Hamels in 1722 (detail showing the formal gardens, the house, and part of the farm)

The Memoir, written by the Reverend George Smith, vicar of Braughing, records the creation of elaborate formal gardens at Hamels for Ralph Freman MP. It contains much information relating to estate management, including the renovation of buildings, the exploitation of local resources, and pond management, and it also names numerous craftsmen who worked at Hamels and describes extreme weather events. The Introduction provides a history of the Hamels estate, considers the gardens in the context of other early eighteenth-century gardens in Hertfordshire, analyses the Memoir's contents and describes the surviving evidence of Freman's gardens.

For extract see MASON, Braughing, early 18th century

Page updated May 2005