In the reign of Charles II. the fame of Versailles, the most superb of all geometric gardens, created a sensation in England. Le Notre was of course immediately sent for by this monarch. He planted St. James and Greenwich parks, and thus aided by royal patronage, inspired the nobility with a desire for some of the more splendid formations of the French school of design. Chatsworth, the magnificent seat of the Duke of Devonshire, was laid out in a grandly formal manner, and the Earl of Essex and Lord Capel were among the foremost to emulate the glories of Versailles in their country places-the former nobleman sending his gardener (Rose) to France, in order to make himself thoroughly acquainted with all the beauties of that Royal garden.
