Marlborough House, by Jessie Macgregor (1847-1919). c.1918. Watercolour drawing. Source: Macgregor, frontispiece. Image downloaded and text added by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Macgregor writes,
A print of "Prior Court " — as Marlborough House was formerly called — taken in 1710, shows that except in altitude, the garden front of the house has been but little altered. The building in its original form had perhaps more of symmetry and lightness — and from its low elevation might almost have been designed for a country, rather than a town residence ; but though it may have lost something in elegance, it has gained in dignity. As it stands — as may be seen in the frontis- piece to this book — it is a stately, red-brick edifice, its proportions massive yet not inharmonious, its colour enriched and softened by time; a fitting residence either for the eldest son of the sovereign, or for a beloved, and venerated, and admired Queen-Mother.
My drawing shows the broad gravel walk, that, running from east to west parallel with the terrace, is an effective feature of the garden. At its western extremity we catch a picturesque glimpse, though it is a side one only, of the old Palace of St. James. [145-46]
Bibliography
MacGregor, Jessie. Gardens of Celebrities and celebrated gardens in and around London. London: Hutchinson, 1918. Internet Archive. Contributed by the University of British Columbia Library. Web. 20 March 2022.
Created 20 March 2022