. The art of landscape gardening. thatmany large houses are at this time building, or alter-ing, in this irregular stvle, under the direction of oneof our most eminent architects. I may mention those ofCashiobury and Wickham Market, which disdain thespruce affectation of symmetry so fatal to the Gothiccharacter. When a house, as in the foregoing instance, is to bebuilt on the side of a hill or on an inclined plane, it ishardly possible to dispose it in any other form thanthat of an extended front: but this supposes a certain Theory and Practice 203 degree of property to belong to the house, or


. The art of landscape gardening. thatmany large houses are at this time building, or alter-ing, in this irregular stvle, under the direction of oneof our most eminent architects. I may mention those ofCashiobury and Wickham Market, which disdain thespruce affectation of symmetry so fatal to the Gothiccharacter. When a house, as in the foregoing instance, is to bebuilt on the side of a hill or on an inclined plane, it ishardly possible to dispose it in any other form thanthat of an extended front: but this supposes a certain Theory and Practice 203 degree of property to belong to the house, or it isapt to appear too large for the annexed estate. Thisobjection is, however, less forcible in a villa than ina mansion ; yet even a villa which covers too much ofits own field or lawn partakes more of ostentation thangood taste. A field of a few acres, called Brentry Hill, nearBristol, commands a most pleasing and extensiveview. In the foreground are the rich woods of KingsWeston and Blaize Castle, with the picturesque assem-. Fig. 25. Villa at Brentry Hill, shewing specimens of economy with compactnessadapted to its situation, character, and uses. blage of gardens and villas in Henbury and Westbury;beyond which are the Severn and Bristol Channel, andthe prospect is bounded by the mountains of SouthWales. This view is towards the west, and I havegenerally observed that the finest prospects in Englandare all towards this point.*^ Yet this, of all aspects, isthe most unpleasant for a house ; it was not, therefore,advisable to give an extended front in this direction,yet it would have been unpardonable not to havetaken advantage of so fine a prospect. A compact plan often demands more trouble and 204 The Art of Landscape Gardening contrivance than a design for a palace, in which therooms may be so numerous that different apartmentsmay be provided for summer and for winter use; butwhere compactness and economy are studied, somecontrivance is necessary to avail ourselves of view


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