My dear Will,—At length the long quest has come to an end, and I have agreed to buy three acres of land at Broadstone. Ma and I have just been over again this morning to consider its capabilities, and the exact boundaries that will be the most advantageous, as I have here the great advantage of choosing exactly what I will have. I only wish I could afford five acres instead of three, or even ten; but the three will contain the very eye of the whole. I enclose you a bit of the 6-inch ordnance on which I have marked the piece I have finally fixed upon in red chalk. The attractive bit is the small enclosure of one acre, left rather paler, which is an old orchard in a little valley sloping downward to the S.S.E. There are, perhaps, a score of trees in it—apples, pears, plums and cherries, I believe, and under them a beautiful green short turf like a lawn—kept so, I believe, by rabbits. From the top of this orchard is a fine view over moor and heather, then over the great northern bay of Poole Harbour, and beyond to the Purbeck Hills and out to the sea and the Old Harry headland. It is not very high—about 140 feet, I think, but being on the edge of one of the plateaus the view is very effective. On the top to the left of the road track is a slightly undulating grass field, of which I have a little less than an acre. To the right of the fence, and coming down to the wood, is very rough ground densely covered with heather and dwarf gorse, a great contrast to the field. The wood on the right is mixed but chiefly oak, I think, with some large firs, one quite grand; while the wood on the left is quite different, having some very tall Spanish chestnuts [pg 118] loaded with fruit, some beeches, some firs—but I have not had time yet to investigate thoroughly. Thus this little bit of three acres has five subdivisions, each with a quite distinct character of its own, and I never remember seeing such variety in such a small area. The red wavy line is about where I shall have to make my road, for the place has now no road, and I think I am very lucky in discovering it and in getting it. Another advantage is in the land, which is varied to suit all crops. I fancy ... I shall find places to grow most of my choice shrubs, etc., better than here. I expect bulbs of all kinds will grow well, and I mean to plant a thousand or so of snowdrops, crocuses, squills, daffodils, etc., in the orchard, where they will look lovely.
TO MR. W.G. WALLACE
Parkstone, Dorset. November 6, 1901.
My dear Will,— ... I have taken advantage of a foggy cold day to trace you a copy of the ground plan of the proposed house.... Of course the house will be much larger than we want, but I look to future value, and rather than build it smaller, to be enlarged afterwards, I would prefer to leave the drawing-room and bedroom adjoining with bare walls inside till they can be properly finished. The house-keeper's room would be a nice dining-room, and the hall a parlour and drawing-room combined. But the outside must be finished, on account of the garden, creepers, etc. The S.E. side (really about S.S.E.) has the fine views. If you can arrange to come at Christmas we will have a picnic on the ground the first sunny day. I was all last week surveying—a very difficult job, to mark out exactly three acres so as to take in exactly as much of each kind of ground as I wanted, and with no uninterrupted view over any one of the boundary lines! I found the sextant, and [pg 119] it was very useful setting out the two right angles of the northern boundary. I have not got possession yet, but hope to do so by next week. The house, we reckon, can be built for £1,000 at the outside....
TO MRS. FISHER
Parkstone, Dorset. February 4, 1902.
Dear Mrs. Fisher,— ... You will be surprised to hear that I have been so rash as to buy land and to (propose to) build a house! Every other effort to get a pleasant country cottage with a little land having failed, we discovered, accidentally, a charming spot only four miles from this house and half a mile from Broadstone Station, and have succeeded in buying three acres, chosen by myself, from Lord Wimborne at what is really a reasonable price. In its contour, views, wood, and general aspect of wild nature it is almost perfection; and Annie, Violet, and Will are all pleased and satisfied with it. It is on the slope of the Broadstone middle plateau, looking south over Poole Harbour with the Purbeck Hills beyond, and a little eastward out to the sea.... The ground is good loam in the orchard, with some sand and clay in the field, but this is so open to the sun and air that we are not afraid of it, as the house-site will be entirely concreted over, and I have arranged for a heating stove in a cellar, which will warm and dry the whole basement. In a week or two we hope to begin building, so you may fancy how busy I am, especially as we are building it without a contractor, with the help of a friend.... I go over two or three times a week, as I have two gardeners at work. In the summer (should I be still in the land of the living) I hope you will be able to come and see our little estate, which is to be called by the descriptive name of "Old Orchard." I have got a good architect to make the working drawings and he [pg 120] has designed a very picturesque yet unpretentious house.—Yours very truly,
ALFRED R. WALLACE.