Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Pastimes/Gardens

Gardens

Gardens had an important place in gentry society from the late Tudor Age, well into the reign of the Stuarts, and beyond. They were a place of beauty and of pride for any family. It was not uncommon by the Stuart Age for “[the] ‘parish elite' ... to demonstrate economic and social position through the creation of gardens.”

The grounds would be used as “gardens and orchards as gathering places for friends” and also swimming and hunting, but also for more formal events like picnics and parties. In more grand aristocratic houses of the time, there were large gardens with orchards and bowling greens. For the gentry, many of these gardens would be created for pleasure, appearances, and also profit from the fruits in the orchard. These fine grounds would be expensive to upkeep and as a rule a gardener, who would be the highest paid outdoor servant, would be employed. Many of these gardens in addition to traditional flowers, orchards, and open spaces would include mazes and labyrinths. There would also be walking paths, benches, and sometimes pavilions. By the end of the Elizabethan Era, there were a number of wealthy gentlemen who had built banqueting houses in their gardens, specifically for entertaining. The grounds of a house would provide a useful location for gentry families to better acquaint themselves with each other.

BN: If anyone finds more detail on the costs (which I imagine is difficult) that would be great.

Mazes

Mazes have long been used for exercise, but had blossomed into an activity and a show piece for any well endowed garden by the seventeenth century. Early mazes in England were turf mazes in which there were no walls, but instead had paths to follow. They evolved from the Pagan practice of creating labyrinths, which was also influenced by the Romans in which following the same path time after time would, over time, create a dirt path. Later English mazes evolved into turf mazes which were had roots in the Catholic Church. They would be a puzzle and a source of exercise. The turf mazes continued to have popularity well into the seventeenth century with evidence that many turf mazes were up kept, by re-cutting the paths into the ground and by generally not being destroyed. During the Elizabethan era, turf mazes were combined with knot gardens, a popular type of Elizabethan garden design, which resulted in the creation of a more traditional hedge maze, except for having low walls of evergreens or shrubs and paths clearly able to be viewed (Fisher 18). They were often called ‘Floral Labyrinths’ and came into popularity in the late Elizabethan, early Jacobean era, thus becoming fashionable. Additionally, these ‘Floral Labyrinths’ were practical as they produced herbs that would be needed in the household. In a book published in 1623 entitled ‘A New Orchard and Garden’ tall hedge mazes are described, as well as a push for gentry to consider creating a maze on their grounds. These early modern mazes were not made to confuse, but to merely give individuals a place for a long walk in a relatively small space. They could also be used for races.

Mazes became increasingly popular in the late 1600s as they were a place where one could engage in conversation or even a romantic encounter. By the end of the seventeenth century, a maze was a must for any grand or attempting to be grand house. One of the most well preserved mazes is the Hedge Maze at Hampton Court, where in 1690 a new maze was commissioned. It was built on the spot where a previous maze which was made for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey once stood.