historic gardens | Author, Jane Lark's stories

I find them fascinating, again it’s my imagination which draws me.

I like picturing who has been near the trees in their life time, through generations and generations of people.

For instance at Stourhead in Stourton, Wiltshire, along the drive to the Georgian House, are trees which started growing in the Medieval period.

Every time I walk up the drive I imagine a group of knights thundering past me on horseback, tack and armour jangling. I love it.

My addiction for old trees is a regular joke between myself and my daughter. She teases me for going on about them, so when I go out without her I take pictures of the trees I spot and text them to her, to make her laugh.

Recently though I found a real gem at Hampton Court Palace. The belief is, it was planted by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in 1769. It is a grape-vine, in a hothouse, in the Georgian gardens.

If it was planted by Capability Brown, it’s over 240 years old. Its base is 4 meters round and its longest rod is 120 meters. It’s stunning. Well I thought it was anyway.

To preserve the vine, the area beyond the greenhouse is left unplanted because the vine is so large it drains a huge amount of nutrition from the earth.

Another old tree I spotted at Hampton Court Palace appeared to be a Quince. It was planted near the vine, right up against the Palace. I imagine it is just as old as the vine, if not older. When I saw it I could picture the Queens of Britain picking a quince as they walked through the garden.

One favourite tree of mine is the seasonal Holly tree. there are many ancient Holly trees in the UK. When I saw this one I had visions of Henry VIII walking through the gardens of Hampton Court Palace with a one of his wives, or a courtesan, on his arm beside the Holly I saw.

It is simple imagination, but what makes life richer than imagination.

To see more details on the #Hampton Court Palace Great Vine and other facts on the Royal Palaces in London go to www.hrp.org.uk

Jane Lark is a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional love stories.

See the side bar for details of Jane’s books and Jane’s website www.janelark.co.uk to learn more about Jane. Or click ‘like’ on Jane’s Facebook page to see photo’s and learn historical facts from the Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras, which Jane publishes there. You can also follow Jane on twitter at @janelark

is that of the 7th Lord Rodney.

Berrington was built in 1775 by Thomas Harley, a banker and Government contractor, and is another beautiful Georgian Neo-classical mansion.

One thing which particularly makes it stand out is the red sandstone it’s built in.

Thomas Harley, with no male heir, made an influential marriage for his daughter into an impoverished aristocratic family, the Rodney’s.

Admiral Rodney was a well known seaman of the era and had achieved some fame during naval battles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brydges_Rodney,_1st_Baron_Rodney . However his financial affairs were in a poor state, to the point he fled the country in 1775 to avoid debtors. He already had a connection with the banker Thomas Harley and actively encouraged his son using these words in a letter dated September 1780,

‘When you see Mr Harley, who is a very old Acquaintance, remember me to him and, my dear George, if your Heart is touched by either of his daughters, indulge the flame…’

Thomas Harley’s eldest daughter and heir Anne, and Admiral Rodney’s son George were married in April 1781 and thus the Rodney line at Berrington Hall commenced.

The 7th Lord Rodney was the end of that line however.

There are numerous stories descending from the 7th Lord Rodney if you take the house tour. He was definitely a real life rake and profligate, he lost all his money to gambling mostly on the turf – horse racing – and ravaged poor Berrington house.

A butler found him one day with a crowbar trying to remove a fireplace.

He sold everything it was possible to sell and when the library’s books were all sold, he made it into a billiard room. This was then the only room which survived with fixtures and fittings intact.

My guess would be he did not like to strip it, when he would need to convince guests he might be playing with that he had enough money left to pay any gambling debts he might incur in the game if he lost.

Of course his hope would be he would not lose.

He lost the house in its entirety in 1901, and his wife through divorce the following year.

The house then passed on to another family who had made their fortune through trade, the Cawleys.

Jane Lark is a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional love stories.