THE GARDENS OF WARLEY PLACE. 45
old buildings still remain. The house contains a wealth
of beautiful things, bearing witness to the fact that the owner
by no means confines her attention to her flowers alone. The
botanical and horticultural library would appeal forcibly to the
members of the Essex Field Club. Few ancient or modern
works upon plants or horticulture are absent from this collection.
Warley Place was at one time the property of the Evelyn
family, having been purchased by John Evelyn the diarist, in
1649. He sold it in 1655, on account of the imposition of high
taxes on Essex property during the Commonwealth. John
Evelyn first laid out the gardens and planted the Chestnuts and
Walnuts which still cast a welcome shade upon the lawns.3
The immemorable existence of the English Lent Lily at
Warley gave promise of a good daffodil soil, and in early spring
the gentle lines of the park scenery are rendered more beautiful
by the golden colour of Daffodils relieving the monotony of the
grasslands. The selection of the variety which groups most
effectively in the situations has produced a remarkable effect.
We find in one situation large and irregular masses of Narcissus
varieformis, pallidus, and praecox, which in unbroken sunlight
afford unequalled quality of glistening prettiness. The
starry Narcissus (incomparabilis) against a dark background
affords ample illustration of the scenic value of these flowers.
There are few known species which may not be seen in due season
either in this dell, consecrated to the daffodil family, or in nooks
of the Alpine Garden and other spots which happen to suit special
kinds. Many are of great rarity and beauty, which are hardly
found in other gardens.
At the present time Miss Willmott's name is especially
associated with the genus Rosa. For many years she has made
a special study of the rose, and has collected wild roses and ancient
types of roses from all quarters of the globe. Her book upon
3 John Evelyn purchased Warley Place and part of the manor of Great Warley of his
wife's cousins, the Flemmings, who inherited the property from Ann Flemming, daughter
and co-heir of Benj. Gonson, to whose ancestors Great Warley Manor was granted,
when Barking Abbey was suppressed. (See Evelyn's Diary, Morant's Hist. of Essex,
vol. i., p. III, Wright's Essex, vol. i., p. 530, Foljambe's Evelyn Pedigrees and Memoranda,
and other writers.) The Flemmings continued to reside at Warley Place after it was pur-
chased by Evelyn, the latter residing at Sayes Court a few miles distant, which he also
acquired from the family of his wife. He interested himself in gardening at this period, and
doubtless frequently visited his wife's relations at Warley Place. In 1655 he sold Warley
Place to John Hart. In 1664 Sir Eustace Hart married Jane Evelyn, a relative of the diarist.
It would appear likely, therefore, that Evelyn's interest in this property continued after he
had sold it. Miss Willmott tells the writer that a contemporary author refers to a visit to
Warley Place when John Evelyn was laying out the gardens, and that a letter from John
Evelyn exists which is dated from Warley Place. John Evelyn's wife was a direct descendant
of the Gonsons, who owned Warley Place for so long.