Park Villa, Thomas Attree, Esq., is situated in the upper part of the surrounding belt, and occupies about 2.25 acres. The house, which is in the Italian style, was designed by Mr. Barry, and built under his superintendence. Mr. Barry also designed the architectural garden, terrace walls, and open garden buildings, which form conspicuous ornaments to this villa, whether seen at a distance or from the windows of the house, as a foreground to the park and the sea. The interior of the house is admirably arranged, and the principal apartments are finished in a style of great simplicity and beauty. There is a loggia in the centre of the principal front, with which the smaller drawingroom communicates; and the larger drawingroom looks into a small conservatory or plant cabinet, from which a flight of steps descends to the garden. In consequence of the steepness of the ground, the ascent to the entrance front is only by a few steps, but the garden front, which looks on the architectural flower-garden, is so much lower than the other as to exhibit the windows of the basement story. It is this steepness of the surface which has given rise to so much architectural beauty and variety in this villa and its accompaniments. The architectural gardens are on three levels. The first, descended to by a flight of steps from the conservatory, has the beds edged with stone, and a handsome basin and fountain in the centre; some pedestals and vases, a handsome open temple or pavilion at one angle, and a massive stone seat at the other. The garden, on two sides, is bounded by a high retaining wall, which has a formidable appearance from below, and is terminated above the level of the garden by a rich parapet surmounted by vases; and this parapet is also continued on one side of the house so far as to connect this central garden with one above it, in which there is a bowling-green, and one below, in which the flowerbeds are on turf, and in which there are a number of low ornamental trees and shrubs, besides numerous creepers and roses on the terrace walls. The contrast between the open aerial effect of the upper elevated garden, which has no other boundary than the low parapet on two sides, and overlooks the park with the sea in the distance, and the lower garden, which is surrounded by high architectural walls, and in which the eye is confined to the garden itself and the architectural ornaments which terminate the walls, is excellent; while the bowling-green garden forms a third character, quite distinct from the other two. Besides these three gardens, there are a large artificial mount thrown up to shelter the house from the southwest, which is covered with shrubs interspersed with walks; a shrubbery combining a fruit border, which leads to another mount with shrubs and walks; and a third walk with glades of lawn and groups of shrubs and ornamental trees, which leads to the kitchen-garden and reserve greenhouse and hotbeds. The beds and shrubberies were remarkably well stocked with flowers, among which the China rose, heartsease, wallflower, and Brompton stock were conspicuous; and under an awning there was a bed of tulips, containing many choice flowers. In short, we were charmed with the beauty and variety of this place, which we visited more than once, and should have wished to have brought away ground plans and sketches for publication, which we hope to do at some other time.
