ah
,
\PCG fae eg She ory |
ee
ce)
Eee
Fre he tae er ae
on eed
Rr hss
oe
b
=
ey
—
nts
ee ee ae
2 ee
ee
aes
etre Mey ay
Parte
ee ee
ere eee ae nen tee ee Ce ioe coed
=O OR Bae EEE
Per hg oe ok Te ee ke Be
De Nal Reh. tach Pen Pel
*
Aon
University of Virginia Library
SB470.M3 A3 1927
ARTS The life & work of an English
OAL
CX 000 b20 740
y
ghee 3
A we oe ee eS i 5 ae 2S Oe -
RELI AA RO SE I a a ae ELEY e Ce el UNTER ENED
2
S
¥ ra a
ee hs Sa
Te or ee ed
. &
| hea ak OR
ae
5
i °
P
ted
°
e*
ee
yy
on th
Pied
em
eee ekLIBRARY OF ‘THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Gini Or
Charles F. Gillette£
+
ein ‘
: Sn
Seas
oe ogMADE AND PRINTED
IN GREAT BRITAINTHE LIFE 6 WORK
OF
AN ENGLISH LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTWORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
AND HIS SONS.
(5th Edition). Jus: Published.
424 pages and over 400 Illustrations, including five in colour.
A classic of its subject—Vide Press.
|
|
| “THE ART AND CRAFT OF GARDEN MAKING”
| “CIVIC ART: STUDIES IN TOWN PLANNING, PARKS,
BOULEVARDS, AND OPEN SPACES.”
“THE CITY OF CALGARY, PAST, PRESENT,
AND FUTURE.”
| “EXETER OF THE FUTURE.”
A POLICY OF IMPROVEMENT WITHIN A PERIOD OF ONE
HUNDRED YEARS.
“BORDEN PARK, OTTAWA.”
A REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW SUBURB.
| “BOLTON AS IT IS AND AS IT MIGHT BE.”
SIX LECTURES ON TOWN PLANNING.
“BOLTON.”
A STUDY IN TOWN PLANNING AND CIVIC ART.
“DUNFERMLINE.”
AN ILLUSTRATED REPORT PREPARED FOR THE CARNEGIE
DUNFERMLINE TRUST.
“ATHENS OF THE FUTURE.”
“BLACKPOOL PARK AND RECREATIONAL CENTRE.”’
“NORTHAMPTON.”
A SCHEME OF CIVIC DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION.
“AN IMPERIAL OBLIGATION.”
INDUSTRIAL VILLAGES FOR DISABLED SERVICE MEN.Aembrandl Yrasrste
ie
; Se GE
Oo ‘i yy, Wa es aa ee ;
we O. MUMAIOPL
f- tye Jf j ‘i
Lom; é a Dr 7 tel. CKOTILE -
4 tL ¥
f LZ,
Vere LL poli wt tyARCHITECTURE
ye SRARY
THE LIFE & WORK OF
AN ENGLISH LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECT
ence OT Ue GCS
Gorres ondin Member 9 We R ah
ea A Cel
FicDent of He Coun Pene List
‘Sere Leefurer on oe The
eee el Universi ; Coie,
Bokercof ve merican each oS
Landscape Abchilects ; (ok, EE o
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS.DEDICATED TO
MY WIFE
To Whose Discernment and Encouragement
I Owe Any Success I May Have
AchievedChapter
—
4
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII
XX.
XX].
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI,
XXVII.
XXVIII.
—
LIST OF CHAPTERS.
. Family History and Early Influences. .
. Early Days in London ..
. Great Ambitions and Greater Necessities . .
_ I Enter Open Competitions for the Design of Parks
. Two Years’ Collaboration
. I Become an Author
VII.
VIII.
. Three Years of Hard Work and Interesting Experiences
Misfortunes and Compensations ..
Lights and Shadows on the Pathway
. An Estimate of Progress and Home Life Interests
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
I Meet Mr. W. H. Lever and Visit America .
A Lean Year Followed by Prosperity
A Year of Effort and Achievement
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America
Theory and Practice: Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic
Design
The Year 1912, the Advent of New Responsibilities
A Call to Athens ..
. Great Prospects End in Anxious Days
XIX.
The Year 1914 Ends in Disaster, and in 1915 the gee
Continues ..
My Last Visit to America , ee
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers
The Re-planning of Salonika After the Great Fire
Stepney Greeting and Re-planning of London’s Darkest Spot
The Affairs of the Industrial Villages Committee. .
The End of the War Opens Up New Prospects ..
Post-War Activities. .
1920 Onwards
Retrospect and Prospect
Viii
Page
3]
Sf
45
63
75
8]
9]
107
115
133
143
157
175
187
207
227
241
249
259
271
291
297
303
321
335
349Illus. No. 2.
hol lhe Joab /
: I Paphos 5 [2
I
MeasLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Chapter Facing Page
Endpapers Glance and Herbaceous Borders at Wooley Hall, Maiden-
head.
Frontis-
piece Portrait of the Author by Sir Hubert von Herkomer.
Church of the Twelve avis f from eee ie E. Prentice
Mawson a 1X
Bust by Miss Joyce Renee Lhe oes ile gh ue eae pet IL
[. Glade at Lewiston Manor Rae ry a ie ee I
Il. The Brothers Isaac, Robert R., and Thomas H. Mawson .. 13
Plan’ of Gardens: aty Graythwalte bial ..7 3: 2° «eh ce 23
III. Photograph of William Adamson, D.D... .. -. +. ++ = 31
Plan of Hanley Park... .. wr ilk eh eae 32
Two Views of the ee Selle Pan ier ibe door sees 33
IV. Rocky Cascade in Bellevue Park, Newport, Mon. .. .. .. a7,
V. Group at Glen Tana, the Residence of Sir William Cunliffe-
Brooks, Bart. See 45
Bridge of Ess, Aboyne : Vinee on Be Sea Tree e 47
Bridge of Ess, Aboyne, looking up the River Dee .. .. .. 47
Slriblands, Windermere...) oe. (c-9 eee 55
The Gorbelss Windermere:. 0 0) ee le ae aie hes 60
VI. Wych Cross Place, Forest Row, the Residence of Dauelas
Freshfield, Esq. :
Wych Cross Place : Gade ee ie Main Tees Se 63
Plan of House and Gardens in a Coppice Plantation .. Page 73
VII. South Front and Garden Terrace, Wood) Devon... 14... 75
VIII. Féte at Foots Cray Place, the Residence of Lord Waring .. .- 8]
1X. Pittencrieff House, Dunfermline, from the Fountain Garden .. 9]
Rock Garden in Lakeland Nurseries, Windermere! .. <2 «« 93
X. Part of Staff at the Lancaster Office Before thesWan. chee aLOe
ixList of Illustrations.
Chapter Facing Page
XI. Thornton Manor, near Port Sunlight .. 115
:, 3 Views of Garden Forum.. 115
XII. Look-Out Tower, Roynton Cottage 133
Gates at Hartpury House, Gloucester .. 139
XIII. Peace Palace at The Hague, from the Entrance 143
Plan of Peace Palace at The Hague 147
XIV. Home of the Olmsteads at Brookline, Massachusetts.. .. 157
Dr. Andrew Dickson White, President of Cornell Greece 168
XV. The Hill, Hampstead, Residence of Viscount Leverhulme .. 175
The Hill, Hampstead 175
Garden House at The Priory, Biden Hill, Be Teel Bibby . cave aL 60
XVI. Banff, Alberta, Canada: Views showing situation of the Town set
in a Mountainous Amphitheatre ao0 7 LO?
Garden at Ashton-on-Ribble, for W. W. Gilneas pee a 190
Plan of Civic Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan 200
Civic Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan aa Seoet20l
Plan of Coal Harbour, Stanley Park, Verte Page 206
XVII. Historical Pageant in the Stadium, Athens .. 207
Historical Pageant, Athens er a als
Perspective View of Foots Cray Place .. Page 210
Two Views of Corfu 217
Houses of Parliament, Athens. . 224
XVIII. Villa Achilleon at Corfu, the Kaiser’s Residence ree O27
Plan of Meadlands Estate, British Columbia Page 228
Park Plan of Athens .. 237
XIX. King Constantine of Greece .. 241
Queen Sophia of Greece.. ; 243
Stepney Greeting : Perspective Page 246
XX. Hostel for Disabled Soldiers’ Village .. .. 249
Sports Pavilion for Disabled Soldiers’ Village if 249
Plan of Village for Disabled Soldiers .. Page 250
XXI. Preston Hall—Birds’-eye View 259
xChapter
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
List of Illustrations.
Facing Page
M. Venizelos 271
Street Scenes in Salonika.. Seed a te 278
Plan-of Salonikat (26180. Gey) oS ee apes 200
Salonika Town-Planning Commission .. 291
Westfield Soldiers’ Village, Lancaster—Lord a Prac
during the Opening Ceremony 297
Mrs. T. H. Mawson and Mrs. E. Prentice Mawson in Verandah
at Roynton Cottage =f
GollesiateSchool}wAthens:35) <0.) ss 9-0) ts 8 pet Pace 314
West Front, Dunira, Perthshire, for W. G. Macbeth, Esq. 321
Rocky Stream, Dunira, Perthshire, for W.G. Macbeth, Esq... 321
The Author in his Conservatory, Caton Hall 335
Thornton Hall, Lincolnshire—South Front .. 340
Thornton Hall, Lincolnshire—North Front .. 340
Town Planning Scheme for Blackpool .. 345
Tennis Lawn, Caton Hall 348
Group of the Author and his Sons, E. Prentice and aon W.
Mawson : <4).
xi“ Landscape architecture is primarily a fine art,
and as such its most important function is to create
beauty in the surroundings of human habitations, and
in the broader natural scenery of the country ; but
it is also concerned with promoting the comfort, con-
venience, and health of urban populations, which have
scanty access to natural scenery, and urgently need
to have their hurrying work-a-day lives refreshed
and calmed by the beautiful and reposeful sights
and sounds which Nature, aided by the landscape
art, can abundantly provide.’
CHARLES W. ELIOT.Illus. No. 3.
Bust GY « Viethor Ly LOUY¢CE < Vieddeefe, catecliledl at the
Lioyal Veademy, 1947PREP ACE.
“30 slow,” the most difficult thing in the world for one
whose whole working life has been spent in a profession
of such absorbing interest as that of the Landscape Architect,
a profession the followers of which are borne into every corner
of the globe and brought into contact with many interesting
personages.
The situation must, however, be faced, for with declining
bodily powers I am no longer able to pursue the life of constant
travel and physical and mental exertion which, thank God,
hav > not only lived for nearly fifty years, but have enjoyed as, I
think, few men would have enjoyed it.
It is thus fortunate that at this juncture my doctor, anxious
to find an outlet for mental powers deprived of their usual field of
activity, and many friends who at one time or another had shown
a kindly interest in stories of happenings in many lands culled
from experiences incidental to my life-work, conspired to urge
upon me the writing of either an autobiography or an extensive
collection of reminiscences. Such an agreeable task, I was
assured, would give me the opportunity to live my life again
without physical or mental stress, and at the same time provide
a contribution to the history of Landscape Architecture during the
half-century of my connection with this fascinating but so sadly
neglected and travestied branch of creative art.
The task has proved a most congenial one, and the result
has far outstripped its original purpose. My intention had been
to write an account of my life-work which might prove interesting
and inspiring to members of my family, and particularly to those
on whom has fallen the task of carrying on the work so dear to my
heart. Since, however, the following pages have been written,
several of my oldest and most trusted friends to whom they have
SOR the past three years it has been necessary that I should
xillPreface.
been submitted for opinion and criticism, as well as for the verifica-
tion of details, have strongly advised me to allow their publication,
urging the consideration, which carried great weight with me,
that an account of my early efforts and struggles would be inspiring
to young men facing great odds, and who may not possess sufficient
vision to convince them of their ability to win through.
he decision to agree to this request brings with it the obliga-
tion to explain certain matters without which the personal ego in
the text might appear too insistent even for an autobiography, and
certain modest achievements, originally related only for the ears
of kind and indulgent friends, to be a little over-emphasised. If
I may reasonably claim to have advanced in my profession, and
in turn to have contributed to its advancement as a creative art,
there are certain factors which have materially assisted me.
First of all, there is the strong influence exerted by my early
circumstances, which compelled me to devote my energies to the
practical side of garden-making, so that my artistic inclinations
and love of the beautiful have always been under the control of,
and severely restricted by, practical considerations, thus preventing
any possibility of my falling a prey to that dilettantism which has
militated against the success of so many men with greater oppor-
tunity and of greater genius than | possessed.
hen, again, I consider that I was most fortunate in entering
the profession of Landscape Architecture at a time of special
opportunity. With the general wane in every field of art which
marked the mid-Victorian period, the profession was fast losing
its status as a means of serious art-expression, and was falling
entirely into the hands of ill-informed amateurs obsessed with
those crude conceptions of the “ picturesque’ which at that
period produced such disastrous results—results from which we
are not yet totally emancipated, and which even to-day produce
wriggling paths, impossible contours, white spar rockeries, and a
distressing confusion of little aims.
f we exclude the work of three or four men who were growing
old, and whose creations still retained something of the traditions
of the craft, it became evident that Landscape Architecture had
outrun its claim to serious consideration, and so the moment was
opportune for any young man with a passion for the arts and some
practical knowledge of architecture, horticulture, and forestry, to
attempt a revival of intelligent and scholary garden design. Such
a revival, during the period of my life-work, has been general and
X1VP reface .
widespread, and many enthusiastic men and women, with whom
I have had pleasant relationships, and with most of whom I have
collaborated at one time or another, have been contributors equally
with myself to this renaissance.
A third factor, and one which has perhaps helped me more
than any other, is my great good fortune in having appreciative
clients, to whose generous encouragement I owe a debt | can never
repay, and who, in many instances, realising the uncertainties and
disappointments that must always attend work in which one of the
greatest factors is the sport of a variable and uncertain climate,
have allowed me to correct inevitable mistakes, often at considerable
expense to themselves.
Again, I have been equally fortunate in my assistants, both
those in my office and those engaged upon directing the actual
spadework on the ground. Among the former I naturally retain a
special regard for those who, coming to me as articled pupils, an
in some instances quite early in my career, have remained with me
as assistants in various capacities, and thus have permanently
‘dentified their fortunes and careers with those of my firm. Among
the latter, also, there are a number of men who, beginning as boys
attendant on the foreman in charge of some piece of park or garden
construction, have developed a special aptitude and love for the
work, and have, through sheer grit and determination, educated
themselves to the position of “ landscape foreman ”’ (as the post
is termed, for lack of a better name), capable of appreciating and
translating into actuality the best traditions of my practice. To
both classes, in a profession such as mine, in which the personal
element and its interpretation are so important, it is obvious that
I must owe, and should gratefully acknowledge, a debt of loyal
service.
Lastly, but by no means least in the factors which have made
for success, | would mention the way in which my work has
naturally and inevitably brought me into direct personal contact
with many notable personalities—leaders in government, art,
letters, and industry,—from whom I have learned much that has
been helpful to me in my career.
And, as this book, in common with most autobiographies,
must partake somewhat of the nature of a ‘swan song, I may
perhaps add a word to those on whom, coming after me, will fall
the task of carrying forward, upholding, and developing the
prestige of the profession to which | belong. I would say, shortly
XVPreface.
and categorically, that art and practice must run together. What-
ever advances have been made in Landscape Architecture, they are
as nothing compared with those which are possible. All the good
and generous clients are not yet dead, and, in spite of many
irritating hindrances and restrictions, the work of those who follow
may proceed happily under the inspiration which the cult of the
beautiful will always provide.
I believe that the usefulness of the Landscape Architect to
the general public is sure to meet with increasing recognition, side
by side with a growth in public taste, and that his work will provide
him with abundant opportunities and inspiration for the provision
of those amenities on which the happiness and well-being of the
community so largely depend. To assist him in this is one of the
chief aims I have had before me in the writing of this book.
Finally, many of the men and women referred to in this
volume are no longer living. I trust that what I have said about
them may help to keep their memories green. If, in referring to the
living, I should inadvertently have transgressed, I apologise.
THOMAS HAYTON MAWSON.
High Street House,
Lancaster,
August, 1927.Illus. No. 4.
Enp oF Grave, Lewiston Manor, Dorset.
From “The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”CHAPTER I.
FAMILY HISTORY AND EARLY INFLUENCES.
was architect and clerk of works on the Lowther Castle
Estate, and from that time onward some one or other of
his descendants has carried forward the traditions so established
in at least one department of constructive art, while even amongst
those not so actively engaged there have been many who have
taken a keen interest in the skilled handicrafts of the country, and
still others, as in the case of my father, who have inherited the
faculty for art criticism which has given them a somewhat unusual
status in the country communities in which they have lived. Such
an appreciation of design in its many manifestations seems to be
born in some people, and I believe my family are among them.
Anyway, the following almost unbelievable stories tend to show
that I possessed at the earliest age those powers of observation
so necessary to creative art.
As boy and youth I retained a vision of a tall, comely nurse
‘1 whose arms I nestled during my introduction into the world,
and she always wore dress and apron of a very quaint pattern.
On one occasion | gave my mother a somewhat minute description
of the nurse and her apron, and she replied, © Well, that is a very
good description of Nurse Standing.” bone
This may seem incredible, and it may be that my early imagina-
tion pictured the whole, and by chance the dream correspon ed to
the real. But such an explanation would not apply to a second
“acident of the same kind. In August of 1914 my wife and I were
the guests of Lady and Sir William Hesketh Lever (as he then
was) at Roynton Cottage, Rivington Pike, and on Bank Holiday
our hosts took us for a motor run through the Trough of Bowland,
returning by Wyreside, Scorton, Garstang, and Preston. About
a quarter of a mile beyond Scorton we came to a bridge of simple
I
eis one hundred and eighty years ago Joseph Mawson2
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and somewhat peculiar design. ‘Stop!’ I called: “I have
found the bridge for which I have been searching for fifty years.”
The explanation is that I was born in the village, and although my
parents left before I was six years of age, the bridge, the quaintness
of which had impressed itself irradicably upon my memory,
corresponded exactly to my impression of it. I merely mention
these two incidents to show that from my earliest infancy the
observation of quaint and beautiful objects and scenes has been
quite natural to me. This faculty never left me, but rather
developed into a passion so pronounced that by the time I had
reached my twelfth year I knew intimately every old door-head,
date-stone, sundial, quaint gateway, oriel or mullioned window,
for miles round my home. True, I often played truant when the
passion was most impelling, but I was fortunate in having the
sympathy of an understanding schoolmaster, who wisely discerned
that nature and art were my best lesson books.
I was born in 1861 in Scorton, a picturesque village lying
midway between Preston and Lancaster, of parents who during
the cotton famine had passed with great courage and fortitude
through a period which proved the ruin of so many Lancashire
families. My father had somehow gained a very sound English
education, notwithstanding the fact that he started work as a young
boy. Part of the explanation is that Dr. Mackereth, a distant
relative, was rector of Halton, my father’s birthplace, and it was
he who taught my father his Latin and algebra, and gave him a
love for good literature.
Somehow this kindly rector’s influence seemed to remain
with my father through life, as he was not only an industrious but
also a very discerning and methodical reader, who recognised that
an artisan, with a home and family to provide for, could not waste
time upon spasmodic and unproductive study. It has been my
privilege through life to meet many men in humble circumstances
who possess the same instinct for good reading, and the men are
invariably interesting characters. My father’s sympathies and
interests were, however, widespread, and included religion and
politics.
Although brought up as an Anglican, with sincere regard for
is rector, my father early came under the influence of noncon-
formity, to which he brought a fine lovable character, a mind
unusually well stored, a charm of address, and an appealing musical
voice and unquestioned sincerity. He would have made an ideal3
Family History and Early Influences.
pastor, but misfortune drove him into business, for which he had
not the least aptitude. In politics he was an ardent Gladstonian,
and an earnest exponent of the fiscal policy of the Manchester
School: but although such an uncompromising Liberal, he
enjoyed the close friendship of many men of opposing views.
My mother was of a very different temperament—practical,
proud, alert, and very ambitious for the success of her children.
These qualities were associated with a delicate constitution. Even
when given up by the doctors, she would not relinquish her five
young children, and her indomitable will and faith in the Great
Healer pulled her through. She lived to the age of seventy-six.
My mother, who had a keen sense of humour and a very sane if
material outlook on life, was, like my father, a nonconformist,
and in her youth had a reputation as a public speaker. Nevertheless,
she did not share with my father to the same extent his regard for
the village conventicle which we attended, nor his zeal for politics.
Her small contribution to these activities may have been to some
extent dictated by prudence and a regard for the needs of her family.
I remember a rather amusing incident arising out of these
differences of opinion. On one occasion an evangelist was engaged
to conduct a week’s mission in our village. The whole place was
worked up to a white heat of religious fervour, and the gratitude
of the fathers of the community was great. They decided to
show their appreciation by presenting the evangelist with a sum
of money on his departure. My father proposed a contribution of
fifteen shillings, but my mother thought our reasonable obligations
would be met by a donation of five shillings, and, as usual, her
view carried the day. The next day I was sent with ten shillings
in a purse to pay for the last load of coal—and lost it! My father
piously considered this a visitation of the Almighty, but my mother
thought it a case for a sound thrashing, and | got it |
As a family we adored father and feared mother, but with the
lapse of time, and with all the facts of our home life in the right
perspective, we not only revised our estimates, but came to regard
my mother as a wonderful personality.
When I was about six years of age my parents removed to
Lancaster, where my father’s brothers were in business as builders.
In that quaint old county town my father purchased two plots of
land on the Freehold Park Estate, and on part of it erected a pair
of semi-detached houses, one of which we occupied. It was here,
at the age of seven, that I got my first taste for gardening.4
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Up to this time I had been a very delicate child, and the
cure for my ailments was open-air work. My father purchased
for me a small spade, and | was taught to dig a straight line. The
soil was fairly light and easy to work, but even so, as | take account
of boys of seven of to-day, I am almost driven to doubt if I really
did dig over these two plots of ground, and yet such is the fact.
Turning over the soil gave me an appetite and a zest for life such
as I had never experienced before. From digging I got to planting
and sowing, my father and mother directing or taking part in the
work. With what fascination I dug out the trenches to a straight
line, and then, after laying in manure, planted the potatoes a foot
apart by my measure stick! Then came the sowing of onions,
carrots, turnips, marrowfat peas, and broad beans, and the planting
of cabbage and cauliflower plants. Then with my own pennies
I bought packets of candytuft, mignonette, virginian and ten-weeks
stocks and clarkias, but I remember that I wanted more than
anything a double white primrose and a Rex Theodore double
polyanthus, but my pennies were spent, and before I could save
up enough the plants were © off the market.”
Watching the peas, beans, and potatoes push through the
ground, and taking part in sticking the peas and hoeing the
potatoes, thinning out the onions, carrots, and turnips to their
right distances, was the beginning of my technical training as a
horticulturist, and gave mea keen interest in all Nature’s handiwork.
I thus gained vigour of mind and body so quickly that I was soon
well enough to attend a dame’s school, where I met other children
of my own age.
To my great sorrow, my parents had to give up their home,
and the garden for which J had such a great affection, to reside at
Ingleton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where my father had
secured a position. For some time we lived in a quaint white-
washed cottage with mullioned windows, with one of those carved
door-heads peculiar to this locality. The house included a walled-in
garden or garth, but it was overgrown with bindweed, and the
fruit trees were all neglected. The soil was on a heavy clay, and
therefore quite unsuited to my strength, and for some time my
interest waned; while my father, with his strong independent
character, chafed at being under a landlord, and soon purchased
ground on which to build a cottage. The site was very well chosen,
because, although it stood at the end of a row of old cottages, it
had a southern exposure, overlooking a valley through which ran5
Family History and Early Influences.
the river Greta, with wooded slopes and panoramic distances.
The old cottages, on the other hand, faced east and the public
road, so we were very private, with no possibility of interrupted
views, as the adjoining land was formed of a series of bluffs which
were too precipitous for building purposes. The view down the
valley of the river Greta was one of the finest prospects I have
ever seen, and thus early I was taught the value of fine panorama.
My parents were much too poor to allow of my being sent
away to school, so, very much to their grief, I had to attend the
Church school in the village. Fortunately the young schoolmaster
was a man of character and good address, who took a great liking
to me, and spent endless time, and exercised great patience, in
instructing me. Samuel Coburn has always remained one of my
ideal gentlemen. He was a man to look up to, very severe at
times, but possessing great insight into a boy's character.
My father took a keen interest in our studies, which he
supplemented by talks on natural history, of which he was a keen
student, and I remember how interested we were in his descriptions
of birds and animals, and the coloured illustrations in many
treasured volumes.
Of course I had to go to Sunday school, which had as its
superintendent Joseph Carr, a country gentleman of small means.
I wonder if any other Sunday school in the country was ever
presided over by such a genius for the work? An entire absence
of monkish, religious sentimentality, and recognition that what
was needed was not so much theology as an expansion of our
powers of observation, were his dominant characteristics. e
could not sing a note, and we had convulsions when he tried ;
but when he addressed us in the simplest language on the great
Creator’s work he was entrancing. He was also inspiring, creating
for the boys great visions of what they might be and do in the
world. Altogether, I think this Sunday school did much to fire
my imagination and prepare me tor my life-work.
I attended the Church school between the ages of nine and
twelve, and during this time generally managed to rise two forms
or standards in the year. By that time, however, one of my uncles
living in Lancaster needed an office boy, whose duties would be
to make tracings of contract drawings and keep a check on materials
sent to buildings in course of construction. Although I was so
young, my uncle engaged me, and took me into his home and
allowed me certain liberties and off time for the study of drawing.6
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
At the age of twelve I commenced and pursued, in spite of vicissi~
tudes, serious study in drawing at the Lancaster Mechanics
Institute under Mr. Gilbert, uncle to Sir Alfred Gilbert, the
sculptor. Mr. Gilbert was an able instructor, deeply interested
in the success of his students.
hile in my uncle’s office I learnt much of the preparation of
working drawings and the use and quality of building materials.
In fact, the work constituted the best technical training I could
have had.
At the age of fourteen, having made some progress in my
studies, it was practically decided that I should enter the designing
department of the old Lancaster firm of Gillows, but about this
time my father purchased a small property known as Langber End,
midway between Ingleton and Bentham, with the object of turning
it into a nursery and fruit farm. The project was never a sound
one, as most of the land lay high and was heavy to work, being a
stiff clay soil. It was far away from the markets, and in a poor
residential neighbourhood. The only economic advantage which
it possessed was that it was near cheap coal for heating the tomato
houses and vineries which my father proposed to erect. However,
he was keen on the project, and asked me to return to work on the
property.
Knowing little of the business aspect of the enterprise, but
having a great affection for my father, and a great love of open-air
life, 1 was delighted at the prospect. This making of a new
homestead and the cultivation of a nursery and fruit farm seemed
to have an air of romance about it. It appealed to my imagination,
and I was all enthusiasm for the work. My brother Robert, about
eighteen months younger than I, was taken from the village
school, and together we began to turn the pasture land into
cropping ground by double-trenching it in the most approved
manner.
First we marked out a trench eighteen inches wide, cut off the
turf three inches thick, and dug out a deep spit of about eight or
ten inches, spading the loose part and the loosened subsoil. ‘Then
we lifted the turf from the next line of trench and laid it grass
downward in the bottom; we then dug the soil to a full spit’s
depth and laid it on the turf, and finished by spreading on the top
of this the loose soil from the bottom of the trench, which was
then picked or loosened as before, and the process repeated. We
two boys of twelve and a half and fourteen did our sixty square7
Family History and Early Influences.
yards day by day, and did not think we had done a fair day’s
work if we fell short of this quantity.
While the preparation of the ground was going forward, the
builders were busy erecting a new house on the highest part of the
ground—a comfortable, fine square house of eight rooms, with a
vinery at one end. There was no water supply, so we had to dig
huge cisterns, not only for the domestic supply of the house, but
also for nursery purposes.
I enjoyed the work, and spent my evenings and free time in
studying garden books and botany. How I became possessed of
so many books I do not recollect, but I do remember someone
giving me Henfry’s Botany and Mrs. Beeton’s Gardening Book,
and three volumes of “The Gardener’s Assistant,” and I bought
out of my own money a copy of “ How to Earn £600 per Year from
an Acre of Ground,” a book that was very unconvincing.
My principal sources of instruction were ~ The Gardener’s
Chronicle” and ‘ The Journal of Horticulture,’ every line of
which I read week by week. In this way I became acquainted with
the successes of noted exhibitors. Amongst these exhibitors was
the Rev. Frederick Horner, the grandson of the famous Dr. Horner,
of Hull, the noted collector of tulips during the period which is
known to horticulturists as the tulip-mania period. Mr. Horner
the younger still carried on the family tradition for tulip growing
and hybridising with such success that he swept all before him
on exhibition tables, but he was better known as a grower and
eunpiran of auriculas, a hardy plant of which I was passionately
ond.
About a year before the time of which I speak, Mr. Horner
had rented a property in the adjoining village, and here he
established his prize collections of auriculas and tulips. With
that reverence for great men which I have always felt, for a long
time I was diffident in approaching Mr. Horner. At last one day
“a March I walked over to Burton and ventured to lift his brass
knocker, and within a few minutes introduced myself to the
reverend gentleman, who gave me a kind welcome, though he was
evidently amused to find a boy of fourteen who had walked miles
for the express purpose of seeing his auriculas and tulips. In a
few minutes we were walking across an untidy garden in the
direction of what I thought was a peach-house, built against a
wall with a southern aspect, a structure very dilapidated and
unpainted. This was about sixty feet in length and perhaps eight8
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
feet in width, divided into three compartments, the whole being
heated from one end with a common brick flue. We entered by
the far and cooler end. The house was filled with auriculas,
including the latest successful exhibits, which were just on the
wane. After Mr. Horner had explained the points between a
good and a bad auricula, such as form and size of flower, the placing
of the corona and its pistil, we passed the second house, out of
which the stage had been cleared to admit of tulips being planted
on the ground level. For size and colour I have never seen
anything approaching these tulips. Of course very few of them
were in commerce. I was told they were shy producers.
Here again I listened to an eloquent talk on the history and
development of the tulip, and the different classes into which it is
divided. It was, however, in the last compartment that I received
my most complete surprise and enchantment, for the house
contained nothing but orchids, mostly in flower and all in perfect
condition. The nepenthes and odontoglossums, along with some
of the smaller varieties of dendrobiums, were hanging from the
roof, whilst on the stage were extremely fine plants of dendrobiums
ardianum, cattlyias of sorts, also masdevallias and cypripediums.
Yet the whole range of glass was not worth more than £20, and
the house and plants, notwithstanding their luxuriance, looked
as if they received little attention. The only explanation one
can give in such circumstances is that plants and flowers grow for
those who love them. However, this was a new experience in
my study of horticulture, the influence of which I never forgot.
have ever since wished to possess a collection of orchids, but
this is a hobby for those with leisure or money.
I ought here to add that whilst living with my uncle in
Lancaster J had managed to learn a good deal of horticulture, because
my uncle was a keen amateur gardener and a grower of choice
British ferns, and I remember with what delight I used to memorise
the Latin names of his rarer specimens. I still remember dozens
of his rarest and most perfect plants—Scolopendrum crispum
crestata, Lastrea dilatata grandiceps, Athyrium felix foemina,
Multifida, and Polypodium cambrica crispum. Thus my reading,
combined with my love of the work and my previous experience
with my uncle, combined with the actual contact with new trees,
shrubs, and plants of various kinds, was quickly giving me a grasp
of the theory and practice of horticulture.
ose to us lived an old lady, the widow of a gardener, whose9
Family History and Early Influences.
books she affectionately retained. Here I spent many of my
evenings devouring books on horticulture, which to me seemed
very precious possessions. Amongst these was a Parkinson’s
Herbal, Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Gardening, a quaint Journal of
Husbandry, and copies of Loudon’s Landscape Gardening and
Repton’s Fragments. These books, together with my studies
in drawing and the elements of architecture, fired my boyish
imagination and set the direction of my hopes for a career, and
accidentally turned my thoughts and studies towards Landscape
Gardening.
About this time I came into possession of “ Uvedale Price on
the Picturesque,’ and Gilpin’s “ Forest Scenery.’ The former I
read in conjunction with Repton’s Fragments. I never read a
novel with more absorbing interest than the keen controversies
between Repton and Sir Uvedale Price, and I remember that my
sympathies were all with Repton.
In the fruit farm and nursery it soon became evident that
my father had undertaken a greater venture than his capital or
physical strength warranted. With his usual optimism he had
made a careful estimate of capital outlay in so far as this was
ascertainable, but he had entirely omitted maintenance charges
to cover the period until the fruit trees and nursery crop could
bring an adequate return. Like hosts of pioneer cultivators of the
soil, he had assumed that catch crops would meet working expenses.
This began to worry him so much that he lost heart and strength,
and developed a chronic illness from which he died within two
years.
To me my father’s death was the greatest sorrow of my life,
for not only did I regard him with sincerest filial affection, but I
had the most profound belief in everything he undertook.
Imagine the position of my mother, left with an undeveloped
enterprise and burdened with the accumulated debts of my father’s
illness, with four children—three boys, of whom I was the eldest,
and my sister, a little over eighteen. Wonderful did my mother
become in those dark days. She inspired us with energy and
purpose, and we responsively worked like trojans, determined
to make good and realise my father’s ambition if that were attainable.
For a year and a half we struggled on, only to find that success in
our present position was impossible. Then it was that my mother,
with courage and foresight, determined to remove to London,
to which she was an entire stranger, but where she felt it would
i
hh
i
H
i}
i
i
\e
Ve
ai
He)
i
= JS eS
Sat TERETE oA TIo
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
be possible to find openings where her boys could get a sound
training in some of the metropolitan market gardens. No sooner
was the decision arrived at than I was despatched there to explore
the land, with twenty shillings in addition to my train fare, the
intention being that I should obtain a situation and hold on as best
I could until I could fix up an opening for my two younger brothers.
By good fortune I first called to see the late Mr. John Wills
(now Wills and Segar), of Onslow Crescent, of whom I had often
heard as a great floral decorator and landscape gardener. He
evidently took a liking to me, and engaged me at a salary of eighteen
shillings a week, telling me to report the next morning at six o'clock.
I thought this a stroke of good fortune, and felt certain I could soon
increase my salary to a pound a week. Within three months |
had found openings for my two brothers with Mr. William Iceton,
of Roehampton, a grower for Covent Garden Market. The
arrangement was that if my brothers came up to my description he
would pay them twelve and fourteen shillings a week respectively.
I was so delighted that I wrote to my mother to come at once, as
we were now assured of two pounds four shillings per week, which
was quite sure would soon increase. In a month she had a sale
by public auction of furniture and stock, retaining only a few
household treasures and linen, and about twenty-five pounds, the
rest of the proceeds of the sale being devoted to reducing our
indebtedness, any accounts left unpaid being accepted as a family
liability ; and, let me add, my mother insisted on every penny being
paid, and as we all felt that it devolved upon us to clear my father’s
ane of any charge of insolvency, we carried out my mother’s
wish.
_ Thus J had arrived at the age of eighteen, and the end of one
period of my life and the entrance to another plane of existence
and effort. For this sphere I had had few educational advantages
and a comparatively hard struggle, and whatever may be said for
or against such conditions, I am convinced that they formed the
finest training possible for a boy of my temperament. [| am assured
that easier circumstances would not have resulted in the same
fruition and energy. Toa boy so placed there is a sense of romance
in exploration and conquest: this feeling creates a wholesome
attitude of mind ever leading him to wider horizons; he knows
instinctively that head and heart must always be at school if his
ideals are to be achieved. When I look back and try to estimate
the value of the influences controlling my budding youth, I amII
Family History and Early Influences.
profoundly impressed with the good fortune which these influences
had bestowed upon me. Fond parents ambitious for their children’s
future were combined with a home in which sane, frugal living
was a sound preparation for high service and wholesome thinking,
and where good fiction, good music, and good literature were
daily discussed.
I was also most fortunate in my drawing-master, and later in
meeting with friends who provided me with entrancing works on
landscape gardening and natural scenery, which appealed to my
innate pleasure in nature and carried on the work begun by my
early introduction to the delights of gardening.
In London came my actual introduction to practical commercial
horticulture, and in my first experiences of collective business
methods and the growing knowledge of men which these gave me,
I found exactly what was needed. By nature inclined to abstract
meditation rather than to purposeful action, I was, by the circum-
stances in which I now found myself, compelled to conquer this
inclination, and this was so thoroughly accomplished that | became
really fond of hard work, a characteristic which, with diminishing
powers, I still retain. Naturally, my studies did not follow any
definite plan, and to this extent I was at a disadvantage, as I had
not acquired the orderly habits which regulated study inculcate.
It was my good fortune to serve a master and work with men
who possessed the fixed habit of steady application, and who worked
with the hum and momentum of a spinning-top.
As to recreation, beyond the rough-and-tumble games at
school and with my brothers, I had none. Life to me from my very
early years was one of set purpose. My cherished dream was
Landscape Architecture. The boyish delight with which I devoured
the books lent me by the gardener’s widow remains as a beacon
light now to be looked back upon: then, it beckoned onwards.
Mixing with men of set purpose and steady application in London
was just what was needed. I observed, and formed similar habits.
Although I was a most impressionable youth, the sudden
transition from the quiet country to the whirl of the metropolis
did not divert me from my purpose. It was wisely ordered that
I should have no money for the ordinary city amusements indulged
in by my workmates, as all my earnings were needed at home, the
hive whence my brother and I sallied forth to gather our daily
store, and whither we returned each evening to pour into the
sympathetic ear of our mother an account of our experiences,12
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
our successes and defeats, and to receive from her good cheer and
sage advice.
During my period of residence in Lancaster a good part of
my leisure had been spent in sketching, in my own way, the
ancient historic castle and fine Georgian buildings, and especially
the old doorways, for which the town is famous. Later on, when
at Ingleton, famed for its waterfalls and romantic river scenery,
I used to note and store my memory with the pictures of the
entrancing views in which the district abounds. Nor did this
personal bent fail to find outlet during my residence in London,
where in my scanty spare time I made excursions, necessarily as
cheaply as possible, to special spots noted for their rural beauty,
which I again tried to analyse and sketch. Ah! if I had only had
some capable person to direct those early tentative efforts.
As the reader will discover, it has been one of the dreams of
my life to establish a national school for instruction in the art
of landscape design; and, bearing in mind what I have just said
as to my own early studies, so diffusive in their aims and partial
in their results, just for the lack of a little sympathetic and expert
guidance, the motive which has inspired the wish will be obvious.FAIllus. No. 5.
Tue Brotuers Isaac, Roper R., AnD THomas H. Mawson.CHAPTER II.
EARLY DAYS IN LONDON.
contracted what proved to be a very happy marriage, and
so it was a still further diminished household, consisting
of my mother and two brothers, that settled down in a cottage
near Barnes Common, about half a mile from Mr. Iceton’s nurseries,
which were situate in Putney Park Lane. The rent was thirty
pounds a year, and we let the upper part to a young couple, because
we could not afford to furnish more than half the house; but
somehow our part, under the controlling genius of my mother, soon
assumed the character of a comfortable flat. We lived frugally on
our small united income, and consequently kept in good health.
It was a great change from our comfortable home in Yorkshire,
where, when things came to the worst, there was at least a home-fed
chicken or there were a few eggs to make a meal for hungry lads.
Looking back, I am amazed at my mother’s thrift during those
difficult days, at the perfect control which she exercised over us
boys, and the tact with which she inspired us to reach our utmost
possibilities.
John Wills, for whom I was working, was a remarkable man.
Starting life as an apprentice in a Lancashire garden, he had
attained no small fame as a floral decorator and by his garden
design—though garden “ arrangement ” would be a better descrip-
tion of his work.
As a garden designer Wills laid out the grounds at Lacken,
near Brussels, for King Leopold of Belgium, who bestowed upon
him a Belgian decoration in recognition of his work. He was also
made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for his scheme of
decoration at the Paris Exhibition of 1875. At the time I entered
his service he had built up an enormous business, which he had
converted into a public company, with head offices and
ABOUT: the time of our removal to London my only sister
1314
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
conservatories at Onslow Crescent, Warwick House, in Regent
Street, and nurseries at South Kensington and Annerley. He had
succeeded beyond his most sanguine dreams as a floral decorator,
being much in request by royalties and great personages, and it is
probably safe to say that some of his creations in this department
have never been excelled. I have never seen any of his work as
a landscape gardener which manifested any grasp as a planner,
but his skill in arranging plants for decorative effects was of service
to him in working out his schemes for planting in the open.
Notwithstanding his phenomenal success, John Wills was
not satisfied. ‘There were yet other fields to be won! He had,
so it is said, an ambition to outrival Veitch’s as a distributor and
grower of rare plants, including orchids, and to become equally
famous as a seedsman. But he had long passed middle age, and
his driving force was not equal to his programme. He was, however,
a man of wide powers and great imagination, and had a clear grasp
of the essential factors of his business.
At the time I began work at Onslow Crescent the firm had a
great reputation for its floral decorations, which resulted in schemes
for one or two balls and receptions every day of the week. My first
work was to select the plants and palms from the conservatories
and despatch them to their respective destinations. Very soon
was sent out to arrange some of the less-important commissions,
filling in my time at the office. Gradually I was trusted, during
periods of great pressure, with small but quite important work,
and allowed to follow my own ideas.
hese were not always successful, and occasionally led to
trouble. One afternoon, for instance, I was asked to undertake a
table decoration for Mrs. Jacob Bright, who had a house in Onslow
Square. It was an important occasion, because Gladstone, John
Bright, Lord Granville, and other famous Liberal politicians, were
to be there.
The occasion and the opportunity delighted me, and |
determined to win my laurels. My plan was a simple one. I[
obtained a circular tray in the centre of which | placed a block
of ice about thirty inches high, then around the edge I arranged a
fringe of Isolepus gracilis which had previously been carefully
washed. This grass overhung on to the white tablecloth. I think
I filled the tray to within half an inch of the rim with water, in
which floated white and blue water lilies (nymphea alba and
nymphea stellata). The family were delighted, and I went home15
Early Days in London.
that night feeling that I had placed my foot on the first rung of
the ladder of fame.
Next morning I learnt, to my great distress, that the scheme
had ended in disaster, and that John Wills had been sent for. Mr.
Wills said that Mr. Bright complimented him on his very imagina-
tive young man, but suggested that his assistant should be given
a little practical training. Then he explained that the decoration
was very much admired until the ice began to melt; then the
Isolepus acted as syphons, and simply flooded the entire table, with
the result that the guests had to retire to the drawing-room until
the table could be cleared and re-set. Of course so long as the
windows were closed the ice block remained intact, but directly
the windows were opened it melted !
For two years I stayed with John Wills, living the whole time
at Putney, catching the train every morning at Putney Bridge
Station at 5-45 a.m. so as to be at work shortly after 6 a.m. I
used to bring my food with me, and was given half an hour for
breakfast and an hour and a quarter for lunch. The latter meal
occupied no more than a quarter of an hour, leaving me with a
full hour in which to run into that treasure house, the South
Kensington Museum. The unique collection of works of art and
treasures of craftsmanship, covering a wide field, was a perfect
revelation to me, and for a long time so fascinated me by its intrinsic
beauty that I did not find time for study along the special lines
adapted to my specific needs. This phase, however, passed, and
I began to study the treasures around me from their constructive
and decorative standpoints as examples of design and craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, I had neither previous knowledge nor anyone to
guide me, otherwise this period might have counted for much
more in formulating my ideas in design and proportion than it did.
Nevertheless, personal observation and discernment being there,
and being eagerly employed, I am sure that I owe much to the use
I made of my luncheon hour at the South Kensington Museum.
During my stay with John Wills I met many famous people
who called on business. The two I remember most distinctly were
Lady Dorothy Neville and Holman Hunt, both of whom I met
years later under very different circumstances.
The only plans or drawings I saw while at Onslow Crescent
were of a very elementary character, and I believe Wills, like many
another professing landscape gardener of that period, depended
in a large measure upon verbal instructions given on the site.16
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Although I saw little of practical landscape work during this
period, [ heard much discussion of a critical character of the
work of other professors of the art, including that of Robert
Marnock, Edward Milner, Edward Kemp, and others, and studied
with great interest any illustrations of their work which came my
way, and, when opportunity occurred, I visited parks and gardens
laid out by them and others. At the end of two years of useful
and instructive work, disaster fell on the Wills business, which
went into liquidation, and I, along with many others, had to leave
and find employment elsewhere.
Looking up the files of ‘“ The Gardener’s Chronicle,” I saw
that Messrs. Kelway and Son, of Langport, Somerset, a firm which
was rapidly coming into prominence, wanted an assistant. As
the positions and salaries of my two brothers had greatly improved,
my mother urged me to apply for the post. I did so, and was
selected to fill the vacancy. The work was not congenial, and
seemed to open up no avenue such as I sought. I also found that
I was inexperienced in the work of invoicing plants, the majority
of which were quite new to me, so to save the firm the necessity
of discharging me, I gave in my notice and left after six weeks’
service. During this period, however, I took a keen interest in
the stock and the means of propagation, and determined to make,
under freer conditions, a study of hardy herbaceous and alpine
plants, a knowledge of which I felt was absolutely essential if I
was to succeed as a designer of gardens.
I was now close upon twenty-one years of age, and for the
second time had to search the files of the horticultural journals for
a post. I found a vacancy advertised by Thomas S. Ware, of the
Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, a firm noted for its vast collection
of hardy plants. I applied for the position, and was successful in
getting it. The salary was only twenty-two shillings a week, but
that did not matter, such was my enthusiastic determination to
gain a thorough knowledge of hardy plants, and here was my
chance.
Thomas S. Ware was a tall, stately old gentleman, who for
the greater part of his life had been a draper, until he married the
daughter of the former owner of the Hale Farm Nurseries. Upon
the death of his father-in-law he took over what had become a
flourishing retail business. He scarcely knew one plant from
another, but he had the good sense to recognise his deficiency,
and devoted his energies to business organisation, leaving the17
Early Days in London.
cultural and technical part of the business to his out-door manager,
Mr. Amos Perry. The latter was one of the best known experts
in hardy flowering plants in the country, and an authority who was
regularly consulted by the editors of horticultural papers when
asked to name and prescribe the culture of the many rare and
curious plants sent to them for identification.
When I first joined the staff, Mr. Ware was beginning to take
less part in the business organisation, which gradually fell into
the hands of Francis Fell, a very capable and ambitious man,
and a tremendous worker, who was dominated by a desire to do
big things in a big way. To him was due the foundation of the
firm’s extensive wholesale business, which soon outran in volume
of trade the retail department.
Francis Fell and I soon became close friends, a friendship
additionally cemented by the fact that our fathers, then both dead,
had been boys together.
The Hale Farm Nurseries were very extensive—about one
hundred and twenty acres, I believe, divided into eight large
departments, each under a trained expert, and all grouped under
Amos Perry, their head ; and it is safe to say that at this time no
nursery in the country possessed a stock so varied and of so high
a quality.
During the spring and summer months I| used to turn out
with my note-book at six o'clock in the morning, and again in
the evening after the day’s work was done, studying, comparing,
and tabulating descriptions of various plants, and allocating each
to its genus or family. This brought me into friendly relations
with all the managers of departments and foremen, who were
never tired of answering my questions and adding to my stock of
knowledge. They even consulted me on various matters, and asked
my opinion upon the comparative merits of the plants under their
charge. One of these men was James Smith, the foreman in charge
of the aquatic and sub-aquatic plants, British ferns, and miscel-
laneous plants suitable for wild gardens.
I was very soon promoted to the charge of the firm’s extensive
correspondence, and thus got into touch with many interesting
people. There was Miss Jekyll writing about daffodils ;
Dr. Hogg about the correct naming of ivies; Dr. Masters wanting
to know something about a rare iris; Reynolds Hole writing
about carnations; Dr. Ellacombe interested in peonies; Mr.
Cyril Flower (later Lord Battersea) writing about delphiniums :
c18
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Robert Marnock wanted Alpine plants ; the Rev. George Rawson
sent specimens of his beautiful long-spurred aquilegias; Mr.
Davies, of Newry, sent berries of his new hybrid pernettyas ;
Mr. William Robinson wrote from time to time about nympheas
and other aquatic plants. To me this meeting, even at second
hand, with so many people famous in horticulture, was most
inspiring. Many of these correspondents | later met personally,
and with some | struck up a lasting acquaintance.
In the winter months | attended the local Technical School
evening classes for the study of botany and the principles of
agriculture. I regret that I have forgotten our lecturer’s name.
He was a character, possessing the power of illuminating the
driest subject and investing it with an importance which was
irresistible. Young and lanky, with a shock of red hair, he wore
a paper collar and a paper front, which continually flipped out of
his waistcoat. But no matter, when he was lecturing we were all
earnest scholars sitting at the feet of a Gamaliel. I am sure he
has gone far since those days.
In the middle of my second year it was suggested that I should
come into closer contact with the firm’s wholesale customers
within fifty miles of London. It was properly urged that this
personal contact with some of the firm’s best customers would give
me some advantage when dealing with their correspondence. ‘The
consequent journeys were of the greatest educational value. They
enlightened me as to the various floral and horticultural require-
ments of the metropolis and of the country in general, and opened
my eyes as to what constituted fine collections of rhododendrons,
azaleas, and roses, and as to the best manner of displaying them.
Amongst the nurseries which I visited were those of Messrs.
Paul’s, of Waltham Cross and Cheshunt, Anthony and JohnWaterer’s
extensive Rhododendron Nurseries at Woking and Bagshot, and
many others, including those of George Jackman, of Woking,
which contained most interesting and representative collections
of hollies and conifers. In addition to the above, the nurseries
at Wimbledon owned by Mr. Thompson must not be omitted.
They contained what was probably the finest selection of street
and avenue trees in the country, and many interesting shrubs of
exceptional interest to me. In Kingston Vale I had many oppor-
tunities of seeing the extensive nurseries owned by Messrs. Veitc
and Sons, with their wonderful avenue of Picea Nobilis Glauca.
At Tunbridge Wells I saw the nurseries owned by Mr. Crisp, the19
Early Days in London.
propagator of clematis and Japanese maples, which he grew in
enormous quantities. I also visited Messrs. Turners’ nurseries at
Slough, and saw their fine collection of roses and shrubs.
The best fruit-tree nurseries in those days were Osborn’s,
of Fulham; Bunyard’s, of Maidstone ; Lane’s, of Berkhamstead ;
and Rivers’, of Sawbridgeworth, all of which came within my range.
While never consciously forgetful of my employer's interests,
and really in pursuit of them, I made the acquaintance of the
heads and managers of all these establishments. Whether or not
it was my youthful enthusiasm which helped me, I cannot say,
but in every case I received the greatest kindness and help, my
attention always being drawn to anything rare and beautiful.
Although not naturally gifted with a good memory, | gradually
acquired the happy knack of assimilating botanical names, so that
I was able somewhat rapidly to gain a wide knowledge of the
material by the aid of which I was later able to express some
of my ideas in garden design. Only recently I saw a fine
plant of Desfontania spinosa in flower, and immediately the name
flashed to my mind, and memory sprang back to the early days
when I first saw the shrub, over forty years ago.
During these trips I became acquainted with a well-known
firm of nurserymen on the Surrey side of the river, which carried
on business as contractors for landscape garden work as a separate
department. They had a compact, high-class, profitable business,
which at this time was run by father and son, the father being the
landscape gardener. He was a nice old man, and a good example
of the contracting landscape gardener. The son had no genius for
this work, nor indeed any other except the financial part, and in
this way ran his father as a monetary asset. Realising that his
father was getting old, he approached me, and with a view to my
taking up his father’s work offered me a partnership on advantageous
terms. I was now twenty-three, and the offer attracted me very
much, not only because I was promised a free hand in reorganisation
and development of the landscape department, but also for reasons
which I will now state.
These reasons were, first, that the offered partnership would
give me the opportunity for the practical application of my ideas
on garden design ; and, secondly, further the idea of settling down
in a home of my own, which just then began to appeal to me.
At Tottenham I had rooms with one of our departmental
foremen, and every afternoon on my way from work I made a20
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
detour via High Street, to purchase some little delicacy for my
evening meal. Returning, I passed the hospital, and the emergency
hospital for scarlet fever, run by the general hospital, the two being
about three hundred yards apart. Every day, about the same
time, the night nurse walked from the general to the emergency
hospital, and she and I could not help meeting, but we were much
too proper to notice one another—indeed, as in so many versions
of the old, old story, so ever new, we would not see each other !
Then, as we both became conscious that we were acting rather
foolishly, and, still in silence, passed with a heads-erect, nose-in-
the-air sort of pose, we felt that someone really ought to introduce
us! (I know this was the true state of two agitated minds, for later
we compared notes.) One day she failed to appear at the usual
place, but as I passed the fever hospital I saw her at the open
window rearranging a vase of half-dead flowers for the children’s
ward.
This was too much for the young horticulturist, who
stammered out: “ Nurse, you cannot make anything decent out
of those flowers; let me bring you some fresh ones.” And for
the love of her patients she agreed. From that day onwards the
children’s ward was supplied with fresh flowers. The rest was
inevitable, and in one month’s time | was introduced by Anna
Prentice, daughter of the late Dr. Edward Prentice, of North
Walsham, Norfolk, to her guardian and the trustee of her small
property, permission being given me to pay my addresses to her
openly. So began a love story which ever afterwards had a
pronounced bearing on my progress and after-career.
This naturally decided the question of the acceptance of the
offer of the partnership which had been made to me, and it was
arranged that at the end of six months, subject to the permission
of her guardian, we should marry.
When I handed in my notice to leave at Ware’s, every induce-
ment and argument, including an offer of a junior partnership, was
offered me to stay with the firm. My time with them had been
very pleasant and very instructive ; and | explained that had they
had a landscape department | should gladly have stayed, but that
I must follow the line of development which I had marked out
for myself, even though it were not so profitable as the acceptance
of a partnership in their business would have proved. With many
regrets, therefore, but with high hopes and great determination,
I left; but so long as the original firm remained in existence |21
Early Days in London.
kept up a correspondence with them, and sometimes revisited the
nurseries.
I started my new work, and had the satisfaction of seeing
the business developing, and as I considered everything was
progressing satisfactorily, I thought I was justified in marrying.
Anna Prentice and I were therefore married at Trunch Church,
Norfolk, on August Ist, 1884, and departed to the Lake District on
our honeymoon. Then came a bolt from the blue, which seemed for
a time to point to a disastrous ending to all my hopes and plans.
During our honeymoon I received a letter from the son of the
Surrey nurseryman with whom I had conducted the partnership
negotiations, informing me that his father objected to the ratification
of the partnership arrangement. If agreeable to me, I was told,
I could work for a salary—a salary which, by the way, was quite
inadequate to meet my new responsibilities.
After the first shock of our disappointment my wife and |
decided that we should make a plunge and start a family business,
which should also provide for my brothers, and, being on the
spot, we explored the possibilities of the English Lake District for
our purpose. The more we saw of the district, the more we liked
the prospect which opened out before us, so we looked out for a
site for what we called our “‘ home nursery,” to become eventually
the business centre for what we were quite sure would become a
considerable organisation. Before leaving the district we gave
instructions to a local estate agent to find a site for us. This was
in August, 1884.
In January of the following year we heard from the agent
that a suitable site, rather less than an acre in extent, with a cottage
and a shop, could be rented on a long lease, on terms apparently
reasonable. We telegraphed, instructing him to close. In another
five weeks the Mawson Brothers, along with my wife and my mother,
established themselves in Windermere.
Most of our new neighbours were very sorry for us: other
people had tried the same thing and failed. Our neighbours
argued that when any important work was to be done, the local
gentlemen sent to Manchester, Chester, or London, and so it
always would be, and so on. Nothing daunted, we set to work to
make a survey of our nursery site, and to plan the new ofhces,
propagating houses, and frame yards.
Our programme was to establish a nursery and _ contracting
landscape business for my brothers, I to obtain, as a member of22
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the firm, all the landscape gardening I could get hold of, but to
separate the professional practice from the business directly the
latter was sufficiently firmly established. This programme was
adhered to, the separation taking place in 1889. Such is the early
history of the Lakeland Nurseries.
The second year saw us moving very slowly, and our finances
were very strained. No wonder that sometimes we bore anxious
looks. Every day we met at my mother’s for afternoon tea, and
discussed the problems which were uppermost; but if anyone
hinted throwing up the sponge, he was at once decisively squashed
by my mother. So we went back with fresh determination and
worked as long as light permitted.
hen matters had become really serious, I received a letter
from Mrs. Arthur Severn (John Ruskin’s niece), of Brantwood,
Coniston, to say she had recommended me to Mr. Bridson, a
gentleman who moved in the best county circles and exercised a
great influence locally. He was just completing Bryerswood, a
new house at Sawrey, on the western side of Windermere, and
wanted advice on the laying out of his garden. I lost no time in
seeing Mr. Bridson and submitting my designs. Within a few days
I had made my survey, taking all necessary levels, and prepared a
preliminary plan of the prospective gardens. The plan was
carefully discussed by Mr. and Mrs. Bridson, especially in relation
to the commanding view obtainable across Windermere, embracing
the landscape on the other shore and the lake. Finally, the scheme
was adopted, with slight modifications, an estimate of cost was
prepared, and the work placed in our hands, all within a fortnight.
I secured a splendid old fellow as foreman, one of the old-fashioned
school, thoroughly versed in constructional garden work, hard
working, and loyal. Old Kidd stayed with us as long as he could
work, and we never lost money on any contract carried out under
his superintendence.
At this stage there happened one of those incidents which bind
men together and make even sceptics believe in the principles of
altruism. We started work on Monday, and on the Wednesday
following Mr. Bridson asked me to go to his private business room
for a chat. When I got there he said: ‘‘ Well, Mr. Mawson, I
am a business man, and I, like every other business man, have
experienced times when I was glad to see a cheque. As you are
just starting business, it has occurred to me that you would not
mind if I gave you a cheque for £200 on the work. When youi]
reat
ee
—Illus. No. 6.
rt
AA
| | PLAN OF GARDENS AT
GRAY THWAITE HALL
es a
=
FiO. 9919.00
For. Cot. THomas My.es Sanpys MP
SSeS ==23
Early Days in London.
want more, let me know!”’ That cheque was a godsend, and its
moral value was far greater than its exchange value. It showed
that I had won the confidence of my first client. That confidence
I retained to the end of this gentleman’s life.
Mr. and Mrs. Bridson entertained on a liberal scale, and
amongst the guests I met Lady Bective, who was keenly interested
in garden design, and particularly in the development of the
grounds at Bryerswood. It was here also that I first met Captain
Bagot, who had just inherited Levens Hall, and many were the
talks we used to have about the Captain’s quaint world-famous
gardens, their history and points of interest. It was at Bryerswood
that I first met Colonel Sandys, whose large estate at Graythwaite
Hall adjoined the Bridsons’ property. I also met here Mr. Kanill
Freeman, the well-known Bolton architect, who designed both
Bryerswood and the new additions to Graythwaite Hall, as well as
many other people interested in garden design. This work led
almost immediately to our firm being employed by others in the
Lake District, including some work for Sir Henry Moore, K.C.B.,
of Crook, a great Eastern scholar. In addition to his valued
services and oft-sought advice as a General, Sir Henry was the
most lovable old gentleman I have ever met, and as picturesque
as he was lovable. At ninety the old man would walk to Winder-
mere and back, a distance of four miles each way, with a spring and
a swing which put to shame many a man half his age.
He had just built additions to his family home, and my work
was to extend the lawns and walks round the new additions, and
to lay out a few rose beds and do a little planting along the
boundaries to emphasise the vistas, the foregrounds being some-
what uninteresting. My client was an able amateur water-colour
artist, and followed all my recommendations with a critical and an
understanding interest. He was also interested in the way the
work was carried out, and made many sage and quaint observa-
tions. For instance, when | remarked that the cost of the work
was more than | had anticipated, he replied, “ You are a young
man: take the advice of an old one. Whenever you have to
choose between a big expenditure coupled with a good job, and
a small expenditure with a bad one, choose the first—the pain of
paying the account is momentary ; the satisfaction with the work
is permanent. A bad job is quickly paid for, but the dissatisfaction
with the work is lasting, and you will find that your client will
forget how little of his money you spent, but curse you eternally24
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
as a bad workman.” Many a craftsman and architect has
experienced the truth of these remarks, which have special force in
executing garden schemes, where so much can be scamped, the
results not being apparent at once.
Several other Lake District commissions fell to us, but our
signal success at this period was gained when, on the introduction
of Mr. Bridson, I was commissioned to prepare a comprehensive
scheme for the improvement of the gardens and park at
Graythwaite Hall for Colonel Sandys, M.P. I really felt the great
responsibility of this work on account of its extent, the status of
my client, and the unique opportunities which the site and the
dominating residence presented. To this work I brought all my
energies and the accumulated stores of my previous experience
and study. The plan which I evolved so truly represents the
extent of my attainments and my conception of what constituted
garden design, that I reproduce it herewith (Illus. No. 6). As willbe
evident, | devoted much thought to the successful linking of the
gardens with the house on the one hand, and the house and garden
with the landscape on the other.
he plan is interesting as showing the progress I had so far
made in the art of Landscape Architecture—the “ mistress anti
as an American has called it. It shows the conception I had of
the combination of the formal and the informal, technically known
as the composite style. It was carried out almost exactly as
planned, together with later and further proposals for reinstating
the carriage court to the north side of the house in the position
which it originally occupied.
This work was of a very difficult and expensive nature, owing
to the fact that everywhere a thin veneer of soil overlay the tough
native rock, which was difficult to quarry. The property was,
however, beautifully wooded with noble trees, including some
characteristic old yews growing near the house and within the
pleasure grounds.
At the time my services were requisitioned, my client had
een in possession of the property for seventeen years, spending
the entire rent roll and more on the estate, which extended from
two miles north of Lake Side Station to and comprising most of
the village of Hawkshead, a distance of at least six miles. The
entire area of Esthwaite Lake and a part of each of the two villages
of Sawrey Infra and Sawrey Ultra were also included.
Colonel Sandys was member of Parliament for Bootle, and25
Early Days in London.
boasted that one of his forebears sat in the Parliament of King
John. The Colonel had the reputation of being the only Tory
in the House ; stern and autocratic, with a reserve that was very
difficult to penetrate. He accepted most conscientiously the
responsibilities of his position, and exercised over his estate a
beneficent paternalism. He was a staunch Protestant, and one of
the founders of the Protestant League. Gladstone was to him the
arch-fiend, and many were the stories he told me of the great
statesman’s alleged intrigues, all of which I am sure he firmly
believed ; and yet the dear old Colonel was in many respects an
advanced Liberal. He believed that work, and work alone, gave
a man his right to live. He was in advance of the Liberal policy
of better housing, to which he gave effect on his own estate, and
he believed in every workman being paid a living wage, with regular
employment.
He anticipated the provisions of the old-age pensions, with
its medical clauses. He paid fees to a doctor so that medical
attendance might be provided for the entire estate. He also
provided a nurse when required. If measles or scarlet fever broke
out on his domain, the Colonel worried until all fear of infection
had disappeared.
Towards the end of my work, one day I remarked to my
client, ““ You have spent a vast sum of money on this property
during the last twenty years or more?’’ “ Yes,’ he replied, “ |
have spent one hundred and twenty thousand pounds.” ‘Do
you never regret it?” I asked. “ Never!’ was the reply, as he
turned round to me; then he continued: “A brother officer of
mine, who left the Army at the same time as I did, has also spent
one hundred and twenty thousand pounds—but on horse-racing.
I pride myself that I have made the better choice, and that
others will feel for generations to come some of the advantages
of what some might call my extravagance, but which I regard as
economy.”
I visited the work at Graythwaite three days a week, driving
in all weathers, summer and winter, in a small open trap. Whilst
at Graythwaite I often met Mr. Knill Freeman and his resident
architect, Mr. Dan Gibson, and also George Gregory, a well-
known Parliamentary solicitor and legal adviser to Colonel Sandys.
Mr. Gregory was at the time building Riverside, near Staines,
the late Mr. T. E. Colcutt being his architect, and he asked me
to lay out his gardens. This was my first commission at any26
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
distance from home, and it opened up visions of expanding possi-
bilities which within a very few years were to be realised.
It was now five years since we took up our permanent residence
at Windermere. During this period the volume of business had
grown by leaps and bounds, and my landscape practice was on
its feet. In these five years the firm had carried out a number of
improvements or extensions to gardens, but my personal work
consisted increasingly in consultations and the preparation of
designs, and in the occasional superintendence of work carried out
under the direction of the client’s head gardener, or under that of one
of our landscape foremen, who employed local labour, paid directly
by my clients. My direct contribution to the volume of trade, and
every penny I made beyond a bare living wage, went into the
Nursery to swell its working capital. Still, financial worries
seemed to increase, for whilst our balance-sheet showed splendid
progress, most of the concrete value of the business was in stock.
At the same time the liquid capital was unequal to the weekly
wages, bills, and other liabilities. In short, our capital was unequal
to the volume of business we were doing. We almost reached a
second crisis in our enterprise when, fortunately, my wife received
a small but unexpected legacy, every penny of which went into the
business, raising it from what looked like inevitable disaster, and
allowing us to take more land and to stock it with trees and shrubs,
for which there was a regular demand both for our planting schemes
and for sale in the district.
To equip myself for still larger enterprise I studied hard, my
principal text-books being “ Loudon’s Landscape Gardening,”
“The Works of Repton’’ (which, it will be remembered, I had
studied as a boy), and particularly ‘“‘ How to Lay Out a Garden,”
by Edward Kemp, whom J still regard as the best exponent of the
landscape style—or, as Kemp called it, “ the gardenesque style.”
I also commenced to study the works of Ruskin, of whom I became
an admiring disciple, and have so remained.
Naturally, I visited every park and garden within reach which
had been laid out by men of repute in my profession, including
Sefton Park, Liverpool, and Birkenhead Park, and the Miller and
Avenham Parks at Preston, respectively the work of the Frenchman
Andre, Sir Joseph Paxton and Kemp, and Ernest Milner. I also
made a careful study of the landscape garden effects arranged as
a setting to the Furness railway stations, and private gardens such
as Levens, Holker, Sir James Ramsden’s place at Furness Abbey,27
Early Days in London.
Keswick, and many other smaller places of interest. No effort
was too great if only it led to my increased efficiency as a designer
of gardens.
During the later part of this period I endeavoured to improve
my draughtsmanship by studying with artists resident in the
district, and by sketching from nature, generally in company with
my now old friend and secretary, John Dyer, who has a very
critical mind in art matters, and a caustic and expressive style of
criticism, which I encouraged him to exercise liberally in our
mutual problems incidental to my work.
In my early years, and in my struggles for advancement, |
had associated mainly with workmen who possessed ideas in
abundance in the nugget. These ideas, however, needed a good
deal of refining before they could be submitted to criticism from
people of culture and refinement. I now perceived that it was
with such people that I should be brought into contact if I were
to succeed in my profession. I therefore began to think of
schooling and educating myself in appropriate ideas, and, what is
equally important, clothing these ideas in suitable language so
that even “ he who runs may read.” It is fitting and proper that
superior ideas be presented in courtly dress. Many a first-rate
idea or scheme is lost because it is clumsily presented, and many
a second or third rate idea is preferred to the more excellent one
because pleasingly set forth. Anyone versed in architectural
or similar competitions knows how, even when adjudged by
competent assessors, a tricky perspective view wins first place
for a comparatively poor plan and elevation, while the scheme of
distinctive merit is rejected owing to its author having sent in
drawings in a cruder, if more honest, style of draughtsmanship.
In my desire to overcome my conscious defects, I was led,
as a first step, to join the village Debating Society—that forum
which has produced so many orators. In these rugged training
grounds many distinguished parliamentarians have discovered that
they possessed the gift of swaying and convincing men by native
eloquence. Such, however, was not my purpose. Among the
society's workers and supporters were several men of culture and
leisure, who always maintained a high level of debate on subjects
of real importance, and who mildly and reprovingly insisted upon
a high tone of language and expression, which was just the discipline
I needed. Into these debates | threw myself with energy, preparing
myself for each weekly meeting by reading and study. I soon28
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
found my level, and by steady improvement, after three years, |
was elected president of the society.
These were the distinctively formative years of my career,
during which many forces contributed to my evolution. By no
means the least important was the influence of the two pastors of
the Carver Memorial Church, Windermere, where I sat for twelve
years under two learned divines, Doctors Taylor and Adamson.
Usually little credit is given to the influence of the clergy of our
churches, and their contributions to the formation of character is
seldom recognised. Is it surprising, then, that to me my church
was, in addition to being a source of spiritual refreshment at a very
strenuous and trying time, a “ secondary school,” presided over
by men of great ability, fully abreast with modern thought, and not
afraid of expressing liberal views in matters of theology. Dr. Taylor,
the first pastor, was Professor of Analytical Theology in Glasgow,
and it was said of him that he made Fairbairn of Oxford. He
attracted Americans to his church when paying visits to Lakeland,
and I remember once listening to a keen argument between him
and Dr. Henry Ward Beecher, the famous American preacher.
I forget the point at issue, but I thought that our pastor got the
best of the argument. Dr. Taylor was not only a very eloquent
preacher, but the arrangement of his matter followed so lucidly
in clarified logical sequence, that I could remember the whole of
his discourse—and, as a matter of fact, I often gave a rehearsal of
the sermon to my mother when she was unable to attend. These
perfect compositions were so simplified in utterance that all padding
and unessential word passages were eliminated, and the pastor’s
principle began to have an effect upon my work. I began to reach
after the same qualities; mere attempts at following or copying
nature began to have less and less attractions for me, whilst art
compositions based on reason attracted me more and more.
Dr. Taylor was popular with the young folks of the church,
but he was sometimes a trial to aged orthodoxy, as may be gathered
from his remarks to his congregation after a visit to Rome. He
told us one Sunday morning of one of his experiences in St. Peter’s.
He said : “ My daughters and I visited St. Peter’s Cathedral
in Rome. After admiring Cellini’s splendid colonnade, with the
great dome rising behind it silhouetted against a deep blue sky,
we mounted the great stairway and entered the Cathedral, the
interior of which | found created in me a deep sense of devotion.
Just then my attention was drawn to a girl of about ten and a boy29
Early Days in London.
about eight years of age, passing deftly, almost on tip-toe, towards
the statue of St. Peter, crossing themselves as they passed along.
When they got up to the statue they stood with clasped hands
and bowed heads for a moment, then the little girl got her brother
by the middle, and by great energy lifted him until he kissed the
toe of St. Peter. Then the little fellow endeavoured to lift up his
sister, but try as he would he could not do it, and I could see the
little girl’s tears were beginning to flow; so I approached quietly
and lifted the little girl so that she could perform her act of devotion,
at which my eldest daughter exclaimed, ‘ Oh, father, whatever will
the people of the Carver Memorial Church say?’ To which |
replied, ‘I don’t care what they say. It has done the little girl
good, and it’s done me good too, and that’s justification enough.’ ”
Dr. Adamson was less scholastic—or, shall I say, less academic?
But he had the finest presence of any minister I have ever seen or
known, and was as fine and lovable as he looked, always anxious
to help with advice and encouragement ; just the sort of man one
would choose as a father confessor, if needed. As it was, he was
a staunch friend and adviser, exercising an influence in the home
which was even greater than that which he exercised in the pulpit.
Dr. Adamson was more devoted to art and the poets, especially
Wordsworth, than Dr. Taylor. He had also a fine sense of the
value of form and order in public worship, and I can imagine that
had he been in a position to introduce such an innovation, his
church, which was well adapted for the purpose, would have seen
a high development in beautiful music and liturgy, Unlike his
predecessor, who feared no one, he unfortunately feared certain
members of his flock who were unworthy to tie his shoe-strings.
Taylor would say, “ The ignorant have no right to an opinion, nor
the half-ignorant the right to rule any community by the rushlight
of their half-formed ideas.”” Adamson would say, ‘ My brother,
what do you think about the matter, and what would be your
advice under existing conditions ? ’—knowing all the time that
the advice given would be unworthy of adoption. I loved and
admired both men, but the greatest lesson which [| learnt was
that democratic institutions work best when there is a strong and
fearless autocrat as leader.
My last recollection of Pastor Adamson was as he, with
outstretched hands, pronounced the benediction in the tiny but
beautiful Congregational Church at Hest Bank, of which the
reader will hear later, with its evening shadows dimly pierced by30
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the lights from the candelabras. The benign figure, and the massive
leonine head with its rich halo of curling grey locks, silhouetted
against the green panelled background, were poem and picture
combined. I would gladly give a good deal to possess his portrait
posed in that last great act of worship.
I have done but scanty justice to these two grand old men
and the influence they exercised over me, but I feel that more
cannot properly be said here. I can only repeat that both were
to me great schoolmasters.Illas. No. 7.
Tue Rey. Wittram Apamson, D.D.CHAPTER. Ill.
GREAT AMBITIONS AND GREATER NECESSITIES.
HAD now arrived at a point at which [| had fully established
| myself in my work as a designer of private gardens. Not
that I was satisfied. That failing I never allowed myself to
encourage. On the contrary, I have always instinctively cultivated
a critical outlook, an attitude which once led one of my best clients
to remark: “ I have never known you to express satisfaction with
anything you ever did ”’; to which I replied: “ I hope you never
wil, for then I should know that I had reached the full scope of
my limitations.’ It was not so much my plans which I doubted,
as my ability, on many occasions, to prevent my clients introducing
all sorts of inconsistencies and anachronisms, such as rock and
rustic work near the house, where work of an architectural or
formal character was needed; or, on the other hand, the
introduction of formal and architectural details amidst natural
rural scenery.
These inconsistencies have always arisen from the inability on
the part of the gardening public to understand the definite
principles underlying the art of garden design. The consequent
repeated disappointments in my work led me to decide on the
compilation of a book dealing with the art and craft of garden
making, for which I began about this time to collect material.
My idea was to lay down some sort of standard which might, I
thought, influence my clients and encourage them to insist on the
best of what I was capable. My growing confidence in myself
fostered my ambition to undertake work of greater importance,
not only for the private clients for whom I had so -far mostly
worked, but also for public authorities, which I felt would lead
to more profitable employment, a consideration which was
becoming pressing owing to the increased cost of living which
always accompanies an increasing and growing family. I also
31
{
ui
i
1 aa ;
|| ae) ;
i
ne
|e 4
oa
fl
t Hi
i
; fi
me i
en” a
‘4 at
4 a A
{ Hi
f A
} it
Hl Hi
: fi
ag a
gu i
i :
| H
H
i H
Ge '
ie
1 %
4 i
i
Pe | H
4 1 J
a
ain ‘
7 4!
if
Vkne| A
in]
| ‘
yas vs
id fi
visa Hi
ie A
iF
;
, i
.
ie =
iit
te} n
Hl H
y ms
f ;
f
ij fy
D
‘ hd
f 4
1 ;
bi} fi
wie
iy
‘
. ht
i
a F
f
i \
A} :
: A
Wt ‘
i” ‘
mn | i
i
H
f
A ‘
| '
ly ¢
& i A
4 ‘3
‘ te
i ;
|
:
i
|
ie
: % q .
7"
i
. '
ab :
e| :
: \ i
==
oa32
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
felt that the time was rapidly approaching when I must definitely
withdraw from the nursery business, which was now well established
and under the able direction of my two brothers, for whom I had
done everything which affection and family interest dictated, a
point of view with which they were in entire agreement.
At this juncture I saw in my morning paper an account of a
big scheme for a public park at Hanley in Staffordshire, and |
decided to do what only a few years before I would have regarded
as a very unprofessional act. I decided to “ get after ”’ the work,
and at once | got together a number of my plans, along with
certain articles | had contributed to the horticultural papers,
wired to a member of Parliament whom I knew very well (and
who knew my work) asking for an introduction to Mr. Woodall,
the member for the Hanley Division, and then made my way to
Hanley. Receiving next morning a letter of introduction to
Mr. Woodall, who was staying in the district, I repaired thither,
and was welcomed by him, and after inquiries as to the work |
had done, and an examination of the drawings I brought with me,
he gave me a letter of introduction to Mr. Joseph Lobley, the
engineer for the borough. This I duly presented at half-past two
in the afternoon.
I apologised for taking a course of action which was unusual
amongst professional men, to which he laughingly replied that
two men of considerable reputation had already been in com-
munication with him. He then looked at my plans, which evidently
impressed him, for he told me that the Parks Committee would
be sitting at three o'clock, and that he would do his best to induce
them to see me, but that I must not be surprised if he failed,
because it was quite an unusual course to take.
At three o'clock Mr. Lobley left me in his private room whilst
he attended the Committee, and at a quarter past I was asked to
walk into the Committee room, where I was introduced to the
Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors. I was very nervous, but |
did my best to brace myself up for an ordeal, and soon found |
was dealing with a committee of gentlemen who were wondrous
kind, one of them endeavouring to put me at my ease by saying
they “had all been young and enterprising once,” and that they
appreciated the same quality in others. “‘ And now to business,
said the Mayor. “ On what terms,” he asked, “ are you prepared
to do the work?” ‘‘ Five per cent. on the cost of the work, and
expenses,’ I replied. “‘ This places us ina rather difficult position, ”Illus. No, 8.
PuBLIC PARK HANLEY
STAFFORDSHIRE [
Stiohtly Remodetled Fo Surt
Yosition For A GouncweFtatl
Seek ale of Feet Se
Oa,
2-G-© © 6
Oe
€
—2-o.
“ Are >
0-@ 0-9 2-0-0-6
>|
Er
THOS H MAWSON
HON-ARIBAC)
28 CONDUIT -ST.0
[ONDON - W. >Illus. No. 9.
Illus. No. 10.
Views OF THE LAKE, HANLEY Park.33
Great Ambitions and Greater Necessities.
he said, “ because [handling a letter] I have here a letter from a
landscape gardener of repute offering to do the work for three
per cent., and of course we have to safeguard the ratepayers’
interests.’ “ Mr. Mayor and gentlemen,” I replied, “ I am sorry
I cannot accept less for my services than the recognised fee. All
I can promise is to earn it. Only one thing more I can say, and
it is this: If you appoint me, Hanley Park will be my first great
public work, and I cannot afford to do less than my utmost to give
you satisfaction.” I was then asked to retire, but in ten minutes
was back again to be told that the Committee had passed a
resolution recommending my appointment as expert to the Council,
and | knew that instead of my youth being regarded as a detriment
it won the hearts of these seasoned old Aldermen and Councillors.
In about ten days I had a letter from Mr. Challinor, the Town
Clerk, informing me that the Council had accepted the Parks
Committee's recommendation, and appointed me as their Landscape
Architect, and asking me to attend the next meeting of the Parks
Committee. Mr. Lobley wrote asking me to be prepared with
certain tentative proposals for dealing with the park area, not
for the purpose of adoption, but rather to focus discussion, and
thus draw out some idea of the requirements. To do this I had
to spend a week on the site, which contained a number of old
pit-shafts and enormous spoil-banks, whilst the remainder of the
land was used as a tip for pottery refuse. The site extended to
one hundred and five acres, twenty-five of which Mr. Lobley had
decided should be developed for building purposes, whilst eighty
acres were to be devoted to the park and recreation grounds.
I have often remarked since that I must have been a very
young man when I agreed to convert this waste of pits, mounds,
and rubbish-tips, under which was buried all the good soil there
ever was on the land, into a pleasant public park. Never, excepting
at Burslem and on the East Park, Wolverhampton, has it been
my lot to transform such an unpromising site into quiet lawns
and tree-planted spaces. It was a risky undertaking, which might
have ended in disaster. .
Try to imagine the site with which I had to deal. Any soil
that remained was very thin, overlying a stiff, tenacious clay, and
in many places this was badly water-logged. Here and there were
a few stunted and shrivelled thorns and ash trees that had once
been part of a hedge. The only redeeming feature of the site was
its southern slope, but this was largely nullified by the fact that
D34
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
across the middle of the property was an exceptionally utilitarian
canal at an awkward level, which carried an enormous amount
of traffic for the local potteries and ironworks.
In addition to this, along the eastern boundary were a number
of potteries with numerous bottle-shaped kilns belching forth
fumes and smoke, poisoning the air and making vegetation very
difficult to establish, while on the south side the outlook was
over Stoke-on-Trent, generally lying in a pottery mist. On the
west we overlooked the irrigation works, beyond which was more
or less open country, and on the north lay the town of Hanley,
with some small works in the foreground. Such were the conditions
with which I had to deal, and which I was determined to coax
or bully into a beautiful pleasance.
The plan Illus. No. 8 shows the general principle upon which
I proceeded, and its main proposals were laid in rough sketch
form before the next meeting of the Parks Committee. The
general conception of the lay-out, which was dictated by the
contours, was irregular but harmonious, with free groupings o
trees and shrubs, following the natural contours, and a lake for
boating on the lowest part of the site. The two views Illus.
Nos. 9 and 10 show the lake as matured from different points of
view. This sheet of water serves two practical purposes: first,
it clarifies the air of the chemical fumes and favours the growth
of the surrounding foliage and supplies a source of revenue to
the park.
Into this free landscape treatment was introduced a certain
proportion of formality and architectural adornment, which
culminated in a formal terrace, which with its pavilion, fountains,
and gardens provided a social centre for the district. This treatment
of my subject greatly appealed to the Mayor and his committee,
who urged me to go ahead with my plans with all possible speed.
At the first meeting after my appointment, the Mayor
said: “Mr. Mawson, we don’t know whether we ought to tell
you or not, but after seeing your rough ideas, we are so pleased
with our choice of a landscape architect that we feel we may
tell you that one of the three men who were in the running with
you, writes to say he ‘is surprised that we have appointed an
entirely unknown man for such an important piece of work.’ We
are giving you a chance to make that sort of letter impossible in the
future. In the meantime, we have replied that if you are not
already famous, we believe you are going to be.”35
Great Ambitions and Greater Necessities.
From this it will be seen that I was peculiarly fortunate in
having as my first committee of a public authority men of great
human understanding and kindliness.
The next business was to get out my working drawings for the
entire park. These were approved, along with my estimate for
£25,000, an estimate which was subsequently considerably increased
owing to additional works undertaken on my recommendation, and
the great expense of obtaining secure foundations for the various
structures on undermined land. Arrangements were made for
the ceremony of cutting the first sod, which was a great event.
The town of Hanley rose to the occasion, and provided me with
my first experience of a public function.
One thing which impressed me was the tremendous enthusiasm
of the general public and ratepayers. The idea of it all seemed to
raise them socially and materially above the level of other Pottery
towns. The concourse of people at the ceremony was simply
amazing, and the civic enthusiasm was unbounded. The Mayor,
Aldermen, and Councillors, along with the élite of the town and
distinguished guests from adjoining towns, started their day with
a Mayor’s luncheon. I was given a seat at the high table, and
had to listen with pleasurable embarrassment to complimentary
speeches eulogising my plans.
Alderman Hammersley, the orator of the Council,
complimented the perspicuity of vision of the Parks Committee,
who in their endeavour to produce a park which should be a
classic example for all other towns, had made the most exhaustive
inquiries and had discovered a budding genius, and of course
all the members of the Council applauded, whilst I bowed my
acknowledgments.
he master of ceremonies announced to the Mayor, Aldermen,
and Gentlemen that “ carriages are at the door.” The day was
fine, with a blue sky overhead—specially blue, I may remark, for a
Pottery town. We then took our places and drove between crowds
of cheering ratepayers to the site of the park, where a military
band played Handel’s ““ Largo” as we proceeded to the gaily
decorated platform from which the speeches were to be made
before and after the sod-cutting, and I was called upon to describe
the designs. I have not the least recollection of what I said or
how I said it, but I remember clearly the great goodwill which
was shown to me, which at once endeared the pottery folk to me.
With the assistance and advice of Mr. Lobley, the borough36
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
engineer, I soon had the work in progress, many hundreds of men
being employed on half-time, during a period of industrial distress.
So much has been said about the unemployed, who are too
often regarded as unemployable, that I would like to say one
word on their behalf. Park construction is not like working a
cultivated garden ; it is for the most part heavy navvy work with
pick and spade, requiring hardened hands and hard muscles for
its successful pursuit. These men were used for the most part
to light indoor occupations. Many of them and their families
were suffering from want, and were only too anxious for the
work. Poor fellows, they scarcely knew one end of a spade from
the other; but they persevered, only to blister their hands until
they were cracked and raw. The men were taken on in relays
on the basis of three days’ work and three days’ play. In each of
the play periods the hands got tender again, and the work became
in many cases a period of pain and discomfort. Certain of the men
dropped out from sheer inability to go on, and then the rest were
taken on full time, and did good, conscientious work, gradually
getting into condition, which gave them a zest for open-air
occupations.
This work led to others, and when J had been engaged on
this park about six months I was asked to advise the Burslem Town
Council upon their new park. The site was not so large as the
Hanley one, but it was well situated in relation to the centres of
population. From a cultural standpoint it was even worse than
Hanley, for the whole centre of the site was a series of enormous
pit-mounds and spoil~-banks. However, I went to work with my
designs on the assumption that somehow the soil to cover them
could be found.
My uphill experiences with the Hanley site now stood for an
asset of some value, and I knew that if a covering of soil could be
obtained, success would follow. Fortunately for both me and the
park, as luck would have it, we were able to obtain several thousands
of loads of suitable surface soil from a developing building estate
not far distant. Thus another almost insuperable difficulty was
providentially surmounted, and another chapter of my history, the
design and construction of public works, was promisingly begun.Illus. No. 11.
N.
Rocky CAscaDE IN BELLEVUE Park, Newport, MoCHAPTER: Ly.
I ENTER OPEN COMPETITIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF PARKS.
out parks for Hanley and Burslem, the Local Government
Board sent out to municipalities a recommendation that
they should alleviate the prevalent distress arising from unemploy-
ment by promoting works of public utility, the Board promising
special facilities for the speedy passing of plans and the raising
of loans. This led to a number of authorities acquiring lands for
park purposes, followed by calls for competitive designs for their
development.
I have come to regard competition as an unsatisfactory method
of obtaining plans, because what generally happens is that about
twenty firms spend each fifty to a hundred pounds in preparing
a design which, if lucky, may win the premium of one hundred
guineas. Instructions may follow to superintend the carrying out
of the work, but in the greater majority of cases the whole matter
ends with the winning of the premium. Competitions, however,
appeal peculiarly to ambitious young men, and at the time of which
I speak I was distinctly of this class. I therefore threw myself
into this new sphere of work with all the enthusiasm of which |
was capable.
By this time I had got my own office and the nucleus of an
organisation and a small staff who were just as keen as myself to
win laurels for the office. We worked early and late, working at
one competition after another for over a year. We sent in our first
design, and waited the result with confidence, till one morning a
letter bearing the seal of the town clerk to the municipality that
had advertised the competition, arrived, advising me that my
drawings had won third place. In a month’s time we were waiting
the result of the second competition, in which we were not placed
at all. Then the result of the third competition was advertised,
NG the time that I was engaged upon the work of laying
3738
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and we were placed second. And so it went on with depressing
persistence, until I had exhausted all my capital. Then came the
thirteenth advertisement, this time by the Newport, Monmouthshire,
Town Council, who had been presented by Lord Tredegar with a
twenty-seven-acre site. [he premiums offered were £100, £50, and
£25, and | felt, with the gambler’s optimism, that if only I could
afford another try I would win. My friends and my two brothers
were very anxious that I should not risk the expense of another
competition. The latter in particular pointed out that | really
had made a good fight for it, but it was clear that I was not a
winner ; that in any case my practice called for the whole of my
time and energies.
It was at this juncture that my wife decided the question,
urging that as I had been in for twelve competitions and lost, this
would mean ruin to my reputation unless I proved that I was
capable of winning. Perhaps thirteen would prove my lucky
number. I felt that this line of argument was absolutely sound,
and that I simply had at all risks to go on until I did win.
Next day I was on my way to Newport, where I stayed
the night, calling upon Mr. Conyers Kirkby, the borough
engineer, next morning at 10 o'clock. Mr. Kirkby, who was a
genial character, received me kindly, explaining that he had heard
of my work in the Potteries, and that he would have preferred his
Council to have consulted me, and thus have saved him a lot of
work preparing surveys and plans for the competition. He then
gave me two additional copies of the survey, and directed me to
the site. “‘ Jump on toa tram,” he said, “ and go to the terminus,
then take the road to your right, and it is the first field you come
to on your right again.”
I followed my directions, and on arriving at the field unfolded
my survey plan and began my observations. ‘The field was approxi-
mately the size and shape of the site indicated on the plan, and the
fall of the land approximately that shown by the contours, but in
every other respect there was little correspondence between them.
For hours I tried to harmonise the site with the survey, and at last
returned to explain my dilemma to Mr. Kirkby and get his
explanation. To my amazement he was very apologetic about
the survey, which, he explained, had been done by a young pupil
who had never been known to do anything correctly. “ He was,
however, the only man I could spare for the work!” ‘‘ What,
then, am I to do about it?” I asked. “‘ All you can do is to go39
Design of Parks and Gardens.
home and spread your tracing paper over the survey, and make
your design on the assumption that it is correct. I decided to
act on his advice; indeed, how otherwise could I compete ?
My plans and report were ready and despatched in time for
the Parks Committee and Selection Committee. Late in the
afternoon of the date of the meeting I had a telegram from Mr.
Kirkby, which read as follows :—
Mawson, Landscape Architect, Windermere.
Parks Committee have selected your design recommendation to the Council
for first premium. Accept my heartiest congratulations. KiRKBY.
A week later I had a letter from the Town Clerk informing
me that his Council had adopted the recommendation of the
Parks Committee and awarded me the first premium, for which he
enclosed me the Council’s cheque for £105. The letter also stated
that the General Purposes Committee would meet that day
fortnight, and requested my attendance.
By the same post came a local newspaper which gave a long
description of the winning plan, and a report of the Council
meeting, which included explanatory remarks by Mr. Kirkby,
who said: “I am pleased that Mr. Mawson has won the first
premium, because he has given greater care to the study of the
site than any other competitor.”
My delight and that of my staff were unbounded, for we all
felt that we had wiped out a reproach. My wife took the matter
as an expected and assured result. Her “ I-told-you-so ’’ attitude
was quite pardonable !
In a fortnight I presented myself again at the Town Hall,
where Mr. Kirkby introduced me to the Town Clerk, who in
turn introduced me to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors in
the council chambers, where I had to listen to congratulatory
addresses from the Mayor and several Aldermen. I thanked
them heartily, for I felt very proud and grateful for the honour
they had paid me. This was to me the third rung of the ladder
of fame of which I had always dreamed. The Mayor then informed
me that they wished me to accompany them to the site of the
park, as they would like me to explain the features of my design
on the ground. At the door there were waiting for us about six
carriages, each with a pair of horses, and when we had taken our
places we moved forward down Commercial Street, turning to the
right at the bottom; but imagine my utter dismay and
consternation when we passed the field I had studied, and drove40
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
on to the next one! My surprise can be imagined as I realised
I had never seen the site I had planned; but I pulled myself
together to meet the impact with stoical come-what-may sort of
courage, or perhaps it was the courage of desperation.
Having entered the field, I directed my clients to the advantages
of the site, the picturesque old elms, the charm of certain views,
and the necessity for screening certain disturbing details of the
middle distance. They became so absorbed in these major factors,
which were entirely new to them (and, let me add, to me), that
they did not press me to explain my plans further, but wandered
off in groups to discover other vistas. One old Alderman, however,
was evidently deeply interested in what I proposed to do about a
group of splendid old elms which in their setting formed a very
delightful glade, with a small stream meandering down the vista
which they made.
‘Where does your lake go, Mr. Mawson ?”’
Just where those trees are.”
“ What will happen to them ?”’
They will disappear.”
“ T am awfully sorry for that.”
mio. am We
~ Then why remove them ?”’
“ Simply because you have asked for a lake, and I have
shown it in the only position in which it could possibly go; but
I am bound to tell you that you ought never to have asked for it,
for a park like this does not require a lake. In any case a rocky
stream with cascades would have been far more suitable and
retained for us those splendid elms.”
“ Would you mind, Mr. Mawson, telling the Committee
what you have just told me?”
To this I readily agreed, discerning that this was my
opportunity to save my front.
The Alderman called upon the Mayor to collect his Councillors
together to hear my explanations. I told them that I had so far
adhered in my designs to the conditions of the competition, but
that the Alderman had extracted from me the confession that in
my opinion the plans did not do full justice to the site; that, in
particular, I thought the lake which they had called for ought not
to appear, and instead we ought to have a rocky glade and cascade
in its place.
“ What,” asked the Mayor, ‘‘ do you propose?”4t
Design of Parks and Gardens.
> That you should give me five weeks to redraft my plans,”
a suggestion which raised quite a cheer. My proposal was put
to the meeting and passed unanimously. I was then thanked for
my courage in criticising my own plans. It was with feelings of
profound relief that | emerged from behind this smoke-screen.
Illus. No. 11. shows the rocky cascade which took the place
of the proposed lake, and which is a perennial source of delight
to lovers of the ale
In some three months we were ready for the first tree-planting,
a ceremony performed by the donor, Lord Tredegar, who made
a charming short speech, which I think still further increased the
affection which the people of Newport entertained for him. One
incident pleased him very much. I| was not satisfied with the way
in which the hole for the tree was prepared by the contractor, so
without the least thought or hesitation I handed to him my silk
hat, took the spade and completed the hole as I thought it should
be. Lord Tredegar watched me with approving interest, and
said: “ Well done, Mawson; you know the practical side of
your job.”
Having turned the corner from failure to success, fortune
seemed to smile on me. Another competition for a aibhic park
was advertised within a few months, and I again entered and won.
This time it was for the East Park, Wolverhampton, an area of
fifty acres, consisting entirely of cinder-heaps, excepting for a
flooded depression which gave an opportunity for a lake large
enough for boating. Like the Hanley Park, there was an outer
fringe of land to be laid out as a building estate. Thus, in both
cases the park and surroundings provided material for miniature
town-planning schemes. Lord Tredegar, by the way, was one
of the few survivors of the charge of the Light Brigade in the
Crimean War.
About this time the late Mr. Dan Gibson, with whom I had
worked at Graythwaite Hall, where he acted as resident architect,
joined me as a junior partner. Leaving Graythwaite, he had gone
up to London, working as a valued assistant in the office of Messrs.
Ernest George and Peto, returning to Lakeland to recuperate after
a severe illness. At the time I was much overworked myself, and
I offered him a share in my practice. Gibson, who was one of the
handsomest, most courtly, and able men I have ever known,
exercised a great influence on the work of the office, and set up as
high an ideal for the architectural section of our work as I had42
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
striven for in landscape expression. His skill as an architect is
shown in the entrances and lodges at East Park and the
conservatory in the West Park, Wolverhampton, and im a lesser
degree in the large pavilion in Hanley Park.
About the same time a competition of a quite different order
was advertised. It was for the planning of a part of Lord Forrest's
estate, near Wellington, Shropshire, as a model residential area.
I had already prepared the plans for the lay-out of the building
estate at Storrs, Bowness-on-Windermere, and the Heathwaite
building estate, Windermere, and the work appealed to me; so I
again entered the arena, but with considerable doubt as to my
ability when pitted against adepts in this branch of my adopted
profession. ‘The problems involved were particularly difficult,
and the scheme as a whole was much larger than anything | had so
far attempted. I decided, however, to make the attempt, and
went to Wellington for a few days so that I might study the
possibilities of the site, and at the same time form some idea by
local inquiries as to the size of plots most needed. In this lay-out
I anticipated the restrictions of Mr. John Burns’ Town Planning
Act, and the recommendation of the National Housing and Town
Planning Council. The plans were developed on the basis of a
self-contained suburb, with its own shopping centre, schools,
churches, club, and recreation ground, with wide tree-planted
boulevards for the main arteries and avenues of trees in the
residential quarters. Finished plans were carefully drawn from
my roughly developed ideas on the site, and beautifully coloured
by my staff, who were becoming expert in pictorial rendering of
competitive drawings. The plans were presented in due course,
and to my surprise were awarded the first premium.
This success encouraged me, sto } enter town-planning
competitions, and within a few months of my first success |
submitted a scheme for the lay-out of the Endcliffe Hall Estate,
Sheffield. In my designs I took the fine old hall and its gardens
as the main focus of my scheme, reserving them as a park and
social centre. The promoting syndicate paid me the compliment
of asking me to name the assessors, and I proposed Mr. Aston Webb
(now Sir Aston) and Mr. Ernest Milner, neither of whom was at
the time known to me excepting by his work. The plans were
despatched, and the awards shortly after advertised, but, to my
keen disappointment, I was not even awarded a place. By the
next post, however, I received a personal letter from Mr. Milner43
Design of Parks and Gardens.
informing me that though my scheme was by far the best submitted,
they had no option but to disqualify me, because I had violated the
conditions. My plans had been sent in under my own name
instead of under a nom de plume, as directed by the advertisement.
The printed conditions made no mention of this, and I, concluding
that they gave the full instructions, had omitted to study the
original advertisement, so I lost the £100 premium.
After several other small competitions in which I had a good
proportion of successes, and having won from first to last over
five hundred pounds in premiums, I decided that I would retire
from the field and take part only in those competitions where I
was specially invited.
When I first took part in competitions my reasonable. desire
was to measure my ability against that of other men. After a long
period of whirling excitement, however—one set of competitive
plans treading fast upon the heels of, if not actually overlapping,
another—I realised that my original motives were no longer the
controlling passion, but that, on the contrary, I was pitting my
luck, rather than my skill, against that of other men. In short,
it was my way of having a flutter. I was becoming a gambler.
To make my introspection all the more accusing, I realised that
I had discovered and was using certain catchy tricks which are
well known to those who enter professional competitions, and which,
even where the plans are judged by a capable assessor, have much
to do with the result. The use of these tricks implies a moral declen-
sion from the high motives that inspire all good art. I was winning
by giving the Councillors what they wanted, instead of seeking to
raise their ideals of what was right and proper. It was my pastor,
the old doctor, who made me see the matter in its proper setting.
I can still recall his words: ‘“‘ You have a saying that you know
what you like, but does it ever occur to you that God Almighty
intended you to know what you ought to like? If you come to
think of it, you will discover that this knowing what you ought
to like is the measure of the difference between yourself and
your dog.” Only grey-haired old men of authority can afford to
speak like that.
Another reason which carried great weight with me was the
absurdity of allowing the men on local committees, who, however
well meaning and however practical and level-headed, could make
no pretension to art culture, to adjudicate upon schemes submitted
to them by men who had devoted a life’s study to their subject.44
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
In no other profession would the expert submit his decisions to
the judgment of the amateur, and I did not see why landscape
architecture should be an exception to this rule. I still think this
was a right and proper view to take in the interests of the profession,
and I have steadily endeavoured ever since to induce public
authorities to employ a professional assessor, and have even gone
the length of offering my services in this capacity without fee.
In every case the reply has been that the Council “know what
they want ”’!
Having told the story of my first success in a public-park
competition, let me narrate my last, which followed my decision
to desist from such pursuits. The circumstances I thought
justified the violation. Receiving a flattering letter from a borough
engineer to say that his Council had expressed a special wish
that I should compete, because the conditions prevailing were
similar to those which I had successfully solved in the Pottery
towns, I determined to submit a scheme. I was conscious that my
plans were equal to those of any of my previous winning schemes,
and better than most of them. They were carefully detailed with
special designs for the entrances, lodges, bandstands, and every
other important feature. It was therefore with some surprise that
I learnt that I was entirely out of the running. I was so puzzled
that I made a special journey to see the plans which were on
exhibition. Judge of my chagrin and disappointment when,
instead of discovering a new star, I saw that the award had been
given to the veriest amateur, whose architectural details were
simply pages from an lronmonger’s catalogue pasted on to sheets
oO atman’s paper! The explanation is simple. The members
of the Town Council understood ironmongers’ catalogues, but
they did not possess the least glimmering of the art of landscape
architecture.Illus.
lo. 12.
Str W. Cunvirre-Brooxs AND Guests AT GLEN TANA.
Mipptemass Bey, THomas H. Mawson, Hon. Marcaret Cross, Lapy Cross, Lorp Cross, Sir Geo. BADEN-PowELL, Bart.,
Micnonetre Mippiemass, Lapy BApEN-PowetL, Sik Wm. CunLiFFE-Brooks.GHARTER, V,
TWO YEARS’ COLLABORATION.
lia: arrangement with my friend Dan Gibson lasted just
two years, and, strange as it may appear, it was our success
that finally led to its dissolution. My idea in seeking the
partnership was to secure by our joint efforts a higher degree of
architectural expression in the gardens which I planned. I had
at this time no thought of proceeding beyond the legitimate limits
of landscape architecture, but such were Gibson’s genius and
skill in every department of applied design, that no sooner had
he made the round of my clients, than he was busy with every
conceivable kind of speciality undertaken by any architect.
Ecclesiastical, domestic, and garden designs, along with designs
for furniture, decorations, bookbinding, and jewellery, jostled one
another, and, as | feared sometimes under pressure of work
relegating garden design to a secondary place. In addition, he
collected for my clients, china, furniture, silver, pewter, tapestries,
prints, and miniatures, and every other imaginable artistic antique.
His knowledge of these matters was wide and extensive, he having
spent what veritably amounted to years of his life at the South
Kensington, the Wallace, and other collections ; and, in addition,
Rescemed tolhave anlinstinct tor discovering the genuine Saale
I was a keenly interested amateur, and would have been delighted
to develop this side of our practice, but I saw that the motto was,
‘Keep within your compass.” Gardens were my asset, and
antiques and horticulture were not homely companions.
To an extent unrealised at the time, however, there was a
keen bond of sympathy between us, and we both Gained much by
our collaboration—I by gaining a much wider appreciation of
architectural detail, and Gibson by a widened grasp of he
fundamentals of composition; so that within a_week of our
dissolution I was pouring work into Gibson’s office, the most
4546
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
important being a new, or almost new, house at Wood, South
Tawton, Devonshire (of which more hereafter), where together
we planned the house, garden, park, the home farm buildings, the
decorative furniture, he even going to the extent of selecting the
silver, china, and linen.
My principal contribution to Gibson's work was the preparation
of the first ground plan of the house and its relation to the terraces
and garden scheme. Gibson’s contribution to my own work (the
garden scheme) was the alteration to the lodge, to which I added
the gate piers, wrought-iron gates, and wing walls at a later period.
At the time that Gibson and I joined forces I had, in addition
to my public-park work, the work which I was still carrying out at
Graythwaite Hall for Colonel Sandys, and much other interesting
work, such as that for Sir William Cunliffe-Brooks at Glen Tana,
Aboyne; the Marquis of Bute at Mount-Stuart, Isle of Bute ;
Major Macrae-Gilstrap at Ballimore, Argyllshire ; Colonel
Campbell at Ormidale; Mr. Walter Whitehead at Colwyn Bay,
and many others.
Sir William Cunliffe-Brooks was in many ways the most
generous and yet the most tyrannical client for whom I have ever
worked. Nothing could exceed his interest in one’s work and
its development, and nothing was too much for him to do to get
me the right sort of introduction to his friends. To him I owed
my clients, Sir Alan Mackenzie; Lord Erroll, of Slains Castle,
Aberdeenshire ; and Mrs. Pickering, of Kincardine-O’Neil. My
introduction to Sir William came through a fine old Shropshire
squire, Mr. Frank Stanier of Peplow Hall, who warned me that
Sir William would prove a difficult client, at the same time
expressing confidence that I had the qualities to win his goodwill.
This I think I succeeded in doing completely, but doubtless I was
largely indebted to Sir William’s friends, who, whilst loving the
old man, had a just estimate of his temperament. ‘“ Now,
Mr. Mawson,” said one of these warning friends, ‘* whenever
Sir Wilham takes morning prayers, look out for a squall and go
very slow.” True enough this warning was understood by
everyone, who for another reason regretted his ministrations, as it
was a real joy to listen to Lady Brooks reading morning prayers :
she had the perfect voice and intonation for a set form of liturgy.
My new client had an absolute passion for building and
road-making, and kept a regular staff of two hundred and fifty
workmen. Before he died he had rebuilt Glen Tana House, andIllus. No. 13.
Illus. No. 14.
BRIDGE AND TOWER oF Ess, GLEN Tana, ABOYNE.47
Two Years’ Collaboration.
every farm-house and cottage on the estate. He also in a large
measure rebuilt, or added to, the village of Aboyne, and carried
out extensive improvements to Aboyne Castle, where his son-in-law,
the Marquis of Huntly, resided. He was a tremendous worker,
and methodical withal. Every morning at six in summer and
seven in winter he was downstairs with his secretary dictating
replies to the vast correspondence which he conducted.
One morning Lord Swansea, passing through the verandah,
remarked as he saw his host immersed in work, “ I tell you what,
Brooks ; | wouldn't have your job for ten thougand a year.
“ Neither would I,” grunted Sir William, a reply which, I imagine,
Was well'within the mark!
I have said that my client was methodical in his work, and
his professional advisers, whoever they might be, had to conform
to his plans.
Promptly at seven o'clock in the morning the piper’s wail
began, first indistinctly as he left his cottage, and then by degrees
gathering power as he approached. At five minutes past he was
going the round of the house, piping as if to waken the dead. At
ten minutes past a footman came with a cup of tea, informing you
that your bath was ready; then breakfast at 7- 45 ; prayers at
8-20 ; next the carriage and pair with the piper (who was general
factotum) at 8-30, and away to the minute. Every day there was
a big programme of work. First the widening of the bridge of Ess,
then planning out on the ground the lines for new roads and
carriage-ways, then on a mile to where an important fence wall was
being erected. This I believe to be the finest dry walling in Great
Britain, a fact on which my client greatly prided himself. From
this point we would drive to where a pipe track was being laid
to supply the village of Aboyne with water, and at each place he
went into the most minute discussion of every detail of plan and
construction, making any alteration which suggested itself to his
fertile brain. This was one of the difficulties experienced by
every adviser, whether architect or engineer. ‘There was no
finality. A poor man cannot afford to change a contract; a rich
one can do so as often as fancy suggests.
By this time we were ready for a lunch of sandwiches, followed
by a cup of tea, always carried in a stone bottle, packed in a
carefully lined and upholstered basket, for in those days thermos
flasks were not invented.
In half an hour we would be on our way again to a farm-house48
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and outbuildings in the process of reconstruction. Here there
would be many details to settle with the masons, carpenters,
plumbers, and others, plans to be gone into and corrections to be
made. From here we would go to Ladywood, near Aboyne,
where my client was laying out an estate for feuing, which is a
system of perpetual leasehold, the purchaser of the land paying
a ground rent annually. This estate, by the way, was a gem for
the purpose. It was advantageously situated close by the lovely
river Dee, and was beautifully inset with the surrounding hills,
and plentifully interspersed with the native Scots fir.
Leaving the feuing estate we would go perhaps to Aboyne
Castle, the ancient seat of the Huntlys, where my client would
unfold his big plans for additions and improvements. Then we
would fall to discussing the arrangement of the gardens and home
policies and new avenues.
From the Castle we would drive in the direction of Dinnett
and inspect all Sir William’s farms en route, discuss also sites for
new schools, look at one or two fishing lodges, and so to Dinnett.
A halt by the roadside for another cup of tea would mark off this
portion of the day’s work, for it was now about four o clock.
hen on again, calling on the way home to see some more men
engaged on widening roads, and in the same neighbourhood the
foresters fencing-in rough land to be planted in the autumn. If
we were lucky we would reach Glen Tana by 6-45.
For such a wild spot Sir William seemed to have a wonderful
system of letter delivery. At some prearranged place in the
morning’s drive a gillie would meet him with the morning's budget ;
in the afternoon at another place with the afternoon’s letters.
These were opened by the piper, and as we went along handed in
turn to Sir William, who read them page at a time, marked them
with a blue or a red pencil, and placed them, according to his
classification, in one of his four capacious letter pockets, to be
dealt with next morning whilst the rest of the household, excepting
his secretary, were asleep.
Every day our journeyings were varied somewhat, and
throughout my stay at Glen Tana it was my business to spend
each day with my client, and to be consulted about every conceivable
matter. My principal task, however, was to advise on the lay-out
of the roads meeting at the Bridge of Ess, the wing walls extending
beyond the bridge, and the new entrance to the Park.
For hours sometimes we would discuss and then peg out49
Two Years’ Collaboration.
our lines, reviewing the operation over and over again until my
client was satisfied. Then Sir William would turn to his foreman
mason and say," Well, Donald, if only I were younger and richer,
I would do all that Mr. Mawson advises me to do’’: to which
Donald would reply, ‘‘ Weel, Sir Wullyum, ye'd better get on
wi the work, for yell ne’er be younger ; and perhaps if you were
richer, someone would be aye the poorer’; or some other bit of
distinctively Gaelic pleasantry would be exchanged.
On the estate there was a unique little church contrived out
of the ruins of an old manor-house kitchen, on which Sir William
and Mr. Trufhtt, his architect, had expended much ingenuity.
It was divided into nave and choir ; the floor was laid to a pattern
in granite and red porphyry, the roof timbers were of locally
grown peeled pine, overlaid with home-grown pine boards, and
covered with rough slate flags. A strange but Gothic effect was
produced by rows of stags’ skulls, their antlers making a perfect
forest overhead, many of them “ royals.’’ Inscribed upon each
skull was the name or initials of the sportsman who had brought
the stag down. The seats were constructed in semi-rustic fashion,
out of home-grown timbers, and upholstered with home-grown
wool and covered with deerskins. In one of the window slits
was a beautiful stained-glass window depicting the Saint of the
Forest. The effect upon the mind was that you were in a baronial
hall, or in the comfortable private chapel of an old baron. In the
church an Anglican service was held every week, on one Sunday
in the morning and on the next in the afternoon, alternating
morning and afternoon with the adjoining parish of Kincardine-~
O'Neil, thus enabling one priest, the Rev. Mr. Nash, to act as
incumbent of the two parishes.
At dinner on the first Sunday after my arrival Lady Brooks
asked me what I thought of their little church, to which | replied
that it was both quaint and beautiful. This answer did not seem
quite to satisfy my hostess, so I continued: “Do you wish me
to be critical? If you do, I would venture to add that although
I think it so beautiful, it seems strange to me that you should
apply the trophies of sport to the decoration of your church.”
To which my hostess replied: ‘“‘ We consider these stags’ heads
the most beautiful thing the forest produces, and that is why we
use them to beautify our church.”
Much to my surprise, one Good Friday morning the carriage
and pair came to the door as usual. “I hope,” said Sir William,
E50
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
“you do not mind going to the Bridge of Ess to peg out the
position of the new entrance to the Park.” “Certainly not,” I
replied. ‘“ My church imposes no special restrictions.”’ “That's
all right,” said my client. “ We will drive on to church later.”
ne away we went, and began laying down and discussing our
ines.
When we were at our busiest, with several men driving in
pegs, Mr. Nash drove past, scarcely nodding, but looking very
much annoyed. “Sir William,” I said,“ Mr. Nash does not approve. ”
Sir William : “ What matter ? ”
‘* How if he refers to us in his sermon this morning?”
‘He daren’t do it.”
Well, I wouldn’t like to bet on that.”’
‘T say he dare not do it. I pay his stipend.”’
‘“T think Mr. Nash is a courageous man, and he will speak
that which he believes it his duty to say, regardless of his stipend.”
Sir William was a fearful man when upset, and it was quite
clear I had upset him, and so he never uttered another word on
the way to church, and we arrived late.
True to his principles, Nash chastised us publicly about the
neglect of Holy Day. “ It matters not whether you are servants,
professional men, or masters, it is your bounden duty to obey
the commands of your Holy Church. I say it matters not what or
who you are; and yet it does matter, for those who are exalted
have the greater responsibility.”
I shall never forget the row between vicar and squire in the
churchyard after the service. I enjoyed it. Nash maintained his
ground. Never did an A Becket reprove his king with greater
courage and candour. Nothing that Sir William said had the
slightest effect upon the clergyman. He spoke from his conscience,
believing that there was no appeal. I do not say that his words
reached Sir William’s conscience, nor do I maintain that conscience
in such matters is unerringly right ; but the vicar administered a
castigation, and it was sensibly felt by my client.
Sir William was difficult to manage for days after that, and so
I made an excuse to return home; but I paid many subsequent
visits, and so did also my partner, Gibson.
t Glen Tana I met many interesting people, including
Tommy Gibson Bowles, who was a terrible tease when in the
humour, and Sir George Baden Powell, a charming man and a keen
politician, who, though a Conservative, was a strong Free Trader,51
Two Years’ Collaboration.
and not afraid to attack an opponent. He had the knack of doing
this quite drastically and completely, without hurting the other’s
feelings. This is a wonderful gift possessed by very few politicians.
Sir William was one of the best raconteurs I have ever known,
and he himself had many interesting experiences. I remember,
for instance, telling him a story about Gladstone, related to me by
my client, Colonel Sandys, describing how the veteran statesman,
with his personal charm, won the Midlothian election. “I
believe every word of that story,” said Sir William, “ for I have
experienced the fascination of his evil eye. One night,” he
continued, “ when a very important discussion was on, Gladstone
fixed me with his eye and literally dragged me into the Government
lobby ; but just then he transfixed another victim, and the spell
being broken, I bolted !”’
Life at Glan Tana was in many respects most interesting.
Each evening the gillies deposited in the dining-room the kill of
the day, whether of rod or gun, and then the company rose
ceremoniously, inspected the kill, paid compliments, and heard
comparisons from Bailey, the head gillie. One evening something
went wrong, and Bailey was in disgrace. “Do you know you
are a fool, Bailey?” said Sir William. ‘‘ Yes, Sir William,”
replied Bailey, touching his hat, or rather his hatless head.
The next evening it was the butler’s turn, and this time for
something for which he was not in the least responsible. But our
host was so impatient that poor Parker could not get in a word
of explanation. Later, someone quietly explained what had
happened, and Sir William decided to make ample reparation. At
the end of dinner Sir William called to the butler. “ Parker, stand
here, for I wish to explain as publicly as I made my charge against
you, that I was wrong. I wish to say that you are not as great a
fool as I thought you were. Does that satisfy you?” “ Yes,
Sir William,” was the docile answer.
hese were merely his foibles. The apparently irascible old
martinet had many lovable qualities which endeared him to a
large circle of friends. His benefactions were on the grand scale.
He was a most considerate employer, a generous landlord, but
the quality one most loves to dwell upon is his fondness for
children, with whom he was on intimate terms, and children’s
hospitals must have gained much from this attribute. Two hours
of almost every night during his later life was spent in making
albums for the hospitals. He must have spent pounds weekly52
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
on pictorial magazines for cutting up, and on linen, mounted paper,
and books wherein to paste the pictures.
To Gibson and me he was a generous client. His capacity
for rapidly mastering the contents and incidence of our plans,
which he always thoroughly and completely understood, was
phenomenal. It was not too much for him if he received plans by
every post. These he would return with his blue-pencil notes,
and ask for amended drawings, for which he did not mind in the
least paying; but although most of the plans were carried out, the
work as executed was always a travesty of our designs—so much
so that the only pieces I remember with any satisfaction were the
lay-out of the roads and entrance at the Bridge of Ess and the
sub-division lay-out for the Ladywood feuing plan at Aboyne. The
most ambitious scheme we prepared for our client was for new
avenues and entrances, extensive lawns and gardens, and a new
carriage court at Aboyne Castle. This work was never even
commenced. It was his intention to carry it out, but his death
supervened before he could get sufficient of his large staff of
workmen disengaged from the then schemes in hand.
As already stated, it was at Glen Tana that I met Sir Alan
Mackenzie, Sir William’s neighbour at Glen Muick, near Ballater,
for whom my partner and I practically rebuilt the family mansion
of Brackley, the dower-house, to which we added terraces and
gardens and a new avenue. In later years we carried out still
further works at Brackley for Sir Victor, the son and successor
of Sir Alan.
Sir Alan was a very charming and lovable man, intensely fond
of his home, and, as he once told me, never miserable except when
in London. Like many Scotch landlords, he was a very keen
forester, and formed many new and extensive plantations on his
estate. He once told me that he took a personal interest in every
farmer and cottager on his estate, adding that he did not believe
in the absent landlord. In contrast with our Glen Tana work,
that for Sir Alan went through almost without alteration.
Sir Alan introduced me to Lord Erroll, who had just retired
from the command of the “ Blues,” and who, after the South
African war, was in residence at the family seat, Slains Castle,
Cruden Bay, near Peterhead. By request, one day I broke my
journey at Aberdeen, where I stayed the night, and proceeded next
morning to Ellon, where a conveyance awaited me, as the railway
to Cruden Bay was not laid at that time. The morning was fine53
Two Years’ Collaboration.
but cloudy, and the drive very enjoyable. There had been a good
deal of rain, and more was in prospect. At Cruden Bay there was
a fairly large fisherman’s village, and at the end of the main street
stood the entrance to Slains Castle, approached by a winding
driveway. The Castle is most romantically situated on the cliffs
overlooking the Kyles of Buchan. It is not old, and architecturally
is not massive enough in appearance to suit the huge surrounding
rocks or the cliffs. It has none of the impressive stability or
grandeur of the ruined coast castles of Scotland, nor is it
characteristic of the architecture of Aberdeenshire, though the
ground it occupies is spacious. The most satisfactory part
of the Castle is its entrance, which stands at the top of a flight of
fourteen wide steps, and I imagine from its south-west exposure
that these steps must be almost inaccessible during strong
winds. As I drove up to this entrance, Lord Erroll, a soldierly
looking man, apparently in his prime, was waiting to welcome me.
A moment before I had noticed a hospital nurse at one of the
windows, and my client immediately explained that Lady Erroll
could not see me until dinner, as she was suffering from acute
neuralgia, but that he would show me round the place and explain
some of the improvements which they hoped I might find
practicable.
After an hour’s study of these problems I noticed a lady
dressed in a sou’-wester, mackintosh, and wader boots, with a
fishing-rod over her shoulder, whilst a man, evidently one of the
footmen, was marching behind carrying a pannier. Apparently
the two were out on a fishing expedition, and I mentally wished
them good luck and went on with my work.
About 1-30 we went in to lunch, and met a well-known
litterateur and his wife, to whom I was introduced. In the
afternoon I asked for a couple of labourers, and at once began my
survey, as there were no plans available to a larger scale than the
ordnance maps, which were too small for my purpose.
At dinner I met Lady Erroll, who regretted she had not been
able to meet me on arrival, and we at once plunged into conversation
concerning the possibilities of growing shrubs for gardens and
plantations, about which she was extraordinarily optimistic ; but
somehow the dinner did not go with that splendid swing which the
hungriest spot on the East Coast seemed to demand. Meantime,
his lordship made a remark which I did not catch, but presently
the Countess replied, ‘‘ Well, my dear, it really was excusable”;
?54
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
then holding her two hands as a lady will do (proving her inability
to measure when explaining the length of anything), she began to
describe the length of something, but changing the length at each
moment. She went on, ‘ Without exaggeration, it was. “A
concertina trout, my lord,” interjected Mr. Sturgis. Then I-
learnt that the lady I had seen bent upon fishing was Lady Erroll,
who had hooked and lost a big sea-trout, with which she was in
difficulties, when the footman, in his excitement, jumped into
the river and spoilt a new suit of livery. Possessing a practical
mind, my host did not think that any trout, however long and
heavy it might be, was worth such a sacrifice !
My partner and I carried out considerable work at Slains
Castle, including an architectural carriage court, tennis lawns, and
croquet lawns, and in this way we contrived a little shelter for some
of the hardier maritime pines, sea buckthorn, rosemary, and a
few other trees and shrubs which may generally be grown on the
sea coast. Our plantations round the Castle were, however, rather
disappointing, though lower down, in the direction of Cruden,
the new plantations of sea buckthorn, gorse, broom, and pines
succeeded fairly well. On the whole, I have come to the conclusion
that there are certain places on the East Coast which scarcely
justify the employment of a landscape architect unless he can
also plan the house and arrange for a walled-in and protected
garden, with the house itself as a wind-screen.
My visits to Slains were, however, very pleasant, and the
results not perhaps considered by my clients to be so unsatisfactory
as | myself thought, as I was asked at a much later date to plan
for them another garden in Surrey.
One of the most interesting recollections of my visits to Slains
Castle was of the family history, in which Lord Erroll was apparently
being carefully coached by his old nurse, then a pensioner, and
whose forebears had been in the family service for over two
hundred years. She could recount every stirring incident and every
bit of romance and tragedy in the military, political, religious, and
social history of the Erroll family, and her pride in it was only
equalled by that of the family she and her forebears had served,
whom she regarded as having many times saved Scotland and the
Empire. Needless to say, old Margaret was a person of some
Importance.
Another notable client who came to me for advice was Lord
Bute, whose name I have already mentioned, and who wished topremoenra
sr =a
er a
gaa aI
= a
SS ——Illus. No. 15.
SHRUBLANDS, WINDERMERE.55
Two Years’ Collaboration.
consult me respecting the improvement of his grounds at Mount
Stuart, and the construction of a Via Dolorosa, or Way of the
Cross, of an unusual kind. Mount Stuart House had just been
rebuilt, along with a beautiful private chapel, at a cost, it is said,
little short of a million pounds, to the design of Sir Rowan Anderson,
the famous Edinburgh architect.
Like many who have adopted Roman Catholicism, Lord Bute
was more Romish than the Romans. He was an authority on
medieval history and many matters relating to the ancient guilds
and crafts, on which he had written learned treatises. Naturally
a “ book-worm,” with his mental strength impaired by physical
weakness, my client had become a recluse, seldom walking in the
open air. Lady Bute explained this at our first interview, and at
the same time threw out the hint that my chief claim to her goodwill
would be my ability to tempt Lord Bute out of doors. If only |
succeeded in doing this, she would be amply repaid even if I did
not succeed in persuading him to carry out a fractional part of
my proposals. There seemed to be no difficulty in getting the
Marquis out, whatever the weather, and I found him a delightful
man, full of his special subjects, and quite ready to talk about them.
Somewhat to my surprise, he was also well versed in horticultural
lore, with a special preference for conifers. In his time he had
been an experimenter, and he often spoke to me about his vineyards
in South Wales and the liquors he made from his vintage.
The first year's work I undertook at Mount Stuart was the
transformation of a rather uninteresting stream which flowed
down the wooded hills north of the house, between artificial walled
banks. We varied its monotonous, even slope, gathering up the
flow into pools at places and then projecting it over rugged
cascades formed with the boulders plentifully sprinkled about in
the adjoining woods. The principal waterfalls were arranged
as foreground to the view from a much-used bridge. For this work
I had as foreman a capable Scotsman named Calder, who had a
genius for realising one’s ideas from rough sketches. The result
when complete was most beautiful, and much more like generous,
wayward nature than the stream as we found it. Along the banks
we made meandering woodland walks and laid out wild gardens,
which, like the rocky stream, greatly pleased my client.
On one of my visits the Marquis gave me a rough plan of the
Way of the Cross in Jerusalem, which had been prepared for him
by the Bishop of Clifton, and asked me to study the possibilities56
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of creating a corresponding “ Way” and its “ Stations ’’ on the
wooded slopes behind Mount Stuart House, which are known to
all who travel from Glasgow to the Isle of Bute. Indeed, they are
the most prominent feature of the island, and give a luxuriant
aspect to this part of it. This work was something quite new to
me, but I seized upon the idea, and, truth to tell, my ultra-
Protestant upbringing did not impose any barrier, as I was quite
able to enter sympathetically into the ideals underlying my work,
and realised that for my client the walk to Calvary meant much.
Never was there a more ideal setting for a memorial and
sacrificial way—the solemn majesty of the mature beech trees,
with their almost classical beauty, the clean silver-grey of the
tree trunks, the soft velvety moss covering the ground, and
overhead the tender green of the opening leaves silhouetted
against a blue sky, bespoke the sentiment perfectly, whilst the
gentle lapping on the pebbly shore had a voice which was
distinctly sedative. This was indeed a spot for meditation.
The roads between each station and the next ascended all the
time, until at last the highest plateau was reached, from which
the storms had partly cleared the trees. Here we fixed the spot
for Calvary, whilst in a dell one hundred and fifty feet away was
the perfect spot for the Church of the Sepulchre.
When we had together fixed the routes, we discussed details,
with the result that my friend Gibson was asked to prepare sketches
for the oratories at each station, the Cross of Calvary, and for
the Church of the Sepulchre, work exactly suited to his wonderful
genius for the interpretation of medievalism. I have never seen
a more beautiful set of drawings, and I regret exceedingly that
all our office records of this work were destroyed. I remember
somewhat accurately, however, the design for the great crucifix,
thirty feet high, which as seen from the Kyles of Bute would have
been silhouetted against the sky. I remember also something of
the design for the bronze doors and grille to the tiny Church of
the Sepulchre.
Most of the road-making for this interesting work was laid
down, but meanwhile the strength of the Marquis was diminishing,
and the architectural adjuncts were never executed.
__ I may perhaps add one little incident of interest before closing
this account of our work at Mount Stuart. On one occasion |
was watching the head gardener planting a hedge of Turner's
Crimson Rambler Rose, at that time in great favour, when57,
Two Years’ Collaboration.
Mr. James Dickson, a famous Irish rose-grower, called on his
annual round. “ Mr. Mawson,” he said, “‘ the sight of that rose
always makes me ill, for it always reminds me of the loss of a
fortune. For thirty years it was growing in our nurseries amongst
a batch of rose species imported from China, and we never saw a
penny in it. Then Charles Turner, of Slough, also imported a
set of roses from the same district, which flowered the next season,
and amongst them was this scarlet rambler, in which they saw a
commercial asset of great possibilities. Immediately they began
to propagate by every method known to the expert rose-grower,
filling one propagating house after another. Next year they
exhibited the plants in flower at the Royal Horticultural Society’s
how, where it created a sensation and an unprecedented demand.
Of course we hurried up when we saw what was wanted, but
Turner came in at 10s. 6d. to 21s. ; we were ready when the price
had gone down to 2s. 6d. Only think of it, Mr. Mawson—we had
that rose growing and blooming for thirty years.”
The agent for the Bute estate was his lordship’s cousin,
Colonel John Stuart, with whom I sometimes stayed at Foley
House, Rothesay. He introduced me to Major Macrae Giltrap,
who had just purchased Ballimore, an extensive property on
Loch Fyne in Argyllshire. The house, designed by Hamilton
of Glasgow at a time when Scotch domestic architecture was at a
low ebb, was being remodelled and extended by William Leiper,
R.S.A., of Glasgow, an able exponent of the Scotch Baronial style,
and a man whom | came to know intimately as a friend greatly
admired, and with whom I had the pleasure of working on many
subsequent occasions.
The journey to Ballimore is by boat from Rothesay to
Tighnabruaich, and I remember that on my first visit I saw
Clianthus Damperi (the Australian Elephant Flower), which I had
always regarded as a greenhouse climber, in full flower growing
on the wall of the Royal Hotel. In these days there were no motor-
cars: the roads were very bad, and the drive of eleven miles to
Ballimore was sometimes a painful experience.
The gardens were originally unimportant and commonplace,
but the house occupied an imposing site overlooking an expansive
lawn to the south, a ravine and wooded background on the west,
and Loch Fyne on the north. My new client was anxious to
possess a garden which should be a suitable setting to the house,
and a source of pleasure and profit to his family and friends.58
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
I prepared a general plan showing the lay-out of the entire
garden, and my partner prepared the details for the terrace garden,
house, and bridge. The greater part of this work was carried
out successfully, but the isolation of Ballimore, and thus the
difficulty of obtaining suitable labour, were very great, and we
had to fall back on the most costly of all labour, that of the fishermen,
who generally work very spasmodically and inefficiently when
employed on ground work. The great opportunity we had was
the cascading of the stream at the bottom of the dell, which flowed
in a northerly direction and was confined between meandering
walls. For this work we had splendid moss-covered granite,
admirably suited to the work, lying within easy reach of the stream.
It was successfully carried through for me by Mr. Pulham, of
rock-building fame, but the stone bridge which was to grip the
main terraces with the opposite bank and the rose garden which
we proposed to form on the level of the terrace, were never carried
through, and I think that the scheme as a whole greatly suffered
from this omission.
From Ballimore I was introduced to Colonel Campbell of
Ormidale, for whom I made certain plans for the improvement
of his gardens, but how much or how little of my proposals were
ever realised I do not know.
During our two years of collaboration (1898 and 1899) Gibson
not only carried out much work in Scotland, but also in England,
the most important of which was for Walter Whitehead, at that
time senior surgeon of the Manchester Infirmary, and a man of
considerable wealth, who had just purchased the Flagstaff, Colwyn
Bay, a famous view-point which visitors and residents alike had
made their own.
hen the purchase of the property was announced there was
the keenest disappointment and much railing against the Urban
District Council for their failure to acquire the property for the
public. For this site we were instructed to design a large
country house, with stables, gate-houses, terraces, gardens, and
new drives.
Our client met the opposition to the sequestration of the
Flagstaff by promising to allow the public free access to the
property when he had adapted it, only retaining for his own
private use a small and really unimportant part—viz., the immediate
surroundings of the new residence. Under the impression that
they had to deal with a liberal resident, those responsible actually59
Two Years’ Collaboration.
conveyed to the new owner a cattle pound without which the
lower lodge entrance could not have been made.
In view of the promise given, I prepared my plans on the
principle of a semi-public pleasance, but had to alter them to the
needs of the owner of a private place, and this was the last I ever
heard of the Flagstaff being restored to the use of the public.
In the meantime, the old pound has been incorporated in
the grounds. The work, so far as it progressed, was very interesting ;
indeed, I became so enthusiastic that I asked, and was granted,
permission to alter some ‘of my own work, of which more in a
later chapter. To-day the Flagstaff is complete in almost every
particular, excepting for the residence which was to crown the
site. This was never erected, but the gardens and plantations
show what can be done on a very difficult and exposed site, and its
educational value was to me considerable.
Another garden of a totally different character was designed
for the Misses Ashton, of Little Onn Hall, Gnosall, Staffordshire,
a comfortable, commodious, and even beautiful Tudor house
occupying the site of an old monastery. The plans for this work
are interesting as showing the progress I had made in the direction
of a more ordered lay-out; most of my designs being at once
carried out by my very appreciative and generous clients, who were
fully in sympathy with them. These plans are illustrated in
“The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”
I mention this fact because there is no doubt that my leanings
towards that which my clients called the ‘“ formal” manner
disturbed some of my friends and repelled others. This fact is
well shown by the fate of our work for Mr. Naylor, of Cuerdon
Hall, near Warrington. Mr. Naylor, who posed as an art collector
and man of taste, asked me to prepare a design for his gardens,
which certainly needed remodelling. In it were awful examples
of oyster-shell garden houses, white spar rockeries, and rustic
absurdities, which appealed to him as not quite the thing. The
site was a very difficult one, with the house on the lowest ground ;
but there were opportunities, and these we endeavoured to interpret.
I made a careful survey with levels, and on the data secured
composed my plans, bringing in Gibson to assist with the
architectural details. Together we produced one of the best
designs so far turned out of the office, and I remember with what
pride I showed them to Mr. Naylor, and the cold douche which
I experienced when he remarked with great severity: “ ThisTllas. No. 16.
<a —
Tue Corsets, WINDERMERE.61
Two Years’ Collaboration.
isn't art. If I wanted straight lines I could have done them
myself.”
I merely relate this incident for the purpose of showing the
deplorable state into which landscape architecture had fallen.
Mr. Naylor represented a wide class of garden-owners who had
no conception of garden design beyond that debased form
illustrated in current literature and characteristic of the efforts
of the nursery gardener.
Another client of a somewhat similar outlook and temperament
was at one time a Nonconformist minister, but becoming a London
financier, had done well in the City. With his great wealth he had
purchased a beautiful property in Sussex, on which he had built
what he was pleased to call a Tudor house, in the most flambuoyant
red terracotta. The site demanded building materials of soft
silver-greys and dun-brown and russety reds, with here and there a
splash of faded purple. What, then, was one to do with a house
like this dominating such a site? The first impulse was to surround
it with green cloistered courts enclosed by pleached lines of limes
and rose-covered pergolas. This was my fatal mistake. For I
was afterwards told, what I already suspected, that my client
had designed the house himself, after scouring all England for
Tudor details. Every conceit of this period was somehow woven
into the house, together with a few strange inventions of his own
to give a touch of modernity to the whole. And, of course, my
pleached alleys and pergolas would hide it all. Precisely! Here
again I failed to impress my generous client, and had to lament
the loss of further work which might have beenleverea profitable.
However, I took it all stoically, though regretfully, and we parted
friends. Nevertheless, I should have liked to have seen that
garden materialise !
One of the last schemes on which Gibson and I collaborated
was a formal garden at Ashton-on-Ribble for W. W. Galloway, Esq.,
a partner in the famous firm of Horrockses, Crewdson and Co., of
Preston, who gave us practically a free hand, though studying with
care each detail as it came along. About the same time we planned
the house and gardens at Brockhole, Windermere, for W. Gaddum,
Esq., a Manchester man with a passion for Lakeland, and the
formate possessor of a beautiful site on the shores of the lake
between Troutbeck Bridge and the Low Wood Hotel. Both
house and gardens are so well known to visitors to Windermere
and the district as to need little description. Gibson wasThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
entirely responsible for the design of the house, while I arranged
the terraces, gardens, entrance drives, and plantations.
Much other work of a purely architectural character for
churches, chapels, cottages, small houses (including thirteen
cottages of varying accommodation for members of my own
family) was flowing into the office, and there is no doubt that
prospects for the future were very bright. Moreover, while
Gibson was responsible for most of the architectural side of the
practice, he always consulted me in respect to planning, especially
when considering the ground plan of the house in relation to the
garden. In the same way, I had the greatest assistance and sanest
criticism from Gibson whenever he felt he could help. Both,
therefore, regretted the dissolution of our partnership, but we
realised that our interests were too varied, and interfered, on my
part, with the steady pursuit of landscape architecture ; moreover,
it created difficulties for me when I was asked to collaborate with
other architects. Our break did not affect our personal relationship.
My second son became a pupil in Gibson’s office the week following
the dissolution of our partnership, and during the week that it was
dissolved I introduced him to the best client he ever had, William
Lethbridge, of Wood, South Tawton, Devonshire.Illus. No. 17.
Wycu Cross Piace, Forest Row, THE RESIDENCE OF DoucLas FRESHFIELD, Esq.
Illus. No. 18.
Wycnu Cross Prace.—Tue Garpens BeLow THE MAIN TERRACECHAPTER VI.
I BECOME AN AUTHOR.
me to become the author of a book on garden design. Following
out this idea, I had for years been collecting data, eventually
deciding upon the title, “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”
The idea for the plan, arrangement, and scope finally adopted,
first occurred to me after reading the concluding paragraph of the
third edition of Edward Kemp’s excellent book, “ How to Lay Out
a Garden,’ which runs as follows :-—
It is much to be regretted that architects and landscape gardeners do not
more usually work together, in complete unison, from the very commencement of
any undertaking in which they are jointly consulted ; and he who would produce a
work in which the relation of the two arts to each other, and the elements of garden
architecture and of architectural gardening, should be skilfully handled and tastefully
illustrated, would deserve the thanks of the entire community.
| HAVE already hinted at some of the reasons which prompted
The compilation of such a book was an audacious enterprise,
for which at the time I was not fully equipped, but the fact that
a long time had elapsed since I first began to collect material
proved a great advantage, because I had travelled far from the
old and more insular position to a greater appreciation of architecture
in relation to gardens. The many gardens constructed to my
designs showed this evolutionary process, and the collaboration
with my friend Dan Gibson certainly accelerated my progress in
the direction of a logical blending of the architectural with the
horticultural. Formerly Nature with me had been conductor, and
Art first fiddle ; now the order was reversed, with Art wielding the
conductor's baton. I seldom lost my sense of the value which
comes by contrast, and my love of plants and flowers doubtless
saved me from the vagaries and banalities of the extreme cult
of architectural gardening.
My conception of architecture was not yet very highly
developed, and leaned towards simplicity, quaintness, and the
63
} I
vdThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
picturesque. ‘This is clearly indicated by Illus. Nos. 15 and 16,
the latter showing a small house I designed and built for myself,
and the other one planned a year later for my brother Robert, both
at Windermere. In these | adhered to the architectural traditions
of the Westmorland dales. Similarly, I would at the time have
slavishly followed the traditions of any locality wherein I was
working, a state of mind which was doubtless, to some extent,
the natural result of my passion for the works and views of
Professor Ruskin.
Notwithstanding, by the time I was ready to collect and
arrange the material, my training, experience, and outlook on
garden design justified, I thought, my desire to fulfil Kemp’s
wish, and to write a book defining the relationship between art
and nature as applied to gardens. For a book of this character
there was an undoubted need, and I was assured that if a satis-
factory work were produced, written from a new standpoint, it
would win the approval of the garden-loving public.
A description of my methods of working on my books may
be of interest, especially to others who are trying to make time,
in a very busy life, for literary composition. My practice had so
vastly increased and was spread over so much greater territory that
I was often several nights in the train in a week, my travels totalling
at least twenty thousand miles a year. My days were occupied
in consulting clients, sometimes making a survey, meeting
contractors, and discussing the progress of the work in detail with
the landscape foreman in charge; and the evenings, if staying
the night with my client or at an hotel, in working out details for
further elaboration by the office staff at Windermere. It will thus
be seen that, except when in the train, my leisure moments were
few, and thus, like Kemp, I was compelled to do my writing there
or in odd moments when waiting for a connection. The drawback
to writing under these conditions is the lack of continuity, both
in style and in sequence, and I soon found it almost impossible
to proceed without first working out a plan of the chapters, and
then of the correlation of all the points to be covered by each
chapter. Once I had settled this arrangement to my satisfaction,
the problem of connected writing was much simplified. My
method of overcoming the difficulties mentioned has proved so
satisfactory that, to a greater or lesser extent, I have followed it
ever since. Still, the conditions under which I worked were not
such as to promote logical sequence in my writing.I Become an Author.
Fortunately my fidus Achates, John Dyer, has a great capacity
for editorial work, and to him I handed my rough MS. a chapter
at atime. This was then typewritten, put into its proper order, and
corrected. [ then took the “ copy away with me on my journeys,
re-editing it and arranging the numbers and order of the necessary
illustrations.
A point of real difficulty in the preparation of my first book
arose from the necessity for selecting actual examples of garden
design to illustrate and apply the theories and principles of design
and methods of construction discussed. Obviously, I could
appreciate more vividly the problems presented by my own work,
its difficulties, its failures, and, to a large extent, its successes,
than I could those of the work of others, and, at every point in
my writing, examples to illustrate the matter immediately under
discussion flashed to my mind, sometimes because the struggle
with difficult problems had produced exceptionally happy results,
at other times from the point of view that it is from our failures
that we learn. On the other hand, I fully appreciated the difficulty
of so doing without placing undue emphasis on the personal ego.
In an autobiography one may, and indeed must, live again one’s
own little failures, triumphs, and experiences ;_ but in what is, after
all, a text-book, one has always the feeling that the personal
element should as far as possible be kept in the background.
Thinking the matter over carefully, however, I came to the
conclusion that the loss to my book would be so real unless |
drew freely on the results of my own experiences, used my own
garden plans, and described, both by photographs and by letterpress,
the details of my own work and the motives underlying it, that
any criticism which resulted from my action in so doing must be
faced. Criticism, generally, though by no means always, couched
in terms intended to be constructive and helpful, has undoubtedly
resulted, but I have the further excuse for the course I have taken
in this matter, if excuse were necessary, that all the great writers
on garden design whose names I have so often mentioned, adopted
the same methods in their books, and obviously from the same
motive.
Of the illustrations, all those representing plans and working
drawings were prepared by my staft from those actually used on
the ground ; but in the design of the cover and the chapter headings,
and of the perspective views, I had the invaluable help of my old
friend the late C. E. Mallows, and my colleague Dan Gibson.
FThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Finally, the whole of my manuscript was read over for me
by the Reverend Eric Robertson, at this time Vicar of St. John’s,
Windermere. Readers of Mr. Robertson’s well-known work,
“ Wordsworthshire,” will appreciate the value of his criticism and
5 | suggestions.
The writing of the preface, | was warned, was a matter of
supreme importance, for, said my friends, the reviewer is a busy
man who judges from dns portion of the book whether or not the
remainder is worthy of an extended study. Apart from this
aspect of the matter, it appeared to me that the preface should
define the art I was seeking to promote.
The following extracts show fairly conclusively my own
position in relation to it :—
Garden-making, it has been said, is the only art in which, owing to accidental
development and unlooked-for groupings, the realisation surpasses the original
conception. A caustic critic, seizing upon this statement, has referred to landscape
gardening as an art which lie upon accident for its effects. Whilst not fully
admitting the justice of this criticism, it must be allowed that the writings and
practice of many who have undertaken to lay out gardens have given cause for it.
The responsibility of this does not, however, rest entirely with the landscape
gardener, for no such desirable object as garden-making has suffered so much
from the inattention of those who were most capable of guiding and advising.
This is the more remarkable when we consider the immense interest which has
been taken in horticulture during the last fifty years.
In the course of an extensive practice, having had considerable opportunities
for studying gardens, more especially garden design in relation to the house and
its architectural character, I have realised the fact that one must always be a
complement of the other. I therefore, on the one hand, sympathise with those
architects who claim the right to design the setting to their houses, and, on the
other, with those landscape gardeners who have felt, more especially in the later
years of practice, that to ensure a successful garden it is necessary to have some
part in the arrangement and disposal of the house on the site, and in the selection
of the site itself. In either case the range of subjects to be mastered before this
ideal can be reached is so great as to make many men shrink from undertaking it.
By giving in a handy form experience gained in the special department of garden
design, I venture to hope that some of the difficulties which now face architects
who essay to design the gardens, will be considerably lessened. If I fail in this,
I still hope to show that garden designers are much more in sympathy with
architectural ideals than recent writers would have us suppose.
Throughout this work I have endeavoured to make it clear that while I consider
a formal treatment the one most likely to give satisfactory results, I do not think
the “ Art and Craft of Garden Making ” is advanced by a slavish adherence to
style or tradition. In my own practice, lam bound to confess, I have often executed
work which could not be justified by prescribed rules or canons of art, and yet to
me the effect has been harmonious.I Become an Author.
Finally, the book was by permission gratefully dedicated to
my old friend and client, Colonel Sandys of Graythwaite Hall.
With the whole of the MS. and illustrations complete, I went
up to London to find a publisher, but received everywhere the most
depressing reception and advice. Any new work which I have
ever published has received the same treatment, so that I have now
come to regard publishers as incorrigible pessimists. Perhaps this
attitude is the right one to adopt with young authors, though I
sometimes doubt it.
At the well-known publishing house of Batsford one of the
partners complimented me on my energy and ambition, and even
went so far as to admire some of the plans and drawings. “ It is
a pity, however,” he said, “‘ that there is no sale for a book of that
sort. Why,’ he added, “ you could not sell two hundred and
fifty copies. If, however, you go to the manager of the Publishing
Department at the ‘ Country Life ’ office, he might help you.”
So, rather dejected, I called, as suggested, on the manager
at the ‘‘ Country Life ”’ office, only to be told there was little sale
for a book on garden design, but if I could persuade Messrs. Batsford
to agree, they would allow their name to appear with Batsford’s as
selling agents. “But, mind you,” he added, “‘ we can take no
financial responsibility.”
I then returned to Mr. James Batsford, who added, “ Of
course, Mr. Mawson, if you can afford to pay for the printing,
we will do our utmost to sell the book.”
I accepted the position, made a contract with a firm of printers,
and delivered to Batsford and “ Country Life ’’ an edition of one
thousand copies, costing £660, and waited the results of the
reviews with some little anxiety. It was, however, a thrilling
experience, and one which I suppose is felt by every budding
author awaiting the fiat of Fleet Street.
he first review appeared in about a fortnight after publication.
It was from “ The Times,” and to my huge delight was favourable,
even complimentary :—
“Those who have gardens to make and who want to know
how they can make them to advantage will find much to assist and
guide their taste in ‘ The Art and Craft of Garden Making,’ by
T. H. Mawson. . .. The author has plenty of ideas and a very
pretty taste.”
Other excellent reviews quickly followed in “ Country
Life,’ the ““ Manchester Guardian,” the “ Spectator,’ and in the68
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
‘Daily Chronicle,” and finally I received a notice in almost
every well-known provincial paper in the country.
As a result of these notices the first edition was disposed of
in three months at 2ls. per copy, which, however, after deducting
copies for the press and publishers’ charges, still left me with a
small loss, which I was sure future editions would wipe out.
I aged only add that at the time of writing I am engaged upon
the preparation of the fifth edition of this work, the fourth and
enlarged edition, published at 50s., having been out of print for
some considerable time.
I know of no satisfaction which surpasses that of winning the
support of the press ona first literary venture, and | must say that
the reviewers were more than kind to me; even the reviews which
were frankly critical were helpful and gave many useful suggestions,
which I endeavoured to incorporate in the later editions. Many
other improvements, mainly suggested by private correspondents,
were adopted, so that quite a number of people contributed to the
ultimate success of my first book. Frankly, my opinion is, now
that the glamour of a garden is so potent that far too many of
the reviewers over-emphasised the value of my contribution to
garden literature. This view will be endorsed if comparison be
made between the first and the fourth editions.
As a result of this book and its reception in the press, I was
inundated with requests from editors for interviews and articles,
and from secretaries of literary and lecture societies to lecture on
various cognate subjects, whilst foreign publishers asked for the
rights of publication in their own countries; but very few of these
requests could be met. I gave a lecture on the “ Unity of House
and Garden ”’ before the Reval Institute of British Architects, and
three lectures on ‘‘ Garden Design ” before the Royal Horticultural
Society, all of which were published in their respective journals.
enjoyed this work almost as much as writing my book,
notwithstanding that I found the task of preparing a lecture very
exacting, and the collection and arranging of the slides to illustrate
it even more so. The strenuous life which I was living would
not allow of this additional strain, already heightened by the
enthusiasm which I felt for my work. The result was a breakdown
which laid me aside for many weeks during one of the most critical
periods of my career. Success was bringing its penalties as well
as its rewards.
In some respects the publication of my book broughtunexpected results, and the flowing current of my professional
career was having its impetus broken by cross-currents. For this
I was entirely responsible, and if only I had stopped to think |
would have realised that I was taking too much for granted. It was
quite right and proper, thought some of my clients, for an architect
to propose formality. That is what they expected him to do, but
they came to me because they thought I could do good landscape
gardening and copy nature, and | had disappointed them. I was
regarded as a heretic.
Undoubtedly I was losing caste as a landscape gardener, and
I had not yet “ arrived ’’ as a landscape architect, but | felt I was
on the way, since it was the way I was leona go; indeed,
it was the only route I could conscientiously follow, and my
resolution was strengthened by my collaboration with Gibson.
It was unfortunate, however, that this time of crisis in my
professional career Eomeded na hia period of domestic financial
outlay on an increased scale. When one is confronted with this
responsibility, however one may be upheld by the certainty that the
course one Is pursuing is altruistically correct, the financial rewards
of one’s services cannot be entirely ignored.
At the time of which I am writing I had just built “ The
Corbels,’’ Windermere (see Illus. No. 16), with all the attendant
expense of going into a new and larger house. We had a family
of six children, with two sons and one daughter at school. It was
rather difficult going, and my wife and I had to practise rigid
economy, more especially as we had built a holiday bungalow for
our young folk at Hest Bank, which also required a certain
expenditure for maintenance.
As an offset to the loss of practice I have just described, the
first clients which came to me as a result of my new attitude to
my profession as laid down in my book more than compensated
both practically and professionally. They were Douglas W.
Freshfield, of Wych Cross Place, Forest Row, in Sussex, and the
late William Lethbridge, of Wood! South Tawton, Devonshire,
whom I have already mentioned. Both brought work to me of
exceptional extent and importance. They accepted whole-heartedly
the principles advanced in my book, and as they were both interested
in art, and particularly in prclnteenane! whilst possessing also a great
lereret nature, my lines were ee eallenan pleasant places, so
that in every respect I was most fortunate and worked hard to
acquit myself creditably. Their respective gardens were illustrated
I Become an Author.The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
in the later editions of my first book, and are otherwise well known
to the garden-loving public. (See Illus. Nos. 17, 18, 19, and 20.)
ad long known Mr. Freshfield by reputation as a member
of the Council of the Royal Geographical Society. As the famous
president of the Alpine Club, he was an intrepid traveller beyond
the beaten tracks in Neneet the Himalayas, Uganda and the
mountains adjoining, Syria, the Caucasus, the Apennines, and the
greater part of the Alpine regions. I had read some of his fascinating
books on travel, and several of the articles he had contributed to the
geographical aaa: It was with some trepidation that I set
out to meet a man of such august presence and imperious dignity,
as I imagined him to be, but my preconceived notions and fears
proved to be quite ill-founded. I was met by a genial gentleman
who at once set me at ease, and with whom I could arrive readily
at a perfect Understanding with regard to tastes and projects.
Then I was introduced to Mrs. Freshfield, whose charming
graciousness was so natural and spontaneous. She immediately
won my admiration and homage.
Kidbrooke Park was such a desirable residence, and_ its
parklands so well matured, that I wondered at their decision to build
a large residence on a new site. But both Mr. and Mrs. Freshfield
explained that sunsets and fine prospects were a necessity of life,
and that in wandering through Ashdown Forest they had found a
site where these two advantages could be enjoyed to the full, but
they were a little doubtful as to the possibility of carving a Garcon
which was also a necessity, out of primeval forest.
After lunch, by which time Mr. Fisher, their prospective
architect and son-in-law, arrived, we drove to the site, entering
Ashdown Forest at Wych Cross, about three miles east of Forest
Row on the main high road to Uckfield. Within the forest we
drove down a rough track for about half a mile in a western
direction until we came to a natural clearing. There was no need
to ask if this was the chosen spot. It was perfectly ideal for the
purpose, with a slope to the south extending down to a deep
valley with a clear limpid stream wandering through it. Down to
this point, east and west of the central glade, the ground is thickly
studded with fine alternating masses of Scotch fir, silver birch,
and patrician beech, of noble dignity and proportions. Beyond
the hollow were extensive green pastures, crowned here and there
with a mass of Scotch firs, which bravely broke the sky line.
Extending farther were rolling Sussex downs, with those openI Become an Author.
views of enormous extent extending right to the coast, for which
this county is so justly famous.
The higher ground behind the site chosen for the house was
occupied by massed beech trees, giving a sheltered background,
and beyond the beech trees was purple-heathered Ashdown
Common.
We there and then fixed the exact spot on which the house
was to be built, and arranged for scaffoldings to be erected to the
various floor heights to make sure of the views. These settled,
we fixed the levels of the several terraces, and studied with minute
care the positions of terrace walks and the heights of the balustrades
and parapet walls to ensure the garden setting of the house being a
fitting and effective foreground to the forest and the landscape
beyond. Thus closed my first day’s collaboration with both
architect and clients ; it provided a delightful beginning, and the
results have fully justified my urgent advice to many clients before
and since, that the architect for the house and the architect for
the garden should collaborate from the very first.
Having settled the site and the main supporting terrace, I
was asked to present a plan for a complete lay-out to cover a
considerable area in addition to the long drive and carriage court,
also for tennis and croquet courts, alpine and wild gardens,
herbaceous borders, woodland glades, walled-in fruit and vegetable
gardens and orchard, covering in all about twenty acres. The
scheme also included a large range of plant houses, vineries,
and peach houses, and positions were arranged for bothies,
gardeners’ cottages, garage and stables, the whole making a very
complete and well-appointed residential estate, all of which was
carved out of virgin forest in such a manner as not to destroy its
dominating natural character.
his commission raised a problem the solution of which has
been debated by garden designers from the earliest beginning of
the profession. One school argues that under the conditions which
existed at Wych Cross, any new work should imitate nature, the
other school believing that art in contrast with nature will provide
the best results. In my solution I adhered to formality within
the limits of the spacious terraces built of the local sandstone,
merging these gradually, by intermediate stages, into the wild
landscape. This course was the basis of the recommendations
which I placed before my clients. The consequent plan, which
I prepared, was carried out in its entirety. That the resultThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
justified the methods employed will be evident from the two
photographs given in Illus. Nos. 17 and 18, and taken within two
years of the completion of the work, showing how quickly the new
work acquired an appearance of maturity, and how harmoniously
it merged into that which was already “ fixed and abiding.”
Throughout the execution of this very important commission,
extending over two and a half years, I must at times have almost
exhausted the patience of my clients, for it taxed all belief that
we could ever evolve anything out of the sea of mud which, during
the progress of the work, seemed to flow over the forest like molten
lava; but they never doubted my ability to evolve order out of
chaos, and indeed they often encouraged me when I seemed to be
losing confidence in myself. Mr. Edmund Fisher, the able
architect (who, by the way, was brother to the popular and learned
Minister of Education, Dr. H. A. L. Fisher), also proved the most
charming of colleagues, always anxious to have my opinion on his
schemes, and at the same time always pleased to give helpful
criticism whenever his aid was sought. His death during the war
robbed the architectural profession of a very able exponent.
To give to the gardens an aspect of matured age, we
transplanted a number of ancient yews from distant parts of the
forest. These were removed with great balls of earth, each yew
weighing from four to five tons. That trees some of which may
have been from 600 to 900 years old could be successfully trans-
planted in this manner may seem impossible; nevertheless, so
successful was this work that we lost only one tree.
The virgin soil of Ashdown Forest varied in character, some
parts being a stiff loam, other parts light and gravelly. On the
lower parts there were lots of boggy peat, admirably suited to the
growth of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias, andromedas, and
other peat-loving plants, while on the higher ground there was a
thin crest of dry peat which suited ericacious plants to perfection.
In other parts of the garden roses did equally well, as bushes,
standards, or pillars. Only when we came to the fruit trees did
we meet with disappointment, many varieties of apples, pears, and
plums recommended by experienced fruit growers refusing to
respond to the generous treatment given to them. My clients,
were, however, fortunate in their first head gardener, Mr. John
Drew, who, by experimenting during several years, finally succeeded
in obtaining satisfactory crops. Though simple and straightforward,
Mr. Drew looked learned. He gave judgments with reasoned4. GARDEN-IN:A: COPPICE |
Rh, PLANTATION we me Ww
Re
Sa
CARRIAGB COURT
sTasie !
4
TARY
SNL SoS
CUA YS aL Ne PY
See
F
= SS ~ -74
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
deliberation, knew the Kew hand lists from A to Z, and possessed
the genius for planting shown by so many Kewites, and yet he
retained a generous love of nature and enthusiasm for all country
craft. Our chosen name for Drew from the first was “the
Professor,’ which title proved prophetic, for a few years later he
was appointed Professor of Horticulture at Reading University
College. Here he organised a strong department which has
rendered notable service to the profession of horticulture. This
department, since his death, continues to attract a large number of
students.
The problem set before me by Mr. Lethbridge was a very
different one, and has in part been dealt with in the description of
my collaboration with Dan Gibson. The site was immensely more
difficult to handle than that in Ashdown Forest, as the contours
ran diagonally across it, necessitating a deep cutting for the carriage
court on the west side, and a filling of at least twelve feet on the
east, before we could obtain a level space on which the house
could be made to appear to rest comfortably. The plan and sections
in “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making” show how the
problems were dealt with, whilst the photographic view of the
eu front (Illus. No. 20) shows how happily house and garden
end.
The gardens extend southwards, the character of the lay-out
changing by imperceptible degrees until it ends in a large placid
pool or lake and a cascaded stream.
Upon the completion of this garden some years later, the
owner, who was a most appreciative client, presented me with a
beautiful copy of ‘“‘ The Praise of Gardens,” by A. F. Sievking,
handsomely bound in a cover designed by Dan Gibson. On the
fly-leaf he wrote—
To the Author and Begetter
of the Gardens at Wood.
In grateful appreciation.
From the Owner.
19.9.05
At his death, which occurred at Davos Platz, Switzerland,
. I felt that I had lost a dear and understanding friend. William
Lethbridge was one of the finest types of English gentlemen |
have ever met, and a scholar withal.Illus. No. 20.
Zi
9
=
wa
a
S
°
SS
=
Z
Cc
=
Ly
=
5
°
nNCHAPTER VII.
MISFORTUNES AND COMPENSATIONS.
several hard knocks. I have already referred to our work
for Walter Whitehead at Colwyn Bay, upon which Gibson
and I were engaged. This work was given to me on the under-
standing that I should be responsible for the business part of
both the architectural work and the gardens and management, to
which I foolishly agreed.
My client was a man of very considerable private means
in addition to his professional emoluments. He was senior surgeon
to the Manchester Infirmary, and possessed a lucrative private
practice as well. He liked to surround himself with a circle of
convivial friends of a class as mixed as it was large. One of his
friends was the contractor for the building. This gentleman was, I
daresay, a worthy man, but whatever his abilities, I feared that for
the proprietor to make such an exceptional friend of one with whom
strict business relationships would normally exist could not but
prejudice my position, and especially make it difficult for me to
insist upon the standard and quality of the work which, as a client,
he had a right to demand. Before the works were far advanced |
had to protest that the friendship was undermining my authority,
and that I was not satisfied with either the progress of the work
or its quality.
In the gardens matters progressed much better, but certain
of the work did not come up to my ideals of what was possible or
desirable. This I frankly explained to my client. “‘ By all means
have the work done as you would like it,” said he ; but, nevertheless,
I felt we were not getting on well together as client and adviser.
The upshot of it all was that we agreed to part, and I was asked to
submit my account, which amounted to something over five
hundred pounds, every penny of which had been well earned.
ae this critical and difficult juncture in my career I received
75The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
To my astonishment, Mr. Whitehead sent in a counter-claim for
over one thousand pounds for alleged defective work, the very
work which I myself had complained about. As he put it, he had
my own condemnation of this work, and gave me to understand
that if I pressed my claim for the payment of my professional
charges, he would press his counter-claim, whatever the cost
might be. I knew my man, and had some idea of the length of his
purse. I also knew that I could not afford to jeopardise my
professional reputation even though I might win my case. I have
lost greater sums since then, but the loss of this money, and
the unreasonable methods pursued in such an impossible set
of circumstances, formed one of the bitterest experiences of
my life.
A much heavier blow was awaiting me, the impact of which
nearly overwhelmed me.
Although my professional practice had been quite distinct
from my brothers’ business for many years, there was a rare bond
of comradeship and affection between us, which was strengthened
by the fact that all three of us had amaedl ania dhe ene family.
My brother Robert and I had married sisters, who were the
daughters of the late Dr. Prentice, of North Walsham, and who
upon the death of their father had become the wards of their uncle,
Mr. Thomas Bidwell, of Trunch of Norfolk, who himself had an
only daughter. My younger brother married the latter (Miss
Bidwell), and thus the three girls who had been brought up together
as of one family became part of our family. It was indeed a peculiarly
happy family, and as we all three built ourselves houses within a short
distance of each other, we had daily reunions when at home. My
elder brothas Robert andaliverelborhttillteadmiationiton my
youngest brother, who was in many ways a remarkable young fellow,
full of generous impulses, and a sage counsellor, and in this respect
quite beyond his years. He was a man of exceptional business
capacity, a popular employer of labour, an earnest social worker
and a keen sportsman, and withal poressing: a unique sense of
humour. For several days during the month of March in the
austere spring of 1901 he had had a hard cough, but with his usual
untiring devotion to business went on with his work, maintaining
that he was suffering only from a cold, until, matters becoming
worse, he was obliged to consult his doctor, whe lationee put him
to bed, the doctor showing his anxiety by making a second visit
the same night. It was declared to be a case of pneumonia.77
Misfortunes and Compensations.
Although the patient made a great fight for life, at the end of the
seventh day he passed away.
Not until he had gone did I realise the extent to which I had
looked to him for encouragement, and sometimes, in disasters of
the Whitehead kind, for material support, which he ungrudgingly
extended to me.
This incident marked an epoch in my career. I discovered,
as I have said, that in business matters and in my small investments
I had relied almost entirely on my brother. Now I had to combine
business with art, and had for some time to work hard to gain
a little capacity in this direction, and this fact in part led to the
reorganisation of my practice and the opening of a London office.
In regard to my own special work as a designer, it must be
remembered that at this period I was only at a transitional stage,
though always moving forward. In this connection I remember
Sir Edwin Lutyens saying to me that “ he had noticed that architects
taking up gardens often gravitated towards a very natural style,
while landscape gardeners often ‘gravitated towards extreme
formality, and that the point at which the two crossed probably
marked the most desirable standpoint.’ Two examples may be
given in support of this view. Kent, who was really a great
architect, was responsible for the landscape eccentricities of
Stowe Park, whilst Sir Joseph Paxton, who started life as a gardener,
planned the Crystal Palace and its gardens, the architectural
formality of which can only be guessed at by those who visit
Sydenham nowadays.
During this year I was engaged upon many new works, mostly
gardens, some of which were satisfactory, while others were the
reverse. Amongst the first was a terraced rose garden at Capenwray
Hall, near Carnforth, the seat of Colonel Marton, for many years
member of Parliament for the Lancaster division. The Colonel
was a cordial man, brimming over with humour and high spirits,
and abounding with quaint expressions, and, as usual with men
of buoyant temperament, had a large circle of friends. The gardens
and park at Capenwray had been laid out between the years 1850
and 1855 by Edward Kemp, and were typical of this expert’s ripe
manner. It was a pleasure to me to have the opportunity of adding
a feature which I am assured would have been in accord with
his wishes.
Whilst at Capenwray I was able quite unexpectedly to render
Colonel Marton good service, which won me his esteem for theThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
remainder of his life. One day he was describing his property
south of Heysham Docks, then let at a low agricultural rental.
“Colonel,” I said, ““ why not plan out the whole of this property
in prospect of a new seaport town. “Pon my word, Mawson,
he replied, “that’s a capital idea. When can you let me have
your plan ?
In three months’ time I presented my scheme, and in less
than a year the Midland Railway scheduled the foreshore rights,
which they eventually acquired and paid for, not at agricultural-
land values, but on the basis of its prospective building-land
value.
In the same year I met Mr. C. F. A. Voysey, an architect
who had rapidly risen to fame as one of the leaders of the Arts
and Crafts movement, and as the exponent of a quaint simplicity
in domestic architecture which had caught the public taste. He
possessed a charming character, which one could well understand
after listening to a sermon by his father, the Rev. Charles Voysey,
who had been deprived of his living in Cumberland because of his
heterodoxy.
The son told me that when his father and the family
came to London, so great was the sensation caused by his father’s
supposed apostasy that their landlady turned them out of their
lodgings. Fortunately, Mr. Voysey was a man to be respected,
and in London he quickly gathered together many rich and powerful
supporters, who established him at Swallow Street Theistic Church,
Piccadilly, where he attracted a large and very intellectual
congregation.
. F. A. Voysey had been commissioned to build two houses
on the Storrs Estate, Windermere, one for Mr. Currer-Briggs and
one for Mr. Buckley, and in the latter case I was commissioned
to do the gardens, so that I came in frequent contact with the
architect.
On one of his visits to Windermere, Voysey was taken ill, and
he sent for me to recommend a doctor. I advised my own physician,
Doctor Mason, but Doctor Brooksbank, Mason’s partner, arrived,
and was introduced by name to the patient. “ What did you say
your name was 2?” asked Voysey. “ I thought I sent for Mason ! ”
“ My name is Brooksbank, and I am come because Doctor Mason,
my partner, is away from home.” “ Brooksbank! Brooksbank !
did you say>”’ ‘“‘ Yes; that is my name.” “ Is your father the
Rey. Walter Brooksbank?”’ ‘‘ Yes; he is my father.” “ Then79
Misfortunes and Compensations.
do you know your father turned my | father out of his living, and
now you come to doctor me. I won't have you ! he
Notwithstanding this untoward beginning, the two men came
to have a great regard for each other, and both agreed, | think,
that their fathers had acted a little precipitately.
Another story of Voysey is, I think, worth relating. Once when
I was at the Arts Club as the guest of Andrew Prentice, who was
the illustrator and author of a splendid volume on the Spanish
Renaissance, Voysey and his father on passing to their table spoke to
me. Much to my ‘surprise, Prentice did not recognise them.
“Why,” I asked, “did you_ not greet Voysey? “Is that
Voysey ? ” said Prentice. ie Cantt you give me an introduction
after dinner?” ‘* With the greatest pleasure,’ I replied, seizing
my opportunity when Voysey came into the smoking-room.
oth men seemed pleased to meet, but in a few minutes,
Prentice, coming to the end of his salutations, and wishing to
strike some congenial topic, said: “‘ I wonder, Mr. Voysey, if
you have ever designed anything after the manner of the Spanish
Renaissance > ”’ ““ Mr. Prentice,’’ said Voysey, “ I have only one
book in my office, and it is a Bradshaw’s Railway Guide, which,
I am sorry to say, I have to use much oftener than I like.’’ Prentice
was not pleased, but I explained that Voysey’s reply was simply
meant as an expression of his attitude towards all book learning
relating to architecture. Voysey, in fact, said, or intended to
infer, that that alone is art which has its spontaneous birth in the
inner consciousness, and that books in general kill imagination.
How far this was a pose of his, and how far the fruit of genuine
conviction, | will not pretend to say.
An interesting client of this date was Henry Martin, a Halifax
manufacturer who purchased Cringlemere, a heat property
on the high road between Troutbeck and Ambleside. Mr. Martin,
like many another Yorkshire manufacturer, was a collector of
pictures, Chippendale furniture, and Wedgwood china; but
though a charming and generous client, he was a collector at
heart and loved variety, and I soon found that what he really
wanted in his gardens was not a pleasance, but an arboricultural
museum. I know he felt my restraining influence irksome.
My brother Robert carried out the work for me, and he and
Mr. Martin thoroughly enjoyed themselves during my | long
absences. “ Come along, Robert,” Martin would say; “ your
brother is away to-day, so we can ide exactly what we like.”’ And80
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
in would go another hundred conifers, whilst another twenty
men would be set to work on an extension to the rock garden.
To-day Cringlemere is interesting principally from its collection
of specimen conifers and choice shrubs, which succeed admirably
on this elevated site. Howbeit, his successor has been obliged
drastically to thin them out.
Early in the following year my old friend W. Leiper, R.S.A.,
introduced to me two clients at Stirling for whom he was
at this time erecting new houses. One was Charles A. Buchanan
of Deroran, and the other William Renwick of Mar Gate, both of
Stirling. They were comparatively small places, but I enjoyed
the work immensely, as these clients were very appreciative and
really fond of their gardens. From Deroran I was introduced to
the Pullars of Perth, and designed or superintended the construction
of gardens for three members of this well-known family.
During this year I also designed several unimportant town-
planning schemes, including the little seaside resort of Hest Bank,
on Morecambe Bay, and certain building estate developments in
Yorkshire and Westmorland.
In the autumn I was asked by Mr. G. Macalpine (afterwards
Sir George) to lay out the grounds round a new house which he
was erecting to the designs of Mr. Thompson, who was a relative
and a well-known Glasgow architect. This work gave me new
experience of the needs of suburban gardens near Lancashire
manufacturing towns, where the soil was on a stiff clay, and the
atmosphere more or less laden with smoke. Mr. Macalpine was
an interesting man, with a great understanding of the difficulties
attendant upon the construction of a beautiful garden in close
proximity to Accrington. The extent of the grounds was about
three acres, and proportionate to the needs of the family and the
scale of the house. It was, of course, rather distressing to be so
strictly limited in regard to the trees and shrubs which could be
relied upon to flourish, but what we lost in this respect was made
up for by terraces and other architectural features which relieved
the monotony of the shrubberies, and we also succeeded admirably
with our herbaceous borders and rose gardens. In the end, in
spite of many very trying limitations, we created a garden which
gave lasting pleasure to my client and his family.Illus. No. 21.
TE AT Foots Cray Prace, THE ResipENCE oF Lorp Warinc.
E
FCHAPTER VIII.
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS ON THE PATHWAY.
ITHIN a year of the publication of my work, ‘* The Art
and Craft of Garden Making,” there was a great accession
of new clients who, having read the book, realised what
my aims on garden design really were. This made my practice
easier, and secured for me a greater freedom than I had hitherto
eal The work helped me in many other ways, for my clients
now knew my artistic standpoint before consulting me, with the
result that from the very first we worked together in full sympathy.
The resulting advantages were great, and in most cases my
work as landscape architect progressed much more smoothly and
with greater satisfaction both to myself and to my clients, while the
reorganisation of my practice as the fruit of more extended
experience led to more careful control of work in progress.
On looking through my old ledgers I find that during this
year I was engaged on no fewer than thirty garden and town
planning schemes, some twenty of which represented work for
new clients, many of whom became my fast friends. Amongst
these was Mr. Samuel Waring (now Lord Waring) of Foots Cray
Place, Kent, for whom I prepared an extensive scheme which
involved a great terrace to accord with the Palladian style of the
mansion, and the complete reorganisation of the extensive gardens
and grounds. Mr. Waring, as the head of the firm of Waring and
Gillow, was himself engaged in a crusade against the ugliness of
the furniture in the homes of that day, recognising the fact that
good taste was not necessarily expensive, but rather the result
of knowledge based upon simplicity, proportion, and practical
utility, and that the best periods of English decorative art and
furniture, modified and adapted to suit the conditions of the
times, could be applied to the houses of almost all classes of society.
He made it his mission to endeavour to educate the British public
8182
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
into a better appreciation of the beautiful by applying these
principles, thus making their homes more attractive. Mr. Waring
pursued these ideals with unremitting energy, and, having regard
to the enormous improvements which have taken place during
the past half-century in decorative art and furniture, he has effected
a work of great national value, and contributed to the general
recognition and adoption of the New English Renaissance
which is now so widespread. It is not surprising, then, that,
filled with enthusiasm for this ideal in his own particular sphere,
he proved an exacting though appreciative client whose judgment
I speedily came to recognise as sound, and often original.
Possessed of great discrimination and a tremendous driving
force, together with keen business instincts, he was ever ready to
recognise like qualities in others.
r. Waring was an early riser, working on an average sixteen
hours a day (and often for seven days in the week), and yet finding
time to discuss with minutest care every drawing prepared for the
improvement of his grounds. Like other men who have won
success, he is a methodical worker, and always knew exactly what
he wanted to discuss with me before we met. It is quite probable
that he has, somewhere in his house, a card index with notes of
every interview I had with him. It is interesting to see that he is
still working, year by year, at the evolution of my original plan,
which in its main features has undergone but minor alterations.
Lord Waring has been one of my best friends, and has introduced
me, as time and occasion warranted, to many new clients, including
Queen Alexandra and Mr. Gordon Selfridge.
Another client who came to me about this time was Sir Robert
Affleck, Bart., of Dalham Hall, Newmarket. The Hall was a
typical Georgian country mansion, without projecting wings or
end pavilions, or possibly, as I first saw it, the central block
from which the usual wings and pavilions had disappeared.
In any case, the Hall, occupying an exceptional site, was an
interesting example of domestic architecture, which was probably
at one time surrounded by beautiful gardens and terraces, all of
which had very likely disappeared at the same time as the wings.
It was the wish of Sir Robert and Lady Affleck to restore
these gardens, and my task was to work out what I regarded as
an interpretation of what the garden for such a house should be.
must have succeeded fairly well, because my clients afterwards
found an old plan of the original garden which very closely83
Lights and Shadows on the Pathway.
resembled my own plans. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards
Sir Robert lost a great part of his fortune, which compelled him
to part with the property soon after I submitted the plans, the
purchaser being Mr. Cecil Rhodes.
My friend C. E. Mallows assisted me with the designs for the
terraces and other architectural details, and when Sir Robert
parted with his estate he thoughtfully handed on our plans with
his strong recommendations to the purchaser. The result was that
we were shortly sent for, I to interview Colonel Frank Rhodes at
Dalham about the gardens, whilst Mallows was asked to meet
Cecil Rhodes at his hotel in town regarding the house. My
interview with Colonel Rhodes and his sister was a very pleasant
one. Both were deeply interested in my plans. Mallows’ interview
with the great man was not encouraging. It was probably his
first experience of a great South African magnate.
“Well, Mr. Mallows,” said Cecil Rhodes, “I have sent
for you to take down my instructions for additions to Dalham Hall,
which I have just purchased. Here are the plans, and on this side
I wish you to arrange a business room for myself, with a secretary $
room and strong room adjoining, and then a waiting-room and a
separate entrance, and somewhere you must arrange for a bath
and cloak-room. Over these rooms | wish you to have a complete
suite of apartments for my secretary, for whom you must provide
a separate staircase.”
Mallows, with generous enthusiasm, remarked : “ Mr. Rhodes,
that is splendid ; but you have said nothing about the corresponding
wing to the south.”
‘There will be no corresponding wing on the south side.”
“But, Mr. Rhodes, you will destroy the balance of parts
which Dalham calls for.”
‘“T don’t care a fig about balance of parts; all I care
for at the moment is to find an architect willing to carry out my
instructions. I hope, Mr. Mallows, that you understand this.”
How Mallows tried to satisfy his client and his artistic
conscience at the same time was shown by the drawing of Dalham
Hall exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1901. He never regarded
it as one of his masterpieces, and his work for Cecil Rhodes gave
him little pleasure. Unfortunately, he could not afford to treat
his client as a famous sculptor is said to have treated Mr. Rhodes
some time before. Mr. Rhodes’s autocratic treatment of my friend
Mallows was probably accounted for by the fact that the South84
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
African financier was already in the grip of that fatal illness from
which he died before any of our plans had reached the contract
stage. If we were disappointed by the work not going forward,
we had the satisfaction of being well treated by the executors, who
paid our fees on a generous scale.
As I was, about this time, often collaborating with Mallows,
the latter decided, for the sake of convenience, to take rooms
in the same building as myself at 28, Conduit Street. He secured
two adjoining my own, connected by a joint consulting room, an
arrangement which worked very well.
My London office was from the first placed in charge of
James Crossland, my first pupil, who is still with the firm, and
who during this period became as well known to my clients
as | was myself. Crossland is a hard worker, and, like all my
assistants, most loyal to the interests of the firm.
Our offices at Windermere were partly rebuilt and adapted
for us by my old partner, Dan Gibson, and they still rank as the
most effective bit of architecture in the village. They consisted
of two larger rooms, my own and the drawing-office, together with
a third queer, irregular box-like place, which was used by my
book-keeper and private secretary. All the rooms were taxed to their
fullest capacity. I have a lingering affection for this little office,
so soon to be outgrown by my ever-expanding practice, and this
is where I did much of my best work, which included many small
but quite interesting gardens in the Lake District, amongst which
I remember especially a garden at The Yews, Storrs, for Mr.
(afterwards Sir James) Scott; gardens at Blackwell for Mr. Edward
Holt (now Sir Edward) ; a range of orchid houses at Hole Hird,
Windermere, for Mr. Groves, and many others.
This year I also gained in the same week two clients,
both German Jews. As will later be seen, I do not use this
appellation in any derogatory sense, for I have known several such
men who possessed many fine qualities. One of them was a friend
and partner of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, and a man of good repute in
South African mining and land companies. The other was a power
in the City, where he carried on a large business as a stockbroker.
The former had purchased a marine villa with many acres of
land on the south-east coast, and the other a similar property
on the south coast. These two men knew each other, and
somehow each knew that I was engaged by the other, and
each gave me the same advice in almost identical words. Said85
Lights and Shadows on the Pathway.
Jacobs, the South African: “I am sorry to learn, Mr. Mawson,
that you have arranged to design a garden for Mr. Abrahams.
Let me warn you to be extremely cautious in all your business
arrangements, and never on any account undertake any liability
for payment for any part of the work!’ Said Abrahams: “ |
learn you are undertaking considerable work for Mr. Jacobs.
I am sorry it is too late to advise you, but be very careful in your
usiness arrangements, and on no account undertake any liability.”
Jacobs spent about £8,000, and although he fell on bad times,
he met every penny of his liability, both to the contractors and to
his architects. It was with great pleasure that we heard that after
two years’ hard work he had regained his financial stability.
Abrahams was reputed to be one of the luckiest men on ‘Change,
but I found he had already quarrelled with four architects, that
each had had his fees disputed, and that every tradesman and
contractor who had worked for him had met with precisely the
same treatment.
f course, directly I learnt what my client’s methods were
I ought to have cleared out, but I was confident that with caution
and diligence I might steer through where others had failed.
Before the completion of my work, however, which as a garden
was one of the best bits of work I had ever done, I found my client
finding fault with every item. The stone was bad and the bricks
were too soft, and the workmanship was faulty. The shrubs were of
poor quality, and of the wrong kind. The yews for the hedges were
not luxuriant and bushy enough; weeds came up on the lawns, and
therefore I had permitted bad seeds to he used, and so on. le
was my client’s way of avoiding payment of my accounts, and when
pressed he refused point-blank to settle, and [ lost Aen
So are the rough and uphill experiences of life mingled and
contrasted with appeal to one’s sense of humour and interest in
human nature.
Jacobs is now a highly respected member of New York society
and a man of influence. Of the other I do not know anything,
except that he met his match when arguing the legal fare with a
taxi-driver.
Whilst the work was in progress my services were requested
by Mr. A. C. de Lafontaine, at that time the owner of the famous
and beautiful Athelhampton Hall, near Dorchester. As he had
already spent large sums upon the restoration of the old house
and a formal garden on its south side, all excellently designed and86
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
executed, I could not help wondering why I had been consulted.
y work was to replan the entrance and main drive, and the
gardens north of this house and drive, and to find a site and plan
for a new stable and garage. Some of this, I understand, was
carried out, but my work was merely to supply plans.
hilst staying at Athelhampton one of my fellow-guests was
Lady Dorothy Neville, whom I had frequently met when I was
with John Wills, of South Kensington, but under very different
circumstances. Lady Dorothy smoked and talked incessantly, and
her talk was a revelation of the Walpole genius for brilliant satire,
which, however, was always cast in the vein of generous wit and
humour. Her stories of Beaconsfield, Gladstone, Sir William
Harcourt, and Joseph Chamberlain were priceless. For Harcourt
she seemed to have a very high regard, but not for Chamberlain.
he Boer War was in progress when I last met her, and not
going very well for us. One evening, on going through her letters,
she said she had just heard from Lady Mary (who Lady Mary
was | don’t remember), who was simply heart-broken because
her husband had been taken prisoner by De Wet. “ And to think,”
said Lady Dorothy, “ he expected such a good time. Indeed, he
had his tennis racquet with him, because he is a crack player,
and the last time I stayed with Mary she was sending him such
lovely comforts.” ‘* Well,” asked my client, “ what could she
send out to South Africa?’’ “I don’t quite remember,” said
Lady Dorothy, “ excepting that there was a lot of scented soap.”
Of course this was not intended as a statement of fact, but as a
subtle stab at a certain type of young officer now extinct.
Lady Dorothy ought to have been the owner of Athelhampton,
for I have never seen a lady fit her surroundings so perfectly :
she was part of the place.
Athelhampton is in the centre of the Hardy country, and I
remember hearing on one of my first visits to the mansion a strange
story of prudish exclusiveness which at this time seems truly
amazing. A new-comer to the district who knew Thomas Hardy
well, proposed to give a garden party at which the novelist was to
be the honoured and lionised guest of the day. The invitations
read “ to meet Thomas Hardy.” So incensed, however, were the
local squirearchy over the publication of ‘“ Tess” that no one
accepted. Lady Dorothy Neville was present when this story was
related, and she told us that Gladstone had a similar reception in
Midlothian, but the Grand Old Man was far-seeing enough to87
Lights and Shadows on the Pathway.
turn the rebuff to political account, and it is said that the men who
had refused to meet him socially ended by taking seats on his
political platform.
Towards the end of the year Viscount Downe asked me to
advise him upon the gardens at Wykeham Abbey, one of his
country seats between York and Scarborough. Wykeham is a
noble old Georgian house, with central block and wing loggias
terminating in pavilions, one side of which contained the estate
offices, and the corresponding block the stables. Probably it was
designed by Carr, of York, or some other able architect of the
period.
At the time of my visit the gardens were in ruins, and looked
for all the world as if the terraces and other formal garden
accompaniments suitable to such a mansion had been ruthlessly
torn down by some mad landscape gardener, but in the ruins and
pedestals lying about the place there was ample evidence of its
former glory. In my plans I endeavoured, as at Dalham Hall, to
restore some of the place’s former scale and detail. ‘This, however,
was one of those numerous commissions which are confined to the
preparation of plans which may be carried out as opportunity
permits by the estate architect and the head gardener. I never
learnt just how much or how little of my design was executed.
Speaking generally, work, or rather commissions, of this character
do not prove satisfactory, especially in the less formal gardens,
which are often completely spoiled by ignorant or unsympathetic
interpretation, though in the present instance, with Lord and
Lady Downe in charge, there was, of course, nothing of the sort
to fear.
In this year I also had as a client Sir Richard Cooper, of
Shenstone Court, Staffordshire, a well-known agriculturist and the
owner of the famous sheep-dip works at Berkhamsted. Sir Richard
was one of the most liberal and energetic members of the Royal
Agricultural Society. He was by nature an experimenter given to
coddling everything within his sphere of influence. Shenstone
was a large, uninspiring house of the early Victorian type, formal
and harmless, occupying a favourable site slightly elevated above
the surrounding park.
What struck me particularly on my first visit was the starved,
unhappy-looking trees in the park and gardens, and it took me some
time to discover the cause. On closer examination I found that a
trench had been cut round each tree and filled up with new soil88
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and manure. Of course, in doing this the trees had been severed
from the feeding roots which sustained them, and the park became
practically denuded of timber. My work, however, was to advise
upon the gardens, and not to criticise Sir Richard's experimental
forestry.
The best position for a garden worthy of the name lay along
the west front, where the ground sloped gently down for about
two hundred feet to a brook, then rose again gently on the opposite
bank, which was planted with larch, spruce, and poplars, producing
a ragged see-saw line against the sky.
I walked round the gardens and expressed my views as to
what was possible and desirable, to all of which my client agreed ;
thereupon I made a survey and rough sketches, and left, promising
to prepare plans for the first stage of the work. The plans, when
I adapted them to the spot levels, worked out extraordinarily well.
The ground allowed of broad, spacious terraces giving ideal
proportions, and the tranquil stream was expanded right opposite
the drawing-room window to a circular pool, which again suggested
a water pavilion and pergola, with stepped bridges, the whole
forming quite a charming garden picture. These plans were ready
in three weeks, so I wrote to fix an appointment, when, to my
surprise, I was told that my proposals were already carried out,
and that there was no need for plans, but would I come and give
further advice. I went and saw what my client understood to be a
proper interpretation of my recommendations. The result was
appalling. But I gave further advice, and went through the same
process of preparing plans, to be told for a second time that the
work had already been carried out—again, as | later saw, with the
same amazing results. I relate this experience because in the
course of a long professional career I have met numerous clients
who seemed to think that after they had got an idea for which
they would pay handsomely, they, as amateurs, were quite capable
of doing the rest. Never have I known a case in which the result
was ever approximately satisfactory. In Sir Richard’s case,
however, I am convinced that it was not a question of amateurish
over-confidence, but rather the result of that impatient energy
which had stood him in such good stead as a business man, and
that sense of power and the ability to do things which often
accompany great wealth. I have in dozens of cases known of
beautiful houses spoilt by this restless energy, which trusts the
building of a new wing to the local builder rather than give time89
Lights and Shadows on the Pathway.
and thought to the preparation of architects’ plans involving the
patient solution of all the incidental problems, both esthetic and
practical.
From what has already been said it will be clear that for a man
who was ever a student of his art my opportunities of acquiring
experience, both as a designer of gardens and in the practical
execution of my work, were almost unique. It must be remembered
that whereas in domestic architecture a house designed for, say,
the English Lake District may be almost as much in keeping
with the moors of Devonshire, the success of a garden depends in
a large measure upon its interpretation of the possibilities of the
locality, site, soil, and atmospheric conditions. ‘This is one reason
why garden-making is always so difficult and yet so entrancing.
No design can ever be repeated, and every new site reveals a
distinct set of conditions which have to be dealt with before success
can be achieved.
Here I must acknowledge the great practical assistance |
received from my brother, the late Robert Mawson, who was
responsible for the carrying out of more than half the gardens
which I designed. For family and professional reasons I could
not, of course, permit him to carry out any of my work by contract,
but we devised a method of payment on the basis of actual cost
plus a fixed profit which was much appreciated by my clients,
and which was not open to the objections which might be raised
where the architect was presumably interested on personal grounds
in the fortunes of his contractor. By this means the practical
side of my work was placed in the hands of a man of great technical
experience on whom I could absolutely rely, and with a remarkable
eift for visualising plans and their adaptation to the actual conditions
of the site. My brother had also the faculty of utilising his men
to the greatest advantage, and possessed a genius for winning the
respect of his employees, while demanding honest service.
Under this arrangement I visited my work, on the average,
once a month, and from the fact that my commissions extended
from the North of Scotland to the South of England it will be
seen that this entailed much night travelling and irregular meals.
In addition to my regular work I had in hand the preparation of
the second and considerably enlarged edition of my book.
Looking back on these strenuous days, | am amazed at the
amount of work I was able to accomplish, because, although ably
supported by my assistants, I made myself responsible for all thego
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
basic sketch plans and designs, and in addition I made many of the
original surveys of the sites of future work.
Notwithstanding the difficult clients referred to, this strenuous
year was crowned with satisfactory progress. Even the awkward
clients were helpful, for they taught me many lessons of professional
diplomacy which were of profit in succeeding years, for I was not
naturally possessed of that form of shrewdness which involves a
distrust of one’s fellow-men.
In addition to the demands of my practice, | visited some
of my earlier works to compare actual matured results with the
ideal aimed at, and many shocks on the one hand and pleasant
experiences on the other awaited me. In this way I learnt many
valuable lessons from both success and failure, and accumulated
much experience. This study of ideals and their realisation 1s
still my principal method of advancement, and it is by constant
contact with realities that I gradually, but with painful slowness,
learn to combine the two.. No. 22
LObT ATE VYSort
OPLT ag
/
RATIO Ss
\CABNIEGIE Dv DVNFERMLINE TSI,
@ PIT TENCRIETE HOVSE FRO! FROMTHE
POND GARDEN To socaCHAPTER IX.
THREE YEARS OF HARD WORK AND INTERESTING
EXPERIENCES.
HE following three years marked another stretch in the
eager road of achievement reaching forth into unknown
possibilities, and full of those strange new beginnings which
give to life its spice and zest. Blessed with good health throughout
this period, though never exactly robust, I advanced steadily and
happily, and my imagination ever went ahead with greater freedom
still, though there were occasions when I failed through frailty or
fear. It was a period of strenuous work, rewarded by the making
of many new friends and full of that immense satisfaction which
comes from a sense of achievement.
In the first place, I began to realise that I was building up a
permanent practice with a clientéle of which any man might be
proud. As one of my clients said, “* There's nothing like a love
of gardens for cementing friendships,” and the opportunity for
forming friendships through his work is one of the most valued
rewards of the garden designer. I mention this fact because
through my published works I not only gained new clients, but
found in these clients new friends, and so added momentum to
my progress. So it always should be.
When I fall to “ musing on man, on Nature, and on human
life,” as Wordsworth sings in the opening lines of “ The Excursion,”
there comes to mind, among other things, the various motives
which have actuated my clients in first consulting me. A very
great percentage of my smaller professional friends have been
real enthusiasts who have begun to lay out their own gardens, and
have succeeded admirably up to a stage, when they felt the need
of trained assistance in incorporating some feature which they
have seen elsewhere and admired, or in effecting some improvement
on their own scheme. Their unaided efforts may have shown that
one small improvement has necessitated alterations to other parts
gr92
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
beyond the immediate precincts of the superadded features, such
as walks already laid down, trees already planted, and borders
already flourishing. These in turn have dislocated something else—
so much so that, in the end, even the most enthusiastic sometimes
get disheartened with their herculean labours. Like the attackers
on the hydra-headed monsters of mythology, for every head they
chop off, three others (difficulties) come in its place, and our
amateur friends are distracted. When, however, they obtain a
survey and a plan or policy on which to base all their work, they
are surprised what little alteration is really needed. With a little
pushing and squeezing, and a few minor camouflages which are
never noticed in a garden, all comes right.
In the same connection one is reminded of that curious
obsession which blinds its owner to any artistic possibilities in
anything which bears evidence of design, especially in relation to
gardens. Forgetting that there is a sweet, a noble, and a good side
to human nature which should, and indeed must, express itself
in all that its owners contrive and create, and especially in their
dwelling-place and its surroundings, some demand that in everything
intended to be pleasant to the eye “ Nature” shall be slavishly
copied. The logical result is a craze for the manufacture of sham
wildernesses, the artificiality of which must be utterly repugnant
to any person of discrimination and taste.
ave met with more than one very rich man seized with
this passion for the manufacture of primitive wildness. [ do not
know whether it is a survival of those primeval instincts of mankind
which Mr. E. T. Reed satirises so amazingly in his pen sketches, or
whether it is a return to the dreams and imaginings of childhood.
It is a strange obsession. I knew, or rather knew of, a well-known
personality in Lakeland who used to paint fanciful landscapes
depicting the country, as he said, “ before the advent of man,
when there were no ugly fences, walls, and barriers.” He also
painted portraits—and characteristic portraits they were,—refusing
to use artists’ brushes and laying on his colours (artists’ prepared
colours, by-the-by !) with a chewed hazel-stick. In keeping with
these little inconsistencies, he lived a life on a par with his land-
scapes, his dwelling being a cave on Mount Skiddaw. There,
clad in only two garments, a wincey shirt and a pair of trousers
torn off at the knees, he slept on a bed of spruce-fir boughs
throughout winter’s cold and summer’s heat, without coverlet of
any kind, the rugged rock being his only shelter from the elements.Illus. No. 23.
Rock GarDEN IN LAKELAND Nurseries, WINDERMERE.Hard Work and Experiences.
I can only explain this ruling passion in a rich man by saying
once more that ‘* extremes meet ’—the extreme of luxury meeting
with the other extreme of those who have no visible means o
sustenance !
What I have said about the craze for the creation of wildernesses
is not by any means in disparagement of rationally designed and
placed informal or wild gardening, such as that which is directly
associated with rock-work, nor as discrediting rock building even
on a large scale. Nor have | any aversion to natural picturesque
wildness when it is there on the site originally, or whenever the
nature of the site or the materials to hand warrant it. -In one
‘nstance I advocated the changing of the entire location of a proposed
house on the Westmorland moors, in order that it might have as
site a natural terrace of rock. The steps down to the lower garden
were partly hewn in the solid rock, and partly built of a rugged
character that accorded perfectly with the natural outcrop, and
the whole garden on this, the principal front, was designed in
keeping. With the exception of a border next to the house, mainly
for climbers, all the flowers and shrubs were heather and heath
arranged in affinity with the wildness around. What I do
dissociate myself from is the importation of tons of stone from
Yorkshire and Derbyshire in order to build rock gardens in
districts absolutely devoid of the natural product, and where
the surroundings indicate other methods altogether, and a motif
in keeping with them.
Every art has its legitimate bounds, and when forced beyond
those bounds its artificialities become repugnant. This truism,
of course, works both ways, but in our present connection
applies especially, say, to a rock garden composed of thousands
of tons of Yorkshire grit and stone transferred to the lush lowlands
of the Thames Valley, or to a site in a similar district where it
stands uneasily perched on an obviously artificial mound.
My method of working in such cases is usually to draw up a
plan showing the extent and general arrangement of the rock
garden, often accompanied by sketches showing the treatment
of the more important parts and the height to which they are to
be carried. If the garden is built round a stream, I, of course, show
whatever widenings, pools, and falls are to be constructed, and
arrange the paths on my plan so as to open up consecutive vistas
and tempt to further exploration. This being all that can be done
on paper until we are ready for the planting plan, it will easily94
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
be seen that rock gardening demands even closer and more detailed
attention during the process of formation than any other.
The most successful rock gardens are, of course, those formed
by laying bare a natural rock escarpment, as was done extensively
in the creation, about the time of which I am speaking, of new
and extensive nursery gardens made necessary by the rapid and
continuous expansion of the business the foundations of which |
had laid so many years before, and now in the hands of my sole
remaining brother, Robert. The laying out of these was a real
labour of love, and included the design and placing of a block of
buildings containing a house for my brother, and, in a separate
wing, offices and seed store, the whole being contrived so as to
create a harmonious and attractive semi-public garden to which
everyone interested might have free access without in the slightest
impairing its usefulness for the nursery-garden business.
A prophet is not without honour save in his own country,
and immediately it was seen that we were clearing the scrubby
coppice with which the site was covered, much needless anxiety
was expressed as to whether a vandalism was about to be committed
by the commercialisation of a prominently placed piece of ground
on the main highway between the villages of Windermere and
Bowness. In particular, many anxious inquiries were made as
to what we intended to do with a tall and extremely graceful
silver birch which had long been a landmark and an object
of admiration by all who used the neighbouring road.
Needless to say, any fears that we should interfere with it were
perfectly groundless. It was retained as an artistic asset of the
utmost importance, and, in one sense, as a central feature of the
design.
In the end, anxiety gave place to surprise and pleasure
when it was seen what hitherto unsuspected views were opened
up of the northerly reach of Windermere and of the mountains
grouped round its head, and how these wonderful views were
made the most of in our lay-out without the sacrifice of practical
utility.
Among the new clients who came to me at this time I
remember with special pleasure Mr. Richardson, of Lincoln, who,
in addition to his business as senior partner in an old-established
firm of oil-crushers, found time for the cultivation of many outside
interests, of which the two principal ones were music and
gardening, in both of which he excelled. With such a client, andHard Work and Experiences.
with a site which had the great artistic advantage of including an
old worked-out quarry, and from which magnificent views of the
cathedral could be obtained, the garden designer was indeed
happy.
Another commission which, though small, gave me great
pleasure, and which is known to a great many people, was for the
design, on lines equally practical and artistic, of a new recreation
ground at Cleethorpes. This provided a good example of the
manner in which, in cases where almost every inch of the site must
be used for some utilitarian purpose connected with sport, effect
can be obtained almost solely by the careful balance and disposition
of parts. Not all my recommendations matured, however.
had a good plan, which, if carried out in its entirety, would have
given a distinctive note to this enterprising seaside resort, but
it was completely spoiled in execution, largely owing to its
interpretation by local “ geniuses’ who had no appreciation of
design or the value of carefully thought-out details. This was
distinctly a case where unwise economy led to uneconomic results.
I also worked at Portmadoc for Mr. W. G. Greaves, on a
garden of a very interesting character. The climate in this part Ne
of North Wales is most genial, and here my client had erected a .
very beautiful country house, occupying an elevated position on |
the site of an earlier homestead. From the house the ground fell &
rapidly to lower lawns and wooded stretches, through which |
meandered a beautiful brook, the margins of which had been '
successfully planted with aquatic and sub-aquatic plants, and mI
here I saw growing for the first time in the open large masses of
white arum lilies, which flowered most profusely after surviving i
the winter. i
To connect the house with the lawns I planned a complete i
scheme of balustraded walls, with long, broad flights of steps hat
connecting the house to the informal lower gardens, previously Hat
planted and laid out with great skill by the owner. Though th
not extensive, this work gave me great satisfaction, largely 1
because my clients were so very appreciative, but more particularly We
because I felt I had succeeded in a task rendered difficult by the cer
nature of the site and the necessity for conserving the work already
done, by simple and straightforward planning. ()
Another client I remember with exceptional pleasure is i
Doctor Augustus Harboard, a Harley Street specialist, who owned
a property of considerable extent on Detling Hill, near Maidstone,96
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and here from Friday to Monday he led the simple life, emulating
Thoreau in his Walden shanty in the severe austerity of his tastes.
His principal object, however, was to live on his property
sufficiently long to be able to locate with absolute certainty the
right position for the country house which he proposed to build.
When he had arrived at a decision, he sent for me to advise him
upon the type of house suited to his needs and its setting, and
to plan the new drives, terraces, and gardens.
The site chosen was admirable, and opened up interesting
discussions upon all aspects of the subject of the house in its
relation to its surroundings and the needs of the proprietor. The
first thing we agreed to do was to determine the accommodation
required and to limit it to that and no more, and then to plan so
that the house should not sprawl beyond the comfortable limits
of the plateau on which it was to sit, giving due attention to the
aspect of each part of the dwelling. All this is, of course, by no
means omitted in such cases, but on this occasion it was entered
into with a thoroughness, a depth, and zeal which could not but
delight the professional designer. It was followed by discussions
on the style best suited to the house, avoiding insipidities on the
one hand and flamboyancy on the other. We were both in love
with the homely Tudor style, which admirably suited the needs
of the case, and which was adopted.
Next we turned our thoughts to the views, both outwards and
towards the house, especially in relation to the placing of the
purely utilitarian and domestic parts of the garden. In all these
discussions with a client so deliberate and painstaking there
were many searchings of heart! Many a time we came to a
place where, as ever in architecture and garden design, it has to
be “ this or that,” whereas the inclination is to struggle to retain
“this and that ’’—very desirable, but, alas! impossible.
I had many delightful interviews and discussions of ways,
means, and methods with my client, the more gratifying to my
professional susceptibilities from their earnestness and thoroughness,
and we felt we had worked out the main lines of an ideal scheme
when, in the end, whether in despair of ever completely satisfying
himself or not I cannot say, he decided to content himself by adding
to one of the farmhouses on the estate. To meet a man so
thoroughly in love with every phase of country life was delightful,
and | shall always remember with pleasure the week-ends at
Detling.Hard Work and Experiences.
A very different man, but an equally delightful client, is
Mr. William Galloway, for whom, as the reader will remember,
I had already done considerable work. He is a bachelor, art
connoisseur, a musician, and a lover of gardens. He inherited
from his father “ The Willows,” overlooking the River Ribble
and the Preston Docks. From my first introduction to it the
house has suffered increasingly from the growing industrialisation
of its surroundings, and I have always felt that it must have been
my client’s affection for his family that induced him to spend so
much money on his house, its decoration and appointments, and
the gardens. No other consideration could have justified so large
an expenditure when a lesser outlay on a befitting site would
have built a house complete with every amenity, and of a character
more suited to his tastes and convenience.
Still, the house is a model of comfort, surrounded
by gardens of exceptional iterest, with a unique enclosed
tennis court. This enclosed court is approached by a terrace
connecting with the house, entered from one end by a fine piece
of wrought-iron work designed by Dan Gibson, the central gate
of which is hung with Spanish bells. This garden has been
illustrated in both line and colour in the later editions of my
work on ‘“‘ The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”
In Mr. Galloway we have a typical example of the art-loving
Lancashire manufacturer, a much larger class than many suppose,
though of the existence of which contemporary artists have ample
and material proof. What is more, these men really are genuine
lovers of the beautiful, and not merely rich plutocrats with a pose,
as some stupid writers of fiction have assumed.
These instances from a year’s work might be very considerably
extended, but they will be sufficient to show that variety has been
one of the greatest charms of my work, and also the growth of
interest in landscape architecture, and my contributions to its
wider appreciation.
The years which followed were none the less interesting,
nor did the momentum given to garden-making wane in any
sense, but rather tended to gather strength.
Many new clients came to me in the year 1903, amongst whom
were Lord and Lady Beauchamp, who were delightful clients.
Madresfield Court was already well known for its extensive
gardens, which for their variety and high keeping were famous.
Lord Beauchamp, like many of my clients, was a scholarly
HThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
arboriculturist and gardener. I have always regarded it as a
fortunate circumstance that I was thrown into association with
so many famous amateurs, for they compelled me to keep up to
date, and to follow the changing nomenclature as systematised by
the Kew hand lists.
In 1904 I had fourteen important new commissions among
many smaller ones. For Andrew Carnegie, Skibo Castle, extensive
improvements to garden. For Walter Fenwick, Esq., Witham Hall,
Bourne, Lincolnshire, remodelling of old gardens and considerable
extensions to them. For Fred J. Monks, Esq., of Warrington,
gardens to new residence on high ground overlooking the estuary
of the Ship Canal.
Out of so many, space permits me to refer at length to only
a few of the most interesting; and, first of all, I would like to retail
a story about a family whose names I must not, for obvious reasons,
disclose.
On the eve of my arrival J noticed evidences of child life, and
heard the musical laughter of young voices in the distance. At
dinner I was told that not only was I to meet the family at breakfast,
but that I had been appointed judge of the children’s gardens.
At breakfast I met a very friendly group, consisting of three
girls and a boy—four cheery, healthy, romping children. The
eldest was called Maude, who was probably a little over thirteen
years of age; then came Madge, say twelve; then Betty, a little
over ten ; and Bobby, about eight. After breakfast I was conducted
across the lawns and beyond a group of beech trees towards the
walled-in garden, on the south side of which the children, “ all
by themselves,” as they carefully explained, had laid out and
planted their gardens. I am glad they did them all by themselves,
for otherwise I would have lost an insight into child character
which was intensely interesting.
he first garden, which I saw from a distance, belonged to
Maude, and was a perfect blaze of colour, the result of very little
work and the expenditure of a few pence on packets of seed,
mostly poppies.
he second belonged to Madge, who was evidently a keen
gardener and had the instincts of a collector. In the small space
of twelve feet by six she had got together a collection of
old-fashioned hardy flowers, in which [| discovered many of
my own childhood’s favourites.
When I had carefully examined Madge’s garden, I asked BettyHard Work and Experiences.
to show me hers. “ This is a potato patch, not a garden,” I said.
“It is my garden,” she stoutly objected. “~ But why did you
plant it with potatoes?” I asked. “ Well, because cook said
she would buy them from me. Then,” said she, with an intense
show of satisfaction, “1 will get a larger patch and make more
money.”
At last I turned to Bobby, and asked where I could see his
garden. ‘‘ Well, sir, mine isn’t exactly a garden. Come and look !”’
We came to a strip of mown grass, with an old pear tree at one end,
to which was nailed a target, whilst at the other end was a small
home-made shed, just the sort of shelter a boy would erect, with
ample ventilation, to be sure. Between these two objects were
two flower-pots let into the grass, evidently for the practice of
putting. Thus, each child expressed herself or himself to the
uttermost. Madge, of course, won the prize.
The Rev. D. Molesworth, who lived the life of a retired scholar
at Pembury, was the son of Doctor Molesworth, of Rochdale,
famous as the incumbent of the richest living in England, and the
doughty antagonist of John Bright, yet who nevertheless in later
life became the great tribune’s staunch friend. From Mr.
Molesworth I heard many interesting stories of the encounters
between his father and the Quaker politician.
Lord Brassey I have always regarded as one of the most
courtly gentlemen I have ever met, and a politician possessing
a great fund of stories about well-known political characters. I
was first asked to meet him at Normanhurst, an unwieldy house
of little architectural merit, a fact no one appreciated more than
my client, who would exclaim, “* Look, look, Mawson, at the thing
my father mistook for architecture ! ”’
Lord Brassey had a charming way of telling a story against
himself. On one occasion I had wandered to a distant part of the
garden, and was struck with the curious and, I must add,
rather stupid arrangement of walks. Here his lordship remarked :
“You remind me of my old friend Edward Thomas, whom I
once found standing just as you are standing now, on this very
spot. By the way, he asked, “ what do you think of it?” I
replied : “ I was just trying to make up my mind about it when
you arrived!’’ “Shall I tell you what Edward Thomas said ?
He told me that no gentleman would do work like that—and he
knew I did it.”
Lord Brassey was building a delightful dower house for theI0o
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
second Lady Brassey. It is a piece of exemplary English half-
timber work, designed by Andrew Prentice. Here I planned the
new drives and the whole of the gardens and terraces. The latter
form a steadying line to the eye in viewing the house, which
occupies a commanding site overlooking a panorama of rolling
Sussex downs, extending in long undulations until lost in the
blue haze of the horizon almost at the sea.
About this time Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who was a native
of Dunfermline, founded the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, to
which he presented half a million pounds sterling for the purpose
of bringing “ sweetness and light ” into the lives of the people of
his native town. This was supplemented by the gift of Pittencrieff
Park and Glen, the retention of which as a private domain had so
far interposed a barrier to the extension of the city westward.
Nowhere have I seen the dire results of private properties held
against the advancing tide of population so curiously demonstrated,
and I remember Mr. Carnegie telling me that as a boy of twelve
he determined to buy Pittencrieff so that he might pull down
the high wall which he was quite sure hid an earthly paradise
from view.
Having got this large property to develop, and an ample
sum to administer, the Trust requested Professor Patrick Geddes
and myself to prepare separate schemes for the development of
Pittencrieff as a public park, and to suggest any other improvements
in the town which might appeal to us.
Our interpretation of these indefinite instructions was that in
the field of imagination we were given free hands. This liberal
interpretation proved, as will subsequently appear, our undoing.
To my scheme I brought every ounce of enthusiasm and hard
study and imagination of which I was capable, spending, with
an efficient staff, months of long hours and hard work in
Dunfermline, investigating every practical avenue for the improve-
ment of the city and its parks and surroundings. The result was
the scheme which is now widely known to town planners not only
in this country but on the Continent and in America. At the end
of eight months I was able to present my proposals in a series of
drawings, and a long preliminary report which pictorially, as in
other ways, surpassed anything I had previously done. As an
example of the landscape architect’s art | have never been able in
this country to surpass this effort, and if any work of mine is
judged in future years to have advanced my art, such judgmentHard Work and Experiences.
will largely be based upon my proposals for bringing “* sweetness
and light’ into Dunfermline.
My scheme was first of all based on the following
considerations :—
(1) Upon the financial possibilities derivable from the interest
at five per centum on half a million sterling, and an approximate
annual expenditure of this income over a period of fifty years.
(2) That Dunfermline had an opportunity of becoming a
great centre for technical instruction on the lines of the Boston
School of Technology.
(3) That, as the outcome of the work of its school, it would
build up a number of artistic industries.
(4) That it would, through its schools, art industries, and the
development of its parks and recreational facilities, attract a
well-to-do resident population.
(5) That the natural expansion of the residential area was
westward, and that the only logical approach to this area_was
by an extension of Bridge Street westward across Pittencrieff Park.
Indeed this seemed to me to be the only logical way of expansion.
This was the rock on which my ambitious scheme for Dunfermline
broke down.
The Chairman of the Trust told me that if I would reconsider
my scheme and remodel it so as to eliminate the extension of
Bridge Street across Pittencrieff, he would propose my retention
as landscape expert to the Trust. I explained that if | failed to
emphasise a development so obvious, so practical, and so essentially
logical, and agreed to delete it from my plans, it would be fatal.
Reviewing all the circumstances, | think I proved myself a weak
diplomat, and that it ought to have been possible to have made
this concession, knowing that its adoption, sooner or later, was
inevitable. As it was, my unaccommodating attitude lost me
these clients. That my proposals were reasonable and inevitable
is proved by the fact that the Trust have not only adopted this
extension westward, but on my calling attention to this change
of policy I was curtly told by the Secretary that they never
contemplated anything else.
It was, however, heartbreaking to know that my efforts should
not only fail to contribute to the evolution of Dunfermline, but
that my action had given the Trust an opportunity of perpetrating
an ungenerous act. I received not one penny tor my many months
of hard work. The sum paid to me barely covered my out-of-pocketThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
expenses. Dunfermline has, however, brought me a rich reward,
for without my published report it is safe to say that I would never
have been commissioned to replan so many Canadian towns,
Athens, and Salonika. I suppose that even the Carnegie
Dunfermline Trustees may have some doubts as to the wisdom of
their judgment, and regret a certain Scotch keenness which might
conceivably have ruined a career.
When I met the Trustees and submitted my estimate of the
cost of the work involved, one of the members said, in a manner
intended to crush, “ To show how impossible your scheme is,
you propose to spend one million pounds, whilst our total capital
is only half this sum.” To which I replied, “ I don’t propose to
spend any of your capital, and only four-fifths of your income.
By spending this for a period of fifty years you will have spent a
million without dissipating one penny of your capital. In short,
what I have done is merely to lay down a policy for your guidance. ”
My work in Dunfermline brought me in contact with Mr.
Andrew Carnegie, who telegraphed to me one Wednesday
afternoon to my London address, asking me to meet him at once
at Skibo Castle, as he was leaving for America the following
Monday. Eager to work for a man so famous, | left the same
night en route for Dornoch, and reached it by Friday noon, where
I was met by the agent, who conducted me to my hotel and arranged
to call for me at nine the next morning.
On my arrival at Skibo, which had recently been rebuilt and
enlarged on a colossal scale, and in a manner which incorporated
every detail of Scottish Baronial architecture, ancient and modern,
I was met by Mr. and Mrs. Carnegie. They were quite excited
about the planning of the new gardens, proposing that we should
at once begin our perambulations and take in the possibilities of
the site. On the sloping ground to the south-east of the house
there was an old-world garden surrounded and divided by a
remarkable beech hedge. To the west of the Castle, and in a
hollow, Mr. Carnegie had built a large bath-house, which must
have costa fortune. This building, with its fanlight roof, introduced
a persistent jarring note; but this was not the only difficulty which
Mr. Carnegie’s energy had introduced, for everywhere there were
the most feeble attempts at artificial rocky streams and rock
gardens, and other mistaken attempts at garden-making scattered
about in all directions. To my keen disappointment I found that
Mr. Carnegie took a great pride in his amateur efforts, and itHard Work and Experiences.
needed all my skill to outline a logical scheme of development
which would not cause alarm. However, I think I must have
succeeded fairly well, for at lunch Mrs. Carnegie said, “ Well,
Mr. Mawson, we like your ideas very much, so you had better
get to work quickly, and let us have your plans on_ Monday
morning.” ‘‘So speaks the American,” said Mr. Carnegie ;
“ quick’s the word! ’’ Of course I had to explain that the work
which I had outlined was very important, and that the most I
could promise was to post to New York sketch plans in six weeks’
time. From what I afterwards learnt, I am sure that a few effective
lines drawn upon Ordnance maps would have satisfied Mrs.
Carnegie, who would have left the rest to me.
I spent the rest of the day with Mr. Carnegie, walking over
the property. It was a beautiful October day, with a clear sky,
and the foliage was just taking on its most gorgeous autumn
colours. There was a lilt in the air, and the first signs of that
crispness which makes this period of the year so perfect for a
walk in good company, and Mr. Carnegie was that: full of his
schemes for the betterment of mankind, full also of his theories
of paternal socialism, and at peace with the whole world, but all
the time anxious to expedite the evolution of life. In particular,
he was inordinately proud of being the possessor of Skibo.
“The Duke,” he remarked, “ told me that his agent had charged
such an extravagant sum for Skibo that he felt ashamed to look
an honest man in the face.” ‘‘ What did you reply?” I asked.
“* Duke,’ said I, ‘ don’t you worry about that, for if you had been
Andrew Carnegie and I had been His Grace the Duke, you would
have had to pay a lot more for it than your agent charged men =
Late in the afternoon we arrived at the view-point of the
estate. There we stood overlooking the Firth of Dornoch towards
the setting sun; the scene was so sublime that we both
instinctively took off our hats. Then Mr. Carnegie, turning sharp
round to me, said, “‘ Mr. Mawson, they say Heaven is a beautiful
place, and I dare say it is true; but isn’t this good enough to be
going on with?” “Perhaps,” I replied, “this is a foretaste.”
“TI hope you are right,” said he, “for I have never seen in all
my travels anything so beautiful.”
Another interesting man I met for the first time at this period
was Walter Fenwick, of Witham Hall, the son of the well-known
Northumbrian banker. My client was a keen horticulturist, and
a man of great taste, and with a wonderful sense of colour, a gift104
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
possessed by many of my lady clients, but seldom by the men.
y work was to lay out gardens to correspond with the house,
which had been extended and remodelled to the designs of Andrew
Prentice, and was a good example of his work. In addition to the
gardens immediately surrounding the house, all of which were of
a formal character, I planned a landscape garden on the margin of
a lake on the north-west side of the house, and here we naturalised
a large number of ornamental trees and shrubs, many of which
were new introductions from China.
On one of my visits to Witham Hall I found my client in his
billiard-room and in his shirt-sleeves, in the act, as I thought, of
paper-hanging, the last occupation I would have expected him to
take up. On looking round, however, I found him surrounded by
about twenty saucers in which he had mixed his colours, which
he was laying in large patches on the back of long rolls of cream-
coloured wall-paper. These rolls represented his scheme for a
great border of annuals, and was arranged to quarter the actual
size. I was interested, and asked on what principle he worked.
Well, I lay down my ideal colour first, and then select annuals
of the height, colour, and character required.” To me the drawings
were both interesting and instructive, and the result, which I had
the pleasure of seeing the following summer, exceeded all my
expectations.
Another client, Mr. Thomas O. Lloyd, whom I first met at
Budbrooke House, Warwick, was also the owner of the well-known
Elizabethan Priory near by, to which Wren added a new classical
front, and which is known to connoisseurs as one of our most
beautiful examples of domestic architecture. Mr. Lloyd possessed
an interesting collection of early Quaker correspondence and
literature, he being the direct descendant of the original Quaker
Lloyd who for conscience’ sake spent thirteen years of his life
in prisons. Some of this correspondence has been published by
the Society of Friends.
My work for Mr. Lloyd consisted of garden extensions at
Budbrooke House, where we accidentally discovered an avenue-like
arrangement of trees in the park to the west of the house, which
needed only the removal of two trees to bring to light a long
avenue in alignment with the house and gardens. For a hundred
years these two trees had obstructed this opening, evidently
without anyone being aware of it. Later I carried out work for
Mr. Lloyd at The Priory, and also, at a still later date, planned aHard Work and Experiences.
part of his property as a residential estate, which, when developed,
should, I think, form an interesting addition to Warwick.
The following year allowed no alternative to hard work
and economy, necessitated by my still expanding practice. The
most notable commission during the year was a public park for
the Corporation of Rochdale, which cost over £20,000. Falinge
Park, as it was called, was originally the name of a large private
residence which, together with its handsome stables, was built
round a large courtyard. The mansion, and estate of about 30
acres, were presented to the town by Alderman John Turner,
who added to his benefaction the cost of laying out the estate,
including the formation of a wide balustraded terrace enclosing
the carriage court on the south front. Other terraces, flower
gardens, and conservatories were laid out on the east side of the
house, whilst the rest of the ground was adapted in various ways to
the needs of the townsfolk, who from the first took a special pride
in their park, and have maintained it in a high state of upkeep.
Meanwhile, Henry A. Harben (afterwards Sir Henry) had
bought an estate at Chalfont St. Giles, with its residence intact,
to which his architect, Mr. Paul Waterhouse, had made additions.
Mr. Harben’s father was one of the founders of the Prudential
Assurance Company, and as president had brought that company
to the position of one of the most powerful financial corporations
in the country. At the time I met Mr. Harben he had risen to
his father’s position as managing director. I found in him a
sympathetic client, well instructed in horticulture, and one who
discussed every detail and development of my designs with the
keenest interest. The site did not offer any thrilling opportunities.
The soil was not good for many varieties of shrub, though excellent
for roses, nor were there any interesting vistas over distant
landscapes. Nevertheless, we were able to introduce many
features which added character to the estate. Among these was
a garden court extending from the house and bounded on either
side by pergolas, ending in garden houses, the whole designed in
a classical style to accord with the heavy character of the facade
on this side of the house.
My most notable client during this year was Mr. John Cory,
the owner of an estate in Glamorganshire. Duffryn and its gardens
are extensive in scale and well appointed. Here, as an extension
of the existing gardens, I planned a scheme extending over many
acres, into which every type of garden design has been happily106
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
welded by my client’s son, Mr. Reginald Cory, who is an amateur
landscape gardener and horticulturist of insight and ability. The
a of the success achieved in these gardens largely belongs
to him.
My connection with Duffryn and my friend Mr. Reginald Cory
still continues, and associations have been formed which help to
keep alive my interest in certain departments of horticulture and
arboriculture which the claims of later years might have weakened.
Mr. Cory’s interests were many, and extended to town
planning and housing, and it was for him that I designed Glyn Cory,
a projected model village some three miles north of Duffryn.
he site was admirable for a beautiful model village, and possessed
many attractive and unique amenities. Unfortunately, during my
subsequent absence in America the work fell into other hands, and
was shorn of most of those distinctive features which would have
assured its success.
Although I possessed all the illustrated works on Italian
gardens extant, both Mr. Cory and I felt that books were inadequate
for our full education with regard to both the setting and the
planting of the examples given, so we arranged a tour of inspection
of many of the best known Italian examples, and of a few lesser
famous but beautiful gardens, bringing away with us records of
our investigations in the form of photographs and rough plans
and sketches. At the same time, we visited the noted picture
galleries and works of art in Florence, Milan, Naples, and Rome,
for I realised that Italian gardens were but one phase of the
expression of a great art movement which influenced all design.
At the end of one of our strenuous days we arrived on our
patient and tired donkeys at the gates of a large palace which we
had been advised to see, only to find them closed and no porter
in attendance. At last, just as we were arranging to return, we
espied a young woman peering at us from an upper barred window,
and my friend addressed himself to her in the best French he
could muster, but got no reply beyond quizzical smiles. ‘Thus
encouraged, my friend began again in French, asking if it were
possible to get inside the grounds. . At last she replied in excellent
English: “ Don’t you think, gentlemen, we would understand
each other better if you spoke in English!”’ Jt was an amusing
episode, which led to our addressing ourselves for the future in
King’s English, backed by a King’s coin, and, strange to say, we
were usually understood.4
5
i
=
&
=]
4
o
ra
i
jaa)
by
2
ky
te
oO
4
I
4
v0
Zz
=
w
ee}
e
Ee
<
a
by
=<
&CHAPTER’ XX.
AN ESTIMATE OF PROGRESS AND HOME LIFE INTERESTS.
review the pathway along which I had striven to secure
at last a position of some stability, noting there, from the
eminence gained, the turns in the road or the surgings of the
tide which, as Shakespeare says, when taken at the full leads on
to fortune.
From the first budding acquaintance with the writings of
Repton, Sir Uvedale Price, and Kemp, I always felt that I was
one of the party, although, when my father’s disaster fell upon the
family, to feel the assurance within me that here was the line
whereby I would retrieve our name and public regard may be
looked upon as mere boyish ambition. My pole star was brilliant ;
nevertheless, it was approachable, and my ambition was healthy
and reasonable. I hitched my wagon to a star, and, I am thankful
to say, I had the courage, through failure and success, to hold
on unswervingly.
Now I may say that the flickering early lights of mere personal
ambition had given place to the dawn of desire to advance the
profession of design as applied to gardens, and to parks and cities
also. That which has hitherto befriended me has become, from
a sense of gratitude, a passion of love and reciprocal desire. It
is oftentimes so in human affection. From one act of kindness to
another, gratitude is engendered, which in turn gives place to
affection and irrefragable unity.
My ambitions ran beyond my educational advantages, and
doubtless were not in keeping with my lack of scientific training.
Thus all the more it becomes my wish to see some specialised
curriculum for landscape architecture established in a separate
college or in a school attached to one of our universities, as in
America. But, given the necessary grit and ambition, youth will
ERE I pause for a brief space, as at a half-way house, to
107108
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
get a fair substitute for an academic and technical training somehow ;
what is more, it will not make technique or science an end in itself,
as many erstwhile brilliant students do. Onward and upward 1s
the young man’s motto, and a good training in the school of
hardship and adversity tends to fit him for the forward march.
I early learnt to eliminate non-essentials and not to tarry gloating
over successes, nor to waste energy lamenting failures, but to
use them as stepping-stones to higher opportunity.
The initial training of an architect, a garden and park designer,
or a town planner, I compare to the impetus which the yachtsman
gives to his craft when he throws it upon the wind upon leaving
the moorings. When a sufficient momentum has been gained, he
rounds his craft up to the wind, and using the wind to defeat the wind,
he now progresses full in its teeth, closehauled and tacking at some
five or six points to it. A poor start is a disadvantage assuredly,
when through obstacles or other causes the full momentum
cannot be obtained; but it can be atoned for in the race by
skilful manipulation. There is a kind of education to be gained
from almost everything seen and met with. I have a warm place
in my memory for Mr. William Leiper, one of the few architects
honoured with the coveted R.S.A. He was one of those men who
are always educating themselves by constant observation and
subsequent application. The freshness of the fount within him
was always springing forth in response to the beauty of the world
around him, and bursting forth in spasmodic and stimulating
remarks.
To take a casual instance. Travelling together on the road
to remote Ballimore, he would suddenly remark in the midst of
our professional conversation: “Eh, Mawson, look at that
towering bank of cloud. Isn’t it grand in its form, and noble in
its poise!’ And then he would add, “ There’s your commanding
effect, and there are your subsidiaries ranged in perfect ordering,
pointing to the lesser drifts of clouds in shoals ranged round the
upstanding pillar. That was only a sample of scores of such
observations. I know nothing about Leiper’s early or professional
training. There was no trace of anything pedantic about him or
his work, but I felt assured, by his general remarks, that he was the
man to send for when it was a case of reducing chaos to order,
and, further, to cast over it the glamour of imagination.
It is a pleasure to rub shoulders with and to meet such men.
Many of us observe and are unable to put into words what we feel,109
Progress and Home Life Interests.
much less comment upon the lessons we store as we go along.
I have met many men who are very highly trained, who are without
this spark of genius, this Midas-touch which transmutes all they
handle into gold.
This by the way. Now to my narrative.
Owing to the expansion of my practice in the South and
South-West of England I began to find more and more that
Windermere and Lakeland (of which I was passionately fond)
were too remote from most of my work. A number of my clients
were City men who could only get away from business for the
week-ends, and so desired interviews on either Friday evening or
Saturday, which seldom left me time to reach home until Sunday,
if then. This meant week-ends in town, followed by a week of
visits to works in progress, and consequently longer absences from
home and office than was convenient or desirable. To obviate
this, my family stayed increasingly at Hest Bank, a seaside suburb
of Lancaster, where, as already stated, my wife and | had built
ourselves a bungalow, originally intended as a holiday home for
the children. From Windermere and our many social ties there
we gradually and regretfully withdrew. We had pictured ourselves
as living our life in the home at Windermere [| had specially
designed and built, commanding a magnificent panorama of rolling
woods, lake, and mountains; but fate willed otherwise. The
Corbels, Windermere, is treasured in our memory as well as in the
memory of our children, for there most of them were born.
The house and its garden were just suited to our needs, and we
had the advantage of the Windermere Grammar School for the
boys. We had also taken our part in the religious and social
life of the village, and made a host of loyal friends.
Although only thirty miles south of Windermere, Hest Bank,
being midway between the important railway centres of Carnforth
and Lancaster, and only thirty minutes from Preston, was infinitely
superior as a railway centre, as may be understood when I mention
that I could reach London by 1-30 p.m., whereas from Windermere
it was 4-15 p.m. before I could arrive. The latter allowed me but
half an hour with my staff in the London office before closing,
whereas the former gave me a clear half-day, while on the return
journey the advantages were even greater. The difference meant
that, while I very often could not get home to Windermere for
the week-end, I seldom failed to return to my family when at
Hest Bank.The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The place had special attractions for us all. We had conceived
the idea of building a model village of our own on a site which
was in many respects ideal, and, as a hobby when on our holidays,
we planned out the village. Our plan extended over a wide area
in order to ensure logical expansion towards Lancaster in one
direction, to Morecambe in another, and to Carnforth in another.
Now that the lapse of time has thrown our actions into proper
perspective, it is easy to see, after the event, that at this time we
ought to have removed our headquarters to London. Our not
doing so was a tactical mistake. The London office had the
practice in its grasp, and the provincial practice was subsidiary to
that of London. Indeed, I had worked out a scheme which, had
it been carried through, would have given a great impetus to my
practice. This plan included a small colony built round a studio
in a large garden, to accommodate at least twenty assistants. It
was to be situated about half an hour’s journey from London,
and directly connected with my consulting room by telephone.
The lure of the North of England frustrated this intention, and the
alternative finally decided upon was to make Hest Bank a place
of residence, and Lancaster the place of business.
Our bungalow of which I have spoken was on the shore,
with two acres of lawn running down to the bay, and miles of
yellow and light-brown sand alternating with the tidal waters,
stretching away into blue and green distances, backed by the
Lakeland mountains. Ulverston sands, as they are sometimes
called, have been so well depicted by Turner, De Wint, and
David Cox, that my readers have already some idea of the
fascinations of our surroundings. To me these unbroken distances
had a great charm and a distinct educational influence, and I am
sure led to my work becoming broader in its conception and
planning. I revelled in plain unbroken spaces, and planted still
fewer shrubs. The contrast between the multitudinous detail
of Lakeland landscapes and the quiet spaces of Morecambe Bay
was fascinating.
The pleasure of having one’s family around one must always
be greater than that of living in a beautiful locality, and in the
case of a large family such as ours there are many compensations.
Sisters are splendid tutors for their brothers, and develop their
sense of chivalry. Then both form a kind of club amongst
themselves into which they intuitively admit others of similar age
and diverse aims and tastes.III
Progress and Home Life Interests.
Such was our home circle at the Bungalow, in which the
young people found scope for outdoor athletic amusements in
summer, while in winter, having a music-room and a pipe organ,
we had many glee parties together, with part singing and
instrumental orchestral music also.
These week-end parties were delightful; but, alas ! very many
of the bright young fellows who were so full of the joy of life, and
so ambitious for the future, are no more. They played their part
in the great struggle, and made the great sacrifice with brave
hearts, anxious only for the triumph of right and the honour of
their regiment.
On Sunday morning we all met at the little Free Church, one
of the smallest in the country, holding, when packed, just one
hundred worshippers, including the choir, which was largely
confined to members of my own family and their friends. This
church was presided over by the Rev. Herbert Gamble, M.A.,
who speedily endeared himself to us by remarkable gifts as a
preacher, combined with a rare genius for understanding young
people. He was the most lovable of pastors, wise in council
beyond his years, and fully alive to the claims of beauty as an
element in worship, he developing a form and order which were
unique for a small village church.
From this service the children and their friends and the
pastor would troop down to the Bungalow for lunch, where we
usually sat down to the number of eighteen. The afternoon we
spent at tennis or other forms of recreation. If the day was wet,
then we would have a talk about our favourite authors, a subject
on which Mr. Gamble was well informed. After tea there was the
early evening service, and there was no difficulty in securing full
attendance, for the sermons were always anticipated with the
utmost interest ; and no wonder, for they were perfect cameos,
and always finishing to the second—twelve minutes in the morning
and eight minutes in the evening. The entire service was full
of beauty and helpfulness, though lasting less than an hour.
At Mr. Gamble’s request I gave the children’s address,
limited to five minutes. This in a large number of Free Churches
is a feature of morning worship, but I always think ours was
somehow different. There was no attempt at theology, but a
frank recognition of the mental capacity of young folk, whose
powers of observation and love for all created things we endeavoured
to cultivate, so that I made practically the whole of my children’sII2
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
addresses short, simple studies of nature. I think the young folk
took a lively interest in these little talks. At any rate, they used
to set their parents an occasional poser, and one little chap asked
his farmer father if he knew the names of every grass in his meadow.
I always think that these talks to children were a fine preparation
for the lectures by which in later years | endeavoured to popularise
and encourage the study of Landscape Architecture in its application
both to town planning and to the design of gardens. What I mean
is, that the simplicity of style essential in the address to a child’s
understanding provides a quality of definite value and a direct
style of diction equally invaluable when appealing to adults.
he work in the Windermere and London offices was now
under good control owing to my policy of training my own men
and retaining their services. The advantages of such a course
could not be doubted, and the fact that every member of the staff
regarded himself as the genius of the organisation without whose
co-operation it would fall to the ground, in no sense diminished
the advantages of this arrangement.
The knowledge that I was supported by a competent and
loyal staff enabled me to cultivate a closer control of work in
progress, make more frequent meetings with clients, and give,
what is always so essential to success in a landscape architect, a
closer study of the site and the proper adjustment of the design
to it. In this way I was continually meeting new people, getting
new angles of view in respect to many things, and solving new
problems.
Every person who has carried his life forward with any
measure of success proves what he is made of in the early stages
by the force of his character. This is proved by the way he meets
difficulties, obstacles, hindrances, and drawbacks, which, if he is a
spirited competitor, he will, in spite of falls and mishaps, surmount
with resolution and fortitude. Then follows a stage when he
realises his place in the universal scheme of things, and he sees
his life and his work in their true perspective. As I reflect, I
am convinced that many failures to make good and reap the
harvest of life are due to the fact that so many men and women
never arrive at this restful stage. They never lend themselves to
it, but go on fighting, and go under, submerged by trifling things
which ought to have been side-tracked.
I must not omit to mention that it was at this transitional
stage of my career that my first foreign commission occurred.113
Progress and Home Life Interests.
It came to me in a letter received from Baron von Boeslager,
of Schloss Hessen, near the town of Hamm in Westphalia, asking
me to advise him upon the restoration of his garden, which had
been much neglected during the years of exile from his native
land that he and his father had suffered, on religious grounds. His
father had been exiled by the Government of William I., the
family being regarded as political Romanists and as wielding an
influence antagonistic to the Lutheran dynasty. At this time they
were living near Bournemouth. Here I first met my client and
his wife, who were about to leave for Schloss Hessen, one of their
nine ancestral homes. I made my arrangements to meet them,
and a month later started with an assistant. Schloss Hessen is
an old fortified domain situated in the centre of a very rich but
otherwise uninteresting agricultural district on the banks of the
sluggish river Lippo. ‘The site of the residential part of the
estate is triangular, being bounded on one side by the river and
on the other two by a canal. The intake of the canal is some
distance up the river, which provides power for a water-wheel
where it reunites with it some distance below the Schloss. This
island is approached by a bridge and quaint picturesque gate-
houses, the drive passing through an enormous stable-yard arranged
for five hundred horses, the maintenance of which was one of the
conditions on which the barony was originally granted, along with
accommodation for the stable-men and a military escort.
From the stable-court the house is approached through
wrought-iron gates with handsome pillars, the spaciousness of the
stabling giving a dwarfed appearance to the house, though the
latter was not by any means small. With its mansard roof it was
reminiscent of the French chateaux, and was, along with the stables,
built of beautiful shallow hand-made bricks with stone dressings.
The designer had evidently set his house in a garden in every
way characteristic of the building, furnished with statuary,
balustrades, triangular sundial, and a classical garden house, with
a quaintly decorated dome ceiling. The whole of the garden was
overgrown with weeds and rank growth. My work consisted of
replanning it entirely and making a complete survey of the original
work, my completed plans being more for a scheme for restoration
than for a new design. These, along with suggestions for a few
necessary additions to the house, such as those of a sanitary
character, together with bathrooms, etc., we submitted in due
course, and they were executed by the local builders and native
III4
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
workmen. Before leaving Schloss Hessen my client asked me
to accompany him to one of his homes in his forests some sixty
miles distant. We left early in the morning and arrived after a
journey of about two and a half hours. Our purpose was to study
the approach and discuss possible additions to the house. What
attracted me most was the possibility of seeing a well-managed
German forest, and I was not disappointed—in fact, I had never
imagined that forestry lent itself to such scientific organisation.
Covering an extent of many thousands of acres, it was as accurately
laid out as the up-to-date modern city. Intersecting it was a
railway and a canal, and between the two was erected the extensive
estate saw mill, with light railways radiating from this centre in all
directions, thus providing cheap transit to the mill for each year’s
cut. On a level site were laid out the forest nurseries, and
surrounding them was the foresters’ village, with church and
school and every village amenity. I was shown the plans of the
entire forest, delineating each year’s cut and each year’s fresh
planting, adil was toldithat this plan had to be approved by the
Government Department of Forestry.
I left the Boeslager forest much impressed with the status
and importance of the forestry industry of Germany.Illus. No.
Pet
Pl cy
ae
Illus. No. 26.
THORNTON Manor, NEAR Port SUNLIGHT.—IHE GARDEN FORUM.CHAPTER XI.
I MEET MR. W. H. LEVER AND VISIT AMERICA.
HE years 1905 and 1906 were the most momentous in my
career. In the first place, it was in the year 1905 that I
first met my client and friend the late Lord Leverhulme.
The manner of our meeting was both interesting and unique.
It came about in this way
I have already -dteneee to the little church at Hest Bank, and
it was my interest in this church and its adornment which brought
about this life-long friendship.
I had designed for the church a carved folding screen to
enclose a smaller space for the greater comfort of our sparse winter
congregation. When thinking about ways and means for its
execution, it occurred to me that I might induce members of
Parliament, of both parties, whom I knew sufficiently well, to
give their support. I succeeded admirably up to the last panel,
and here the member on whom I relied to complete the scheme,
a man of wealth and Free Church principles, failed me. He
handed me ten shillings in such a manner that I prefer not to
think about it.
As a last hope I wrote to Mr. Lever, whom I had never
met, and upon whom | had not the slightest claim, excepting
that we were both regarded as High Church Nonconformists.
pointed this out in writing, and enclosed a copy of my design for
the screen, which evidently appealed to him. His reply was
characteristic, and revealed that vein of humour for which he
was so madely known, along with the kindly generosity which
never lost a practical opportunity of helping forward worthy
causes,
II5116
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The letter was dated from Thornton Manor, Thornton Hough,
Cheshire, and reads as follows :—
Dear Mr. Mawson,
I am very pleased to have the opportunity of sending you my cheque for
the remaining carved panel in the screen of your beautiful village church, and
wish you every success in your endeavours still further to improve its services.
Now that you have had the courage to ask me for a subscription, may I be
so bold as to ask you to come and advise me upon the improvement of my garden
at Thornton Manor? I have wanted to consult you for the last two years, but
all my friends warned me that it would be useless, as you never worked for anyone
holding less social rank than a Duke, whereas I am only a poor and indigent soap-
maker. Let me know if you can come, and when, naming two or three alternative
dates. Yours faithfully,
Wiutam Hesketu Lever.
So began my association with Lord Leverhulme, of which
I shall have much to say in this and following chapters. It was
quite an unexpected reward for my interest in the work of our
little church, and one which I certainly did not anticipate. —
We fixed a mutually convenient date, and it was arranged
that I should stay two days at Thornton Manor, a residence in
the Elizabethan style, and even at that time of considerable extent,
showing in its design perhaps a little too much emphasis on detail,
a fault which has been eliminated by later extensions. My client
had already initiated alterations reminiscent of the best work of
the period. All this I took in at a sweep as I passed through the
house to meet Mr. Lever, who was among his pictures in his
palatial music-room. I was received with a smile and a hearty
handshake, which put me at my ease at once.
William Hesketh Lever was, I quickly realised, a man of
strong personality, who had absolute control of himself and all
his interests, in which I include those interests which absorbed
his few leisure hours. At this our first interview he struck me as a
veritable Napoleon in his grasp of all the factors dominating any
problem he tackled, in his walk and pose, and in his speech, which
contained the concentrated essence of thought. There were all
the characteristics which we associate with the “ Little Corporal.”
After dinner we had a long walk backwards and forwards on the
south front of the house, discussing industrial problems, politics,
and certain aspects of sociology, in which I found he was deeply
interested. Mrs. Lever was a perfect complement to her husband,
quietly interested in all his wonderful projects, but not a little
anxious to know when it would all come to an end, so that117
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
they might be able to enjoy their home in peace. She was
charmingly hospitable and careful for the comfort of her guests,
and always shed the radiance of a truly gracious spirit over the
household. Mr. and Mrs. Lever, though widely different in
temperament, and probably because of this, were a most devoted
couple. Seldom one left home without the other, even when the
purpose was a purely business one.
On parting for the night, Mr. Lever said, with something of a
anes in his eye, © I shall be out in the en at a quarter-past
| hope this is not too early for you. I can give you an hour
ani a quarter, and we breakfast at half-past seven.’ I answered
that this was quite convenient to me.
Prompt to the time he was there in riding attire, having just
returned from the morning canter in which he always indulged
after going through his private correspondence. I began to wonder
how many hours’ sleep he thought necessary. However, here he
was with bundles of plans drawn out by himself, outlining great
extensions to the gardens. He explained, however, that I must not
allow myself to be too much influenced by these plans, as they
were merely the work of an amateur. As the work of an amateur
they were truly remarkable.
His scheme outlined a formal garden of heroic proportions,
adapted to the changing levels of the site, and I have never met a
man, layman or professional, who could reckon up so rapidly the
amount of “cut and fill’’ required to form the levels he had
planned. Mr. Lever also proved to have an intuitive faculty of
visualising my emendations and alternative proposals to his scheme.
I realised as never before how such men as Sir Peter Pindar, for
instance, came to build such unique dwellings, characteristic of
their personal selves, when they were no architects in the true
sense of the word.
I found myself encouraged to give my views and criticisms
quite freely, pointing out where the designs failed to take advantage
of some notable feature in the landscape or in whatever way my
experience suggested, with the result that by breakfast time we had
arrived at the main outlines of a workable scheme. Thus began
the professional connection with my best client, and a firm friendship
which the passing years served only to cement more firmly. Some
of the work resulting from this connection has been published in
“The Art and Craft of Garden Making,” and my other works on
Landscape Architecture and Civic Art, as well as in my specialThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
articles in ““ The Studio” and other publications. The plan, which
will appear in my forthcoming book on Lord Leverhulme and
his gardens, is interesting as the first which I prepared for Mr.
Lever. The greater part of it was actually carried out.
About the time that this scheme for Mr. Lever was well
launched, an American gentleman who was making a prolonged
stay in the Lake District made a friendly call upon me.
This was Mr. Theodore Marburg from Baltimore, later America’s
ambassador to Paris. With him I spent occasional evenings during
a lovely summer memorable for its glowing sunsets, conversing
upon scenes and topics dear to both. More than once, as we
watched from the terrace of his hired mansion (the grounds
to which, by the way, I had laid out several years before)
the sun dip behind the majestic barrier of mountains at the
head of Windermere, we were awed to silence. The spell
which others than poets have felt in this district, was upon us.
Personally, I admire those Americans who escape from the terrific
rush which you feel immediately you land at New York, to
make a prolonged stay in the Lake District, drinking deep
of “its peace, its awe, its rapture.” Instead of being a stretch
of idleness, such an experience is a fount of inspiration to all who
come under its spell. It imparts power and high tone to one’s
practical efforts.
My conversations with Mr. Marburg often took a practical
shape. He was president of a civic league for beautifying and
ennobling his native town of Baltimore, and I likewise had begun
my studies in civic design, and had written essays upon it which
I was later to incorporate in a book on the subject. We having so
much in common, his departure for America left a distinct sense
of loss, but shortly afterwards I received a letter from him telling
me that a young friend of his, the direct heir to one of their
colonial mansions and estates, situated at Green Spring Valley,
Massachusetts, would make an appointment with me when over
in England, to consult me about his gardens.
In due course I met and dined with Mr. and Mrs. Carroll
Brown of Green Spring Valley, at Claridge’s Hotel, London.
y new clients proved to be an interesting young couple,
very much enamoured of the spirit of the English gardens, and
anxious to reproduce some of the charms of these at their home.
We arranged to spend the following day in touring part of Surrey
and Kent, making Canterbury our objective, and inspectingIIg
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
private parks and gardens on the way. Such, however, was the
speed at which we travelled in their 60-h.p. car that there was
no opportunity of seeing anything except the road and the fleeting
landscape on either side. Since then I have sat behind many
reckless drivers in many countries, but this journey stands out
in my memory as the champion hair-raising performance. The
weather was fine and warm, and | enjoyed the run whenever |
could manage to forget our danger. We got back to London,
having done Surrey and Kent, in time for dinner, afterwards
fixing up terms and time of sailing for America. Although I am
a bad sailor, and always ill on the flimsiest pretext, the joys of
the anticipation of this trip to the United States filled me with
boundless pleasure. My eldest son, who had just completed his
second year at the London School of Architecture, caught my
enthusiasm, and finally persuaded me that he was essential to my
success. Accordingly we took passage together.
We sailed by the Cedric on the 26th September, and after
one of the stormiest voyages on record arrived at New York eight
days later. We made many friends amongst the passengers, some
of whom extended hospitality to us, and afterwards helped me
in many ways in my later trips to Canada and the States. I had
often heard of the liberal hospitality of the Americans, but my
experience is that it surpasses anything one can imagine. Americans
have indeed the will and genius for hospitality.
At this date the rising mass of “ skyscrapers,” now grown
into a perfect mountain of masonry, gave a unique first 1 impression
of New York, especially by night, when outlined with myriads of
electric lights. With insular British contempt I had regarded
‘“ skyscrapers ’’ as monstrosities. I now began to see that they
represented a new and necessary phase of construction, which
possessed imaginative and scholarly potentialities. It is interesting
to me to realise that so long ago I could cut adrift from
English conceptions of art to the extent of studying new forms of
architectural expression with an open mind.
After passing the customs officer I offered the man. who had
helped us a dollar, which he politely refused. “ No, sir,” said he ;
““ you are now in the United States, where every man is paid
for his job.” So with a hearty good- day and a handshake he put
us into a conveyance and directed the driver to an hotel.
he train journey to Baltimore, the divisional point at which
we had to change and stay the nights was instructive. The noteThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of smartness and perfect organisation which had gripped me
immediately we landed, and which had so impressed itself upon
my mind, was again manifest in the planning and the outer
architectural expression of the up-to-date hotel where we stayed.
The decorations and furnishings sustained the note, as did the
well-cooked and well-served dinner, and the absolute all-pervading
cleanliness of everything. The details, such as pottery, glass,
napery, and flowers, were in perfect accord.
After breakfast we caught an early train for Green Spring
Valley, about twenty-five miles distant, a train journey of nearly
two hours. Now we saw the picturesque New England aspect of
America in contrast to its modern smartness. The train leisurely
jogged along a sinuous course by the side of a river most of the
way, the country being interspersed with abundant copses of
trees and native shrubs. Here and there were little farmsteads
and timber-built churches of the colonial neo-classic type. The
native trees and shrubs were deeply interesting to us, seen as they
were in the full splendour of their autumn glory. The American
autumn has notes of harmony distinct from our English display,
which struck home to me with pleasure, and made what would have
otherwise been a tedious journey most instructive. It was one o
those dreamy autumn days of the New England Indian summer
such as we also enjoy on this side of the Atlantic during the
later part of this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. The
American poets Longfellow and William Cullen Bryant have
described this period of their year, and, in seeing it, I was able
to enter into their sentiments and feelings as never before.
Their seasons are more regular and follow one another with
more precision than ours. Most of the meadows as we went
along were bathed in a sea of silver mist, out of which rose
the knolls and hillocks and lordly groups of gorgeous sumack,
hickory, and red-leaved American oak, towering up magnificently,
their tints fired with the glow of sunshine playing up against the
dark-blue sky. They have an ample reserve of russet and sober
grey-green in such trees as the sugar pine as a foil to the richer
tints, and altogether I felt some compensation for missing in their
autumn glory the Lakeland scenery, and that of the Trossachs,
where my work had led me several autumns in succession.
At last we arrived at Brooklands station, where my client
was waiting for us. Brooklandwood, his mansion in the Green
Spring Valley, was about a mile and a half distant, and reached byI21I
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
a deep-rutted, sandy road between a scrub of pine and _ hickory
woods, all very picturesque, but not so well ordered as one would
expect in the approach to a palatial residence built over two
hundred years ago.
The site had been well chosen, and was situated on high,
well-timbered ground overlooking the widest and richest part of
the valley. The house itself was a fitting example of colonial
Georgian architecture, built in a square block, with servants’
quarters in a separate building. The orange and plum-coloured
bricks, two inches thick, were, I was told, brought in olden
times to the port of Baltimore as ballast, but how they were
transported in those early days from Baltimore I never found out.
The only explanation obtainable was that it had been a slave
station, and therefore anything was possible.
There was the usual stoep, as the Dutch call it, or verandah,
supported by long white columns. ‘The roof of the verandah
rose up two floors, finishing under the deep overhanging eaves,
which latter were supported by beautifully carved acanthus
consols or brackets, which gave a distinctly decorative note to
the whole.
The views from the south front were varied and panoramic
in breadth and extent. Looking at the house from the lawns,
it had all the appearance of being embosomed in a richly timbered
forest, the flanking trees behind being larger than any I have ever
seen in America, except the sequoias of Vancouver. The distance
from the house to the public road was about two hundred yards,
and we decided to make a straight, dignified approach connecting
them, with handsome wrought-iron gates, piers, and lodges, to
mark the entrance. By the removal of a few trees it was possible
to frame the view of the house and to obtain a ready-made avenue
from the trees left standing on the lawns on either side of the
drive. On the east side of this avenue the garage and stables
were already built, forming a handsome block of buildings, and
it was in the shelter of this block that I planned an enclosed garden
in which the greenhouses and conservatories were to be erected.
The extensive fruit and vegetable garden was on the west side
of the house, and very irregular in shape. To give interest to this
vegetable garden, as an alternative to the fruit trees, there were
rows of specimen Magnolia grandiflora grown as standards, while
hundreds of yards of rough espaliers were covered with American
blackberry canes, which at the time were laden with luscious fruit.122
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The apples were not to be compared in flavour to our home-grown
ones. I have since visited many American gardens, but I have
yet to find one which can grow an apple equal to the Cox’s
orange pippin of my youth.
Between the house and the fruit and vegetable garden there
was a deep gorge, with an abundant stream running through it,
spreading out naturally at places into pools. On the south front
the lawns lay in gentle undulations, but were otherwise barren
and without interest, while the beautiful old house was devoid
of any of the terracing for which it so insistently called.
We stayed three weeks with our clients, surveying, contouring,
and planning out the whole garden scheme, which was completed
in draft form and approved before we left. These plans we
brought back with us, and prepared working drawings, details,
and specifications for the whole.
My clients’ home of Brooklandwood was the resort of the
wealthier financiers and bankers, who together with their families
and friends motored down from Baltimore on Sundays. In
addition to their other hobbies the Browns were collectors of
Chippendale and Sheraton furniture, and were proud of their
collection.
Meeting Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Brown again in London the
following Spring, I asked Mr. Lever’s permission to show them
his collection of pictures and furniture, which he readily granted.
y clients were immediately and visibly impressed by the richness
of the collection, and as we passed from room to room it could be
seen that they had lost their pride in their own possessions. At
last, when we had completed our round, Mr. Brown remarked
with good humour: “ There is just one note of completion
which I could suggest. I think Mr. Lever should panel his
doors with Romneys.”
The intense interest of this trip to America was such that |
felt determined to repeat it at no very distant date. It must be
obvious that it is beneficial for a designer to get away from his
drawing-board and desk for a time, and leave all the worry of his
office for a spell. He comes back fresh, and tackles the problems
from another angle, and I had felt this very much.
Shortly after my return from America I was introduced by
Mrs. Chamberlain (sister-in-law of the famous Joseph) to another
well-known American, Mr. J. J. Van Alen, who had purchased
Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire, one of our best examples of123
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
Jacobean architecture, where, in the triangular lodge adjoining it,
the Gunpowder Plot was hatched. This lodge is in a good state
of preservation. For many years previous to its purchase by
Mr. Van Alen, the Hall had been allowed to fall into a deplorable
state of disrepair ; the gardens had fared worse, having practically
disappeared. The terraces had all gone, probably during the
“ Capability Brown ”’ period, and the lake which flooded the lower
grounds was a mass of tangled alder and swamp vegetation.
“J. J.,” as Mr. Van Alen was usually called by his friends,
being one of those Americans who are obsessed with the beauty
of mechanical perfection, was not the man to be the possessor
of Rushton. Had I realised at the start that my client had
really no feeling for Jacobean domestic architecture, or its equivalent
in the garden, it would have saved me much loss and annoyance.
At my first interview with him I was asked to plan new
gardens round the house, and to remodel the remainder in such
a manner as I thought best. My first work was to reinstate the
terraces which I was assured at one time ran along the two main
fronts. The terraces were planned and approved, and instructions
given to put the work in hand and to make as rapid progress as
possible, so as to have them completed upon my client's return
from America in six months’ time. My experiences at Rushton
were similar to those at Dalham. When we dug out the foundations
for the terraces we came upon the footings of the original walls,
and also found many pieces of balustrade, pier, and urn, which
showed that our details followed the original somewhat closely.
Naturally I wished to build the new terraces in a manner
to take on an appearance of age as quickly as possible. To secure
this result I specified that the stonework should be left a little
rougher on the face, and that occasional crevices be left, into which
it was my intention to plant fumitory, chiranthus, rock roses, and
campanulas, whilst the flags for the paths were self-faced and
laid with occasional corners knocked off to allow of the introduction
of thymes, toadflax, and lethospermum. The work was carried out
very rapidly, and entirely to my satisfaction.
By the time my client returned the work was getting mellowed
and weather-stained, promising in a year or two to be quite in
keeping with the ancient Hall itself, which was what I desired.
Mr. Van Alen, however, thought otherwise, and pointed to all
the crevices and pockets as scamped work, for which he refused
to pay, and a quantity surveyor was requisitioned from London,124
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the sort of man who spends his life calculating quantities for
reinforced concrete, and of course he agreed that the stone ought
to have been more neatly worked and all the joints should have
been pointed in cement. In proof he pointed to the fact that the
stone was rapidly becoming discoloured. As to the paths, I ought
to have either had hard-sawn York flags laid on a bed of cement,
or granolithic flags laid on sand with cement joints !
This unsympathetic disregard for the marks of time which
the whole spirit of the place demanded caused me not only great
disappointment, but a positive revulsion of feeling, so that my
only wish was to run away and forget. This did not prove so easy
as | imagined. “J. J.’’ was determined to make me pay for what
he regarded as bad workmanship. The matter was, by agreement,
submitted to arbitration, and to my surprise the arbitrator was
the surveyor, who thought in terms of cast-iron and granolithic !
Of course I lost, paid, and forgot as soon as I could. The experience
was costly, but it was not without value. I have never since
ventured to imitate old work without first being sure of my client.
My garden scheme remains for the greater part intact as I left it,
and | am not ashamed for the fact to be known.
One incident that occurred in connection with this work may
be of interest to lovers of ghost stories.
When digging the foundations for the terraces on the south
front, we came across what was probably a burial trench of the
Battle of Naseby, which was fought close by, as we unearthed a
number of skeletons. My brother, who was carrying out the work,
saw the men throw out a skull. He took it home and had it on his
office mantelpiece, set on a blue velvet cushion enclosed in a glass
case. It had to be removed later and buried, because his imaginative
office boy, with bated breath, declared that every morning when
he opened the office, the skull took on flesh and grinned and
danced in its frame.
My next client was Sir Walpole E. Greenwell, Bart., a typical
city man, who, like many others, was also a keen sportsman
and an enterprising and successful agriculturist. His country
seat was at Marden Park, among the rolling pastoral scenes of
Surrey so well described by Evelyn in his Diary. I have seldom
seen more beautifully diversified park land, its hills and vales were
so cleverly planted. This was, I understand, the work of Evelyn.
The large house, however, was rather disappointing, not because
of its position, size, and arrangement of block plan, which were125
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
all good, but because of the introduction of aggressive red
terracotta in the terrace balustrades on the south front.
However, the exercise of a little careful diplomacy resulted
in my being allowed to introduce and include in my designs (this
was a commission for plans only) stone instead of terracotta.
The carriage turn was on the west front, and was approached
by easy drives from north and south. Opposite the entrance
the valley was rather narrow, the ground rising in one big fold
with a grass glade on the central axis, with trees planted on either
side of it. These trees rose far above the top of the folding ridge,
giving a very picturesque effect from the entrance portico.
Owing to the direction of the valley, which runs north and
south, the garden front to the south was necessarily very narrow,
and there was no means of widening it. On the east side there
were splendid opportunities for rising terraces, and of this I
endeavoured to make the most, but it was a difficult proposition,
taxing one’s genius for design and practical planning to the utmost.
There are many places where one doubts the wisdom of doing
anything unless the house can be rebuilt, extended, or remodelled
to fit the site. Far too many houses seem to bear but little relation
Hs tae sites. This criticism applies in a small degree to Marden
ark.
My next client (to whom I was introduced by Mr. Lever)
was Mr. Henry Gladstone, of Burton Manor, Neston, Cheshire.
Henry was the second son of the great Liberal statesman, and
was married to a daughter of Lord Rendell, who was a favourite
with the G.O.M.
Burton Manor occupied a commanding site on the northern
banks of the estuary of the River Dee, whence, looking across a
wide stretch of sand, tidal river and saltings, one could just
see Hawarden in the far distance. Henry was not directly
concerned with politics, being more interested in his business as
an East India merchant, and in his Cheshire property, particularly
in his gardens, which the newly enlarged and entirely remodelled
Manor House made essential. My commission was, like that for
Mr. Walpole Greenwell, to prepare a design which could be carried
out in annual instalments by the home staff. The scheme I
subsequently prepared has been almost entirely realised.
Meanwhile my commissions for Mr. Lever were growing in
number, interest, and importance, and now included gardens and
terraces to Hall-i’-th’-Wood, Bolton, Lancashire, one of the most126
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
famous examples of half-timbered mansions in the country. It
had been thoroughly and reverently repaired and restored under
the direction of Mr. Lever’s architects, furnished in keeping with
its period and traditions, and presented to his native town, where
it is visited by large numbers of townsfolk and others interested
in domestic architecture, furniture, and appointments. ‘The
garden space was small, but it demanded low balustraded walls
and spreading steps, my designs for which were faithfully adhered
to. There is no doubt that the restrained architectural treatment
suggested by Mr. Lever was the right one to adopt, as it gave an
immediate and harmonious setting to the whole.
Most people picture mid-Lancashire as a dreary congestion
of mill towns overlapping one another with their multitudinous
drab streets of houses built in unending sameness, wearying to a
degree, as are most of the towns one could name in this portion
of England. But few are aware that in the environment of several
there are tracts of unspoiled moorland where the poorest citizens
can repair with little or no expense, and enjoy to the full the
Invigorating sights and sounds of nature, and scan distances bathed
in blue haze as clear almost as in Lakeland. As an added interest
there is the glint and sparkle of tracts of water to enliven the
views, for these moors provide catchment areas and _ storage
reservoirs for the mill streams and indispensable dams of the :
cotton printers and bleachers. They are not by any means to be
despised by the artist for their own sake. My friend the late
Alfred East painted more than one Academy picture from the
scenes I am about to describe. Not the least interesting are the
characteristic old halls and manor houses which are to be found
in these moorlands. There is sentiment to inspire poets, and
romance for the novelist, to be gleaned in the history of some o
these rambling many-gabled houses which intersperse this
territory of rocks and heather, snugly roofed as they are with the
characteristic old stone slates. The uplands are bleak enough,
as may be judged by their bowed, bent, and broken trees, but on
genial days they are delightful in their expansive breeziness, and
they have a secret beauty of their own, just as Dartmoor and
xmoor have.
The sphere of my next and the most congenial commission
entrusted to me by Mr. Lever was set in such scenes as these. On
two sides of his native town of Bolton are vast stretches of moorland,
from which it gains its-old-fashioned name, Bolton-le-Moors.127
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
A tract of land on the east side of this town, 400 acres of which
were to be used as a park, and fifty acres for the garden of his
private residence, known as Roynton Cottage, had been awarded
to my client in an arbitration case with the Liverpool Corporation,
and he proceeded to lay both out in the spacious manner that
characterised all his undertakings.
The whole of the land in question lay on the western slopes
of Rivington Pike, which rises to about 1,200 feet above sea level,
reaching down to a chain of artificial lakes close upon three miles
long, which supply Liverpool with water, his own private residence
being on the higher slopes of the Pike, leaving the crest free to the
public. The gardens to Roynton Cottage and Rivington Park
were parts of one commission, and were to be laid out in perfect
keeping with their natural environment. The park was to be
made as free, as accessible, and as attractive to the townsmen of
Bolton and to the public in general as possible, and the Roynton
Gardens were for his private use.
In the first place, about twenty miles of good metalled roads
were constructed to replace the former moorland tracks. Having
arranged for these, we began our planning in earnest, there being
a wonderful scope, such as is longed for by every client on the
look-out for large ventures and big combinations. Both Mr. Lever
and I felt that we had work that was congenial to us, and, unlike
other clients I have mentioned, he never took alarm because my
proposals appeared imaginative.
After providing access by suitable roads, most of which are
now leafy avenues, the next question was shelter for the thousands
of visitors. This problem solved itself, as there were two
immense Saxon barns, picturesque externally, and with internal
roof construction of the tithe-barn type, a pleasure to behold.
These had previously been put into a thorough state of repair,
and in part reconstructed in keeping with their original beam
rafters and stonework, by Mr. Jonathan Simpson, my client’s
local architect, ample entrance porches and kitchens being
added, where on fine days large numbers of the public are served
with refreshments at moderate prices. If specially desired,
visitors can be supplied with picnic meals, either under cover or
in the open air, by their own caterers. Naturally this part forms
the hub of the parks, but a short distance away is the commodious,
well-proportioned, and characteristic mansion of the former
squires of the estate, known as Rivington Hall, which has been128
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
converted into a Picture Gallery and Art Museum. Another
interesting feature is provided by the paddocks, stocked with deer,
buffaloes, emus, yak, and many other animals. But, after all, the
chief interest was, and is, in the green fields and open spaces now
intersected by wide tree-planted avenues, whilst large plantations
of forest trees add interest to the landscape.
Roynton Cottage, the gem of the composition, was at first
a wooden bungalow erection standing midway up the slope of the
mountain, with fifty acres of barren and windswept land round it,
without a tree or a shrub to give it homeliness. Thanks to the
idiotic zeal of the suffragettes, the Cottage was burnt down, and
while the loss of the treasures it contained was regrettable, good
came out of evil in its replacement by a structure more worthy o
and more in keeping with its unique surroundings. Among other
things destroyed was a collection of samplers and needlework
which South Kensington would have esteemed an acquisition, and
the nucleus of a representative selection of pen-and-ink drawings
by the foremost exponents of this art, such as Joseph Pennell,
Hugh Thomson, Sydney Jones, and others. The building is
now replaced by a stone structure sympathetically constructed
with random coursed walling in conformity with the ancient
Lancashire traditions, the flat roof of reinforced concrete giving
little chance to the incendiary.
The new house bespoke a garden in keeping with it, and of all
the gardens which have ministered to my professional enjoyment,
none comes into competition with Roynton. The reason is a very
human one. Everyone prophesied failure. All pointed to the
tufts of bent and mountain fescue grass, the only growth to be
found on the mountain side, and laughed at the notion of anything
else growing. Some of them remembered that Scotch firs used
to grow on the lower slopes, but that was when they were boys,
and before there was so much smoke about. Undismayed by the
pessimists, we laid out our nurseries and planted thousands of
rhododendrons, including choice hybrids and many interesting
species of Alpine varieties, along with Ghent Mollis and hybrid
azaleas, kalmias, ledums, andromedas, ericas, dabacias, gaultherias,
menziseas, vaccineums, and every other hardy peat-loving shrub,
together with berberis, cotoneaster, hollies, and a host of other hardy
trees and shrubs, many of which are rarely found in gardens. It
was a bold enterprise, but we planted liberally, taking risks which
in the event were abundantly justified—so much so that none of the129
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
places I have planted for the same client in Cheshire, Hampstead,
or the Isle of Lewis can bear comparison with this. Not only do
Scotch and Austrian pines grow luxuriantly, but such difficult
conifers as Abies Kosterii are growing better than in any garden or
pinetum I know, and not only growing well, but colouring well, so
that whilst the surrounding moors are as bare as ever, this enclosed
fifty acres is the amazement of all who see it, and when they
see it even the pessimists forget to croak.
The third extensive and interesting piece of work which I did
for Sir William Lever (as he had now become) was the design and
laying out of the gardens at “ The Hill,’ Hampstead, to which
I have already referred, which completed an ideally balanced trio
of studies in landscape architecture. These were: (1) The gardens
to a country house (Thornton Manor) ; (2) a mountain-side garden
(Roynton Cottage); (3) a suburban garden (‘The Hill,”
Hampstead)
In the last of these the difficulties were considerable, but the
opportunities, as so often is the case, were correspondingly great.
In view of his great love of panoramic views, it was not surprising
that Sir William selected for his town house a part of Hampstead
Heath overlooking the Common and leagues of open country
centring upon Harrow-on-the-Hill, with the Welsh Harp gleaming
in the middle distance, the whole framed in the foreground by
enormous and exceptionally beautiful trees—beeches, horse-
chestnuts, and elms. To look over this wonderful panorama from
the terrace at “ The Hill,” one would never imagine there was
a teeming population spread over the vast area visible, in part
hidden away in slums, over which recurring groups of trees seemed
to cast a foil. A difficulty presented itself in laying out the grounds
from the manner in which part of Hampstead Common comes up
to the boundaries of “ The Hill” garden at a point somewhat
popular with its habitués. The problem was how to hide this
part of the Common so as to obtain a measure of privacy for the
gardens, and at the same time to keep open the panorama without
in any way introducing a jarring note to the view of © The Hill ”
from the Common. This we did by arranging a pergola the height
of which was carefully fixed on the site. ‘This entailed the raising
of the ground at one place as much as twenty feet, necessitating
thousands of loads of filling material. Ordinarily this would have
been an almost impossible task in such a locality, but by the great
good fortune which seems to follow some men’s enterprises, the
K130
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Hampstead Tube Railway happened to be in course of construction
at the time, and instead of Sir William having to pay for the
filling required, he was actually paid a small fee per load for the
tip. The accompanying Illus. Nos. 33 and 34 show the results
attained.
Other work of considerable interest during this period was
the remodelling of the Broomfield Park for the Southgate Urban
District Council, which has remained our client ever since; also
Uplands, a very desirable property at Ben Rydding, for Alexander
Walker; The Shawms, Stafford, for H. J. Bostock; Keffolds,
Haslemere, for Commander Henderson ; Greenwoods Stock, for
R. Adam Ellis; and Ribby Hall, Kirkham, for W. Duckworth.
These were all works of interest started during this period. Many
of these clients still consult the firm, and most of them have, I
am pleased to say, come to regard us as old friends.
Thus closed one of the most stirring periods of my practice.
It was not an unqualified success. Work for two clients from
which I expected much varied interest and profitable professional
experience failed to mature. If the truth be told concerning the
first of the two, it must be said that he considered that he had been
neglected. When gardens are dismantled at the fall of the leaf in
October, and for several weeks onward, it is scarcely possible to
keep pace with the many calls from annual clients intent upon
executing that piece of their whole scheme apportioned for the
year, and with calls from new clients as well. All were
anxious to get matters forward so that the planting might receive
sufficient of the winter rain to tide it over the punishing spring
droughts. In view of these calls I was compelled to try to pacify
the first-named of the two, whose work would have been of a
protracted nature, with a survey and preliminary sketch plan
upon which to deliberate, since he had assured me he was not in a
hurry. However, the elusive gentleman must have felt that he had
been left in the lurch, and so he went off. Perhaps I would have
fared better had I explained the whole situation to him—perhaps
not! It is useless to bother whether or no! I have found in
business that he who wastes time in vain regrets loses momentum.
The second of the two prospective clients had bought the
bulk of the landed estates of a lord of the manor, minus the family
mansion and gardens. This he wished to treat as a virgin site,
according to his instructions to me, and | was asked to select the
place for his residence, roughly plan its shape and limits for the131
Mr. W. H. Lever—and America.
architect, arrange the gardens for it, then fix sites for modern
farmhouses (to replace the existent antiquated mudholes) equipped
with up-to-date cow-houses and attendant buildings. After this
I had to make provision for a farm bailiff’s or steward’s house (the
tenant was to be estate agent for a few years), then gardeners’
lodges, butlers’ and artisans’ houses, electric power-house and mill,
together with the roads, fences, drainage, places for water reservoir
and for sanitary disposal, and the other adjustments of a modern
country squire’s estate. I prepared this preliminary scheme and
my report on it, dealing with both the ornamental and the
utilitarian parts, showing the roads and drives required, the
disposition of the buildings, and every other item, in a compre-
hensive way. Instead of calling in an architect and specialists to
advise in each department, nothing was done beyond consultation
and discussion. Had I been dealing with a client like the illustrious
gentleman already mentioned in this chapter, the order would have
been “ full steam ahead,” and I am afraid I was now spoiled for
tardy ones.
About this time I received a communication from my manager
to the effect that the fees on behalf of this new landed proprietor
were mounting up inordinately, with a hint that it was time results
began to mature. So I| urged strenuously that the roads and the
shelter plantations and other utilitarian plantations be proceeded
with at once, requesting the gentleman’s decision as to whether he
wished certain of them to be for game and shooting. In any case, I
urged him to order about a mile of rabbit-proof fencing, netting,
posts, and wire, and begin operations. These plantations, together
with the roads, would occupy him for a year, and give him time to
grasp the responsibilities which his purchase entailed. First and
foremost, I advised that he get hold of a capable specialist and
make sure of an adequate water supply to tide him over all the
seasons of drought. I am afraid that I appalled him with a sense
of his new responsibilities.
To cut a long story short, we got so far as to send down one
of my trained foremen, whom he purloined. The work was
commenced in the ways I had indicated—but only commenced.
Whether it was because of the spur of my manager, which led me
to mention my fees, or whether my client resented my way of
“ educating father” up to the standard of responsibility laid upon
him by the glory of his inheritance (or, rather, purchase, in his
case), | know not: suffice it to say that the practical part of myThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
scheme came to an untimely end. I suspect it was the mention
of my little bill, which after a little haggling we settled. I have
never gleaned any definite information of this client since, nor
have I had time to visit his estate, so I cannot say how his salvation
(from himself) is being worked out.
So much for the newly fledged “‘ squireen.’’ On the other
hand, if there is one person in this land of goodly homes that I
have learned to admire, it is the country squire who has the heritage
of several generations of paternal ancestors at his back, the man
born of the family who have maintained the acme of perfection in
house, grounds, and equipage, inside and out, for a hundred years
or more. I know what this consistency of purpose means, and |
have learned to distinguish those who can successfully attain it and
maintain and live up to its traditions and the inculcation and
preservation of the spirit of “each for all and all for each ”
throughout their little kingdom which is always so visibly marked,
from those who have no such qualifications.Illus. No. 27.
Loox-ouT Tower, RoyNTon CorTrace.CHAPTER XII.
A LEAN YEAR FOLLOWED BY PROSPERITY.
to that of Lord Macaulay when rejected by the electors of
Edinburgh. If I remember rightly, Macaulay, on his defeat,
said it was his good fortune to be free to turn his mind to
his long-cherished project of writing his history—as Rudyard
Oe would say, he had secured his independence. Now for
‘ history.’
” While this was the glad call of inner promptings, I am
not so vain as to suggest that my contributions to literature
are In any sense comparable to Macaulay's great classic, ‘* that
splendid fragment,’ as it has been called. Nevertheless, I was
glad that a dearth of clients allowed me to make progress with my
long-projected work on “ Civic Art ”’ as applied to the design and
adornment of towns and cities.
_My first intention had been to publish a companion volume
“The Art and Craft of Garden Making,” dealing only with
Hole architecture as applied to the development of park
systems, the design of park and town gardens, children’s play-
grounds, and boulevards and avenues. Acting partly, however,
on the advice of my publisher, Mr. Herbert Batsford, I decided
to deal with other aspects of the esthetics of town planning, the
new social science which was just beginning to be recognised as
the greatest factor in the development of our towns and cities.
It was a big project and a costly undertaking, for a book of
this nature can seldom be made to pay its way, owing to the heavy
cost of illustrating it, and its necessarily limited circulation. Town-
planning books principally appeal to borough officials and a few
architects interested in estate development, and landowners who
have estates to develop. Town councillors seldom trouble with
the literature of subjects relating to civic advancement. In America
ie the year 1906 I was in some sense in good fortune similar
133134
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and the Colonies there is a wider clientéle for books of this kind.
In France the Government recognise the fact that expensive
books of merit, technical or artistic, can be published only by
granting subsidies, which usually take the form of the purchase
of several hundred copies of the book for public libraries.
In a previous chapter I have spoken of the writing I did in
the train. To this I now added drawing. The late Arthur Simpson,
craftsman, of Kendal, made for me a handy and portable drawing-
case with a fold-over lid, large enough to take half an Imperial
sheet of drawing-paper. When closed, the case contained my
mathematical instruments, scales, and small set-squares.
Thus provided, and generally alone in a first-class compartment,
I would draw for hours, and was in this way able to relieve the
tedium of travelling and prepare the rough drafts of plans and
drawings which illustrate “ Civic Art.”
I have found this business of the writing of books invaluable
in another way. It helps to clarify thought, and tends to give one
breadth of view, and to restore that mental perspective which one
is so apt to lose when daily and hourly distracted by the thousand
and one puzzling technical details of practical work. The one
task is preaching ; the other is living it out. Critical discernment,
which is surely the most important factor required in the writing
of a book, consists largely in bringing order out of chaos, and
binding together the scattered elements by interesting links ; and
so it is fortunate that, side by side with the theoretical work,
came new openings for work for Sir William Lever during this
year.
Constructional work at Thornton Manor was progressing, and
opened up many new vistas for those improvements in progress
which are so often suggested to the mind by the practical difficulties
encountered, while the work at the Bungalow, Rivington, was
much extended, many architectural features being erected, includ-
ing an outlook tower and gatehouses (see Illus. No. 27). The
glass-roofed pergola was also designed and carried out at this
time.
_ Another outstanding figure amongst the more interesting
clients of this year was Major Bolitho, of Hannaford, Ashburton,
Devonshire. This gentleman is of a family which has done national
service in many ways, and particularly in horticulture, having
successfully formed several famous collections of shrubs and plants
which others have found difficult to grow. My client’s tastes135
A Lean Year and After-prosperity.
were also architectural, but by no means was he pedantic in his
preferences.
My commission at Hannaford was the designing of a formal
lay-out for the terracing of the immediate surroundings of his
new residence; but while the scheme was formal in plan, the
rough moss-grown granite of the walls, and the thousands of
alpine plants inserted into them, gave to the whole an informal
appearance as delightful as it was unique.
bout the same time I also designed some interesting garden
extensions at Maby Hall, Cheshire, for Mrs. Payne, and at Birch
Grove House, East Grinstead, for Mrs. Macmillan.
If 1906 was a lean year, 1907 was a very full one, and one
which not only brought many new clients, but also many new
friends and much interesting work. Work now flowed into the
office without any effort on my part. Clients first heard of me
through friends for whom I had carried out work, or through
my published works and contributions to the technical, horticultural,
and architectural journals, and possibly in one or two instancse
through my lectures.
All this writing and lecturing was the outcome of my passion
for creating an appreciation for landscape architecture, and
am afraid I often forgot the tax on my finances and physical and
mental energy which this extra work entailed.
The first new client of the year was Mr. H. C. Moffatt, of
Goodrich Court, Monmouth, a leading expert and writer of
standard works on gold and silver plate. Mr. Moffatt was a nephew
of Walter Morrison, of Malham Tarn, near Settle, Yorkshire, the
millionaire philanthropist who so liberally assisted many worthy
institutions. Having acquired on lease a very interesting old ‘Tudor
house, Codford Manor, Wiltshire, to which he was very much
attached, my client, whose ambition was to restore the gardens
to something of their original character and interest, called
me in to assist him. Later I also helped him to plan out the site
for a new house and gardens on his own estate. The house was
built and the gardens were laid out, but I am afraid they only faintly
resembled the plans and designs which I had _ prepared.
Mr. Moffatt’s charming after-dinner talks on organs, organ music,
and organists so delighted me, however, that although I knew he
would make mincemeat of my designs, I loved to meet him.
Following close upon Mr. Moffatt came Mr. George Douglas,
the Chairman of the Bradford Dyers, who had acquired Farfield136
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
House, near Bolton Abbey, a beautiful Georgian residence, probably
the work of Carr of York. Unfortunately, whatever gardens had
originally formed the setting of this noble house had almost entirely
disappeared, except the massive gate piers illustrated in my book,
“The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”
The gardens as laid out to my designs are not extensive, but
they are ample as an architectural framework for the house, and
include a balustraded wall and many flagged paths, with garden
courts on the north side of the house, along with rose gardens and
extensive herbaceous borders. On the whole, and without any
extravagant expenditure of money, a very charming garden was
evolved, which rapidly improved as the stonework weathered and
the formal hedges and herbaceous borders matured.
An important and somewhat unusual garden scheme was
planned for Mr. R. S. Boden, of polo fame, who had just acquired
Aston Lodge, near Derby. Aston Lodge is a very large house,
simply designed in the later Georgian manner. This Mr. Boden
put into a thorough state of repair, adding bathrooms and equipping
the house with every modern convenience, and at the same time
redecorating the entertaining rooms in accord with its period, the
true character of which had been lost during previous ownerships.
The new work was added with judgment and restraint.
Such a house demanded a garden scheme on a similar scale,
but unfortunately the boundaries on the east side impinged
irregularly on to the otherwise excellent and proportionate garden
space on the south front, to a certain extent preventing this.
The gentle slope of this south front also demanded shallow,
broad terraces, the upper one being balustraded in character with
the style and period of the house. The second terrace was some
sixty feet in width, and was laid out as a rose garden, with beds
cut out of the grass. Below the terraces came a sloping lawn which
led down to a large horsepond, which we converted into a water-lily
pond with a fountain in the centre, contrived from a double tazza
found on the estate. On the level land below this pond we laid
out several tennis lawns, surrounded by yew hedges, which now
give to this part of the garden a very quaint and ancient appearance.
Between the lily pond and the eastern boundary there are a number
of old elms, and near by, and extending above as far as the upper
terraces, there was added an alpine rock garden. Aston Lodge
emerged an ideal home for a busy manufacturer wishing to spend
his leisure in garden pursuits.137
A Lean Year and After-prosperity.
Early in the year I met, on one of my journeys to London,
Colonel Leigh, of Leigh Hall, who told me he possessed one of
the rare ‘‘ Red Books’ prepared by Humphrey Repton for one of the
Colonel’s ancestors about the year 1796. The book was illustrated
by well-known sketches showing the landscape as it actually existed,
and then the same pictures with movable slides showing the same
views as it was proposed to alter them. Later in the year I was asked
to advise in some improvements at Leigh Hall, where I was shown
the “ Red Book,’’ and found it intensely interesting, especially
when compared with the matured results. The preconceived
accuracy of his forecasts heightened my respect for Repton, and
confirmed my conviction that he was one of the truly great of my
profession.
From Leigh Hall I travelled down to Cornwall on a visit to
Place House, Fowey, the ancestral home of the Treffreys. This
house had evidently been built in the period when Gothic was the
prevalent style for both sacred and secular buildings, and occupied
the site of a much older house. In the cellars there were the
remains of very much older houses still, the doors therein being
solid slabs of slate swung on huge wrought-iron hinges. The
spirit of the place demanded that the gardens should be somewhat
in accord with the character of the architecture, and that there
should be a sense of seclusion and snugness within hedges. This
was the more necessary from the fact that the site was a breezy
hill perched more than a hundred feet above and overlooking the
picturesque harbour of Fowey, with its ever-moving flotilla of
fishing craft. Only a small part of my scheme was ever carried
out, and from the first I realised that the trend of the gardening
at Place House was altogether horticultural, a condition which,
while I was in no way inclined to overlook or neglect it, should
not, I felt, result in an entire neglect of the broader problems and
possibilities of garden design and construction. A seaside garden
on limestone is, of course, always a difficult problem, and demands
a very careful selection of trees, shrubs, and plants, a department
of my work in which I always took pleasure. The problems
presented were unique.
About this time I had a letter from Mrs. Franklyn, of New
Place, Botley, Hants, saying she wished me to advise her upon
the lay-out of a garden there, where the house was being built for
her son by Mr. Edwin Lutyens. “Surely, with Mr. Lutyens,”
I said, ““ you don’t need anyone to design the gardens.” “ Well,138
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the fact is we wish you to do them, and Mr. Lutyens knows this
and understands.” Notwithstanding, I urged the claims of her
architect, and his certain disappointment at having the work of the
garden placed in other hands. Before accepting the commission
I agreed with Mrs. Franklyn that I must see Mr. Lutyens and
learn whether or not my collaboration would be agreeable to him.
When I met him, in the kindest way possible he assured me that
as he was not allowed to design the garden, there was no one he
would rather co-operate with than me, and so I undertook the
commission. But it was a mistake, for notwithstanding the
encouragement of an appreciative client, | never felt happy in
my work. Looking back, I am certain that Lutyens without me
would have achieved a greater success; and, on the other hand,
I am sure that I could have done a much finer garden had I been
left entirely untrammelled. My partial failure resulted from my
attempts to interpret Lutyens in the garden, he having one set
of conventions and [| another, a fact which is peculiar to us all.
My work at Hartpury House, beautifully situated on rising
ground about three miles from Gloucester, for Mrs. Gordon
Canning, differed in every respect from that at Botley. Here the
house had been considerably enlarged and almost entirely
remodelled to the designs of Mr. Guy Dawber, whose book on the
architecture of the Cotswolds is so well known. The gardens,
so far as they had been laid out, were designed by that well-known
painter, Alfred Parsons, R.A. Although I had read about the
work of the painter as landscape gardener, | had never seen the
energies of a landscape artist directed to the construction of gardens.
I had such a high regard for Alfred Parsons’ work as a landscape
painter and book illustrator, that perhaps I expected too much.
However this may be, I have since come into contact with the work
of artists and sculptors of unquestioned ability who have turned
garden designers, but in almost every case I have been disappointed
with the result. There are exceptions, as in the case of Nasmyth,
who was a landscape painter before he became garden designer.
I have a few of his original lithographs, and these of themselves
show that his bent even as a painter and draughtsman was more
in the direction of design and fancy than in copying Nature,
as in most modern landscape painting. The inability of artists to
realise the necessity, in gardens, for definite architectural motif
and scholarly detail when working near the residence is most
marked. Perhaps the reason is to be found in the lack of virilityIllus. No. 28.
Gates AT Hartpury House, GLOUCESTER.139
A Lean Year and After-prosperity.
in English architecture, which has so profoundly failed to impress
itself on the other arts.
The plantations by Mr. Alfred Parsons were well and
artistically arranged. The rhododendron beds in particular were
planted in large masses, rising out of a surrounding irregular carpet
of choice ericas.
At Hartpury House the problem was to infuse a little form and
order into the garden, and to bring it into character with the house,
using in the walls, and as a base for the balustrades, the beautiful
rag-stone which gives character to the architecture of Gloucester~
shire. I also planned an extension to the gardens, in which we
arranged for additional tennis lawns and herbaceous borders,
while practically all the walls were utilised for alpine plants, which
quickly gave to the terraces a wall-garden effect. ‘The wrought-iron
garden gate shown in the accompanying photograph (Illus.
No. 28) was the work of Mrs. Ames Lyde, the lady blacksmith
of Thornham, in Norfolk, from designs by my son.
I was first introduced to Mrs. Ames Lyde in Florence, where
she had a palace with a beautiful garden, at which she spent half
the year. The other half was spent on her Norfolk estate, mostly
in her blacksmith’s shop, where she trained village lads in the
craft of the smith, which has become a thriving village industry.
When I first met her at her palace in Florence I commented
upon the examples of Italian ironwork upon the garden walls, the
garden gates and grilles of intricate design and workmanship,
the wrought-iron fencing, and a host of other examples of ironwork,
each a museum piece and a perfect specimen of its kind. “ Don't
you know I am the lady blacksmith?” she remarked. Much
abashed, I had to admit that I did not possess this knowledge,
which was rather surprising. Later she carried out considerable
work for me, of which the Hartpury gate is a fair specimen. It
was a delight to see her in her workshop, or to spend an hour in
her company discussing roses, which she grew to perfection.
Nearer home I was commissioned to extend the gardens at
Bailrigg, Scotforth, near Lancaster, the principal home of Herbert
Storey, J.P., D.L., one of the most generous of the sons of his
generous father, Sir Thomas Storey, whose benefactions to his
native town, especially in the gift of the Storey Institute, has
made every Lancastrian his debtor. Originally the gardens at
Bailrige were laid out by my friend Mr. Ernest Milner in his
well-known landscape manner. On the north, south, and east140
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
fronts this treatment was excellent, but on the west or main front
it appeared too weak for the esthetic support of the elevation of
the house, and as foreground for the panorama which included
in its sweep Morecambe Bay and the distant Lakeland mountains.
My work was almost entirely confined to this side of the garden.
The Alpine plants inserted in the crevices of the walls have been
most successful. The fact I remember with the greatest pleasure
in relation to my friend and client, Mr. Storey, is his collaboration
with me in good work for disabled Service men, of which I shall
have occasion to speak in a later chapter.
About this time I was called to Lincoln to advise on a garden
at Cross O’Cliff, on the south side of the city, for Arthur Newsum,
Esq. I had already done work in Lincoln for Mr. Richardson,
Mr. Newsum’s brother-in-law. The site for the new residence
was well chosen, occupying as it does an elevated plateau from
whence at no great distance is seen the Cathedral projecting its
towers into the sky in sunshine and shade. Surely this alone
should be sufficient to give the tone or the keynote to any garden.
he new residence was practically completed when I first
met my client, and its proportions and the contours of the
surrounding ground were peculiarly good for a garden which
should be both commensurate with the scale of the residence and
yet so compact as to reduce the maintenance charges to a minimum.
Although originally the site was practically without timber, the
garden and small park are now furnished with vigorous young
trees already sufficiently grown to impart to them a mature
appearance. The garden is almost entirely formal, but nevertheless
avoids that rigidly balanced lay-out which occasionally produces
such distressing monotony, while the walls are in every instance
either clothed with beautiful climbers or garnished with Alpines.
A charming effect was obtained by planting avenues of John Downie
crabs together with yew-bordered grass glades.
A very difficult but not entirely unsuccessful piece of work
was the garden at Maesruddud, which stood in the centre of a
rapidly developing colliery area not far from Newport, Monmouth-
shire. The very thought of collieries seems incompatible with
gardens, but my client, Mr. T. Brewer- Williams, was himself a colliery
proprietor, who considered it his duty to live in the neighbourhood
and in the old family home with all its disadvantages, which were
intensified by an elevated wind-swept site resting upon a poor clay
soil, The original house, which possessed no architectural interest,I4I
A Lean Year and After-prosperity.
was much enlarged and invested with a definite architectural
character by my client’s architect, Mr. Edward Warren. The plan
of this garden, which is a fair criterion of my ideal of the nature and
extent of a garden at this time, is illustrated in “ The Art and Craft
of Garden Making.” The work was practically carried out as
planned. As a garden it is successful, but having regard to its
locality it is rather like a jewel stuck into a lump of lead.
Other clients sought my advice about this time, but the
resulting work consisted largely of consultations on the arrangement
of permanent shelter belts and planting for broad landscape effect,
a department of my profession in which I took an intense interest.
Unfortunately, few landed proprietors of to-day retain that passion
for ornamental forest planting possessed by their ancestors of a
hundred years ago.
his year my most important public work was for the
Southport Corporation, for which I redesigned the Lord Street
Gardens, the Marine Lake, Park, and Promenade. The Corporation
was composed of a progressive body of men keenly interested in
their town, and, what is somewhat rare in municipal authorities,
they fully recognised the commercial value of beauty, and
particularly the economic value of parks and gardens, and also
the necessity for providing compensating attractions for the fast-
receding sea. Such a feat required imagination and courage, both
of which qualities they possessed to the full.
The pride of Southport is its fine boulevard known as Lord
Street, which it was intended still further to improve by converting
the deep garden courts to the houses on the east side into public
gardens, and also by improving the gardens in front of the Town
Hall and Cambridge Hall. My designs for these improvements
are well known, and promise to be realised in full.
Lord Street is one of the most amazing studies I have ever
undertaken. Its fame as a boulevard is universally admitted ; but
in what does its beauty consist? It is level from end to end, a
fact which in other towns would be regarded as monotonous.
There is not in its length any commanding building of real
architectural merit. It is certain that the majority of them were
not designed by an architect, many of them being distinctly
commonplace. In what, then, does its beauty consist? I think
the answer is in its length in proportion to its width, which is not
interrupted by curves or breaks, but maintained in such a cohesive
manner as to yield a decidedly impressive street perspective.142
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
This perspective is maintained by the alignment and sky-line of
the architecture, the asperities of which are softened by the avenues
of trees. To this is added the life and movement of a constant
stream of motor-cars and street trams, whilst a kaleidoscope of
colour is given to the whole by the gaily attired crowds who
frequent the street. It is an extraordinarily popular shopping
centre for the many who visit the town.
Three notes are absent which just make Lord Street fall
short of the perfect boulevard. It needs terminal architectural
features to mark at both ends the focal point, and a perpendicular
note in the centre. To supply this last feature, my collaborator,
Mr. Mallows, and I designed a campanile clock tower, which we
hope may one day be presented to the town by some patriotic
citizen.
In September of this year my eldest son, who had already
spent two years at the Architectural Association School in London,
and two years in the office of a well-known London architect,
took up his studies at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris. Here
it may possibly be interesting to know the reason of my preference
for the French schools of architecture. It was based upon the
conviction that in this country the training was grounded on wrong
principles as a preparation for the practice of landscape architecture,
by which I mean that young architects were taught everything
except design, and were submerged in details long before they
had learnt the elementary principles of composition. Imagination,
instead of being encouraged, was suppressed. Instead of receiving
instruction in axial planning, which was one of the fundamentals
of the Georgian period, the aspiring architect was taught to regard
the quaint eccentricities and irregularities of medieval architecture
as ideals to be followed, and instead of the relation of a residence
to its site and environment being studied, the plan of the house
was often evolved round certain predetermined details. In short,
while in the French schools the student was taught to progress
from small-scale compositions towards enlarged details, the English
student was taught first to draw details which later were to be
fitted into an expanded scheme. I am not criticising the English
method of training; I merely say that landscape architects and
town planners cannot be trained in that way. Since this time
the English methods of teaching architecture have undergone
great improvement, and now approximate to those in vogue in the
ateliers of Paris.Illus. No. 29.
tl
oO
s
B
Zz
by
=
°
=
&
B
=
7
tl
g
td
On
ke
°
w
oO
<
—
<
oO.CHAPTER XIII.
A YEAR OF EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT.
new commissions.
By this time we were thoroughly well organised in our
Lancaster office, ever since regarded as the head office and workshop
of the firm. Here we had a staff at this time of about twenty-five
senior and junior assistants, while the staff in London consisted
of three only. This meant that the London office was used
mainly as an address and call office, and as a convenient centre
from which to control work in the southern and western counties.
An interesting addition to the staff, a man who has since made
headway in Canada, was Mr. Howard Grubb, son of Edward
Grubb, the Quaker editor. His manner of coming was unusual.
Late in 1907 I had a letter from a Mr. Howard Grubb, a student
of the School of Landscape Architecture at the Cornell University,
U.S.A., saying he very much wished to come into my office. It
was a very usual request, and I replied that while I congratulated
the writer upon his evident enthusiasm for his profession, I
advised him not to leave America, where I was sure the openings
for advancement were better and more numerous than in this
country. Notwithstanding this advice, three months later, when
I had forgotten my correspondent’s name, I had a wire from
Liverpool notifying me of his arrival, and a few hours later he was
announced at the office. When the visitor was shown into my
private room I turned to look at him. He was an exceptionally
tall, upstanding young fellow, and proportionate in build.
““My name is Grubb,” he said.
“Well, what can I do for you?”
‘““T have come to work for you.”
‘“T am sorry to disappoint you, but it is quite impossible.
As you will see for yourself, every seat in the office is occupied.’
B July of the year 1908 I had no fewer than twenty substantial
143144
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
‘Well, sir, I have travelled all the way from America for
the purpose of working for you; so you must find me a seat
somewhere.”
‘But, my dear fellow, I simply cannot do it.”
“Listen to me, sir. I worked my way back from America
on a cattle boat, so that I might have the honour of working for
you, and so you simply must take me on.”
What could I do in a case like this? It would be wrong not
to give such audacious youth its chance. Within two years Grubb
was in charge of my London office.
Late one afternoon we were working overtime together, when
I recollected that I was down to second Mr. Lutyens’ vote of
thanks to Miss Dunnington, a rising lady landscape gardener,
who was lecturing to the members of the Architectural Association.
“Close down quick, Grubb,” I said, ‘and come along to hear
Miss Dunnington lecture on garden design.” Grubb was evidently
interested, and made an excellent contribution to the discussion
which followed the lecture. Afterwards I introduced Miss
Dunnington to Grubb, and one morning three months later |
received a letter from each of them, telling me of their engagement,
and holding me responsible if the marriage did not turn out a
success. The firm of Dunnington-Grubb is now the leading
firm of landscape architects in Canada, and although we corre-
spond fairly regularly, they have never asked me to meet any
liability !
This may seem a digression, but reference to these two names
raises a question often asked: ‘How can you possibly travel
thirty thousand miles a year consulting with all sorts of people
on a wide variety of problems, and yet do any actual designing >? ”’
I have already in part anticipated this question by explaining how
I built up my practice and trained my assistants, who gradually
acquired the ways of their “ chief,’ whose rapid sketches were
often prepared on the site, in company with the assistant responsible
for the working drawings. The “ chief”’ attracts other men in
sympathy with his ideals, who rapidly acquire the art of
interpretation, so that eventually a score of assistants may be
employed in working out important schemes from small-scale
studies and suggestions. On the same principle that the patron
of a French atelier directs by criticism the studies of his students,
the expert directs to definite ends the development of his original
sketches. This method gives wide discretion in detail to theA Year of Effort.
imaginative assistant, and it has always been my policy to develop
imagination and to direct it into practical channels.
Much the same may be said of the foremen who carry out
the work on the ground. If they are men of insight, they acquire
by experience various ideas for adapting the scheme to the levels
of the site, and novel ways of effectively weaving in excrescences,
rocks, groups of shrubs, and a hundred other things met with
in the process of carrying out my schemes. These methods are
not gained by memorising anything done here or done there
previously. “That is undesirable in landscape work, where there
is all the variety which Nature is ever spreading before us, with
which to deal. Every scheme or every difficulty differs from the
last, and therefore those assistants and foremen who work by
rote are of no use. Ideas and imagination are the desiderata,
and these have to be brought forth quickly.
Looking back on this year and its work, I regard the period
under review as one of the most interesting in my career. The
work of 1908 is responsible for a greater number of illustrations
in my published books than that of any other two years combined.
First there was the work which I carried out for Her Majesty
Queen Alexandra at Hvidére, Copenhagen, work which came to
me on the introduction of Mr. Samuel (now Lord) Waring.
Shortly after this I was invited to accept an appointment as the
British representative in the limited international competition for
the gardens surrounding the Palace of Peace at The Hague. This
was an exciting experience, and one which aroused my enthusiasm
to the utmost. Naturally, I was soon on my way to The Hague,
accompanied by my eldest son. Our first duty was to report
ourselves to the British Ambassador, Sir Henry Howard, who
received us with every kindness, spending nearly an hour in
showing us his collection of pewter and explaining to us its history.
Finally he gave us tea and wished us the best of luck, giving us
the impression that the old sportsman was really anxious for his
countrymen to win.
he next morning we made our way to the Buiterust Palace,
the site of the Palace of Peace, and there met the resident architect,
Mr. Van der Steur, and Mr. Cordonnier, the French architect
whose designs were selected in the competition for the Palace
buildings. We began at once to supplement the survey and
contours supplied us, by a survey of all the old timber trees on the
site. This took about a week. We then returned home, completing
L146
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
our designs within the time allowed. This scheme included not
only the lay-out of the gardens and terraces, but a little town
planning in Scheveningen Avenue opposite the main entrance.
The scheme was duly despatched. I received the
accompanying letter from Sir Henry Howard, notifying me of
the result of the competition :—
BRITISH LEGATION,
THE HAGUE.
of
H Seas gear a
| fn ft k— gai oleeed
: ee te hie ak A Kap,Illus. No. 30
CL”
hee I
Ciro
SS
tf
WwA Year of Effort.
This was my first intimation of our success. The next letter
that I received was from Mr. De Wilde, the Belgian competitor.
Mr. De Wilde congratulated me on the result, and asked me to
give him a criticism of his designs. I found his plan so good
that the assessor must have had some difficulty in making his
award. I had no hesitation in giving him the criticism he asked
for and congratulating him upon his scheme.
Very shortly after this I was requested to meet the Committee
of the Peace Palace, over which Mr. Karnebeck, father of the
Minister of Finance, and himself an ex-Minister, presided.
The members of the Committee were a most capable body of
men, conscientious in the exercise of their responsibilities, and
before I was allowed to proceed with the work I was asked to
present a carefully studied analysis of the cost. This was a task
of some magnitude, and proved a most useful study, under
conditions which were entirely new in almost every respect. In
the first place, the soil was almost pure sand, into which had to
be incorporated peat soil brought from a distance. The water
level, which was publicly controlled, was only two feet below the
surface over a large section of the ground ; and, lastly, the varieties
of trees and shrubs which could be relied on to flourish under
these conditions were limited and different from those we usually
planted in any of our home gardens.
Had I realised these difficulties in the first instance, I think
my designs would have been different, and this fact I communicated
to the Committee, who permitted me to present a revised set of
plans along with my estimates. The result was that, as finally
laid out, the garden, which | regard as one of our most successful
efforts, bears but little correspondence to the designs which won
the competition.
This work took two years to complete, entailing many pleasant
visits to The Hague, where I made numerous friends. My son,
who had just completed his studies in Paris, took active charge
of the work on the ground in its early stages, but later it was in
the hands of my Quaker pupil, Mr. Howard Grubb, and was
finally completed under the direction of Mr. Norman Dixon.
The last time I saw Mr. and Mrs. Carnegie was at the opening
of the Palace of Peace, which was a magnificent function, performed
by the Queen of the Netherlands in the presence of a great concourse
of foreign ambassadors and other distinguished personages.
received many congratulations upon our work, which I must admit
poten <n ae ete
ee Tah eater ne oe
ie
eR tics nom148
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
looked exceedingly well even at this early stage, and the effect
has increased year by year as the trees and shrubs have assumed
shape or been trimmed to the original designs. Incidentally, a
study of the brickwork of the Palace during the period of
construction was quite an education, for this work is probably
the best example of the bricklayer’s craft I have seen, and of a
quality seldom equalled even by ancient examples. The revised
scheme was one of the first works in which my son took an active
interest with me, and much of its success has resulted from this
collaboration.
Although our neighbours across the Channel are so clever
and spacious in their designs (for French design is nothing if not
heroic), there are certain Frenchmen who long for that homely
charm which, wherever seen, we associate with our own native
land. Some people contend that this elusive quality is more an
instinct or passion of the soul than a phase of design. Whatever
it is, when once experienced it will brook no substitute. Wherever
seen, whether in the trim country cot in its garden (Wordsworth
even goes so far as to give it its own sky) or in connection with
our stately homes, it sheds its halo upon everything and lifts life's
trivial round on to its own plane. It is my lode-star, and has
been so ever since my youth, more or less ever since the essays
of Price, Repton, Knight, and Shenstone inspired me. I am
still pursuing the quest. I cannot say that I have attained the goal,
but I am still following.
his much by way of introduction to my next client,
M. Lazare Weiller, a Parisian banker and financier recommended
to me by my friend Mr. Waring. This gentleman wished to find
a house and garden in France with homely charms, and asked
me to go with him and advise him in his inspection of several
places mentioned to him by his friends and by the professional
land agents. Together we visited remote parts of rural France
and saw many delightful old places, but all were inconveniently
situated for a man deeply immersed in business, so at last it was
decided that his country home must be within an hour and a
half’s motor run from Paris, and Anglevilliére, a small choice
estate near Chatenay, was purchased.
There was no residence on the property of the dimensions
my client desired, but there was a moderate sized villa, evidently
intended as a dower house. There was evidence on the estate
that a very important lay-out had been contemplated and actuallyA Year of Effort.
started, and in searching the archives of the villa we unearthed
some interesting plans by Le Notre, the French master of landscape
architecture. In this plan there was a system of radiating avenues
with a long central canal. This latter feature had been partly
completed and flooded, and we adopted it as the main axis of
our scheme. We had the privilege of co-operating with Mr.
Weiller’s Paris architect, and were able to draw a type of plan
for the residence which took in every favourable vista which
Le Notre’s scheme sought to emphasise. ‘The result is fairly
indicated in the plan reprinted in my book, “ The Art and Craft
of Garden Making.”
The soil with which we had to deal was quite different from
that at The Hague. Not only the family of rhododendrons and
other varieties of what are usually classed as American plants, but
many choice flowering shrubs, and also the finest tea roses, succeeded
admirably, so there was no lack of variety in this garden.
For Sir William Jaffray, son of the founder and proprietor
of the “ Birmingham Daily Post,” I planned and laid out gardens
at Skilts, near Redditch. Then there was dear old John Lancaster,
a great coal magnate and the owner of considerable property
at Dunchurch, near Rugby, on which he built a large residence
designed by Mr. Gilbert Fraser, of Liverpool, and to which I
added extensive terraces and gardens, these being realised almost
in their entirety. Mr. Lancaster was a great invalid, who could
move only a few steps with difficulty, but he was a courageous
man, who, notwithstanding his disabilities, took the keenest
interest in the development of his property. It was John Lancaster's
father of whom it is said that he kept a pair of clogs in a glass
case on his drawing-room mantelpiece to remind him of his early
struggles as a collier, and to prove to all and sundry that he was
the proud conqueror over early untoward circumstances.
Not far away, near Oxford, I met two other clients—Mr.
Whitnell of Kidlington, and Mr. J. Heywood Lonsdale of
Poundon. At Poundon Mr. Lonsdale had just built himself a
house designed in the spacious Georgian manner and in the
beautiful yellow sandstone of the district. Mrs. Heywood Lonsdale
was a daughter of Lord Valencia, and had an innate love of
pictorial gardening and garden design, whilst Mr. Heywood
Londsale’s preferences were for a garden furnished with vigorous
masses of grand foliage summer and winter, with a leaning towards
broad landscape effects. So between the two I had every150
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
encouragement to realise one of those schemes composed of
broadly outlined effects, yet inset with a series of beautiful incidents.
This garden is, notwithstanding, very compact and easily worked.
Mr. Whitnell’s home had been a farm-house, with picturesque
gables and simple details. The garden was small—st the place
for a young couple with refined tastes and fond of gardening.
It was to satisfy these conditions that this garden was planned
on quite formal lines, and on a very modest scale, so as to be
within the capacity of a single-handed gardener with the energies
of his employers thrown in. Such houses and gardens will be
increasingly in demand, whilst the number of palatial houses and
gardens will in all probability decrease. Moreover, the small
garden becomes more personal, and consequently more lovable.
This year I met Mrs. Gerard Leigh, who had just
leased Lees Court, Faversham, in Kent, from Lord Sondes.
Lees Court is a stately old house, and one of the best known
examples of the work of Inigo Jones. On my first visit I had a
curious experience, for which I am entirely unable to account,
because I knew nothing of the history of the place or its noble
owners.
I arrived just in time for dinner, which was served in one
of the smaller rooms, which, with the kitchen and a few bedrooms,
was reserved for the use of my clients, the remainder of the house
being in the hands of builders and decorators. Before retiring,
my client informed me that my room was known as the Cedar
Room, and was located in the oldest part of the house. This was
reached by the original staircase, which had been retained when
Inigo Jones added the main new block. The room was panelled
from floor to ceiling, and had a fine old Tudor mantelpiece decorated
with carriage and strap work. My four-poster bedstead and the
furniture were in keeping, and suited my temperament and mood,
being adapted to the repose of a tired artist. In bed I dozed
uneasily instead of going to sleep. About midnight I had what
I imagined must have been a rather horrid nightmare, for I saw
in the corner of the room a desperate fight between two young men.
The sight was so terrible that | still remember almost every feature
of the struggle. The stronger and older of the young fellows, and
the one who was gaining the mastery, was about twenty-five
years of age, thick-set, rather under average height, with short,
black curly hair, a broad square forehead, a face rather short for
its width, and a pointed chin. His clothes were unusual in cutA Year of Effort.
and material—a short blue jacket, dingy brown waistcoat, and
green knickers. The other man, of whom I saw less, was much
younger, and had light curly hair, and a round face which normally
must have been pleasant to look upon, but was now marked by
terror: he was getting the worst of the fight. At last the fighters
were lost in a blue mist, and I went to sleep; but on waking I still
felt something of the horror of my dream.
In the morning I was met in the hall by my hostess, who
asked if I had had a good night. I told her of my disturbed dream,
when, to my amazement, she said, “ You must have seen the
historical murder which actually happened in this part of the
house, the murderer being executed at Canterbury!’ If this
was more than a dream, the explanation is possibly that the
conditions in the room were precisely the same as on the night
of the murder, the result being that I got “the positive ” of the
negative recorded. Yet I don’t know, as our knowledge of these
things is very elementary. It was an interesting experience.
The ground round the old house was very bald and
uninteresting, there being no indication of the former gardens
illustrated in old prints, except the orangery and the fruit and
vegetable garden. The first improvement which I suggested was
a big sunk garden on the south front to give elevation to this
side of the house, and a substantial reason for a balustraded wall.
This sunk garden extended for the full width of the house and
for a corresponding length outwards, and was enclosed by double
yew hedges with a wide glade between, divided by a wide central
walk and long herbaceous borders on either side. The central
sunk lawn was adorned by long criss-cross panels, each panel
consisting of several beds, each bed planted with a separate variety
of roses in harmonious shades and essential contrasts. The
terminal point of the vista so created was marked by an arrangement
of blocks of yew, supporting fountain basins and a central pedestal,
raised by steps on a platform, an arrangement as effective as it
was unusual.
At Lees Court I met many enthusiastic garden-lovers, including
Lady Algernon Gordon Lennox, whose gardens in the Isle of
Capri are among the best known of modern Italian examples.
The landscape architect is constantly engaged upon schemes
leagues apart, and under totally different conditions of climate,
soil, and local tradition, and one of his chief difficulties is to divest
the mind of the influences of the last place visited, and to prepare152
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
it for the reception of the problems of the next one to be dealt with.
This is all the more so when the architect is given to enthusiasm
and absorption in his work. This detachment of mind was largely
induced by the literary work and drawing by which I relieved
the tedium of long railway journeys. I also endeavoured, as far
as was possible, to alternate my visits with those to other work of
a very exceptional character. Thus, for instance, I would visit
Grasmere, where I was developing a hillside garden for Mr.
William Hoyle, a partner of Barlow, Jones and Hoyle, cotton
manufacturers, of Bolton, which gave me all the change and
contrast I needed. On another occasion I would take a trip to
Perthshire, where I was designing gardens for three members of
the Pullar family; or I might change my programme and visit
the work I was carrying out for J. Pyman, Esq., at Penarth, or for
his partner, Sir Thomas M. Watson, Bart., for whom I designed
a garden at Newport, Mon., and a building estate at Maindee.
During the year | carried out many smaller garden schemes,
some being extensions to and others remodelling existing gardens.
These included plans for the garden at The Cliff, Warwick,
for Sir Henry Lakin; terraces and other improvements at
Rodborough Court, Stroud, for Sir Alfred Apperley ; work at
Gerrards Cross for Mrs. Moseley ; at Edgemount, Stafford, for
the Rev. A. Talbot; and at Sutton Coldfield for Mr. Tonks.
Not often does a new client introduce himself to you in your
own office, but one morning at 28, Conduit Street a card was
handed to me bearing the name of Mr. Humphrey Ward, who, on
being shown to my room, told me that his wife was very fond of
her garden, and wished to consult me at Stocks, their home near
Tring. I had met Mrs. Ward’s father, Matthew Arnold, at the
residence of Mrs. Ward’s sister at Ambleside. Mr. Ward proved
a very pleasant caller, whom I now recognised as ““ The Times ”
art critic, and for this reason, coupled with my profound admiration
for the writer of “ Robert Elsmere,” I was a little nervous ; but
I need have had no fear, for never have I had more appreciative
clients. Mrs. Humphrey Ward in particular was most interested,
and although many of the improvements which I desired could
not be carried out, owing to prohibitive cost, within restricted
limits most of my plans were realised. These included a new
carriage court and a rose garden. Mrs. Humphrey Ward in many
ways reminded me of her father. I found her a soulful person,
who permeated her surroundings with her graciousness, a splendidA Year of Effort.
conversationalist, demanding concentrated attention whether her
talk was of politics, religion, or social reforms, and every utterance
seemed to have serious purpose behind it.
The topic which always interested her most was her work at
a London social centre to which she gave much time and interest.
Having regard to her family traditions, I was rather surprised to
find her attitude towards Liberalism to be one of profound distrust
and dislike, leading her to write political pamphlets which must
have given considerable disappointment to many of her admirers.
Such, however, was her personal magnetism that it was almost
impossible not to fall under her spell and agree with her conclusions,
even though these were contrary to every political tenet one had
ever held. To meet and talk with a celebrity of such outstanding
serious mental power was in itself a liberalising experience. The
facts that I had worked at Ambleside for Miss Arnold, her aunt,
and that I was by adoption a Lakelander, proved very helpful,
for Mrs. Humphrey Ward was deeply learned in the traditions,
social life, and dialect of Westmorland, a circumstance amply
demonstrated by “ David Grieve,” written, I believe, at Levens
Hall, Kendal.
In the summer of 1910 my wife and I joined the organised
tour arranged under the auspices of the National Housing and
Town-Planning Association by its then secretary, Henry R
Aldridge. Our objective was Vienna, where the most notable
town-planning conference in modern times had been convened.
About sixty British delegates attended, but the full representation
of all countries amounted to the total of some thirteen hundred.
The trip was splendidly managed from start to finish, and the
programme was carried out without a hitch.
Outward bound we spent a night at Salzburg, the town
which has witnessed so many vicissitudes of war. The Muiriabello
Gardens, in their location, design, and maintenance, are perhaps
the most perfect examples of town gardening I have ever seen.
Reaching Vienna, a city of great beauty and cleanliness, we
proceeded to the Hotel Metropole, where quarters had been chartered
for about half the British delegates. This was a most convenient
centre for our rambles round the city. Arriving late in the afternoon,
and although travel-tired, we went out to view the beautiful town
gardens, including the famous Elizabeth Garden and the Prater,
afterwards going to the opera, a large number of seats having been
reserved for the delegates. Nothing could surpass the hospitality154
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of the Municipality and the Government, the sumptuous dinner
given to us on the evening after our arrival at the Rathhaus being
an example of perfect organisation for the comfort of their guests.
I have attended many notable public dinners in London, New
York, Ottawa, Athens, and other towns and cities, but none of
these was so perfectly arranged as was this one at Vienna. Had
the dinner been part of a great military pageant it could not have
been more carefully organised or carried out with greater precision.
The banqueting hall is of immense size, lighted at both sides
by deep Gothic traceried windows, filled with beautiful heraldic
glass devices. At one end, on this occasion, there was a stage
which at a height of about eight feet occupied the entire width of
the hall. A military orchestral band took possession of this. At
one side of the hall, and in about the centre, was a raised dais
richly draped in coloured velvets and gold. To this dais marched,
with stately step between uniformed supporters, to the strains of
the Austrian National Anthem, a military looking gentleman.
This richly apparelled officer mounted the dais and_ saluted
the audience. Then followed grace by a church dignitary, after
which the gaily attired personage took his seat, which was the
signal for the guests to be seated.
he officer occupying the raised dais was the director of
ceremonies, directing the band, the waiters, and the somewhat
elaborate toast list. Nothing was done without his direction.
The spacious kitchens were placed behind the stage, and the
huge space under the platform was used as a service room. At a
given moment about twelve doors under the front of the stage
flew open, and waiters about twenty deep emerged in such order
as to give one the impression that the whole had been carefully
rehearsed under the direction of the same master of ceremonies.
Each man knew exactly where his place was and how many guests
he was required to serve, and the entire movements of the waiters
were so perfectly ordered that the return to the serving room was
done without haste and without confusion. No doubt this perfect
ordering expanded the generosity of the diners, when, after dessert,
they were given an opportunity of remembering the waiters.
he work of the conference went without a hitch, and the
greatest goodwill obtained on all sides. Herr Eberstadt, from
Berlin, indulged in an eloquent speech, his subject being the good
ship “ Friendship,” which had brought to Vienna a rich argosy
of goodwill and contentment, destroying rivalry and encouragingA Year of Effort.
competitive effort in seeking the greatest good for the greatest
number, 1 often wondered during the war how far its spirit
was genuine, or whether it was a clever piece of bluff.
It was curious to note the attitude of the English delegates
during the conference. When big town-planning problems were
mentioned they showed little interest, but when garden cities and
housing were under discussion they were all alert and took the
lead. ‘That our delegates were obsessed with this aspect of their
subject, to the neglect of others, was amusingly illustrated by one
of our party who in an outburst of enthusiasm declared that he
hoped to live to see London rebuilt on the basis of twelve houses
to the acre! Fortunately, we have learned to take a wider
conception of our responsibilities as town planners, and our study
of Vienna, with its wonderful avenues and gardens and its splendid
buildings, did much to enlarge our vision. What impressed us
most, however, was the bold enterprise of the Municipality in
securing wide belts of land for park reserves outside the city limits,
and especially on the higher ground. That this was a popular
move was amply proved by the crowds who during the hot
season sought the open breeze-swept spaces and leafy shades.
On our return journey we spent a week-end in Dresden, and
saw that city in holiday attire, and very gay and attractive it was.
From a landscape architect’s point of view I have never seen another
city that impressed me so much. Perhaps this admiration was in
part created by the railway station, a building in which expert
engineering and fine architecture, set in a beautiful garden, gay
with many-coloured, sweet-scented lilacs, conspires to give the
right “‘ first impression "to one entering the place for the first
time. The avenues and boulevards of Dresden are also planted
and maintained with greater skill than those in any other city
I have ever seen. Dresden will ever remain in my memory as a
lovable city of sweet-smelling lilacs.
he imperial capital Berlin was next exhibited to us from
every effective point of view by its city planners and leading
architects, and nothing was left undone that would impress us
with its greatness. It certainly appealed to us as a city of wealth
and efficiency, and in many ways as a beautiful city, but it is coldly
grandiose and ornate. Its Siéges Allée, notwithstanding the
mediocre nature of some of its statuary, and its Charlottenburg
Strasse, are impressive and grand. ‘The last 1s a rose walk of
such interminable length that it palls long before it is traversed,156
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
though as a great processional military road it is doubtless splendid.
Probably the claims of imperial military display dictated its width
and arrangement.
Somehow I am afraid that, notwithstanding every desire to
appear grateful for all the efforts made to entertain us, I had failed
to show the necessary number of thrills, because after dinner
Dr. and Mrs. Haeggiman, both well-known exponents of civic
art, called at our hotel and invited Mrs. Mawson and me to see
Berlin by night. “ We ought to explain,” said Mrs. Haeggiman,
‘that we feel you are not properly impressed with our capital,
but we are sure that if you see it by electric light you will say it
is truly wonderful.” We readily accepted the invitation, and for
over two hours drove and walked from one interesting point to
another, and | must admit that the enthusiasm of Dr. and Mrs.
Haeggiman did much to modify our earlier conclusions, for Berlin
by night is truly remarkable.
Hamburg I had previously visited, and as a town planner
studied very carefully its more important improvements, and the
excellent but autocratic method of acquiring areas for demolition
and reorganisation and their reapportionment among the original
property owners. We learned whilst in Hamburg that this drastic
method of destroying and cutting up other people’s property has
proved profitable to all concerned. This was our own impression,
for slum areas had given place to high-class business quarters.
This was the special or legal aspect of town planning which we
had put down for study, and a very helpful study it proved.
From Hamburg we returned home via the Hook of Holland
and Harwich, the whole trip, with all its splendid opportunities
for extensive study of the many-sided aspects of town planning,
having been accomplished in a little over three weeks.
Reviewing the work of the year, which included many schemes
In progress mentioned in previous chapters, I wonder how I
managed to control so many varied interests to the satisfaction of
my clients. The answer is that my clients were extremely con-
siderate, and that I received far more assistance from my staff
than I at the time imagined. One point, however, is quite clear :
I was learning quickly to visualise landscape effects and to grasp
the potentialities of the sites I visited.Illus. No. 31.
Home oF THE OLMsTEADS AT BRooKLINE, MAssACHUSETTS.CHAPTER XIV.
HARD WORK RELIEVED BY A TRIP TO AMERICA.
N my return from Vienna I found a letter from Mr. S. J.
() Waring saying that he had just returned from Hvidére,
Copenhagen, the Danish home of Queen Alexandra and of
her sister the Dowager Czarina of Russia. Following upon Her
Majesty’s request he had recommended me to replan the Royal
gardens. This necessitated a visit to the Danish capital, which,
with its Amelienberg Platz, its beautiful squares and streets, and
its many noble buildings, left a decided impression upon my
mind. I consider Copenhagen one of the most interesting capitals
that I have ever visited. Its people seemed to me to be vigorous
mentally and physically, and to carry about with them an air of
refinement and prosperity.
Hvidére is a residence of moderate size, situated on an elevated
terrace, rising some eleven feet above a public road, which divides
the gardens into two separate parts, the upper part occupied by
the residence and terraces, and the lower part running down to
the sea-shore. The two sections are joined by a subway,
necessitating a large number of steps. It was the lower half of
the garden which we remodelled, a plot of some two acres in
extent, and the task was as interesting as the opportunity was
unusual.
The ground had an almost regular gradient seawards, and
the soil was the deep sandy loam so favourable to flowers, but
the stunted and leaning trees denoted that the wind must be
combated. Accordingly we divided one garden into three simple
straightforward lateral parts, each being a long herbaceous and
panel rose garden, protecting all with trellis and hedges. The
existing walls we hid with a plenteous profusion of interesting
climbers and flowers. The whole when finished was just a snug
floral paradise. A year later my son designed a two-storeyed tower
to overlook this garden and command the views seaward. The
157158
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
first part had evidently met with the approval of our Royal clients,
for whom we felt it a great honour to work.
In the late summer of this year we planned a garden for
Harold de Boyd of Kilfillan, Berkhamsted, a property situated
on the high ground west of the town. It was desirable that there
be one or two distinctive features to pronounce a base line along
the side of this hill. This was secured by a pergola of unusual
design, which is illustrated in “ The Art and Craft of Garden
Making.” By this I do not mean that it was flambuoyant, to use
a common expression. Matured designers turn from this order,
or at the most use it very seldom. In truth, it was the climbers
which gave the pergola its crowning glory. Architects have much
to say, and rightly so, about smothering the beauties of their
architecture with climbers, but these have a lawful province on
houses and their accessory buildings, they filling up seeming voids
and breaking up the persistency of lateral lines and angular
asperities.
During this year, although a busy one, I did not carry out
quite so much public work as usual. Notwithstanding, one or two
small town-planning schemes were of sufficient interest to warrant
notice. The first of these was a small improvement scheme planned
for the Padiham Urban District Council,—a scheme, by the way,
which was prepared in advance to provide work for the unemployed
in any possible period of great distress.
Padiham is a small and usually very prosperous cotton-
manufacturing town of some 13,000 inhabitants, eight miles from
Blackburn on the London Midland and Scottish Railway. It
has a railway station which for meanness, inadequacy, and faulty
location is hard to beat. It is one of the most depressing ports of
arrival I know. The station looks directly on to the least
desirable part of the town, although, on exploration, one finds
that Padiham contains many quaint and picturesque features,
including a fine modern town hall. The town is situated on a river
which divides the site into an upper and a lower level. Flat cinder-
strewn land prevails from the railway westwards to the river, and
across the river steep grass-grown embankments (or brows, as
they are locally called) lead up to the higher points of the town.
It was this stretch of land extending from the railway to the top
of the brow that I was asked to plan, partly as a recreational ground
and a riverside park, and partly for building development. The
opportunity was exceptional, permitting a treatment which, if the159
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
railway company saw its way to co-operate, would secure for
Padiham a beautiful approach to the town from the railway station,
whilst travellers passing through would gain a fine impression
of a town which in the meantime is aesthetically mean and
uninteresting.
About a quarter of a mile down the river measured from the
old bridge the water is spanned by the railway bridge, and from
this point up to the old bridge the fall is so little that it would be
possible, by erecting a dam between the piers of the railway bridge,
to form a stretch for boating which would be almost unique in
this part of Lancashire. Between the town and the railway bridge
it was proposed to erect a footbridge giving access to the brow on
the opposite side, which in turn was to be connected by graded
paths up the brow, which we were prepared to afforest with
suitable native trees and undergrowths. By this development
residents on the tableland would gain a more pleasant and more
direct connection with the railway station. As most of the land
dealt with in my plans was already controlled or owned by the
town, this scheme could be carried out very economically, and
to the great benefit of the whole community. Indeed, I believe
the results to be obtained, compared with the cost, would be so
great that I gave several pictorial illustrations of my proposals in
the fervent hope that some day a benefactor to the town might
adopt the scheme and carry it through to a successful completion.
Another piece of promising town-planning work was at
Nelson, a Lancashire cotton town which seems to have grown in
the interests of the speculative builders of the more respectable
sort. The property which I planned is known as Haw Lea, a
private estate with a commodious mansion standing almost in
the centre of the site, such as one usually associates with the
Victorian cotton magnate—large, square, very comfortable, and
eminently respectable.
This residence, with its gardens and sheltering trees, and a
ravine, were retained as the central note, the remainder of the
land being developed as a garden village, or, rather, garden suburb,
with provision for houses of all degrees of size and importance.
Nowhere were these to be more than eight to the acre, but ranging
to sites of an acre or more. The character of the property, most
of which was high land with rolling undulations, gave an interest
to the scheme, and so suggested a delightful place of residence for
those to whom amenity means so much. There is, however, from160
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the town planner’s point of view, this drawback to nearly every
town planning and development scheme: We have in such a
scheme a plan and policy evolved in advance of actual needs,
which for economic reasons can be realised only as and when the
demand becomes insistent and need for action is imperative, and
therefore the architect seldom lives to see the realisation of his
dreams.
“The Art and Craft of Garden Making” met with a ready
sale in America, where my publishers are the house of Charles
Scribners Sons, who have been the American agents for all my
later publications. This work led to an extensive and extremely
interesting correspondence, securing me many friendships which
personal acquaintance has ripened into permanence.
Some of my correspondents were professors of landscape
architecture at those universities where the subject is an established
department ; others were keen horticulturists ; others, architects
interested in landscape design and the literature of the subject.
This wide correspondence gradually crystallised into an invitation
to take up a lecture tour in America. This idea was focussed by
Mr. Robert Anderson Pope, a young and able landscape architect
with offices in Fifth Avenue, New York, who had heard me lecture
in England.
Mr. Pope undertook the duty of organising my tour, which
commenced at the end of October and extended for six
weeks.
For months every spare moment was devoted to the preparation
of my lectures. The slides entailed much photographing, which
was very ably undertaken for me by my secretary and manager,
Mr. James Crossland. My subjects were divided into lectures on
Landscape Architecture and Civic Art. The syllabus was as
follows :—
LECTURES ON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.
(1) The Principles and Practice of Landscape Architecture.
(2) Gardens which were Builded and Gardens which were Planted. A description
of ancient forms of gardenage, with modern examples wherein ancient
principles have been adopted.
(3) Italian Gardens and the Gardens of the Renaissance.
(4) The Charm of the English Garden, with examples.
(5) The Charm of the English Village, with special reference to recent Model
Garden Cities.
(6) A description of the Gardens of the Peace Palace (Carnegie Foundation) at
he Hague.ARCHITECTURE
LIBRARY
161
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
LECTURES ON CIVIC ART.
(1) City Planning. Ideals and first principles in City Building.
(2) The Civic Survey and the collection of data upon which to base a City Plan.
(3) Street Planning, with special reference to traffic problems, incidental to manu-
facturing, commercial, and residential areas.
(4) Park Systems, including civic centres, town gardens, playgrounds, public
parks, reservations, and boulevards.
(5) The Equipment of Streets, Parks and Gardens, and Promenades, for utility
and adornment.
(6) Model Suburbs and Villages and Housing of the Industrial Classes.
The object of this arrangement was to induce important centres
to arrange for a course of six lectures which were planned to cover
in the round the whole field of the subject dealt with.
I left Liverpool on the 26th September, 1910, by White Star
s.s. Celtic, the boat having a full complement of passengers,
including many illustrious and well-known people. The voyage
was ideal, the weather being perfect, and very soon friendships
were formed and confidences exchanged.
At our table were four passengers, including a silent lady,
and conversation covered many topics. At dinner on the second
day the lady spoke, and in doing so startled us. In a beautiful
voice she said, “ Gentlemen, I have been listening to you for two
days discussing things Wrbichidontinnatten anyway ; as we are to
travel together for another five days, don’t you think we might
discuss matters of vital importance, as, for instance, the relations
between capital and labour ?”’
For the rest of the journey I sat and listened. The case for
labour was championed by the lady, and the case for capital by
the passenger opposite to me, who was an ironmaster with hundreds
of employees. Never have I heard an argument so long, so
tenaciously maintained, or one which was conducted in better
academic form or with such understanding and forbearance.
But the lady won. She was Mrs. Finch, one of America’s best
known educationists, a barrister-at-law, and at that time a
recognised leader of intellectual socialism.
On this and succeeding visits to America I always lectured
at the school organised and established by her, at which daughters
of American millionaires sit at the feet of a militant but eminently
sane socialist.
For a year past | had been working hard at “ Civic Art,”
which was in the printer’s hands, and I decided to devote the wel
on board to a final correction of the proofs. I was doubtful aboutThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the wisdom of publishing this work, as friends who made great
claims to literary criticism had advised me not to proceed, or, if I
did, to eliminate the first five chapters, my critical friends asserting
that they were too imaginative to be of any practical service. On
board I realised Mrs. Finch’s critical ability and her practical
interest in the subject in hand. I therefore asked her to read
through my proofs and to give me a frank and candid criticism.
She devoted about three days’ close reading to my proofs, at the
end of which her verdict was: “I am not conversant with the
strict technique of the last seven chapters, but I am confident that
the first five will sell the book in America. They are the best
exposition of practical idealism I have ever read.” This declaration
gave me heart, and | am assured the suggestive sales in America
and in this country have proved the truth of it.
The idea underlying the book was to set forth the claims
of landscape architecture applied to cities. Notwithstanding a
somewhat cool reception by one or two of the professional journals,
the reviews were on the whole very encouraging. The three
following extracts may be taken as typical of the remainder :—
EXTRACTS FROM PRESS NOTICES.
“Nothing but praise ... can be accorded to the boldness with which
Mr. Thomas Mawson meets—and sometimes solves—the complicated problems
of town planning.” —The Spectator.
“Mr. Mawson possesses to a remarkable extent the power of visualising
his ideas, and to do this is due to much of his success in garden architecture. When
he applies himself to work on a larger scale, such as he deals with in the present
volume, the advantage of the gift is inestimable.’-—The Studio.
“In a crown folio volume of some 350 pages, handsomely and strongly
found in buckram, he has given us a book fully worthy to rank with his well-known
and highly esteemed volume on ‘The Art and Craft of Garden Making.’ "—
The Liverpool Post.
On arrival in New York I was met by Mr. Pope, who told
me that my first lecture was to be given the following day, and
that I had only a few hours in which to make all final arrangements
for my tour. I was to begin at Harvard, where I was to give two
lectures before the students in the School of Landscape Architecture.
One of the lectures was to be given at 10-30 the next morning, and
the second one at 8 in the evening.
I arrived at Boston late that evening and went straight to an
hotel, where Mr. Fred Law Olmstead, the Eliot Professor of
Landscape Architecture at Harvard, met me at ten next morning.163
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
I had long corresponded with Mr. Olmstead and his brother
John, for whose attainments and traditions I had a profound
regard. It was therefore a delight to meet a man so eminent in the
art, and to be introduced by him to Professors Pray and Hubbard,
and the students of the School of Landscape Architecture at
Harvard. That Professor Olmstead was popular with both students
and tutors was very evident ; and I do not wonder, for his is one
of those rare personalities which carry with them an atmosphere
of enthusiasm for whatever they espouse. In addition to a vast
fund of practical experience, he combines great power of clarified
expression and the direct initiative qualities which are always dear
to the student.
In my lecture I spoke of the art and craft of garden making
as practised in England, illustrated by many slides showing how
we collect our data, prepare our studies, and finally present our
designs and working drawings, and then presented photographs
of the results attaimed—principally, though not entirely, by
examples of my own work. I do not know whether the lecture
was a good one or not, but I do remember the eager faces of my
youthful audience as I passed from point to point, and the shower
of congratulations at the end of my lecture, when I was assured
of a big crowd for the evening.
Never before did I experience the thrill of being able to
influence a body of keen, intelligent, and enthusiastic young men
and women who were to be the future leaders of a great and
lovable art.
After the lecture Professor Olmstead motored me to his home
at Brookline, where his famous father had established himself
many years before. The group of picturesque buildings which
comprised the house, offices, and laboratory suggested the history
and growth of the firm. The house itself was very much in its
original form, but the offices comprised many extensions to meet
the ever-growing staff, imparting to the whole an aspect of
straggling picturesqueness, the charm of which was heightened by
its setting in a rural example of suburban gardening.
To an Englishman used to rapid transport facilities and
nearness to a railway terminus, Brookline seemed rather remote ;
but as a matter of fact the firm of Olmstead is so firmly established
that the location of its working centre does not greatly matter.
There must, however, be certain advantages attaching to Boston,
of which Brookline is a suburb, seeing that it is rapidly becomingThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the acknowledged centre for landscape architects, of whom there
are a large number in practice in the town and neighbourhood.
On arrival at this notable home I was at once introduced to
Mrs. Olmstead, the mother of Mr. Fred Law Olmstead, and also
to the wife of the aforesaid gentleman. Mr. John Law Olmstead
also gave me a warm welcome and made me feel quite at home.
The American people overwhelm one with kindness. They
possess the gift of entertaining to a remarkable degree. There
is a charm of spontaneity and naturalness about their hospitality.
After my introduction to the several members of the family
I was shown round the offices, which, notwithstanding their
straggling arrangement, proved to be most orderly and convenient.
Indeed I soon realised that in the matter of office organisation
we in England have much to learn. Also their survey and contour
work, which formed the basis of every plan, was done with a
thoroughness seldom attempted at home. The method of preparing
the plans by regular stages, ending with the work of the men who
take out the quantities for the trees and shrubs required, all
carefully noted on the plans, was a revelation to me.
The filing of records of executed works and “progress
photographs’ was reduced to an up-to-date card system. The
records of expenditure upon all the work passing through the
office were tabulated with a thoroughness which I was quick to
praise. But I think that Mr. Olmstead’s rejoinder was right
when he explained that whilst they in America paid more attention
to the business side of their practice than we did in England, we
in this country paid greater heed to design and the originality of
ideas. When I came to think the matter over I realised that we had
in our landscape foremen men who were able to interpret our
designs, and therefore we did not need to detail the work to the
point of saying where, when, and how the last flowering shrub
should be planted ; whereas in America, with work at such vast
distances from headquarters, plans and drawings must be foolproof.
Nevertheless, I learnt from the Olmsteads many valuable lessons
for application on my return to England.
The luncheon party was a very happy one, set in a room of
classic proportions, opening upon a gently undulating shrub-planted
lawn. The furniture and the appointments of the room and
table showed both quaintness and refinement, but I was soon
too much absorbed in Mrs. Olmstead, senior, to pursue any other
Investigation.165
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
A remarkable little figure, quaintly dressed, she seemed to have
carried down the ages the quiet refinement of the Puritan maiden
with the vivaciousness of the times. She was the widow of
America’s greatest exponent of landscape architecture, the true
helpmeet, aider and abetter of her husband’s enterprises ; having
herself played an important role in political and artistic circles,
she was evidently proud of her distinction. Very soon Mrs.
Olmstead and I were engaged in animated discussions and
descriptions and impressions of things English and American,
and I soon discovered that her interests were world-wide, and
that she had in particular a very intimate knowledge of England
and France.
When I left England there was a sensation in the newspapers
owing to the feared sequestration of the communion plate of the
Church of the pilgrim fathers, who, if I remember rightly,
originally came from Ganbeowelloeelibeechurchaheed got into
financial difficulties, and sought relief by converting its historic
plate into cash at one of the London salerooms. A few wealthy
men, English and American, had purchased and restored it to
the church under a trust deed which would make it impossible
for the same thing to happen again. This news I told
Mrs. Olmstead, thinking it would interest her, but | found she
was decidedly incredulous as to the accuracy of my story. “~ No,
r. Mawson, your story is wrong somewhere,” said the old lady,
nodding her head, with its quaint head-dress. I protested that
my story must be correct, because our home newspapers had been
full of it. “ Still,” she protested, “ I think you are wrong. Where
did you say these pilgrim fathers came from?” “ Camberwell,”
I replied. “* When did these pilgrim fathers come from Camberwell
to America?” “ In 1632,” I replied. ‘* There!” she exclaimed
exultantly, raising her finger at me; “I knew you were wrong.
e came over in 1622; and remember, Mr. Mawson, there is a
world of difference between us who arrived in 1622 and those
who did not arrive until ten years later.”’ It was quite evident
that America’s aristocracy was founded in 1622, and that Mrs.
Olmstead was of the elect. I was quite delighted to find a dominant
English line of ancestry in America, and my hostess appeals to
me even now as one of its most delightful and distinguished
members.
After tea—dispensed, I am sure, for my special benefit—we
motored back to Harvard, my host pointing out to me on the way166
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
certain features of Boston’s famous park system. Arriving at
the University, we found that a great reception was taking place
in the hall in which I had lectured in the morning, and a crowd
of students waiting to conduct me to a hall in Cambridge, where
it had been decided that the evening lecture should be given.
Very much to my astonishment, when the time arrived for the
lecture to begin, the hall was nearly filled. How the students had
managed to get me such an audience together in so short a time |
didn’t know; but it was evident that they had mastered the art
of rapid publicity. My subject was “ The Charm of the English
Garden.” My depiction of the qualities of our home gardens,
and my fine series of slides, were evidently greatly appreciated.
After another night spent in Boston I returned to New York
to prepare for three lectures which had been arranged for me in an
old American city a few days later. “This was my best engagement.
It represented a remuneration of 300 dollars, an aspect of my
tour which, unfortunately, I could not afford to ignore. On
arriving in New York, however, I found waiting for me a letter
from the secretary of one of the societies before which I had
arranged to lecture, informing me that his society had, for the
purpose of my lectures, amalgamated with the other two societies,
and therefore they would not require me to give the separate
lecture as arranged. The next morning I received another letter
from the secretary of one of the other societies informing me that
the three secretaries had concluded that one lecture with an
assured audience would be more agreeable to me than three smaller
audiences, and therefore they would require me to give one lecture
only. The secretaries had, however, arranged for my hotel, and
proposed to invite me to dine with the committees and friends
of the three clubs which I would address. The result was that
I lectured to an audience of 700, each one of whom, I was informed,
had paid a dollar for admission. Out of this I was paid my 100
dollars, which covered my expenses, but little more. A good
bargain for the three societies, but not a very good one for me.
I would not have minded had they provided a good lecture
hall. The one in which I spoke was the worst in which I have
ever addressed an audience. The conditions taxed both the
strength of the lecturer and the patience of the audience. At
the close of the lecture questions were invited, and much criticism
was indulged in.
In my lecture I had shown some beautiful slides of a number167
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
of walls planted with Alpines and ferns. These took my audience
by surprise, and they were quite certain that no such effect could be
obtained over there, and that I was wrong in advising such treatment
in America. Fortunately, one of their most famous architects,
Mr. Frank Miles Day, was present, and in a short and pointed
address supported my contention. He remarked that in laying
out a garden some few years before he had followed the suggestions
contained in “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making,” and reached
results in every way equal to those shown on my slides, and said
that whoever doubted his statement was at liberty to see the
garden for himself. I was never so pleased to have a supporter,
for my audience treated me rather severely. Some of the questioners
reminded me of a dear old lady who attended a course of lectures
I delivered a little later before the Royal Horticultural Society.
At the close of the last lecture she said: “ Mr. Mawson, may I
ask you a question? I am awfully worried about my gooseberries ;
how would you advise me to plant and train them? | have attended
all your lectures, hoping you would tell us.”
My next lectures were delivered before the School of Landscape
Architecture at the Cornell University, at this time under the
direction of Professor Bryant Fleming, a landscape architect of
good repute.
The Cornell Campus is built amidst noble scenery, occupying
a high tableland with steep bluffs, reminiscent to me of Martin's
famous picture, “ The Plains of Heaven.” On this tableland,
which runs into hundreds of acres, are grouped the University
buildings, none of them particularly striking as architectural units,
but together forming an impressive and extensive group to which
new departments are being added from time to time. I was met
on arrival by Professor Bailey, the Dean of the Faculty of
Asriculture, and Professor Fleming; and I was introduced by
Professor Bailey to the largest class in landscape architecture |
have ever met. This class was a fine body of students, male and
female, who followed every word and every slide with the closest
interest. Somehow I am always at my ease when addressing young
folks, between whom and me there is immediate good-fellowship.
After the first lecture I spent about two hours in the drafting-room
criticising the work of the students.
Before undertaking the duty of inspection, and remembering
my experiences in another city, I asked the students what they
desired of me—whether they wanted me to say complimentaryA
168
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
things, or whether they really wanted me to help them. At once
there was a chorus of voices calling, “ Help, sir; help!’’ After
this we had a very happy, and I hope a very helpful, time
together.
Then I had an introduction which gave me very great pleasure,
for no less a personage than Mr. Andrew D. White, the distinguished
Ambassador to Germany and Russia, and the first President of
Cornell University,* invited the Dean, the Professor, and me to
tea at his house on the Campus. ‘The interesting topic of
conversation that evening centred round the work and influence
of Goldwin Smith, for whom Mr. White had a great admiration,
if an admiration that seemed to be fed and fostered by a close
personal friendship.
It was quite evident that Mr. White regarded England's
loss of a first-class brain like that of Goldw:n Smith as some-
thing approaching a calamity; and yet he did not seem to think
that America’s gain (which he said was undoubted) was quite
on a parallel with our loss, for, as he expressed it, “ Goldwin
Smith has come to America rather too late in life to be able to
ie advantage of the full flow of life and energy which surrounds
im.
Since the above was written I have received the following
interesting communication from my old friend, William Hill,
who was editor of “ The Tribune” during that Liberal organ’s
brief and chequered career.
Goldwin Smith was an eminent Oxford man who died in 1910. “* He formed
in his youth lasting liberal opinions on religious and political questions,” and he
attacked clerical ascendancy in the University. He was an effective writer at one
time in the ‘“ Saturday Review,’ member of the Royal Commission on Education,
1858; Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, 1858-66; engaged on
political agitation and pamphleteering, in which he defined his distrust of Imperialism
and was denounced by Disraeli as a mischievous propagandist. In the late sixties
he resolved upon prolonged residence in America, and became Professor of History
at the newly founded Cornell University. He resented American hostility to
England in 1869-70, and Disraeli’s attack on him as “‘a social parasite’ in “ Lothair.””
He made a tour in Canada in 1870, settled in Toronto in 1871, and, marrying the
widow of Henry Boulton of The Grange, took up his residence there for life. He
| then wrote on the daily, weekly, and monthly press of Canada, America, and England.
He frequently intervened later on in the public life of England, and stoutly opposed
Gladstone’s Home Rule Bills, and opposed the South African War. Despite the
unpopularity of his political and religious views in Canada, he won much
* Mr. White was the first President of Cornell University, 1866-1885, and after his retirement he continued to live
in the President's house until his death in November, 1918, at the age of 86. He was the American Minister to
Germany, 1879-81; Minister to Russia, 1892-94; and Ambassador to Germany, 1897-1902.Illus. No. 32.
Dr. Anprew Dickson Wuirte, First Presipent or CorNeLL UNIVERSITY.169
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
affectionate respect there for his enlightened activity on educational matters, by his
advocacy of purity in public life, and by his philanthropy and public charity. He
laid the foundation of the Goldwin Smith Hall at Cornell in 1904 (when he was
President of the American Historical Association), and he bequeathed the residue of
his large fortune to Cornell for the promotion of liberal studies.
I greatly enjoyed my visit to Cornell University, for Mr. White
proved a brilliant talker and scholar, deeply interested in European
politics and educational movements. He was locally known and
revered as the father and patron of Cornell, and looked every inch
a patron of the arts and sciences.
After tea our host took us to an organ recital in the college
chapel, which was filled to overflowing. I do not recollect the
name of the organist, but I remember his brilliant performance
on an excellent instrument, and how impressed I was by Andrew
White’s interest in the music. From here we went to one of the
University fraternity houses presided over by Professor Bailey, but
run on democratic lines by an elected committee drawn from the
thirty boarders. I was delighted with the atmosphere of good-
fellowship which seemed to pervade the whole establishment, and
the excellent way in which it was run.
My evening lecture on “ The Italian Garden ” was given in
a large hall to a big audience, contingents coming from the other
departments of the University.
From Cornell I returned to New York, where I gave three
lectures before the School of Architecture at Columbia University.
To these lectures the general public were admitted. The lectures
attracted very good audiences, and were evidently appreciated,
seeing that at each subsequent visit to America I was asked to
lecture there again.
After the day in New York I had to give an evening lecture
before an influential and flourishing society in Hartford, Conn.,
which city, my agent assured me, could be reached with half an
hour to spare by taking the 5-26 train. I was informed that the
train attendant would find me a compartment wherein to change
for the evening lecture, and that I could dine on the train.
Perhaps I got into the wrong train. Be this as it may, instead of
the accommodation promised, the train in which I travelled was
more like an English workman’s train, but much less clean, and
altogether unlike the Pullman-car express which | expected. The
result was that I arrived dinnerless half an hour late, and, what
was even more galling, tealess also.170
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The secretary was waiting at the station with a car, and in
five minutes we were at the hall, where a great audience, many
in evening dress, had been patiently, waiting for me. Notwith-
Sse they gave me a good reception. I took the opportunity
of allaying their reasonable annoyance at my late arrival, and in
such a plight. I prefaced my lecture by a short explanation, ending
with: “ Now I am sure you are generous enough to understand
and forgive, but the dinner is a personal matter which I cannot
forget.” After that there was complete understanding, and the
lecture was one of the most satisfactory that I have delivered in
America. After the meeting the hospitality of the Hartford Club
was extended to me, and I| was given a dinner that fully atoned
for my enforced fast. The news of my famished condition had
evidently been broadcast.
As showing the difficulties with which lecturers in the States
have to contend, I may state that my next engagement, at the
historic old town of Richmond, in Virginia, meant three days’
travelling, and this for one lecture only. The society engaging
me, however, generously paid my expenses in addition to my
fee. My Richmond! audience remindedinne tot theandicneestat
home, excepting that most of the ladies were beautifully and simply
attired, and were genuinely interested in garden design. y
subject was again “ The Charm of the English Garden.”
On my return to New York I lectured to a large audience in
one of the theatres at II o'clock in the morning, on “ Garden
Villages in England,” quoting Port Sunlight as the most successful
example so far realised in any part of the world, with Bournville
as a good second. ‘This statement was contested by the speakers
who took part in the subsequent discussion, and | felt there was
a suggestion of resentment that I had pened certain experiments
in industrial housing then being made in America. Perhaps it
was only reasonable to expect this counterblast.
Whilst lecturing at Philadelphia I received a telegram from
Graham Bell, of telephone fame, whom | had met on board the
Celtic, asking me to visit him in Washington, and to be prepared
to give a lecture on housing in England. Fortunately, I had left
myself a few clear days, so that I might have the experience of a
drawing-room lecture amongst the people who are ever intent upon
education. Accordingly I accepted the invitation.
I reached Washington on the Wednesday morning, and was
met at the railway station by my host, who motored me to his171
Hard Work Relieved by a Trip to America.
home in the city, a commodious and eminently livable house, which
I believe had been planned by Mr. Richardson, the American
architect. Graham Bell was almost as well known for his lip
reading and talking for the deaf and dumb as for his invention.
The lip-reading was begun and prompted by his affection for his
wife, who was thus afflicted. Notwithstanding this, she was a fine
hostess, who had the power of communicating her buoyant spirit
to her guests. I found that Mr. Bell had arranged for a lecture
to be given in his great parlour each Wednesday evening, and |
was asked to give my own lecture on the day of my arrival. As
the company arrived I was introduced, but the galaxy of senators,
ministers, and heads of Government departments made me quite
nervous: seldom have I met so distinguished a company, or one
so evidently interested in housing as an aspect of social amelioration.
I was advised by Mr. Bell to discard my manuscript and give
them a simple account of the housing movement in ngland. I
followed his advice, and much to my surprise | had little difficulty
in speaking extemporaneously. The discussion which followed
was intensely interesting, and showed a real desire amongst the
senators present to promote housing reform in America, a movement
for which there was great need.
The next day I was shown round the capital, a tour which
only tended to confirm my previous impressions that Washington
is potentially the most imposingly beautiful capital in the world.
After we had made a comprehensive tour of inspection—and,
may add, admiration on my part, particularly of the more important
Government buildings—we inspected the new housing area for
the negro population of the city, and most excellent I found it all
to be. The cleanliness of the cottages and the robustness of the
children equal anything I have seen in white industrial quarters.
Perhaps the facts that the property was new and that the tenants
were carefully selected accounted in part for the conditions. This
visit to Washington was most enjoyable, and led to new friendships ;
but apart from every other consideration it contributed very much
to my grasp of town planning and architectural problems, for here,
in this great capital, was to be found the work of many of the
patent most famous architects, who have contributed of their
est.
From Washington I returned to New York, and then went on
to Chicago, where | arrived in the early morning. At one o'clock
I was entertained to lunch by the members of the Chicago Civic172
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Guild, a vigorous body of social reformers who had already
accomplished much for their city. At the luncheon I gave an
address on “ The Town Planning Movement in Europe.” I had
frankly to acknowledge that our continent had nothing so ambitious
as Daniel Burnham's scheme for the reorganisation of Chicago,
and indeed I felt that in many ways Chicago was pointing the way
to other cities and to other countries.
At four in the afternoon I lectured to a crowded audience in
the Art Gallery at the end of Michigan Avenue, on “ Ancient
Gardenage,’’ and was amazed at the keenness and interest of the
audience in the subject of my lecture. At the conclusion groups
of enthusiasts gathered round me, some to ask questions and some
to congratulate me on the beauty of my slides.
The next morning | met Daniel Burnham, who introduced me
to his colleagues. Burnham was a big man, with all the simplicity
and modesty of those truly great. For two hours he talked to
me about my work and about his own, and in particular about his
great hopes for the improvement of Chicago. Looking back on
his life’s work, and looking forward to his end, of which he had
already had warning, he said, ““ Whatever happens, I feel that
I have done a day’s work, and there is great satisfaction in that.”
Burnham’s work on the Chicago Exhibition was in _ itself
sufficient to make the fame of any one man, for it gave a new
impetus and higher ideals to the profession of architecture in
America. I think, however, that he valued still more his
contribution to the replanning of Chicago, which was a
revelation of what possibilities existed even in the most congested
cities, where site values are at the highest.
This noble scheme had its inception in the City Club. In
itself this fact was remarkable, for here you had men promoting
a stupendous plan of reorganisation for the city, knowing that if
the scheme were adopted they would be called upon to find most
of the cost. What is more, these men formed themselves into a
City Planning Commission, which met in Burnham’s board-room
for an hour each day for five days a week, for nearly three years,
the Commission finding the money for the payment of the special
staff, which, with incidental expenses, cost in all about £30,000.
I believe Burnham’s great services were positively given gratis
to the work. This is one of the most remarkable examples in
merica of that spirit which is creating a new view of civic
responsibility.173
Hard Work Relieved by a-Trip to America.
At the request of Earl Grey, then Governor-General of
Canada, I visited Ottawa for the purpose of stirring up an interest
in civic betterment. In this subject the Governor-General was
intensely interested, and he desired its principles to be applied
to the remarkable opportunities of the Dominion capital.
In Ottawa I was entertained by the Canadian Club, a spirited
organisation run on lines similar to those governing the Rotary
Clubs in England. It is a luncheon club, at which the guest gives
an address extending to about half an hour. Many representative
men, including Sir Wilfrid Laurier and other ministers, attended.
I preferred, however, to await the larger opportunities which a
second trip would give me, and so spent most of the time remaining
at my disposal in interviewing representative men and in writing
articles for the newspapers on © The Aims and Advantages of City
Planning.” My introducer for the propaganda was Noel Cauchon,
a young engineer who had made a wide study of city planning from
the engineer’s standpoint, and who has since attained eminence
as an authority on the larger aspects of the subject.
My lectures, articles, and interviews had received such wide
publicity in Canada and the States that I was offered many
lucrative engagements, but I decided to complete my programme
and return home, because reports indicated that several of my
best clients were becoming restive.
Financially the lectures barely covered expenses. I could not
afford to lose much, but money-making was not my object. I
wanted to gain new and wider experience in a different sphere
in the master art in which my life and studies have been cast.
Further, I wished to gratify a lifelong ambition—viz., to meet
men of great grasp and compass, and discuss comprehensive
problems with them; or, rather, to sit at their feet and listen.
In all these respects the trip was a success, and I left America
with a much wider appreciation of that great continent and the
character of her people. In particular I was very much impressed
by the young people I met at the universities.
Since this visit I have had a string of young scholarship students
carrying letters of introduction to me from their professors, an
it has been my joy to keep up the connection thus formed. This
experience of American universities with their classes in landscape
architecture filled me with a determination to do what I could to
remove the embargo which lies upon this profession in England.
Twice I have nearly succeeded, and it is the bitterest disappomtmentThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of my closing years that I have hitherto failed. However, I still
trust that a rich horticulturist with a leaning towards the arts
will yet establish such a school—or, better still, a complete course
in the constructive arts. Six years later, in a letter which | sent
to a very dear friend who is now a peer, written on the eve of
my departure for Greece to carry out the plan of Salonika, I said :—
My Dear W.,
Several years ago you and I had a talk about university training in the arts,
and I then suggested that some day we might have a great academic course worthy
of our traditions and ourselves. The idea I then ventured to suggest was three
schools under one department :
(1) Landscape Architecture and City Planning, which would give students
a wide grasp of topographical opportunities and the grouping of architectural
units with natural features.
(2) A department of Architecture which would develop the study of
architectural styles and motifs.
(3) The Decorative Arts, which should include a study of all forms of
decorative treatment, and include also the design of furniture.
My object in writing you is to say that Mr. Fisher, the Minister of Education,
some time ago asked me to draw up for his consideration a curriculum for No. |
department, and I now hear that he is very favourably impressed and anxious
to found the school at Oxford. I wish, however, that someone with a fervent desire
to help in the work of reconstruction could induce Mr. Fisher to start the three
departments, because if one could get a number of promising young men to go
through the whole of the three courses, we would rear a race of constructive designers
who would hold their own with the men of any country, and incidentally raise
the status of British Art.
Now, please, don’t think me too venturesome if I suggest the following as
a great opportunity, and as the way to ensure the founding of this project :
(1) A Chair in Landscape Architecture,
(2) A Chair in Architecture,
(3) A Chair in the Decorative Arts,
each of which would be set up for twenty-five thousand pounds. This is probably
not the time to introduce this subject, but as I am risking something in going to
Salonika next week, I thought I would, as an old friend, venture to leave you this
record of my suggestion, in case of accidents. What a splendid memorial this
would make to your boy, whom I last remember as an Oxford undergraduate.
Yours sincerely,
Tuomas H. Mawson.
Only so can we hope to maintain that pre-eminence in design
and in the constructive arts which we have so long enjoyed.Illus. No. 34,
THe Hitt, HampesTeap, FoR Lorp LEVERHULME.CHAPTER XV.
THEORY AND PRACTICE: MR. LEVER FOUNDS A SCHOOL OF
CIVIC DESIGN.
OW opens a period of enjoyable stress and activity. When
N in the strength and ripening fruition of his powers a man
has an open field before him, and a clientéle appreciative
and responsive, he in turn responds with the best that is in him.
With his imagination freed from fetters he can express himself
either by his art or in words which keep pace with his progress
and freedom.
During the period covered by this chapter, in addition to
calls in my practice, the opportunity dawned whereby I could
give forth in connected form some of the lessons I had stored,
not only in my practice, but also by the “ harvest of a quiet eye ”
in my peregrinations up and down the country, on the Continent,
and in America.
With the exception of three connected papers before the
Royal Horticultural Society, the lectures I had hitherto delivered
had been single ones concerning some branch of the art I practised,
and consequently were limited in range and vision.
By the generosity of Mr. Lever the possibility arose
whereby I could present co-ordinately the principles which
underlie landscape design. When free and untrammelled, this
art not only deals in beautiful bits of gardens, or even parks, public
or private, but is able to grip the imagination in the largest sense,
and impart an atmosphere. This is its ideal. Everyone in practice
knows how his mounting Pegasus gets chained, and how her wings
are clipped ; but it is this very inner vision which sustains in the
outer materialistic struggle. Finding himself hedged up—
“ cribbed, cabined, and confined,’—the man with the ideal
soars above the commonplace and above disappointments—
disappointments with his own productions very often.
I have always advocated that theory and practice should go
175170
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
hand in hand in all thorough training, and it is a very shortsighted
education which confines the student to practice alone. Theory
is usually derided, and, like the word “ sentiment,’ pushed into
a meaning which is a falsity. “ An ounce of practice is worth a
ton of theory ” is one of those fallacious axioms which pass from
mouth to mouth without due consideration, but I maintain that
practice which is not steeped in a sound theoretical education is
a cul-de-sac. In training the youths in my own profession I have
advised them to go further and deeper, and make a much wider
survey, than the immediate problem set them involves, a method
I usually adopt in my own practice in any scheme of magnitude
and with possibilities. Oftentimes | draw up a comprehensive
policy which may take ten, twenty, or more years to complete,
and which, whilst it does not commit the proprietor to the whole
or any part of it, stimulates his imagination and keeps it open to
widening Ronconshnrolaienicch piece falls as a part of a whole.
Such is the purpose of a school or academy, and such is the method
pursued in the training of landscape architects in the American
universities.
It was this very method of comprehensive design which led
me to join issue with Town Planning and Civic Design. The latter
differs somewhat from the former in that it gives freer play to the
imagination and the esthetic perception, but is not by any means
divorced from its practical partner. Civic design would encourage
the solution of idealism in the configuration and the planning of
towns, much as the Paris Beaux Arts encourages ideal monumental
architecture, yet by no means ignoring the practical part.
In meditating on these matters I was led, by my lectures and
personal solicitation, to make an endeavour to secure in some one
at least of our universities a branch of landscape architecture.
degree, I considered, might, as a token of proficiency, be used
as an introduction to further studies in civic design, or as a
commencement of practice. Those students who could afford to
do so, might couple the diploma. with an extended study of
architecture and the decorative arts in general, as suggested in the
verbatim letter at the end of the previous chapter. But whichever
the system adopted, I am convinced that until we have a School
of Landscape Architecture there is something lacking in our national
university curriculum.
his project may seem ambitious, and some may read into
it a suggestion of egotism, but I have flyer felt that as we plough177
Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic Design.
our way along, everything is lost to the toilers who follow, except
the outward manifestation of our work, which is very often marred
by others, possibly with the best intentions. Our inward thoughts,
and the steps and stages by which we arrive at our conclusions,
are usually more valuable than the finished product, and it is these
that are of educational value. Although in England we have
always had, in every emergency and in every profession, a few men
who have been strong enough in their natural aptitude and acquired
power to be independent of schools, the fact does not disparage
academic training and study. Although without doubt the need
to overcome great obstacles in their younger days accounted
largely for the making of these stalwarts, they would have been
thankful had their initial difficulties been simplified, and had the
pace been set for them by a few like-minded in purpose and
imagination.
The school I contemplated, which I maintain is sorely needed,
would hold out good prospects for students possessing a fair
share of imagination, and prepared to take the full course and
make themselves proficient. It was not to be modelled altogether
on the very strict technical lines of the American schools, for which
I have nothing but the sincerest regard, but to be a school for the
training of architectural minds on the widest possible basis. Not
alone is it the purpose to plan, design, and allocate buildings,
but in addition we must marshal the landscape, and, when called
upon, be able to respond with a general indicative design for any
part of the tout ensemble.
In quite a remarkable way, yet by no means the result of my
advocacy, some approximation of my ideal was achieved by the
founding of the School of Civic Design as a department of the
already prosperous School of Architecture attached to the Liverpool
University. The history leading up to the foundation of this
school is interesting. It came about in this way.
In 1908 a group of newspapers attacked Mr. William Lever,
the founder and chairman of Lever Brothers, for endeavouring
to amalgamate a number of competing firms of soap manufacturers
for the purpose, as was afterwards proved, of cheapening the cost
of production to compensate for the soaring cost of raw materials.
In this proposal the newspapers thought they saw the introduction
of the American trust in its most pernicious form, and in supporting
this contention went beyond the bounds of reasonable criticism.
The result was an action in which Mr. Lever received very
N178
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
substantial damages amounting to over £100,000. This large sum
was presented to the Liverpool University for the purpose of
increasing the usefulness of the School of Tropical Medicine, and
to establish a new department of Town Planning, or, as it was
designated, Civic Design. Early in January of 1909 I was staying
with Mr. Lever at Roynton Cottage, when in a fit of enthusiasm
I introduced my pet subject. My host allowed me to explain in
considerable detail what I thought was needed, and at last quietly
remarked, ‘So you have heard about it, have you?” “ Heard
what?” I replied. ‘“ About a School of Town Planning.” I
assured him this was my first intimation of it, and that I was
delighted.
The gift was actually completed in March of that year,
and Professor Reilly was despatched to America to collect all the
available information and literature on the subject, and to investigate
any school the curriculum of which included Civic Design or ‘Town
Planning. In October the school was formally inaugurated under
the direction of Professor Adshead.
I had previously been consulted as to the curriculum and as to
the part I would take in the work of the school. Reluctantly I
had to state that my commitments were such that my share of the
work would have to be confined to the lectures on landscape
design applied to park systems, boulevards, town gardens,
recreation grounds, and other phases of town development which
depend for success upon the application of the principle of landscape
architecture.
The acceptance of this lectureship added a new zest to life,
and gave me the opportunity of trying to instil into the minds of
the rising generation of town planners, some of my own passion
for the art I have now practised so long.
It is not claimed that in a course of lectures one can make
expert landscape architects, any more than a course in civic law
can make expert town clerks, but it was possible to give the students
a knowledge in the round of the necessity and opportunities for
parks and gardens, and also a critical sense of what is good and
bad. I felt that when these students assumed charge of compre-
hensive town-planning schemes they would be able to choose
the right colleague and to give him his instructions for the
preparation of working drawings. Many of the students have
gone much further than this, especially those who started with a
sound training in architecture and some general knowledge of179
Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic Design.
arboriculture and horticulture. In the future some of these men
ought to contribute to the advancement of civic art.
The school has from the start done excellent work, and by
its publication of the “ Town Planning Review ” has exercised a
wide influence in many parts of the world, especially in promoting
those aspects of town planning in which we in this country excel.
To this review it has been my pleasure from time to time to
contribute articles on the application of the principles of landscape
architecture to town and city development.
Although the existing provision for teaching in this school
falls far short of what I hope may dominate a University of the
Constructive Arts, the instruction provided has already had one
very important effect—it has given a status to the profession of
town planning. By its research work and publications the school
keeps every member in touch with the latest developments at home
and abroad, inspiring the profession as a whole to higher effort
in the development of town-planning problems. Moreover, any
art or science which is supported by a university training wins a
popular recognition not attainable by other means. Incidentally
this university status made possible the founding of the Institute
of Town Planning, which has become a strong and influential
organisation.
My work for Mr. Lever, which was considerably restricted
during the previous year, was now resumed with increased vigour,
particularly at Roynton Cottage, Rivington, where considerable
expansions to the grounds entailed the planting of many thousands
of trees and shrubs. In this department of our work we now
felt safe in forging ahead, because our experiments in the
acclimatisation of hundreds of varieties had given us a full idea
of what would and what would not grow.
At Mr. Lever’s London house, The Hill, Hampstead,
considerable improvements and extensions were planned. The
extensions were possible owing to the purchase of the adjoining
south-western property known as Heath Lodge, which forms a
peninsular-like extension surrounded on three sides by Hampstead
Heath and on the remaining side divided from The Hill gardens
by the public lane.
The purpose of this extension was to provide a pleasant setting
for the garden parties which are such a popular feature at The Hill,
including each season the entertainment of the members of many
artistic and learned societies. All the beautiful timber, including180
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
several exceptionally fine beech trees, was retained and woven
into the design, which included ample terracing with spacious
pergolas and garden pavilions. This work was still in progress
when war was declared, and had for several years to be abandoned.
Still other work was designed and executed for Mr. Lever
at Thornton Manor. This included a large ornamental lake of
twenty acres, and here we had a somewhat curious experience.
The site chosen for the lake was on the lowest level of the park,
and south-west of the Hall. The site was fairly dry, with no
signs of springs or streams, and we had therefore, as we thought,
to consider the filling and maintaining of the water supply. On
this point we obtained the best expert advice available, with plans
and a report, along with estimates for the water supply by means of
borings and pumps. The cost, however, threatened to be so
excessive that my client decided to delay the laying down of the
new plant; but when the lake was completed and the margins
and island were strengthened and planted, water began to appear,
and finally filled the lake, and from that day to this there has
never been any lack of water. The ground proved to be the natural
draining point for a wide surrounding region, and there must
have been some undiscovered springs. ‘This lake is broken up
by several wooded islands, which impart to it a picturesque
interest.
Other old clients for whom new work was undertaken were
Lord and Lady Erroll, for whom I had already laid out the gardens
at Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire. This time the plan was for
Barwell Court, a comparatively small but interesting place near
Surbiton, and here I planned, to Lady Erroll’s instructions, a
simple arrangement of terraces, along with a panelled rose garden
and flower-bordered lawns. ‘This when completed had all the
appearance of a garden laid out in the same period as the house.
Many new clients sought my advice during the year, a goodly
number of them being introduced by old clients. Of this number
was Mr. Joseph Bibby, of Bidston Priory, who was introduced to
me by Mr. Lever. Bidston Priory occupies a site on the most
elevated part of Bidston Hill, overlooking the Weald of Wirral.
A large part of the hill, now divided into several properties, had
been thickly planted with Scotch firs about fifty years before by a
former owner, an inexpensive yet effective way of enhancing
prospective building sites. My work consisted of new drives,
terraces, forecourt, grass glades and retreats, all arranged withIllus. No. 35.
S
n
ea)
>
a)
=
~
x
a.
ty
a
°o
we
~
©
Ke
Zz
°
ee
a
ES
~Q
>
x
S
om
Oo.
=
B
ee
<
ie]
pe
2
9°
le
Zz
tl
Qa
~
<
Oo181
Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic Design.
the object of retaining the forests of Scotch firs, which had
reached their picturesque stage ; also the garden house shown in
Illus. No. 35. These delightful pinewoods lost none of their
massed character by the introduction of the garden scheme.
Notwithstanding, it was possible to add a note of delightful variety
by the introduction of large masses of rhododendrons, azaleas, and
other plants which thrive on a peaty soil, and always group well
with Scotch firs. My client is well known as the editor and
proprietor of that artistic publication, “ Bibby’s Annual.” It
pleases me to think that the garden which I had the pleasure of
designing for my client produced in some slight measure the
atmosphere essential to the responsibilities of high editorial ideals.
Other work in the year included garden extension at Isleworth,
Hordean, Hants, for Sir E. Clarke Jervoise ; rose gardens at
Breadsall Priory, Derby, for Sir Alfred Haslam; and Bowden
Hill, Laycock, Wilts., for Mr. Herbert Harris.
The last of these was a responsible piece of work, but the risks
attendant upon the execution of part of the scheme were so great
that the plans were modified and in part abandoned. We discovered
that the house had been built on a mound of shifting clay, which
was already bulging out in places, as is often seen along railway
embankments, and the digging of the foundations for the proposed
terraces threatened a landslide. We succeeded by other means
in effecting some considerable improvements—by planting and
rearranging the carriage court. A very successful rose garden
was also laid out on the north side of the drive and carriage court.
Maer Hall, in Shropshire, is a characteristic old house owned
by Mr. F. G. Harrison, a Liverpool ship-owner, and a generous
supporter of good causes in that city and elsewhere.
As I first saw it after certain additions had been made in
the Elizabethan manner by Mr. Doyle, a Liverpool architect, after
the style of his famous collaborator, Mr. Norman Shaw, R.A., it
called aloud for some features to accord with the spacious style
which the architecture favoured. What is more, the levels of the
ground were not unfavourable, although there were certain
palpable difficulties. The Hall stood in front of a steep slope
which had been cut about and adapted to fit the roads of the
original imansion and its requirements, and Mr. Doyle’s additions
had also slashed into the same rather awkwardly. This was not
apparent when viewed from the grounds; on the contrary, the
Hall nestled snugly into the background of terraced and wooded182
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
slopes. But a mansion cannot live on its background, however
impressively it may strike the visitor at first sight.
But it was on the opposite side, looking outwards, usually
called the front view, with its intervening space of garden, and the
park beyond, where the lack was most felt. All on this front was
feeble and purposeless. A lake had been attempted, but it was
not bold enough, and the lawns rolled in billowy swells, without
anything to relieve them except indeterminate shrubberies and
flower beds of the invertebrate tadpole shape. There were no
upstanding groupings of paternal trees, which was all the more
regrettable because the surrounding pastoral land was picturesquely
interspersed with such groups. On this side the mansion simply
sprawled, calling for a wide spacious architectural terrace of open
design, and for a flower-bed design in a continuous strap-work
in balanced harmonies quaintly framed with box. Thus a decided
note would be struck. This done, I advocated a few small yet
select groupings of beeches to frame the views beyond, and a few
in the immediate precincts of the park, which would have
supplied the motif lines of design. These would also have had
the effect of aiding spaciousness by drawing out the eye in infinites
and extended perspective. A vacuity of lawns and pastures, no
matter how pleasing the curves of their crests may be, or, what 1s
worse, the same lawns dotted over with specimen hybrid shrubs,
planted solely for their rarity and individual interest, has the
tendency to destroy breadth, no matter how contrary to reason
this may seem. As it was, there were no subtleties. The long-
drawn-out horizontals called out for vertical masses, as in a picture.
This improvement effected, there were ample spaces to indulge
in the smaller intimates of the garden—namely, beautiful shrub
and flower effects, provided the work was done boldly. When good
taste prescribes that a bed of shrubs should exhibit a few shades
of one colour, the tendency is to worry it up with miscellaneous
plantings of mixed and independent gems.
My client, who was a keen gardener, unfortunately preferred
green slopes to a terrace and balustrade, and also irregular and
sinuous lines to clear-cut lines near the house, which, however
suitable in free and irregularly balanced mansions, were not in
character with the immediate precincts of Maer Hall. I have
often been met with such preferences, which is not surprising when
it is remembered that the working life of such gentlemen as my
client is spent in offices and in the business warehouses and unlovely183
Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic Design.
streets of our seaport towns and distributing centres, where
everything is hard and angular. A wise designer will always
endeavour to meet such requirements wherever the existing
conditions are favourable. Personally I dearly love the wild, but
if we carefully observe the wild expanses of nature, we find there
is design in them. There are usually one or two dominating kinds
of plants or flowers, and all the others play up to them as the
lesser instruments of an orchestra do to the pronounced leading
strains.
The next call, the subject of which formed a great contrast
to the conditions existing at Maer Hall, was to a suburban park and
garden of considerable acreage—a green oasis staked out and held
against the encroachment of the town of Leeds. The owner, Sir
Wilfred Hepton, a manufacturer, and Lord Mayor of the town, had
spent a considerable sum in altering the interior and the furnishings
of his massive Georgian mansion to harmonise with the exterior,
and now he desired a garden with similar distinctive characteristics.
For a residence so near a large centre of population the site was
excellent. A small park stretching away to the south, a fringe of
umbrageous trees screening adjoining properties without hiding
the spires and cupolas of the more important churches and other
buildings in the line of sight, were the characteristics. On the west
side of the house we converted the old vegetable garden into a
rose garden, which, partly owing to the nature of the soil—a
retentive loam—and the great cultural skill of my client, turned
out to be one of the most successful rose gardens I have had the
pleasure of designing. The effect was heightened by its circular
form, and the pergola and garden house which enclosed it on its
northern side. These are fully illustrated in “ The Art and Craft
of Garden Making.”
At the same time I planned additions and alterations to the
gardens at Holker Hall for Lord Richard and Lady Moira Cavendish,
both keen gardeners. These gardens were somewhat famous on
account of the fact that they were remodelled by Sir Joseph Paxton,
the designer of the Great Exhibition grounds of 1852, and of the
Crystal Palace. The large orangery at Holker (since removed)
was also designed by Paxton, as were also many of the pleasing
surroundings of the railway stations on the adjoining Furness
Railway.
The gardens at Holker were intensely interesting. They
contained many rare conifers, rhododendrons, and other peat184
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
loving plants, some of which are probably now no longer in
commerce. Thus we had the house and gardens laid out in a free
landscape manner, the ideal setting for a low terrace and rose
garden, and balustraded boundary wall. The result, which was
largely influenced by existing: conditions, was successful.
One day, during the progress of the work, Lady Moira and
my client, Mrs. Gerard Leigh, who was a guest at Holker, offered
to take me with them to Underley to see the wild gardens laid
out by Lord Henry Bentinck. I had often seen the gardens at
Underley when a boy, when Lord and Lady Bective owned the
estate. I had no idea, however, that Lord Henry had developed
such skill as a planter as was shown by the wild garden arranged
on a most difficult site on a steep wooded slope on the opposite
side of the river Lune, which forms the northern boundary of the
gardens. In America | have often shown slides of this wild garden,
which always brought shouts of applause. The way in which
various kinds of foliage are contrasted, such as Saxifraga peltata
with Iris Kempferi, is quite wonderful. When I told my American
audiences that an English lord had planned this garden and also
done a large part of the actual planting, they were amazed. It gave
them a new point of view of our aristocracy. Perhaps I ought
to have explained that although Lord Henry was an aristocrat,
he was also a democrat.
It has always been my greatest pleasure to work for those
who put their personality into everything that has to do with their
homes. I am assured that the secret of the fame of our stately
mansions, and even of our cottage gardens, is here to be found.
These people seem to be able to hit the true pathos and sublimity
of a garden, and to grip the objective of its design, which, as
Wordsworth says, ought to move the affections under the control
of good sense. These are the clients who continue the traditions
of the early herbalists, who wrote with such simplicity, and yet
with such intimacy with their subject and their pursuits, as to
convey to us their own delight. This is just where horticulture,
for its own sake, fails, with its false standards of showiness, size,
and rarities. We are drawn away from the typical, with all its
grace and charm, and made to occupy ourselves with the abnormal.
It is a pleasure to return to one’s own work and find that someone
has understood and has placed the decorative notes just where
they are needed—the masses and the lighter touches likewise.
Gardens of moderate extent were laid out this year for185
Mr. Lever Founds a School of Civic Design.
Mr. F. W. Monks, an ironmaster of Warrington, whose residence
occupied an elevated site on the south of the town, where a deep
bluff on the west side commanded extensive views from east to
west. Owing to its elevation the lay-out of the garden presented
many difficulties, some of which were overcome only after many
experiments. It is these difficulties, peculiar to every site, which
give a zest to the art of landscape architecture.
The next call was from Somersetshire to the former residence
of Hannah More the poetess, at Barley Wood, Wrington, now
the property of Mr. Herbert Wills of tobacco fame. I found this
lovely retreat all that I imagined the house of a poetess to be,
and, as far as I could judge, very much as she left it in 1828, when
she was driven out by the impositions of her staff of servants,
whom she had treated too benevolently. As she left, at eighty-three
years of age, amid the scowls and hostile demonstrations of these
servants, on being helped into her carriage, she remarked: “ Ht
am driven like Eve out of Paradise, but not, like Eve, by angels.”’
A little paradise I found the house and grounds to be, both within
and without. As on other occasions in my practice on which I
have been called in, I found all so happy and appropriate that |
advised! that movalterationallbe attempted beyond a little touching
up here and there where the original intentions had been lost.
I also designed a quiet panel rose garden at a part of the site, and
in such an unobtrusive way that I felt the illustrious pathoress
would have approved, then left all to the pervading peace which
breathes into the soul.
For Mrs. Aitken of Bodelywddan Castle, North Wales, I
replanned the upper part of the gardens behindithe Castle, and
carried out some necessary improvements on a very Gifficnleeree!
The soil was sparse, resting upon limestone, demanding great care
and knowledge in the choice of shrubs and plants ; but here again
a fair measure of success rewarded our efforts.
At the same time a garden near Wigan for Harold Sumner, Esq.,
of Ashfield House, Standish, was laid out. Mr. Sumner’s large
business and manufacturing interests in Standish fixed for him
his place of residence, so he chose the best part of the district and
purchased an old house with well-timbered grounds; but the
land was very retentive clay, which is always difficult to manipulate.
Without dry lawns and walks a garden is not worthy the name.
Fortunately, there was a fairly steep slope to the land, so that the
outfall to the south was a comparatively easy matter ; but Wigan186
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
clay is the most tenacious I have ever had to tackle. We laid out
a complete system of herring-bone drains, a few feet apart, filling
in a foot of dry clinker on the top of the drainpipe. By this means
we converted a water-logged garden into thoroughly dry lawns,
walks, and borders.
In the early part of November, 1911, I received a letter from
the Town Clerk of Preston, desiring me to meet the Parks
Committee at an early date to advise them on the completion of
the Haslam Park, a tract of land admirably situated at Ashton-on-
Ribble, presented by Miss Haslam, a representative of a highly
esteemed Preston family. The site, which extends to over sixty-six
acres, was originally pasture land, with a stream flowing through it.
A start had already been made upon the work, to plans prepared
in the Borough Surveyor’s office, but Miss Haslam at this stage
wisely decided that she would pay for the construction and all
professional fees incurred, so that she might be assured that her
gift would be dealt with in a worthy manner. The only way to
secure this was to start afresh with a new plan, weaving in as
far as possible what had already been done in the way of planting,
together with the superintendent’s house and the main entrance.
his scheme was embodied in an illustrated report submitted
and approved in the early part of 1912, and was successfully
carried out on broad lines under the superintendence of two of
my landscape foremen. Miss Haslam was keenly interested in
the work as it proceeded, and was desirous that ample space and
provision should be made for the children, which was accordingly
done, since any concessions or advantages to be gained for the
children in a park always have my hearty support.Illus. No. 36.
Illus. No. 37.
Banrr, ALBERTA, CANADA: VIEWS SHOWING ITS LocaTION.CHAPTER XVI.
THE YEAR 1912, THE ADVENT OF NEW RESPONSIBILITIES.
made this vast continent a part of my sphere of influence.
Already I had visited it in the autumn of 1910.
In the early part of the year Mr. James Langmuir, of
Toronto, who was chairman of the Niagara Falls Victoria Park
Commissioners, was in London, and interviewed me. He suggested
that when I could make another visit to Canada his commissioners
would probably wish to consult me about the development of
their National Park at Niagara Falls. About the same time I met
Earl Grey, then Governor-General of Canada, who urged me to
give a series of lectures on the necessity for town-planning
legislation in Canada. Also, in particular, Lord Grey pressed me
to do what I could to promote a demand for the replanning of
Ottawa, a city which he described as possessing the finest site
of any capital in the world, with every facility for expansion, a
fact he believed but few Canadians realised. A third attraction
was the Town Planning Conference to be held at Philadelphia,
which promised to be an historic gathering, as it indeed proved
to be. It is not surprising that I found the call of the West
irresistible, and that I proceeded to make my arrangements
accordingly.
Two of my objectives failed to materialise. The Niagara Falls
Park Commission decided that their funds could not afford
professional advice; and the replanning of Ottawa, which came
into the sphere of practical politics only through the success of my
propaganda work, was assigned to Mr. Bennett, of Chicago, in
spite of Sir Robert Borden’s advocacy on my behalf. I was also
strongly recommended to the Canadian Government by the
Rt. Hon. John Burns, then at the Local Government Board, and
by the Canadian Society of Architects; but unwisely
recommended Sir Robert to seek further credentials from the
I HAD now, metaphorically speaking, annexed America, and
187188
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Royal Institute of British Architects, of which I was an honorary
associate.
For reasons doubtless known to themselves, the R.I.B.A.
made a counter-proposal which proved unacceptable, and which
ruined the chance of any of their own countrymen securing this
important work. Inimical to my chances of securing the work
was, again, the supposition that I had advised certain developments
which the directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway regarded as
being opposed to their interests. This certainly was not the case,
but whoever spread the falsification, it served its purpose and
brought me up against powerful railway interests, which eventually
secured the appointment of Mr. Bennett—who, by the way,
produced a very fine scheme, some part of which may in the far
distant future be realised.
Although my immediate quest was a failure, the trip was very
successful in other respects. Indeed, so many requests were made
for lectures, and I received so many promises of work, that I
arranged for another visit in the autumn, to be devoted to the
propagation of city-planning principles and ideals.
Sir Robert did what he could to atone for my disappointment
by recommending that I be selected to replan Banff in the Rockies,
including a large section of the great national park there. The
goodwill shown to me by the Premier (a fact which seemed to
have become public property) was of the greatest assistance to me
in securing introductions and requests for lectures on city planning
from a dozen important centres, beginning with Ottawa, and
including Montreal, Halifax (Nova Scotia), St. John (New
Brunswick), St. Marie, Port Arthur, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon,
Medicine Hat, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria (B.C.).
These openings were very encouraging, showing on the one
hand a vital interest in city planning, and on the other a leaning
towards the Old Country for guidance and help. Having regard
to the fact that every Canadian town site had been developed
on the monotonous gridiron plan, which ignores topographical
conditions and internal circulation of traffic, along with an utter
neglect of zoning for specific needs of a modern, well-equipped
city, the need and the opportunity were great. The acceptance
of what I regarded in the light of an obligation was fraught with
some difficulty, for, as some of my clients at home reminded me,
my practice carried with it certain duties which I could not entirely
ignore. I had, however, felt for a long time that my practice was189g
Taking on New Responsibilities.
very much a personal affair, and that my partners and staff would
never reach their highest artistic or practical achievement without
increased responsibility ; so I decided to launch forth.
Nevertheless, it was necessary that I should return to New
York en route for England as soon as possible after fixing up my
programme for the subsequent autumn. In New York I had
lecture engagements, and also several new and prospective clients
to interview, for some of whom I designed gardens. Work
designed in this country and executed across the Atlantic by a
foreign mind, from a garden standpoint never struck me as
satisfactory—a foreman trained in the English school was essential.
The five months which intervened between my return home
and my autumn trip formed a busy time. First the Peace Palace
was satisfactorily completed, the final stages necessitating several
visits to The Hague. My son and staff were responsible almost
entirely for the executing of this work. Important extensions
were planned to the gardens at The Hill, Hampstead. My client,
now Sir William Lever, had razed Heath Lodge mansion, thus
providing an opportunity rarely open to the landscape architect,
as it called for special ingenuity in the contrivance of a bridge across
a sunk path which divided the two properties. This solution was
suggested by my client, as was also the extension of the pergola
which screened the new extension from the public common.
This extension was continued up to the early stages of the war,
when the Ministry of Munitions prohibited further work,
notwithstanding the fact that the youngest man employed was
fifty-three years of age.
At the same time considerable alterations and additions were
in progress at Thornton Manor, and also at Roynton Cottage, near
Bolton. The additional work at Roynton included a new
gatehouse and a Romanesque bridge over the new estate road.
The bridged road is much used by visitors to the great park
already referred to, and is a convenient route to the summit of
Rivington Pike, the highest peak in this part of Lancashire.
I was again called in by my old client, Mr. H. C. Moffatt (for
whom I had already worked at Codford Manor), to advise him on
the lay-out of his gardens at Hampworth Lodge, near Salisbury.
For the Union Bank of Manchester I laid out a building estate at
Congleton on the lines of a garden village; and the Southgate
Urban District Council, for whom I had improved Broomfield
Park some years before, had purchased a part of the Grovelands190
Thr Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Estate, and this they instructed me to lay out. This work was
duly carried out, and it is interesting to note that at the time of
writing my firm and colleagues are town-planning advisers to
this Council.
For the well-known hunting man, Mr. W. Arkwright, of
Hatton House, Warwick, we improved the gardens, adding several
new features; and for my old client, W. W. Galloway, of The
Willows, Ashton-on-Ribble, near Preston, we completed the garden
scheme which had been planned and partly carried out several
years previously. It was his affection for the home of his youth,
and a desire to preserve the old character of the home, that led to
the postponement of a part of this scheme, and therefore it was
with pleasure that I received my client’s instructions to complete
the work, and a still greater pleasure to hear him say on completion
that we had done the right and only logical thing. This garden
is illustrated in “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making.”
After months of hard work, in which my days were spent
with clients and my nights in railway journeys, without a holiday
for even a day, I sailed again for America for the fourth time, my
wife accompanying me.
e day before we sailed, however, I had a great shock in
the form of a letter of dismissal from Sir William Lever, my
best client. The letter was couched in terms of personal regard
and goodwill, but regretting that the time had arrived when he
could no longer disguise the fact that his interests were not promoted
with that assiduity which he had come to expect from me. The
letter concluded : ‘‘ I recognise that in many aspects I am losing
a very able adviser, but you in turn are losing a client, whether a
bad or good one is for you to judge.” I saw the reasonable grounds
for annoyance in a client who always adopted a generous attitude
towards me, and who annually paid me more for my services
than I could hope to earn by lecturing or working in America.
I also recognised his reasonable disappointment in having his
important work left in the hands of junior partners ; but I also
saw that he rated my professional services far too high, whilst
correspondingly under-estimating the value of the services which
my partners and chief of staff were rendering. This did not alter
the fact that I had received a stunning blow, and for a time | felt
that the bottom had fallen out of my practice. I regarded the
decision as final, and decided to accept the inevitable, but if possible
to maintain the mutual regard which had grown up between us,Illus. No. 38.
9
*
tx}
>
=
=
°
=
a
—
Og
S
m4
°
te
w
S|
i)
=
eS
a
2
Zz
°
©
n
—
e
<
Zz
fy
Q
=
0Igl
Taking on New Responsibilities.
which rested on several interests which we held in common.
The first and chief work on board ship was the drafting and
redrafting of a letter of reply. In this letter I decided to state
frankly the reasons for my American trip—
(1) To give my sons wider opportunities and greater responsibilities by
removing for a time my personal influence.
(2) That only in this way could my sons come into personal relationship
with our clients and thus assure that continuity for the practice which it had been
my life’s work to promote.
(3) That I was very anxious that the English School of Town Planners
should exercise a wide influence in Canada and the Colonies, and that for some
unaccountable reason I seemed to be one of the chosen apostles whose appeal
was exercising an influence.
This letter carried greater weight than I had hoped for, for
within a fortnight I received a reply which, though it did not cancel
my dismissal, asked me to let him know when I was returning, and
wished me in the meantime a successful tour.
In New York I had several appointments’ with clients, and
with others for the purpose of arranging lectures, including a very
interesting drawing-room lecture to the members of the Garden
lub, a vigorous and enterprising organisation. This lecture was
given at the house of Mrs. Fred Hoffman, and was attended
by over a hundred garden enthusiasts. My subject was “ Rock
Gardens,” and many of my slides were colour photographs,
which were greatly admired. I next gave three lectures at the
Columbia University on “ Historic Garden Design.” These
lectures were promoted by Professor Hamlin, himself an authority
on Italian gardens, on which he had written several learned
treatises.
From New York I went to Toronto, where | had arranged to
give a week’s lectures at the University on the “ Principles of
City Planning.” On arrival at Toronto we were met by a number
of enthusiasts, who entertained us to tea. They afterwards took
us to the residence of the Principal, Dr. Falkener, with whom we
dined before proceeding to the Auditorium, a striking building of
majestic proportions, capable of seating over twelve hundred
people. Great preparations were made for these lectures, and
such prominent citizens as Sir Edmund Osler, Sir Edward Walker,
and Sir William Meredith, acted as chairman on successive evenings.
Entering the hall I found a company of about three hundred and
fifty people awaiting me, composed mainly of those who had the
weight of the financial burdens of the city upon their shoulders.192
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The audiences increased in number each successive evening,
culminating in a full attendance of about twelve hundred on the
Saturday, when my subject was “ Garden Cities and Model
Housing for the Working Classes.” This subject was apropos
and very urgent, because congestion was endangering the public
health of the citizens.
Previous to my visit the churches had undertaken a survey
of social conditions, which they threatened to publish unless the
City Council adopted a more progressive policy. The Bishop of
Toronto attended four of the lectures, and sent me a letter of
apology explaining absence from the other two, but informing
me that he was sending his representative, who would report to
im.
The increasing popularity of these lectures was probably owing
to the use which I made of local illustrations, many of which were
supplied by the enthusiasts, who formed themselves into a civic
survey intelligence department, the leading spirit being Mr. Hynes,
a Toronto architect, who has since done notable service in the
cause of city planning propaganda in the Dominion. In addition
to citizens of Toronto, many representatives were present from
other important adjoining cities, including Montreal and Ottawa.
On the night of the first lecture my reading desk was set far
back on the stage, and when I began to speak I had the sensation
of having my words hurled back at me; then I noticed a look of
bewilderment on the faces of my audience, which became so
apparent that I stopped. Dr. Falkener came to the rescue.
Ascending the platform, he explained that the acoustics of the
hall were very faulty, and advised me to bring the reading desk to
the edge of the platform and to speak much more slowly. |
took his advice, and no further trouble ensued. The lectures,
however, which were arranged to occupy an hour, took an hour
and a quarter to deliver.
With that hospitality for which Canadians are famous, | was
entertained to lunch each day, the most notable and interesting
of these functions being arranged by the Imperial Club, to the
members of which I spoke on the “Ethics of City Planning.”
Looking back, I am afraid that I allowed my subject to run away
with me, and that I indulged in oratorical flourishes which sane
propaganda does not call for. One of these flowery periods, |
remember, was cheered by the Bishop. This followed a declaration
that ‘‘ city planners were out to save souls by communities, by193
Taking on New Responsibilities.
providing conditions in which intellectual, moral, and physical
well-being became a possibility.’’
The course of lectures served a timely purpose, and by the
publicity given to them did much to stimulate the adoption of city
planning legislation in the Dominion, and the establishment of a
lectureship on city planning at the University.
Another interesting incident arose on the evening of the last
day of my course of lectures, when a deputation, including Mr.
Noel Cauchon, a very able and enterprising engineer, who had
given great study to city planning problems, and Colonel Meredith
(nephew of my first chairman, Sir William Meredith), an able
architect from Ottawa, brought a message from the Premier,
Sir R. W. Borden, asking me to make another visit to Ottawa, as
he wished to consult me again about some prospective work
for the Government. This was the replanning of Banff, to which
I have already made reference. I here mention this work again,
as it provided another example of the kindliness always shown to
me by the Premier, who took occasion to introduce me to many of
his responsible ministers. Incidentally, this encouragement was
not monopolised by any party, for Sir Wilfrid Laurier saw me on
many occasions, whilst several of the ex-Ministers invited my wife
and me to lunch or dinner. Particularly I remember the charming
hospitality of Mr. Fisher and Mr. Patrick Murphy, both Canadian
gentlemen of stately courtliness combined with a great sense of
humour.
Shortly after my arrival in Ottawa I was asked to attend a
luncheon at the Rideau Club. I forget the special object of this
notable lunch. It was some matter of general interest that called
for concerted action on the part of all men of good intent and
purpose, who were asked to rise superior to the expediencies of
party. I believe the question at issue was the expansion of the
militia.
At the luncheon I found myself occupying the place of honour
between Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Hon. Sam Hughes, and |
enjoyed their conversation immensely. Sir Wilfrid, who had a
pleasant voice, possessed great conversational powers, and a fund
of wit and humour which bubbled over naturally and spontaneously.
Sam Hughes’ talk was that of a jolly good fellow impressed with
the greatness of Canada and his own contribution to its assured
safety by reason of his position as Minister of Militia. I could
not have imagined, after all I had read in the press about the
oOThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
preceding election, that politicians of opposing parties could meet
together on terms of such evident social goodwill.
Naturally the Hon. Sam Hughes responded for the Militia,
and then the fun began, for he evidently could not string two
sentences together without some amusing faux pas. He commenced
by congratulating Sir Wilfrid upon the evident physical benefits
he had gained through being relieved of official responsibility.
Then he referred to the generous treatment his Militia had received
at the hands of Sir Wilfrid when the latter was Premier, to which
Sir W. replied : “‘ Of course, Sam, we always did the night thing.”
Mr. Hughes went on to urge the transcendent claims of the Militia
as being the one Government department upon which Liberals
and Conservatives ought to agree. ~ Gentlemen,” said he,
“ divided we stand, united we fall!”—to which Sir Wilfrid
replied : “‘ That’s about right, Sam ; let it rest at that.” When
it came to Sir Wilfrid’s turn to respond, the ex-Premier twitted
the Hon. Sam unmercifully, but with such good humour that no
vestige of resentment remained. This was the only occasion on
which I heard Sir Wilfrid speak. I was much impressed by his
oratorical powers, his grace and charm of manner, and withal his
air of statemanship, which seemed to be a natural attribute rather
than an acquired habit. He was a courtier to the manner born,
and a statesman by nature. In this respect he differed widely
from Sir Robert Borden, who in many respects reminded me of
Sir Henry: Campbell-Bannerman, minus much of the latter’s
idealism. As a speaker Sir Robert appealed to me as being the
representative of solid, honest politics, hard working and most
conscientious, a patriot perfectly loyal to the interests of the
Empire. His oratory was clear-cut and terse, and was evidently
studiously prepared, being delivered in a somewhat ponderous,
earnest style, but lacking the light and shade which a sense of humour
often imparts to the most serious subject. Still, that fine quality
of conscientiousness which characterised both Sir H. C.-B. and
Sir Robert Borden is often the strength of the politician.
On the third day of my stay in Ottawa I called on the Governor-
General, His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught. To my
surprise, his secretary, Colonel Lowther, greeted me with the
remark that he was glad I had called, because His Royal Highness
had inquired for me. When, after a few minutes, I was shown into
the Governor-General’s room, His Royal Highness said: “So
you have come at last ?. My wife was asking at lunch only yesterday195
Taking on New Responsibilities.
if I had seen you.”” After asking about my work and prospects in
Canada, he continued: ‘‘ Well, I promised the Duchess that if
you called I would bring you along to lunch, so if you don’t mind
excusing me for ten minutes, we will go on to Government House
together. There you will meet my wife and daughter, and we can
all have a talk about gardens, and you can criticise my latest
improvements.”
The Duchess and Princess Patricia I soon discovered to be
past-masters of that difficult art of graciousness which is so lovable
and yet so rare a gift. I later saw much of the Duke and the
Duchess and Princess Patricia, and I always found them the same
considerate, kindly, helpful patrons. As some little proof of this,
I was permitted to dedicate the fourth and enlarged edition of my
work on “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making ”’ to Their Royal
Highnesses the Duke and Duchess.
From Ottawa I went to Montreal, where a lecture had been
arranged in the recently opened Art Gallery. Here I had a
representative audience, including some of the leading architects
of the city, and a goodly number of professors from McGill
University. Before the lecture we were entertained to dinner by
Lady Drummond, who is the possessor of a small but remarkably
choice collection of pictures, including examples of Turner, Girtin,
Copley Fielding, David Cox, and the best of the English and also
of the French schools of painting.
I spent the next day with Sir William van Horne, whom I
had met on previous visits to Canada. Sir William was one of the
most remarkable men I have ever met. Himself a painter of some
distinction, he was an authority on art, and in particular on Chinese
and Japanese pottery, of which he possessed a superb collection.
What was most remarkable was his catalogue containing an accurate
scale drawing of every bit of pottery he possessed, with all the
figure work carefully filled in and coloured like the original ; then
in tabulated form there were notes of the history, period, and
value of the subject of the drawing. These catalogues ran into
many volumes. ‘ When do you find time for this work?” I
asked. “‘ Almost every night of my life between the hours o
12 p.m. and 3 a.m.,” he replied. “ But how do you manage to
reduce with such accuracy the finer details of the originals?”
‘“*T merely feel them in.”
In addition to his pottery, Sir William possessed a unique
collection of models of ships. In these he took great pride, especially196
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
in those of ancient barques. Amongst his pictures I counted no
fewer than five Franz Hals. One room was filled with his own
paintings, all examples more or less of the same impressionist work.
Indeed I was told that three hours was his limit for any canvas.
His interests were not all of an abstract character. He had practical
interests as well, which he found just as absorbing: one was the
division of Western prairie lands into triangular-shaped farms,
with the farm homestead standing at the apex of each triangle.
In this way he got his farms in community groups for economy
and social intercourse, thus obviating the isolation and loneliness
which go to the making of life on the prairies to many quite
intolerable.
This plan, I hear, is now favoured by the Dominion and
provincial Governments. But my host’s interests did not end
here, for at this time he was busily engaged planning model railway
stations for Cuba, where he had large interests as a sugar-planter
and farmer. Each station was set in a beautiful garden. Then he
ran a model farm in Nova Scotia, stocked with valuable herds of
pedigree cattle.
Yet this notable man started life as a ganger of navvies,
and in his early years worked on some of the most difficult
sections of the C.P.R., of which he later became the head.
Sir William told me that for thirty years he spent only three
hours each night in sleep, and that his average daily consumption
of cigars amounted to thirty. “ Now,” he added regretfully, “ the
doctor has cut me down to fifteen.” He was then over seventy.
From Montreal I travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where
I met the members of the City Town Planning Guild. After
lunching with them, we made a tour of the city, which occupies a
wonderful site and contains some excellent Georgian architecture,
built under the direction of succeeding British Governors. In
the evening I gave my lecture on “‘ The Principles of City Planning ”
and their application to Halifax. There was a large audience, and
a lively debate followed.
ow I came to travel so far out of my specified route is to be
explained as follows: Whilst visiting Toronto I met the late
Frank Darling, the architect of some of the finest buildings to be
found in the Dominion. Befitting the son of a rector, he had a
great charm of manner in contrast with a robust vocabulary. He
was a man whose face was always wreathed in smiles, and who was
from force of habit constantly giving helpful assistance. One day197
Taking on New Responsibilities.
he asked me to lunch with him at the York Club. After lunch he
introduced business in the following amusing manner: “I hear
you have been invited to give a lecture in Halifax > ”’
“Yes,” I replied, “and I have cabled my regrets that I
cannot accept.”
“Yes, so I hear; but I want you to go.”
“But I cannot spend five days on one lecture, for it practically
means two days’ travelling each way.”
“ Notwithstanding, I want you to accept, and you really
must.”
‘Well, if you put it that way, I will go.”
‘“That’s fine. But now that you have decided to go, I would
like to say that I don’t care a button about your lecture, but I do
particularly want you to plan for me the campus of the Dalhousie
University.”
his commission, added to the fee for the lecture, made the
trip a financial possibility. Mr. Darling, of course, knew this.
The day following my lecture was accordingly spent with the
Principal of Dalhousie University inspecting the site of the new
campus. This was on a gentle southern slope, and forty-five acres
in extent. Before leaving the site I had made all my rough notes
and sketches and collected all necessary data for my lay-out scheme.
This work proved absorbingly interesting, and prepared me for
the larger university work to follow.
Returning to Montreal, I sought out the architects for the new
Houses of Parliament at Regina, having been commissioned to lay
out the surrounding public garden. I also called upon Messrs.
Brown and Vallance, the architects for the University of
Saskatchewan at Saskatoon, occupying the compass of three
hundred and sixty acres, which my firm were asked to plan in
conjunction with the architects. From both firms | received
every help and encouragement, which led me to reflect upon the
difference in attitude of architects towards landscape architects
across the Atlantic and in England. In America the attitude is
distinctly friendly and helpful; in England, with rare exceptions,
it is frankly resentful and unsympathetic.
From Montreal I proceeded to St. Marie, a small yet pleasing
city, possessing an old-world character and an air of solid prosperity
which rested on industry rather than on real-estate booming.
At the time of my visit there were prosperity and an expectation
of big developments, but on what grounds these hopes were based198
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
I did not discover. The point of interest to me was that the leading
citizens had been smitten with the development idea, and desired
me to tell them how they should proceed. Fortunately, the town
had made a good start on a plan suited to its site, and had not spread
to that part of the town which presented topographical difficulties.
For this part I made certain suggestions in my lecture which seemed
to meet with immediate acceptance. Whether or not any progress
was ever made I cannot say.
My next lecture was given in Winnipeg before the Ladies’
Canadian Club, and the members and their male friends mustered
in good numbers. There was the usual luncheon address, and in
the evening I lectured to a very large audience under the auspices
of a City Planning Commission organised to study civic principles.
Already this Commission had engaged an Englishman and a staft
of assistants to make the preparatory civic survey and collect local
data. Although my lectures were appreciated and brought forth
very many compliments, I felt that in a large measure city planning
had, owing to towering real-estate value, become almost impossible
in Winnipeg. There was one very obvious traffic connection
needed between two very important centres, and to this I called
attention, but in the discussion that followed it transpired that the
property required for this obvious improvement was valued at
4,500 dollars per foot frontage at one end, and 2,500 dollars per
foot at the other. Assuming, therefore, a new 80-foot connection,
the property at either end alone would have cost over half a million
dollars, or, with the requisition of the intervening properties and the
cost of constructing a new road, well over a million dollars. This
was only one of many much-needed new arterial connections.
Farther away from the centre there were great opportunities, and
to some of these I was able to make reference. My arranged fee
for this lecture was 150 dollars plus out-of-pocket expenses, but
the Commission forgot to pay either. My terms for the future
in Winnipeg will be “ cash in advance.”
innipeg is a wonderful city, made great and prosperous by
its founders, who visioned the unique strategic position of the
site as the gateway of the Great North-West, and having at its
command the vast resources which the illimitable prairies so
bountifully provide.
On this visit I was shown. the site for the new Parliament
Buildings, which was well chosen. ‘The selected architectural
design in the subsequent empire competition (to which designTaking on New Responsibilities.
the buildings have since been erected) revealed _a worthy and
scholarly building, which I am told embodies in effect all that the
drawings promised. This building, along with the Canadian
Northern Railway terminus, the Fort Garry Hotel, and_ other
important buildings, gives a note of architectural distinction to
the city, and atones for the monotony of its surroundings.
The next call was Regina, which had shortly before our
visit suffered from a furious cyclone which had cut a gap through
the city diagonally, razing everything in its onrush.
We were the guests of Governor Brown and his wife, whose
carriage, with a splendid pair of horses and a cockaded coachman
and footman, met us at the station. This is not a surprising sight
at an English railway station, but an innovation in a Canadian
provincial capital, where everyone almost runs a motor-car.
Government House is a comfortable residence on the west
side of the city, surrounded by a well-planted garden with green
lawns, probably the only garden of any importance in the city.
Here was also a range of glasshouses, evidently managed by a
gardener with English training, containing a collection of orchids.
In the evening I lectured to a very large audience. I again
dealt with the principles of city planning and their application to
Regina. Nearly all the questions put to me after the lecture had
reference to the width of streets and side-walks, and the most
desirable positions for avenue trees. I could not understand this
concentration and the almost acrimonious discussion on side-track
topics until I learnt there had been a heated discussion of the
subject in the City Council, and that the opposing newspapers
had made it a matter of local politics.
Nevertheless, the lecture seemed to have made an impression.
Before I left I was commissioned by the Government to lay out
the gardens and park surrounding the Parliament Buildings, also
a building estate of about three hundred acres. The City Council
also instructed me to prepare a complete plan for their city, reaching
to the limits of the civic boundary. In the securing of these two
important commissions I was deeply indebted to Governor Brown.
The major part of the work for the Government has been carried
out, but owing to the slump in real-estate values not much progress
has been made with the city extension. In Regina I met many
notable men and women. ~ The then Premier, Mr. Scott, 1s a man
of great ability and a progressive politician. Saskatchewan 1s
probably the best governed province in Canada,The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
From Regina we went to Saskatoon, where I saw the amazing
sight of a whole city under scaffolding poles. Although situated
in the centre of a fertile wheat district, the strategic location could
not justify such rapid extension. I am afraid that when the slump
came many English investors lost heavily.
y business, however, was at the University, and not with the
city. In collaboration with the architects to the University I
had to lay out the entire campus. The scheme included the
planning of the several departments in relation one to the other, and
the site. The campus occupies a well-chosen site on an elevated
plateau some three hundred and sixty acres in extent, bounded on
the south by the Bow river. Several important buildings had been
erected. University departments had been established, and already
there were in residence many hundreds of undergraduates, who
were working for degrees in theology, engineering, agriculture, and
pedagogy. But the Governors were ambitious, and decided to
plan in advance for the most complete campus in Canada, to
accommodate 9,000 students. This was the basis on which our
plans were prepared, and I trust that as the many departments are
erected they will conform to the development plan. This is the
only way to secure coherence and the economic arrangement of
departments. I think it a mistake that the University was not
erected at Regina, and thus contribute to the importance of that city.
In the early stages of my tour, before leaving Ottawa, I was
requested to act as assessor upon the competitive drawings for the
University buildings at Calgary. I was also asked to meet the
overnors when I reached the town, to plan their campus. I[
preferred not to act as assessor excepting in collaboration with a
Canadian architect, so Colonel Meredith, of Ottawa, agreed to
act. Upon the decision of Colonel Meredith the whole collection
of designs was rejected as totally unsuited for the purpose intended,
and as being architecturally impossible. I therefore escaped from
an embarrassing appointment.
On arrival at Calgary I had several conferences with the
Governors, with whom I visited the site, which was about two
and a half miles west of the city, on a bleak stretch of bare prairie
land, without connecting roads or any public utilities, and I came
to the conclusion that the scheme was being exploited in the
interests of real estates. Nevertheless I supplied a plan of the
lay-out, spending a great part of a week upon it, for which I never
received a dollar, not even my expenses.Iius. No. 39.
LAYOUT OF PARK |/i
& BOULEVARDE
YSTEM. + :on oper
eS
Civic Centre, REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN.Taking on New Responsibilities.
The main object of my visit to Calgary, however, was to give
a series of lectures as part of a propaganda campaign under the
auspices of the Citizens’ League, of which a Mr. Mark Lemon was
the able and enthusiastic secretary and moving spirit.
The publicity given to these meetings was effectively done,
for the lectures were attended by large and enthusiastic audiences,
who finally passed a resolution in favour of a city plan for Calgary.
This resolution was sent to the City Council, who invited me to a
conference, with the result that I left Calgary with a contract in
my pocket for the preparation of a preliminary but comprehensive
development plan. This commission was so well advertised through
the City Publicity Bureau that I received inquiries for lectures
from other Western cities competing for real-estate deals. As I
had still other engagements on my programme, however, I had
to refuse these invitations. One exception I made in favour of
Medicine Hat, a nice little city on the main C.P.R. line, east of
Calgary. Here I arranged to address the Canadian Club, the
members of which turned up in record numbers. We foregathered
in a large ante-room, where I was introduced to the members as
they arrived, until an American, who tried to monopolise the whole
of my time and attention, came in. He had been invited as a
visitor, but I think his sponsors must have regretted his rashness.
“Well, Mr. Mawson,” said this gentleman on shaking hands,
‘“T never heard of you before, but my friend tells me you are a
famous city planner. Well, sir, we have some famous city planners
in the States—Mr. Olmstead, Mr. John Nolan, and many more
who are carrying out big works and planning more! Yes,
sir, things are very busy in your line in the States. Why, in
the State I come from we are spending a million dollars on roads
alone. That’s some expenditure, sir, and we are considering
some dandy motor roads for quick motor traffic.”
This boosting he continued in loud tones throughout the
luncheon, so when it came to my address I could not help trying
to get even with him, and the fact that just then there was a panic
on the New York Exchange added a note of piquancy to my sally.
“Gentlemen,” I said, “I must apologise for being a mere
Englishman, for according to some of our critics we are rapidly
approaching the period of our decline ; but so ingrained are our
historic associations and our love of industry that from mere force
of habit we keep on doing things. In one important respect we
are hopelessly behind the times—we do not advertise. For202
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
instance, we have just spent fifty million dollars on one road, and
are starting another one which will cost one hundred and fifty
million dollars. We shall pay for both without turning a hair or
causing panic on the Stock Exchange.’ (Laughter and loud
applause.) I must say the American proved game.
‘That was bully, sir,” he said. “ You did indeed get down
to brass tacks, but I had no idea you were doing anything big in
England. Why don’t you have a publicity department > ”’
Americans use the newspapers extensively for booming their
interests, and know how to do it to advantage. Englishmen, on
the contrary, shrink from publicity, often to their own hurt, and
I was pleased when Sir George Paish reminded his audience in
Ottawa that whilst we perhaps did not do as much for the
development of the Dominion as we might, nevertheless we invested
from sixty to seventy millions sterling a year in Canada.
From Medicine Hat I travelled to Banff, the St. Moritz of the
Rockies, to make my first itinerary study of the town site and a
wide section of the National Park which I was to develop, an area
which included the three hot springs and the vermilion lakes.
We stay-at- -home islanders have no idea of the glory of our
Colonial possessions. I would suggest that those who go and
return by the stock routes to the Alps, and who are registered
amongst the Alpine climbing clubs, should make a change and
go to Banff or to the neighbouring National Glacier Park, when I
guarantee that their bosoms would swell with the pride of our own
glorious heritage. If the distance be greater and the discomfort
in reaching these parts of the Empire makes the pleasure prohibitive
in winter, there are more thrills and greater diversion to be got
from a summer holiday in these Western territories than there are
to be found in Switzerland, particularly if the tourists are in the
pursuit of the romantic ail sublime, or if they combine the
interests of the naturalist and the ernicts They will find in
quite a pact period enough varied interest to keep the imagination
keenly alive for months, and even years, to come, in the ever-
changing panorama piiccenic grandeur, niche simply
indescribable. In both of these two national parks herds of wild
game, such as the bison, elk, moose, antelope, wild sheep, wild
goats, and yak, may. be seen and photographed i in the open, or they
may be seen in the “ visitors’ park,’ near the superintendent's lodge.
In spring and early summer the region is a floral paradise,
as are the Alps, with a distinct botanical classification of its own.Taking on New Responsibilities.
When I visited the district the Dominion Parks Department were
alive with enterprises, and had carried out a well-thought-out
scheme of motor roads and pony tracks and hiking trails to open
up this awe-inspiring region, leading up to the best views and the
many lakes, and the chalets whence supplies are obtainable. The
‘ntention was to make Banff the combined antitype of the
picturesque Swiss villages which we know so well at the foot of the
Jaungfrau, disposing the town in such a way that it would group
effectively at the foot of the amphitheatre of mountains behind it.
Already, when I visited it, the Canadian Pacific had, with
their usual enterprise, erected a million-dollar hotel to accommodate
the increasing crowds of visitors, and have since that date more than
doubled the accommodation. The situation indicated a phenomenal
increase of population, and my instructions were to study, report
upon, and plan out the town as a tourist resort on a great scale,
providing for its growth for the next fifty years. This had to be
done in such a way as to co-ordinate the varied interests,
amusements, clubs, museums, etc. The Government had already
established zoological collections of the wild creatures which had
inhabited the district, also a natural history museum which
contained a representative collection of the fauna, botanical and
geological treasures of the district. In the established hotels, the
museum and the clubs, and a nucleus of shopping area, there are
some indications of the prospective town to commence with.
Having allotted five days of my tour for my survey, I spent
every available hour of daylight collecting data, making diagrams
and sketches for my plan and report, motoring, and examining
the whole site and its immediate environs.
I then took train for Vancouver, passing through the amazingly
awe-inspiring Canadian Rockies. I had arranged to write my
impressions of Banff and my preliminary report on the journey,
but passing through such country—a country expressive of Nature
at her grandest, aloof, austere, inexplicable, and incomparable—
work seemed mean and useless by contrast. In the presence of such
titanic forces and wondrous visions of God’s handiwork, all human
endeavour, life and death, and all man’s conquests, are puny. In
the presence of these majestic mountains, these sentinels of eternity,
the ever-changing wonder of glaciers, white cloud-spitting peaks,
roaring torrents, mighty pine forests interspersed with the expansive
lakes, one is struck dumb with awe and reverence. O for a modicum
of John Ruskin’s powers of description !204
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
I could write a thrilling book about the railway journey up
the Rocky Mountains, and another about the journey down the
Pacific side, but they would convey little or nothing of the
realisation as you are pushed up in luxurious comfort by engines
of three hundred horse-power. Albeit, when we were passing
through one of the most glorious and inspiring parts I overheard
two young ladies discussing the price of some lace they had bought !
On arrival at Vancouver a number of people who were
interested in social problems called upon us. ‘These callers were
particularly interested in town-planning, which they were anxious
to see adopted for their own city, but I had to explain that my
business in Vancouver was limited to the improvement of Coal
Harbour and the famous Stanley Park. It is interesting to note
that this appointment came about through my introduction by
Mr. Wall, at that time managing director of the ““ Sun ’’ newspaper,
an organ that wielded considerable civic influence. Mr. Wall
was later Chief Commissioner for British Columbia in London.
No sooner did I get to work on a study of the problem relating
to my commission, than I was literally bombarded by a troop of
newspaper men. ‘They were out for stunts, and I simply had to
oblige, and thus day by day appeared columns of my opinion on
almost every phase of city planning and the need for action in
Vancouver. This brought requests for lectures and conferences
with Ministers in Victoria. How I managed in such a maelstrom
of conflicting ideals to maintain a clear, sane policy, I do not
remember, but somehow I managed to apprise the citizens of several
risks which ungoverned developments made obvious. I also
worked up a good deal of enthusiasm for a co-ordinated park
system, and upon the needs for a new civic centre. It was a rather
audacious enterprise, but it caught on, and gave a new line of
direction to local patriotism.
My tentative report to the Board of Parks Commissioners
was approved, and | was definitely instructed to proceed with
alternative schemes for the reclamation of Coal Harbour and the
improvement of Stanley Park. The alternative schemes were a
concession to two opposing ideas, both vigorously promoted.
In the result I prepared three schemes, two of which followed
the landscape style, incorporating the suggestions of the contending
parties ; the other, a quite formal and much more logical lay-out
(Illus. No. 41), was my own proposal, upon which all concentrated,
the design being unanimously adopted.205
Taking on New Responsibilities.
As I shall have more to say in another chapter upon the
schemes which I was commissioned to prepare for so many new
clients, I will merely add that this trip, extending over rather
more than three months, constituted the biggest bustle of my
life, but every day was inspiring, and the whole trip of great
educational value—new problems to solve, new people to meet,
new opportunities for achievement ; furthermore, I felt I must
justifiably give value for the confidence placed in me, and merit
the unbounded kindness which the Canadians showed me.
There is one other decision which I had to face, which raised
questions of business morality. Two firms of American real-estate
agents sought my assistance in the subdivision of their estates for
boosting purposes, offering me fees by which I could, with very
little work, have earned three thousand pounds. I visited both
properties, and found they were miles away from any centre of
population, with no public utilities within reach. Concluding that
my would-be clients wished to use my plans and my name for the
promotion of sales of land in England, I refused the commission.
On my return to Ottawa I was consulted by a very responsible
estate agent, with offices in Montreal, and commissioned to plan
a model suburb of about 600 acres near to Ottawa. Here the
site was splendid, quite convenient to the capital city, and reached
by electric tram with a quick and frequent service. Lhe estate
was on the shores of Lake Deschenes, a beautiful sheet of water
offering great attractions for aquatic sports and fishing. My terms
for planning the estate were eighteen hundred pounds, and having
some fear of the financial stability of the promotion, I insisted
upon a payment of £500 before I started work, which proved
very fortunate, as the balance of £1,300 was never paid, although
I carried out my part of the contract. Notwithstanding this
serious loss, | was very sorry for my clients, who were caught by
the sudden collapse of the land boom and lost seriously. If they
could have held on they might have weathered the depression.
It was on this journey that I first met Pauline Johnson, the
Indian poetess (daughter of a chief of one of the Iriquois tribes),
whose works called “Flints and Feathers” and “ Legends of
Vancouver ” I had some acquaintance with. At this time she was
a semi-invalid, but her conversation was in keeping with her
poetry—full of nature, imagery, and imaginatively construed
legends of local places.Illus, No. 41,
E cen ay?
ca, SRE
z A
; W iE } Dae re
7 NYY
AA) [(—-4gy7 f a
@ (EW (CF
a=! GS ROWNG SA SSS
= 35)\ NOG oS
s yy) / Sy
Eee
IT}
YY —Yy
WY)
QJ
HARBOUR
GZ
ff COAL HARBOLR
SiG Pee
| VANCOUVER. .
< :
WN \ \ WW
~~
THI Ch GE GY GLY K LLY J WH A WE MY GWG] GY <<
PLAN oF CoaL Harsour, VANCOUVER.[llus. No. 42.
HisroricAL PAGEANT, ATHENS.CHAPTER XVII.
A CALE, TO APHENS:
last chapter, had discharged me, asked me to meet him.
With some little anxiety I called at the time and place
appointed. I was met in the most friendly spirit with the remark
that I was to carry on, as he had realised that in my sons I was
fortunate in having partners who would loyally uphold the standard
hitherto aimed at in my work. Thus was attained, in part at
least, one of the objects which justified my acceptance of
commissions entailing long absences from home, and at last
providing the requisite opportunity for those who would some day
succeed me. Asa result of this concession on the part of my clients,
my work tended more and more to become advisory, with the
preparation of preliminary plans. Thus the broad outlines of a
scheme could be laid down, leaving to others the details and working
drawings, but nearly always reserving to myself the arrangement
of the plantations which finally give the dominant character to
most garden designs.
In short, I was now applying to the work of my office the
methods of budding French and American architects, who prepare
the sketch designs to a small scale, after which these pass through
the various stages and developments in the draughting office,
under the direction of the chief, who supplies the criticism and
suggestions during the stages of their progress.
This method of preparing preliminary plans led to many
interesting developments. Increasingly it became apparent how
intimately the house and garden are associated, and in town plans
how every factor or feature has its bearing upon every other factor
or feature. In the case of a new garden to an old house it was
often impossible to obtain an ideal effect without serious alteration
to the plan of the house—as, for instance, when the entrance hall
and carriage court occupied the south frontage.
(> my return to England, my client who, as stated in the
207208
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
The consideration of the problems as a whole led unconsciously
to the revival of the architectural side of our practice—or, rather, to
a renewal of the position which obtained during my partnership
with Dan Gibson, but now with my sons as architectural colleagues.
Thus, when during these few months at home we extended the
gardens at Brackley, Ballater, for Sir Victor Mackenzie, the work
included a new billiard and smoking-room wing; similarly, the
extensive additions to the gardens at Thornton Manor called
for as a part of our general development plan, extended plans for
the mansion. Much of the latter has, in a modified form, been
carried out. In some cases where this comprehensive planning
was undertaken, we refused to act as architects, as our object was
not to poach on architects’ preserves, but merely to secure a general
degree of harmony between the house and the grounds.
Before leaving New York on my last trip I was requested
to meet Mr. E. P. Bonbright, a well-known New York banker, with
offices in the City of London. Mr. and Mrs. Bonbright, like many
other clients, had been content with a tolerably good luxuriant
garden, but after studying the exemplary ancient and modern
gardens in this country, had become dissatisfied with their American
home.
The site I found was a good one, and large enough for ample
gardens and a small park, but the soil was thin and poor, and
lay on rock, which at places was very near the surface, and costly
to excavate. I collected all the data and levels which were necessary
for the preparation of a garden scheme, and during my stay in
England developed my proposals for the improvement of these
gardens and submitted them to my clients, who spent most of their
time in London. Finally, I was instructed to complete my drawings,
but whether or not my suggestions were ever carried out | cannot
say. This is one of the disappointments inseparable from work
at long distances from home.
For Mr. A. L. Langmuir of Cadbury Manor, Cadbury,
Somerset, I replanned the gardens in such a way as to permit
the scheme being realised by annual instalments. Mr. and Mrs.
Langmuir spent much of their time in Canada, where they had
property interests, and the intention was to have the alterations
in the gardens carried out during their absence. Cadbury Manor
is a very charming old-world house built in proximity to a peculiarly
beautiful parish church of which the owner of Cadbury Manor
is lay rector.A Call to Athens.
At the same time extensive garden improvements were
planned and carried out for John R. Barlow, Esq., of Greenthorne,
Edgeworth, near Bolton. This gentleman is head of one of the
most important cotton-manufacturing concerns in Lancashire,
and for his partner, Mr. Wm. Hoyle, I had already done work at
Grasmere.
One of the most successful bits of work in this garden was
the conversion of a formal stream, hemmed in between irregularly
built walls, into a series of rocky cascades.
An entirely new garden of considerable extent was planned
and carried out for Herbert Noble, of Higher Trap, near
Padiham ; whilst in association with my old friend and colleague,
C. E. Mallows, I was continuing the work of laying out the gardens
at Tirley Garth, Tarporley, Cheshire, for R. A. Prestwich.
hus I was engaged at the one time by four gentlemen
interested in cotton, in the planning of important gardens, and i
by three others in an advisory capacity. In my experience it has mn
often happened that when a professional man has obtained an
introduction into a particular circle it is soon found that he has Fl
been commissioned by many people having the same business
interests, each anxious to outshine the others in friendly rivalry. am
Yet in the matter of garden-making there can be no real rivalry, a
for each garden problem calls for its own solution, and each stands Me
alone and unique. |
At Greenthorne the chief attractions of the garden are the Hy |
cascaded stream and the stone-built bridge, whilst at Higher Trap Wes
the interest is found in the broad terraces. At Grasmere there are i
the extensive Alpine gardens and the terrace on the mountain «BB
side, while at Tirley Garth we are impressed with the variety and ee
completeness of the several parts of the site, beginning with terrace |
and panel gardens, merging into the freer landscape treatment, Ay
where undulating lawns sweep in pleasing curves under the re
shrubberies and specimen trees. uh
One of the first matters with which I had to deal on my return
home was the completion of arrangements for a course of lectures al
to be delivered at the Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, and Bi |
Adelaide Universities. I had agreed to the terms offered by ~ :
Dr. Barrett, who represented the Board of Governors of the
Universities of Australia, and who was a keen propagandist of
town planning. I was to give a course of six lectures at each
University, for which I was to be paid six hundred pounds,
PIllus. No. 44.
Foots Cray PLace.A Call to Athens.
inclusive of my expenses—not a very big fee, but a splendid
introduction to the Government, which desired to consult me
about town-planning legislation, a commission the completion
of which would profitably employ my spare time. I was also
asked to advise one or two city councils on the preparation of
town-planning schemes, so that in one way or another the venture
promised success.
At the same time | doubted the wisdom of giving my English
and Canadian clients further openings for charging me with
neglecting their interests; this, notwithstanding the fact that I
had learnt by hard work and quick intuition to work out my
preliminary studies rapidly. The staff at home, fired with zeal
by the widening horizon of interesting work ahead, gave me the
assurance that the preliminary schemes for Regina, Calgary,
Banff, and Vancouver would be ready to submit, as arranged, in
the autumn.
Apart from financial considerations, I was genuinely anxious
to contribute my quota to town-planning propaganda, and to
give to Australian civic art something of the force and directness
of English ideals. The factor, however, which finally decided me
to accept the offer was the opportunity which it afforded for
further travel, and the study of town planning and landscape
architecture under new conditions. It is this ever-onward quest
for new conditions that gives to town planning its unparalleled
attractions.
The lectures were framed to admit of local references and
slides showing Australian housing conditions.
I decided to leave England about the end of March, and to
travel to Australia via Vancouver. My secretary, Mr. James
Crossland, would arrive in Canada a month in advance of me, for
the purpose of: collecting data for the civic survey of Regina,
Calgary, and Banff. This work, owing to the absence of up-to-date
maps and the then almost daily changes of ownership, proved
to be a more formidable task than we imagined.
During the intervening three months at home I met Sir
Hubert Herkomer, R.A. I had stayed a week-end with Sir Joseph
and Lady Swan at their home on the Surrey hills, and in discussing
my prospects, and the need of a studio about half an hour from
London, Miss Mary Swan, an old pupil of Sir Hubert’s, told me
that her old master had given up his school at Bushey, and that
his studios were just what I wanted. I wrote at once to Sir Hubert,212
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
asking if the property was to be sold, or if it could be rented.
Sir Hubert replied that I was just too late, as he had demolished
the studios and had decided to convert the site into a rose garden.
To assist him in the preparation of his designs, he had instructed
his bookseller to send him the most authoritative work on the
subject, and as a result he had just received a copy of © The Art
and Craft of Garden Making,” of which he thought I must be the
author. Now that we had come into touch with each other, he
proceeded, he would like me to visit him the following week-end
to advise him. This I arranged to do.
On arrival at Bushey station I found a luxurious car and a
liveried chauffeur awaiting me. I thus proceeded in state to
‘* Tululaund,” Sir Hubert’s Bohemian castle. Whatever may be
the architectural merits or demerits of the home of the Herkomers,
it was evident that the house had been built regardless of cost.
What struck me about the place as I became further acquainted
with it, was the original and unique craftsmanship which had been
expended upon its decoration and appointments. Every hinge,
every lock and key, had been specially designed, and each showed
an amazing knowledge of the best traditions of the smith’s craft.
The wood carvings were largely the work of the artist’s father, but
the designs were, I imagine, the work of Sir Hubert. A striking
feature was a frieze in modelled Whatman’s paper, which looked
as though it had been pressed in the pulp stage, but which had
been worked similarly to leather-work and then tinted.
My famous client proposed at once that we should go into
the garden and view the site of the proposed rose garden, which
was covered from end to end with old building material. However,
the character and extent of the site were easy to grasp, as were
also the essential features which should dominate its design. So
at once we plunged into details and agreed on the main outlines
and proportions. The garden was to be separated from the kitchen
garden by a brick-built pergola, with a handsome garden pavilion
at one end. The centre of the panel rose garden was to be sunk
two feet, with a fountain in the centre, and considerable spaces
of ground were to be planted as foils against adjoining properties.
Then we came to the discussion of probable costs, to my estimate
of which Sir Hubert readily agreed. Finally, he remarked: “ We
have still to settle your fees, and I am going to make a suggestion
which I hope you will accept. I think,’’ he said, “ you ought to
have your portrait painted; my price for this would be sixA Call to Athens.
hundred guineas. Let’s swop. I'll do your portrait, whilst you
design my rose garden, and we'll call it quits.”
To this proposal I readily agreed, assured for once in my life
that I had madea bargain. My friends regard the portrait, which
is produced in tone as the frontispiece, as an exceptionally good
rendering of the character of the sitter.
The last portrait painted by Herkomer was that of Governor
Brown of Regina, to whom I showed a photograph of my portrait.
Governor Brown wired Herkomer to ask if he could paint his
portrait, and got in reply the following message: “ If you can
come immediately, think I can do it.” Mr. Brown started for
England the next day, and was just in time, for his last sitting
concluded Herkomer’s life-work. The distinguished artist died a
few days later. As Mr. Brown remarked, it almost seemed as if
he had had a premonition when he sent his cable. I felt
Herkomer’s loss keenly. During our short acquaintance we were
drawn closely to one another. He was the most versatile man |
have ever met; his buoyancy was contagious, and he was a most
delightful, companionable man, and a true artist—a Bohemian by
natural birth and a Bohemian by temperament.
As already indicated, I proposed to travel to the Antipodes
via Vancouver. I intended spending two months in Canada for
the purpose of discussing preliminary plans with my several
Governmental and municipal clients. Into the preparation of the
Canadian town plans my two sons and my staff had put much
interesting work, often interpreting my proposals from the roughest
sketches, and with perfect success. They were certainly only
preliminary studies, but in each case they were worked out in
sufficient detail to focus discussion upon the essentials, yet were
elastic enough to allow of adjustments where desirable. Other
important events were now impending.
On arrival at St. John, New Brunswick, our port of debarkation,
I found a cable from my son awaiting me, stating that His Majesty
King Constantine wished to consult me about the royal gardens
in Athens and a park system for his capital. This was great news,
calling for immediate action. The possibility of working in this
world-famous city under royal patronage was irresistible. Believing
that my Australian clients would see in this call one of the greatest
compliments which could be paid to British art, | cabled to them
for permission to postpone my trip. At the same time I cabled to
my son asking him to proceed to Greece at once with whatever214
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
assistants he required for the preparation of surveys and the
collection of data. In the meantime I would get through my work
in Canada and join him in Athens as soon as possible.
My duties in Canada occupied about six weeks, and the
amount of work undertaken during this period, the distances
travelled, the number of governmental and municipal officials and
committees interviewed, the voluminous notes which I made after
my investigation of the town sites to be replanned, suggest that
I had got into the stride of the American hustler. I had, however,
got together the nucleus of a town-planning staff in Canada, with
a well-equipped office in Vancouver under the direction of my
second son, who was made junior partner in the firm, with my
nephew, Robert Mattocks, as chief of staff. The help thus assured
enabled us to work more expeditiously, and to check off our draft
plans on the sites before submission to our clients, also to make
such amendments as seemed desirable before returning these
plans to our English office for final completion.
In some cases we found it possible to complete our drawings
and reports in Canada. This applied particularly to the compre-
hensive lay-out of the Parliament Buildings, the gardens, and the
real estate owned by the provincial government in Regina, and
some interesting developments of schools and playgrounds in
Calgary.
Returning home at the end of May, I found that my son had
about completed the designs for the royal gardens at Athens,
having obtained approval of his preliminary basic studies before
leaving that city. Their Majesties proved most interested clients,
giving my son interviews almost daily, and bringing ripe thought
to the discussion of every feature as the work of planning proceeded.
In addition, they motored him out to their villa at Tatoi and
discussed the need of a new villa on a larger and better plan, to be
built ona plateau somewhat elevated above the existing one. They
also instructed him to prepare plans for their burial ground, which
occupied the site of a beautiful knoll not far from Tatoi, though
secluded from the villa. This knoll was surrounded by pine
woods (since destroyed by fire), and on one side a vista had been
cut which gave a wonderful view to the south-west, with Athens
and the Acropolis in the distance. King George was buried on
this lovely spot, and a small Byzantine chapel was perched on its
highest part. King Constantine wished to enclose this groundA Call to Athens.
suitably, and to lay it out in the form of a simple terrace connected
by a wide central path leading to the chapel.
Our Royal patrons were at the time preparing for their annual
trip to Eastbourne, where we were asked to meet them at the
Grand Hotel, where they stayed every summer with their family.
These few intervening weeks gave time to detail our plans and
to give them a businesslike appearance. At the time arranged
(viz., at the end of June) I journeyed to Eastbourne, accompanied
by my son, who introduced me to the Court Chamberlain, Count
Mercati, in whom I found from this time onward a charming and
helpful friend.
Next I was introduced to Miss Constavlos, lady-in-waiting to
the Queen, who was keenly interested in all the improvements
contemplated by their Majesties. In the afternoon I was introduced
by Count Mercati to the King and Queen, who were delightful
and entirely free from the formality which I had expected and
feared. Like the members of our own Royal Family, they possessed
the genius for putting people at their ease. “Your son tells me,
Mr. Mawson,” said His Majesty, ‘‘ that you are a keen gardener.
So am 1; therefore we have interests in common.” “ And I,”
interposed the Queen, “am longing to see you at work on the
re-housing of the working classes in Athens, where the conditions
are deplorable. My royal mother-in-law erected many beautiful
hospitals. I think better housing conditions might prevent the
need for more.”
For two hours we discussed alternately gardens and better
housing, and finally the provision of planted public spaces, with
coffee kiosks and restaurants where the working classes could
rest in the shade during the heat of the day. In all respects the
interview was very interesting, and gave me a new conception of
the beneficent influence exercised by the members of royal
families.
Before leaving Eastbourne I was introduced to the children,
including Prince George, Prince Paul, and Prince Alexander (the
last-named of whom in a few years succeeded his father on the
throne), and also the Princess, who is now Crown Princess of
Roumania, and was delighted to note the evident tokens of family
affection.
The King finally approved of the plans for the royal gardens,
and arranged that I should meet him in Athens in September.
I was requested to call at Corfu en route to report on the possibilities216
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of improving the garden setting for the royal palace there, and
also to offer suggestions for the improvement of the town of Corfu.
“When you get to Athens,” he remarked, “ I will introduce you
to M. Venizelos and the Mayor, and I hope you may be
commissioned to prepare plans for the improvement of my capital.
There,’ he said, “ you will have the chance of your life, an
ample scope for your genius. I ought to tell you, however, that
we have already had one elaborate scheme presented by the Kaiser
and prepared by Mr. Hoffman, his architect, who after a motor
tour round Athens prepared a scheme which entirely ignored
existing conditions and property values, overlooking those interests
in the capital which have every claim for recognition. Therefore
we had to reject his proposals, and we decided that next time the
work should be entrusted to an Englishman.”
In view of what has since transpired, this rejection of what
was virtually the Kaiser’s proposal is interesting. Later, when in
Athens, I saw this scheme, which had been presented in elaborate
report form, beautifully printed and illustrated. It certainly
included many drastic proposals, but it also included a few
suggestions that could have been incorporated in a revised plan.
Its rejection must have been a keen disappointment, both to the
Kaiser and to his architect.
In the interval between meeting King Constantine and the
visit to Athens I made a brief return to my first love of private
gardens, making a tour of the English and Scotch clients who had
schemes in prospect or in hand. It was a delightful and restful
interlude. Never before had I experienced the potency of that
pregnant sentence of Lord Bacon’s, that a garden ministers the
greatest refreshment to the spirits of man. The change from the
heavier toils of public work reminded me of what the late Sir Alfred
ast said about those occasions when he used to leave his ponderous
easel work and betake himself off with pencil, notebook, and water
colours, sketching from nature direct, returning with mind refreshed
and ideas refurnished. It is one of the compensations of work that
it compasses its rest in its own activities. The refined materials
to hand wherewith to express one’s ideals, and the freer rein given
to the imagination, in private work, provide a pleasure after the
restraints whereby civic work is usually hemmed in, and thus for
ever running the gauntlet amidst vested interests. Speaking from
observation and experience of clients, there must be a similar
allurement in their case. There is apparently no end to garden| Illus. No. 45.
comes ee =e
Sean
Tue Roya Paace, Corru.
Illus. No. 46.
TuHE Quay, Corru.A Call to Athens.
making, for when one part is improved it shows up disparagingly
the other parts. If the owners of gardens only knew how far their
initial experiments would lead them, their courage would fail at
the outset.
At the end of August my son and I left for Athens, travelling
via Paris, Rome, Brindisi, and Corfu, staying at the last-mentioned
place for several days. The journey across the Continent was full
of interest, and particularly the journey from Rome to Brindisi
through prolific vineyards and olive groves, interspersed by white
towns and villages, each one of which we would have loved to
explore; but the time at our disposal did not allow of digressions.
Brindisi itself was disappointing. It had suffered greatly in an
earthquake some years before, and many of the houses had lost
their upper storey. The whole place had a lack of business
prosperity, accounted for by the fact that the port was no longer
a place of call for the P. and O. and other Indian liners.
We took one of the Italian boats calling at Corfu, arriving there
the next morning ; but long before we reached the island we were
on deck revelling in the beauty of the coast line, and noting the
evidences of the Balkan war, which had just been settled in favour
of Greece. The once prosperous little seaport of Santa Quaranta
was in complete ruins, the result of a few hours’ bombardment
by the Greek fleet.
I had seen illustrations of the island of Corfu, the jewel
of the Adriatic, which I had regarded as extravagances of the
imagination in schemes of impossible colouring, but the reality
far surpassed in beauty and depth of colour what I had regarded
as merely imaginative. Every element of the picturesque was
here embodied.
The town of Corfu, situated at the east side of the island, is a
fascinating jumble of buildings devoted to every purpose, to which
beautiful belfries and tall cupolas give a dominating note (see
Illus. Nos. 45 and 46). The town occupies a cup-shaped slope
with the higher promontory to the east and the rising ground to
the west, crowned with fortifications and barracks. ‘These forti-
fications are very massive in appearance, and reach down to the
sea by a series of stone-built terraces, picturesque with masses
of flowers and scrubwood breaking up the solidity of the heavy
stonework. At places numerous cypress trees throw up their shafts
of dark velvety green, their upright growth contrasting with the
horizontal lines of the royal palace and the principal buildings.218
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
On alighting to proceed to our hotel, built on the higher
ground overlooking a pleasant bay to the south, we found the
views entrancing: seawards to the south and westward over
beautiful vineyards and olive groves, with the Kaiser’s palace
rising consequentially (of course) on its elevated site above the
tops of surrounding woodland of cypress, pine, and olives.
he old part of the town, as we soon discovered, had been
built in entire disregard of plan or arrangement, buildings of all
sizes and shapes being placed at all angles, jostling one another
and sprawling zigzag on to what should have been the streets of
the town—roads which were actually narrower in many places than
ten feet, whilst in some of the most important thoroughfares the
width was no more than twelve feet. From the port to the royal
palace there is a fairly good road skirting the shore, which must
have required considerable engineering skill to construct. To
the south-west there is a fine boulevard, promenade, and garden
much like those at Torquay.
There were several well planned and constructed arterial
roads extending from the town into the open country, and these,
along with all the other modern improvements and the noble
Georgian architecture, were a legacy of the British occupation.
King Constantine, remarking on this fact, said that so far as the
natives were concerned, they never promoted any improvement
which added to the attraction or convenience of the island, having
been spoiled by the English, who relieved them of every necessity
to bestir themselves. His object was now to induce them to
develop a little civic pride by introducing some of the improvements
absolutely essential, and decencies worthy of the fame of the island,
and thus attract an increasing number of tourists. Never, except
perhaps in some of the remote Italian towns, have I seen such
congestion as here, along with its accompanying unsavouriness ; yet
at the same time no town possesses such a beautiful environment or
setting, or one which so readily lends itself to improvement without
the loss of its picturesqueness or ancient character,
King Constantine had mentioned six main improvements to
be incorporated in our town-planning scheme—
(1) An improved or alternative route between the port and the esplanade.
(2) A new hotel and casino.
(3) The improvement of the immediate surroundings of the royal palace.
(4) A new boulevard extending westward and past the Kaiser's villa.
(5) A model workman’s suburb on garden-city lines.
(6) A park system for Corfu in which large planted spaces devoted to the
growth of shade trees should predominate.A Call to Athens.
Acting upon the King’s suggestion, my son had called at
Corfu on his return from Athens for the purpose of collecting the
necessary data for the preparation of a town-planning scheme,
and had reduced to a tentative plan his impression of what was
possible and desirable. This plan met so fully with my ideas, that
we presented a scheme, based on this study, to the King upon our
arrival in Athens, elaborating and amending it after our discussions.
It is interesting to note that in the early part of 1914 the Kaiser
asked his sister, Queen Sophia, to convey to us his congratulations
upon our scheme.
From Corfu we took boat to Patras, one of the busiest ports
in Greece. After a ramble round the well-planned and well-
managed town, we took train for Athens, travelling by the Patras-
Athens express, which was supposed to do the journey in five
hours, but generally, as on this occasion, took eight. The variety
of scene, coupled with an excellent restaurant car, obviated all
sense of tediousness, and at stopping places excellent coffee and
delicious fruit could be procured at a price which in this country
would spell bankruptcy to the caterer. En route we crossed
over the Corinth canal, its stupendous engineering being very
apparent, looking along it from the dizzy heights of the railway
bridge.
My first sight of Athens (many miles away) from this railway
was inspiring. The dim shadowy line of the Acropolis and its
noble crown of ruined temples was softly silhouetted against a
clear blue and purple sky, suffused by the dim evening light, the
whole changing in mass and grouping as seen from various angles
as the train passed round the frequent bends and curves. Whatever
the point of view, the Acropolis is so imposing that scarcely for a
moment could I take my eyes off it. This fascinating first
impression of the world masterpiece I have never lost.
It was late when we arrived in Athens, but as we drove to our
hotel we noticed that many of the thoroughfares were wide and
well constructed, whilst in the Place de la Concorde and on the
squares passed en route a distinctly decorative garden note was
apparent. Many noble palms, mostly Latanias, Chamerops and
Coryphas, interspersed with orange trees and beds of flowers,
gave to the air a sweetness which reminded one of the favourite
description of Athens—the city of sweet violets.
Further acquaintance with Athens, however, revealed a very
low average of garden spaces, with practically no children’s220
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
playgrounds or other recreational facilities. “True, there were the
Royal Gardens, the Zappion, the Lycabettos, the Acropolis, the
Mount of Phillapapos, and the open space on which stands the
remains of the temple of Jupiter Olympus, but these were not
readily accessible to the residents. ‘They regarded the precincts
of these ancient remains as tourist reserves.
Next morning we signed the visitors’ book at the palace, and
later received a note from Count Mercati, asking us to meet Hi
Majesty at three o'clock the same afternoon. Punctually at the
time appointed we were taken to the audience chamber, where the
King and Queen extended to us a hearty welcome to Athens, hoping
that great things might follow our visit. We were at once asked to
sit down, a welcome request which surprised and pleased me.
I had always understood that ordinary civilians were required to
remain standing in the presence of Royalty.
The final plans for the royal gardens were approved, with
slight modifications, and we were instructed to make arrangements
for carrying out the work. This we did by cOo- operating with the
court architect and the superintendent of the royal gardens, the
latter a Greek who spoke excellent English.
Directly their Majesties had disposed of this work, the King
told me that he had notified the Prime Minister (M. Wenineles) and
the Mayor (M. Benachies), both of whom would have conferences
with me in respect to the replanning and extension of Athens.
The King then apprised me of some of the things which he wished
to see included in the new plans. Among these were new parliament
buildings on a different site, and a new dignified union railway
station of ample proportions somewhere on the axis of Rue
Constantine. Then we must consider the removal of all the shacks
and hovels which had grown up around the base of the Acropolis,
and also the removal of every obstruction within the precincts of
all ancient remains. “It is very important,” added the King,
~ that we should impress tourists by our care for that which they
prize so highly.”’ A new university campus to occupy a site then
used as a military camp; the improvement and connection of all
important roads leading out of Athens, so as to encourage motoring ;
finally, the scheduling of a wide belt of land for afforestation round
the capital, were the other schemes propounded by His Majesty.
his last-named scheme was his pet hobby, and one which he
inherited from his father.
In giving his reasons for such amplitude of forest land heA Call to Athens.
explained that historical evidences proved that all the higher
ground round ancient Athens was forest land, and it was also
certain that in early times the river Illysus, with its roaring
cataracts, was a river, and not a mere rivulet as now. He believed
the drying up of the river was caused by deforestation, and that
reafforestation would not only increase the rainfall, but by absorption
equalise the river's flow.
“When do you propose to start work on your new forest ? ”
I asked. ‘‘ To-morrow morning,” was the quick reply, “ if you
and the Queen agree to help me. I have thousands of young pines
and cypresses growing in small pots, which may be planted out at
once.” This was quickly arranged, and we were to start work at
the base of the Acropolis.
‘‘ And now,” proceeded the King, “ I wish to say that in any
architecture which may be incorporated in your town-planning
scheme I hope you will keep strictly to your Georgian tradition,
for, in my opinion, no body of architects in any part of the world
so truly caught the spirit of our classical Greek as did your English
architects of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.”
Passing for a few minutes into the adjoining room, he returned
with a pile of books dealing with Georgian architecture, remarking,
as he laid his load on the table, “ I buy every book I can lay my
hands on which illustrates good English architecture.’ My son
had already told me of this preference, but I never guessed that
his knowledge of the subject was so intimate.
When the King had taken in order all the points on which
he was specially interested, the Queen, who had been listening,
remarked that she hoped I would give early and serious attention
to the rehousing of the working classes, whose existing housing
conditions were intolerable and a menace to public health. When
we had fully discussed our business, the King asked which way I
was going, adding: ‘If you are returning to your hotel, I am
walking that way, and we can go through the royal gardens.
Passing through Constitution Square and noticing the orange
trees ladened with fruit, I remarked: “‘ It seems to me that the
boys of Athens must be peculiarly honest ; in England we have
yet to invent a fence which will protect our orchards.”
“Boys,” replied the King, “ are the same the world over—
these are bitter oranges.”
At this time Constantine appealed to me as a very kingly
personage who was interested in and adored by his people. One222
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
story will explain this popularity. At the end of the second
Balkan war, the King, in motoring back to Athens, saw a poor
soldier who had evidently dropped out of the lines, lying exhausted
by the road-side. At once the King stopped his car and asked the
poor fellow to take a seat. “I can't,” replied the soldier. ““ Why
can't you?” “ Because I am worried with the lancers (?),”’ replied
the soldier. “So am I,” said the King; “so jump in.”
In the evening the King motored us out to see his villa at
Tatoi, and I must say that I had only once previously travelled
at such a pace. On this occasion, however, the road was a very
bad one; whereas on the other occasion the road was very good.
When I alighted I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving.
I was delighted with Tatoi, which occupies a fine elevated site
surrounded by thousands of acres of pine woods of thirty or forty
years growth. Before leaving we were instructed to proceed with
the new villa, on a somewhat higher plateau. The special accom-
modation required had already been discussed with my son, and
proved a delightful subject for study, as the accommodation of a
royal palace is somewhat exceptional, provision having to be made
for the sentinels on guard, and special exits provided for escape
in case of an attack upon the life of the King. Then there are
numerous secretaries to provide for, and private quarters for the
lady-in-waiting on the Queen, and her clerical staff, consisting of
secretary and typists. The lady-in-waiting at the Greek court
is a very busy and important personage. We proposed to accom-
modate part of the staff in separate buildings.
After discussing the future gardens and terraces, we returned
to Athens, covering the distance with almost lightning speed.
Everyone seemed to know that the King was at the wheel, and
scurried out of the way.
By arrangement we met at 2-30 the next day, at the palace,
for our planting expedition, the Queen accompanying us to the
Acropolis, where several waggon-loads of pines, cypresses, and
shrubs had been deposited. A squad of men with picks and
spades had been requisitioned, under the direction of an expert
forester, to dig the holes and plant the trees as we set them out.
Naturally a crowd soon collected to see the King and Queen setting
out trees and shrubs, but my royal assistants stuck to their work,
and the results which followed amply justified this much-needed
piece of afforestation propaganda. Nearly every tree and shrub
took root, and they are making splendid growth.A Call to Athens.
At one point I paused to study the peculiarities of the site.
‘IT know,” said the King, “ what you are thinking. You are
wanting a little more variety, and so am I ; but it can’t be done.”’
‘But, surely,” I replied, ““ we could import what we need.”
‘““Can’t be done,” again replied the King; “it’s more than my
job's worth. Yousee our phylloxera laws are very strictly enforced.”
‘Then cannot anything be done in the matter?”’’ “ Well,”
replied the King, “ the only suggestion I can make is that on your
return home you buy a cheap piano, tear out the inside and stuff
it full of shrubs and forward it to the Pireeus by boat; but you
must be careful to label it ‘ musical instrument.’ ’’ Just at that
moment a smart wagonette with four young ladies and an older one,
all demurely dressed in black, drove up and watched us at work.
‘ These,” said my royal client, “are the ladies of the last Turkish
harem.” This was the first of many delightful days spent with
their Majesties.
Two days later I received a friendly letter from M. Venizelos,
asking me to meet him the next day at the Mayor's villa at
Kephesia in time for lunch, so that we could have a long afternoon
together. He also said that this would give his friend the Mayor
(M. Benachies) an opportunity of expressing his views on certain
important aspects of town planning applicable to Athens.
Upon arrival, Mr. and Mrs. Benachies met me in the hall of
their beautiful villa, and to my relief I found that both spoke
excellent English, which they explained by saying they had spent
the greater part of their lives in Manchester, and, they added, still
loved England. I was then introduced to M. Venizelos in the
library. He addressed me in French, though later he acquired the
ability to sustain long conversations in English, in which he seemed
to gain considerable mastery.
M. Venizelos accepted me at once as the chosen town planner
for Athens, and was most friendly. Naturally I stood in some
awe for a time of the man I had heard described by responsible
politicians as the greatest statesman in Europe, but the kindly
bearing and the merry twinkle in his eye immediately put me at
my ease.
After an excellent lunch we three again adjourned to the
library or salon, where the Prime Minister at once plunged into
the subject we had met to discuss. The gist of what he said is
as follows :—
“You have already had several conferences with the224
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
King, who has doubtless given you his views upon the desirability
of creating a noble park system for the capital, terminating in a
fringe of forests. He also, I believe, emphasised the need for new
parliament buildings and for Government offices; also the
desirability of improving the royal palace and its surrounding
gardens. You have already spoken to the Mayor, who probably
and properly desires a new town hall, and the re-housing of the
working classes. All these are desirable, but need to be fitted into
an organised town plan in which still broader factors shall receive
recognition.
‘ Although approving of what has already been suggested,
my view, as Premier, is somewhat different from that of His Majesty
and the Mayor. I have to maintain a wider outlook, and the first
thing I see is that the importation of tourists is our principal vein
of wealth, and the one which has potentially the greatest powers
of expansion. I notice, however, that visitors come and go in a few
days, or a week, and therefore I maintain that your chief work as
town planner to the Greek Government is to invent as many
inducements as possible to prolong their stay. To this end the
railway stations and approaches to the capital should be inviting,
the city and its parks must be improved, all ancient monuments
must be preserved and relieved of the accumulation of mean
structures by which they are at present surrounded. New interests
must be opened up, and additional ancient remains made accessible
by fine boulevards and improved motor roads. But most important
of all, material and physical comforts must be provided for our
visitors, along with abundant recreational facilities for body and
mind. The parks should also be as perfect as possible, whilst a
chain of comfortable hotels should be arranged in convenient
centres of historic interest. In short, modern Athens and the
surrounding centres of interest must be beautiful, attractive, and
recuperative to body and mind, as was ancient Athens.”
hus spake one of the wisest of European statesmen.
At lunch, M. Benachies, a generous patriot, had spoken as
strongly and as feelingly of the deplorable Athenian housing
conditions as had the Queen, and I told him of Her Majesty's keen
interest in this problem, and also of her desire to see a great
increase in the number of town gardens and shade trees. “ Yes,
yes, said the Mayor, “ that, too, is very important, and you must
show us what we should do, and how to do it.””. From this subject
he went on to speak of the need of a new and more stately civicA Call to Athens.
centre, which should include amongst its most important buildings
a new town hall, post office, and opera house. After M.
Venizelos had fully expressed his ideas, the Mayor returned to
housing and the civic centre. The Premier spoke as a statesman,
stating the first essentials of a metropolis of such historic sentiment
as Athens—namely, proper accommodation for tourists, and
residences for the well-to-do, who were increasingly making
Athens their home. At this time its resident population was
increasing at the rate of twenty-five thousand a year.
Taking M. Venizelos’ ideas as my keynote, I wrote by way
of propaganda a carefully-thought-out article on‘ Athens’ Principal
Vein of Wealth,” which I handed to the press, urging the Council
and Government immediately to schedule the few remaining suitable
sites for hotels, or otherwise to acquire the sites and hold them in
readiness for building operations, which could not long be delayed.
Next morning I had a visitor who said he had been impressed
by my article, and wished to thank me for raising the question of
hotel accommodation, which was so inadequate that hundreds
were turned away every day during the tourist season, to the great
financial loss and prestige of Athens. My visitor did not appear to
me to be a man of substance, and as I was anxious to pursue my
studies of the capital, I thought I would bring the interview to a
close by asking to what extent he could support financially such
an enterprise. Immediately he replied : ‘“ If you will get together
a sound board of English directors to control the company, | will
invest sixty thousand pounds sterling, and two of my friends will
invest twenty thousand pounds each, and you may take it from
me that at least two-thirds of the capital required can be found
in Athens alone. The one guarantee needed is an English board of
directors." This I regarded as the finest compliment to the
probity and ability of English financiers I had ever heard. It shows
that the financier, like prophets, has most honour abroad.
In anticipation of definite acceptance by the Town Council
of our proposals as to procedure and fees, we spent long hours
each day making a civic survey, especially noting vacant lands
and low-grade buildings on the best plan of Athens which we could
procure. Curiously, this was a survey prepared at the cost of one of
the banks, which proved to be accurate in so far as it represented
major factors, but was lacking in minor detail.
In addition to a survey of property values, we now inquired
into the railway and traffic problems, and the opportunities which
Q220
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
existed for a co-ordinated park system, also inspecting alternative
sites for the new parliament buildings and the proposed civic
centre.
We left Athens with our contract with the Council duly signed
and delivered, and a large amount of information dealing with every
aspect of the problems to be solved.
Having received from His Majesty instructions to visit Corfu
again, preparatory to the presentation of more detailed plans both
for the royal gardens and for the town, we called at the island on
our return journey. One day, whilst pursuing our studies, we saw
a beautiful example of sacred art exposed for sale in a shop window
immediately opposite the royal palace. This consisted of a
frame divided into fourteen panels illustrating the life of Christ
from the cradle to the cross. |The work had evidently belonged
to some church, and was the most exquisite example of miniature
painting I had ever seen. After much bargaining I bought the work
for six hundred and twenty-five drachmas, at that time twenty-five
pounds sterling. We had the picture carefully packed and
despatched by a boat sailing for the Port of London. Later it was
delivered at our Lancaster office, and there unpacked and exhibited
to the staff and many admiring friends. Before it had been in the
office three days we received a letter from the Greek Ambassador
in London stating that an important work of sacred art had been
stolen from a Greek church. It had been traced to Corfu, where it
had been exhibited in a shop window and purchased by two
Englishmen. As we had recently been in the island, it was thought
possible that we had acquired the picture, without, of course,
knowing the origin or that it had been stolen.’ If so, the
Ambassador would be greatly obliged if we would return it to him
for transmission to Greece, and send at the same time an account
of what we paid for it, and any other expenses incurred. We were
much disappointed to lose our “ find’; but what could we do
except willingly restore it, at our own charge, to its rightful place
and use. Such a story as the picture portrayed, so reverently and
beautifully told, must have solaced many a poor Greek, and may,
I trust, continue to do so. The Ambassador refused to accept
the return of the picture as a gift.Vita AcHILLEON, Corru, THE KAISER’S RESIDENCE.CHAPTER XVIII.
GREAT PROSPECTS END IN ANXIOUS DAYS.
OR two weeks after my return I was engaged upon visits
to my English and Scotch clients, followed by work on the
preliminary plan for Athens; but by the third week in
November I was again on my way to Canada, via New York, with
the main object of presenting our preliminary plan suggestion for
the replanning of Banff, to the Parks Department of the Dominion
Government, and the submission of our designs for Coal Harbour
and Stanley Park to the Parks Commission of Vancouver, Exe:
After much discussion the latter set of plans was finally and
unanimously accepted and recommended for adoption. A plan
of this somewhat bold scheme is inserted on page 206. Unfor-
tunately, the City Council instructed their engineer to carry out the
scheme, and as this gentleman was unsympathetic towards our
proposals, and at the same time trained to a different conception
of construction, the result, so far as realised, does not come up to
our expectations or attain the high level aimed at in our designs.
Here it may be urged that when the designer's intentions can be
realised at a less expenditure than would be entailed in the carrying
out of a mutilated scheme, it is seldom wise to depart from his
proposals, nor is it fair to expect another man to interpret
accurately another’s intentions. Notwithstanding, my primary
intention of converting Coal Harbour into a fresh-water lake has
now been realised, and I hope that the three main structures
which dominated our designs may be erected.
Vancouver settled, I arranged a visit to Victoria, BGs :to
inspect and plan the new town sites for the B.C. Electric Company.
The first of these two was known as the James Estate, of about one
hundred and fifty acres. It is on the east coast of the island, and
proved a most difficult site to plan, owing to the rough, rocky
nature of the ground, which rose precipitously from the shore in a
series of irregular stone cliffs. The cost of re-levelling any part
227228
Thr Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of this estate was so prohibitive that the line of roads and the
subdivision of lots were in a large measure dictated by natural
topographical conditions. Its proximity to Victoria, to which it is
connected by electric tramway, and the picturesque character of
the coastline, combine to make it a desirable residential estate.
The second was the Meadlands Estate, about five hundred
acres in extent, situated on the west coast of the island about
seven miles from Victoria. This was a much more ambitious
Illus. No. 49.
fF | DESIGN FOR A MODEL: TOWN
“T MEAPLANDS
VICTORIA | Bre is
for Qhe BRITISH COLUMBIA. |?
ELECTRIC RAILWAY: GO
SCALE Sets F Fee
proposition. The site was a very favourable one for the purpose,
lying in a hollow of a beautiful bay, with lovely white sands and
ideal bathing conditions. Part of the estate had been cleared -for
agricultural purposes, and consisted of gently undulating pastures
and arable land, with a background of noble forest trees and native
shrubs. Beyond the estate the ground rose and fell in pine-clad
mountains and valleys, giving the needed protection from the north
and east. The levels favoured a perfect sanitation. The electricGreat Prospects.
trams already reached to within a mile of the property, and it was
‘ntended to extend these through the centre of the estate, and
finally to open up other estates for development.
On the whole, the property offered one of the finest
opportunities in British Columbia for a summer and winter pleasure
resort, and the plan was drawn with the object of realising this
‘ntention, A wide boulevard ran from north to south through its
centre, winding through a gentle depression in the land, with a
long curved junction extending from the central boulevard to the
pier. The pier was to be treated as the tram terminus and as a
feeder for the service of steamers, which would call at regular
‘ntervals. There was eventually to be a tram service running
north from the pier, and the triangle formed by these converging
roads was to be developed as a civic and shopping centre, with
ample accommodation for stores, banks, post office, central hall,
and estate offices. At the north-west corner of the estate was a
wooded swamp to be converted into a public park, with a lake and
a rocky stream, but all the level ground was to be utilised for tennis
and other popular forms of recreation. At the promenade end of
the piers we proposed to erect a commodious block of buildings,
with waiting and refreshment rooms, parcels office, and all the
conveniences of a well-equipped railway station. The triangular
plots opposite this station were reserved for hotels. A large
site was also reserved for a school, others for churches, and
another site north-west of the civic centre was to be reserved
for a large residential hotel. Altogether, as will be seen from
Illus. No. 49, this was a very interesting project, and one
which should eventually fully justify the enterprise of this pro-
gressive company.
During my stay on the island I had many opportunities of
meeting the Premier, Sir Richard McBride, who was a picturesque
character and yet withal a statesman. He was impressive in poise,
courtly in manner, a fine conversationalist with an alertness an
sense of humour which made him very popular. He made many
promises, but I forget whether or not he ever fulfilled them. I
rather fancy not. I also met most of his ministers, but Sir Richard
seemed to stand alone and dominate a very difficult crowd. At
this period the opposition consisted of one member, but it was the
Government supporters which at times gave trouble.
Before leaving Victoria I was asked to address the City Council
and the public on the need and advantages of city planning for
%
SR ee230
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Victoria. I thought I had made out a good case, but in the
discussion which followed I was thoroughly heckled by an irate
Scotch member of the Council, who said they knew their own
business so well that they had no need for an expert from England.
Perhaps he was right, but Victoria did not bear very much evidence
of the fact. The site of the town is a peculiarly beautiful one, but
its lay-out is amateurish.
On my return to Vancouver I was engaged with Professor Laird of
Philadelphia, and Professor Darley of McGill University, Montreal,
upon the preparation of a comprehensive report and plan for
the new British Columbia University at Point Grey. A public
competition had already been instituted for the buildings, and
a decision come to that Messrs. Sharp and Thompson, the
winners of the first premium, should be retained as the architects.
But it was felt by the Government and their advisers that the
disposition of the various departments on the site needed the
consideration of experts possessing practical skill and experience
in the arrangement of a university campus. In this conclusion
the appointed architects heartily agreed.
he site, consisting of three hundred acres, which was selected
upon our recommendation, occupied a magnificent position at the
western extremity of Point Grey. Being placed in full view of all
the shipping passing north or south, or entering Vancouver, it
was imperative that the grouping of the university buildings should
be worthy and impress beholders. This impression would be in
part maintained by night, as the central or culminating note of the
composition was a tower brilliantly lighted and rising to a height
of over three hundred feet. This dominating feature would be a
landmark from all directions.
The work of estimating the respective characters and strengths
of the departments and their inter-relation, and the special charac-
ter of the site, was in itself a matter requiring the ripest judgment
of all parties. Along with this we had to dispose of the whole of
the buildings so that they could be heated from one central
power-house, the same to serve for the lighting and the power
distributed throughout. Each specialist was by this working
arrangement able to contribute to the success of our report and
recommendations. The Principal of the University was also able
to add many useful suggestions, as, for instance, the need for the
extension and correlation of the horticultural and the agricultural
departments, for which an additional eighty acres were acquired.Great Prospects.
This completed my studies of the fourth university campus
upon which I had worked in Canada. They were all intensely
interesting problems, to the solution of which the authorities
lent their energies with a will, visioning the time when not just
the few, but the majority, will need to take a course of specialised
college study in any and every subject they have chosen for a
livelihood.
Two things impressed me greatly —viz., the splendid
organisation of these universities, and the elimination of waste
and overlapping. As an example of what | mean, let us take
the theological colleges for different orders. At Saskatoon
and Point Grey twenty-five acres in five-acre plots are allocated
to five of the principal religious bodies—Anglican, Presbyterian,
Methodist, Congregationalist, and Baptist. As to nine-tenths of
the subjects, these are taken in class together, only distinctive
church dogma and assured essential differences being taught in
the separate colleges.
Here in their formative years these future leaders of the faith
are brought into close and friendly contact with each other, and
in this way learn to eliminate differences which when seen in their
proper perspective lose much of their importance. This grouping
is bound in the future to lead to greater co-operation. Whatever
differences still exist—as, for instance, between the Presbyterian
and the Congregationalist orders—is rapidly disappearing, and
this when complete will further simplify the work of the
universities.
Arriving home in the middle of January, | immediately fell
to work upon the town-planning projects entrusted to me, and
upon which my son, E. Prentice Mawson, had during my absence
put in much preparatory work, so that my task was materially
lightened. Naturally, Athens came in for a good deal of attention,
for I was inordinately proud of this commission. Indeed, it was
the pinnacle of my ambitions, and I regarded it as the prize which
would add most permanently to my reputation.
At home I was engaged upon several planting schemes, and
in this department I was receiving help from my third son, who
had developed a keen sense of the possibilities of the horticultural
side of our work—a department, by the way, much neglected by
the majority of pupils, for the reason that this branch of the work
depends upon natural aptitude and a keen love of nature. Possessed
as he was of this gift, and with the schooling in art at the Ecole232
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
des Beaux Arts in Paris for which he was preparing, coupled with
a genial manner and a lovable disposition, I had great hopes for
this son and his future. Many proud fathers at the beginning of
914 saw similar prospects in their sons. Having reached the
zenith of their own limited achievements, these fathers rested
content, assured that their ideals had been attained, and that
these would be maintained and completed by their successors.
If these happy parents could have scanned the international
horizon and seen the ominous war clouds gathering over Europe,
they might have had many disturbing moments. Perhaps it was
as well that we did not see and did not fear.
On the 16th of March I lectured before the Civic League of
Antwerp on “ The Principles of Landscape Architecture Applied
to the Development of the City Plan.” The Belgian Government
had just presented the site of the old fortifications to the city for
its extension. A competition had been held, and premiums been
awarded. The winner had grasped comprehensively this large
addition, and had arranged a series of wide boulevards, suggestive
of the Ringstrasse in Vienna. Evidently the Civic League wished
to learn what they could about English methods, with a view to
rendering their new parks and boulevards as attractive as possible.
pon my arrival I was met by the members, who took me round
their newly acquired territory to show me the location of the
different parks, gardens, and boulevards. From time to time they
pointed in the direction of their new fortifications, always with
the remark that they were impregnable—yes, absolutely impreg-
nable,—comforted with the thought that whatever might happen,
they were safe.
In the evening I lectured to an audience of about four hundred,
explaining the principles of landscape architecture and _ their
application to Antwerp. I lectured in English, and was closely
followed. Whether they all understood or not, | am not so sure,
but the slides shown from time to time elicited applause. I was
warmly thanked for my lecture by the speakers who took part in
the discussion, but the chairman remarked that whilst they had
everything to learn from England in the designs of private gardens,
we could not offer much assistance when it came to public gardens.
In my reply I admitted that this was a just criticism, the explanation
eing that our private gardens were the work of experts, but
our public gardens were mostly the work of amateurs. This fact
have always regretted, for I am democratic enough to wish thatGreat Prospects.
the public, and especially the workers, should have the best. Town
councillors as a rule evidently think otherwise.
From Antwerp I proceeded to Paris en route for Athens. In
Paris I met my friend and client, Mr. Samuel Waring, who,
after spending a few days in Rome on_ business for his
firm, had arranged to travel with me, as there were certain
projects on foot in the ancient capital of Athens in which he had
an interest. En route we were to call at Corfu, where, by arrange-
ments made by Mr. Waring, I was to be introduced to the Kaiser
at his villa on the 28th.
On the 26th we arrived at Brindisi, where keen disappointment
awaited us, for we learnt that the Kaiser had received an urgent
call to Berlin, and that he had left Corfu the previous day. We
spent the afternoon in looking round Brindisi and its immediate
surroundings, trying to work up enthusiasm for Italian art, and
failing abjectly. The news we had just received filled us with
dark forebodings which nothing could dispel, for we both knew
sufficient of European politics to guess what the Kaiser’s sudden
departure meant. We both felt that it was closely related to some
pending crisis—perhaps war. Oppressed with these forebodings,
we were half-inclined to return home. We decided, however,
to proceed, and next morning we were in beautiful Corfu, enjoying,
after a bath and change, a hearty breakfast at our hotel.
After breakfast we were driven to the Kaiser’s villa by a pair
of the usual very lean Greek horses, which could be induced to
quicken their pace only by the application of cruel strokes from
a heavy whip. Evidently the S.P.C.A. does not function in the
Near East.
Villa Achilleon is situated on high ground nearly three miles
westward from Corfu, and is approached by meandering roads
which pass through two exceedingly picturesque villages set in
vineyards and olive groves, where the natives, in their old national
costumes, are equally picturesque. Arriving at the porter’s lodge,
we had to wait some time until the ponderous Prussian attendant
made his appearance. At first he refused to allow us to enter, but
after an explanation and a suitable present we were allowed inside
the grounds to see the uninteresting interior of the villa, which had
been built by the late Empress of Austria (Illus. No. 48). The views
in every direction were superb, and the gardens lavishly laid out in
level terraces richly decorated with sculpture, not very well chosen
or placed, excepting for a great figure of the wounded Achilles234
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
gazing seaward. From the edges of the terrace there were steep
embankments leading down to the shore, in which zig-zag paths
had been cut in the solid rock, all the intervening spaces being
planted with trees, shrubs, and conifers in endless variety. The
whole garden seemed to be arranged and appointed for its royal
owner's delight, regardless of expense, but neither the garden
nor the villa reached any high artistic level, and at times harshly
violated the canons of good taste. Later in the day we saw the
royal palace in Corfu, and also together inspected the pro-
posed site for an hotel de luxe, a project first suggested by
King Constantine. My companion, still apprehensive of trouble,
decided to return home that same evening via Brindisi, completing
his business in Rome en route.
After a night’s rest and several interviews with important
people interested in the improvement of Corfu, including Prince
Ipsolanti, the Governor of the island, I took the boat for Patras,
where I was asked to meet the Mayor, a keen loyalist, at whose
charming house I met a number of well-known Greeks who were
supposed to be interested in town planning. On this occasion,
however, they seemed much more anxious to gather information
about the state of European politics, and particularly to hear
about our own domestic troubles, such as politics in Ireland,
the suffragettes, and our labour disturbances.
The next day, after a stroll round Patras, I went with the
Mayor to see the new cathedral, then in course of erection, and
part of which was ready for its roof. It did not impress me. The
site was not the best available, neither was the structure a success
as an architectural conception, although the interior promised to
be much better than the exterior.
On the day following my arrival in Athens I met the Queen,
and it was then that Her Majesty conveyed the Kaiser’s
congratulations upon our plans for the improvement of Corfu.
ince our last visit we had presented our preliminary report
advising the municipality of Athens upon town-planning procedure.
This report was accompanied by several plans and drawings
illustrating the main features to be dealt with and the problems
to be solved. The preliminary work had been so thoroughly done
that the Town Council mistook it for the scheme proper, and
would have paid our fees on this assumption. I explained that
this preliminary report was intended to focus discussion on the
major problems involved in order to start our more serious workGreat Prospects.
in full agreement with the Council as to its scope. The Council,
however, merely indicated that they were in the hands of experts,
and would be advised by us. This was probably the wisest
decision.
On my informing the Queen of the Council’s decision, she
asked where we proposed to begin, to which I replied, “ By asking
your Majesty for an introduction to the most influential
archeologist now in Athens.” “* Youevidently know where to expect
trouble,” replied the Queen. “I will arrange for you to meet
Dr. Karo this evening.” Dr. Karo, to whom I was introduced,
proved to be a charming man, who spoke perfect English,
having lived many years in London, which he said he still loved
very much. What, however, was very important to me was the
fact that he was able to inform me as to the excavation work
already accomplished. Even more important, he pointed out the
direction and extent of future explorations. Nothing could exceed
the kindness and the help he gave me, the result of which was
that I was able to avoid many pitfalls and much criticism.
Looking back on the pleasant time that I spent with Dr. Karo,
‘t is difficult to believe that it was his clever brain that engineered
the German propaganda in the Near East ; and yet this is what
I have since been told was the case.*
My stay in Athens extended to about five weeks, during which
time I saw much of the King and Queen. During one of my
interviews at the palace (when I was accompanied by my son,
who had been in Athens for some time) a messenger arrived to
tell His Majesty that a duel between two of his officers was about
to take place in a building near the Zappion Gardens, and our
interview came to an abrupt close. Out of curiosity my son and
I hurried to the spot indicated, and through the chinks of a wooden
barricade saw the two menat their deadly game. Although consider-
ing this duelling as a brutal survival worthy of contempt, we could
not help being fascinated by the quick movements and the dexterity
of the combatants.
The two men seemed fairly evenly matched, but at last
one of them got a prick in the arm, and the fight was called
off, just as the King’s messengers arrived to stop it. I have
wondered if these messengers purposely arrived late to allow the
combatants time to settle their difference about the lady. After
* Wace, the head of the English School, was away. This is why Karo was
consulted. He was head of the German School of Archaeology in Athens.236
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the surgeons had dressed the wound, the two officers seemed to
be quite friendly.
On the Saturday following we received an invitation to join
the Royal party at the historical pageant which was to be held in
the great stadium (Illus. Nos. 42 and 43). The sight was a great
one. It was estimated that sixty thousand people attended. The
royal stand was in the centre of the south side, and thus in the
shade, a fact which we greatly appreciated, because the sun was
pitiless. The discomforts of those on the opposite side must have
been almost intolerable.
Hundreds of characters were represented in each of the
succeeding scenes, which were presented in perfectly arranged
sequence, always with those depicting one period entering the
arena as the characters in the preceding one left it. Thus perfect
continuity of historic events was maintained. As a great spectacular
display the pageant was the most educative I have ever witnessed.
The crowd could not have been better behaved or more perfectly
controlled, and I instinctively felt that if the pageant had been
allowed in any of our cathedral closes it would not have violated
the much-prized sanctity of the Sabbath. On this and every other
occasion on which I accompanied the King, either in the capital
or in the provinces, the greatest enthusiasm for the dynasty
prevailed. At this time, also, there was perfect unanimity between
the King and his Prime Minister. On every occasion when the
King, discussing town planning for Athens, had to make reference
to his Minister, he did so in terms of appreciation. “ You will
find,” he said, “ that M. Venizelos is a very clever man, and
that he has many ideas about the improvement of Athens which
are worthy of consideration.”
Nearly all my interviews with the Queen had reference to the
re-housing of the working classes under conditions of comfort and
decency, and Her Majesty again asked me to include in our plan
ample provision in working-class and industrial districts for
tree-planted spaces with cafés, so that working men and women
might rest under the shade of trees. These objects seemed, so
far as the Queen was concerned, to constitute the beginning and
the end of town planning, and it was agreed that on my return to
England I should immediately prepare a number of housing
proposals for submission and approval pending their arrival at East-
bourne in June. It was also arranged that I should organise a tour
of our best gardens in the south and west of England for theex
TURE
TECT
: ¥
si SRA YIllus. No. 50.
Y
Lp
Ws
A = oad |
kJ Str ET DE LEXTENSON DE LA VILLE
i oe»
A Vy
PLAN PRELIMINAIRE. POUR LA DEVELOPPEMENT.
Mt Dt t TERRAINS DE JUN AVEC UE
i O ATIONGreat Prospects.
benefit of the Crown Prince, afterwards King George, who was as
keenly interested in horticulture as his father.
Before returning home, my son and I again studied the
railway problem for Athens, along with its traffic conditions. In
particular we made an exhaustive study of the railway and tram
systems in relation to each other, and made a rapid survey of all
open spaces and dilapidated properties, as well as the location
for the hotels which M. Venizelos so greatly desired, and toward
which, it was understood, his Government was at this time prepared
to make substantial subsidies.
Before leaving Athens I gave a lecture which was attended
by the King, members of the Royal Family, and many of the
Ministers and heads of Government departments. My principal
object was to endeavour to incite the authorities to secure an
ample water supply, without which, I argued, it was of little use
considering park systems, or even housing extensions; in fact, I told
them that the whole town-planning scheme for the city should
be based upon the provision of utilities for cleanliness and decency.
I found the topic was a live one, so I ventured to point out to the
responsible members of my audience that they had been discussing
the matter, with considerable heat at times, for forty years, that
they had spent large sums of money on experts, but that they were
no further forward, so far as I could see, than they were at the
beginning ; that every successive scheme had been turned down
and another one called for.
My hearers thanked me heartily, and the newspapers likewise
applauded me in their leading articles for the courageous step
I had taken.
Except for a few artesian borings, the only results were the
employment of more experts and the submission of new proposals.
Athenians, now as ever, are in search of ‘ some new thing.” As
I write, ten years have elapsed. Notwithstanding the increased
burdens which the country has had to bear, an efficient water
supply for the capital is now within the sphere of practical politics.
By the 16th of June we were ready to meet their Majesties at
Eastbourne with working drawings for our housing schemes,
which had already been approved in principle. All the types were
to be built in tenement blocks suited to the climate, and with
convenient and even ample accommodation, but lacking some of
those modern utilities which an ample water supply alone could
make possible.
ee
se A i NS
Sere ne
nas238
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
As arranged, I proceeded to Eastbourne, staying at the Grand
Hotel, where the Royal Family always stayed during their much
anticipated annual English holidays. The King did not arrive
for several days, but the Queen’s sister, the Grand Duchess of
Hesse, was there, and all the happy young princes and princesses,
along with a number of court officials whom I had met in Athens.
Our plans were approved and forwarded to Athens for presentation
to the Town Council, who were urged to make an early start on
the vacant ground we had allocated as a housing area.
On the following day I accompanied the Queen and her sister
to the Agricultural Show, where we were shown round the exhibits
by the President and the Committee, who afterwards entertained
us to lunch. On returning to our hotel I was asked to map out
a motor run for the following day, working in visits to country
houses and gardens of interest. I decided to take my clients to
see Lord Brassey’s place, Chelwood Manor, and Mr. Douglas
Freshfield’s new home at Wych Cross, both places being about
an hour and a half’s motor run from Eastbourne. I wired my
clients the same afternoon asking their permission, and both wired
ack a cordial invitation.
We had a luxurious Rolls Royce car, and the Queen and
her sister were charmed with the open country through which we
passed, frequently calling my attention to groups of cottages with
their trim gardens. “I love England,” said the Queen; her
sister did so too. “Do you know, Mr. Mawson,” the Queen
proceeded, * the happiest time of our lives was spent at Frogmore.
Every visit revives those happy memories ; that is why I love my
annual holiday so much.”
On my part I felt depressed, for that morning the news was
most disquieting: Europe was nearing its supreme crisis.
“ Have you seen ‘The Times’ this morning?” I asked.
es, I have,” replied the Queen, “and I know what you are
thinking. You fear that England is going to be at war with
Germany. You are quite wrong, Mr. Mawson. There is going
to be a war, but it will be a war to end once and for ever the eternal
conflict between the Teutons and the Slavs, and not a war between
England and Germany.”
Although subsequent history has proved this prophecy wrong,
there is no doubt that the Queen expressed her honest convictions
upon the situation.
e arrived at Chelwood Manor a little before three, and it
66Great Prospects.
was immediately evident that Lord Brassey and the two Royal
sisters were old friends, and that Lady Brassey also knew her
visitors. The banter and laughter which followed certain references
to my clients’ visit as girls to the “ Sunbeam ”’ were quite delightful.
After the merriment had abated somewhat, Lord and Lady Brassey
conducted their visitors round the house, a beautiful example
of half-timbered work reminiscent of the best old houses in Sussex.
This work was designed by Andrew Prentice, a fact which Lord
Brassey carefully explained, with many complimentary allusions
to his architect.
Then we proceeded to the south terrace to admire the view
over the Downs.
It was one of those dreamy summer days for which our
island is famed. The atmosphere was clear and limpid, and the
sound of the cattle and the sheep broke upon the ear with a sense
of serenity and stillness in accord with the rapture that was all-
pervading. The sunlit groups of dark foliage dappled the varying
greens of the fields, with their shadows melting away into the
blues and purples of the distance. After drinking deep of this feast
of delight, we turned our attention towards the garden, passing
each part in turn—a fragrant flowery way of early roses, long glades
of herbaceous borders (then at their best), then along springy
grass paths bordered with more and more roses, and still more
roses clambering over the pergolas in endless profusion, the birds
and the bees joining in the harmony of it all. Lord Brassey
evidently knew how to set forth the charms of his garden—an
enviable gift. At one place he jocularly made an impressive pause
to explain that this was only a part of Mr. Mawson’s dream, and
in order that we might realise it in its entirety we were told that we
must wait for the times to improve, our host finishing with one of
his amusing smiles, which was received with a burst of banter and
laughter at my expense. Admiring and chatting all the way, we
returned to the house, where tea was laid.
Here Lord Brassey resumed his pleasantries, to the delight
of his visitors. “‘ What a dear old man Brassey is,’ remarked the
Queen, as, after a last wave of the hand, we passed round a bend
in the drive on our way to Wych Cross, where we arrived about
half-past four, to be met by Mr. Douglas Freshfield and his
daughter.
Here a considerable time was spent in the gardens, which
are more extensive and more varied in treatment than those240
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
at Chelwood Manor, and also a little more matured (Illus.
Nos. 17 and 18).
After admiring the gardens we returned to the house, where
tea was again served, conversational inquiries flowing freely
meanwhile as to the history of many rare examples of embroidery
and furniture, especially with regard to a small chest of drawers
beautifully inlaid with ivory, a genuine old example of Sussex
handicraft.
As we motored home, the Queen exclaimed : “‘ Mr. Mawson,
where do these old Englishmen get their manners—they are
inimitable?" A statement with which Her Majesty’s sister
enthusiastically agreed.
The Duchess then said she would be very pleased if I could
arrange to visit her home in Prussia in August, when the German
Crown Prince would be staying there. She expressed her desire
to introduce me to the Prince with a view to my planning his
gardens, as he was building a new house in the English style. This
I regarded as an expression of keen appreciation of the two gardens
we had just seen, and a compliment to myself. Six months later
a sarcastic friend remarked : “* What a pity Willie did not get his
august father to postpone his little war until you had laid out his
garden |”
That same evening | returned to London to make final
preparations for the five days’ tour of the West of England on which
the Greek Princes were to start the next Tuesday morning. To
my intense disappointment I received a telegram from the Court
Chamberlain on the Monday, informing me that urgent business
of state compelled the immediate return of the Royal Family to
Athens.
Again I had the feeling of impending disaster. This time,
however, I felt the calamity was more immediate. I knew that
only matters of the gravest concern could have led to the sudden
change of programme.Illus. No. 51.
Kine ConsTANTINE OF GREECE.CHAPTER XIX.
THE YEAR 1914 ENDS IN DISASTER, AND IN 1915 THE STRUGGLE
CONTINUES.
EFORE. leaving London I had appointments with three of
B my oldest English clients, and in each case received
instructions to go ahead with further important work.
I also met Gordon Selfridge, who told me he intended to purchase
a property near Bournemouth, which he wished me to assist in
developing. I soon realised, as I conversed with Mr. Selfridge,
that this scheme meant one of the biggest private commissions |
had ever been entrusted with. In spite of it all, however, I was so
depressed that even the success of my new work on “ Civic Art”
could not arouse me; and yet I had met four of our nation’s
leaders of commerce who were each evidently assured of security.
Nevertheless, I still felt that disaster was in the air, and that we
would be involved in the welter.
In this mood I returned home to work with my staff, which
had now grown to thirty assistants, mostly young fellows loyal
to their chief and keen in their ideals. The auditor paid his annual
visit, and assured me that the firm was financially sound.
Newspapers and magazine writers were vieing with each other
to prove the absurdity of suspicion. Had not Norman Angell
proved conclusively that only nations that had lost the power of
reasoning would be so mad as to go to war ?. None of these things,
not even absorbing myself in my work, gave me any rest. I felt
that war was inevitable.
So the month of July, 1914, came to an end, my doubts as
to the future ever increasing. Communications between embassies
were constant, and their import became ever more and more
disturbing. The air was electric and vibrating with plot and
counter-plot. So the breathless suspense continued. Some sought
peace diligently, others felt and said that a war would clear the
atmosphere. Some said that the war, if it came, would be over in
241242
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
three months, and end war for all time. A cabinet minister said
that the burden of armaments in Europe was becoming so oppressive
that a conflict would save Europe from ruin by ending for ever
the competition in armaments.
Looking back, it seems to me that of our political leaders
only two really prasped the situation, and both left the Cabinet
at this crisis. They were John Morley and John Burns. * My
dear Mawson, » said the latter, one morning at the National Liberal
Club, “ I want you to write down my prophecy in case this unsettled
state iof affairs ends in war’; and | wrote as follows :—
(1) A war with the Central Powers will last three years.
(2) It will cost us seven thousand million sterling.
(3) We shall lose one million men.
(4) It will end in world revolution.
At the time I regarded this prophecy as an exaggeration uttered
under the pressure of nervous tension. now regard it as the
matured judgment of a remarkable mind. The three first were
exceeded ; the last is being unfolded, page after page, with the
Russian debacle as a commencement, and the nations of Europe
and Asia following in its train.
When, after several depressing days and sleepless nights, I
awoke on the morning of August 4th, 1914, to find that war was
actually declared, I almost felt a sense of relief. The suspense
ad become intolerable, and mentally and physically debilitating.
As I went to the office, the world seemed suddenly to have
come to a standstill, with an entire absence of that purposeful
business hurry to which we are daily accustomed. In its place
there was an awed hush amongst the groups of whispering townsmen
along the kerbstone, whilst knots of women stood at their doors
talking in unusually quiet tones. Then would pass along companies
of young fellows on their way to enlist. Their buoyancy was in
strange contrast to the demeanour of their elders.
Arriving at the office, I found that every unmarried man,
including my third son, James Radcliffe, had marched off to the
Town Hall to enlist—a record in patriotism which I imagine few
offices in the country could surpass. In one sense | was proud of
the fact, yet in another way it was heart-breaking to see the growth
of years and organisation breaking up, with no certainty of its
ever being got together again. Two of my young men were
Quakers, but they joined up, and later one of them won the
Croix-de-Guerre, and the other gave his life.Illus. No 52.
QuEEN SopHIA oF GREECE.The Years 1914 and 1915.
Fortunately for the practice, my eldest son and partner was
rejected on medical grounds; but my second son, who was in
charge of our Canadian work, joined up as soon as the local forces
could arrange for his training.
It followed as a natural sequence that clients from every
quarter immediately wrote stopping all work, or curtailing it
to the smallest dimensions, and so we found there was scarcely
sufficient work in the office for the remaining members of the staff.
The men left to us were those who we knew would be indis-
pensable whenever reconstruction became possible.
Knowing that I would not part with them so long as I was
allowed to retain their services, they, of their own free will and
accord, proposed that their salaries should be cut down by one-third.
This was done in good faith, in the hope of helping the practice
financially, but of course the arrangement soon proved unsound,
for the staff found that with the soaring cost of living they needed
not less, but larger, salaries, and these had to be found somehow.
This expression of their goodwill was very cheering, and I] made
strenuous efforts in return to keep the practice going. There was
still the completion of our plans for Athens, Regina, and Banff
to work upon, whilst several of my clients, both public and private,
with patriotic sentiments, decided to go ahead with certain works,
and thus meet the demand for employment which was keenly
felt during the early part of the war. Foremost amongst these
was Lord Leverhulme.
Thus we could look ahead to a year’s partial employment,
with the compilation and illustration of another book if business
became quiet. I had for some time been collecting material for
two books, and Athens provided material for a third. I actually
mapped out the syllabus for these, and as opportunity occurred
and the staff became available, I made considerable progress with
the illustrations. The titles may be of interest, and suggest
enterprise in directions where I had previously feared to tread.
They were as follows :—
(1) “ Small Houses and Their Gardens.”
(2) “ The Art of Landscape Architecture Applied to the Extension and
Improvement of Towns and Cities.”
(3) “Athens Present and Future: An Account of the Replanning Proposals
for the Capital.’
My publishers urged that none of these works could be
successfully launched until after the war, because it became244
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
abundantly evident, as the war progressed, that the cost of printing
would be absolutely prohibitive—a fact of which I was shortly
to have an unfortunate reminder. Still, as I have remarked, a part
of the MS. and some of the ilustrabienstare ready, and [ trust
that my successors will complete that which I have begun.
The war, with all its horrors, defeats, and triumphs, has been
so ably and graphically portrayed for us that we can, whenever
we are in the mood, live those terrible days over again. My object
here is to show how we, as an organisation whose work had largely
consisted of the creation of luxuries for the rich and amenities for
the poor, adapted ourselves to conditions in which life itself was
cribbed, cabined, and confined. The nation as one man had one
purpos to bend its whole mind and energies to the
successful completion of the herculean task thrust upon it.
As the war proceeded and its proportions were more fully
realised, more and more men were called for, and this call still
further reduced our staff. A hard-working student from the
University at Budapest, though an alien, was allowed to remain
at his work under military oversight, but at the end of six months
he was interned on a fruit farm in Gloucestershire, where he
shortly afterwards died of pneumonia, greatly to the regret of all
who knew him. Then some of the younger married men joined
up, whilst the London and Vancouver offices, having lost their
staff, became mere postal addresses. Soon alll carbone was
concentrated in the Lancaster office, where the attenuated staff
consisted of a lady secretary, a typist, a book-keeper, four men
over military age, two pupils, my son, and myself—eleven all told :
a fairly well-balanced group of workers, wishful to do our bit in
whatever way was best for the nation.
Much in the same way as the American landscape architects
afterwards offered their services to their Government to lay out
the soldiers’ training camps (or cantonments, as they called them),
I felt that we could be of service to the Ministry of Munitions.
The Ministry was at this time laying out a number of munition
villages, such as that at Gretna Green. In a fit of patriotic fervour
I obtained an introduction to the Secretary of the Department
of Construction, who received me as if I were looking for a
contractor’s job. I explained the nature of our organisation, told
him that we were ready and anxious for work, that my son and |
were prepared to give our entire services gratis, and that the Ministry
could take over the staff and offices on its own terms. I left myThe Years 1914 and 1915.
name and address for reference, after being told there was nothing
doing.
After waiting a month I interviewed the Secretary again,
having heard that considerable schemes were in prospect within
an hour’s run of our office, but was told that the work was already
in hand.
At my club I met a young man who had made money out
of the Ministry of Munitions, and who was later knighted for his
“sacrifices.” “‘ Mawson,” he said, “ I heard of that offer of yours ;
but why did you make it? You surely knew it would be rejected !
They knew that you had an organisation which would be useful
to them, but you made it impossible by offering your services
gratis. If you had boldly said, ‘ Gentlemen, I am at your service,
and my terms are two thousand pounds per year, they would
have accepted you on the spot.” ‘This was probably a gross
exaggeration, but my friend’s success gave reasonable colour
to his statement.
Early in the year 1915 my son, James Radcliffe, who had
joined the Pals Brigade of the 5th King’s Own, having completed
his training, was detailed for foreign service. He came home for
a few days, bright, optimistic, and eager, assured we had got the
Germans on the run, and that he would be home again by the
end of June. He left us amid cheers and tears. ‘Then came home
breezy letters, but each succeeding letter a little more wistful
than the last. ‘ Tell father,” he said, “ that our camp is alongside
a nursery half-full of young Scotch firs. If he wants a few thousand
my mates and | can supply him cheap.” In another letter he
said: ‘ The morning is fine and the country beautiful ; every-
where the hedgerows are draped in tenderest green. The birds
are singing their sweetest, oblivious to the horrors of this terrible
war.” And in his last letter he told us: ‘“ The men are splendid,
and beyond all praise. Whatever you and father can do for our
wounded, I am sure you will do—nothing is too good for these
brave fellows.” I give these extracts on account of their sequel.
His end came soon after. He fell near Poperinghe on April
23rd, 1915. So ended one of my fondest hopes, for he had a
wonderful grasp of the possibilities of his profession. He was
just ready to complete his studies in architecture at the Ecole de
Beaux Arts, after which I looked to his joining the firm and taking
an active part in its development, especially on the horticultural
side, for which he had a real genius. He also possessed irresistibleIllas. No. 53.
LOOKING EAST
SHEWING>
CIVIC CENTRE
CAMPANILE :The Years 1914 and 1915.
charm of manner, and was at the same time a diplomat who
generally got his way. I might, for instance, send into his room a
draft for the planting of a rose garden. In half an hour he would
come into my room smiling, and exclaiming: “ What a splendid
idea that is for her ladyship’s rose garden. She will be pleased ;
but don’t you think we ought to give them another three inches.
You see, father, the soil is a strong loam.’ To which I would
reply, ““ I think you are right.” Then he would proceed : “ Don't
you think we ought to fill two of the beds with Madame Lavery,
and these with Lady Ashtown ? And don’t you think that Scarlet
Rambler standards are rather coarse >’ And so when he returned
to his own room he had got my permission to reconstruct the
whole plan and arrangement.
And he was a humorist.
‘* What do you think of Herkomer’s portrait of your father ? ”’
asked a lady visitor.
p It is just splendid, and so life-like that I often talk
Talk to it, Cliffe? Whatever do you say?”
And, clasping his hands in the attitude of appeal, he replied :
““T say, ‘ Please, father, give me a rise. ”’ And next week and
onwards his allowance envelope contained an extra five shillings.
I might tell many many more such stories, but must keep
them locked up as sacred memories.
His last letter home, from which I have quoted, now became
a command. It called for action for the wounded, who were
returning in vast numbers, and a large proportion of whom were
rendered unfit to follow their former occupations. It seemed to
my wife and | that herein lay our opportunity for the organisation
of suitable employment under those ideal conditions which we
felt a grateful country would seek to provide. Thus the death
of my son was the starting point of an enterprise which for three
years taxed my energies and resources to their utmost. To this
self-imposed task I must devote a special chapter.
Early in the year I had been requested by Sir Vesey Strong,
on the recommendation of Mr. John Burns, to submit a scheme
for the King Edward Memorial Park on the site of the old Market,
Shadwell, which had been acquired for the purpose. Sir Vesey,
the Chairman of the Memorial Committee, ‘said in his brisk,
jolly way, “ You ought to know, Mr. Mawson, that we have had
several schemes presented to us, but as they are all inferior to
to it248
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
what I can do myself, I thought we would have another try. That's
why we have asked you to help us.”
In July, 1915, I presented our plans, along with a well-
illustrated report. The solution pleased the Chairman and his
Committee so much that, as he told me, they would like to carry
it out at once, but the Government ban on employing workpeople
for other than specified work made this impossible. Then Sir
Vesey died, and the Committee finally passed over their
responsibilities to the London County Council, to whom I offered
my designs as a gift. I was, however, curtly informed by the
Chairman of the Parks Committee that they had their own landscape
gardeners. To this I replied that what I was offering was the
work of a landscape architect, and not that of a landscape gardener.
The poor man did not know the difference.Illas. No. 54.
| |
Hi
|
iif - :
I; its
| VILLAGE HOSTELRY
HosTEL FOR DISABLED SOLDIERS’ VILLAGE.
Illus. No. 55.
| i | RECREATION|, CLUB
(i VIEW | OF THE! PAVILION
\ i. h | ——
Sports PAVILION FOR DisABLED SOLDIERS’ VILLAGE,CHAPTER XX.
MY LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.
of my son’s last letter, which was to take shape in a scheme of
industrial villages for disabled service men. This scheme,
when formulated, I presented to the secretaries of the Ministry
of Pensions. Receiving no encouragement from that quarter, |
determined to see what could be done privately, and so I had
about thirty copies of the prospectus and report bound up and
posted to influential men in England and in Canada, with the
intention of inviting discussion upon the problems involved.
After posting the Canadian copies, | notified each recipient that
I would most likely follow up the report with a visit, as I had
promised the King of Greece that I would make a tour of America
to deliver a series of lectures on “ Athens, Past, Present, and
Future,” although my lecturing tour would not be confined to
this subject. King Constantine wished to popularise amongst
American Greeks the remodelled capital, and I was to advertise
these lectures as being delivered with the approval of their Majesties.
The King regarded the solidarity of his subjects in all lands, and
their love of their mother-country, as remarkable. He recounted
many instances of this patriotic feeling shown during the Balkan
war
| HAVE already referred to my self-imposed task, in pursuance
My wife and I left England for our last trip to America early
in October, sailing by the St. Paul, thus minimising submarine
risks, as America was still neutral. ‘The voyage was a long one,
the weather stormy, and the boat uncomfortably crowded.
My lecture agent had booked engagements at Columbia,
Harvard, Michigan, Illinois, and Toronto Universities, and at
several of the larger colleges for girls, including Mrs. Finch’s
school in New York, and those at Vassar and at Weston; along
with populous centres, such as Cleveland.
249Illus. No. 56.
a
7a
2 oe %
~ Boze
E 5 i Baca
3c, sy>
Sees Ze
Bac s
s8535-95
steacn 22 f
dds
6ee-2
3’ LONDON
THOMAS H MAWSON & SOND
HiGn
neMy Last Visit to America.
The university lectures were a great success. They served
to seal the old friendships and opened many new ones. It was
pleasant for us to see in the schools prints of my Herkomer portrait
hanging in a central position, and my published works being used
as text-~books.
My wife and I were both delighted with Vassar, which is the
most complete girls’ educational colony I have ever seen. Readers
of ““ Daddy Long Legs ” will have an idea of its atmosphere, for
it is at Vassar that the scenes in this charming story are set. You
realise that the plot is laid in Vassar immediately you pass through
the gatehouse into the College grounds.
The two lectures I was asked to deliver here were on “ English
Gardens.” For these my slides and illustrations had been chosen
with the greatest care, and with due regard to pictorial effect.
There must have been over four hundred girls at each lecture.
Their ages ranged from 16 to 20, and a brighter, happier, and more
enthusiastic lot of young maidens I had never previously met.
For the most part strong in mind and in body, they delighted me
greatly with their sense of humour, every subtle joke and quaint
allusion being appreciated.
At the Weston Ladies’ College I had a very embarrassing
experience, for which I must partly blame myself. I was told that
I was expected to give one lecture on Greece, and given to under-
stand that I should cover as much ground as possible in the time
at my disposal. This school prides itself on its classical studies,
and when, after tea, I discussed the lecture with the Principal, I
found that the impression had been given that I was an archeologist.
My knowledge of archeology is but an elementary one, and that
mostly on those aspects which relate to ancient forms of city
planning. In vain I explained that, whilst I thought I could lecture
interestingly and helpfully on Athens, past, present, and future, as
a city planner, I would fail if I spoke from any other point of view.
The result was disappointing. I made every effort to be interesting,
but I never got the grip of my audience, who wanted minute studies
of ancient architecture, whereas my purpose was to state the why
and the wherefore of Athens as a whole.
At the close of the lecture, questions were asked which by
their import only tended to prove how far I was removed in spirit
and outlook from these budding archeologists. This is the sort
of question which was asked: “ Was the lecturer correct in
describing the Erecthion as being on the north side of the Acropolis ?252
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
And could he tell us what was the position of the camera and the
time of day when the photographs were taken? Otherwise, we
cannot understand the angle of the projected shadows.”
Through no fault of my own, admittedly I failed. All the
same, I was disappointed when the cashier handed me a cheque
for half my arranged fee, telling me bluntly that was all I had
earned.
Precisely the same lecture, illustrated by the same slides, was
given before a select audience of one hundred and fifty at the
residence of Walter Cottingham, of Cleveland, Ohio, and, judging
from the appreciation shown by my audience, it proved the
most interesting lecture of the whole trip. We have here the
point of view of a company of school girls immersed in the
meticulous details of classical Athens, as distinct from that of
an audience of widely read and travelled people. There are
lecturers who, with half a dozen hastily prepared notes, can
entertain almost any audience, but I doubt whether such cleverness
would gain half-fees with a specialised girls’ school. For me the
preparation of a lecture is a serious exercise, and one that cannot
be adapted at a moment's notice.
At Harvard I lectured to the School of Business Administration,
under the presidency of Professor Gay, on “ The Commercial
Value of Beauty,” and the lecture was greatly appreciated. [ gave
the same lecture before the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, with
only partial success. Again the difference was in the audience,
and not in the lecturer. I am convinced that for a lecturer to
attain success it is essential that he possess the oratorical faculty
and the mental agility wherewith to win the interest of his audience
in the first ten minutes. This done, he may stick closely to his
manuscript, provided he read clearly with due emphasis and
expression. In my later lectures I studied this aspect of my work,
and left myself free to feel the pulses of my audience before
entering upon the more serious part of my subject.
Mr. Henry Vivian, for some time member of Parliament for
Birkenhead, and a pioneer housing reformer, was one of those
gifted lecturers who had to a remarkable degree the power of
winning over an audience. Sometimes this was attained by an
amusingly audacious trick. During a visit to Toronto he was
asked to lecture on ‘‘ Garden Cities.” Before the lecture, he
visited, photographed, and made slides of the worst social and
housing conditions to be found in the city. He arranged mattersMy Last Visit to America.
so that his Toronto slides would follow a number of introductory
he of English slum conditions. He began something like
this :
‘Tt is my painful duty to show by photographic slides some
of the conditions which make the Old Country a by-word and
reproach amongst social reformers. If I had depended on artistic
drawings, you would have said they were treasonable exaggerations ;
but the camera cannot lie. So terrible are the subjects chosen
that it would be an unpardonable lack of patriotism to show them
anywhere outside the Empire.”’
He then introduced, in a descending scale of squalid conditions,
twenty slides, each of which he eloquently described in his inimitable
manner. When he reached the twentieth slide he stopped as if
he had exhausted his vocabulary. Then, as if embarrassed, he
said, in a subdued voice: ‘‘ Ladies and gentlemen, | owe you
an apology. The last eight slides are Toronto slums, and not
London slums.” Consternation reigned for a time, until the
audience saw through his subtlety; then they broke out into
loud and prolonged peals of laughter. He knew then that he had
touched the moral sense of his large audience, and he used the
opportunity to finish the lesson.
‘In England,” he added, “there are reasonable excuses.
We are an old country; we have come into a heritage of bad
conditions. But this much I am proud to say—we are all the
time trying to remedy these conditions, and the modern garden
city is one of the proofs indicating that we realise our responsibilities.
What can you say in excuse for the slum conditions in Toronto,
which you have created in your own life-time, and for which you
are therefore entirely responsible ? ”
On my first visit to Toronto people were still talking about
Vivian’s lecture, and I am sure that it was he who first implanted
the desire for better housing conditions and for town-planning
legislation in that city. It was after his visit that the churches
undertook a drastic survey of social conditions.
On this visit to America I had the great pleasure of meeting
at the Illinois University Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mulford Robinson,
of Rochester. Mr. Robinson is the author of the most delightful
works on modern civic art in the English language. ‘These were
followed by other pleasing readable works on street planning and
cognate subjects. Mrs. Robinson accompanied her husband on
many of his tours, and was just as keen a student of city-planning254
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
problems. It is generally understood that she assisted him
in the compilation of data and the preparation of MS. for the
press. The esteem in which I held Mr. Robinson had led to a
regular correspondence between us some time before I first met
the distinguished writer.
At the Illinois University the students of city planning are
for the most part post-graduates in landscape architecture, and the
professors in both departments (namely, the City Planning and the
Landscape Architecture) joined forces to secure me as special
lecturer. Robinson and his wife worked in the classroom, and
naturally won, by their assiduity and encouragement, the affection
of every student. They seemed to be the foster-parents of a
peculiarly live set of students, all of whom, I am sure, look back
with pleasure to the time they spent with their scholarly and
genial professor, whose career was so soon to come to an end.
Having undertaken the trip partly to escape from the depressing
war atmosphere, we accepted many social engagements, staying
for a week at Springfield, Mass., as the guest of Dr. Sylvester
Mawson, a philologist, best known as the editor of the greatly
enlarged new edition of Roget’s Thesaurus, the vade mecum of
every writer. At this time he was one of the revising editors of
Webster’s International Dictionary.
We went to Springfield for a rest, but as the American
newspaper man was on the scent for copy, I was soon found out
in my retreat, and induced, without fee, to say what I thought about
the beauties of Springfield and the possibilities which it offered
for becoming America’s most beautiful city. This interview
occupied pages in the chief local newspaper, along with rough
sketches for a new civic centre, parks, and boulevards. Since my
visit a comprehensive city-planning scheme has been promoted.
From Springfield we returned to New York, where | lectured
to encouraging audiences on Athens. I also gave many interviews
to newspaper men, and in connection with one of these | had a
very pleasant expenienee! My friend, John O’Hara Cosgrave, one
of the editors of the ““ New York World,” told me that his friend
the managing editor of the Munsey papers wished to see me at
his office. Accordingly I called upon Mr. Davis, the aforesaid
gentleman—a jovial, great-hearted man, who seemed to radiate good-
fellowship. He put me at my ease by saying he knew all about
my work. “ But why don’t you allow us to fix you up in America ? ’
he said. ‘‘ What I really want to say to you, Mr. Mawson, is thatMy Last Visit to America.
I would like to print an interview with you on Athens in the “ New
York Sun.” If you will allow me I will send round one of my young
men to see you at nine in the morning.” To this I readily agreed.
Prompt to time, a neat young man arrived, quiet in tone and
manner, very unlike the type I expected ; but I soon discovered
that he was an expert at his work. After an introduction, he said :
“Now, Mr. Mawson, I suggest that we should first of all look
through your photographs and drawings, make a selection, and
then with these as our basic factor you can tell me your story.’
For two hours we talked about Athens, past, present, and
future, but concentrating largely on the latter. My interviewer
made copious notes meanwhile, referring now and again to the
illustrations to make quite sure that he thoroughly understood the
position. “ Now,’’ said he, “* I understand, and you can be assured
of an attractive: illustrated article and’ a readable anterview!
thank you for your patience and courtesy, and will do my best to
produce a bit of newspaper journalism of which you will approve.
The full-page article which appeared at the week-end was
by far and away the best bit of newspaper journalism I had hitherto
seen. The facts were mine, but the form, order, and phraseology
were those of the interviewer.
On Monday morning I called on Mr. Davis to thank him
for such a splendid piece of work. “Mr. Mawson,” he said, “ I
wish you would tell my young friend what you have told me. |
never lose an opportunity of giving praise where it is due, especially
where a young man is concerned. It will mean so much to him
to have your appreciation, and he will write all the better for it.’
No wonder the old chief was so popular with his staff !
Whilst in New York I undertook for the ““ New York World ”
a long article on the parks and gardens of that city, with suggestions
for their extension and improvement. This was an important
piece of work, which to my surprise won the enthusiastic approval
of the Chief Commissioner of Parks, who placed his car at my
service and accompanied me on my itinerary survey. These
articles necessitated days of strenuous work and several long
evenings’ writing.
The following week-end we spent with Miss McCary Thomas,
the famous President of Bryn Mawr, a splendidly designed ladies’
college occupying an enviously Blevatedisialine school buildings
were in good Tudor, or Collegiate Gothic, as they call it in America.
The details, I understood, had been drawn by Miss Thomas256
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
during her holidays in England and Wales. Seldom have I seen
such faithful imitations, even the rough texture which results
from age having been faithfully reproduced. It was at Bryn Mawr
that President Woodrow Wilson started his career as a teacher,
conducting the classes in literature and history for six years. At
this time there was no indication of his future greatness. The
pride of the College people in the fact that the President had
started his career with them, was discounted by their deprecatory
remarks regarding his tardiness in entering the war, since America
stood aloof at this time.
On the Sunday we took a motor trip to the battlefield of Fort
William, where so much American history had been made. On
our way Miss Thomas told us an interesting story of the late
Lord Bryce, an old friend who just before his return to England
paid the College a farewell visit. As in our case, it had been
arranged to take him over this same historical ground ; “ but on
this occasion,” said Miss Thomas, “I thought I ought to have
the best historical authority procurable. I thought indeed that
as a student of history your Ambassador would appreciate this
little consideration, and so he did. But not in the manner expected,
for within half an hour of our arrival at the Fort the teacher had
become the scholar, and the scholar the teacher. And what a
remarkable tutor he was,” continued Miss Thomas. “So graphic
were his descriptions of the opposing forces that we were almost
able to repeople the ground with moving armies and revisualise
America’s greatest drama. Yes, Mr. Mawson,’ concluded Miss
Thomas, ‘‘-Lord Bryce knew more about our history than we even
knew ourselves.’’
Our week-end at Bryn Mawr was in every way a delightful
and instructive visit. To see Sargent’s portrait of Miss McCary
homas was alone worth a visit.
Shortly after my return home I met Lord Bryce one night
at the National Liberal Club, and told him the story of our visit
to Bryn Mawr and its sequel. He was evidently pleased, but
modestly remarked: ‘“‘ Mr. Mawson, I can only give the reply
which Mr. Gladstone once gave on a similar occasion, Appreciation
is apt to become exaggerated.’ ”’
The last time I met Miss McCary Thomas was in July, 1920,
in Athens, where she was investigating, amongst other things, the
site which had been purchased for an American School of
Archeology for lady students.My Last Visit to America.
During our travels we had ample opportunities of estimating
America’s attitude towards the war, and particularly towards this
country, and it was pleasant to realise that the educated classes
were overwhelmingly in favour of intervention. Occasionally the
opposition was manifest. Once at a cinema in New York, when a
film was shown of the submarine which had arrived from Germany,
landing at Boston, there was round after round of applause, in
which there was quite sufficient evidence of opposition to make
the occasion a very unpleasant experience. In Chicago, where
the Germans tried a vigorous propaganda campaign, the resentment
was rather acute. Most of the literature published by the German
bureau was clumsily compiled, defeating its ends by its
exaggerations, which could not deceive any educated person ; yet
it had the desired effect upon the Teutonic element so strongly in
evidence in Western cities.
Before completing our tour we made another visit to Ottawa,
where we were entertained by many old friends, including Sir Robert
and Lady Borden, with whom we had breakfast, afterwards
discussing the war and my proposals for assisting disabled men.
Sir Robert said he had been so impressed with the possibilities
which I had outlined, that he had sent my proposals to the head
of the department responsible for the care of the military, and
had arranged an interview for that afternoon. This appointment
I kept, and was gratified with the evident care given to the study
of my report, and the possibility of applying its recommendations
to Canada.
For our return journey we could only secure berths on an
English ship, the Orduna, a well-appointed liner which had had
a remarkable run of luck. Sailing from New York on the 16th
of December, the ship carried comparatively few passengers, the
first-class numbering only forty, there being a few more in the
second-class. There was quite a heavy cargo of produce. We
hoped to reach Liverpool in time for Christmas, but did not arrive
until the day following.
The Germans had already made their crossing by commercial
submarines, and there was grave suspicion that their naval
submarines had approached very near to New York Harbour. In
consequence, there was considerable nervousness amongst the
passengers, which was intensified by the prophecies of a lady in
the second-class. These prophecies seemed to affect the ship’s
officers even more than the passengers, and I well remember the
8258
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
captain telling me one night at dinner that he had spent the most
miserable day of his life. ‘‘ You know, of course, about the lady
who is prophesying disaster? Well, her prophecies have got on
the nerves of my officers and men. She says we are all to go to the
bottom on Sunday, and she is the only one who will be saved.
“Could you not take drastic action under D.O.R.A., and
drown the lady, thus reversing the order and so breaking the
spell?’ I asked.
‘Oh, I am not afraid,” said the captain. But, all the same,
he looked uncomfortable.
As Sunday drew on, the tension became almost intolerable,
and in the evening we all foregathered in the lounge, keeping an
eye on the clock, and not till the hour of midnight had struck did
we retire to rest.
On arrival in Liverpool I saw the false prophetess leaning
over the deck railings looking very uncomfortable, and evidently
desirous to evade the passengers. She had been made to feel her
unpopularity in the interim between the momentous Sunday and
our arrival.5
=
>
3)
>
a
a,
Q
es
i
=
—
<
mo
A
i
x
QO.CHAPTER XXI.
INDUSTRIAL VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS FOR DISABLED SOLDIERS.
REGARD the organisation of disabled service men into
| self-supporting communities as the best piece of constructive
policy I have promoted. The inception of the idea has already
been recorded ; its practical début was as follows :
One evening in December, 1915, I was dining with two
officials from the Ministry of Pensions, to whom I outlined my
ideas of creating villages replete with industries, handicrafts, and
horticultural pursuits, for the shattered men thrown upon the
nation as the aftermath of war. I made a strong plea for the
old-fashioned handicrafts and trades wherein the work carries its
own interest, as opposed to the modern factory system, where
work is subdivided into infinitesimally small fractions, as dull
and uninteresting as can be. These villages were not necessarily
to be new, but I suggested that in the first instance one or two
of our old-world villages should be devoted to the rearing of young
trees to replete the areas deforested by the war. Another village,
new or old, might be devoted to the growing of flowers, or, where
suitable, to the creating of bulb farms, or to osier-growing and
basket-making, such open-air occupations being provided for
tubercular or shell-shock men. Another village could be devoted
to the making of small proprietary articles of woodwork ; another,
to the scientific manufacture of black-lead pencils, an industry
suited to legless men; another, to the printing of artistic books
for children, with high-class illustrations. Here was scope for
literary and artistic men. At another village could be made
artistic dolls. I also described a set of town-planning models,
or of toys made to scale, by which the young could be initiated
in arranging model villages.
My enthusiasm must have been contagious, for my guests
requested me to crystallise my remarks, and they would bring the
259260
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
report before their chief. They pointed out that of course the
Government were granting pensions, and had shops where the
men were taught useful trades, but the authorities had no schemes
for opening out vistas of future employment, or for the building
of houses, which were scarce even then. During the night I
arranged my ideas in logical sequence, and in the morning dictated
them to my secretary, spontaneous and complete, whilst the iron
was hot, and sent the first copies to my friends at the Ministry.
The reply received in the early weeks of 1916 stated that the report
had been submitted to the chief of the Department, who objected
because the proposals were based upon segregation, to which
the Government were strongly opposed.
Everyone who has had experience of Government methods
knows that departmental chiefs keep a plentiful assortment of such
labels, by which they stave off troublesome people with practical
ideas who wish to enlighten their darkness. They adopt nothing
until it has proved itself a success by private experience.
However, I felt that I knew my work better than these chiefs
of Government departments selected for short terms as an award
for their political astuteness, and determined that, having put
my hand to the plough, | would drive the furrow through.
The word “ segregation’ had been plentifully besmirched :
the Pensions officials had seen to that, and for a time it met me
everywhere. I was assiduous in proclaiming my scheme in season
and out of season, no matter what the reception, yet everywhere
the inevitable retort was “ segregation.” In vain did I point out
to one group that the whole of our communal life was based on
the principle of segregation from the cradle to the grave—that we
segregate ourselves into sects to worship one God ; in the National
Liberal Club we were a segregation of Liberals, and across the
Park was a segregation of Conservatives, both segregations having
in view the advancement of one State; that I had just travelled
from Bolton, where the population was segregated to produce
cotton yarn ; that every time | travelled to London I passed through
Crewe, Rugby, and Northampton, the first-mentioned town having
a population segregated for the production and repair of railway
stock, the second a segregation of boys under educational discipline,
the third a population segregated to make boots for the men at
Crewe and for the boys at Rugby! Finally, on my arrival in
London, if I wished to consult a doctor, I found a segregation of
medical men installed in Harley Street and Wimpole Street.261
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers.
But fighting Government objections is like waging war with
the hydra-headed monster of mythology—for every head you
chop off, three come in its place.
Notwithstanding my protests, the word stuck, and I became
known as the man who wanted to segregate our soldiers and
sailors.
Another form of objection, evidently intended to deflect me
from my purpose, was first intimated to me by the Chief of the
Pensions Department.
““Mr. Mawson,” he said, “there is no problem of
unemployment amongst disabled service men. Every man who
can work can find a dozen jobs.”
“Yes, I admit,” I replied, “ at present any man with one
finger capable of pressing an electric button can find work at a
living wage. It is not for the present time, but for peace conditions
that we propose to legislate.”
Opposition only increased my determination. I saw that my
case must be put in an attractive form before the public, so with
set purpose I decided to write a book describing the proposal in
its broader aspects, fully illustrated with plans, perspective drawings,
and also thumb-nail sketches, to set forth the many-sidedness of
my proposals. The cost, quite apart from printing and binding,
and the time taken to prepare it for the press, was considerable.
The first edition of six hundred copies, published under the
title, ““ An Imperial Obligation,” with ‘ Industrial Villages for
Partially Disabled Service Men” as a sub-title, was circulated
privately in February, 1917. These were sent to members of the
Royal Family, Ministers, and important members of both Houses
of Parliament, to church dignitaries, poets, writers, artists, leaders
of industry and commerce, mayors of boroughs, and also to
Colonial Premiers and foreign ambassadors in London, with
requests for criticism and suggestions.
he response was amazing, and for the most part encouraging.
Almost every Minister, with the exception of Mr. Lloyd George
(who was otherwise engaged) and one or two previously noted,
sent me their congratulations, as did also the bishops and leaders
of the churches, university professors, great soldiers, writers, and
men of affairs, all urging me to go ahead with my project, and
some offering financial help. The only criticisms offered were
of the “ segregation’ order—the dying echoes of the Ministry
of Pensions.262
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
It is possible to select only four short quotations from this
correspondence, and these are typical of the remainder :—
Lorp LANSDOWNE wrote :
We ought all of us to be grateful to those who make, as you have made, a
determined effort to grapple with the difficulties of the problems which will have
to be solved in dealing with our disabled soldiers. . . . I do not think we should
get on at all unless we had dreamers amongst us, and your “ dream "’ seems to
me a very bright and attractive one.
GENERAL SIR WILLIAM RoBERTSON :
I can assure you that any practical solution for meeting the necessities and
deserts of the men who have fought in the war has my utmost sympathy and best
wishes for success.
JoHN OXxENHAM :
I agree absolutely. . . . If your fine scheme can be carried out, it may save
Britain from some of the evil times which I fear await her when the settlement
comes, which may be more of an unsettlement than anything we have yet seen in
this country. . . . Every good wish to your great work. Carry it through somehow
and you will deserve well of the world.
HERBERT Storey, D.C.L. :
Your scheme attracts me so much that, with the approval of other members
of my family, I propose to make possible a practical beginning by offering as a gift
the residence of my father, the late Sir Thomas Storey, along with fifteen acres of
excellent building land on which to erect cottages and workshops. The only
condition I make is that preference should be given to Lancaster men and any
disabled member of the 5th King’s Own Regiment.*
Such letters were sufficient spur for continued effort. Scores
of others might be quoted, unanimous in urging me to go ahead.
Here was evidence that the best-informed minds in the country
were alive to the need for a great voluntary effort, which I still
hoped might win the commendation of the Ministry of Pensions.
The hope, as appears later, was doomed to be a false one.
From the first the Minister of Pensions damned the scheme
with faint praise, whilst the chief secretaries were hostile.
he book was revised, the new edition containing a new
chapter compiled from the mass of criticism and appreciation,
in order to stimulate further effort. Then we lost six precious
months in the hope that Lloyd George would consent to write
a foreword. Many influential friends, including men who were
in close, almost daily, contact with the great man, used all their
persuasive powers to obtain an invaluable service, but failed.
Possibly he was obsessed with “ segregation.”
* The value of this gift, which is admirably situated opposite the well-known
Giant Axe Field, and within three minutes’ walk of the principal railway station,
is at least £15,000.263
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers.
At this juncture someone inquired if we had approached
Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. The suggestion was at once
acted upon, and I received the following sympathetic response :
General Headquarters B.E.F.,
Dear Mr. Mawson, France.
While I greatly appreciate your kindness in sending me advance proofs of
your book, “ An Imperial Obligation,” I regret that, so far, my many engagements
have prevented my giving them the attention I hope to at no very distant date,
for I feel that the subject which you have tackled, the amelioration of the lot of
those of our countrymen on whom this war has placed the dreadful burden of
life-long disablement, is not only the most worthy to which it is possible to bend
one’s energies, but one which should receive immediate attention if we are to be
ready for the emergency before it becomes overwhelming.
This much, however, I can say as a‘ Foreword.” to your book: Any scheme
honestly conceived and energetically and skilfully pursued for such a cause, Is one
which I feel confident will command the practical sympathy of our countrymen,
and, as such, will have my hearty approval.—Yours faithfully,
2|st June, 1917. (Sgd.) D. Haic, F.M.
The second edition of “An Imperial Obligation”” was a much
more attractive book than the first, and to this improvement my
secretary as literary editor, and my son as illustrator, contributed
considerably. Mr. Louis Raemakers also contributed an appealing
cartoon— The Wounded Soldier Looking Into the Future.”
Whilst awaiting the publication, I spent nearly the whole
of my time in getting together an interim organisation, with an
executive committee, primarily for the purpose of investigating
any openings for promoting the interests of disabled men in need
of homes and suitable employment, and the promotion of
settlements or colonies, as recommended in my book. The success
of my efforts to provide the nucleus of an organisation that would
command respect is shown by the following print of our first
note-heading : «hy
AM y,
INDUSTRIAL VILLAGES & SETTLEMENTS
PARTIALLY DISABLED SOLDIERS & SAILORS.
Interim Committee dealing with the Work of Preliminary Investigation
WARWICK H.DRAPER » THOMAS H. MAWSON; WALTER S.ROWNTREE; CORDON SELFRIDGE;
HERBERT L.STOREY; S.WARING; WILLIAM H.WHITING,CB
Treasurer:
Lorp AVEBURY 32,Orchard Street,
Joint Secretaries: Oxford Street,
Wittiam HILL
JAMES CROSSLAND
LONDON.w.1264
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
A fund of about £1,500 was subscribed for working expenses.
Excellent offices were provided by Mr. Gordon Selfridge in
Orchard Street, rent free, and these were handsomely furnished
and decorated by Mr. Samuel Waring at his own charge.
Then came the publication of “ An Imperial Obligation,”
which was sent out to a large number of editors, who’gave the work
a splendid notice. These notices included leading articles in the
great London dailies and the more important provincial newspapers,
and special articles contributed by some of our best known
journalists to the most influential magazines and reviews. The
general tenor of these articles may be best shown by the following
short extracts :—
Mr. Mawson’s scheme . . . is both ideal and practical—The Times.
Here is the book of a dream made practical_—The Morning Post.
It is to be hoped that Mr. Mawson’s book will achieve the success it richly
deserves, both by reason of its inherent interest and the objects it has in view.—
The Daily Telegraph.
ere is no mere visionary: his eye knoweth what his hand can achieve.—
The Daily Chronicle.
The principles and proposals alike to be found in these pages are full of
that new conception of what life means, which is one of the most lasting
compensations the war has brought us.—The Observer.
Such a scheme as Mr. Mawson’s, if properly executed, would, by the creation
of an exceptionally favourable environment, help to increase the fruits of the work
of the recuperative and training organisations a hundredfold——The Manchester
Guardian.
Mr. Mawson’s project is a well-thought-out plan destined to meet the necessity
for fulfilling in a spirit of the greatest generosity our duty to our mutilated country-
men.—The Scotsman.
Most of the approving reviewers dwelt too much upon
“ the dream ”’—the theme of the first chapter; consequently the
three succeeding chapters, which dealt respectively with “ The
Business,” “ The Finance,” and ‘‘ The Retrospect,” were not
accorded their full weight and importance. The purpose was not
merely to erect a stage whereon to project the disabled soldier as
an appeal to charity, but to set forth a complete circle of reciprocal
life, with its flow and return augmenting the national river, since
it was a scheme to supply nothing more than commonplace
necessities. ‘The pensions were part livelihood which, together
with a modicum of generosity for a start, would have launched
the enterprise.
As a town planner having to deal with sociological and
collective schemes of habitation every day, and having made a265
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers.
wide study of village life, both industrially and in the matter of
habitations and gardens, I could give the assurance that once
the initial support was forthcoming the professional guidance
and the handicrafts would not be behindhand. Being an old
member of the Art Workers’ Guild, I knew that its members
(who represent the best-informed minds of all the principal arts
.and crafts in the country) could be relied upon for advice, help,
and support.
To show how this town-planning experience came into
operation, I give the plans of a suggested model village from
“An Imperial Obligation”’ (Illus. No. 56), and the two perspective
views (Illus. Nos. 54 and 55) show parts of this latter village.
At this time the domestic policy of the country was concen-
trated on housing. Why not, therefore, I argued, begin by housing
the wounded men and their families in these villages—say, twenty
to fifty families in each, providing for their training and employment
in those crafts dependent upon the building trade? ‘Thus one
village colony could be devoted to the making of lead lights and
ornamental glazing; another colony to the making of fibrous
plaster for plain and decorative work; another, to fitments
for plumbers, and so on, the whole grouped together for publicity,
collection of orders, and the distribution of finished products
through some central place in the adjoining town.
This is regional planning for the purpose of production and
distribution. This plan would have involved very limited
segregation.
A study of this plan will show that no detail of the ideal
model village was omitted. It is complete in every necessity of
the ideal village community. The examples were not intended
for exact reproduction, but to illustrate principles, and incidentally
to prove the advantage of logical planning.
Our chief object, in which we failed, was to induce the Ministry
of Pensions to see the possibilities of constructive effort on behalf
of the wounded service men. What a splendid result might have
been secured if Government villages like Gretna Green, now
partially derelict, had been planned with a view to the reception of
wounded men and their families at the end of the war, and the
establishment of suitable industries.
The outcome of all these press notices, and the further publicity
which was given to the subject by the clergy and public speakers
(political and otherwise), was many requests for the plans of266
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
operations. Several preliminary committees were set up in many
parts of the country, who sought affiliation with the “ London
Interim Committee.” This led to voluminous correspondence and
daily interviews, the Committee having one or more sittings
each week to deal with the more important matters arising
therefrom.
In the meantime our deeds of association were formulated—
a rather formidable task, involving prolonged interviews with our
solicitors and counsel, who worked without fee or reward. Then
came the consideration of rules of association for societies seeking
affiliation, and rules for their constitution.
Meanwhile, Government Departments in allied countries
and the Overseas Dominions sent for further copies of the book,
and advice on the best manner of carrying out the recommendations
contained therein.
At the same time, many people, including the late Princess
Christian, who sent for an extra dozen copies, also began to
interest themselves in our work. Property owners began to make
inquiries, sometimes with a view to presenting a site for a village,
more often with a desire to sell us one. Then came letters from
owners of small industries and processes which they thought could
be adapted to the capacities of wounded men. Many of these
offers were exceedingly attractive, and were investigated and
reported upon. ‘The properties were generally inspected by
Mr. Storey and myself, but we very soon found that the whole
of this detail work could not be undertaken by the central office,
but that, on the contrary, every scheme should be promoted
and partly financed by a strong local committee like the one
already founded for the promotion of the Westfield Village at
Lancaster.
Nevertheless, the Central Committee hoped that by liberal
public support and subsidies from the Government they would
be able to help these local committees materially, and also to advise
them upon the planning and industries suited to the colonies.
We also decided to promote interest in our proposals in important
county centres, and accordingly arranged lectures, to be illustrated
by many interesting slides.
The first lecture was given by one of the secretaries, to an
influential gathering called by the Town Clerk of a western town,
under the chairmanship of a noble lord who was the largest land-
owner in the county. It was illustrated by many plans of suggested267
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers.
colonies, including the one at Lancaster. This was followed by
a conference attended by the local representative of the Ministry
of Pensions, who declared that he was instructed to say that his
department was entirely opposed to the scheme outlined in
“An Imperial Obligation.”
It will be readily understood that the Committee were naturally
much discouraged by this Ministerial attitude, carried to the
point of protests at our meetings ; and to bring about a better
understanding they sought interviews with the Ministry—first with
the Rt. Hon. George Barnes, and later with the Rt. Hon. John
Hodge. Appointments were made, but nothing resulted. The
Secretaries always took up the same unvarying attitude of hostility
to the project as before mentioned.
We had now arrived at a period in our development when,
if we were to make a big forward movement, we needed the financial
support of the public. In response to an appeal with this object,
we had many replies from potential subscribers, unfortunately
not containing cheques, but asking one of three questions—
(1) Does the Ministry of Pensions approve of your proposals ?
(2) Is your organisation propagandist or constructive ?
(3) Where are your soldiers’ villages to which you ask us to subscribe, and
can we see them?
If to the first we replied “‘ No,” our correspondents politely
said they could not go in opposition to the Minister of Pensions
and his responsible advisers.
If to the second we replied that we were propagandists for the
purpose of rousing interest and winning financial support, they
replied that they objected to expenditure on propaganda.
If to the last inquiry we replied that we were actually engaged
on the development of Westfield, Lancaster, they replied that
Lancashire was quite rich enough to pay for its own schemes
without seeking help from other parts of the country.
All this was both unexpected and discouraging. Hitherto,
nearly the whole of our increasing weekly expenditure had, in a
most generous spirit, been met by the members of the Committee.
Our work was growing, and called for active financial support,
and this notwithstanding the fact that all the members of the
Committee were not only giving freely of their resources, but,
what was more, of their time, energies, and business experience,
with a liberality quite surprising for men so deeply immersed in
the control and management of big enterprises.268
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
In spite of the position thus created, the Committee decided
to go ahead on still bolder lines, to study six projects, including the
one in Lancaster, and to issue six illustrated pamphlets at regular
intervals, dealing with proposed developments in various parts
of the country. For this purpose I visited many districts and
properties north, east, west, and south, selecting the sites which
I thought possessed special advantages, making surveys, taking
innumerable photographs, planning out the sites for the colonies
and workshops—or, if the estate was intended for co-operative
small holdings, planning homesteads and holdings. In this way
I travelled long distances, accompanied by Mr. Crossland, one of
the secretaries, who was as enthusiastic as myself. He took down my
notes and comments, which were woven by him into pamphlets.
By far the most promising and fascinating of these estates
was Meathop, Grange-over-Sands.
Next to housing, the important note of political propaganda
was afforestation. Promises to re-afforest our denuded country-
sides were always applauded. The Forestry Department of the
Board of Agriculture was strengthened by the co-operation of
many of our most scientific foresters, who made practical surveys
of suitable areas. The newspapers rang out with the economic
importance of afforestation and the splendid opportunity at hand
for energetic development of this needed industry.
ere was our opening. Why not establish forest-tree nurseries
for shell-shock cases and those of incipient tuberculosis, to supply
the huge demands required by the Government’s promised
afforestation policy >, Some idea of what this promised to be may
be gathered from the following abbreviated synopsis from the
Government report of a Royal Commission :—
ABBREVIATED SYNOPSIS OF PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS EXTRACTED FROM THE
RePorT OF THE RoyAL Commission on Coast Erosion, 1909.
(1) Afforestation is practical and desirable.
(2) Approximate available area in the United Kingdom is 9,000,000 acres.
(3) Best rotation to sustained timber yield requires 150,000 acres to be
afforested annually.
(4) Temporary employment can be found for 18,000 men during the winter
months, and an equal number in subsidiary occupations connected
with forestry.
Permanent employment can be afforded for one man for every hundred
acres afforested, employing 90,000 men when the whole area has been
dealt with.
Itimate conversion and manipulation of crops would afford occupation
for a still larger population.269
Industrial Village Settlements for Disabled Soldiers.
(5) Any scheme of national afforestation should be on an economic basis.
(6) There are sufficient unemployed persons who could be advantageously
employed without a period of special training.
(7) The annual sum required for the full scheme is £2,000,000.
(8) After 80 years the net revenue at present prices should be 174 million
sterling.
(9) The afforestation scheme should be entrusted to a special Board of
Commissioners.
(10) The acquisition of grazing areas, private or common, should present
no difficulty which cannot be satisfied by arbitration and reasonable
compensation.
(11) Afforestation creates a new industry ; it does not compete with private
enterprise. The conversion of comparatively unprofitable lands
into forests enhances the productiveness of the adjacent areas, and
should promote the development of the small-holdings movement.
More than any other apparent remedy, afforestation will stem the
tide of rural depopulation.
For this programme the Government would require four
hundred and fifty millions of young forest trees each year. Why
not, I urged, secure this for those requiring light occupation in
the open air ?
Meathop Flats, near Grange-over-Sands, presented a perfectly
ideal opportunity. Here were five hundred acres of flat rich land,
with easily worked sandy soil, which was becoming derelict owing
to the protecting sea-wall having been broken through by an
abnormally high tide and left unrepaired. This property, including
extensive farm buildings, was offered for £2,500, and formed an
ideal site for an afforestation nursery and bulb farm. Naturally,
this proved a very attractive subject for our first illustrated pamphlet,
which was published under the title of “ Afforestation and the
Disabled.”
This pamphlet made an immediate appeal to the press, and
Lord Leverhulme wrote to say he would like to visit the property.
My old friend and client was delighted, and immediately gave me
a cheque for £250 to close with a six months’ option.
After our experience with the Ministry of Pensions, this
option gave us a basic factor whereby to win the sympathetic
support of the Board of Agriculture. It opened up a conference
with the Board, from whom we hoped to secure the rebuilding of
the sea-wall under the reclamation orders of the Government.
The departmental heads of this Ministry cordially approved
of our object, which they said it was in their interests to support
if the scheme proved practicable. They sent down expert foresters270
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
to report on the suitability of the soil and site for the purpose of
growing young nursery stock, and engineers to prepare plans and
an estimate of cost for the reclamation works. ‘The foresters gave
a very good report, approving of the scheme, with the reservation
that half the land should be devoted to bulb growing, the soil
and climate being in every way equal to that of the bulb-growing
district in Holland. The engineers reported that the reclamation
of the land was a practicable proposal, and that the cost would be
fifteen thousand pounds, part of which expenditure might be
charged against the property. Thus, supposing that ten thousand
of this sum could be charged against the property, making, with the
purchase price, twelve thousand five hundred pounds, we would
have had a splendid nursery ready for immediate cultivation at
twenty-five pounds per acre, including extensive buildings and
farm-houses and cottages for the use of the estate manager,
packing, etc., etc.
The Board of Agriculture sent up a recommendation to the
Treasury to grant the money, but, by a stroke of bad luck, the
application was presented on the day upon which Lloyd George
introduced his economy campaign, and therefore was promptly
turned down.
have no hesitation in saying that if the Government had
risked the comparatively small outlay, and if we had also got a good
subsidy in aid of the homesteads, Lancashire and Yorkshire would,
in their patriotic generosity, have met the bill, and this beneficent
enterprise might now have been in working order.Illus. No. 58.
Were
v7
wees elo,
Yeo
CL:
Ge
oe :
Meteca Ctt 1 e
f MP ieCHAPTER XXII.
THE RE-PLANNING OF SALONIKA AFTER THE GREAT FIRE,
club when I was startled by a slap on the back, accompanied
by cries of “‘ Congratulations, Mawson, congratulations !
This is splendid !”’
Turning round, I saw my old friend William Hill standing
behind me, evidently greatly excited.
“Whatever is the matter now? Has someone sent us fifty
thousand towards our industrial villages >’ I asked, because our
finances and prospects were the disturbing factors at the time,
and accounted for my dining alone.
‘“‘Haven’t you seen the tape?” he exclaimed. “If not,
come along.’ :
Arriving in the hall where the tape clicked out its messages,
we found a crowd of members gathered round to read the news,
which was evidently causing some excitement. On my appearance
these members came forward to offer their congratulations.
“But first let me see the tape, for I have not the slightest
notion of what has happened. ’’
The message read as follows: “ M. Venizelos stated in the
Greek Parliament this afternoon that he had requested Mr. Mawson,
the English town planner, to undertake the re-planning of
Salonika.”
The message was followed by a telegram from the Minister
of Communications in Athens. This I showed to Mr. John Burns,
and asked his advice as to what I ought to do, especially having
regard to the obligations that I had undertaken in connection with
the industrial villages.
‘My dear Mawson, whatever your obligations may be, you
cannot afford to ignore M. Venizelos’ request, which confers a
great honour upon you, and at the same time pays a great
Ge evening late in 1917 I was quietly dining alone at my
271272
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
compliment to the profession of town planning as practised in this
country. Personally, I should regard the acceptance of this work
asa ae of national importance.
I replied, “it is quite impossible to undertake the
work on an adequate staff, and particularly without the
help | of one or both of my sons.”’
‘That I see, and therefore I advise you to call at the Foreign
Office at 10-30 to-morrow morning, and inquire for the Secretary
of the Middle East Section. Place the whole matter before him,
and ask for special facilities to enable you to get the necessary
staff together. I think you will find him sympathetic and helpful.”
So on the following day at 10-30 a.m. prompt I presented
myself and filled in the official request for an interview. After
half an hour’s wait in the corridor I was approached by a young
man who informed me that the Secretary regretted that pressure
of engagements prevented his seeing me. The young gentleman,
however, had been instructed to hear what I had to say, and
invited me into his room.
Well,” said he, brusquely, ““ what is the business you wish
to discuss ? ””
‘ T received this telegram from Athens yesterday, and Mr.
John Burns told me you would probably help me to get a staff
together so that I might be in a position to accept the offer contained
in the message.
may as well tell you at once,” said he, after listening to a
long argument on the advantages that might accrue to our home
industries if this work were secured by an Englishman, “ that we
are not prepared to help you or anyone to secure contracts in
reece.
With this parting shot my first interview with an ofhcial of
the Foreign Office ended. I have since had many interviews with
Government departments, but have consistently refused to discuss
my business with raw undiplomatic juniors. I never again received
other than the greatest kindness and help from this august
Government department, but I always remember this first interview
with a sense of irritation.
Having failed so abjectly at the Foreign Office, | called at the
Greek Legation, where I had a long interview with the Ambassador,
. Gounaris, whom I had met on previous occasions, and found
that he had received a copy of the telegram. Unfortunately, |
did not stand very well with the old gentleman, who had claimedae LISRARY
The Re-planning of Salonika.
to be the real author of my proposals for the re-planning of Athens.
I had indeed acknowledged—as I thought, rather handsomely—
my obligations “for much interest and generous help’; but
this had not been enough, for which reason M. Gounaris had not
read of my new appointment with any degree of pleasure. However,
he promised to interview the Foreign Office, and in the course of
a fortnight I was asked to call again, when the Secretary for the
Middle East would see me. Mr. Tyrill, whom I saw, grasped the
importance of my commission, and promised to help me to the
utmost of his capacity; ‘“ but, of course,’’ he added, “* the question
of permission to release men from war work for work in Salonika
rests entirely with the War Office ; but we will do our best.”
In the meantime I replied to M. Papanastassiou, gratefully
accepting the call of M. Venizelos, and stating that I would at
once endeavour to secure, by the help of the Foreign Office, the
release of several members of my staff whose assistance was
essential. Unfortunately, even the release of my son (who was
engaged upon munitions) was very difficult to arrange, whilst
the work of securing visas for our passports was a tedious, wearisome
business.
The result was that twelve precious weeks sped by before
we were actually on our way to Greece, and then only with my
eldest son, none others of our staff being released. The Foreign
Office, however, promised to acquaint Sir George Milne, the
British Commander-in-Chief at Salonika, with our difficulties, and
to request him to give us all the assistance in his power.
he delay, however, allowed me to complete the propaganda
work for the industrial villages, consisting of the study of six
concrete proposals as laid down in “An Imperial Obligation.”
For the publication of these booklets my friends subscribed nearly
three hundred pounds. I was thus able to leave this work with the
Secretary and the Committee, with a good conscience, and got
their approval for three months’ leave.
In Paris en route we met M. Venizelos, and had long interviews
with him. He was enthusiastic about the new Salonika, almost
to the point of regarding the fire as being providential, seeing that
it had provided an opportunity for creating a city worthy of the
splendid site—the prosperous port and the seat of local government
for Macedonia. He brought out maps showing the fire zone, which
stretched diagonally from the Port Vardar to the White Tower, a
distance of nearly a mile, approximately.
T
ARCHITECTURS274
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
M. Venizelos then explained that a large topographical survey
staff had been at work for three months, principally for the purpose
of deciding the boundaries of separate ownerships. The owners,
of whom there are many hundreds, he explained, “‘ are a source of
some anxiety; they insist upon permission to rebuild up to the
limits of their properties at once, which of course makes the
re-planning upon which | am determined impossible. What would
you suggest, Mr. Mawson, under these conditions ? ”’
immediately replied : “ I would at once pass through your
Parliament an Act of Expropriation for the entire town site,” to
which suggestion he assented, with the remark that this was the
only way, and that it should be done. Henceforth we could
regard the site of Salonika more or less as a sheet of clean paper,
and our task was simplified.
M. Venizelos then told us that it had been arranged that we
should travel via Gallipoli on the Italian Peninsula, where we
would meet the British Naval Commission and sail by the Greek
torpedo destroyer Panther, which would convey the party to
the Pireus.
After several days, including a night in Rome, we arrived
late one evening in Gallipoli, meeting Rear-Admiral Brown and
members of his staff en route. The naval party was accommodated
at the British Consulate, but my son and I had to find an hotel
in the town—and a weird place it was. The hotel had at one time
been the Bishop’s palace, and such, undoubtedly, was the impression
it gave us. It was in a narrow, tortuous street, so planned for
purposes of defence. The enormous rooms were bare and gaunt,
and practically devoid of furniture The place was without
sanitary convenience of any kind, and the food was execrable.
fter our waiting two days the Panther arrived, and we were
requested to join her. Before leaving our hotel we asked for our
bill. The big, burly landlord protested that, as we were Allies,
he could not accept anything—adding, however, that Englishmen
who were determined to discharge this obligation usually paid
him 30s. per day each. We gave him half this amount, with which
he seemed to be entirely satisfied.
Of all the uncomfortable sea voyages I have ever undertaken,
that in the Panther stands alone in its nauseating and terrifying
experiences. The very rough sea, and the fear of mines and
submarines, were as nothing compared with the corkscrew move-
ments of the boat and its stuffy cabin. Fortunately, the passageThe Re-planning of Salonika.
was a rapid one, and once we arrived at the Corinthian Canal
our dangers and discomforts were at an end.
In the interval which had elapsed since my last visit to Athens
many changes had taken place. King Constantine was no longer
onthe throne. In his stead reigned Alexander, whom I remembered
as a bright youth of about seventeen years of age. M. Venizelos,
after his successful revolution, was in control, and very popular
both with the army and with the people; whilst the young King,
although popular, was entirely under the direction of his Prime
Minister. “1 am merely a dummy figure-head, exercising only
the will of others,” he bitterly said to me later. Sir Francis and
Lady Elliot were no longer at the British Embassy. In their places
were installed Lord and Lady Granville. At the Greek Ministries
a many new men, whilst a new Mayor presided at the Town
all.
I was much impressed on this visit to Greece by the war-like
aspect of the people and the vast armies which were under training
for the front. The war-like attitude seemed to be more pronounced
here than in any of the other countries I had visited. There was a
great scarcity of food. At our hotel (the Angleterre) we were fed
almost entirely on vegetables cooked in oil. Even milk puddings
were served only twice a week.
Following the usual custom, we first signed the visitors’ book
at the Palace, then left our cards at the British Embassy. Following
this, we called upon M. Papanastassiou, the Minister of Com-
munications, and spent some two hours in discussion with him.
This gentleman was a lawyer by profession and a socialist in
politics, but withal a great admirer of his chief. He had spent two
years in London studying English law, and spoke English fairly
well. I found him a hard-working, well-meaning man—one who,
however, had much more sympathy with French ideals than with
English.
This preference had raised a difficult situation, which the
Minister was eager to explain—and with his explanations he
hoped I would agree. Owing to the delay in my arrival he had
acceded to the request of the French military authorities to be
allowed to submit plans for the rebuilding of Salonika. Indeed,
M. Hebrard was already in charge of an expert staff. t
Papanastassiou proposed that the French and the English should
submit each a separate competitive scheme, one of which he would
select. I pointed out that this was contrary to the statement276
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
of M. Venizelos in Parliament, and to his own telegram, and
that consequently I must proceed according to the terms of my
instructions. I stated, however, that I would be delighted to work
as the director or senior member of a commission for the re-planning
of Salonika, the commission to include all the experts essential to
the production of a development scheme in which every important
factor should be correlated. This was agreed to, and I was informed
by the Minister that he proposed to accompany us to Salonika
in from five to seven days’ time. Everything, he explained,
depended upon his being able to secure fuel for the railway engine.
In the meantime I could; see the Mayor of Athens regarding my
scheme for the Capital. I was also informed that a society with
which M. Papanastassiou was connected would be pleased if I
would lecture on “English Industrial Villages for Disabled
Soldiers,”” the Minister having seen notices in the English press
on the subject. To this I readily agreed, for I had brought a double
set of slides with me in anticipation of lecturing to our men in
Salonika. The lecture suited the occasion and the audience,
because the Greeks are wonderful craftsmen, especially in metals,
leather, and pottery, and I felt that"with proper organisation useful
and successful soldiers’ settlements might be established by them.
The lecture was given to a crowded house, under the presidency
of the Minister, M. Papanastassiou, in the presence of the King
and his retinue, and M. Venizelos (who had returned from Paris
the previous day) and his Minister. M. Papanastassiou introduced
me to the audience as the re-planner of Athens, and the director
of the new town plan for Salonika. Others spoke quite warmly
about my disinterested contribution to the welfare of wounded
soldiers. I never lectured with greater freedom. From the first
I caught the interest and sympathy of my audience. At the close
I received the congratulations of the young King, the Premier,
and his Ministers. Then a member of the audience said he would
subscribe one hundred and twenty thousand drachmas (at that
time approximately five thousand pounds) towards the first village.
e next morning I was informed that sufficient fuel had
been obtained for our journey, and that we would leave Athens
at six in the evening. The Minister’s party, we were told, would
be provided with a restaurant car and sleeping berths. On arrival
at the station I was rather surprised at the size of the party, and
the elaborate provision which had been made for our comfort ;
but when I heard that the fuel for our journey had cost one hundredand forty-six pounds, I concluded that the expenditure of a little
extra for our comfort did not matter. The railway between Athens
and Salonika had not been long opened, and at various points
en route the military—in some cases English—were developing
side tracks and sidings. What struck me greatly, so long as light
lasted, was the fertile beauty of certain parts of the route. The
flourishing condition and variety of the crops, which included
cereals of many kinds, tobacco, and cotton, impressed me very
much. Where the ground was too rough for husbandry it was
planted with olives and sugar pine, interspersed with vineyards
where the soil was not so rugged.
We travelled very slowly, with many halts, and with a long
stop at Larissa, which we reached early in the morning. Here the
Minister was met by the Mayor and officials of Larissa and adjoining
villages. From Larissa the country increases in beauty and
picturesqueness, and by mid-day we were near the foot of Mount
Olympus, which towers majestically from out of the level plain
through which the railway passes. Soon we were travelling
through the Vale of Tempe, with precipitous rocky crags rising
on either side, awesome in their grandeur of height and in their
descent to the river which courses along the foot of this famous
romantic vale. For miles the village and surrounding hills are
thickly clothed with beautiful forest trees and rich undergrowth
of flowering shrubs. Altogether this bit of Greece is in strong
contrast to the barrenness of most of the native landscapes through
which we had passed. From this point to Katterina the railway
has been partly cut out of the base of the cliffs, with numerous
bridges spanning the gorges. It was very interesting, yet withal
the most circuitous stretch of railway on which I had ever travelled.
After this we crossed the Vardar river, and so on to Salonika, where
we arrived about six o'clock in the evening. Here a great surprise
awaited me.
As we alighted from the train we were met by the Prefect,
the Mayor, and a number of officials, to whom my son and I were
duly introduced. Then we were introduced to others who, we were
told, were the experts who were to be members of the town-
planning commission for Salonika. As we left the station together,
the crowd of spectators began to cheer ; whereupon I complimented
M. Papanastassiou on his popularity, to which that gentleman
instantly replied: “ It is not me, but the English town planner
who is being welcomed.”’ I could scarcely believe my ears, and
The Re-planning of Salonika.278
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
thought the Minister was perpetrating a joke. The next day |
discovered that this was really the case. The whole matter was a
well-staged piece of political bluff. Every day, for weeks previously,
the newspaper department had been busy with daily reports about
myself, and the good fortune of the Government in securing my
services. One article described my departure from England by
‘the special permission of the British Foreign Office.” Another
told of our safe arrival in Rome, and then in Gallipoli, where we
were detained pending the possibility of a safe passage; then a
great burst of satisfaction was expressed on our arrival in Athens,
where we were in consultation with the Minister; and, lastly,
we were announced to be actually on our way to Salonika, where
we were to arrive about six in the evening. It was all very amusing,
but it was diplomacy, because the de-housed population were
discontented with what they regarded as the dilatoriness of the
Government in rebuilding their city. Truthfully, the Government
had shown great energy in adopting temporary measures, and had
Byer baile ap modellarca oh new Houses\ito’ accommodate somewes
the seventy thousand homeless. There is no doubt that the
Greeks, like the Americans, believe in publicity.
On the evening of our arrival we were entertained by the
Prefect at his official residence, a beautiful villa in Kalamaria, at
the east end of Salonika, beyond the fire-devastated zone. Unlike
the majority of Western towns and cities, the east end was the
section reserved for the élite. After dinner, which consisted of
four courses of well-cooked and well-served food, we retired to
the salon, where the members of the commission who had met
us at the railway station, and also M. Ernest Hebrard, the chief
of the French assistants to the commission, paid us a visit. I had
previously met M. Hebrard in London, where he gave an address
on Spalatte before the Town Planning Conference, and knew of
him as an archeologist of repute and as a‘ Prix de Rome ”’ student.
M. Hebrard (who later became a good friend) regarded himself
as the man in possession, and he was naturally anxious to hear
how long I thought my work as consultant would take me. The
delay and our absence from the minutes of the commission had
allowed him to assume that he was in control. I learnt the same
evening that the French Commander-in-Chief had first approached
the Minister to secure the work for his countrymen, and that he
had released no fewer than eighteen assistants for the work, and
also for some archeological investigations. The Frenchmen atIllus. No. 59.
Illus. No. 60.
SrREET SCENES IN SALONIKA.The Re-planning of Salonika.
least were alive to the advantage of “ securing contracts in Greece.’’
I also met Captain Pleybair, a French engineer who had
worked out a plan for the canalisation or drainage of Salonika,
from which it will be seen that matters were rather complicated—a
position which was by no means relieved when I saw M. Hebrard’s
scheme. This was attractive, but was planned purely from an
architect’s point of view, whilst Captain Pleybair’s scheme proposed
to turn the whole of the crude drainage into Salonika bay. In
this matter of drainage I fancy M. Pleybair had yielded to local
pressure.
Now was the time to state clearly the terms on which | had
been brought to Salonika, and how on my advice it had been
arranged to constitute the whole of the experts into a commission.
] again stated that all I would claim would be that I should act as
senior member of this commission, with a casting vote, which |
trusted I would never have to use. We then arranged that our
first meeting should be held at the Prefecture the following
afternoon.
Next morning my son and I called upon Sir George Milne,
the British Commander-in-Chief, and were most cordially greeted.
He stated that he was delighted that his own countrymen had been
engaged to re-plan the town, which, apart from the fire, was badly
in need of improvement.
Acting upon the aforementioned communications from the
Foreign Office, and after inquiries, Sir George found he could
assign us four young architects, and, if needed, a good photographer.
“Furthermore,” said he, “‘ we can do all your blue prints and
reproduce in black line your plans of the town, as you proceed.
Finally, I can place at your disposal a car and a chauffeur ! a
learnt that one of my old pupils was in Salonika, and I begged
his release to replace one of the architects. Sir George also
recommended us to the officers’ rest-house, for which the old
Turkish palace had been commandeered, and this proved to be of
the greatest help. I have no hesitation in saying that in view of
the number of men released by the French Commander-in-Chief,
we would, apart from Sir George's help, have had to return to
England with our task unaccomplished.
With our impromptu staff we set to work at once upon a rapid
survey of the city, in order to be fortified for the preliminary meeting
of the commission. We first obtained a number of military plans
of the town, along with other plans showing the burnt-out areas.Station
Quarters
aE
rhid-
@ Factories
© Rake
© Werknans
© Rake,
@B EkbAon Gardens
o
ilonss © Bank? ¢ Bet Offce.
/
77
O cAwacifal|.
® University
OMieary Sco” D Ma
© Cemetery.
© Hotel?
@ Stadiu
/The Re-planning .of Salonika.
Never shall I forget, in inspecting the town, the scene of desolation
and the dejected knots of people camping on the ruins of their
former homes or places of business.
The following account of the fire was sent me by my former
pupil, Harry Pierce, then serving with the military at Salonika,
who witnessed the scenes he describes :—
Tue Great Fire or Satonika—Aucust, 1917.
The afternoon of August 18th, 1917, was hot and sunny, with a strong
“Vardar ” wind blowing, and the cafés at the bottom of Venizelos Street by the
harbour were curiously deserted. The usual crowds seemed to have forsaken their
favourite haunts, and a curious uneasiness unsettled the city.
At the top of the town a thin spire of smoke rose into the clear air above
the closely packed portion of the old city, where the native population crowded
together in timber-framed houses whose upper storeys and projecting balconies
nearly met across the narrow streets. This pillar of smoke grew thicker and denser,
and the people, with an only too frequent experience of fires, became anxious.
The few loiterers in the cafés left their seats, and one of the waiters tersely
remarked, ‘‘ Big fire; no water!" The column of smoke grew darker, and people
in every kind of dress began to hurry down the steep, narrow streets from the
old town, across Via Egnatia, to the more open spaces of the modern town along
the sea front. Slowly they came at first, but like a flood the volume increased
rapidly, and soon the lower town was a seething mass of refugees.
Anxious tradesmen locked their shops and put up their shutters as the crowd
swarmed past. all carrying some treasure which they valued most. One woman
pulled along a small child and held up her apron filled with boots ; an old man
clutched a leg of mutton; another carried a live hen.
Carts soon added to the confusion—carts laden with weeping, excited people
bringing with them what they could: a marble slab, a mirror, a sewing machine—
the most curious collection imaginable. Strong porters staggered under huge
loads of bedding or massive trunks, and still the crowds flocked from the stricken
quarter, The flames, fanned by the strong wind, leapt from house to house
across the narrow streets, and building after building crashed in ruins.
With nightfall the effect hecame vivid, and huge clouds of smoke hung over
the burning town, streaked and licked with tongues of lurid flame.
By this time the troops of the various countries stationed in and around the
town came to the rescue, and the battleships in the harbour sent help. Water was
pumped on to the blazing buildings along the quay, and blocks of buildings were
blown up to save the more distant parts of the city.
It is said that owing to the magnificent work of the soldiers and sailors not
a life was lost out of the many thousands of people whose homes were burnt, and
the refugees were lodged in temporary homes and camps without the city alles
The fine old church of St. Demetrios, and the mosque of Hamza Bey, were
destroyed, as well as the synagogues of the large Jewish population, and great
damage was done to the modern buildings along the harbour front, but soon
temporary shops were open amongst the ruins, trading as briskly as ever in the
devastated city. Fortunately the Church of the Twelve Apostles (Illus. No. 2)
was saved.282
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
I soon realised the terrible extent of the havoc which the
fire had wrought, and the heart-aching experiences of the poor.
Later in the day I remarked to the Mayor that I had noticed that
the British soldiers seemed to stand well with the native population.
‘TI am pleased you notice this, for it is a fact, and for very good
reason : they are the salt of the earth. I assure you, Mr. Mawson,
that on the night of the fire the prestige of the British was raised
higher than ever before. Indeed, they did more to strengthen the
ties between England and ourselves than your Governments have
done in twenty years.” Then he told me of the splendid work
continued throughout the night to save the population. Women
and children followed our soldiers as if they were the natural
protectors of these homeless sufferers, and these poor people were
so grateful to our countrymen that they offered gifts and money.
But this gratitude only made Tommy sad. He wasn’t working
for pay—he was simply doing “ his bit,’’ and enjoyed doing it.
Nothing I heard in Macedonia pleased me so much as the Mayor's
penegyric.
As arranged, we held our first meeting of the commission in
the afternoon, one member only being unavoidably absent. The
first business was to lay down rules for the smooth and effective
working of the several experts. The French members of the
commission objected to my being invested with the chairmanship,
but all the Greek members, who were in a majority, and not very
pleased with the attitude of their French confréres, supported
my claim, which was duly approved. Thus my position was
clearly defined. We next examined the work of the topographical
survey department, which was entirely in the hands of Greek
engineers, whose work was excellently done, and nearing completion.
The whole of the bumt-out area had been surveyed and plotted
to an excellent workable scale, suitable for our preliminary studies.
We decided to discard in large measure what had been put
forward, and to re-study the whole of the town-planning problems
from start to finish. We also agreed to meet twice a week to
discuss the work in progress, so that each expert could offer
suggestions for the proper correlation of his quota to the whole
plan. In the first place, we divided the town into three distinct
sections, each separated from the one next to it by a wide belt of
park reservation. These reservations were to be plentifully planted
in the form of irregular loops extending from sea to sea from a
point near the White Tower inland north of the citadel, andThe Re-planning of Salonika.
returning via Porte Vardar to near the docks. The Eastern Section,
which included the whole of Kalamaria, was the residential and
social centre ; the Central Section, extending east to west from the
White Tower to the docks, was the governmental, municipal,
ecclesiastical, and business centre. The Western Section included
the transport, warehousing, and industrial parts, with housing for
the artisan classes. This was zoning for the purpose of fire pre-
vention, and was probably the first occasion upon which fire
prevention was the dominating factor in the planning of a great
city in the Near East.
Transport facilities were the next factor which we sought to
solve. This, however, was considerably influenced by several
existing conditions beyond our control. In the first place, the
military authorities had spent millions of pounds upon the
construction of splendid roads radiating in all directions from
Salonika. They formed the arterial systems which connected the
hinterland with its port and business centre. The second controlling
factor was the predominating importance of slow-moving traffic,
which was gradually being modified by motor-driven transport,
which the new arterial roads had encouraged. Our first problem
was to connect our new street plan with these military-made roads,
then to provide separate roads for quick and slow traffic within
the town.
Our next care was to locate the main factors bearing upon a
solution of the trafic system, and to define as carefully as possible
the areas which would be subject to congestion. Thus we located
the dock extensions, warehousing, and manufacturing area ;
roughly laid out the goods yard and engine sheds ;_located the
position for the proposed new passenger station for Government
offices, law courts and town hall, markets and theatre centres—in
short, a fairly complete zoning plan; after which we were able to
predetermine the traffic system based upon ascertained and
estimated needs. In this solution the planning of a complete tram
system was a first essential, because most people travelled by
car.
This method of solving our practical difficulties first by
building up the plans upon the conditions of working efficiency
before considering the esthetic possibilities, was a great disappoint-
ment to our French colleagues. In the end they realised that there
was something in this point of view; but Frenchmen, with all
their fine technical qualities, are not very friendly to compromise,284
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and therefore, whilst recognising the great ability of French
architects, | would not wish to repeat my Salonika experiences.
Thus, as the weeks sped by, we found that, whilst working
in the closest co-operation with the Greek members of the
commission, collaboration with the French members became less
and less effective. However, by exercise of tact and patience we
made headway, and arrived at agreements on all the controlling
factors of the new plan, which quite naturally gave added
opportunity for architectural expression where this was essential.
In this department M. Hebrard and his assistants did excellent
work.
I stayed in Salonika for about three months, and during this
time was visited by the young King Alexander, who took a keen
interest in our progress. M. Venizelos and his Ministers also
paid us a visit, and the former was so pleased with our progress
that he invited all the experts and their principal assistants to
lunch at the White Tower Restaurant, and a very jolly affair it was.
The Premier was in the best of spirits, and made a most com-
plimentary speech when proposing the health of his guests. As
senior member of the commission it was my duty to reply, and
I remember I struck an interesting note by my free rendering of
a passage from Ruskin: ‘‘ The greatness of a country does not
depend upon the extent of its territory, but upon the number of
good men and women within its borders,”’ from which I inferred
that our work as town planners was to provide such conditions
as would assure the upbringing and maintenance of good men
and women. When I sat down, M. Venizelos gave me a hearty
handshake, and asked where I got my quotation. Some time
later, when standing with M. Papanastassiou, the latter pointed
to the opposite side of the road. ‘“‘ See,” he said, “ there goes
M. Venizelos with a volume of Ruskin under his arm.”
By the end of three months I had, with the help of my son
and staff, in full agreement with my colleagues, evolved a complete
set of preliminary drawings, numbering thirteen in all. Herein
every aspect, whether of trafic, fire control, civic centre, and
manufacturing and residential areas, new training system, parks
and boulevards, was shown, and also a proposed development of
Mickra Point as a suburban seaside resort. I had also written a
very full report, extending to eighty typewritten pages of foolscap.
Although this report was entirely my own work, it was read over
in French to the members of the commission, who severallyThe Re-planning of Salonika.
signed it, so that it might go forward as our joint recommendations.
Thus the preliminary scheme and our recommendations for its
further elaboration for parliamentary approval were completed in
three months, a record which I have never been able to repeat.
In addition to my work on the re-planning of Salonika I had
many interesting experiences. In the first place, I undertook, at
the request of General Ryecroft, to give a number of lectures on
‘ Industrial Villages for Disabled Service Men,’ at the various
depéts and halls provided for the men. My first lecture was given
before a company of keenly interested men, with General Ryecroft
in the chair ; but as my object in lecturing was to get at the men’s
point of ae and to have their frank criticism, I was disappointed
that no one started a/discussion. ‘Then it occurred to me that
the presence of the bluff old General overawed the men, so in
future I decided to ask for a junior officer as my chairman. #bhe
plan worked admirably, and on every subsequent occasion we had
a splendid discussion, which usually took up more time than the
lecture. Usually there were some excellent speeches, generally
tinged, to put it mildly, with socialism. One man, I remember,
a graduate of Edinburgh, who had read theology for the Presbyterian
ministry, asked a very pertinent question: “ Can the lecturer
assure us that their villages will not be under any sort of military
patronage or dictatorship? If they are, you will find the British
Army to a man opposed to them. Military control is necessary
in war, but we are determined not to tolerate it in peace time ! Ly
The next questioner had been a leader-writer on one of the
London dailies, and his questions were equally pertinent : “ Will
the @bvemment officials exercise any control in their management,
and will they be regarded as philanthropic institutions? We
object to the first; and as for philanthropy, we have still a little
self-respect, and cannot accept it.” Then a third man, this time
a citizen, got on to his legs slowly, and after carefully balancing
himself, spoke as follows: “I would like the lecturer to know
that we don't care a toss for the military government or
philanthropy ; what we want to know is what wages you are going
to pay, and who guarantees them. Also, my mate and me would
both like one of those cottages the lecturer'showed us. We suppose,
of course, there would be no rent or rates to pay.
In some form or other these three questions were asked after
nearly every lecture, from which it was evident that the men
were anxious to return to the freedom of civil life again, and to be286
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
for ever free from military control. On the latter point they often
used the plainest language. After one of these explosions the
speaker stopped suddenly and explained, “ Of course, Captain
[this to my chairman], we like you all right, for you are a white
man,’ a statement which pleased both the Captain and the company
present.
At the week-end my son and I were generally invited to one
or other of the divisional headquarters, so sometimes we were on
the Doiran front and sometimes on the Struma front. These
frontal visits were at times exciting. Once when lecturing in a
Y.M.C.A. tent at Langaza the Bulgars started a vigorous shelling
of the road half a mile beyond us, along which they supposed a
convoy was passing. The whizzing sound of the shells passing
over us, and evidently not very high, followed by the explosion,
was terrifying, but I continued my lecture. I am afraid, however,
that a shorthand report would have read rather disjointedly. As
the shelling continued, we dispersed at the close without waiting
fora hesnstialediseussioniior formalities, and walked back with our
host, Captain Hamilton, through the dark andvover'a very rough
path, along which we stumbled many times, the shells flying over
our heads with sickening rapidity. At last we reached the Captain's
dug-out, consisting of two compartments dug into the hillside, one
being used as a living-room and the other as a sleeping-room.
Here an excellent meal was provided, the table utensils being
home-made productions, showing the ingenuity of our men under
the most difficult and uncomfortable conditions. There was even
a touch of artistry about the interior, the walls being hung with
native rush-mats arranged in panels, which were decorated with
suitable pictures cut from the magazines, mostly popular stage
favourites.
Next morning we went to see the valley where we had suffered
one of our worst reverses, in which our casualties amounted to
over eight thousand—a battle, by the way, never mentioned in the
published official reports. From this point we entered the trenches,
which had been blasted out of solid rock, and finally to the outlook
post, where, through a field glass, we saw one of our batteries
shelling a party of Bulgars who were evidently intent upon throwing
a bridge across the river. We had the satisfaction of seeing the
Bulgars run.
On the Saturday night we were entertained by the Brigadier-
General. After dinner we went with our host and staff to theThe Re-planning of Salonika.
pantomime, for which purpose a huge old bar had been fitted up
with a stage, orchestra, and seating accommodation for about
nine hundred. As we were so near the fighting front, the idea of
running a successful pantomime seemed to me to be a very remote
one, but it was the best show of its kind I have ever seen. The
nen aict forty instruments, and the stage scenery, were superb.
The Colonel who was responsible for the orchestra told me it was
amazing the many fine instruments the men possessed. Of course,
he said, there were quite a number of expert instrumentalists in the
army who! had played in London orchestras. There were also
many professional actors in the company. What struck me most
was the way they had managed to collect their diversified and
interesting costumes. I was told that these costumes (ladies’
dresses included) had all been designed and made by the soldiers.
Even the attendants were dressed in smart blue liveries, with
long frock-coats and white trousers, all made by tailor-soldiers,
and paid for out of the proceeds of the show.
During the performance I was delighted to find that I was
the subject of the gags, some of which were very clever.
Funny Man: Well, Bill, where’er you bin this last month ?
BiLL: Bin in Salinka, of course, calling on the General !
Funny Man: Now, that won’t wash, Bill. Salonika is burnt hout.
BILL: Haven’ t yon heard that Mr. Venizelos sent for Mr. Mawson, who
has built it up again ?
Funny Man: That? All by the chap our Colonel sent for to build a garden
city at Langaze ?
Cuorus (pointing to me): Why, there he is—there he is—there he is !
Song : ‘* When shall we live in the house that Jack built ? ”
It was evident that Tommy had learnt the art of enjoying
himself and of forgetting for a space the grim struggle upon which
he was engaged ; for at this time the struggle in the Balkans was
fraught with great anxiety.
On our next trip to the front our experiences were of a different
character. En route we were struck by a Vardar wind, accompanied
by a sand storm of great violence, we being without protection
from any quarter. Our chauffeur, who simply wept, for about
an hour lost all sense of locality as the wind swept over us with
unabated force. With no signs of life visible, we feared we might
be approaching the enemy country. It was an absurd fear, but
when one is lost and in a conjectural state of mind, even imaginary
fears assume reality. At last we saw signs of man’s work in a camp
road, and followed it to investigate. We came to a large shed,288
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
when we heard singing in an unknown language. For a moment
we thought of flight. But we summoned courage to knock at the
door, which was immediately opened by the soldier on guard,
who could not understand us. Then I saw that we were in an
officers’ mess—but of what nationality >
Although the soldiers were tall, robust, and manly fellows,
I yet feared they were Bulgars. Several of them came up to speak
to me, and fortunately the senior officer spoke good English.
This officer, seeing my evident anxiety, explained that they were
a contingent of Serbians. On hearing our business, and the name
of the camp at which I was to lecture, the Serbians gave us very
clear instructions, from which we found we had overshot our
objective by only about six miles. Fortunately the wind had now
somewhat abated, and we arrived at our destination only three-
quarters of an hour late, with the audience still waiting patiently
for the arrival of the lecturer.
have experienced Chinook winds on the Canadian prairies,
and other winds of bad report in other countries, but never have
I experienced a wind which could cause such suffering and
discomfort as the Vardar winds in Macedonia.
Having been requested by M. Venizelos to interest English
financiers and contractors in supplying materials to rebuild
Salonika, I decided to turn my steps homeward. We had now
completed our preliminary scheme, and obtained the unanimous
approval of the commission to its recommendations. With this
in view I handed over to M. Hebrard the directorship, with
my son in control.
On arrival in Athens I obtained permission to hold an
exhibition of our drawings for the capital and Salonika, which was
officially opened by M. Venizelos, and attended by Lord Granville,
the British Ambassador, and a distinguished company. The plans
for Athens occupied two walls of a large room, and the Salonika
drawings a third. Again I took great care to share the credit of
the latter scheme with my colleagues, by having a notice six feet
long printed in big letters, stating that “ These drawings are
exhibited by the commission appointed for the re-planning of
Salonika.’” The two schemes were highly praised by the Premier
when declaring the exhibition open, and he asked me, before
leaving, to proceed as rapidly as possible with the new diagonal
road from the new station place to Monasterachi. When, however,
I asked for an official instruction for this work, the Minister ofThe Re-planning of Salonika.
Communication refused to ratify without a special vote of
Parliament. Both M. Venizelos and the Minister commended
my purpose in returning home, but the Minister in charge could
not be induced to state specifically the conditions upon which
they were prepared to accept this help. ““See what you can do
with the English contractors and report to me,’ said he.
By this time my second son, who had been an officer in a
Canadian regiment, but who had been invalided home, had been
granted permission to join us. He arrived in Athens, and proceeded
at once to assist the Minister in formulating building laws and
regulations for the rebuilding of Salonika. On the completion of
the work he was appointed Director of Reconstruction of the
sixty Macedonian villages, which involved the organisation of a
very large staff.
Before I left Athens for home, the Embassy people arranged
for me to cross from Patras to Taranto by a convoyed troopship.
On arrival at Patras I was met by the British Consul, who informed
me that the Italian Government had decided to prohibit the landing
of all civilians at Taranto. He advised me to go on board the
flagship and interview the captain, who might be induced to send
a wireless asking for special consideration. The captain proved
to be a Lancashire man, who at once instructed his operator to
send a message; but after waiting two hours and receiving no
reply, I had to return to shore. That night this same vessel
struck a mine and was cut in two, with a loss of a great part of
the crew. Thus I had a providential escape.
After waiting three days in Patras I was allowed to join a
vessel sailing for Gallipoli, which we reached in two days after a
very anxious voyage. Probably the smallness of the vessel saved
us from the attention of the submarines which at that time were
the terror in these waters.
he only untoward event which occurred on this return trip
was at Moderna, where we ran into a troop train in the dead of
night, a collision that resulted in the death of some half-dozen
men who with their regiments were proceeding to the Italian front.
Fortunately I was unhurt, excepting for a fright and a shock.
On my arrival in England I was requested by the Board of
Trade Department of the Foreign Office to write a report on the
openings for British trade in Macedonia. I had the satisfaction
of seeing this report published and freely circulated by the British
Industries Association. The keynote of the report was that “ trade
U290
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
followed the town planner.” This led to much interviewing and
consultation, and also the formation of powerful groups of British
financiers and contractors. One of these groups | introduced to
M. Venizelos, who as a start gave out important contracts for
railway and road construction. What the total value of these
commissions amounted to I do not know, as I secured no financial
recompense for myself.Illus. No. 62.
Tue SALoNIKA Town PLANNING ComMISSION.
cer), M. E. Hesrarp, T. H. Mawson (Chairman), THe Mayor, Captain PLeysair, M. Kirsikis, M. ELEFTERIOTES.
FRONT ROW—Captain Jenkins (A
Mawson, M. Zacuos, E. Prentice MAwson.
BACK ROW—J. W.CHAPTER XXIII.
STEPNEY GREETING AND RE-PLANNING OF LONDON’S
DARKEST SPOT.
N_ what proved to be the most anxious period of the war I
received a pleasant surprise and an intensely interesting
commission, and one that appealed strongly to my social and
political instincts.
As a direct response to the issue of a limited number of
roneographed copies of our report on the King Edward Memorial
Park, I received a call from Mr. J. W. Kiley, then the Mayor of
Stepney, and later member of Parliament for the five boroughs,
who had been very much impressed by the town-planning and
housing proposals. The possibilities of the immediate surroundings
of the park led to a vision of the improvement of Stepney and
Shadwell as a whole.
Mr. Kiley, who was a keen and sane social reformer, had also
been impressed by a pungent magazine article by Mr. William Hill
on “ Better Housing Conditions for Returned Heroes,’ and was
anxious that I should consider this aspect of Stepney’s needs. The
result was that I joined forces with Mr. Kiley and two of his
friends, the late Sir Richard Stapley and Mr. John Nicholson, in
the production of a town-development scheme for the whole of the
district controlled by the Stepney Council and such parts of
adjoining areas as impinged upon it, which it was necessary to
include for the purpose of arterial road connections. None of the
three gentlemen who acted as financial sponsors could in any
way benefit by the regeneration of Stepney, as none of them was a
property owner in the district. It was pure philanthropy taking
its most practical form—viz., in the creation of conditions under
which the denizens of the East End might attain a higher standard
of well-being.
Never was there a built-up area which permitted of such
economic development as Stepney, or one in which the need for
2gI292
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
improvement was so sorely needed. Remembering that Stepney
borough extends to within half a mile of the Mansion House, and
that the southern boundary rests on the busiest and most prosperous
reaches of the Thames, with its improved and expanding dock
developments, one finds it difficult to realise why the rebuilding
boom had not followed an eastern course and produced a great
commercial locality in place of the squalid, unsavoury courts and
alleys, whose phthisis charts are appalling documents. These
conditions alone would justify any demolition, however drastic.
A civic survey of existing conditions soon revealed the reason
for this depressing wilderness of human habitations, and for its
low rateable value—also, shall we say, the reason for its failure to
respond to that commercial pre-eminence which its position between
the greatest financial centre in the world and the increasing shipping
activities of the Port of London ought to have given it? I had no
hesitation in deciding that the London and Southend Railway
was the cause of this failure, and also for the creation of those
conditions which were largely responsible for the high infant
mortality and the high death rate, and, what was equally deplorable,
the low physical and mental conditions of the slum dweller.
The great elevation of the railway, which ran east to west
from end to end of the borough, starting at Fenchurch Street and
rising like a solid rampart out of the level plain of Stepney, prevented
the cross flow of sun, wind, and rain. It was a matter of much
concern to me at the time, and still is, that in any part of England
such conditions as I saw in Stepney should be allowed to continue,
or that men and women should be content to live in such
surroundings.
Feeling that no drastic improvement could be realised without
removing the railway, and seeing that a great commercial boulevard
could be created at a profit, I boldly proposed to place the London
and Southend Railway underground from Fenchurch Street to a
point near the Regent’s Canal, or alternately to remove the terminus
to a point near Albert Square. This would permit of a great
boulevard one hundred and twenty feet wide on the ground now
occupied by the railway. To do this it would be necessary to
clear away the rampart-like railway to the level of the built-up
areas on either side, and construct the new boulevard, which
we called Stepney Greeting.* Thus would be removed the great
* This is a name given in America to promenades and park boulevards which
are designed as social centres.293
Re-planning of London’s Darkest Spot.
blot on Stepney, and the primary cause of its unsavoury conditions,
which also render any esthetic improvement well-nigh impossible.
The splendid opportunity which is here provided is shown by
Illus. No. 53. The effect obtainable is by no means exaggerated.
As to the practical possibility of realising this improvement,
I did not proceed without obtaining expert support for my proposals.
I consulted expert railway engineers as to the feasibility of either
placing the railway underground or of removal of the terminus,
and was assured that both schemes were capable of realisation.
On the financial side I worked in co-operation with the best known
firm of estate agents in the city, who assured me that the
construction of the boulevard would create land values of about
three millions, whilst the value of property which would be erected
on either side would create rateable values amounting to at
least twelve millions sterling; so that, from a ratepayer’s point
of view, the inducements to promote this scheme were very great
indeed.
With a boulevard one hundred and twenty feet wide it is
possible to erect buildings of commanding height and importance.
The best authorities on property in the city assured me there
would be a strong demand for business premises, and particularly
for importers’ sample and sale rooms and offices for shipping
and insurance companies. Looking at the strategic position
between the world’s greatest financial centre and its shipping
centre, | was convinced that these splendid sites would be quickly
occupied by commanding structures, all agreeing in general
alignment and sky line, but relieved by the proposed war memorial,
which it was suggested should take the form of a campanile two
hundred and sixty feet high, so as to create a landmark for shipping
entering the Port of London. We also proposed to create a stately
civic centre in relation to the campanile, in which the two principal
buildings should be the Town Hall and the Law Courts. For
the Town Hall we adopted the first premiated design submitted
in the Stepney Town Hall competition by Messrs. Briggs,
Wolstenholme and Thornley, of Blackburn and Liverpool. This
is the building shown in the perspective, and the Law Courts
are a replica adapted to a court of justice.
Although the creation of the boulevard constituted Stepney’s
crowning opportunity, it was by no means our only concern. Our
next care was to provide for the re-housing of the slum-dwellers.
The problem presented was a very interesting one. Here was aThe Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
borough without vacant lands of any kind. Indeed, so intent had
property owners in the past been to promote intensive development
that the total area of public open spaces was approximately one
acre to 4,500 population, as against the one acre to every 200
population which is now regarded by town planners as a minimum.
In numberless instances even the restricted backyards had been
used for the erection of workshops in which poor Russian Jews
eked out a precarious existence.
In provincial towns expansion or provision for slum clearances
can always be provided on the vacant lands by which they are
intersected or surrounded, but Stepney is closely hemmed in on
every side by other built-up areas.
Seeing that Stepney could not afford, on the one hand, to
keep its slums, or, on the other, to lose any part of its population,
how would it be possible to re-house these people under tolerable
conditions, and at the same time provide increased playing spaces
for the children? That was the problem. Instead of the mean
two-storeyed houses, crowded so closely together as to keep sun-
light from each other, we proposed to erect four-storeyed blocks
of flats, far enough apart to permit the full rays of the sun to fall
on each block, and at the same time provide considerable garden
and playground amenities between them.
he housing proposals of our town-planning scheme for
Stepney created some opposition from local and other housing
reformers, who claimed that the only way was to clear out the
whole of the slum areas and rebuild on the basis of twelve houses
to the acre. In a borough like Stepney this is impossible of
application, as it would be a needless hardship to the population,
more than two-thirds of whom would be forced to seek housing
accommodation outside the council area, and far removed from
their work. By our proposals it would be possible to re-house
the whole of the slum-dwellers under vastly improved health
conditions, for it would be possible to secure for their tenements
all the light and air possible in the case of cottages, which in any
case would be out of harmony with the needs and appearance of
the locality.
One of the next suggestions in our re-planning scheme was
the restoration of the river front to the uses of the public. This
we proposed to realise by setting the first floor of the warehouses
back to allow of a promenade road on this level, thus permitting
a direct connection between the wharf and the warehouses on the295
Re-planning of London's Darkest Spot.
ground-floor level. This very practical and economical suggestion
is by no means new, but has never yet been applied in any English
seaport town. That the public would greatly appreciate this
opening up of the river front is undoubted, for there is always a
fascination about a river front, with its sea and river craft plying
up and down the river in suchivaniediand picturesque form and
order. Thus to restore to the use of the public the very finest
health promenades amid ever-changing but always picturesque
surroundings would have been a great boon to the Londoner.
By the removal of the railway, the re-housing of the slum-
dwellers on a different plan, and the restoration of the river front,
we hoped in a measure to compensate for the lack of open spaces.
The study of the traffic circulation in relation to the docks
and goods warehouses, and the principal points of collection and
delivery, was most interesting, but the solution of these problems
was much more easily attainable than might appear in the case of
an area so densely built up. The reason was the new central
boulevard as a trafic route practically solved the flow east and
west, whilst the removal of the elevated railway would make it
possible to arrange for the cross-traffic roads at points where
property values were very low, or in positions where new traffic
routes would become valuable bueimes: streets, in which case the
enhanced land values would compensate both owner and local
authorities for the cost of road-making.
It was never contemplated by the promoters that they should
inaugurate any part of this work themselves. On the contrary,
they regarded the scheme as a piece of necessary propaganda
work which they hoped would promote interest. in the town-
planning possibilities of the East End of London, ' so that heroes
might have houses fit for heroes to live in.” They; also hoped
that a scheme which showed both esthetic qualities and financial
possibilities, presented in an attractive form, would appeal to the
Government, the London County Council, the Borough Council,
the Port of London Authority, and the railway companies.
That the publication of this scheme, and the many reviews
and articles which appeared in the press, created a widespread
interest, is undoubted ; and I think I may safely add that Stepney
Borough Council and the Port of London Authority would have
favoured the adoption of the scheme. But the London County
Council had already discussed the widening of Cable Street at a
cost of a million sterling, an expenditure that would have been296
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
unnecessary under our proposals. Probably one of the impediments
to the interest of the L.C.C. in the scheme is their fear of any
negotiations with a railway company. On the contrary, my idea
was that, properly approached, the railway company would have
favoured the scheme. We indeed hoped that the railway and
municipal authorities would in this case come to recognise the
fact that their interests were mutual. So far, however, the L.C.C.
have made no effort to examine the proposals, although so
influentially promoted and supported. It is true that the numerous
plans and drawings were exhibited at Spring Gardens, and that
some of the committees viewed them, but the only observation of
these committees was that the plans were too idealistic to be
realised. One must have proper sympathy with those councillors
who without any expert knowledge are called upon to adjudicate
upon the merits of a scheme of such vast importance to London's
darkest spot. At a later period I renewed my efforts to influence
the L.C.C. by approaching the chairman of their most important
committee, to whom I was given a letter of introduction. In
every case, however, I got the impression that the committees
were very much overworked, and that they had no use for new
ideas excepting when promoted by their own ofhcials.
It is, however, a moot point whether such a vast scheme of
public improvement would not be more successfully realised by
a great financial combination working under a private Act of
Parliament. Most of the notable achievements of the past have
been promoted and carried out by financial enterprise ; but after
the financial success of Kingsway and other considerable enterprises
which were undertaken by the old Board of Works, it was thought
that the L.C.C. should consider the possibilities of the Stepney
proposal before embarking upon the expenditure of large sums
upon the widening of Cable Street and other existing streets.
After having given the whole matter my often renewed and
earnest study, I am absolutely convinced that, given the will, the
scheme is a profoundly practical one, that it would pay handsomely,
and constitute the most far-reaching enterprise of its kind in the
country. If in the future any work of mine is reckoned worthy
of study by the town-planning student, Stepney will be the first
which will be selected. I am even inclined to think that my
solution of this problem will be recognised by some organising
genius with sufficient moral power behind him to win for it the
public support which | believe it deserves.Illus. No. 63.
SS
x
2
g
=
w
O
0
Zz
Z
ia
©O
=
0
&
a4
>
a
o
Zz
x
<
a
=
n
S
<
=e
a
=
o
i
Fe
_
e
Y
<
vo
5
ul
0
<
4
—
>
5
a
a
2
Yd
Qa
—
I
&
aS
SCHAPTER XXIV.
THE AFFAIRS OF THE INDUSTRIAL VILLAGES COMMITTEE.
HILST in Macedonia I had devoted the whole of my
V \ leisure to interesting the British forces in the Near East
in the work of the industrial villages, and in getting an
inside knowledge of the soldiers’ attitude towards the movement.
I hoped that in my absence there would be a wide circulation of
the pamphlets, for which I had prepared the necessary drawings
and photographs, and I trusted that these would have produced
a change for the better in the prospects of the committee. Instead,
however, of the work being continued on the lines I had laid down,
an almost opposite course had been pressed, which led to a
searching inquiry, and finally, for financial reasons, to a curtailment
of the work. Money had been spent and burdens incurred which
were out of all proportion to our resources, and the sums which
I had collected for the publication of the pamphlets on concrete
openings for industrial villages had been spent upon exhibitions
and expensive propaganda work.
It will be seen from what I have said that practically the
whole expense of this propaganda work was borne by the members
of the committee, the general public holding aloof because they
would help established work only. The public heartily approved
the scheme we had outlined, and would, so they said, support
the villages once we could show results. My committee, being
anxious to make good, prepared to make still further sacrifice to
attain this end. I persuaded them to return to the policy I had
evolved, and investigated two openings for industrial villages
situated within easy reach of London. One site was very suitable
for a co-operative fruit-growing colony, and on it had already
been erected over forty excellent new cottages. The entire property
was offered for seventeen thousand pounds. The other was a
small factory, with manager’s house and ample land for the
297298
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
extension of workshops, whilst near by was available land for
the erection of cottage homes. A successful industry in the
manufacture of dolls’ heads made from a peculiarly fine-grained
hard clay dug in the neighbourhood, had already been established,
and it was certain the same material could be adapted to the
reproduction of small statuettes and other decorative modelled art
productions. Reports were prepared for both colonies, along
with a suggested form of business organisation to work them.
Both schemes were carefully considered by the committee, and
received their approval, subject to our ability to finance them.
For a time it seemed as if we were on the way to success, and
we began to lay our plans for a big appeal based upon four definite
proposals, one of which was, of course,the Lancaster village, which
was beginning to take definite shape. The fourth scheme was the
Meathop afforestation colony. A well-known firm of advertising
agents whom we had consulted at this juncture wrote to say that
in consequence of a great appeal to be launched by Mr. John Hodge,
the Minister of Pensions, to aid disabled soldiers to start life again,
he regarded the time for our appeal as inopportune. When we
realised the tremendous scale of this rival appeal we sadly recognised
the soundness of the advice given to us, and were reluctantly
compelled to postpone further consideration of our new projects.
Thus once more our efforts were frustrated by the Ministry of
Pensions. The Hodge appeal is said to have realised a million and a
quarter, which was dispersed in doles—in many cases, let us hope,
with permanent results. How much better would the results have
been had this large sum been devoted to co-operative efforts in
industries specially suited to the needs of disabled men, along
with the creation of housing facilities which might have been
models and incentives to the country !
Meanwhile, disabled men were returning in ever-increasing
numbers, so that even Government officials began to realise the
enormous and pressing claims of the wounded men, who after
having passed through the hospitals became clamorous for attention.
he Government panacea was training centres and still more
training centres, with craftsmen and professors to give instruction
in every conceivable art, craft, or trade. For a time there was a
demand for men whose six months’ training was supposed to fit
them for trades in which other men had served seven years’
apprenticeship. Then trouble began, and the trade unions opposed
dilution. What was needed at that precise moment was theIndustrial Villages Committee.
conversion of the many munition villages into training and
employment centres; but, no, the men had been liberally dealt
with, they had been given pensions and a trade, and some of these
might be further helped by the John Hodge fund. A few might
be placed on small holdings, but this was about the limit.
Then a change gradually came over the officials of the
Government departments, and inquiries were made as to our
activities. We were even told that if we could revive some of our
schemes, especially Meathop, the Ministry would be prepared to
give them very careful and sympathetic consideration; but it
was too late, for the cold reception of our efforts had weakened
that driving force without which no great enterprise can succeed.
Therefore, disheartened and sceptical of any adequate response
commensurate with the energy and money expended, the committee
decided to meet its liabilities and wind up its affairs. The offices
were therefore given up, and the secretaries and the staff dismissed.
It seemed as if we were thoroughly beaten and “ down and
out’; but it is characteristic of our countrymen that they are blind
to defeat, and can never grasp the most patent facts associated
with failure. Chasing “ the forlorn hope ”’ is a positive recreation
with some people, and incidentally such persons often prove there
is method in their madness. In this category we may justly place
Mr. G. Reeves Smith, who from the start had worked assiduously
for the cause of the disabled, and it was largely by his efforts that
Industrial Settlements Incorporated arose out of the ashes of the
Industrial Villages Interim Committee.
he truly magnificent work accomplished by this organisa-
tion at Preston Hall, Maidstone, calls for a word of explanation
as to its inception and achievements. Industrial Settlements
Incorporated was fortunate in having Lord Queenborough as
president, Lord Avebury as treasurer, and such active workers as
Mr. G. Reeves Smith and Sir Edward Smith.
During the somewhat lengthy process of winding up the
affairs of the old organisation, Preston Hall, an extensive, modern,
and well-equipped mansion situated in the centre of a lovely
Kentish landscape, with 100 acres of land in lawns, gardens, and
park, came into the market. This property was, we thought,
just what was needed, but the price was thirty thousand pounds,
against which we had no credit whatever. What was to be done ?
Some time previously Lord Queenborough had_ provisionally
accepted the presidency of the revised organisation, and here300
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Mr. Reeves Smith again comes into action. If, said he, you can
find anyone who will give the necessary guarantee at the bank so
that we can conclude the purchase of the property, I think I can
see my way within six months to raise the money required for
purchase, furnishing, and whatever is necessary for organising
the scheme. With this assurance I called upon Lord Queenborough
and laid the facts and proposals before him, to which he replied :
“ I know the property, and the proposition is a splendid one, and
of course I will be delighted to give the necessary guarantee.”
And he did. I did not know at the time how Mr. Reeves Smith
intended to get the money, nor did I inquire; but I saw that he,
aring, and Storey were putting their heads together, and at least
I heard that a number of our friends were guaranteeing a clever
scheme for raising a large sum of money, which had been devised
by Mrs. Lyell. This proved to be the first Golden Ballot, which
accounted for a balance of about £250,000.
Two-thirds of the new Council and Executive were old
supporters, which showed that they had a deep interest in the
work, even though, as we may now allow, some of them dis-
agreed with the business methods of the Interim Committee.
To these were added another third, all men and women interested
in the disabled service man’s welfare. Notable amongst these
was Sir Edward Smith and Sir Nathan Raw, whose help was
invaluable. To revive general interest in our work, Mr. Reeves
Smith arranged for a conference at Claridge’s Hotel, at which
Lord Queenborough presided, and it was left to me to act as
chief spokesman. The Ministry of Pensions and other Govern-
ment departments were well represented.
he new organisation was given a room and an address, rent
free, in the Savoy Hotel, and Miss Phillpots, the assistant secretary
to the Interim Committee, whose keenness and ability had won
the respect of all, was appointed secretary. The vast amount of
work which was accomplished by Miss Phillpots did much to
bring about the success of the new venture.
On the suggestion of Sir Nathan Raw, the first thing done
after the acquisition of Preston Hall was to invite representatives
of the Ministry to visit the property and report on its suitability
as a colony for the training and support of men suffering from
incipient tuberculosis. The report of these Government repre-
sentatives was most encouraging, and they promised liberal
grants for training and maintenance. It was therefore decided toIndustrial Villages Committee.
proceed “ full steam ahead.” Architects were called in to report
upon the necessary structural alterations and additions for the
accommodation and training of at least two hundred and fifty
men. Water engineers, heating and ventilating experts, were
consulted ; a gardener was installed, with instructions to bring the
beautiful gardens, which during the war had necessarily been
neglected, up to their former condition. Negotiations were also
set on foot to acquire an additional four hundred acres of land,
and a deposit was paid: all proving that the new organisation
had unbounded faith. Offices were taken opposite the Marble
Arch, the meetings being held at the Savoy Hotel. In the
meantime, the first Golden Ballot had been launched, and within
a month it was evident there would be a substantial sum available
for open-air treatment at Preston Hall. Later the Government
offered a subsidy of £180 per bed. In 1920 Preston Hall was
opened with a fully equipped staff under the direction of a
medical expert, with about sixty patients, the number gradually
increasing as accommodation could be provided, until the
maximum of three hundred were at one time receiving training
and maintenance. This of course meant a vast expenditure
in workshops, machinery, and equipment, in extensive poultry
farms and piggeries, and particularly in the development of the
horticultural department, which was planned on the basis of an
up-to-date commercial enterprise.
The men take a keen interest in their work, attend the lectures
with regularity, and generally do their utmost to reach efficiency.
he preliminary scheme provided only for the curative and
training period, but from the first it was recognised that if the
men’s future was not provided for, the enterprise could not
be considered a permanent success. The scheme of village
communities outlined in “ An Imperial Obligation’’ was the only
one which offered any solution and provided for the men’s future,
and so it was decided to test the men’s wishes in regard to it.
Segregation had, of course, been accepted as absolutely necessary
for the curative and training period, but it was not known how
the men would regard living and working permanently in a village
erected entirely for their use. A ballot was therefore taken of the
214 men who were under training, with the result that 165 voted
for the industrial village. In other words, practically every free
man preferred segregation.
The next task undertaken, and that with great enthusiasm,302
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
was to experiment in industries which would hold out the promise
of a reasonable income which in conjunction with the men’s
pensions would provide a living wage. Out of a large number of
industries which we tested, both as to suitability and as to profit-
bearing, a number have given excellent results. Amongst the
most successful has been the growing of tree carnations. Thus,
again, when put to the test, the principles urged in “ An Imperial
Obligation ’’ have proved trustworthy.
The result is that to-day there is a village growing up at
Preston Hall which provides comfortable homes for the men,
with their wives and families, whilst prosperous industries are
being rapidly developed on sound business lines. Herein lies the
future success of the venture, which, as the period of training
comes to an end with the loss of Government subsidies, must
rely more and more upon self-supporting industries. Thus by the
tenacious faith and the organising ability of a few enthusiasts a
fine local success has been built upon the ashes of the Interim
Committee, and all connected with it have felt the joy of
achievement.
Speaking for myself, I cannot claim any large share in this
final success, but it is a matter of satisfaction that both Preston
Hall and Westfield, Lancaster, are doing their beneficent work.Illus. No. 64.
Mrs. T, H. Mawson anp Mrs. E. Prentice Mawson IN VERANDAH AT RoynTon Corrace.CHAPTER XXV.
THE END OF THE WAR OPENS UP NEW PROSPECTS.
URING the late summer of 1918 it became increasingly
1) evident that the resistance of the Central Powers was
weakening, and that the end of the war was in sight.
Many old clients then began to write about suspended works,
and new projects began to spring forth, which sent me on my
travels again.
Early in September of this year my wife and I paid a visit
to Lews Castle, Stornoway, as the guests of Lord Leverhulme.
I had not been on the island twenty-four hours before I saw I
was booked for a busy fortnight. My client, who had recently
purchased the island of Lewis, had begun to set his fertile brain
and organising genius, not only towards the improvement of his
own private domain, but also towards the industrial conditions
of the island as a whole. The result was that I left Lewis with
the data on which to base a report of the natural resources of the
island, along with instructions to prepare designs for the Castle
grounds, and also his lordship’s tentative suggestions for the
re-planning of the town of Stornoway. These commissions
involved an amount of work which kept me busy for the next
three months.
Thus I dealt with a wide range of possibilities requiring some
knowledge in the round of architecture and town planning, tourist
possibilities and sport, home industries and handicrafts, forestry
and arboriculture, fruit-growing and horticulture, and finally the
economic improvement of peat lands. All were subjects encountered
in my varied life’s work. Early in life, and all through my career,
I had learnt to observe local conditions, including soil, climate,
and tree growth. Working on this principle, it was comparatively
easy, after observing the remarkable growth of Abies Frazeri on
the estate, to estimate the value of similar land planted with the
303304
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Hil same and kindred pines; or, after seeing the remarkable crops
| of raspberries and bush fruit in the kitchen garden at the Castle,
ti it was not difficult to estimate the value of a large acreage of bush
fruits grown on similar land.
The report was presented later in the year. After reading it,
Lord Leverhulme jocularly described me as the most imaginative
man he had ever met; but whether intended as destructive or
as constructive criticism I never knew, and did not inquire, for
fear it might come under the first category. Be this as it may,
I have seldom worked upon such a fascinating subject, nor upon
one which seemed to be more my native element.
ii The chief subjects dealt with in this report were as follows :—
(1) The exploitation of Lewis as a tourist resort.
(2) The improvement of sporting facilities, especially of loch and river
shing.
(3) The utilisation of the vast quantities of peat for the creation of power,
for fuel, for peat litter, and for horticultural purposes.
(4) ne conversion of large selected areas of peat land into farm and forest
ands.
(5) The creation of a nursery business for the raising and growing of
young forest trees.
(6) The afforestation of large areas of the island for profit, shelter, and
ornament.
(7) The development of osier beds, for which successful experiments had
already been made on the island. These experiments and the increasing
demand for osiers suggested the possibility of a large development
of the basket-making industry.
(8) The development of small holdings for crofters.
(9) Co-operative fruit-growing on a large scale, including the cultiva-
tion of raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants,
loganberries, and Siberian crabs.
(10) The development of herb-growing for drying and distilling.
(11) Bee-keeping.
(12) The creation of a well-appointed and scientifically controlled experimental
garden for research work in the growth of New Zealand flax, etc.
Unfortunately, just as many of the proposals were entering
upon the experimental stage, the now notorious raid began, ending
with the eviction of the oldest and most enlightened farmers in
the island, and the division of these cultivated tracts of land amongst
the raiders. Obviously it was little use developing rural industries
in places where there was no security for owner or tenant. But
for these untoward incidents the Isle of Lewis might have proved
an intensely interesting development which would have added
enormously to the welfare of the inhabitants as a whole. These305
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
proposals were, of course, supplementary to the organisation of
the fishing industry, upon which large sums of money were spent
before the hostile attitude of a small but very insistent section
of the islanders brought the whole of these experiments in industrial
and social welfare to an end.
Following this failure, some years later Lord Leverhulme
offered the island, upon which he had from first to last spent over
a million sterling, as a gift to the islanders, but this offer was
refused. One wonders what the disciples of Henry George would
say to this rejection of ownership; and yet the refusal is not
difficult to understand. The tenant of a croft paid ten shillings a
year rent, and his landlord paid the rates. This amounted to
sixpence more than the rent, so why should the tenant (and a Scots-
man at that) turn landlord and lose his “ sixpence’’’ a year ?
At this time, travelling beyond Inverness was as difficult as
travelling abroad, and necessitated military barriers and passports,
for which reason | did not visit the island again until after the
Armistice.
The Armistice, which was signed in November, 1918, increased
interest in national projects, particularly those which had to
with industrial reorganisation and the provision of better housing
and amenities for the working classes. It also brought into
practical operation much work for private individuals. Many
old clients like Lord Leverhulme, Gordon Selfridge, Walter
Cottingham, and Sir Samuel Waring, took in hand the completion
of work which had remained in abeyance during the years of the
war.
At this time the activities of the Ministry of Health, over
which that practical idealist, Dr. Addison, presided, were directed
primarily to the promotion of town planning with a view to fitting
the proposed housing schemes logically into the expanding towns.
These activities also aimed at improving transit facilities, the
preservation of natural amenities, and the creation of those
recreational facilities requisite for the higher standard of life
which the returned war man demanded. Further legislation of an
obligatory character was passed, calling upon all municipalities
with a population of 20,000 and over to submit schemes before the
close of 1923. This enactment brought considerable work to the
rm.
One of the first calls in this direction came from the Wood
Green Council, followed closely by our old clients of the adjoining306
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Council of New Southgate. For both areas we are still engaged
in collaboration with the Council's engineers and surveyors.
These two important North London districts are full of interest
for the town planner, and both possess certain characteristics and
features which ought to give a permanent value to the districts as
a whole.
Wood Green, for instance, whilst in parts intensely developed,
has the crowning advantage of Alexandra Park, a site of approxi-
mately one hundred and fifty acres, occupying the highest ground
in the district. It also had the advantage of large undeveloped
areas abutting the Tottenham, New Southgate, and Frein Barnet
Council areas. The principal drawback had quite unnecessarily
been created by the lack of co-operation between the railway
companies and the local authorities. Here it may be remarked
that without exception in my experience the railways have imposed
the barrier to logical town planning. Further, I have yet to meet
a case in which the railway lines, the stations, the goods yards, and
the passenger department, might not have been better and more
economically arranged had the railway companies and the local
councils co-operated. Fortunately, owing to the discrimination of
town-planning principles there is now growing up a more accom-
modating spirit which must inevitably lead to mutual advantage.
New Southgate’s asset is its private domains, which are
wonderfully interspersed with timber, set peace expansive
undulating park lands. These are some of the natural amenities
which a town’s development plan will seek to preserve. “Two
other advantages are its beautiful public parks and recreation
grounds which a progressive Town Council has provided.
Another interesting commission was a development plan for
the extension of the industrial and residential town of Grays in
Kent. Here, again, we worked in collaboration with the district
surveyor. The Council had acquired a tract of land for housing,
thus giving us a starting point for the larger proposals. The
result will be practically a new town, which, when fully built
up, will contain its own shopping centre, churches, schools, and
recreational facilities—in short, a model community centre.
By this time the housing of the working classes had become
the slogan of every political party. The cries were for “ houses fit
for heroes to live in,” and “conditions under which we could raise
a race of Al men.” Every authority, whether county council,
borough, or urban district, was invited to estimate its needs and307
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
to present schemes for the approval of the Ministry, which would
then grant a liberal subsidy. So urgent was the supply of additional
houses regarded, that their Majesties the King and Queen,
accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Princess Mary,
supplemented the efforts of their Ministers by giving a reception
at Buckingham Palace on April 11, 1919. Representatives of the
London and county councils associations, of borough and urban
district councils, and rural district councils, were invited to send
representatives. Additional to these public bodies, the National
Housing and Town Planning Council was invited to send
representatives, and I was one of the chosen delegates.
In all there were about five hundred present, each group being
introduced by its chairman or secretary. Our group was introduced
individually by Mr. Henry Aldridge. It was intensely interesting
to watch these masters of royal courtesy making their guests at
their ease, occasionally adding a word of compliment or making a
short inquiry when any mayor of a town which had distinguished
itself during the war, was presented. When it came to my turn,
Mr. Aldridge preserited me as the re-planner of Athens. ihe
King gave me a cordial handshake. 1| then passed on like the
others to shake hands with the Queen, and I confess I was more
loyal still when the Queen told me she had been following
my work with interest. It was so simply said, and with such
apparent appreciation, that I felt at once under obligation.
After the reception the King read his address in a resonant
voice, with excellent delivery, emphasising, with the accustomed
slalvotial Grished orator, its salient points. The address created
great enthusiasm, and tindoubtedly did much to strengthen the
housing cause.
Two paragraphs in His Majesty’ s address which were
applauded are well worth quoting. They epitomise the high
aspirations of the country for better housing conditions :—
‘If this country is to be the country which we desire to see it become, a
great offensive must be undertaken against disease and crime; and the first point
at which the attack must be delivered is the unhealthy, ugly, overcrowded house
in the mean street, which we all of us know too well.”
“It is not een houses ’ that are needed. The new houses must be also
‘homes.’ Can we not aim at securing to the working classes in their homes the
one cgi brightness, and peace which we usually associate with the word
ome
The housing boom was now in full swing, and we came in for
our share, principally for the Wood Green Council, who had
eee
Andiamo
ae oT =
Sg i = =
. ane — erie
ica308
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
acquired the Cline estate (fifty acres) and the White Hart estate
of forty acres, both excellent for the purpose. For these two
properties we prepared lay-out plans showing 450 houses for the
first and 432 houses for the other. These schemes were duly
approved by the Ministry of Health, and plans prepared for the
whole of the cottages. Only fifty were built before Dr. Addison
was replaced as Minister by Sir Alfred Mond, who reversed his
predecessor's policy and practically brought housing to a climax.
The results attained fell short by at least 80 per cent. of what
politicians had advocated as a minimum necessity.
One of the reasons given for the abandonment of the housing
policy was the combination amongst builders, merchants, and
manufacturers to force up prices. In the early stages of the housing
boom this was unfortunately only too true.
In the winter of this year I gave two lectures at King’s College,
London—the first on “ The Re-planning of Salonika,” and the
second on “ The Re-planning of Athens.”” The late Dr. Burrows,
the Principal, a warm friend of Greece and its Prime Minister,
was chairman. Mr. Venizelos attended, and proposed the vote
of thanks in a notable address delivered in English. He spoke
most kindly of my work, both as the director of the re-planning
commission for Salonika and as the re-planner of Athens. Naturally,
on such an occasion and with such a world-famous Premier in
attendance, there was a large audience and great enthusiasm. At
that time the Greeks were quite sure they were living in the early
stages of a great renaissance.
Sir T. G. Jackson, Bart., R.A., our first authority on Byzantine
architecture, was the chairman for the Athens lecture, and
contributed many interesting facts relating to both classical remains
and the Byzantine architecture of this ancient city. I was certainly
most fortunate in both my chairmen, whose fame added numerically
to the gatherings and infused the lectures with an amount of
scholarly information on these great cities. My lectures were
devoted for the most part to providing a picture of these two
cities as they might be if Greeks the world over were minded to
contribute the necessary financial assistance.
The lecture on Salonika was repeated all over the country.
Everywhere it attracted crowded audiences, composed largely of
men who had served with the forces in Macedonia, and who
always applauded any picture representing such scenes as the
congested traffic conditions at Porte Vardar, rechristened by them309
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
‘* Piccadilly Circus.” They were also interested in my references
to ancient forms of transport, which in the Near East still persist.
For purposes of contrast I brought together in the same picture
convoys of donkeys laden with scrub for firewood, as well as an
ancient porter carrying the furniture of a household on his back,
and the modern army motor-waggon. On the one hand was to be
seen the smart modern Tommy with his alert, debonair carriage,
and on the other the native muleteer, unchanged for centuries.
I also addressed companies of business men on the commercial
and industrial opportunities of Macedonia, and always there was
the same inquiry, evidently dictated by experience of business
methods in the Near East : ‘“ How long credit do they require ? ”
This was a question I also was asking, for at this time | had not
received from the Greek Government or the Municipality of
Athens sufficient to pay out-of-pocket expenses.
The desire to obtain a settlement for our work in Athens
largely led up to my next visit. I was also suspicious of certain
political undercurrents which had for their object the promotion
of French interests, notwithstanding the great popularity of the
British throughout the Near East.
When I left Salonika after preparing our preliminary studies,
which were approved as studies by M. Venizelos, it was clearly
understood between the members of the commission that our
report and diagrams were to constitute the basis of the final scheme.
Further, I was to be regularly informed of the progress of this
final scheme, and to be given an opportunity of criticising all
deviations from the original proposals. Hearing nothing from
my colleagues, I cabled my son to report to me, and found that the
French members of the commission had rushed through the
completion of the drawings and had held a public exhibition of
them in Salonika and Athens, omitting my name entirely from the
plans. Not until the Minister of Public Works protested was my
name restored.
The compiler of the descriptive brochure of the exhibition
thought to belittle our work by a contemptuous reference
to it, which, translated, reads as follows: “Mr. Mawson, the
English town planner, had visited Salonika and prepared several
diagrams.” I therefore, along with my son and our assistants,
claim the authorship of these “diagrams,” one of which is
illustrated on page 280. This diagram is No. 13. I can now
add that in so far as this ‘“‘diagram’’ was departed from, the
i
pn naan pa310
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
‘improvements ’’ were of doubtful value, and often impossible of
attainment.
Another thing demanding a further visit to Greece was the
difficulty of settling anything by correspondence with the official
departments. Before leaving Athens | had, as already stated,
received explicit instructions from MM. Venizelos to interest
English contractors and financiers in the reconstruction of Salonika,
and in this direction I had made some progress, but although |
reported regularly to the Minister of Public Works, I seldom
received any reply, so I felt that I could not go on spending my
energies with so little result. I had learnt my lesson. The Greeks,
notwithstanding many fine qualities, spend part of their lives in
looking for some new thing, and the rest of it in procrastination.
In keeping with this resolution, we started (my wife and
daughter-in-law accompanied me) for Athens, travelling en route
Paris, Rome, and again by Gallipoli on the Italian peninsula. As
Gallipoli was one of the few ports from which Italian and Greek
boats were sailing, we were informed on the morning of our
arrival in Rome that if we took the afternoon train for Gallipoli
we would find a boat waiting. Following these instructions, we
arrived at this port the next morning, only to find there had been
no boat for a week, but that one was expected in two days. We
had to stay for a whole week again at the hotel where we had
previously experienced so much discomfort. Never have I met
with a hostel in which ordinary comforts and decencies were so
entirely neglected.
On arrival in Athens we again put up at the Hétel Angleterre,
which, after the discomforts of our journey, appealed to us as a
palace of hospitality and cleanliness. There I met my two sons.
They had been in Athens some time, compiling the conditions of
sale and building ordnances for Salonika, and drafting out
co-operatively worked homesteads for the settlement of returned
soldiers on the land in Thessaly. In this policy M. Papanastassiou
was following the lead of M. Venizelos, who on one occasion
told me that he was not anxious to encourage new industries, even
in Salonika, until the needs of additional cultivators of the land
had been fully met.
My sons had prepared for me a résumé of the actual position
of our work in Salonika and Athens, and the forces for and against
its adoption, along with a lot of other projects in which our aid
would be sought. They had also drawn up a programme for a311
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
month’s hard work, which included a report on the principles to
be observed in the re-planning of the sixty-four villages which
had been destroyed in the Macedonian war zone, and the
organisation of a town-planning department which was to be
under the direction of my second son. At the same time, I was
asked to select sites for four new hotels for the proprietors of the
Hétel Grande Bretagne. This particular company was promised
special facilities by the Government, which at this time had
adopted the recommendations of M. Venizelos for a chain of
hotels as the first step in the development of the plan for Athens.
The crowds of tourists who daily sought hotel accommodation
in the Greek capital and failed to find it provided ample proof
of the need.
The proprietors of the Hétel Grande Bretagne had already
prepared plans for extending its accommodation to the utmost
limits of its site. They were now negotiating for the larger area of
land between Rue de Stadt and Rue Université occupied by the
Royal Mews, which was to be removed to a less valuable but more
convenient site near the Crown Prince's palace.
Some idea of the land values in Athens may be gathered from
the price (viz., £250,000) demanded by the Government for this
site. The plan we proposed was to develop about half the plot
for the new hotel, with the main entrance facade facing Rue
Université, with an entrance from the Rue de Stadt flanked on
either side by a long colonnade with lock-up shops between the
hotel and garden court. Our most interesting proposal for a
hotel de luxe was the site on the rising ground south of the stadium,
in a dominating position, which I still regard as the finest site for
an hotel in the whole world. Its terrace would command such a
panorama of natural features and historic remains as does not
elsewhere exist.
Since my last return to England the Venizelos Government had
endeavoured to prove their love of democracy by converting the
larger half of the Royal Gardens into a public park. That this
was greatly appreciated by the public was proved by the crowds
of people who filled the walks and alleys of the park. A part of
this ground abutting the east side of Constitution Square was
greatly coveted by the group of hotel promoters, and it was hoped
that I might report favourably upon it, and prove that it would
add to the dignity of the square and the amenities of the Royal Park.
I reported against the adoption of this site on both counts, and312
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
recommended in its stead a much more spacious place along
Rue Kaffissia.
Unfortunately, about this time the drachma began to fall in
value, and has continued to fall ever since. This depreciation of
the drachma was followed by lack of confidence and enterprise,
so that little progress has been made in meeting one of Athens’
most vital needs.
On the third morning after my arrival in Athens I was sent
for by the young King Alexander, who had just returned from
Salonika. As always, His Majesty received me with great
friendliness, and asked about the progress of the various works
on which we were engaged. I explained that we seemed to be like
many other firms engaged upon construction schemes—every
design seemed to meet with hearty approval, but made no further
progress. “ That,’’ replied the King, “ is the traditional attitude
of Greeks, and you will find that they will keep you drawing out
plans for ever if you allow them to use you so. Your only chance
is to bring in foreign interests.” The King then told me that he
was chairman of a Trust Fund which amounted to over fifty
thousand pounds left by an Anglo-Greek towards the foundation
of a new collegiate school corresponding to Harrow or Rugby, for
which several sites had been suggested, which he proposed I should
visit the next day, in company with His Majesty.
As arranged, I presented myself at the palace at two o'clock
the following afternoon, accompanied by the Mayor of the Pireus,
who favoured a site to the south of the Pireeus, or alternately a site
on the other side of the town and harbour. Both of these sites were
impossible, being barren rocks, which would have cost all the
trust’s money to level. I pointed this out to the King, who
entirely agreed, but naturally the Mayor was very disappointed.
The King said: “‘ Seeing you cannot report favourably on either
of these sites, can you make any other suggestion for a suitable
site >”
I replied without hesitation that there was an ideal site along
the Singrosse Road, about half-way between Athens and Phalaron
Bay—in fact, immediately behind the church built by King George
as a thank-offering for a providential escape from death. I pointed
out that this beautiful church, which was seldom used, would
make an admirable school chapel, and that the ground to the east
was practically level for sports fields and a group of collegiate
buildings.313
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
King Alexander was so impressed with this site that he at
once instructed me to prepare a scheme in which every build-
ing, whether of school-house, master’s house, etc., was to be
included. By the time these plans were submitted the whole
position had been altered by the offer of a rich Greek to find the
whole of the additional finances required to build and equip the
school—a matter of two hundred thousand pounds,—subject to
the school being built on the island of Spezia, of which he was the
owner. When last I heard of this scheme the promoters were
trying to find water on the island.
The reasons given in favour of the island site are very
interesting, and worth repeating. The original sum of fifty
thousand pounds was left for the purpose of introducing the English
principle of public-school life into Greece, and one of the provisions
was that the headmaster and the sports master must be Englishmen.
It was pointed out, and I think with some truth, that under this
system school control supplanted parental control, and that the
only way to secure this in Greece was to take the boy away from
the precincts of home, otherwise fond Greek mothers would be
constantly showing their anxiety for their offspring by calling at
the schools every other day, thus interfering with the discipline
of the headmaster and his assistants.
We were inundated at this time with requests to take up work
and establish an office in Athens. In addition tothe projects already
enumerated, we were commissioned to design an industrial village
in Corfu for the well-known firm of Aspioti Brothers, with new
works attached, whilst the Minister of Public Works promised us
much Government work. This set me “ furiously to think,’’ for
there was a great danger that our success in Greece might sabes
our home practice. Already this Greek work was monopolising
the entire energies of my two sons and nearly half of my own.
I was approaching my fifty-eighth birthday, and, never being
physically strong, I had to hesitate about accepting a suggestion
that might have won me fame and fortune. With the favour of
the Royal House, and the active support of the Government,
anything seemed possible. The more | thought of it, the more
I became convinced that either my home connection or the Greek
one must go.
There was also the certainty that the dilatory financial methods
of the Greeks would necessitate a much larger capital than | at
the time possessed, and yet to give up a commanding positionIlias. No. 65.
|
il
AYING
io315
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
in Athens and allow the completion of the town plans to fall
into other hands, was depressing.
had been asked to lecture on “ The Future of Athens ”’
before the Society of the Men of Science, the most influential
organisation in the capital, and I decided that I would then outline
a policy for the completion of the city plans and the method by
which the work could be spread over a period of twenty years.
First I had a conference with M. Papanastassiou, and discussed
with him the formation of a commission backed by its own executive
staff as in Salonika. It was suggested that I should visit Athens
for a period of six weeks twice each year, when the commission
could meet in full representative force, and that, apart from my
position on the Council, I should be entirely responsible for the
park and boulevard system.
The lecture, which was delivered under the chairmanship of
M. Zalacoste, and attended by the King and his suite, was evidently
regarded as an important occasion, because the lecture hall was
crowded to its utmost capacity, every profession and every important
interest being represented. Greatly encouraged by my audience,
I spoke for an hour and a half, laying particular stress again on the
importance of an ample water supply as the necessary starting
point in the improvement of Athens. Without it a beautiful park
system would be impossible. A plentiful water supply would again
make Athens worthy of its ancient title of ““ The City of Sweet
Violets.” I concluded by recommending the formation of a town-
planning commission, outlining its compositions and functions.
This was put in the form of a resolution and passed with
acclamation; but, to my great disappointment, I saw that the
Minister of Public Works was not present, and | feared under-
currents.
For the next fortnight I was daily interviewing Ministers and
heads of Government departments, as well as the Mayor, trying
to get support for my scheme for progressive development, both
in Athens and in Salonika, but at every stage I found indecision and
a refusal to accept responsibility. I was later to learn that all the
Ministers were so entirely under the domination of M. Venizelos
that politically they dared not call their souls their own. Greece,
which had a very liberal democratic form of government, was
really in the grip of the autocrat Venizelos, who ruled both King
and Parliament. As a mere onlooker it seemed to me that this
just suited the needs of the country under normal conditions,316
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
because the Premier had the overwhelming support of the electorate
and the fullest confidence of the Allies, and was recognised by
friend and foe alike as a great personality. He was firm, yet
courteous, wise, and far-seeing, and a thorough-going patriot, but
in the completeness of his qualities he stood alone. Even Politis,
with his great powers of oratory, did not approach the standard of
Venizelos as a statesman. This autocracy worked perfectly so long
as the Premier was on the spot to control the political machine, but
for some time past he had been in attendance at the Peace Conference
in Paris, and the work there absorbed all his energies, with the
result that the political machine in Greece slowed down and
gradually began to mark time, all hoping daily for the return of
M. Venizelos. But the conference dragged on month after
month, and the policy of marking time brought, as it was certain
to do, unrest and dissatisfaction, for none of the promised plans
for the rebuilding of Salonika or the devastated villages of
Macedonia, or for the improvement of Athens, was begun.
The following incident will show how lax the Government
had become :
At the exhibition which I gave of our plans for the capital,
before leaving Athens on my previous visit, M. Venizelos greatly
admired our proposals for a new diagonal road between the proposed
new station place and Place Monastirachi, and said, in the presence
of his Ministers, that he would like to see this improvement
commenced at once. To him I replied: “It shall be done
immediately if you can arrange for an Act of expropriation of the
necessary lands, and also buildings (mostly slums) which stand
in the way.”” “* You shall have an Act passed through Parliament,
Mr. Mawson,” said Venizelos. Unfortunately, Venizelos left
Athens a few days later, and this very promising and paying pro-
position was put on the waiting list, and there it is still; When
on this visit I inquired what progress had been made, and was
told that the Municipality refused to incur the expense. Of course
M. Venizelos intended this to be a Government enterprise.
Incidentally, I was informed that a French engineer had raised
objections to the site I had chosen for the new Union Railway
station, on account of its expense. This position had been
mentioned to me by King Constantine as offering a convenient
site on vacant land, and the finest view of Athens. Therefore the
engineer's criticism was merely another effort at French penetration.
Realising the hopelessness of any progress, I returned to317
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
Paris to interview M. Venizelos, who was staying with his staff
at the Hotel Mercedes. After waiting three days | had an interview
with him, and arranged for a conference of representatives of the
contracting groups in London. The upshot was that commissions
were secured for several important schemes. To this extent
my trip had produced good results, but I finally decided that in
the then state of instability it would be unwise to risk my home
practice for the allurements of Athens.
There is just one other matter of interest in connection with this
trip which is worth noting. I have already referred to the work of
afforestation which at the request of King Constantine I had
included in my preliminary lay-out for Athens. This work had
been continued with vigour each planting season over a very
considerable area, with most promising results. In this way the
slopes of the hills of Phillapapos and the Lycabettos are rapidly
assuming a forest-like character, to the great esthetic advantage
of the capital. I was also delighted to find when I called at Corfu
that the large spaces planted with cypress were flourishing.
On my return home I found much work awaiting me.
For a year before I left for Athens our surveyors had been
busily engaged on the preparation of a contoured survey plan of
Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, Bournemouth, which, with the
adjoining meadow lands and tidal inlets, totalled over five hundred
acres. his property had been acquired by Mr. Gordon Selfridge,
one of those American business men who take to fine architecture
applied to great projects as naturally as Englishmen take to old
furniture, glass, or china.
At this time Mr. Selfridge was the tenant of Highcliffe Castle,
a beautiful old house reminiscent of an old French chateau.
Here I often stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Selfridge for long week-
ends, and during these visits we evolved what was frankly intended
to be a purely imaginative piece of work, and, being imaginative,
we were not troubled by any of those material considerations,
such as finance, which so often clip the wings of imagination. The
only controlling factor was the topography of the five hundred
acres, which include the well-known Hengistbury Head, to the
west of the Isle of Wight, famous as the place of departure and
arrival of migratory birds.
Mr. Selfridge explained the position, and his instructions
were somewhat as follows :—
For many years past I have spent my holidays visiting the318
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
most remarkable castles and mansions in many parts of the world,
many of them works of great antiquity, and all possessing
architectural merit. Whenever I discuss these visits with my
friends, I am told that the days of great architecture are past, and
that we can never again hope to see such achievements. These are
the pessimists, whilst I am an optimist. I believe it is just as
possible nowadays to interpret human needs in grand architectural
compositions as at any previous age. I am prepared to back my
faith by co~ operating with my architect and landscape architect
in the creation of a castle crowning Hengistbury Head, with noble
ramparts and terraces reaching down to the lower ground, these
to be associated with gardens and a broad expanding park, with
sheltered lowlands, extensive orchards and vegetable gardens and
nursery, and every amenity and modern convenience, including a
model village for the estate workmen.”
It was to be a veritable castle in Spain, a dream domain.
The designing of the castle was largely dictated by Mr. Selfridge
himself; the garden part of the scheme and the park were entrusted
tous. To gain an idea of the scale of this colossal proposal, imagine
a castle occupying the entire bluff at the south-west end of the
head, with its west elevation nearly nine hundred feet long, whilst
the south elevation was six hundred feet in length, the rooms of
this mountain of architecture being in proportion. ‘The sculpture
gallery was over two hundred feet in length.
I have tackled many big projects for daring clients, but here
was an entirely novel experience. A castle in the air, conceived
and carried through as such, to prove, if provable, that we to- day
possess imaginative enlives equal to those of our forefathers !
In Mr. Selfridge we had a modern Piranisi, inspiring and
directing the enterprise.
At first I thought it would be delightfully easy to work as an
artist, untrammelled by conventions of style and practical con-
siderations, but I soon found the difficulty of divesting oneself
of the results of training and experience. When I submitted my
drawings for the terraces, my client asked the reason why the
lowest level had not been extended at least another hundred feet.
‘ Because,” | replied, “ we settled the level at our last meeting,
and the extent is decided by the number of cube yards of excavation
available. In other words, the cut and fill are just about equal.”
‘ | know you are a practical expert, but I hoped I should also
find in you a great dreamer. That for the moment is the man I319
End of War Opens Up New Prospects.
want. If to complete the dream castle we have to buy one of the
South Sea islands or dredge the ocean, we may surely draw upon
our imagination to this extent.”
At every turn I found myself designing in accordance with
the topography and practical possibilities of the site. In this
respect I was more Greek than Roman, and more of a practical
man than a great dreamer. I recognised my limitations. My
plans were simply the interpretation of the possibilities of landscape
art applied to Hengistbury Head and the adjoining lands, and |
saw that my client was fettered by my practicability. My eldest
son had by this time completed his work in Athens, so I suggested
that as much of his training had been gained at the Ecole de
Beaux Arts in Paris, where students are trained to develop
their imagination, I would appreciate his collaboration. Some
day I hope Mr. Selfridge will publish a portfolio of the drawings
prepared by his architects and ourselves under his own generous
leadership. The effect, I venture to suggest, would be to gain
a wider toleration of and demand for the use of imagination in
architecture and the allied arts.
Much other work came along, which included the preparation
of a comprehensive town-planning scheme for Northampton.
The town planning of Northampton proved a difficult problem.
As in most other towns, the principal difficulties arose through
encroachments on the town by the railways, which paid so little
regard to the rights of the public as to permit the main London
road to cross the railway on the level. Meanwhile, valuable
properties had grown up along the route, which would have to be
demolished if a bridge were erected over the railway and on the
line of the road. The hold-up traffic is a serious matter, and daily
growing more intolerable, and one of our difficulties was to find
a by-pass road to take this trafic. The solution for this important
traffic road has been evolved, and we hope it may win the approval
of the Ministry of Transport. If at one place the railway has
created such a difficulty, the abandonment of the Midland Railway
station, which occupies a central site, would provide opportunities
foarne! development of the civic centre or other buildings of public
or semi-public importance. The great opportunities for town
planning in Northampton lie in the direction of the town’s rapid
growth, in the necessary zoning to secure increased open spaces
and playing fields, and in the control of density of population and
the location of industrial areas,320
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
Soon after receiving the commission to re-plan Northampton,
I was called in as consultant to advise the Windermere Urban
District Council to work in collaboration with its very able surveyor,
Mr. Charles Hines, to solve certain increasingly difficult traffic
conditions, and to prepare a plan for the control of density
of buildings and the preservation of the national amenities of the
district.
It will interest motorists to know that in our report we
recommend a road avoiding the two steep hills encountered upon
entering Windermere from the south, by branching off in the
direction of the lake after leaving the hamlet of Ings near the
Hyning. Passing along in front of Blackmoss Farm it joins
the high road to the lake at Queen‘s Drive, half-way between
Windermere and Bowness. Another by-pass road to avoid the
congestion in the lower part of Bowness branches off at the top
of Cragg Brow, passing behind the Crown Hotel and joining up
with the Kendal and Newby Bridge route at a convenient place
clear of the village.
There are other new roads, all obviously needed to avoid
several dangerous gradients, and generally so practical that some
of them at least will surely be carried through as Government-
aided relief works, being much more economical and more
satisfactory than costly widenings, which are, after all, only poor
palliatives for the relief of very serious conditions.West Front or Dunira, PERTHSHIRE, FoR W. G. Macsetu, Esa.
Illus. No. 67.
Rocky StreAM, Dunrra, PERTHSHIRE, FoR W. G. Macsetu, Esa.CHAPTER XXVI.
POST-WAR ACTIVITIES.
HE beginning of 1920 marked further progress in the post-war
reorganisation of the practice. Old members of the staff
resumed their accustomed work, and pupils whose studies
had been interrupted returned to complete their course of tuition.
Old clients looked out their progress schemes, and new clients for
both public and private projects were filling the office with
interesting work. The two most attractive schemes were Boveridge
Park, Cranborne, Dorset, and Dunira near Comrie in Perthshire.
Both these extensive and notable estates had been recently
purchased by well-known shipowners—Boveridge Park by Mr.
Charles W. Gordon, and Dunira by Mr. W. Gilchrist Macbeth.
In each place considerable work was being carried out in alterations
and additions to the residence—at Boveridge by Mr. Guy Dawber,
and at Dunira by Messrs. Clifford and Lunan, a well-known firm
of Glasgow architects, through whom we were introduced to our
new clients.
Boveridge Park is a large property, finely timbered, which
imparts a dominating note to the beautiful but gently undulating
landscape. The house is a large and somewhat austere Georgian
example, occupying a commanding site almost in the centre of its
own spacious park, all in such orderly stateliness as to suggest the
work of Capability Brown or Repton. On my first visit to Boveridge
the house was in the hands of the builders, but part had been
partitioned off for the use of the family, and here I stayed with
my clients, whom I soon discovered were keenly interested in their
gardens. There was already an extensive garden in the formal
manner, replete with a fountain, court, and grass glades bordered
by cypress hedges. There was a terrace on the east side some
distance from the house, but none of these features seemed to
have any relation to the building, which called for a response in the
321
af
ee assemble
Lt322
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
garden, and especially on the south side, where the park views
are the most extensive. The mansion is approached by two long
drives, the more important of which is from the south, Cranborne
direction, and the other from the east. Both drives pass through
mature and very picturesque beech and pine woods, and unite at
the great carriage court which is on the west side of the house. As
in many similar instances, the fruit and vegetable garden is some
distance from the house,and in no way influenced the lay-out of
the terraces and pleasure grounds. The new gardens, which for
the most part are formal, are based on two main axes, which
centre with the eastern and the southern elevations of the house.
On the east side we confined our plans to the limits and levels of
the original garden, but on the south the gardens were projected
far into the park by way of a series of terraces of varying depth and
width. First there is the stone terraces next to the house, then a
grass terrace supported with a wall filled with Alpine flowers,
followed by a terrace eight feet lower, laid out with panels of rose
beds and a central canal for water lilies and other hardy aquatic
plants. Below this, again, there is a green bowling alley, and
finally an expanse of lawn large enough for several tennis courts.
As the somewhat thin crust of soil lies on chalk, the range of
trees and shrubs planted with any hope of success was limited, and
excluded choice rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias, andromedas,
and allied shrubs. On the other hand, all kinds of roses flourish,
whilst nearly every known deciduous shrub grows vigorously, as
do most of the conifers, evergreen oak, and holly. The chances
of securing an interesting garden on chalk are equal to those
on almost any other soil, but no other garden is so trying to the men
who construct it, as a garden ona chalky base, especially if the chalk
be wet. The adhesive nature of the chalk makes the work very
laborious. Such was the case with the gardens at Boveridge.
Nevertheless, the results attained were very satisfactory, and a
credit to the firm responsible for its execution. My clients have
continued to improve the quality of the soil and the lawns, which
proves once more that gardens grow for those who love them.
Dunira is one of the most beautiful estates it has ever been
my pleasure to study. The park, which extends to many hundreds
of acres, is perfectly level, and the soil a rich alluvial deposit. Out
of this plain rises somewhat precipitously a number of high mounds
which suggest that these were at one time islands and promontories
rising out of a lake, much in the same way as Windermere andPost-war Activities.
its islands; in fact, when mist lies over the park it is easy to
imagine a large lake studded with wooded islands. Beyond these
islands are forest-clad mountains which completely encircle the
estate, but at such a distance as to create an aspect of spaciousness.
This encircling range of mountains reminded me of Grasmere as
seen from Dunmail Raise, only they were even more picturesque
in their rugged outlines and towering peaks, whilst everywhere
the slopes and foothills were clothed with timber wherein groupings
of Scotch firs gave a massive effect to the whole.
The large residence is in about the centre of the estate,
and stands on a foothill seemingly slidden from the mountains
which at this north side stand closely behind. The bluff extends
to approximately fifteen acres, the level of the house being eighty
feet above the lower park-lands.
Dunira is approached from the east or Comrie side by a drive
of about a mile and a half in length, and from the west or St. Fillans
side by a drive of approximately a mile in length. Both are well
engineered, with pleasing curves adapted to the contours of the
landscape, evidently the work of some person of taste.
The house was very large and well placed on the site, but
although describable as Scotch Baronial, it was not built in a
fortunate period of architectural taste. The architects, recognising
its shortcomings, and backed by a generous client, prepared
designs which brought the whole into harmony with Scottish
traditions. ‘These additions, mostly on the north side, comprise
a spacious porte cochtre on the centre line of the carriage court.
This carriage court, which is now a feature, is framed in on
the west side with the new billiard-room and on the east with the
new kitchen wing.
Originally what passed for the gardens was a number of
uninteresting grass slopes, unrelieved by flower bed or shrub, to
all appearances arranged by a waterworks engineer with railway
experience ; all excepting the precipitous bank, which was the
unfinished margin of the original lay-out, had been roughly planted
with yew, hollies and timber trees, making a ragged outline across
the southern view. On the northern side of the garden, and for a
depth of about one hundred feet from the line of the drive, trees
and shrubs, including many rhododendrons, had been planted
and formed a pleasing foreground to the forest heights which rose
on the opposite side of the drive. The walled-in kitchen garden
was situated about half a mile west of the house, and near it were324
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
the stables, garage, gardeners’ and workmen's cottages and bothies,
which are now transformed into a very picturesque, well-planned
group.
My instructions were to design the gardens, in both their
character and extent, as I would like to see them. In the main,
these original plans have been followed, the only important omission
being the panelled rose garden, by which we proposed to limit the
west of the gardens where they join the park. We still hope that
this feature, with slight modifications, may be carried through.
In our designs we included the improvement of the fruit and
vegetable garden and the erection of one of the most complete and
extensive ranges of fruit and plant houses and accessory buildings
I have ever planned.
Beginning near the house, we proposed first of all to improve
the approaches and extend the carriage court on the north side ;
then we endeavoured to secure an architectural base to the house
on the west and south, by erecting a balustraded wall to take the
place of the grass slope, providing ample width of steps to lower
ground.
The remaining grass banks were replaced with retaining
walls built of local black whinstone without mortar, the crevices
being filled in with Alpine and rock plants. Flowering shrubs
suitable for covering low walls were planted at intervals to break
up the long lines of the masonry.
he long and very deep bank on the south front was entirely
re-formed with diagonal walks rising from the upper bastion to the
centre of the bank, then returning to the centre formed by the tea
house, thus securing a convenient means of connection between
the house and the six tennis courts (four green and two hard) on
the lower level.
On the west side one of the most interesting features is the
rose garden and lily pond, the pond fed from a wall fountain by
way of a narrow canal which was constructed with a number of
side recesses, planted with iris and reeds, as shown in Illus. No. 66.
The feature my client most appreciated is the rocky stream
which enters the gardens to the north and passes southward
beyond the line of the rose gardens until it loses itself in the
artificial lake below. The rock-builders were fortunate in having
to hand an abundance of picturesque moss-grown rocks, whic
they handled with great skill, to construct the cascades, pools, and
the Alpine gardens (see Illus. No. 67). In this work we hadPost-war Activities.
the able assistance of Mr. Pulham, who continues the sterling
reputation of his father and grandfather as rock-builders.
This part of Perthshire, like the English Lake District, favours
the growth of hardy trees, shrubs, and plants of all descriptions,
and fullest advantage has been taken of it. Very few gardens in
Scotland are so richly furnished with plant life collected from all
quarters of the globe, and everything planted is thriving. This
work occupied a large staff for two years, working under the
direction of skilled landscape foremen.
he above gardens were completed under the direction of
my son during my last trip to the Near East. The why and
wherefore of this visit were as follows :
(1) The commission formed to complete the Athens plans
proposed commencing work under the chairmanship of Peter
Calligas, a wealthy Greek who had formerly been in practice
as a civil engineer. They were desirous to have my personal
views upon the development of the park and boulevard system,
which I had agreed to control.
To report upon the site and erection of an hotel de luxe
on the southern slopes of Mount Olympus.
(3) To avert, if possible, a threatened strike on the part
of the English members of the Macedonian Reconstruction
Commission.
On my way out I had to wait three days at Marseilles for the
boat by which I had arranged to sail, staying at the Metropole
otel, where were many English people, some outward bound for
India, and others awaiting the arrival of friends who were expected
therefrom. Amongst the latter was a lady of responsible years,
stately, of dignified bearing, and who, I judged from her demeanour
and evident organising abilities, held a high social position and
was employed in some official capacity. Upon our venturing to
make one another’s acquaintance this lady told me that no mention
of my identity was needed, since she recognised me from seeing a
newspaper illustration of my Herkomer portrait; and, further,
she had at the house of a friend seen a copy of my work on garden
design. “So you see,” she added, “ you are something of a
public character.” She was awaiting the arrival of two Indian
princesses, daughters of the Maharajah of Baroda, she being the
director of their household. Having heard of the Maharajah as a
progressive ruler with a bent for horticultural and arboricultural
pursuits, and a patron of the arts, I was interested. “‘ Woul326
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
you like to meet His Highness > ’’ I was asked. I thanked her
warmly for the suggestion, and the next day I started for Athens,
and being immediately immersed in other matters, forgot all
about the lady and the promised introduction. The sequel to this
episode appears later.
On arrival in Athens I found an urgent telegram from my
second son, who was in charge of the Macedonian Reconstruction
Commission, which body included about forty English engineers,
architects, and town planners. The majority of these men had
been selected by myself, and were a fine body of men, and a
credit to their country and their profession. I was grieved to hear
there was trouble brewing.
A strike had taken place, and the reason given for the
dissatisfaction was the strangest I have ever heard. The
strikers wanted more work for the same money; they wanted the
Government to know that they were not earning their salaries,
and they held my son responsible for the appalling delays to
which the work was subjected. I called a conference of all
the staff and my son, and this was promptly arranged. The
men stated their case lucidly and with good reason. Their
discontent was so serious, they stated, that unless some real
improvement could be effected they intended to proceed in
a body to interview the Minister in Athens.
My son’s reply took nearly an hour to deliver. It began by a
statement that, as he had been appointed by the Minister as
chief executive officer, he had always felt it incumbent upon him
to act loyally towards his chief, and within reasonable limits
accept full responsibility for the appalling delays and waste of
energy, which had become intolerable. He had even gone the
length of paying their salaries when cheques failed to arrive from
Athens. “ Even now,” he added, ‘‘ I would have held my peace
but for the fact that I, too, have found the position impossible,
and have sent in my resignation. I am therefore free to tell you
exactly what I have endeavoured to do, and of the entire lack
of support which I have received.”
He then read verbatim correspondence and cables to Athens,
to few of which had there been any reply. In many of these
letters he had urged the utter destitution and misery of the
inhabitants of the destroyed villages, and as a final appeal had
emphasised the fact that the destitution was creating grave political
unrest. But all to no avail.Post-war Activities.
As these revelations were unfolded, a change gradually came
over the temper of the staff, which later found expression in
regrets for their action, although some of them thought they
should not have been kept in the dark as to the true position.
The sequel was that my son relinquished the post a month
later, and the organisation, | believe, finally collapsed without
accomplishing anything worthy of mention. With my own
experience of the procrastinating Greek, I was very much in
sympathy with the attitude adopted by my son. But, looking
back, I think it possible that we both failed to interpret the Greek
mind in this matter. What I mean is that it now seems possible
that the Minister intended the commission to act on its own
initiative and to take great responsibilities. That this was so
was borne out by his own statements. He said : “ I have appointed
a commission of assured talent which has the entire confidence
of the rural population of Macedonia, which knows better than
I where the new villages should be planted, and how big they should
be. As to building material, no one knows better than an
Englishman where to get it, whilst as to cost, his honesty can be
trusted. Why, therefore, should I bother > ”’
This may be a possible explanation, but at the same time it
could not be expected that Englishmen should take greater
responsibilities for the Greek Government than they would take
for their own.
On my return to Athens I immediately took up new work
on the Athens Town Planning Commission, for the use of which
ample conference rooms and a studio had been provided. Most
of the members of the commission were known to me. The
chairman proved himself a very able administrator; but here,
again, I felt the influence of the French members, and did not
fail to note that the work of the studio was not only under the
direction of a Frenchman, but that the staff was mainly French,
with a few Greeks in minor positions. This fact was perhaps
fortunate from an English point of view, inasmuch as the completion
of this scheme had a few months later to be postponed owing
to the further rapid decline of the drachma and the Greek financial
crisis. For the same reason I was never able to fulfil my engagement
to design the complete park system, although the Minister had
given me a Parliamentary order to pay on demand five hundred
pounds sterling towards my out-of-pocket expenses. [his payment
order I still retain, but with the drachma standing at three hundred328
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
to the pound instead of twenty-five, there is little hope of my
making use of it. What interest could there be in planning a noble
park system so long as the Government could ill afford to pay for
the plans, much less spend money in constructing and planting
the parks. Notwithstanding the somewhat disappointing com-
position of the commission, I attended its meetings, which were
bi-weekly, for a month—sufficient time to allow me to take part
in the consideration of the scheme affecting the work over which
I had retained control.
By this time the arrangements were completed for our journey
to Mount Olympus to select the site for the proposed hotel and
resort. The promoter of this project was M. Aspiotus, an
engineer of Athens and a man of assured status and influence in
business circles. There was, besides M. Aspiotus and myself,
a Mr. Cole, who had just relinquished a twelve years’ engagement
as engineer to the Lake Copais Company, so that he was thoroughly
acclimatised and inured to the conditions we had to contend with;
but for me these conditions were very arduous, and even dangerous.
We started from the Hotel Grande Bretagne. The proprietor
arranged for the victualling of the party, and nothing was omitted
from either the baskets or the bill, which I had the privilege of
footing. Without mistake, the food and the delicacies were almost
endless in variety, the quantities ample, and the wines superb.
The gods of Olympus could have regaled themselves at our expense
if they would have allowed us the pleasure. Further, had I been
allowed to prefer a request in return for the favour, it would have
been for strength and endurance to climb the 3,000-ft. level of
the Mount sanctified by their sacred presence.
We left Athens by the evening train for Palmanova, which
lies a few miles south of Olympus, and near a ruined old castle
resembling one of our Border examples. Between seven and
eight on a lovely summer morn we arrived at Palmanova, where
mules and muleteers in native costumes, and looking very like a
company of cut-throat brigands, met us. The men soon spread
a roughly devised table with the contents of one of our baskets,
and never before or since have I so relished a breakfast, or felt the
tang of such winy air and the glamour of such wild scenery.
After breakfast, which we shared with the men, we slung
the baskets on one of the mules, then mounted our own raw-boned,
long-eared steeds and began the sharp ascent to the castle, which
occupied a most romantic site. The commanding panoramicPost-war Activities.
views over mountain plain and sea, for extent, colour, and variety,
baffle adequate description. So entranced were we with the
spot that we failed to notice the threatening clouds which were
gathering to the south-west. Our guides pointed to these, and
urged us to make haste to reach a village at the foot of the
Mount, some five or six kilometres distant, before the storm
broke. So we descended to the plain and followed a rough track
through the scrub oak with which the place was covered for
miles in every direction.
his road or track ran for about two kilometres parallel with
the railway, which at this point was about a mile from the sea.
Suddenly we heard a loud, terrifying noise, like the sound of a
suction pump increased a thousand times. Looking in the direction
from which the noise came, we saw the strange phenomenon of a
cyclone travelling from the sea in the direction of Mount Olympus,
the main or central column passing us within a quarter of a mile.
We were within the limit of its action, so that we had to throw
ourselves flat on the ground until it had passed us. When it
passed we had a wonderful view of its form and appearance, and
it was one of the sights of a lifetime, awesome and fascinating.
In shape it was like a huge silver-lined gossamer curtain hanging
from a heavy pack of clouds and reaching down to and trailing
along the earth in a fanlike sweep. It seemed to us to travel
slowly, but its motive was destruction, which it exercised in the
way of suction. Directly this terror was over-past our chief guide
spoke in grave and agitated tones to M. Aspiotus, who explained
to us that the guide said that Jove was about to speak, and that
we must avail ourselves of whatever shelter we could find. So we
made tracks for a railway culvert spanning a ravine, the bed of
which was dry when we entered it. No sooner had we entered
than the storm burst in all its fury of thunder, lightning, and
torrential rain, such as I had never imagined possible, so that
within a quarter of an hour we were driven out by the oncoming
flood, and by the time we reached the level plateau the dry river
bed was converted into a fearful torrent. Our guide then informed
us that there was a fisherman’s hut about one kilometre distant,
and so, drenched to the skin, we followed him. Without his help
we could not have found the tracks which served as roads, for here
and in the whole of this part of Greece there are no roads. The
hut was a sort of fishing lodge, and not the regular abode of its
fisherman-owner. It was quaintly and rudely constructed of330
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
wood and cobble-stones, with a low roof and projecting eaves,
suggestive of the home of a bold pirate of the sea. The interior
consisted of one very large room and a small chamber, both open
to the roof. There was a large open fireplace and chimney stack
against the central wall. The floor was of earth, and in two corners
were rough wooden benches covered with numerous skins. The
occupant was a middle-aged man, unkempt like the rugged hut,
and yet never did we receive more welcome or kindly hospitality.
Immediately the fire was heaped up with drift-wood, the kettle
boiled, and a delicious cup of coffee was prepared for us. At the
same time, the fisherman’s boy was busy collecting more rugs and
skins for the benches, so we undressed and lay down whilst our
dripping clothes dried before a furious fire. In an hour we were
able to dress again and enjoy a rustic meal of fried fish, brown
bread, and coffee. This repast finished, the sky cleared and the
sun shone, so we decided to pursue our journey and climb the
foot hill to the plateau on the three-thousand-feet contour upon
which it was proposed to erect the hotel. Before leaving, we
offered our host a suitable gift for all the trouble he had taken on
our behalf. This was resolutely refused; but finally, seeing our
disappointment, he said we might give his boy five drachmas. We
gave him twenty-five, which the lad seemed to regard as a fortune.
It took us an hour and a half to cross the plateau to the village
from which the ascent began, and the going between the masses
of the thick scrub oak was very difficult. This first part was in no
sense comparable with the difficulties of the climb up the mountain
mule track, which in parts showed traces of ancient paving,
a surprise to me, as it suggested that a village at one time
crowned one or more of the plateaux on the foothills, and possibly
the one we were prospecting. The villages, however, must have
been very difficult to reach or to attack, and possibly this was the
reason why they were built there.
The track, which followed the undulations and indentations
of the mountain, rose on a regular gradient of about one in three,
with occasional levels where the nature of the ground permitted
them. At these we halted, and looked down the precipitous tracks
we had ascended. All the way up the mountain side was thickly
studded with forest trees, with thick masses of the Greek pine
from which resin is extracted. Above the two-thousand-feet zone
considerable areas were clothed with a spruce fir closely resembling
the black American spruce, Abies nigra.Post-war Activities.
At length our mules brought us to the hotel site, completely
exhausted with the heat.
he prospect was entrancing, the position being admirably
located as a centre for mountaineering, whilst in the neighbour-
hood were other plateaux well suited to winter sports. The
drawbacks were the difficulty of reaching the site from the
railway station, but M. Aspiotus had already planned a
narrow-gauge mountain railway and a motor road, and these
the Government promised to construct. Everything considered,
and subject to the Government meeting their obligations previous
to starting the hotel, so as to facilitate transport of building
materials, I reported in favour of the site. Like many other
Greek projects promoted about this time, this hotel scheme will
have to wait until financial stability is restored. The proposal
is an attractive one, and the position on the Athens-Salonika
line advantageous. The coast is also convenient for travellers
by sea. Being located on historic and classical ground, and the
picturesqueness of the locality being so famous, the realisation
of this project is certain once normal world conditions are restored.
As I had a few days unappropriated, we determined to explore
the Vale of Tempe and the town of Katterina at the northern side
of the Olympus range. So we proceeded to the nearest station,
and found we had an hour and a half to wait; but there was an
inviting inn quite near by—a long, one-storey building, reminiscent
of an English village smithy, and about as black. Although there
was no sign of other habitation for miles round, this inn was
apparently a popular meeting-place. Its patrons seemed a very
sober lot, and were keenly interested in us. The burly landlord
at once set to work, placing a table and chairs for our use in the
open air, where our Greek attendants spread for us a sumptuous
meal from our two large baskets, which had taken very little
harm from the day’s storm, wind, and sun. The natives looked
on in wonder at a spread which was sufficient for a dozen people.
We soon found we were unequal to the task of clearing the table,
so we handed the surplus round, making a special contribution
of a chicken and a bottle of wine to a dear old priest and his wife,
who seemed very grateful for our gift.
On leaving for our train we heard many expressions of
good-will and bon voyage, whilst the priest gave us his blessing.
n arriving at Katterina station we found the town was
about two kilometres distant, so we hired a ramshackle conveyance,332
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
drawn by the scraggiest pair of horses I have ever seen, and thuswise
we reached the only hotel of which the town could boast. It was
a quaint colour-washed building of two floors. The lower one
was a well-patronised public restaurant, the upper rooms being
devoted to tourists. The accommodation provided was meagre,
but everything was scrupulously clean, and the food good and
appetising. Katterina should be a perfect goldmine for artists
in search of strong contrasts in form and colour set in a framework
of medieval simplicity.
The busy little market town of Katterina was a revelation
of logical and yet picturesque town planning. Its spacious open
market place was an ideal model for the larger villages of Macedonia
entrusted to us to plan. The central market was planted with
shade trees and surrounded on all four sides with roads extending
directly through the town and into the open country beyond.
Those roads round the central market had the principal hotel at
one end and the church at the other, and along the length at one
side was the courthouse, flanked with the post office, and shops
facing the schoolhouse and handicrafts on the other side of the
street. The picturesqueness of the town was greatly enhanced
by the colour of the various native products and by the number
of handicrafts in metals, wood, leather, and pottery carried on
under conditions which would have delighted the heart of William
Morris or Walter Crane.
The principal industries were leather production in harness,
boots, shoes, sandals, slippers, and sabots with wooden soles and
leather uppers, finished to quaint shapes and decorated with red
and blue tassels. Then came the wood-worker’s craft, which
included almost every utensil required for the farm or home, such
as milking pails, water buckets, milk bowls, with lesser bowls
and platters for table use, and many other wood articles the use of
which I did not understand. The pottery was equally quaint, for
the most part oil jars, wine bottles, and water jugs. Numbers of
men were squatting on the floor making nails and chains. With a
charcoal brazier on one side of them and a small anvil on the
other, these men made shoeing-nails with a rapidity that was
surprising. In addition to the handicrafts there were occupations
followed by women, mostly in the production of hand-woven
fabrics in many beautiful simple patterns. All that I saw in this
lovely old-world town appealed to me: the customs and occupations
were such as had been little changed through the passing centuries.Post-war Activities.
We were particularly struck with the number of healthy
boys and girls, who were respectful and friendly. As it was the
cherry season, the expenditure of about two drachmas secured
an amazing supply of this fruit for equal distribution, which
cemented our bonds of friendship. Thus we forgot modern
civilisation for a few days, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest thus
afforded ; and so we returned to Athens.
had now completed the greater part of my programme, and
only awaited an interview with M. Venizelos as to the settlement
of my account, he being the only Minister in Athens prepared
to take a decision, and this he usually arrived at very quickly,
but with strict adherence to business principles, as in my case.
When I first quoted, drachmas were about 24-50 to the
pound sterling; when I met M. Venizelos they had depreciated
to 31°58, making a difference on exchange of about £700 in my
account, and most of this depreciation had taken place since the
date when the account was rendered. This fact I explained to
the Premier, who merely remarked that the depreciation was one
of the fortunes of the war, and that as it had happened I stood
to lose, for which he was sorry. So I was paid the exact amount
in drachmas.
After this I began to pack for my return, and whilst thus
engaged I received a letter from the Minister of Communication
asking me to attend at the Ministry the next morning at 10-30.
This I did, and was surprised to find an unusual air of bustle,
and to receive the friendly greetings of quite a number of officials.
On being shown into the Minister’s reception rooms, I was
quaintly informed that I was to receive a mark of the King’s favour.
I then stood up whilst M. Papanastassiou made a warm con-
gratulatory address, thanking me for my work in Salonika and
my preliminary scheme for the re-planning and extension of Athens.
He then presented me with the Order of the Saviour (gold clasp),
and the onlookers applauded. M. Papanastassiou then added :
‘““ And now I am going to ask you to convey the Order of King
George to your eldest son, as an appreciation of the splendid help
he has given to us and to yourself in the working out of the Salonika
plans, and other special work with which we have entrusted him.
As his father, to you we know this presentation will be a further
gratification.”
With a promise to return to Athens as soon as the work of the
commission had made sufficient progress to justify it, I said334
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
good-bye to the young King, whom I was never to see again, and
to Lord Granville and the Ministers and all my friends. Before
leaving, M. Papanastassiou gave me an order for £500 sterling
towards the expenses of my next trip, and I was to devote the
whole of my energies to the final planning of the park systems
for Athens. Unfortunately the drachmas depreciated to such an
extent that practically all public works were stopped, and the
park-system scheme was the first to feel the financial pressure.
I hope that the more stabilised currency which is now within
sight, and the increasing prosperity of the country, will justify
the Government going ahead with this part of their civic scheme.
Already I hear they have secured a good water supply, which,
as previously stated, is preliminary and essential to all other
schemes of betterment.Illus. No. 68.
Tue AutHor IN HIS Conservatory, CATON HALL.CHAPTER XXVII.
1920 ONWARDS.
my house on the shores of Morecambe Bay, where I had
spent many happy years, had been sold, and Caton Hall
purchased. The Bungalow, which was really my wife’s property,
and had grown with the needs of the family, is a long, low block
of buildings of many rooms, suggestive of comfort, and, internally,
of restrained elegance. Its acre or so of forefront to the sea,
though public property, is a great addition to its peacefulness
and serenity. It is, however, somewhat remote and difficult to
reach by car or conveyance.
Caton Hall, which had been purchased by my wife as a
surprise for me on my return from Athens, is much more expansive,
and pleasantly situated in the valley of thedlame! alihelballitstat
the Lancaster end of the village of the same name, and stands
in its own finely timbered grounds of eleven acres, threctohaehieh
are an old-world garden, and eight a small park. Whilst retaining
fine views to the north, west, and south, the property is perfectly
screened from the east, on which side lies the village, containing
many old quaint groups of cottages. Close by the entrance is an
oak tree with fish steps bordering a stream at its base, and from
these steps John Wesley preached on one of his itinerant tours.
It is not difficult to portray the slight reverent figure of this
evangelist, in his customary black gown and white Geneva bib,
surrounded by an awed crowd of villagers at this picturesque
corner. The tree and the steps are part of the property.
At Caton Hall, which now became my home, I conceived
the idea of organising a school of landscape architecture, hoping
thereby to solve in some little measure the question of academic
training, accompanied by a certain amount of practical training
in horticulture. I went so far as to publish a prospectus
| ere arriving home ready for a quiet rest, I found that
335336
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
and a preliminary curriculum, which received a very encouraging
response, especially from America, the Colonies, India, and
Continental countries. To this I will refer again.
In the stress of my work in Athens | had quite forgotten the
lady I met at Marseilles, and her promise. The first letter I opened
on my return from Athens recalled this incident. It was from
H.H. the Maharajah of Baroda, asking me to arrange an appointment
at his temporary home near Watford, naming an early convenient
date, when he would be pleased if I could arrange to lunch with
the Maharani and himself. | gladly availed myself of meeting
such interesting prospective clients.
On arrival at the house I was shown into the library, where
the Maharajah was seated. At once he explained why he had sent
for me, and how my name had been brought to his notice by
the lea before mentioned; also that on learning that I had
written a book on landscape architecture, he had ordered five
copies of “ The Art and Craft of Garden Making,” which he
was sending to India. Then he explained that he had recently
purchased Russell Park, near Watford, and the gardens required
extension and improvement, and he would be pleased if [
could undertake this work. He also said that as Russell Park
was regarded as only a minor residence, and his occupancy
might possibly last for only a few years, he wished me to
advise him on the purchase of some other estate more suited in
its scale and appointments for the recognised English home of
his family. The Maharajah, who was of middle age and height,
spoke with a very pleasing voice, and in excellent English and
with easy fluency. I remark on this fact because in the following
autumn he attended a lecture which I gave before the Town
Planning Institute, when my subject was a plea for the exercise
of imagination. At the close of the lecture the President asked
the Maharajah if he would kindly contribute to the discussion.
To this request he readily acceded, and his speech, occupying
about ten minutes, was evidently the inspiration of the moment,
his remarks following a logical sequence of argument, and, being
poetically expressed, they gave great pleasure to all who heard
them. There is no doubt that he appreciated the very hearty
reception which was accorded him. But this is a digression.
At lunch I was introduced to the Maharani and the two
princesses ; also I met again the lady whom I had met in Marseilles,
and also the Maharajah’s secretary. The lunch was a verypleasant one (Indian curries notwithstanding), and I greatly
enjoyed the table conversation, particularly that of Her Highness
the Maharani, who I soon learnt was a progressive lady of
considerable force and character.
After this I met my Indian clients at frequent intervals, both
at Russell Park and at their London house, whilst the Maharajah
made frequent morning calls at our London office to see how his
plans were progressing. Occasionally he would call for me in
the afternoon to accompany him into the country to inspect some
reputed desirable property, but these visits resulted in disappoint-
ment, for His Highness had set a high standard for the permanent
residence of the Barodas. If our return from these visits
was in the evening, he would propose that we drop in at a
restaurant and have a quiet dinner, and well he knew where to
find the best.
The plans for the gardens at Russell Park soon took shape,
and were accepted with but few alterations. The only exceptions
were the new drive planned as a safer route to Watford station,
as well as a new range of glasshouses. Both these desirable
improvements will probably be carried out in the near future if
this property is retained. As altered and extended, these gardens
are very compact, and capable of being maintained in perfect
condition by a modest staff.
About this time, Aldworth, the home of Lord Tennyson at
Haslemere, was advertised for sale by auction. To me it was a
matter of surprise that the Tennyson family should agree to sell,
more especially as Lady Tennyson had looked forward to its
being the permanent seat of the family. Even supposing it were
sold with their full consent, I had hoped that the National Trust
would acquire it, because of its public interest, and present it
to the nation. The Maharajah requested me to go down and
report upon the suitability of this house and estate. This report
was duly presented, after which His Highness and I motored down
to examine the property.
he day was fine, with a clear sky, and as we rose to the high
moorlands above Haslemere, covered with heather, the prospect
in every direction was enchanting. The climax came as we
were about to enter the grounds, whence a panorama of great
extent and exquisite beauty unfolded itself. Entering the grounds,
we followed a steep descent to the eastern porte-cochere at the
east end of the residence, a passable Gothic structure which it is
2
1920 Onwards.338
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
said was designed by an editor of the “ Nineteenth Century,’
who was an architect by profession. There was little or no evidence
of design in the interior or the decorations, they having no intrinsic
value excepting the fact that they had been the possession of
the poet.
Aldworth stands on a plateau carved out of the hillside on
the eight- hundred- feet contour, the main elevation facing due
south. It is a small house—too small in scale. for’ avsite
possessing such a spacious character; but the stone terrace,
with its Gothic balustrade, goes far to atone for this defect, whilst
either by intent or accident a number of tall cypresses bravely
break up the overpowering panoramic expanse. In this direction
I was strongly reminded of the view from the terrace of the Villa
d’'Este, Rome. Whether this idyllic poet’s retreat, remote and
secluded, would suit the needs of an Indian prince equally well,
was a problem.
he first comment made by His Highness as he gazed over
the landscape was, “ Yes, I think I can sleep here, and that is
the great desideratum; but the house is much too small for
my requirements.’
We were, however, able to show him that the site called for
a larger residence, andithatadt would be possible to incorporate
all the additional accommodation in an extension which would
double the length of the south elevation.
This was the day before the sale, and the next morning I
was instructed to attend and bid for the property, and I purchased
the entire estate, which was first offered in lots, for £30,000.
We were then instructed to prepare plans for the extension of
the house and the improvement of the grounds, with a new drive,
the existing one being both inconvenient and dangerous. We
were also to place an Alpine and water garden on the steep declivity
below the second terrace. Farther afield we were to improve
the fruit and vegetable garden and prospect for a cricket pitch,
and to report on the restoration of the interesting old Georgian
villa situated on the lower part of the property.
Altogether this was an important commission of surpassing
interest, though one or two of our friends suggested that it would
be sacrilege to alter the house of the famous poet in any way.
e were able to assure these objectors that the Maharajah had
given strict instructions that the rooms, including the library
and bedroom used by the poet, were not to be touched in any way.1920 Onwards.
Moreover, the exterior of the existing house was to remain in its
original state, whilst in any extension the construction and detail
were to be copied. In the gardens every feature was to be preserved
as Tennyson left it, and in particular the terraces and low grass
lawns were to be maintained and relieved of many cumbering
shrubs which were of recent introduction. Only when approaching
the lower ground, or other points not observable from the house,
were we allowed to suggest any considerable improvement to the
gardens.
As the Maharajah was shortly to leave for India, we were
instructed to proceed with complete plans on which to base a
reliable estimate of cost. Although very wealthy and generous,
the Maharajah is most businesslike in all his dealings, and careful
to assure himself that all the expenditure he incurs will be of
permanent value to his estate.
The matured plans were completed and forwarded to His
Highness, who approved them as a whole. -He decided to carry
out the work in three stages, beginning with the necessary
alterations to the existing block, and its decoration and furnishing,
so that he might reside for a season at Aldworth to test its suitability
and convenience before launching out into the larger scheme.
During this period we were engaged upon further extensions
of schemes previously designed for Lord Leverhulme at Roynton,
Sir Samuel Waring, and Walter Cottingham. Once a client who
is fond of a garden launches upon construction work, such work
develops into a hobby—and what a delightful hobby it is, lack of
finality notwithstanding! If the whole scheme is first thought
out to the point of settling its main provisions, this is the best
way for a garden to grow. If, on the other hand, this annual
upheaval is merely dictated by a love of change, the result is -
disastrous and extravagant.
At Roynton great developments were taking place. The
most notable of these was the work entailed through a small stream
which meandered almost out of sight in a deep leafy dell, which
cut the lower garden almost into equal parts, imposing a difficult
barrier to its unity.
We began by throwing two single arched stone bridges
across the chasm and clearing the timber which intercepted the
view. We then proceeded to divert the stream temporarily, laying
bare the natural sandstone rock, which we quarried into rough
receding ledges, using all the stone thus excavated for the349
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
construction of a series of cascades, with a total fall from the
intake to the outlet of over two hundred feet.
The tiny stream is not sufficient to justify the construction
of such massive cascades, but we were able to divert several
smaller runners, and these are augmented by the construction
of a pond as a compensation reservoir capable of supplying an
additional half-million gallons against dry weather. This 1s
repeating under simpler conditions the hydraulic engineering feats
associated with many of the Italian formal cascades.
It was about this time that my breakdown in health (to which
reference is made in the Preface) took place. Whether this was
the result of a mild sunstroke in Greece, or of a slight seizure,
the doctors could not determine. In any case, | was advised to
take six months’ complete rest, a stipulation which I endeavoured
to obey. But as complete isolation is foreign to my temperament,
within a month I was in daily communication with the office,
and gradually resumed my wonted interest in the work. My
doctors and friends were disappointed at my rebellion ; but when
a man is immersed in the most interesting forms of art expression,
it is difficult for him to let his mind slip into vacuity.
For years I have been distressed in contemplating the baneful
results of the lack of logical planning manifested in our seaside
resorts, which suffer by comparison with those on the Continent
and in America. Here at least the esthetic possibilities should be
made to influence the visitors educationally.
It may appear strange that in all the town-planning work
of which I have dreamed, Blackpool appealed to me the most.
The fact that I am a Lancashire man may account for this preference.
Blackpool’s unbroken stretch of golden sand, its bracing air, and
the kaleidoscopic gaiety of its miles of promenade, combine to
weave aspell of attraction. Already, according to the town’s present
configuration, the streets and railway terminals of the popular
resort are taxed to their fullest capacity, with a resident and visitor
population of 300,000. If the borough is to expand, as the Council
anticipate, to accommodate over a million people, drastic alterations
will be necessary. At present the expansion of the town is more
rapid than that of any other town in the kingdom. Blackpool's
phenomenal growth necessitates the provision of at least a thousand
new houses a year, a fact which proves that a vast residential
population is settling within the boundaries of the town. This,
be it remembered, in addition to the increasing influx of visitors.Illus. No. 69.
Illus. No. 70.
THORNTON Hatt, Linco_nsuire.—Nortu FRonr.1920 Onwards.
When these facts are taken into consideration, it will be inferred
that a thorough overhauling of the design of this great Lancashire
holiday resort is demanded.
It was with considerable satisfaction that I noticed about
this time an able article by Mr. Ernest Lawson on ~ Town
Planning for Blackpool,’’ which appeared in the “ Blackpool
Herald,” and in which the writer advised that our firm should
be consulted.
As I had never even met Mr. Lawson, or communicated with
him in any way, this article came as a surprise ; but having thus
unexpectedly found a friend at court, I awaited developments,
which were a long time in maturing. In July, 1922, I received
a letter from the Town Clerk informing me that his Council had
purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land for a park and
recreation ground, and that they wished to consult our firm upon
its development. I now knew that my ambition to re-plan Blackpool
was possible of realisation, because it was inevitable that the
periphery of the park and the sub-division of the residential areas
would call for the application of town-planning principles, and
this proved to be the case.
As to the park itself, the planning of nearly three hundred
acres, two-thirds of which had to be devoted to recreation, was
of itself a great project, calling for the application of imagination,
backed by practical experience. Apart from this, the work appealed
to me, and to those working with me, so much that it fired my old
enthusiasm.
The practical part of the work was divided into five sections,
each one of which would take a year to carry out at an annual
expenditure of twenty thousand pounds, exclusive of the more
important architectural structures. But the income from the
many recreational features will, it is anticipated, fully cover
maintenance charges and leave a surplus towards meeting interest
on the loan.*
The commission quickly led to our being asked to plan the
new South Shore extension, in collaboration with the borough
engineer, Mr. Francis Wood. The South Shore includes a new
promenade about a mile in length, reclaimed from the sea and
protected by a stout sea-wall which forms the seaward boundary
along the promenade. The extent is from the famous open-air
baths southwards to the town’s junction with the borough of
* The annual income from the park has already exceeded our estimates.342
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
St. Annes, and including all the sandhills between a shore line fixed
by Act of Parliament, comprising a total of about 127 acres, 23
parestet mich mere allacateditetic promenade, and the reniainden
to be developed as a building estate. The spacious promenade
is extended along in a gentle curve, its sweeping lines being
pleasingly broken in the middle with a semi-circular bastion
garden projecting seawards. This bastion garden and all the
gardens along the promenade are protected from the sea breezes
by panelled walls, the lawns, shrubberies, and flower beds being
sunk two feet below the surface to secure a pleasing effect from
the main roadway, which is crowded day and night by pedestrians,
and tramway and charabanc passengers. ‘The brilliant lighting of
the promenade by night is a special feature of the scheme.
The building estate portion of the South Shore thus reclaimed
will assume the appearance of a garden city, and be protected from
the strong winds by the hotel and terraces of houses which continue
for some distance along the promenade. The estate is divided
into two parts by a spacious central boulevard, which runs parallel
to and half-way between the promenade and the railway.
In connection with the central boulevard, note the position
of the shopping centre, bank, and post office, and possibly a
picture house. Note also the position retained in the design for
the churches, which ought to add a note of interest to the whole.
The remaining point of interest is that instead of gazing upon
ugly backyards, visitors travelling by rail to the Central Station
will look upon the fronts of houses erected in a shrub-fringed row
and each set in a neat garden.
When this scheme was submitted, the idea of re-planning the
whole town took hold of the imagination of the ratepayers and
the Town Council, with the result that we were invited to submit
terms for the preparation of a development scheme for the whole
poraiehs and a little later we were instructed to proceed with the
wor
The Blackpool Town Council are to be commended for
giving us two test commissions before entrusting us with the
preparation of a scheme of such magnitude, extending, as it does,
to every quarter of the borough, touching every interest in it.
It has entailed a vast amount of work of urgent importance
upon the Town Planning Committee, who have had frequent
sittings, these sometimes occupying a whole day before a decision
is arrived at.1920 Onwards.
This commission was to be carried out in three stages as
follows :—
(1) The Civic Survey, including all maps showing the progress made, with
latest ordnances brought up to date, the collection and tabulation of health statistics,
school-attendance charts, traffic conditions for railway, and also a regional survey
to enable us to make suggestions for improved traffic facilities by rail and road,
especially better roads for the rapidly increasing motor charabanc traffic. Also
statistics relating to child welfare and children’s playgrounds. Then the town
plan had to be brought up to date, which involved drawing on to the ordnance
maps over five thousand houses which had been erected since the last survey of the
town. With all this information properly tabulated, we could proceed to the making
of efficiency charts upon which the town planner depends so largely for the scientific
solution of needs.
(2) The second stage of our town-planning scheme consists of what is
technically known as the plan for submission—i.e., the plan which has to be
submitted to the Ministry of Health, and to which any objections are heard from
property owners and others. This scheme includes the lay-out of all undeveloped
areas and such improvements to the built-up areas as are necessary for the elimination
of slums; new or widened roads necessary for the development of vacant areas
and the zoning plan fixing density of buildings for residential purposes, shopping
centre and new park, recreation grounds, and generally the preservation of
amenities.
This is the stage which most town-planning schemes reach
and beyond which they do not proceed, as it is as far as the Acts
of Parliament can be utilised. It is not, however, as far as the
town planner usually wishes to go, for it stops short of the ideally
perfect plan which sharpens his imaginative faculties and dreams
of a town emerging in the process of years from chaos to order,
and ever growing more beautiful as it takes on the likeness of
the town planner’s dream.
It is only to be expected that an ambitious and progressive
Council like that of Blackpool should wish to explore every
opportunity, existing and prospective, which would keep them
abreast of the times, and help them to maintain their supremacy
as the premier Northern resort.
(3) As a result we were instructed to propose a development plan in which
we were given free scope to study every opening for the realisation of every improve-
ment of the town in any direction, and to present our proposals graphically and
pictorially, and in such a manner as to be adaptable for publicity purposes.
The opportunities associated with the re-planning of Blackpool
have proved unique. First and most important, the Town Council
is a far-seeing body of men who, notwithstanding the millions
already spent on the promenade and other public improvements,344
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
have managed to keep their borough one of the three lowest
rated towns in the country. No wonder, therefore, that the Council
has the intelligent moral support of the ratepayers behind any
schemes of improvement which they promote.
In this connection the following story is appropriate. Shortly
after receiving my first commission for Blackpool, I was staying
at Roynton Cottage, where [ met an old gentleman who was a
typical Lancashire business man, a keen observer and a philosopher
in his way. ° I am glad you are going to make Blackpool
beautiful, Mr. Mawson, for it really deserves it. Do you know,”
he continued, “if it wasn’t for Blackpool there’d be revolution
in Lancashire ? ”’
‘“ Whatever do you mean?” | asked in some alarm.
‘I mean what I say, for down there,’’ pointing towards the
industrial towns, half- enveloped 1 in smoke, which lay within the
panoramic view, men stick it as long as they can, and once a
year they must either burst out or go to Blackpool: and there
they go, and after a fortnight they come back quietened down
and ready for work again. Blackpool stands between us and
revolution. May it long continue as the protector of social
order !”’
At the end of my days it will be pleasantly restful to feel that
I have added to Blackpool's attractions.
Whether or not the activity of Blackpool fired the competitive
spirit of other resorts I am unable to say, but there has followed
close on the heels of the Blackpool scheme many notable proposals
for the improvement of seaside resorts, and we and our London
colleagues were invited to accept commissions for the re-planning
of Hastings and St. Leonards. The commission for Hastings and
its suburb is on a scale almost equalling that of Blackpool, but
the problems involved in the former are altogether different, as
is also the clientéle for which Hastings caters. Everything i in
Blackpool is quite modern, its oldest parts—excepting for one or
two groups of whitewashed cottages which are all that remains
of the ancient fishing village of Poulton-le-Fylde—dating back
only to the mid-Victorian era, of which the architecture is
reminiscent.
Hastings and St. Leonards, on the other hand, have all the
charm of historic association and architectural tradition! especially
of the Georgian period—in the hotels, places of Bneiness, and
terraces, suggestive of the Regency. In this respect these popularIllus. No. 71.
ON * BI
q
\
TAT]
F
> y eel
SW aap a a ha 4
= 4 Morne
santy CENT.
T bar |
TRE1920 Onwards.
resorts are almost as interesting as Brighton, to which they must
at one time have been competitors. Even in their later develop-
ments, whether of promenade, pier, or shelter, Hastings and
St. Leonards retain their respect for good architectural detail,
which helps to maintain that air of stateliness which is generally
so lacking in our seaside resorts. Warrior Square, St. Leonards,
may be quoted as typical.
Considered as a town site, Hastings and St. Leonards are
very different from Blackpool. The latter suggests a lay-out which
can go on expanding logically until it finally swallows Lytham and
St. Annes to the south and Fleetwood to the north along the
sea front, whilst to the east or landwards it has already included
Poulton, and the inclusion of Thornton would seem to be a
probability, as there are no natural topographical boundaries.
Hastings and St. Leonards, on the other hand, scarcely permit
further expansion except in the direction of Bexhill-on-Sea, which,
for purposes of economic local control, ought to become part of
the Hastings municipal area. In other directions the high ridges
which practically enclose the town site, and the three valleys
that run out tentacle-like from it, give a wonderfully varied and
fine natural boundary, sufficiently far back to admit of considerable
expansion of a character which promises to make this resort
unique.
It is too early to specify all the improvements contemplated ;
indeed, these cannot be published until the whole scheme has
been approved by the Town Council and the Ministry of Health ;
but I may state the nature of several of the most difficult problems
which the town planner has to solve. They are :—
(1) To promote co-operation with the railway company for the reorganisation
of the two railway stations, preferably on one site ; to improve the station approach
roads to secure better means of collection and distribution of arriving and departing
visitors, and to improve facilities for motor and charabanc trafhc.
(2) Greatly to extend the parks and to give them a distinct connection with
the promenade, and to clear and re-plan several congested areas.
(3) To zone the whole of the undeveloped lands with a view to restricting
the number of houses to the acre; to promote better housing facilities both as
single self-contained cottages and as flats.
(4) To extend the promenade eastward.
(5) To plan a civic centre.
These were the factors most pressing for solution, and so
far as the scheme has developed it seems probable that each of
these needs will be solved.340
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
A little later, in the spring of 1923, we were requested by the
Urban District Council of Weston-super-Mare to design for them
a marine garden, colonnade, and rotunda on the site known as
Rogers Field, which extends to about fourteen acres. This work
again proved a great incentive to creative effort, and the results
prove what can be done with a progressive Council.
Many more interesting examples of town planning, landscape
architecture, and domestic architecture are on the boards, but
for the reasons given in the Preface my work tends to become
more and more advisory, consultative, and critical. In other
words, my mantle as designer has fallen on the shoulders of my
sons and the other responsible members of the staff, who have
grown up with the practice and imbibed its traditions. My personal
work, on the other hand, has become more and more literary,
including the revision of new editions of my published works, the
compilation of illustrated reports, some of which, notably the
Blackpool Park Report, have been published in book form, whilst
others which are of even greater importance still await publication.
In addition to these reports I have written many newspaper articles,
especially three on “ The Attitude of Railway Authorities to
Town Planning,” published in the “ Manchester Guardian.”
There was also the annual revision of my course of lectures
on Landscape Design for the students in Civic Design at the
Liverpool University to see to, for I made a point of giving my class
the best of which I was capable. Thus in one way or another I
was mentally employed in useful service, but physically I suffered
increasingly from limitations, so that I had to reduce my travelling
to a minimum. Fortunately there was much work at Blackpool
and Roynton and other places within reach of a day’s motor run,
and it was my delight to keep in touch with this work.
Notwithstanding my disabilities, I kept in touch with the
work of the Town Planning Institute, which under the able
guidance of its honorary secretary, Mr. Pepler, and the experts
who had passed through the presidential chair, was rapidly growing
numerically, in responsibility, and in service. Although for a
long period I was unable to attend its meetings, I usually sent a
written contribution to the discussion of the many able papers
read before the Institute. These written contributions were,
I was glad to note, very much appreciated, partly, I was told,
because of the optimism in which they were couched. From
this it was quite evident that I still retained the goodwill of my1920 Onwards.
contemporaries, and so | was not surprised, though very gratified,
when in October, 1923, I was raised from the position of senior
vice-president to the presidential chair.
The annual conference was this year held in the city of York.
A more inspiring rendezvous could not have been chosen.
There was also the additional attraction that the city engineer
was at the time engaged upon the preparation of a town-planning
scheme in which was incorporated the premiated design which
had been won by Mr. Reginald Dann, a member of the Institute
and for some time the London colleague of our firm.
The conference was the most representative of any so far held.
Not only did the members assemble in force, but our numbers
were augmented by the civic dignitaries and officials of York,
and members of the architectural profession. The excellent
papers included ‘‘ The Planning of Medieval Cities,” “ The
Historic Growth of York,”’ and ““ The Town Planning of York,’
and an address was given by Mr. Barry Parker on Messrs.
Rowntree’s model industrial village of Earswick.
My own contribution was mainly confined to welcoming the
city representatives and delegates, the direction of the debates
following the several papers, and the response to the toast of the
President,
At this time (the autumn of 1923), when politics were supposed
to be at a low ebb, and when the short-lived Government of the
day was travelling towards its Nemesis, there was gradually
emerging into active performance a new conception of the place
of art in the life of the nation. I refer to Mr. Stanley Baldwin's
Fine Arts Commission, which received the approval of the King
on the eve of the defeat of his Government ; but so popular was
the measure that it received the hearty endorsement, without
revision, of Mr. Ramsay MacDonald on the following day.
he united forces of artistic life in this country had long
advocated the creation of an authoritative responsible body of
experts to which Government departments and public bodies
might refer the many difficult problems relating to civic art, its
design, location, and setting. Experience had shown that these
problems were often settled by the least informed section of the
community. At the Board of Works the Fine Arts Commission
found a keen supporter and a wise promoter in Sir Lionel Earle,
who placed his wide experience at the service of the Prime Minister.
I had always urged the setting up of such a commission, yet |348
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
never, in my most ambitious moments, dreamt that I would be
included as one of its members. Although I was convinced that
landscape architecture was the master art, it never occurred to
me that others would concede to it this claim. It was therefore
with considerable surprise and a little concern that I received my
nomination to the commission.
The first question which I asked myself was whether this
recognition had not come too late. Five years ago, when still
in full possession of my physical energies and mental enthusiasm,
I would have revelled in the immense potential possibilities which
the call provided to forward the claims of landscape architecture,
but now the magnitude of the opportunities made me conscious
of the limitations imposed by my impaired health.
In this frame of mind | discussed the matter with my doctor
and my two sons, and one or two intimate friends on whose judgment
and advice I could rely. All urged acceptance, my sons at the
same time offering to relieve me entirely of any contribution to
the work of the office. Thus it was that, with many misgivings,
I gratefully accepted the Premier’s call.
On the 24th of January, 1924, “The Times” gave the
personnel of the Commission as approved by the King, which
reads as follows :—
Lord Crawford and Balcarres (Chairman).
Lord Curzon of Kedleston.
Sir Aston Webb, P.R.A.
Sir Reginald Blomfield, A.R.A.
Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Mr. Alfred J. Gotch.
Mr. D. Y. Cameron.
Sir George Frampton, R.A.
Mr. Thomas H. Mawson.
It is interesting to note that the Presidents of the Royal
Academy, of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and of the
Town Planning Institute are included, but whether this will
become an established precedent or not remains to be seen.
The first meeting of the Commission was held at the rooms
of the Society of Antiquarians, Burlington House, on Friday
afternoon, February 8, 1924, under the chairmanship of Lord
Crawford and Balcarres.Illus. No. 72.Tue AuTHoR AND HIS Sons, E. PRENTICE AND JoHn W. Mawson.CHAPTER XXVIII.
RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT.
HOSE who have formed habits of abstraction and con-
templation upon the moving drama of life in the midst
of the world’s stirring activities, these possibly including
extensive travels, half-welcome the call to cease the strain and
slacken the tension. It is a natural instinct in the healthy man to
be for ever striving to reach higher and yet higher summits of
achievement. In the stress of it all we are like the swimmer—after
a momentary gasp for breath we are ploughing under again.
Amidst life’s bustle we may have cherished, but never found time
to express, those sub-conscious thoughts which have in a way
kept pace with our practical activities. we have this
fount within us, we have a magnificent store to fall back upon.
These relaxations keep the heart young, even though physical
disabilities increase. ‘There is rich compensation for the loss of
practical activity—for those who stand apart see most of the game.
Occasionally, however, furtive yearnings burst out, when we feel
a strong desire to renew our youth and put into practice the riper
results of experience, a temptation to be suppressed the next
moment by the saner intention of placing these fruits of experience
at the disposal of those still in the field, full of youthful ardour and
hope. When in the evening of life we turn our gaze upon the
pathway, we find it transformed by the ruddy glow. The parts
that stood out so prominently in the morning’s beam now assume
their relative importance and their true perspective as we mark
off a clear space whence to view them.
Every man who reviews his life and compares its achievements
with its rosy promises, realises how far he has fallen short of the
goal. If this is so in ordinary callings, it is much more so in the
case of the creative artist, because his ideals are for ever expanding
and leading forth to unexpected vistas and in new paths. These
349350
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
truths apply particularly to landscape architecture, an art which
is proving its universality, and which in many of its ramifications,
particularly in its relation to town planning, is a new art, thus
suggesting unexpected happenings and undreamt-of possibilities.
Success or failure in this art depends upon whether it succeeds
in creating an atmosphere or not. The tremendous range of
material which comes within the scope of the practitioner may of
itself divert him from weaving the desired spell, and may just
succeed in occupying the beholder’s attention with novelties and
surprises and other misguided objectives. Be this as it may, I
am now, as my career draws towards its close, more in love with
my profession than I was when as a youth before entering my
teens I made it my definite choice. No other art could, I am
assured, have made the same appeal to me that landscape
architecture has, now that I have, after fifty years’ study and
experience, In some measure compassed its scope.
With no misgivings as to my choice of profession, and feeling
a sense of responsibility for the continued growth and development
of the art, I ask myself how, were I to begin anew, I would
reorganise my life's programme, and how I would wish to be
guided in my training. In the first instance I would devote my
energies to a comprehensive study of the art of domestic architecture
and make a more extended study of natural landscape and the
work of great landscape painters, and seek to gain an expert
knowledge of arboriculture and _ horticulture, with a view to
designing that I might practise my chosen art in its fullest
application, but with a wide knowledge of other correlated arts
and the mediums by which they are expressed. I would undertake
much less work, and seek compensation by doing the restricted
work all the better.
Incidentally, I am sure I could have advanced the art much
more by this policy. Nor do | think it would have been difficult
to find a sufficient number of clients prepared to pay the advanced
fees which this would have entailed.
Many of the commissions which I have undertaken have
been sufficiently important to justify my throwing up all other
work, had I had the courage to do so. My work in Canada or in
Athens, or in Salonika, was quite sufficient to absorb my entire
energies profitably, and might in either case have led to great
results ; but the work which I most regret having delegated was
that which I undertook in the interests of our disabled service men.Retrospect and Prospect.
As my particular interests are largely associated with parks,
gardens, and recreational facilities, | wish to observe that I have
been very much impressed with the splendid work accomplished
by Parks Commissions in America. These Commissions are in
part elected and in part co-opted by the elected members, and
are entirely free from the control of the municipal council,
excepting in respect to their annual budget, which is voted upon
by the council. If the budget is rejected, the Commission has to
seek re-election. The main advantage of this policy is that many
men of education and standing specially interested in horticulture
and arboriculture are willing to act on the Parks Commissions,
though they are not prepared for the rough and tumble of municipal
government. In practice the members of such Commissions
exercise far more influence in the progressive development of a
park system than would the municipal bodies. Somehow, if the
municipality requires land for any purpose whatever, it is
generally regarded as “ fair game ’’ for the land-holders, whereas
the Commission is so popular and self-sacrificing that it is
encouraged from every quarter. To show how this works in
practice, I was told by the late chairman of the Ottawa Parks
Commission that the entire park lands for that city, extending in
a practically continuous chain of fourteen miles, had been presented.
Apart from this fact, however, I everywhere found these Parks
Commissions pursuing a vigorous and intelligent policy, which
never allowed the interests of their city in the provision of ample
park and playing spaces to be submerged by other municipal
enterprises. Everyone seems to realise the need for parks and
gardens, and all know that nothing brings such ample return in
advanced property values. Looking forward, I am convinced
that, provided we can establish efficient training centres, there is a
great future for landscape architecture both at home and in the
Overseas Dominions and Colonies; but in harmony with the
growth of the civic spirit and a more equal distribution of wealth,
and particularly in response to the desire of rich men to share
their wealth with their fellows, much more attention will be paid
to the designing and equipment of public amenities, whilst there
will be less opportunity for the creation of private gardens on a
big scale. These larger opportunities for serving the public will,
I am sure, be promoted by a clearer understanding of the
possibilities which a study of landscape architecture inculcates,
and largely by the examples set by Parks Commissions and private352
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
donors of parks, whose intelligence on such matters is usually of a
much higher order than that possessed by the average town
councillor.
I urge this consideration because at present the claims of
landscape architecture are rarely recognised—so rarely, indeed,
that it is probably safe to say that not one of our ten largest public
authorities, including London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester,
and Birmingham, have consulted a professor of the art during
the last twenty years. In other words, the authorities of these
cities have during this period collectively spent millions of pounds
upon public parks and gardens under the direction of amateurs.
I have referred in this manner to this legitimate department of
the landscape architect for the purpose of indicating the vast
field which is still open for exploration and enterprise.
Already a good beginning has been made, and it is becoming
evident that expanding knowledge of the subject is creating
new demands, whilst the increasing call for town-planning and
development schemes is providing new opportunities under con-
ditions peculiarly favourable to the art of landscape architecture,
and for some years to come unemployment problems will give
this demand added impetus.
Supposing, however, that landscape architects were asked to
design even one-third of the new parks and gardens which will
in all probability be laid out during the next twenty years, would
there be a sufficient number of qualified men and women to carry
out the work? I very much doubt it, unless we can establish
an efhcient training centre such as that already outlined; and
I can conceive of no other object worthy of sound and generous
enterprise which would bring such splendid national benefits
in its train as the setting up of a well equipped and staffed school
of landscape architecture, where men and women could be trained
for this vastly important work. Such a school ought to be located
at either Oxford or Cambridge, so that the students might have
the advantages of the fine botanical gardens at these seats of
learning.
To me this subject of training is of such paramount importance
that if I were asked which of my dreams I would like to see realised,
I would unhesitatingly place the school of landscape architecture
first. This is the one great scheme which would yield a result
commensurate with the thought, time, and money expended upon it.
I have said that in all probability there will in the future be“KCK ITECTURE
LA BR
353 NAR Y
Retrospect and Prospect.
fewer large gardens laid out. I believe, however, that there will
be many more small gardens of, say, an acre, or even less, which
will call for the skill of the landscape architect ; and in the creation
of such gardens the designer may find great interest and moderate
recompense. If, again, as I have suggested elsewhere, the training
of the garden designer has included the study of domestic
architecture, and if in consequence he is entrusted with the design
of both house and garden, he may accomplish greater artistic
results than he has ever dreamed of.
As my energies decrease, my sons are accepting their heavier
duties with courage and ability, and with a freshness of outlook
which augurs well for the future.
hree of my daughters, denied the necessary encouragement
to undertake the long and arduous training required in the practice
of landscape architecture (an error of judgment I shall always
regret), have with industry developed their artistic genius in
other directions. They established a few years ago, at Thornton
Hall, in Lincolnshire, the Thornton Art Industries. Here,
surrounded by a band of lady workers, they turn out a considerable
quantity of useful and ornamental articles, to which they apply
their talent for colour and form and applied ornament. From the
start their business has met with encouragement, and now the
industry is well established. ‘Two views are given of Thornton
Hall, the residence of my son-in-law, Colonel Smethurst, where
the enthusiastic lady workers pursue their separate crafts under
ideal conditions.
Now I must bring this narrative of my life’s work to a close,
though I would fain continue to review the past, meeting old
friends and acquaintances as they flit across my mind. Living
one’s days over again is a pleasant task, tinged as it must be with
many regrets that one has not more fully realised the reasonably
possible, but with a thankfulness that so much _has been
accomplished, and gratitude above all things for the friendships
formed and for the encouragement of helping hands stretched
out when the road was most difficult. Experience has taught me
that the world is much more kindly than some affirm, and that
it admires above all things courage and tenacity. Men and women
who love trees and flowers are ever pleasant and understanding
company, and my deepest regret is that I no longer possess the
energy to tramp the road with them. Yet in imagination I am still
walking with my clients through the gardens I have helped to
AA
icons tena354
The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect.
create, picturing the development of succeeding years, but regretful
that I cannot curb wayward growths or reorganise and amend
those portions which have fallen short of expectation—for a
garden, like a family, has to be “ brought up,’’ and needs constant
care if its character is to be developed. To me the garden and its
design are still my highest pleasure. The green shades are my
keenest delight, and my estimate of the ethical value of a garden
is well expressed by Wordsworth in the following lines :—
aX garden) 2. 2% the place
Where good men disappointed in the quest
Of wealth and power and honours, long for rest ;
Or having known the splendours of success,
Sigh for the obscurities of happiness.”
Like my friend Daniel Burnham, “ | feel I have done a day's
work ’’—and there is great satisfaction in the thought !PAGE
ABOYNE: GASIIEE soo oe eee 47
Aboyne, feuing estate at .............. 48
a (SeexGlen’ Tiana) 2.05625 e586 46
Accrington, Garden at.............++- 80
Achilless’stathiexofee see cane osu ee 233
Acropolis; Athens) <i0-<-- <<< 214, 219, 220
. 5 planting at ..... 22, 222
Addison’ Dri occicccc se. sane oe 305, 308
Address on Housing by the King ..... 307
Adelaides Australiateern eres cn ceric 210
Adshead’ Professor. oc nsec ee 178
Affiliated Interim Committees ......... 266
AffleckseSimm Robert eercccnc ice rier 82
Afforestation in Athens .......... 221, 317
policy for disabled....... 269
Agriculture, Government Board of.. 269, 270
Aims of city planning, lecture on...... 173
Aitkenss MrsiWigs: oS fice ck wc ce seit ss 185
Aldworthsblaslemere: aecieenieeacicte 337
Aldridge Henry <2 cic corcle ee cic es crercis 307
Alexander, King of Greece ....... 275, 284
Princes of Greece) 45-.2.-2-)- 215
Allocation of university plots SObO00uOC 231
Alexandra’ Parky secon occ 306
Amateur park designs condemned ..... 352
Ambassador at The Hague ........... 145
es British, for Greece ... 272, 288
es Greek, in London ........ 226
Ambassadors, foreign, in London...... 261
Ambbleside.2 5870 cecnas cies: 79, 152
Amelienburg Platz, Copenhagen ....... 157
Xmericalasbavisititor-piecriseaen ecicins 249
oO. VOVaee tol si. sistas cisisieieie niente 119
America’s attitude to war .........++. 257
American architects’ attitude towards
landscape architects ...-..<...---«-- 197
Ancient gardenage, lecture on ........ 172
Anderson, Sir Rowan, architect ....... 55
Andre, the park designer's work....... 26
(AugellssNorman) seeeacriee cases 241
Anglevillidrey isc cc ssiteciecse as cers ae 148
Anglo-Greek College, Athens.......... 312
Antwerp:ilecturewatyny cece ern 232
Npperleysoig Aliredseccrsenecre ciate 152
Archeologists, Athens .........-.----- 235
Architect of Parliament Paes Regina 197
tepney alle cases 293
Architects coed are
Ndersons Sin Rowanl eerie ied: 55
Briggs, Wolstenholme, and Thornley. 293
TTsdOF YOrkec sc decn eset eciaes 87
Gliftordvandelinant ere eae 321
@ordonmiers® ME. foe rere sees 145
Darlings sRrank) Sidiecosceiecc tris 196
Dawber! Guy?) ooo 138, 321
Fisher; Edmund cso. case eee ss 70, 72
Freeman, Kmlle tt gcc es
23
Gibson; Danis. cence. 25, 41, 45, 58, 61
INDEX.
PAGE
Architects referred to (cont.)—
Petit | Di Gsouienoosoedoncoqoadd 156
Hebrards Mie. e nes cin 275, 278, 284, 288
Hyness:Miri sos so dsyee se neces 192
Jones: “Inigol esas cae eee ce se 150
[eeipersa Wis RoorAte jane. uae. 80, 108
Lutyens, Sir fe RA ce 137, 144
Mallows: Go Ev i Sane e 83, 142
Meredith, Colonel use Gee le anniv 193, 200
Prentice, Andrews sence 79, 100, 104, 239
Reilly» iBrotesson =ecsase ieee 178
Noyseys Cola AS. accu ieee eee "8
\Weigean, altri Goooonuaoaocaconoc 140
Webb: SinsAston os25.400 cr cece 42
Architectural Society of Canada ......- 187
Architecture, Re BiAt Baoan cence 188
- Westmorland style....... 64
Arkwright) We os2cce cts oop 190
Arnold, Matthew) (ce tonaes coetecinemee 152
* Art and Craft of Garden Makin
63, 74, 97, 117, 133, 141, 149,
158, 183, 190, 212, 336
“Art and Craft of Garden Making,”
dedication ‘of «ened erie fee aceine ere 5
Art Gallery, Montreal, lecture in ....- 195
Art: Workers; Guild? 4... once eee 265
Arts) Glibye eee aoe cone ere 79
Arts and’ Grafts Society ...-.-..--«++- 78
Ashburton, Devonshire ..........--++> 134
Ashdown: Forest: < 202s acilsiore eee ci eeictals
Ashton-on-Ribble for W. W. Galloway 61, 190
Ashton, the Misses: Little Onn Hall ..
Ashfield House, Standish ..........-.- 185
Aspiotiy Brothersicjeee nancies meaice 314
Aspiotus;3 Vise ccciccanecee 328, 329, 331
Assessors for competitions, essential. . 42
Aston\ Wodges Derby... 5.2 ees ite 136
Athelhampton Hall, Dorchester ....... 85
Athens 2.604). - 214; 233; 310, 325; 333
"archeologists ater cee 235
ie duelling at’. occ eee one 235
~~ first view of 3400.0 sco cae ce 210
» historical pageant at ........-- 236
SS un warbime sien cone cidceee eine 275
5, obstruction to improvements ... 316
». Minister of Communications . 275
» Past, Present, and Future | :
lecture 863 fi ves aioe 249, 255
Fy plans approved. ce ecrtciisiais 238
,», remuneration for plans .......- 309
© Salonikal rallwaysstia cr etlcletereiere’- 331
Town Planning Commission .. 327
Avebury, Tord © Shanes see se 263, 299
YNGO NS tarts cosacacconanc000060 216
Baden Powell, Sir George ........--- 50
Bagot, Captain, of Levens Hall........ 23
Bailey, Professor, Cornell University... 169Index.
PAGE
i Batlrigg:, Teanicaster eins ce cacisonis oot sc 139
| Baldwin; ‘Stanley: site. cc casicleic cee eis 347
Ballaterectee Neat eines nee 52, 208
Ballimore, Argyleshire...........+.. 46, 57
Baltimore, arrival at .............004- 119
Banff, civic survey of ..........- 211, 227
Ber oMatlonalipark at, ssscrcstejece at > se 202
a Banik‘of Manchester ¢ sicicigd sieve ses 6 189
| Banquet Viena... sear cnideciicis cee sis.s 154
Barley Wood, Wrington ............+-
i Barlowsajohn Re ee Seas sede chao 2 ace
Barnes Common .......--
Barnes, Rt. Hon. George
Baroda, Maharajah of .......0002000
e- Maharantiol. + sjcviscckiar opine
Barrett, Dr., of Australia
li] Barwell Court, Surbiton ...........00-
Batstordsibler bert no's bfcden shies code
Batstords, Publishers: saca.t)-i65/ © seas
Beauchamp, Ord? 5, fo cnn ec aeesies
Bective: lady: sh cisisacute cis 25h o salir
Beecher, Dr. Henry Ward ..........+. 28
Bell, Graham alelsts bib tind ctelaje c hakee witame 170
Ben Rhydding, gardens at ...........- 130
Benaches, M., Mayor of Athens... 220, 223
Bennett, Mr. Town Planner ......... 188
Bentinck, Korda blenty: ¢ oeteia ners sisacrsicns 184
Berlin ia toce iiss ocho tsilocian coisa cis 155
Bibby, oseph Goes sictacdsisists op hacnclaes 180
mbibbyspAnnualits csccccn cot. vests 18]
Bidston Briony) 6s ase sisievrontels aes Se os 180
Bidwell, Thomas, of Trunch.......... 76
‘ Miss, brother’s wife.......... 76
Birch Grove House, East Grinstead . 135
“Birmingham Daily Post,” proprietor of 149
Bishop tot) Gilitton) ssc eo ies denen ci 55
» Mloronto) 7 csc5 secs dose 192
Blackpool civic survey ........+.eeee- 343
+ development Dian ces ogaecuc 344
i ileraldtg puesta oa oucctues's 341
+ phenomenal growth of ...... 340
© plan for pabmitssion siacidrcarals 343
‘s PUbLicy park toi. 8 hase Holessrere 341
5 South Shore extension ...... 342
e towns COUNCIL bers di tos accion 342
99 town plan Sie/sipiaibinieie ° 343
Board\ofAgricultutresecesnsccaeccciee. 270
» Trade, Foreign Office ...... 289
University Rarenor, Australia All
Bodelwyddan Castle, N baWales) cs 5 hs
BodenigRaSsccecna ccs oh secdue obs 136
Boertwarpse reece teers dasnosckee ae 86
\ Boeslager, Baron von.....s.cscececces 113
Bolitho, Major aleteinlefa{eavels) s)aja\aTolelelele/ela 6p 134
BoltongAbbey; cane) ccna) once is 136
Boltonsle-Moorss «veh ce scnitc duccke cos 126
Bonbright, E. Pevand Mrsa aca.ns% ccc 208
Books (see ‘ “ Art and Craft’ ):
” Blackpool park YOPOLE 2c sco cence 346
ui oe Cavic Art” Mee Nein tariv ciate 133, 161
pbooedagaacn 7
PAGE
Books : garden manuals .sjecs ise coe
Imperial Glieato » Geuenee 2H
“Praise of Gardens © cae cae
Borden, Sir Robert’: ccs.cct s 187, 193, 7
Eady) onic. tereleneeeveek hacen 257
Bostock, H. } Esq. ence cceceececcece 130
Boston; WiStA: sce dt cacnkecneececie 162
Botley, Tanteh custo t tae wee oe 237
Bournemouthie. ss s0ss ec e ae eee 4]
Boveridge Park; Dorsethik. oss saa 321, 322
Bow, River.; Canada: c;,.;ccme'ss-cciecteretee 200
Bawden bills Whltsi. <tc. oscceceeine 181
Bowles, Tommy Gibson ............- 50
Bowness, Windermere ..........eee00: 320
BoydiBlarold desc ects as es cucnibicns 158
Brackley, Ballater? jo. ieices oc jade 208
Brasseys Lord! ¢ Ss c.hs ces swiss d - 99, 238, 239
Breadsall Priory, Derby .............. 181
Breakdown in health, my ............ 340
Brewer-Williams;, 1 gsceccoucuccehne. 140
Bridge of Ess, dry walling at ...... 47, 52
Bridson Ji, Res firsti client) acces se 22
Bright, vets Jacob Dic lelaloin/eleleydiale|eiale’n cae 14
Johny oiicccteg oe a cnasdsenn 9, 14
Brathakitie tee eee 217, 233
Brisbane, Australias. <2.06 ss saciinc ce 210
British Columbia Electrical Co. ....... 227
niversity LOR oss: 230
British Consulate, Gallipoli ‘.5.:5:041 «<< 274
Hit dia Bam bassy a naistre 6 cis salaries ee eros 275
Naval Commission ...........- 274
Brockhole, Windermere. siche-ine sae 61
Brooklandwood Mansion ..........-:- 120
Brookline; (WISIA. (occcees saceecciennus 163
Brooks, Sir W. Cunliffe, his benefactions 51
‘5 ‘ his graspofplans 52
= es es quarrel with
minister... 46, 50
Broomfield public park .......... 130, 189
Brown and Vallance, architects, Uni-
versity, Saskatchewan......--+-se0e- 197
Browns: Garrolle (fi. coc s tas on cee 118
Brown, Governor, Regina ...........- 213
Brown, hear-Admiral ean nacceiee cieeee 274
Bryce; eord’ chronicle oslactterincs austere 256
Bryn Mawrie jets esos isis seast sas 255
Bryant, William Cle. POEL... siciers Sas 120
Buchanan; (@harles As 6 20 sls ier. sivieicte's 80
Buckingham Palace, reception at....... 307
Buckley, Mr., Windermere ..........- 78
Budbrooke House, Warwick ........-- 105
Building estate at Blackpool .......... 342
< ee at. Galgarys i. cnisen cain 200
fs * for British Colum-
bia? ecee vaus 227, 228
is 5 in Canada, bogus 205
Ottawa plan fOr ge. arte 205
Buiterust SPalace! Whe blacue) .eacced 145
Bulgars® attacks << so scrc oe ears casters 286
Bungalow, residence at ...........+ 110, eB
Burnham, Daniel, conversation with ....Church of Pilgrim Fathers, Camberwell 165
of oe Danetius: "Salonika : i -
. of Twelve Apostles, Salonika ..
Citizens League, Calgary
City Council, Calgary
Burns, Rt. Hon. John ..
Burton Manor, Neston, Cheshire
Westmorland, Vicar of ........ 7 Catizens League, Calgary .......++++-
yi
Business credit in Near East
Pe Commission, Wannines 198
cs Principles, lecture on. 196
GARISH at Ieadon| GrOreaetin Is: BIG, Diesen Seles tok am ere
Cadbury Manor, Somerset
Guild, ‘Chicago, lecture to
League, Antwerp, lecture for .
Claridge’s Hotel, canference at
ea proposed, for Stepney
Campbell, Colonel, of Ormidale
Campus, Cornell University
Canada, bogus building estates in
landscape architects in
@anadian Club, Ottawa
Cleveland Ciehee! of Commerce
Cleveland, Ohio, lecture at
Club, National Liberal
Coal Harbour, Vancouver
Coast Erosion, Royal Commission
Codford Manor, Wilts
Colcutt, T. E., architect
SI Mirsce avoir aierer-tsiotoupeleis anteln carer
College, Ladies’, Bryn Mawr
ae School for Athens
Colonies for disabled soldiers
Columbia ee lecture at.
Commander in-Chief, Salonika, French. . om
.169, 191, 29
Commission, Royal Fine Arts
town planning, Athens. 315, aa
PASS Set wads Gaiapetets SHC elas
Chair in landscape architecture, Plesii for
Chairman Parks Committee,
Chalfont St. Giles, garden at
Community farms 1 in Canada
ied
Competition for building estate ......-
i ae Wolverhamp-
Chamber of @ommerceGleveland) (=. -9°202) 9 Fe tOnUE erent
Rs towni planning " scheme. 42
Gomnes Perthshire’ «co. ciciterie cs oe 321
Conduit Street, London offices in ..
Conference, annual, of Town Planning
Charlottenburg Strasse, Berlin
Charm of English Garden lecture ..
Chief of Ministry of Pensions Congleton ene village.....seeseseee
Chippendale and Sheraton furniture
Christchurch, Bournemouth
Church, Carver Memorial, Windermere
Congregational, Hest Bank...
Conservatory ae West Park, Wolver-
Index.
PAGE
h
279, 273
348
84, 152Index.
Constantine, King. .213, 216, 218, 223, 249, "35
Gonistavlos;Viiss'c ccins soon ee th cae aoe 215
Constitution Square, Athens .......... 221
Continental tour of Town Planning
ASSOCIATION «seek =. <p sires wie eialoe Sates
@oopers Sir Richard! ws .2 S.)ac 0s bees 87
@onenhacents. 2c. ccn cucneoees. bes ewes 157
Copley Fielding, pictures by........-. 195
Corbels, the, Windermere.......... 69, 109
Corfu: < Riemer ne ae cciw elelok ANG), AAV)
ae e(SOVEINOL (OL? pits vhs cieiciZiste Fire nis 234
“ys naustniale village for; ¢<.<..05e6 314
me eaiser's villa atecectecis ciceicw os 233
“royal gardens ‘at. . <2. gus «kin nee 226
royale palace ‘at, G2 eases ec saeee ies 234
Gormnth Canale scioch i cua seins ee eek 219
Gornel lb University 5. .ccn es once 143, 167
Cory, Johns of Cardiffes: ened. sect wer 106
Cory, sReginald hs. /ek, he es ea ee 106
Cosgravey |i @iHaral sisi 6 eae esis 254
Cotswoldidistrictst ie. asiss eee 138
Cottingham, Walter .......... 339, 252, 305
Cotton magnates, gardens for ......... 210
Council of New Southgate ........... 306
*i ss Wood Greeny <5, sma eis 305
» Tural, of Weston-super-Mare... 346
County Council, TMondon ass eee cn ie 248
“Country Life,” publishers of ........ 67
Court Chamberlain, Greek........ 215, 240
@ourtship ance sas en inane ac nua: 20
ox; David: spicturestby scce sesso oe 195
@ranborne; Dorset40-1..08 ce iene doe 321
Crawford and Balcarres..........-.00 348
Crimson rambler rose, discovery of . 56
Cringlemere, Windermere ..........- 79
Crossland, James .... 84, 161, 211, 263, 268
Cross O'Cliff, eincoliieccie cco dene 140
Gross; way aol the sacncceia om ior tartkivk 55
Crown Prince (George), of Greece..... 237
Grown Prince, German..........++-+- 239
Crown Princess of Roumania ......... 215
Griden" Bay stg ois is oad oc 23.
Crystal Ralacewicn sic. ak cocoa. 77
Cuerdon Hall, Warrington ............ 59
Gurrer-Briggs. cates. ci hea 78
Gyclonejexperiencess a4. -% 208 oi esac 329
Czarina of Russia, Dowager........... 157
“ DAILY CHRONICLE ” Sees atowe 68, 264
“Daily Melegraphy # oe ee ae ee chic. 264
Dalham Hall, Newmarket ............ 82
Dalhousie University, plan of campus.. 197
principal of ..... 197
Dann, Reginald BER Sesteke ois ER ee 347
Barley; sProfessor stacaschit coaeenas 230
Darling, Frank, architect ............. 196
Daughters, industrial ventures of ...... 353
Davies;cof iNewrysscs vos oe aes 18
Davis, Mr., editor, New York ........ 254
Dawber, Guy, architect........... 138, 321
Day, Frank Miles, architect .......... 167
De Wilde® $3505 es. cccnpee neers 147
Dean of Faculty, Cornell University.... 167
Debating society, educative value of ... 27
Pleo: river. cdctveste techs cen hbees 48, 125
Department of Construction .......... 244
Derorans stirling, ces seccse eee 80
Detling Hill, Maidstone, garden at..... 95
Dickson, James, Irish rose grower .... 57
Dinnett, Aberdeenshire, farms at ...... 48
Director of Ceremonies ...........2++ 154
Reconstruction, Macedonian
Villages: 5 cet. sc eve tesserae
District Council of Southgate ......... 189
dixon}, Normans: 5.85 00-6: 5. sce see 147
Doiran) Front: <3 cse onus Beas cere 286
Dominion Parks Department, Banff 203
OITMOCH: 2g ai9e 8 Ouomrarate wind vo eee ee 102
i Rirthyotlc.. scone eee 103
Double-trenching ground ..........-+. 6
Douglas; George occu <sciw a eee cues 135
Downe: Viscount ..2. oso cheee oaee 87
Doyle; Mr:, architect, .32....5¢.002< dean 18]
Drachma, depreciation of . 125 B27. 333, 334
Wraper) Warwick#li: «e-mesceeee eu ac 263
Draughtsmanship, equipment in....... 27
Dresdeny osc cc sos cleein ac oneciae 155
Drew, John, gardener at Wych Cross. . 72
Draimont. Dead yi sce coe oak 195
Duchess of Connauht, H.R.H. 195
Drickworths! We #8 ccs. cnina scene 130
Duelling, Re ive Wak 6 iba BONO Cees 235
Dutiryng gardens}atioyrsieiecieierieleierctec tere 105
Dugout. ins cscs cameecnccien Mecer 286
Duke of Connaught, H.R.H. ......... 194
Punchurchs Rugbyssy-en «cst eines 149
Dunfermline sirust: (Gamesie)) seen sce 100
Dumiras Comres see eee 321, 322
Dimnington-Grnbbea ence eee 144
unnmeton: Miss) 2. ¢.n- ss cerns ee 144
EARIGES Sir Paoneli aceen joccurh canes 347
East Park, Wolverhampton ..........- BS
East, oir Alfreds ReAt es ennea cer 126, 216
Eastboumes ic aeet aiennek Saeiencs 215, 238
Eberstadt; Ferry Berlin: qe scc cies eeeae 154
Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris... 142: 231, 319
Economy campaign of Government eae @Z10
Edgemount, Stafford) os scenic 152
Editor of “New York World” ....... 254
Editor Munsey papers ............+. 254
Elevated railway blot on Stepney ..... 293
Elizabeth garden, Vienna ............- 153
Billacombess ts osc sc cost eee ee 17
Elliott, Sir Francis and Lady ......... 275
Puliss Re Adami. ss. cnn sae cee eeae 130
Endcliffe hee Shefheldj.22 .cece 42
English contracts for Salonika ........ 310
“English Gardens,” lecture on ....... 2
Ernest George and Peto, architects.... 41
Erroll ordi:st27. saccenicnes 46, 52, 53, 54
2 3 Mord anddleadys.ncicctec ecsns 180[ndex.
Hest Bank, near Lancaster : its romantic
80,
; Bult PAGE
WH Halifax; Nova Scotia sca. sefscae canis 196
Hh} lectures at ...... 188
Halli’ -th’ -Wood, Bolten 125
Hamburg ge cern te ek one hates 156
FlamultonsaGaptaln: hs ci scue en cnc 286
Flamin Professor cs cc tad 191
Hammersley, Alderman, of Hanley . 35
A | } Hampstead Pleathiises se acu fine a. : 179
| Mube Railway... ..ss as 130
Hampworth Lodge, Salisbury ......... 189
Hanley, Staffordshire .........se.eeee 32
; Hanley Park and pottery fumes) fcc nen 34
i » how work was secured... 32
»» Opening ceremony....... 35
Hanley, UlownsGlerktatesc sn senncca 33
Hannaford, Ashburton, Devonshire .... 134
Parbensgoitelenryee dest. erence 105
| Harboard, Dr. Augustus ............. 95
Mardy ihomasentc ces cnce ees 86
Dlarriss Herbert igcck oo nee ee necae 18]
Harnson hs (Gig e ace eee. 18]
Harrow-on-the Fe eS e.cracun omnicsiers 129
Hlartfords @onnecticut (se kon 170
Hartpury House, Gloucester ......... 138
Harvard University Coa ae scot 163, 249
lecturevat 5.55. .o.. 252
Haslam Park, "Preston a oretcisie les craters «foe 186
Haslam, Master ete te 186
; pin Alfredi .sose-nctoeeccaoe. 181
Mlaslemerescaa tone eee 337
Hastings and St. Leonards town plan .. 345
Hatton House, Warwick ............+. 190
Haw Lea Estate, Nelson.............- 159
Heath Lodge, Hampstead ............ 189
IlebrardsalVieeee eee tee 275, 278, 284, 288
Henderson, Commanderany eons oo 130
Hengistbury Head, Christchurch....... 317
Hepton, Sir Wied ite tee te 183
Hlerkomers Hubert, ReAv. pe nee 211
portrait Sinveieolelejetetsieie (avers 250, 325
Hesse, Grand Duchess of............- 238
situationfa;csche ene ee 109, 110
eyshamedocks)i0¢ oe oe v's, fae ee eo. 78
ighersirap, Padihami \2cceccee ence. 210
Highcliffe Gastlen eee ce ee 317
Hill, the Hampstead ........ 129, 179, 189
IatlL While Ssconcabone 169, 263, 271, 291
Fuiness(@harlestersceyos oe cee ce atc 320
Historical pageant, Athens............ 236
ModvewRtohon. John. ss. .28 eo. 267, 298
Hodge fund for disabled ............ 298
i Hoffman, Mr., German town planner . 216
9 Mrsiphreds ie eeccact ane 191
Hogg, Dr., specialist on ivies ......... 17
Hole, Reynold Sia laraVetayelstavercYola's ciensie ley 17
HolkersrGllee teeter, ca. 183
arGeNs! Hanne ch cde 26
Holt, Sir iene Mg deletes cee visireicte 84
ONEVINOON sean nN ick ete 21
PAGE
Horner, Rev. Frederick, tulip grower .. 7, 8
Hotel Angleterre, Athens ............. 310
de‘ luxe, Athens, <).i: costae. ore 311
oF Mount Olympus siniayelatar 325
», sites for Grand Bretagne Co..... 311
Hotels, chain of, for Athens .......... 311
Housing DOOM Gas eRe ks ae ee 307
scheme for Athens ...... 224, 236
schemes, municipal siueitie ee 306
ow to Lay Out a Garden, a by Kemp. . 63
Howard, sin Henry 2-cre soe 1a
letter from........
Hoyle, William, Grasmereie eee 152, 210
Hubbard, Professor of Landscape Archi-
ECCHUTG Seite avis elec) ake cine hel diateioieteyele
Fighes; Hom, Sam | 25. dooce 193
Elomphrey Wards Mrs) acs, eee 152
Hons olmans artist «599. see 15
Elimtly® Marquisioti cee sec eee 47
Hvidére, Copenhagen ........... 145, 157
Hynes, Mr., architect, Toronto ....... 192
ICETON, Wm., nurseryman, Roehampton 10
Illinois University Nae ines cre aes Cc 253
Ulysusprivers Athens sere sone 221
Imaginative faculty commnendes eens 317
* Imperial ee ook
261, ne 264, 267, 301, av
Club, Toroutes lecture for’.
Inconsistencies in garden design ......
Industrial settlements incorporated .... 299
village designed for Corfu .. 314
4 Villages Interim Committee.. 299
+ 34.) > for (disabled oc ene ak 249
, lecture on
260, 276, 285, 297
Industries, profitable, for disabled men . a
of Katterina® cece cn cen
Ingletony: ce) hike wesc es cc. 4,6
Inigo) Jones; architect <j. os. a. 4c. ae 150
Interim Committee 44s. eee 263, 273
Committee's affiliated societies . 266
societies overseas.. 267
Tpsolanti Prince, Governor, Corfu .... 233
Isleworth, Homdean, Hants sewn ccs 18]
Italian garden, lecture on ............ 169
JACKSON? Sinise Gs Bart ReAS 925" 508
leGrexy, Sie WINER ooadocnocbécogaaunt 149
James Estate, British Columbia........ 227
ely Misses fi cas yo cckeen tee 17
Jexvoises inci: Clarke’. «5.4. 450 5 hace 18]
iJchnsonseauline’ .. unos boc catk eae 205
Jupiter Olympus Park, Athens ........ 220
IWAISER® ‘the csniscce ss or asecuin 6 aes 216
A and European politics... 233, 234
Kaiser's palace, Corfu ........... 218, 233
Kalamariae Salonikarre sceay rie cee. 278
KarnebeckyaMir seat ocude onus 147
Karo: Dr scccconikantccsdes eset csPAGE
Katterina, Greece: i’. se scsecne ee es 277
VISIEREO! @ oaciae ocd a ctareelenue Oe 331
Keffolds, Haslemere) 2.253 saacisiee eae ese 130
Kelway and Son, Messrs., nurserymen. 16
ce Ed., landscape. designer nies 16, 63
book by, “ How to Lay Out
ay Gardentea!i.j-s0) seen
i garden: by? d<sisebisen smiexisle 77
Krew: lists\ 3c creGives se puclrenieiien ee oe 98
Kidbrookel Parky.jr ssictee sieeve oc vie 70
Rees meat). Oxford! sa.cseccie evr 149
Va JeOWe. Gere Vekin dete caso inegr ers 291
Killian, Berkhamsted aieYavewielovsioiatelelsteis 158
Kincardine @sNeill’ tcc acscn eens 46, 49
King Alexander, Athens...... 275, 312, 334
,, Constantine, Athens 214, 221, 222, 275
George, Greece ........ 214, 237, 249
King and Queen (English), reception by
220, 307
ee Greece's oeiiak (desc 235
King’s address on housing ......++e0 307
Rs college, London, lecture at..... 308
ot (Own Reomment®s,cccn ss csine «tote 245
Kirkby, Conyers, borough surveyor,
EWDOIt scenic 38
a i telegram from ...... 39
Knight) arch cnsece seem ces cneins 148
Kylesiof Buchanty nee saccceecee sence 53
Kylessof Bute skier seorctsicte et acre ie 55
LADIES’ Canadian Club, Winnipeg .. 198
Ladywood, Aboyne, feuing estate at .. 48
, planves cave 52
[exfontane: A. ie dekh ees sets 85
Laird, Professor, of Philadelphia....... 230
Lake Deschanes, Ottawa ........--++- 205
Weake’ Districtclients) sr. eee ei cleleieie'e 23
i ses (gardens: nceh see esee 84
Fe = honeymooniin: 5 << 44.00% 21
beds kacineek ett eae asec 109
Talons Sir Henry ss sai cirnee ceils 152
[ealacostet Ms e828. onion cece sees 315
Ieanicaster, John's. ss dere cs is ceisies eile 149
JEancaster’ 3 Sb his < facisitoee als os haste sees 139
- art master/ati..45 6s saaeeee 6
- freehold estate .......--.+- 3
x Mechanics’ Herter Scistevatalt 6
office boy 5
Westfield soldiers village. .267, 268
[Landscape architecture—
Atv Harvard’) tea cee ccttenica s acetecieisis 162
Jts universalitys:cesseie acisetctersierere 350
CCEUIES ON). cons ccceccccccivcicevece 160
Neediiforschooltotzesnins: ae stereericiste 176
Plea for university training in....,... 174
Professorsy lilmois) sepeeeciteer)iele 254
Trained practitioners preferable ..... 351
Landscape, present lack of proficient
designersi'; 5 oe siowuce tes 352
design lectureship at Liver-
pool University ........- 78
Index.
PAGE
Landscape gardening manuals......... 9
‘s i LIONS" slaiecoie’eie 9
ae Gilpin’ s forest
SCENETY? s\s\0) 001 « 9
¥ * Repton’s fragments 9
Warigaza te scdeeacddae dens ch tise tele che 286
Eangmuir, Aw le-vand, Mrss) scene 208
. James tai AGE ee ailiett eee 187
Jariseatisshce seg acae snd den dase aces 277
rie, Sir Wilfrid: ssesaqe tess 173, 193
[eawson; Emest’ gestern secs sires erie 34]
Kaycocks (Walts: Sisccutitre sv asieene os 181
OTe cies caeiie cus picea oa deletstererere 149
Eecture:at Antwerp’ <.0c <2 ecls cil: 232
, Athens — past, present, and
DUN OR Aor dacanponioe ocecicc 249
,»» commercial value of beauty .. 252
» ethics of city planning ...... 192
j. sfuture ofyAthens: @jsdeniecierer 315
s arden cities and model housing 192
5 fastaiie garden design .....-- 19]
,»» imagination in town planning.. 336
» industrial villages for disabled
MEN’: cewes see seat es
> landscape architecture applied
to. Citlesioih. icc ceastiltenoe
»» Macedonia’s industrial oppor-
tunities: Whisks cei eee 309
» on English gardens A Auecivreistes 251
» principles of an planning ..191, 196
» Ye-planning of Athens .......- 308
» re-planning of Salonika ....... 308
on rock gardens dale laletele ee Sele 19]
Lectures, preparation of, and slides.... 161
on landscape design, Liverpool
Whiversitys cesses 346
Weedsi gardens) ati -ninecrneiice temic 183
Lees Court, Faversham ............+- 150
[eeigh; Mrs: Gerard) seceenssecret 150, 184
Fe Cia Ra gaadacadoousodsgartatio 137
Fall ycisccichrs hie cee eles ese 137
[eiper, ReSiAe Walliam)-saccee s 80, 108
TEemons (Mark ci. sjoscs on-site ven 201
Lennox, Lady Algernon Gordon ...... 151
Lethbridge, William...........-- 62, 69, 74
Levens Hall gardens ............+0++
Lever, Wm. Hesketh (Lord Eevee an
” Sir Wm (Lord Leverhulme) . 190
Leverhulme, ard ..115, 189, 269, 303, 305
Wewis; Isley of .eemos sce cine soe 303
Teporty UPON) eee ease 304
Es rald uponlesc came tele ee ee claees 304
3» offered’ to islanders <2... 0: 305
Lews Castle, Stornoway .......++++++- 303
Ejlacsof Dresdent:cacccscen cen 155
LEincolniisccfiee sieeve saison eee tan 140
Saoppbsaotadoacone ce 94
Little Ont fae ‘Cnosall, STRATE, oonoac 59
Iverpool, arrival at .......s+ecsceees 258
e Gorporationyseeeneiiema atte 127Index.
PAGE
Liverpool] “ Post,” press notice in.... 162
sallfromiee Socio wsicats cs.ciée 161
shipowner client ........... 181
University Sola eiaieiaie 177, 178, 346
Lloyd George! mca Gk e cic essa ssa b cals 270
Teloyds; Mhomas: OF aii. ewieigac clever ae 105
Lobley, Joseph, Hanley............20 32
Local Government Board encouragement
Ole Dak) och ciscee hiss | einem amehice 37
Loch Fence. Argyleshire: -seasins secs. 57
London and Southend Railway ....... 292
County Gouneils:: o04 can 248, 295
lifein. Soc.ceccisn tu cecedanwer 11
removal’ to sic ve wanes Rian
Longfellow: DOEE reekicbhies « hamadiewe «< 120
Fonsdales J. Heywood pricteayecdes acts 149
Lord Avebury Bee i cdayc ive iseararecets 263, 299
Brassey int dorcnnbiow ces criwvese's « 239
Bryce Giecccascis ticrarelapieistove ce sick sie 256
ean ford and Balcarres ......... 348
Jeansdowne vais aitisvessein isis» ois 262
Leverhuline siccsince waiiosece 303, 339
Queenborough: fscpis csi tvesecni.c 299
women pcs dig laieie GhaMivia: sare 337
dea aebiioetine awe 300, 305
Lord aan iGrise Southporticy.e 141
Loudon’s landscape gardening ........ 26
Low Wood Hotel, Windermere........ 61
Lowther, Colonel, secretary to Duke of
Connaught eiekelaielsaieiaislaia(slc 194
GastlerEstate G6. cc copie sien ]
Tailulaund) Bushey: as ccvcctnietiets ches 211
Lune Valley Seats i are Race pasel cee (eta ae aISIas. 335
Jeutvens. SinsEdwink a.sqenc ese 77, 137, 144
Lycabettos Hill, Athens ............. 317
Weyde: Miss Ames). 3 aasivecsiacen osc 139
Bevel Wings sa tein ae ods Goretieardes 300
MABY@HAT#SIE* Cheshires. sinc cte cee ca. 135
Macalpine, Sir George ..........00% 80
Machethiaws Gilchrist. .c. css tee 321
MacDonald; Ramsay .......00.00+000. 347
Macedonia, British trade ings. cage ne 289
Wik axes. sstarsseietvalciardinys Sealare 297
its industrial opportunities 309,
Macedonian Reconstructiou Commission
325
291920
villages” isis s sceaateuen oe 311
Wackedcie Sir Alan’ Beteactaceeee 46, 52
IPMVICCOM ioe soit dete cores 208
Mackereth, Dr., Vicar of Halton....... 2
Macmillanta Mites. crepe sass < stsctoccy rcicie cine 135
Madrestield i Court er s.ce srcyscxieio cette 97
Maer, ball sShropshines ccevse sceie « 181
Maesruddud, Newport, Mon. ........ 140
Maharajah of Baroda ........ 325, 336, 337
Maidstonergarden sat: <i. cose tise ceca 95
soldiers’ settlement (at j-)0i-61< 299
“Manchester Guardian ”
articles for.... 346
”
< a review of book. 67
Marbyirg: aliheodore’.,cejjceisaciea< ce erer 118
Marden Park, Surrey, gardens at........ 124
Margate: Stirling) ccfe. .cdineeiice stasis
80
“Margaret, Old,” nurse to Lord Erroll 54
Marine garden at Weston-super-Mare .. 346
5 lakes Southport «3.5 <..na eee 141
Marnock, Robert, landscape designer... 16
Marseilles s3naih esc Ser ea eee ae 32
Martin; Henry. occ hi cac cece cere ccante 79
Marton: Goloneli;(2 2s so cecnkens coe 77
Mason, Dr., of Windermere ......... 78
Mastersssl or. cnc cchichs cise 17
Mattacks: Robert 355 cscas se omens 214
Mawson Brothers, nurserymen, Winder-
MElOs se 5s Senne ee
os Dr: Sylvest0e isc sins some reses 254
- E. Prentice, eldest son... 142, 231,
273, 284, 286, 288, 310, 314, 317,
52) 5555525
na Joseph, fathers seis actos
es J. W., second son ...214, 289, 310,
314, 326, 353
Robert, Rotts a ne 6
Robert Radcliffe, third son
231, 242, 245
Maxim of General Sir Henry Moore = 23
295,
loyd George .........
Pastor slavylor sepincasechec
Ruiskany ee sisccsiatecierejoheeiate 284
e Sir Edwin Lutyens ........ 77
Mayor, ‘Athens! cicwes cic cic sirseiasn 2205 eo
cr Of Watiley’ << missiserdaeeeniee cone 32
of Newports Mon\as-i- sae 39, 40
Of Patras! cee us satel cco 234
Of Salonikavcc ceistisusiteis os ers 277
SP ROW OtEDNEY,.. aiciaeistens oiler 291
McBride; Sim Richard’: occ sascarecnene 229
MeGill University: 62 cnc ices 195
Meadlands Building Estate, B.C. ...... 228
Meathop, Grange-over-Sands ......... 269
; colony for disabled men .... 298
Medicine Paty crsratesarsisietaletiiaeisiiae cos 202
lecturesyate. ancien. - 188
Melbourne, Nustralial cs cicscis sjesieqetets isis 210
Mercati, Count, Court Chamberlain 215, 220
Meredith, Colonel: architect, Ottawa 193, 200
. Sink Walliams 4 ..<cs beer 19]
Michigan University sjera\aia viekelaleistelelsie me 249
Middle East, Secretary of ............ 272
Midland Railway Companyoesacseclens 78
Wlilany visits tonesc sisvcicidemiianaciecls 106
Milnes Sirs George: esis ioe ies 273, 279
Milner, Edward, landscape designer 16
WNESb es ee Sanne 42, 139
Minister of Communications, uae ae 289
ENSIONS) sc seis Sie seresatrois, a ste 298
Public Works, Athens ......Ministerial attitude to “ Imperial Obliga-
OMY ee iors arate els Sins wesls 260, 267
Ministers of Pensions .......+++++5+5 267
Ministry of Health cece ec canee 305, 308, 346
“i Mumitions= <5 sfcercen « 244, 245
eae “349, 259, 261, 267, 300
Miriabello Gardens, Salzburg ........ 153
Model suburb, Ottawa ...........--> 205
Moffatt), Hi G., 5 peccanjtenerinte vie 135, 189
Molesworth, Rev. Desens’ one one 99
Mond) Sir Alfred oir). cntetenrere oiloieiets 308
Monks, Fred J., Warrington ....... 98, 185
Montreal -fciccccre sre sietey ernie eieiovecssel 192, 195
lectures at cnpeesces cameo 188
Moore, Sir Henry; KOGIBs 5 o.creioe 23
More, Hannah, poetesSs ....--ceseeeee 185
Morecambe Baysecciecsciccx scecieee> 80, 335
Morleys Johny ¢-secie ete cieietteeilem ils 242
a | Wloprttery 10S? = GponcedoasconnpocnnG 264
Morrison Walter: 3. cscs een reac oss 135
Moseleys Mirses cya csitsieicteststersinte rs etatensiare 152
Mother:cauthoris’ accom fecies ssceenere 3,4
Mount Stuart, for Marquis of Bute.... 46,55
Municipal dinner, Vienna .....-.-.++- 15
housing schemes ...-..---+ 306
Municipality, Athens, and long credit .. 309
Murphy, Patrick, Canada............. 193
NARIBESS visit to) -.ecraidsiaeiiete cieleicie =i 106
Nashs Revs Mire) ssc nenretein -ieiiacierrs 49
National Housing and Town Planning
7 Ssoclationy tcci> cys eeles siciele
Housing and Town Planning
Gounciles cae: cetrore 42, 307
sg Pat se ca ICIS Bia oor sists 187
x Banfhs es accuse esc ests 202
Naylor, Mr., of eae Halles 5.4%. 59
Nelson, [nolo nc Beare ee 159
Neville, Lady Dorothy ...........-- 15, 86
New: Southeatertnc ssi c ine 130, 189. 306
New York .... 166, 170, 171, 191, 208, 227
arrival abl. te ee 119, 162
», Chief Commissioner of Parks
ALP cleletclolers ele) cleloletore ele ieletstarn fe
clientsjfatieen so evee emis arclicieie 191
lecturesvatiesemeceriect se 189, 254
Newport, Mon., garden at .........+- 152
Newsum, Actress: oe, ae 140
Newspapers—
= Daily Chronicle weaseemesceeire 264
DEY Walesean s6ccooooq00000c 264
“Manchester Guardian * Ma pies sie aie 264
> Wibyentirs ERE sogo0cccapos000000 264
seNew: Yorks oun wicca ete ie 255
“ New York World A si closveetereis’s 254, 255
oe Observer mace chic ieiore sole ieeicos 264
= Scotsman’... 2« cn% cee nscriasies oie 264
@ Spectatorim ace eeeprdecieeaere ce 67
Niagara Falls, Victoria Park.........-- 187
icholson; Mr. John) ooc-ecc- onckiecire 291
Noble: Herbert s5-- eee cera cee ects 210
Nolan, John, city planner..........-+- 201
Normanhurst, for Lord Brassey .....-.
Northampton, town planning scheme for 219
North Wales, garden at ..........0+ 95
North Walsham, Norfolk ............- 20
Nurseries—
Bunyard’s, Maidstone .........-.+- 19
Crisp’s, Tunbridge Wellst ic iin 18
Icetonissbutneye ceric icles ce aia cre 13
Jackman’s, Woking ..........-+++-> 18
Kelway's, Langport .........-+2-++: 16
Lane's, Berkhamsted ............--- 19
@Osborneissshulham) 45 «6 /tecs il 19
Paul’s, Waltham (Gross) ¢.ceeeepeenr 18
River's, Sawbridgeworth ..........-- 19
Thompson’s, Wimbledon ........-. 18
Turneris: slough epierc deine © 19
Veitch and Sons, Kingston Vale..... 18
Ware's, Hale Farm, Tottenham .... 16
Waterer’s, Woking ‘and Bagshot ..... 18
Wills’, South Kensington and Annerley 14
Narseryman who offered partnership .. 19
= disappointed by .......-- 21
“OBSERVER ” newspaper ......----- 264
Offices at 28, Conduit Street, London. 84
» at: Windermeresqosceceiicweri 84
of ea Committe ihe ss 263
Olmstead, Fred: awe sc ccuieisvtere 162, 201
ss John lee aaa alae ve 163
Mrs3. < conse ee ert 164
Olympcs Mount of osc hee 277
Mount, hotel at........ 325, 328
a cyclone at .......<.- 329
climbing) gainvee eeteets 330
Order of King George (Greek) ......-. 333
eacathe Seuoue (Greek) is ,ciraerore 333
SOrdunaic S:Siciseccs qeinetidie oesciateerets 5
Ormidale, eee of Col. Campbell .. 46, 58
Osler. Sir, Edmund! sje oon 19
Ottawal er se ceceses tears 173, 188, 205, 257
lectures at) ious «irises sereteler 188
replanning of .........++++++ 187
Oxenham, Johinirsexiee misuse emciaicrntels 262
PADIFIAM bits stare reas ccreeiee- rope’ 210
Padiham Urban District Council ...... 158
Paishs Sir George <2 enieaaeclecircis ences 202
Palinanovas:.iosyerovsirercotareloe ators acioteretare 328
Pals’ Brigade, 5th King’s Own ....... 245
Pamphlet publications ee disabled. . 268, 269
Panther, Greek torpedo Aeeney es ons 274
Pantomime on military front .......-..
287
Papantassiou, M. 273, 95, 276, 277, 284,
31053155333: 334
Paris siacce eck cae maemonaae 275. 233% Ae
,, interviewing M. Venizelos ....-..
Parliament Buildings, Athens...... 224, oe
Parkers Barrys. osecutsns ve sac cateactetets 347
Park and Beales system for Ath
226, 311, 35, "307, 334Park competitions very unsatisfactory ..
»» committees’ limitations
Falinge Park, Rochdale 105
, King Edward Memorial, Shadwell
National Glacier, Canada
, on site of pit mounds
» Opening ceremony, Hanley
s public, at Cleethorpes
Parks and eareaes New York, article on oe
Terai Olympus space
visited for instruction—
Avenham Park, Preston
Sefton Park Liverpool
Plan for submission, Blackpool, to
try
Plans from “ Imperial Obligation ’ z
Pleybair,. Gaptain: os sacascee ese bce oa.
Point Grey, University for British Colum-
MAIALY SOs eet ee eaeete GE Ape ae
Pope, Robt. Anderson, landscape architect
Roperinghe i cs8 cs cance echoes.
RortvArthur lecture! ab ccc. sc) eceice
, of London Authority ............
b Wardar: Salonika’ s socwe Soest Bore
Portmadoc, garden at’ <. ccs «.0c-. ack
Portrait, my, agreed upon ...........
Poundon; near Oxford oo. .sse.5
Prater, Wienina os Seaeone ce ete
Pray, professor of landscape architecture
Prefect of, Salonika’ a.) es ost eee
Premier of British Columbia..........
2
Prentice, Andrew, architect. .79, 100, 104, 239
iS Annai fancée 324.55 ooo
Dr. Edward, fener father. .
Press notices on “ Civic Art” ........
President, Cornell Wace Dohueeks
os Town Planning Institute ....
Woodrow Wilson ..........
Preston Docks, gardens near..........
gardens for W. W. Galloway
61, 186,
=) biall} Maidstone) ¢.04-e 299,
i public sparkratec esau oe see ee
a WVown Glerkvat’ 0 ic0e eee
Prestwich; IRetA. Esq, oh ail e-ne seek
Price! Sin! Ovedaletn. ees ote 107,
Prime Minister, Athens...............
: < YECCE SS siciesisi oe RRS ose
Brincelof Wales! y.. cca caheiocnnccne
» ° Alexander of Greece ..........
© George ofGreece: Sat enc koe
PaulvotiGreece: Gives. bance
Princess of Greece (Crown Princess of
oumania)) a; if cccme nent os
Pa Matty hieciceenbanc eee s oss
cs Patricia of Connaught ........
Principal, University, Point Grey .....
niversity, Toronto.........
Priory, these Warwick acoder oe oc. 2
Professor of landscape architecture,
Harvard) secede cnusseune re aces
Promenade; southporb aca. ae oe eee
Public! Parks Broomfield’. 5..c. 2256 oce
* Dunfermline™...o-20..0 0
as as Grovelands CStateioee cee
.. an (Padiham) a5: ..65 5 co No.
5 see ehadwellicie. nae ok ee
EB » surrounding Parliament
Buildings, Regina ......
Publicity Bureau, Calgary ..........+.
Pulham, Messrs., rockbuilders ........ 325
Rullarssofe berth) acne ee cc 80, 152
Putney, Park Lane, residence at ...... 12
Bymanhle (90t.nc isoneeceussn sos eetQUAKERS literaturelccn-ce soccer 104
Queen Alexandra ...........- 81, 145, 157
Queen, the (England) nfae ie ie) thaie/aletetetere 307
i. sof Greece: iafiee os sujdcictee ca 215
of Netherlands? enn -since sonic ce 147
”
»» Sophia of Greece
222, 234, 235, 236, 238
299, 300
Queenborough, Lord.............
RAEMAKERS) Eouis’ ses snccecece ss 263
Railway companies’ attitude to town
planning sei csicoccees
oe journey tovoalonikace. cece. 276
Ramsden’s, Sir James, gardens........ 26
Rawson, Rev. G., aquilegia specialist.... 18
Reading University College: G5.chi sca 74
Regiment, 5th King’s Own ........... 262
Reginay tasecnatiicicine cacteeicens 199, 214
= CIVIC ISUINCY, cle eis sletieisraieio's 16 211
»» gardens surrounding Houses of
Parliaments ate enieacesitn ccc
Sf Jectuires#at.c5.1« dasicc sonia eae 188
Reilly#sProtessor: 227s ccuseniosegisete 4s 178
Rendell ord) jaca cecideaamireees ie cle 125
Renwick: William’. .cias cadet caus oe.
Report on coast erosion ..........5+0 269
» on villages for disabled men.... 249
Reptony sce assur smectic meee: 148
Repton’s books on landscape gardening 26
I
1 fragments cecclecpieesesneeciace
os red! books); cs su saciieticicccas 137
a teachings fics cc assieenaatiosdes 321
Retrospective reflections ..........++ 349
Review, of liteis) work) os ccetsc leis scideaie 350
Reviews, “ Imperial Obligation” ...... 264
Ribby, Flall) Kirkham eavssee ccs cetera 130
Richardson, Mrs ie sees jqcene hoes abel 140
architect) <;ci 67% asieisls 171
of Lincoln; 5265 sec 94
Rihmond Mirginiay cosioc iene ese lace 171
Rideau Clubs Ottawa’ -aasien career 193
Rivington Pike, Bolton .............-- 127
Rhodes, Ceci oi hye crore isisretels 83, 84
Golonel\ Franks: 3c. tc cueoe 83
Robert Mawson, brother......... 76, 79, 89
Rebertson! (General Sir) Willan) ech 262
* Rev. Eric, vicar St. John’s,
Wandermerevnctcenceicio cr
Robinson, ales Mulford'asencce ane 253
. Mrs. Charles Mulford ...... 253
William, plant specialist..... 18
Rochdale, public) parkiatiepeeae ates 105
Rock gardening discussed ...........- 93
Rockies; the Ganadian) <setsaacsenis - 203
Rocky stream, constructed ...........- 324
Rodborough Court, Stroud ........... 152
Rogers Field, Weston-super-Mare ..... 346
Rogetis! Ihesaurus: .).c..4e -cecoa erica. 254
Rome: visit: to) cag. eeices 106, 217, 274
Rothesay, Foley House ..........-400% 57
PAGE
Rowntree, Walter Ss «ch iic-ecisecice e/a 264
Royal Commission on coast erosion. 269
By. (clients \< sic. a somibanienis selacies 157
»» gardens, uae Eerie sole (oiee 214, 311
FS », and palace, Corfu .. 216, 233
” Geographical Society oleiclatelnaiciels
0
” Horticultuzal esaey lectures for 68, ip
ociety’ s show ....
Institute of British Architects 68, 138
My mews. Athens! 4.0 eeeeene cee 311
reception on housing .........-- 307
Royalty and their motor trip slelsiele (sais 238
Roy: nton Cottage
127, 129, 178, 179, 189, 339, an
Rup de Stadt, Athens:<:2..¢ekeeschioes
Rue Université, Athens ...........+.. 311
Russell Park, Warten eee 336
Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire ..... 122
Ruskin, studies of his teachings ....... 26
i Professor, preference for ...... 64
Ruskin\s maxim) cmiciciseeaisetele ss osetia 284
Ryecroft, General ....¢.----25ccernee 285
SACRED art painting ..............- 226
Sale of family effects ........+-.+-0+- 10
Salisbury, garden at .........--.-0--- 189
Salonika arrivaliati oo asccccedsaaticeres 277
% arterial system ....++++++e++- 283
- central section of .........+. oe
Church of St. Demetrius at.
Twelve Apostles at 20
” ”
é CIVIC (CENLLE y.slelaeisisleitieinieiainia
_ commander-in-chief at ...... 279
a description of fire .......... 80
desolation after fire.......... 280
a drainage scheme ........-.- 279
Be eastern section of..........2 280
; fire! control! at <(....ciaciiesiece 284
; French obstruction ...... 282, 283
“s Kalamaria district..........- 283
es lecture on SE: cuss ciatersisipeeitee 308
‘3 Mayortot nn. .seneeereecacee 2
i: Mayor’s praise of British soldiers 282
> Mickray Rome crimson cece 284
% parks and boulevards, its .... 284
= plans exhibition .........++- 288
4 Port: Vardariag «ts sitcianis oweure 283
* prefect Of peritieeure cee 277
‘5 re-planning of ........-- QIN 2D
si state journey to ........-+:- 276
‘5 suburban resort at ........- 284
* topographical survey of ...... 282
‘, Town Planning Commission.. 282
i town plan report ........++- 284
‘i transport facilities of 283
: western section of .........- 283
33 White: Hower atl ca sciinecees 282
3 zoning plan Of .....e.es<+e 283
Salzbureieei ee ricosccse. sersenaaste 153
Sandys, Col., first meeting with ...... 23
i, ys» extent of estate ......60 23Index.
Sandys, Col., dedication of book to.... 67
217
Santa @uaranta; Gory @<o0e.-. 2. ee
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon ............% 197
lectuiresiiat cette sas 188
; Saskatoon, University at. 200
Saxongbamiiuanee ce aoe. nee 127
Scheviningen Avenue, The Hague..... 146
Schiossiahlessena-ce tc. Gc osica ces 11
School, Mrs. Finch’s, New York...... 249
ASSAY) ooo acuien ee woos
Weston: sjsccet ances. 249, 251
an
School of landscape architecture advocated 535
School of Landscape Architecture at
Columbia University ............0+. 170
School of Landscape Architecture at
Gornell@ University. 655.5 ce 143, 167
School of Landscape Architecture at
Harvard University .2%........000- 170
Scorton, author's birthplace... ncece 2
See cesmnan Pisce sc eieee ee 264
Scott, Mr., Premier, Saskatchewan..... 199
Sir lames PUSS Ree I ck 84
Scribner, Charles: Sonsscecossn co). 160
Sheree industrial settlernents ........ 300
Middle ‘Hast #026. fe sc cates 272
Segregation SCATe! RAs coe ine eases 260, 301
Selfridge, Gordon ...... 241, 264, 305, 317
Serbian camp entered’ shee cse. ecm cc 288
Settles Yorkshire steno ss coc enen aires 135
Settlements for disabled service men .. 259
Severn, Mrs. Arthur, recommended by.. 22
Shadwell; parkvat 6.006. ee cee 247, 291
Shawms, Stafford, garden at.......... 130
Sheffield, Endcliffe estate at........... 42
Shenstone: Gusev sue coe ss som 148
Court, Staffordshire ........ 87
Sienes Aléey Berlin’ eet scsi ee oc onc 155
Simpson, Jonathan, architect .......... 127
Arthur, of Kendal .......... 134
Sketching asec coral cacao ce askinc dle 12
Skibo: Gastleh ‘work at icc 0. .coceuen 98, 102
Shalts4 mear@hedditch) co ccuecne nekcs 149
Slains Castle, Aberdeenshire .... 46, 52, 53
Slum clearances, Stepney ...........+- 294
Smethurst, Colonel, son-in-law ........ 353
SmithiaGs Reeves. 2.5.6 o.0s8 eee 299, 300
Re ee MGOLAWIN! She cake occ Cale se cteion 168
ee Sry, Edward Teliwiea ce siGeite te 299, 300
“ Spectator ” reviews of books..... 67, 162
Spezia;wlsland' offf;. eiecs aes ssc ate 314
Spring Gardens, London ...........+. 296
Springheld)Massis,eccne. & ace.nios 254
Society of Men of Science, Athens . 315
Soldiers’ village, Lancaster ....... 267, 268
Somersetshire, garden in...........-++ 185
Sondesss eord'giiccic, See aes one aek 150
Sons (eldest), E. Prentice Maws
142, 273, 284, 286, 288, 310, 314, 3175525)
Spb}, op)
Sons (second), John W. Mawson
289, 310, 314, 326, 353
» (third), James Radcliffe Mawson
2
42, 245
Sophia, Queen of Greece ........ 219, 238
South Kensington Museum........... 15
“F Tawton, Devonshire. jcscncnev 62
Southgate Urban District Council.. 130, 189
Southport, Corporatione ees cseeeer 14]
SpeAnnesi eas oe enc oe ot ee eee 345
Stevbillans; Comme ace seo. «cee ei oe 323
St. John, New Brunswick............. 213
lectures at 188
St. Nuecmarde! ears a gisiciasciealesisie s cieiel aects 345
St. Marieiriacusc css cece nn oe 188, 197
mote baile: steamship Rieiejiela\(o'al lor aiintnpe voters 249
Se Reterss Rome. <éccsecnaws sack 28
Stadium: Athens: <7. jcc csins oe eee 236
Staff depleted during war............. 244
Staines, riverside residence of George
Gregory oni Meee. eect ce an alee: 25
Standish: vardensiat). 45. 0 oe 185
Stanier, Frank, of Peplow Hall ....... 46
Stanley Park, Vancouver ......... 204, 227
Stapley; oie hichard es eeneec ssn cee 291
Stepney, boundaries of ..............- 292
Ee Borough) G@onneil)<2. nese cs 295
as Civic: centre for. :..6.6< ss ok: 293
CIVICESIINVEy VOR cnyoce cance 292
great boulevard or “ greeting” 292
* Mayortole sc. .cree tee cece 291
i residential flats for .......... 294
oo river frontage scheme ....... 294
Shirlingstt s3ee ance oes 80
Seay Herbert, D.C.L... 139, 262, rere 300
Sir increas E stoketieeaige 9, 262
Stornowayis fee eee oc cea sore 303
Strike of Macedonian engineers ......- 325
Strongs ons Vesey eee eee 247, 248
Struma: Kronteccscen cece a ausisack 286
Stuart, Colonel John, agent for Lord Bute 57
* Studio” press Notice: 222. ncers cca 162
Submarine menace .........s00. 257, 289
Summers: Harold sk act cic scicei tess < 185
Sussex: Downs! <seccse ects sees ames 70
Sutton Coldhieldiececciscccch cs cases 152
Swan, Sir Joseph and Lady .......... 211
ie Missy Marya ccck oc. ose ke inerese 211
Swansea cord Mik se criic wares esos ces 47
vaneys Australias cost ose ce co maceenle 210
TABLE decoration, misfortune with... 14
Malbots RevigAs icc cheeses ce ak ote 152
Mlarporley: Cheshire’. fo .08% oo cae 210
Tatoi, Athens, King’ s villa at...... 214, 222
Haylorssbastors maximlol eee: acces 43
sRempes vale oft. .so. 0c. ue wee 277, 331
Tennyson, rend Jone voces sis coe cn 337
Deady int cthtkenn os eaceet 337
Theory and Practice PERE Saison peices 175
(Thomas; Edward: <<.eace-.c scee ee 99PAGE
Thomas, Miss McCarey .......-.+-++- 255
Thornham, Norfolk ..........+.-2eees 139
Thornton art industries.........+++e+: 353
‘ Halles he es eee wes ceices 353
~ Manor, coice Hou gh
116, 180, 189, 208
Tighnabruaich acs eta are tare ele eh laters 57
imes,” the, newspaper .. 238, 264, pe
3 review of Bookeneee
es review of Imperial
Obligation” .......
bitty (Gartn scpoocnooncosnesn00s00cr 210
Sionksia Vireo Rees cciiicce cis ioicieeise. 152
STOrOMtO: eieioioei caine wiciclerg sic oioveisleterelele 191
Wniversity? scenes acre 249
Town Clerk, Blackpool ..........+--- 341
, Hall for Athens .........-...+- 224
Be PlanningyAct) sce cece caer 42
», Planning, Blackpool .......-..-- 340
é me civic survey.. 343
is x development
plan’. i 344
3 plan for sub-
mission . 343
,. Commission, alee 282
ay (CM, ono ggoao00060¢ 218
Hastings and St. pone 345
a f: in Europe, lectures on. 72
= , Newport, Mon........ 39
a s Northampton ........ 319
= North’ Hondon® <r. - 306
; professors, Illinois .... 254
Z TEVIEW. 2A akc ees 179
» Springfield, Mass. .... 254
Traffic problems, Northampton ....... 319
Mredegars Word) sree tei acs 38, 41
Tree- pene ceremony, Newport park. 41
refireyy WMinsernieiieierceteeiereristietereieial- 137
Trough of peel Baie ursiein aie sista scrercls I
Troutbeck Windermere .......----++- 79
Bridge, Windermere ....... 61
Trunch, Norfolk scree ace deiceiee 76
$3 hurch, Norfolk, marriage at. 21
Tulips and auriculas, prize collection Ofer 7
Turner, Charles, nurseryman, Slough .. 57
M. W., pictures by ......- 195
Teall MERE Spee on aban eos: 273
WNGIEE: ofmauthor eon eset: 7, 10
Underley gardens ........+0+eeseeeees 184
Union Bank of Manchester ........--- 189
. mae of House and Garden,” lecture
Unseat at. Adelaidesaiecimsicciaclets 210
i Brisbane!.a<cyociess se eos 210
es Melbourne: s.cn-0c e+ eee 210
Perthio)6 occ one el 210
SyGiha7 oscond0o0000n006 210
sorontol seer 19]
University Campus, Saskatoon .......- 200
se for British Columbia....... 230
Index.
PAGE
University, McGill). .0.04-< mee oe
< training for landscape architects 174
VALENGIA corde ).4.. cacie-ice cee ee 149
Wea Nery db boocasgosondahooocouace 122
Van der: Steur;eMre 1.2 aie isa cae 145
Van Horne, Sir William ............. 195
Wancouver: <ic/octlce sisch cere? temotinis Sie 203
Pe lectures! at st sgste ties 188
Oflice atesr cies cele iecirere ne 214
Vardar, Porte.....20seeeeeesccneeeens 308
TIVE Pertaectoc a te © oeltiis Cle eset 277
wind, experience of ....... 280, 287
Vastar College, lecture at ........ 249, 251
Venizelos, M. .. 216, 223, 236, 237, 271, 273,
ne a 284, 288, 290, 308, 309, 310, 315,
3,
“Via dolorosa,”
or Way of the Cross.. 55
Witererh 1BCs annooodundonap0oocoacdac 2
a lectumesvat oe sche wieinia 188
Vienna: 3.555 44s ceae sision ew teierels 153
Villa AGILE Gorflii kc eee 233
Miviany Elennyccnaicrentes crieteieleterere<stetrs 252
rey: es F. (AS varchitect =-cenne secre 78
Rev. Charles Lace teeta niet 78
WALKER, Alexander, Ben Rhydding.. 130
Walker, Sir Edward 19]
Wall, Mr., Commissioner for British
Gain In’ London) sessile cece
Wan Offices eenicccecc cacr seeieeciemrciere 273
em TUMOUFStOle nea ne cehin ch ieucts 241
Ward, Mr. Humphrey..........+--++- 152
Ware, Thomas S., nurseryman........ 16
Waring aud Gillow ........0-...005- 81
Os Wordis 2. 815, 1455 233; 2647 3055 339
Warren, Edward, varchitecti on) ee 140
Warrington, Cuerdon Hall............ 59
gardens)atincre strstr teteierate 185
Warrior Square, St. Leonards ........ 345
Warwick, gardens at .........2+-++0e- 190
Washington, U.S.A. ..........+.--00- 170
Waterhouse, Paul, architect .........-- 105
Watford, gardens at ......sr2++es-0+ 336
Watson, Sir Dhomas M:. ;..........-- 152
Weald of Wirral seer str ttetreir ier 180
Webb, Sir Aston, as assessor .......-- 42
Weillers azareancsttectcisiiecracrtrrias 148
Wellington, Shropshire, building estate for 42
Welshvblarp ape sect sicietere iste rrr 129
Wesley, John, memento of ........... 335
Westfield soldiers’ village, Lancaster
266, 267, a
Westmorland architecture .........+.--
Weston Ladies’ College, lecture at. 249, i
Weston-super-Mare Council .......... 346
\Westphalialctsryccie totic lletetter stew lererrarer 113
White, Dr. Andrew D., of Cornell
Wniversityacee ce ete eee terriers i 168
White Stars linen Gelticia sete 161
Ne slower, Salonika eeestincee siete 273Index.
PAGE
Whitehead, Walter .............. 46, 58, 75
Wihitines aWalltamiEls..c<t5<cedaessc ss 264
Winitnell So Mitte crncnieee oss escine se cou 149
Wigan, gardens near .....ccscesecees. 185
Wills and Segar, nurserymen.......... 10
Herbertia. 3. csewas secs stene teen 185
John, honours conferred ........ 13
ss. laquidation Of. 5. asec. semen 16
Wilson; President Woodrow .......... 256
Windermere as place of residence ..... 26
garden at Blackwell ...... 84
< garden for W. Gaddum... 61
. house, The Corbels .... 64, 69
2 rock garden at ....«s2c0< 94
3 schoolvat sss... occ nee 109
ee Storrs estate at . +... oes 78
town- planning at ........ 320
as vicar of St. John’s Binverevaiexe
Winnipeg. eke cons joudesse es rc sce 198
is City Planning Commission at... 198
lectures at Shek. iis ca 6 coca
site for Parliament buildings.. 198
Witham Hall, Bourne, Lincs.... 98, 103, 104
Wolverhampton, conservatory Sdesioned
fOr, Westhbatk soc -n hc eGe ee 42
Woods Hranicissnaccn- sneer cece ces 34]
», _ south Tawton, Devonshire. .46, 62, 69
Wood Green Council ............ 305, 307
° »» housing schemes ........ 308
Woodall, Mr., M.P., Hanley ..........
Wounded soldier illustration cate onuee
Wordsworth’s “ Excursion’ quoted .
Wrington, Somerset ...<-:.. css eee.
Wykeham Abbey vs.)sscc5s ck ae ee
Wych Cross Place for Douglas Freshfield
69, 238,
NEAR 1907: icc concise ae panes
ey L908) cee chs cceeee as ck 143, 145
: W910: oes bas ccenee ess once 161
IOI: ees cden ceed hae
WOI2s eee RSS ees Goce ae 186
194 ees ce ecient eee
IDS setae sauce jee Eee
BT NDIG: cis, pace cues neds aeeeeeee
WGN dee eae eae eke Gee 261
L9I8 oi cok dence smec cnc 303
; [919 chocccpcee cs nese ee
1920). 855 de. ce bate sence oe
1922 ak eaviewcnteceer gare oeee
1923 5c Societies oe eu aee sii eee
1924 ok cori hs areata teen
Vea the, Storrs, Windermere .......
York, Town Planning Conference at
APPION;. Atheris'.. 225005 .-ceeeeen
Zappion Gardens; “Athens st0.cn suo
Printed by Percy Brothers Limited,
Whitworth Street West, ManchesterLibrary NON-CIRCULATING
DATE DUE
61-2500CX 000 te0 790