DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20000#0072
42
An engraving by Le Rouge, published in Paris in 1787, shows the gardens entirely dismantled, but
the long canal still remained ; also the house, courtyard, and outbuildings. In 1793 Buckingham
House was purchased by George III. as a residence for Queen Charlotte, and a view taken a few years
later, given in Pyne's History,1 shows the red-brick house with Corinthian pilasters, and two side wings
connected by quadrant arcades. Pyne says : "The front was modernized and the grounds, which were
according to the old style over-ornamented with parterres, fountains, statues, etc., were changed to the
succeeding style, which excluded ornament altogether. . . . The situation when occupied by its founder
must have been delightful, no buildings extended beyond St. James's to the left, the north was open to
Hampstead, and a view of the Thames almost uninterrupted from the south-west corner of the Park."
The "goodly elms" and "gay flourishing limes" went to decay; a plain iron rail took the place of
the handsome palisade, and the fountain of Neptune entirely disappeared ; many of the statues were
deposited in the famous lead statue yard in Piccadilly, and may still exist scattered over the country.
In 1825 the present palace was commenced from the designs of Nash, and the garden surroundings,
the scene of so many important gatherings, were laid out anew in the prevailing taste.
LOWTHER HALL, WESTMORLAND.
PLATE 70.
OWTHER HALL is situated on the right bank of the Lowther river, and this
present castle is the third or fourth residence that has been erected on the site.
The plan on this plate is taken from Campbell's " Vitruvius Britannicus," but
whether the gardens actually existed in the form here depicted it is difficult now
to say; the plan, however, is certainly of sufficient interest to warrant reproduction
here. In Kip's "Britannia Illustrata" there is a view showing the house with
different and more extensive garden surroundings, and the probability is that
Campbell's view was a design for the remodelling of only those parts near the house.
The arrangement of forecourts is interesting and somewhat unusual. On either side of the entrance
gates, leading into the forecourt, were small lodges, and the ground rose slightly towards the house from
this point. A drive encircled the forecourt, and visitors alighted at a terrace in front of the principal
entrance, whilst on either side were blocks of stables and other domestic buildings.
From the house a flight of steps led to the grand parterre, arranged in four plots with statuary in
each, and beyond, a broad walk led past the bowling-green to the greenhouse, with bosquets on either
side. A long canal bounded the garden on one side, and along its entire length was a raised grass
terrace with seats at intervals. On one side of the parterre a wood was laid out, with rectangular walks
leading to a small enclosure in the centre. Adjoining this wood and overlooked by the house was a small
nursery garden. The Hall was burnt down about 1720, and possibly it was in connection with a scheme
for rebuilding that these gardens were designed. After the fire the hall remained in a ruinous condition,
until 1802, when the existing Gothic castle was commenced from the designs of Sir Robert Smirke.
1 "A History of the Royal Residences," by W. H. Pyne, 1819.
An engraving by Le Rouge, published in Paris in 1787, shows the gardens entirely dismantled, but
the long canal still remained ; also the house, courtyard, and outbuildings. In 1793 Buckingham
House was purchased by George III. as a residence for Queen Charlotte, and a view taken a few years
later, given in Pyne's History,1 shows the red-brick house with Corinthian pilasters, and two side wings
connected by quadrant arcades. Pyne says : "The front was modernized and the grounds, which were
according to the old style over-ornamented with parterres, fountains, statues, etc., were changed to the
succeeding style, which excluded ornament altogether. . . . The situation when occupied by its founder
must have been delightful, no buildings extended beyond St. James's to the left, the north was open to
Hampstead, and a view of the Thames almost uninterrupted from the south-west corner of the Park."
The "goodly elms" and "gay flourishing limes" went to decay; a plain iron rail took the place of
the handsome palisade, and the fountain of Neptune entirely disappeared ; many of the statues were
deposited in the famous lead statue yard in Piccadilly, and may still exist scattered over the country.
In 1825 the present palace was commenced from the designs of Nash, and the garden surroundings,
the scene of so many important gatherings, were laid out anew in the prevailing taste.
LOWTHER HALL, WESTMORLAND.
PLATE 70.
OWTHER HALL is situated on the right bank of the Lowther river, and this
present castle is the third or fourth residence that has been erected on the site.
The plan on this plate is taken from Campbell's " Vitruvius Britannicus," but
whether the gardens actually existed in the form here depicted it is difficult now
to say; the plan, however, is certainly of sufficient interest to warrant reproduction
here. In Kip's "Britannia Illustrata" there is a view showing the house with
different and more extensive garden surroundings, and the probability is that
Campbell's view was a design for the remodelling of only those parts near the house.
The arrangement of forecourts is interesting and somewhat unusual. On either side of the entrance
gates, leading into the forecourt, were small lodges, and the ground rose slightly towards the house from
this point. A drive encircled the forecourt, and visitors alighted at a terrace in front of the principal
entrance, whilst on either side were blocks of stables and other domestic buildings.
From the house a flight of steps led to the grand parterre, arranged in four plots with statuary in
each, and beyond, a broad walk led past the bowling-green to the greenhouse, with bosquets on either
side. A long canal bounded the garden on one side, and along its entire length was a raised grass
terrace with seats at intervals. On one side of the parterre a wood was laid out, with rectangular walks
leading to a small enclosure in the centre. Adjoining this wood and overlooked by the house was a small
nursery garden. The Hall was burnt down about 1720, and possibly it was in connection with a scheme
for rebuilding that these gardens were designed. After the fire the hall remained in a ruinous condition,
until 1802, when the existing Gothic castle was commenced from the designs of Sir Robert Smirke.
1 "A History of the Royal Residences," by W. H. Pyne, 1819.