556. Hampton Court was laid out, about the middle of this reign, by Cardinal Wolsey. When visited by Mandelso, in the reign of James I., these gardens were 'tres-beaux, et tres-bien entretenus.' The labyrinth, one of the best which remains in England, occupies only a quarter of an acre, and contains nearly half a mile of winding walks. There is an adjacent stand, on which the gardener places himself, to extricate the adventuring stranger by his directions. Switzer condemns this labyrinth for having only four stops, and gives a plan for one with twenty. Daines Barrington says (Archï¾µolog.) that he got out by keeping close to the hedge.
