. The art of landscape gardening. ons, I do nothesitate to assert that if no house existed at MichelGrove, the sheltered situation of the present magnifi-cent and singular mansion [Plate xviii] is greatly to bepreferred to any spot that could be found on the hill,every part of which is more or less exposed to theforce of the winds from the southwest. I shall, there-fore, inquire into the character of the present house, andconsider how far the old mansion may be rendered con-venient and adapted to modern comforts. There are few old mansions in England which havenot been either castles or monast
. The art of landscape gardening. ons, I do nothesitate to assert that if no house existed at MichelGrove, the sheltered situation of the present magnifi-cent and singular mansion [Plate xviii] is greatly to bepreferred to any spot that could be found on the hill,every part of which is more or less exposed to theforce of the winds from the southwest. I shall, there-fore, inquire into the character of the present house, andconsider how far the old mansion may be rendered con-venient and adapted to modern comforts. There are few old mansions in England which havenot been either castles or monasteries altered into houses,but there is no trace of this house ever having beeneither; and, indeed, its situation in a dry valley is unlikethat of any abbey, and it is so immediately commandedby the surrounding hills that it never could have beena castle or place of defence. The proposed addition of a drawing-room, an ante-room, and an eating-room of large dimensions will alterthose relative proportions now so pleasing. It is not,. Theory and Practice 197 therefore, with a view of improving, but with that ofdoing as little injury as possible to its appearance thatI venture to suggest the additions in the annexedsketch; because the terrace will tend to preserve theapparent height, which the additions to the east tendto destroy. The present style of living in the country is sodifferent from that of former times that there are fewhouses of ancient date which would be habitable, with-out great alterations and additions. Such, indeed, isthe constant fluctuation in the habits and customs ofmankind, and so great the change in the luxuries, thecomforts, and even the wants of a more refined people,that it is, in these times, impossible to live in the bar-onial castle, the secularized abbey, or even in the moremodern palaces, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,preserving all the apartments to their original uses. The chief rooms formerly required in a house of thatdate were: The Hall,
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