Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen: being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardensLaw, Ernest
History
Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen: being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens
Law, Ernest
Kensington Palace (London, England) -- Guidebooks; Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
We have also a contemporary account of the gardens as formed by William
and Mary, in a "View of the Gardens near London," dated December, 1691:
"Kensington Gardens are not great, nor abounding with fine plants. The
orange, lemon, myrtle, and what other trees they had there in summer,
were all removed to Mr. London's and Mr. Wise's greenhouse at Brompton
Park, a little mile from them. But the walks and grass laid very fine;
and they were digging up a flat of four or five acres to enlarge the
garden."
The northern boundary of King William's gardens is marked by two piers
of excellent red brickwork, evidently erected by Wren at that time. They
are surmounted by very fine vases of carved Portland stone; and are
perhaps two of the "Four great fflower-pots of Portland stone, richly
carved," for which, we find from the old bills, the statuary Gabriel
Cibber, the father of Colley Cibber, was paid £187 5_s._ Between these
piers, which stand 39 feet apart, there was probably, in old days, a
screen and gates of fine wrought iron. They stand at the south end of
what was called "Brazen Face Walk," and between them the visitor passes
to the public entrance to the Palace. The fencing in of this part of the
gardens is perhaps referred to in the following entry belonging to the
years 1692-95:
"William Wheatley for makeing and setting up Pallizadoes and gates
in and about the said Palace--£152 5_s._ 10_d._"
To the north of these piers lies the north-west corner of the now
so-called "Kensington Gardens," where were formerly situated that part
of the old gardens appurtenant to the Palace, laid out by Queen Anne.
The present bare uninteresting appearance of the ground round about is
now entirely different from what it then was.
[Illustration: Decoration]
=Queen Anne's Gardens.=
Bowack, in his "Antiquities of Middlesex," writing in the reign of Queen
Anne, in 1705, tells us of her improvements: "There is a noble
collection of foreign plants and fine neat greens, which makes it
pleasant all the year, and the contrivance, variety, and disposition of
the whole is extremely pleasing, and so frugal have they been of the
room they had, that there was not an inch but what is well improved, the
whole with the house not being above twenty-six acres. Her Majesty has
been pleased lately to plant near thirty acres more towards the north,
separated from the rest by a stately green-house, not yet finished; upon
this spot is near one hundred men daily at work, and so great is the
progress they have made, that in less than nine months the whole is
levelled, laid out, and planted, and when finished will be very fine.
Her Majesty's gardener had the management of this." Of Queen Anne's
"stately green-house" we shall speak in a moment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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