Inigo Jones was a
staunch Royalist, who suffered severely during the Civil War, and died
in 1652. The park was not a very large one, but was very pretty, and
contained the famous Amesbury Hill, which was covered with fine trees on
the slope towards the river; some of which had been arranged in the form
of a diamond, partly concealing a cave now known as the Diamond Cave,
but formerly belonging to the Druids, as all the sunrises would be
visible before the intervening trees were planted. This cave was the
favourite resort of John Gay, the poet, who loved to write there. He was
a great friend of the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, who then owned
the Amesbury estate, was the author of the _Beggar's Opera_, published
in 1727, and lies buried in Westminster Abbey.
[Illustration: THE CAVE IN THE DIAMOND.]
The church had been heavily restored in 1853, and one of its former
vicars had been a famous man in his day according to the following
account from the _Gentleman's Magazine_, 1789.
INVENTOR OF THE WATER PUMP
Until the year 1853, a slab before the Communion Table in Amesbury
Church bore the following inscription
In memory of the Revd.
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