In 1867 he determined to make for himself a haven of refuge against the invading Philistine, and bought some land on Blackdown, above Haslemere, then a secluded corner of England; here 1'Ir (afterwards Sir) James Knowles began to build him a house, ultimately named Aldworth.
He built in 1877 a cottage on Bel Alp above the Rhone valley, and in 1885 a house on Hindhead, near Haslemere.
According to Mr Bean in Trees and Shrubs, p. 165, it is a native of Spain, and only hardy in the milder parts of Great Britain, needing at Kew wall protection, but in the gardens at Grayswood Hill, near Haslemere, thriving splendidly.
China, as yet little known, but thriving in high ground at Haslemere, in Surrey.