Letter from Uvedale Price, Foxley, to Lady Margaret Beaumont, 1804 October 13 : autograph manuscript signed.

Writing "And so the foundations are actually begun!" and commenting at length about the planned alterations to Coleorton; saying that it sounds from the tone of her last letter as if they have gone ahead with designs that ruin one of his favorite views; asking questions about the arrangement of the rooms and saying that he wishes George Dance would send him a rough sketch of the plans; commenting on her idea of creating avenues of trees: "the only thing I admire in it is your disinterested love of Posterity: the most disinterested thing any grown up person can do is to plant an avenue; as if the trees are placed at a proper distance from each other, it will be a poor meagre business during the whole even of a long life; & if they are planted too close, it will be a poor thing at all times"; discussing other problems with avenues; arguing instead for "planting all the banks thick & leaving the middle space in a great degree, tho' not entirely, open" to give the impression of a forest glade; making suggestions about a nursery and discussing in detail the cost and qualities of different types of trees; adding that if she is determined to have an avenue, he suggests putting it in a particular place and making it a winding avenue; describing an "accidental winding avenue or old road, made by two hedgerows of oaks" near Foxley; asking her to tell Sir George that, in looking over the cellars, he found a bottle of port that had been set aside for him: "I have hung a label round this single bottle's neck, & mean to keep it till his next visit...".