and massy fountain, with a waterwork by which you can, if you like, make the
water play upon the ladies and others who are
standing by and give them a thorough wetting.' (fn. 33)
Such flowers as 'lavender, spike, hissop, thyme,
rosemary, and sage' are mentioned as among those
in the queen's gardens at Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Richmond, (fn. 34) and another account describes the 'floures and varieties of curious and
costly workmanship and also the rare and medicinal hearbes sought (? set) up in the land within
these fortie yeares . . .' at Nonesuche and
Hampton Court. (fn. 35)
The great alteration in the gardens, which started
them on an entirely new design, founded no doubt
on the plan of Versailles, took place in the reign of
Charles II. The park to the east of the palace is
described by Evelyn in 1662 as 'formerly a naked
piece of ground, (fn. 36) now planted with sweet rows of
lime trees, and the canal for water near perfected.' (fn. 37)
There is no record that the celebrated French
gardener Le Nôtre ever visited England, but it is
generally supposed that he designed the plan of
St. James's Park and the alterations at Hampton
Court. (fn. 38)
Le Nôtre's pupils, Beaumont and La Quintenye,
assisted in the improvements at Hampton Court. (fn. 39)
French gardeners were employed, and were under
the supervision of one Adrian May, (fn. 40) but John
Rose, a protégé of the Earl of Essex, who studied
at Versailles under Le Nôtre, was the most famous
of the gardeners of Charles II; (fn. 41) he planted some of
the dwarf yew trees which were afterwards celebrated as among the finest in England, and it was
probably under his auspices that the great sweeping
semicircle of lime trees was planted before the east
front, though Switzer declares that Charles himself
made the design, (fn. 42) and it has been suggested that
he meant it to be in the shape of a crown. It is
now considerably altered, and the lime trees in
front of the palace only form the segment of a
circle, not a complete semicircle. Charles's design
was technically described as a 'patte d'oie' or
goose-foot, from the three great double avenues
which radiate from opposite the centre of the east
front of the palace, and are linked together by the
semicircular avenue. (fn. 43) The 'Long Water' between
the centre avenues extends nearly three-quarters of
a mile (3,500 yds.) across the Home Park towards
the river. It is 150 ft. wide, and is fed by the
Longford River. It is so essentially part of the
design of the garden that it is necessary to mention
it here, though it is actually in the park, (fn. 44) but at
that time it apparently almost reached the front of
the palace, (fn. 45) and the 'rich and noble fountain,' mentioned by Evelyn, (fn. 46) with sirens, statues, &c., cast
in copper by Fanelli, must have been in another
part of the garden. It was afterwards removed by
William III. (fn. 47) Possibly it was in the South Garden,
as Evelyn at the same time described what is now
known as 'Queen Mary's Bower,' and said that it
was 'for the perplexed twining of the trees, very
observable.' (fn. 48) He also spoke of 'a parterre, which
they called Paradise, in which is a pretty banqueting-house set over a cave or cellar,' and suggested
that 'all these gardens might be exceedingly improved, as being too narrow for such a palace,' (fn. 49) a
criticism which might very well apply to that part
of the grounds.
In 1669 the gardens were described by Cosmo
III, Duke of Tuscany, as 'divided into very large,
level and well-kept walks, which, separating the
ground into different compartments, form artificial
pastures of grass, being themselves formed by
espalier trees, partly such as bear fruit, and partly
ornamental ones, but all adding to the beauty of
the appearance. This beauty is further augmented
by fountains made of slate after the Italian style, (fn. 50)
and distributed in different parts of the garden,
whose jets d'eaux throw up the water in various
playful and fanciful ways. There are also in the
gardens some snug places of retirement in certain
towers . . .' (fn. 51) The yew trees before mentioned
were clipped into conical shapes and stood in
geometrically-shaped beds. (fn. 52) Flowers are not
mentioned among the ornaments of the garden of
Charles II.
William and Mary devised the plan of a 'great
fountain garden' (fn. 53) in the semicircular space inclosed by the lime trees. George London, a pupil
of Rose, was appointed royal gardener, with a
salary of £200 a year, and was also made 'page of
the backstairs' to Queen Mary, (fn. 54) but the chief
alterations were apparently carried out after her
death in 1699-1700. There is an item in the
Treasury Papers for 1699 for '1,060 ft. superficiall
of circular Derbyshire marble in the coaping of the
Great Fountain'; (fn. 55) there are also innumerable
items for levelling 'the great fountain garden,' for
laying turf and gravel, for planting borders with
'fine shaped evergreens,' and for 'planting all
borders with box.' (fn. 56) A strange item is for the
removal of '403 large Lyme trees ye dimensions
of their girt from 4 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft.,' which cost
over £200. Defoe says that they had been planted
over thirty years, and that they bore their transplantation very well. (fn. 57) This shifting of the trees
was necessitated by the extension of the gardens
towards the river on the south, when the old
water-gate and the building that stood there were
removed because they blocked the view from the
palace windows. To balance this the garden was
also extended to the north, and the trees, instead
of surrounding completely the 'Great Semicircular
Parterre,' turn off on each side in a straight line
50 yards from the front of the palace. Two low
return walls were built parallel with the line of the
palace for about 210 ft. on each side, to complete
the inclosure of the gardens and face the straightened-out avenues. The 'Bird's-eye view of
Hampton Court as finished by William III,'
from Kip's Nouveau Théâtre de la Grande Brétagne, (fn. 58) shows that his design is practically unaltered now, though the growth of trees and
superficial re-arrangements of grass and flower
beds have given it a slightly different aspect. The
small canal opposite the northern wall which
divides the East Garden from the Wilderness had
been made in the time of Charles II, to bring
water from the Longford River to the Great
Canal, and a corresponding small canal was constructed in 1669 on the south side. The stately
'broad walk' in front of the eastern façade of
the palace, which extends from the Flower Pot
Gate on the Kingston Road to the water gallery
by the river, is 2,264 ft. in length (nearly half a
mile) and 39 ft. in width. The levelling and
making of this, and turfing the grass walks on
each side of it, cost £600. (fn. 59) The flower-beds
which appear in the prints of this period are filled
with geometric designs; it is impossible to say of
what they consisted beyond the box edgings of
which William was so fond. Henry Wise and
George London, (fn. 60) who together superintended the
royal gardens during this reign, were answerable
for these improvements, and for the alteration of
the privy garden in 1700. The Mount was
levelled, and the 'lines of hornbeam, cypress, and
the flowering shrubs' removed to the Wilderness. (fn. 61)
The raising of the new terrace from the water
gallery to the bowling green was also continued,
from a design sent to the king at Loo, the terrace
being made almost entirely from the old bricks of
the original 'water gallery.' The bowling green
had a little 'pavilion' at each corner, of which
only one, much enlarged and altered, now remains. (fn. 62)
Hampton Court Palace: The Lower Orangery
Another avenue of lime trees was planted in
the park beyond. On the north side of the
gardens the old orchard was converted into a
'Wilderness.' (fn. 63) Defoe says, 'it was very happily
cast into a Wilderness, with a Labrynth, and
Espaliers so high that they effectually take off all
that part of the old building, which would have
been offensive to the sight. This Labrynth and
Wilderness is not only well-designed and completely finished, but is perfectly well-kept, and the
espaliers filled exactly, at bottom to the very
ground, and are led up to proportioned heights on
the top; so that nothing of the kind can be more
beautiful.' (fn. 64) In one part the espaliers took a spiral
form, which was known as 'Troy Town.' The
Wilderness has been considerably altered even
during the last few years, and the stiff walks and
hedges admired by Defoe vanished long ago. The
'Labrynth' or maze alone remains as an amusing
memorial of the ingenuity of a past age. The
winding walks in the maze amount to nearly half
a mile, though the space covered is barely a
quarter of an acre. (fn. 65) Switzer complained that it
had only four stops, though he had designed one
which should have had twenty. (fn. 66)
The beautiful iron gates designed by Jean Tijou
and executed by Huntingdon Shaw, which have
now been replaced in their original position in the
south gardens near the river, were finished in this
reign. Huntingdon Shaw is buried in Hampton
Church, and there described as 'an artist in his
way.' Tijou also designed the screen of St. Paul's
Cathedral. (fn. 66a)
Queen Anne retained Wise in her service as
royal gardener, and her chief action with regard to
the gardens was to cause all the box edgings which
he and London had planted to be removed in
1704. She seems also to have done away with
some of William's elaborations, as Switzer says that
she caused the gardens 'to be laid into that plain
but noble manner they now appear in.' (fn. 67) The
small canals seem also to have been made wider
during her reign. (fn. 68) Ralph Thoresby, a topographer of Leeds, who visited the gardens in
1712, was chiefly impressed by the 'noble statues
of brass and marble,' and the 'curious iron balustrades, painted and gilt in parts,' which separated
the gardens from the parks. The 'Lion Gates'
and 'a figure hedge-work, of very large evergreen
plants in the Wilderness, to face the iron gates,'
were also erected in 1714, the last year of Queen
Anne's reign, (fn. 69) and show that the plan for a great
north entrance to the
palace, as designed by
Wren, had been given up.
The stone piers of the
gates bear Anne's cipher
and crown, but the iron
gates, which are by no
means worthy of the
piers, (fn. 70) contain the initials
of George I.
Queen Caroline, the
wife of George II, was
the next sovereign to leave
some mark of her taste
and the taste of her period
on the gardens, as well as
on the palace, and her
designer was Kent, who
was no more accomplished
as a gardener than as
painter or architect, but
his influence was not so
disastrous out of doors as
it was within. His wide
lawns are really an improvement on the former
'parterres and fountains,' although Pope stigmatized them as 'a field.' (fn. 71)
George III entrusted the gardens to Lancelot
Brown, the famous landscape gardener, better
known as 'Capability' Brown, who had been
appointed royal gardener in 1750 by George II.
Fortunately he did not attempt to adapt them to
the very different style which had then become
the fashion, although the king wished him to do
so. He replaced some of the terrace steps in the
Privy Gardens by slopes of gravel and grass, 'because we ought not to go up and down stairs in
the open air,' but he does not appear to have done
anything more drastic. The 'Great Vine,' which
is one of the best-known sights of Hampton Court,
was planted by Brown in 1769. It is a 'Black
Hamburgh,' and was a slip from a vine at Valentines, in the parish of Ilford, near Wanstead in
Essex, which had been planted in 1758, and also
attained a great size. (fn. 72) Twenty years after the
Hampton Court vine was planted it was said to
have produced 2,200 bunches, which weighed on
an average a pound each. The stem was already
13 in. in girth, and the main branch 114 ft. long. (fn. 73)
At its best period (about 1840) the vine yielded
on an average from 2,300 to 2,500 bunches every
year, but it fell off very much for a time; in
1874 the crop was only 1,750 bunches. Under
better care it improved again, (fn. 74) but has not been
allowed of late years to bear more than about
1,200 bunches, as many as 2,000 bunches being
sacrificed sometimes to improve the quality of the
rest. The stem now measures 3 ft. 9 in. in girth,
and the branches cover a space of 2,300 square
feet. The vine house is 90 ft. long. (fn. 75) There are,
of course, larger vines in Britain, all of the Black
Hamburgh variety, (fn. 76) the largest being one at
Kinnel House, Breadalbane, Scotland, which covers
4,375 ft. of wall space.
Hampton Court Palace: Huntingdon Shaw's Screens
'Capability' Brown lived for many years at
Hampton Court. He was much esteemed by
George III, who made a personal friend of him,
and was also received familiarly by the Duke of
Northumberland at Syon House, and Lord Chatham wrote of him that he was 'an honest man,
of sentiments much above his birth.' (fn. 77) 'Wilder
ness House,' on the north side of the Wilderness,
was occupied by Brown. (fn. 78)
The Banqueting House, now private apartments, stands on the south-west of the palace
facing the river. The walls and ceilings are
painted, probably by Verrio.