Volume 1

The Farington diary / edited by James Greig.

  • Joseph Farington
Date:
[1922?-1928]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Farington diary / edited by James Greig. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    enquiring for Mr. Duncan, the gardener. On my applying to him, He readily offered to walk along the Terrace with us. I have seen few situations more beautiful than the line of ground which is called the Terrace, and great taste has been shewn in what now has been done by the hand of Art. A large piece of made water, broad as a fine River, is directed in such a way as to appear to be a part of the Thames although it has no connexion with it. Above the two ends, where it is lost in wood, the real River appears over the trees, and the imagination readily connects them.. In the distance St. Anns Hill, Coopers Hill, & Windsor are distinct objects on one side; on the other side Walton double Bridge, Lord Tankervilles, Sunbury, Harrow, & Highgate. Where Caesar crossed the River Immediately below the Terrace is an extensive flat country, which is only seen in small proportions, as the Park is well wooded. The water in the Park is about three-quarters of a mile long, and was laid out by the present Duke of Newcastle, who had no assistance in designing it. A lofty and well designed Temple is erected on the Terrace, but is not finished, which is to be lamented as it would make a fine & proper object in this situation, and the view from it most beautiful & extensive. The Duke of York proposed to finish it since He purchased this place from the Duke of Newcastle, but was told by Mr. Holland, the Architect, that it must be taken down & rebuilt as it would not be safe to trust to it as it now is. To an inexperienced man it appears both solid & sound.—The House at Oatlands* makes not appearance equal to the scenery about it, but being in a great measure hidden among trees, it does not become an object of much notice. Just below the Park the Thames makes a bold sweep, and the point of the angle is called Gowey Stakes ; this is the place where Julius Caesar forded the River.—It may be half a mile above Walton Bridge. The village of Hawforth is on the opposite side of the Plain. A Wonderful Grotto The Park at Oatlands is about 3 miles round. The long way of it is from Walton to Weybridge, which is about a mile & half.—The Duke of York purchased Oatlands from the Duke of Newcastle abt. 5 years ago. He became Lord of the Manor of Weybridge, and some estate is united to it.—The Duke of Newcastle had a grottof made which is much admired for the beauty of the workmanship and exactness of the imitation. Before it is a small basin of water. The whole is inclosed by Trees which make the situation secluded. The grotto * Oatlands House (now a hotel) was built in 1794 on the site of the Henry VIII. Palace, which was destroyed in the Civil War. t The Grotto still exists, and so does the cemetery where the Duchess of York (d. 1820) buried her pet dogs and monkey. [See entry for June 8th, 1794.]
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