Chapter 4

St. Paul’s Church.—In this section the two churches to which the Hamlet of Knightsbridge mainly pertains will be described. St. Paul’s claims priority.

The first stone of St. Paul’s was laid November 6th, 1840, in presence of nearly 500 persons, by George Drummond, Esq., of Wilton Crescent. The want of Church accommodation had been greatly felt, and in this year measures were taken to realise that want. Public subscriptions were commenced, and a large sum subscribed;[92]but after the work had for sometime been progressed with, it was stopped from lack of resources; this difficulty was, however, surmounted, and on June 30th, 1843, the edifice was consecrated by Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London, who preached on the occasion from the 4th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, verse 14.

The site on which it stands was formerly an exercising ground belonging to the foot-barrack, and was given by the Marquis of Westminster (who likewise contributed £500 towards the organ), the lease being purchased of the late Mr. Phillips.

The Church is one of the most handsome of modern architecture in London, and a great credit to its designer Mr. T. Cundy. Its style is that known as Early Perpendicular; it is 106 feet in length, by 59 feet 6 inches in breadth; the height is nearly 50 feet. It consists of a nave and two aisles, with a chancel at the east end on an ascent of four steps; around the Church, along three of its sides,galleries are placed; in the west gallery is the organ, and on this side are also galleries above for the school children. At the west end is a lofty and very handsome tower, having an arch open on three sides at its base to form the porch, above which it is carried to the height of 121 feet, in two storeys, each containing a large and beautiful window, sides and front. It terminates with an embattled parapet of open-work, and eight crocketted pinnacles, four of which rise from the angles. The tower contains a clock by Dent, and three bells by Meares; the tenor weighs 22 cwt. 11 lbs., second 8 cwt, the small one 6 cwt. 4 lbs.

St. Paul’s Church

The chancel forms a very handsome termination to the interior; the reading-desk and pulpit respectively occupy places at the north and south corners of its entrance, while in advance, occupying a central position, is the lectern, presented by the Rev. W. Bennett. In the south side of the chancel are threesedillæ; over the Communion table are three compartments of stonework, on which are inscribed the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed; above the stonework it terminates in arere-dos, over which is the great window of stained glass by Wailes, pourtraying the Prophets and the Twelve Apostles. This window and ornamental stonework cost about £1,000.

The font is of Caen stone, of beautiful design, and five feet eight inches in height; it is of octagonal form, the panels being divided by buttresses, the projecting portion of each resting on an angel, each angel either clasping its hands, or holding a shield or book bearing some symbol corresponding with the subject of the panel immediately preceding. Under each panel is a boss, representing some plant answering to the subject on the panel. The shaft, supporting the whole, is placed on two steps; it consistsof eight mullioned arches, and as many buttresses decorated. It is the work of Mr. Charles Physick, of Gower Street, and was presented by the Rev. D. A. Beaufort, Mr. Bennett’s successor at Portman Chapel. Its cost was £100.

The organ is a very powerful one; its case was designed by Mr. Cundy, and harmonises with the general character of the Church. It covers 14 feet square, and is 30 feet high.

The roof is open, and is said to be the largest unsupported by pillars of any ecclesiastical edifice in the metropolis. It is of timber, and the tie beams are filled with tracery.

Of the eight handsome windows of each side of the church, two in the north and six in the south are filled with stained glass, all by Wailes, of Newcastle, representing the most remarkable scenes and actions of St. Paul, and of those Apostles whose names are to be read on each window. Four of these windows were erected to the memory of various members of his family by J. T. Horne, Esq.; one to John Backhouse, Esq., of the Foreign Office, born October 14th, 1784, died November 13th, 1845; one to the late Viscount Newry, to the MissesAlice and Caroline Colvile, and one to Miss Caroline Carr. There is one also to Patrick Fraser Tytler, born August 30th, 1791, died December 24th, 1849: he was author of “A History of Scotland,” “Lives of Sir Walter Raleigh,” “Henry VIII.,” and other works that have assumed a standard position in our literature.

The church will hold nearly 1,600 persons; 600 of the sittings are free.

The Rev. W. J. E. Bennett was nominated to the incumbency by the Bishop of London; but certain differences having arisen between him and the Bishop, he resigned in March, 1850, when the Hon. and Rev. Robert Liddell was appointed in his stead.

The following is a list of the Churchwardens:—September 30, 1845, Hon. Eliot Yorke, M.P.; Charles Briscoe. (These gentlemen were re-elected also for the three following years.) 1849, April 10, Sir John E. Harington, Bart.; Charles Briscoe. 1850, Sir J. E. Harington; Charles Briscoe. 1851, April 21, T. H. Sotheron, Esq., M.P.; J. H. Tuck. 1852, April 13, Viscount Castlereagh; J. H. Tuck. 1853, March 29, T. H. Horne, Esq.; CharlesWesterton. 1854, April 18. This was a contested election: opposition having been made by Mr. Westerton to the mode of conducting Divine Service, and other matters connected with the Church, he was opposed by Thos. Davidson, Esq.; but after a poll, the numbers were declared to be—for Mr. Westerton, 203; Mr. Davidson, 200. Mr. Horne was renominated; but a caveat being entered against this election, the case came on for adjudication before Dr. Phillimore, in the Archdeacon’s Court, on May 30th, 1854, who declared the election null, in consequence of the rejection of the votes of certain parishioners; and a new election taking place on June 15th, the same gentlemen were again nominated, and, after a poll of two days’ duration, the result was declared to be—for Mr. Westerton, 651; Mr. Davidson, 323. 1855, April 10, W. H. Jackson, Esq.; Charles Westerton: and the same gentlemen still fill the office.

All Saints’ Church.—This handsome edifice was consecrated by the late Bishop Blomfield on Saturday, July 21st, 1849. It was erected to supply a very great want, for previouslythis isolated portion of St. Margaret’s parish was destitute of a place of worship for the members of the Church of England. Within the last twenty years the population has vastly increased; and houses of first-class character have covered the nursery-grounds and fields formerly abounding.

All Saints’ Church was erected from the designs of Mr. Vulliamy, in the Lombardic or Byzantine style of architecture, and when completed will be one of the most original and striking edifices in London. It consists of a nave, and side aisles, divided by pillars polished to imitate marble, terminating in an apse, forming the chancel, and the roof of which is a blue ground spangled with gold. Galleries are erected round three sides; in the western one is a very fine organ. The roof is open, of woodwork, and harmonises pleasingly with the other parts of the building, although comparatively plain.

A tower at the west end, and a suitable enclosure before the entrance, yet remain to be accomplished, ere the work of completion is done. The estimated cost of these works amounts to £2,100; and it is to be hoped thatthe necessary funds may not be long forthcoming, to hinder their commencement.

The minister is the Rev. William Harness, known for his edition of Shakspeare and other contributions to current literature; and the senior curate is the Rev. Mackenzie Walcot, whose “Memorials of Westminster,” and other works on the ancient city, have rendered him its most popular and pleasing historian.

Charles R. Harford and James Baber, Esqs., were the first chosen churchwardens, and filled the office continuously till the present year, when W. Aldridge, Esq., was instituted in room of Mr. Harford.

Albert Gateoccupies an arched surface over the bed of the Westbourne, which was here open and crossed by two bridges, one just within the Park, and erected about 1734; the other, the old bridge from which our Hamlet is named. On its west side was the “Fox and Bull;” on its east a low court of very old houses, named after the “White Hart,” which, with these other buildings and the Cannon Brewhouse, were entirely removed by authority of an Act of Parliament (4 Vict., c. 12) passed March 10th, 1841, which empowered the Commissionersof Works to purchase the land on which these tenements stood and the buildings thereon, for the purpose of forming a new entrance to Hyde Park. Accordingly, these improvements were carried out, and the irongates, which are of a very chaste design, were fixed August 9th, 1845. The two stags on the side pedestals formerly performed the same watch and ward at the Ranger’s Lodge in the Green Park. They were modelled from a pair of prints by Bartolozzi.

“The Westbourne”—Looking North from Knightsbridge

Part of the ground bought by the commissioners they leased for ninety-nine years to Mr. Thomas Cubitt, who immediately built on the eastern side a large mansion, for which it is said Mr. Hudson, M.P., paid him £15,000. It is now the residence of the French Ambassador: here our Queen paid a visit in state on May 12, 1854; and the Emperor Napoleon held a Levee on his visit to her in May, 1855.

This house was at first the butt of the London wits, who named it Gibraltar House, affirming it wouldnever be taken. This opinion did not deter Mr. Cubitt from erecting another, now the London and County Bank Branch; and a third is now nearly finished for Captain Layland. Architecturally, there is nothing in these mansions to admire, notwithstanding the arrogance with which they force attention. Though so gigantic, they are not imposing; of an unusual altitude, they are destitute ofornament, and can only be likened to some “tall bullies,” determined even in vulgarity to lord over their fellows.

Brompton Road: a row of houses built about twenty years since on the garden of Grosvenor House. The National School House attached to Brompton Church was built in 1841, in the Tudor style, from designs by Mr. George Godwin.

Ennismore PlaceandTerrace, built by Elger on land belonging to the Earl of Listowel, from whose second title the name is derived; commenced in 1848, and finished in 1855. Along the curve at the bottom of the Terrace (now called Princes Terrace) the boundary of St. Margaret’s parish abuts on that of Kensington. No. 11, Princes Terrace, is the residence of Mr. Bonamy Price.

High Road: a heterogeneous row of houses between the Green and Rutland Gate is so called. They are built without any attempt at uniformity, and are generally of a mean description. Parts of the western end are now called Trevor Terrace, and South Place. The oldest houses in the Hamlet are in High Road: Chatham House (why so called I knownot), built in 1688, now a broker’s, was for many years a boarding-school, and originally surrounded by a garden. Three doors beyond is an ancient inn, now known as the “Rose and Crown,” but formerly the “Oliver Cromwell,” and which has been licensed above three hundred years. It is the oldest house in Knightsbridge, was formerly its largest inn, and not improbably the house which sheltered Wyatt, while his unfortunate Kentish followers rested on the adjacent green. A tradition told by all old inhabitants of the locality that Cromwell’s body-guard was once quartered here, is still very prevalent, and an inscription to that effect was till lately painted in front of the house;[104]and on an ornamental piece of plaster-work was formerly emblazoned the great Protector’s coat-of-arms. Although I have not been able to find any mention of this place in connection with the Civil War, or with Cromwell, yet nothing is more certainthan that (as I have before noticed) our neighbourhood was frequently the scene of skirmishes during that contest, or more probable than that it should be so, considering it was the main road from the west to the capital. In 1647 the Parliament Army was encamped about here, and Fairfax’s head-quarters were for awhile at Holland House; so also immediately before and after the fight at Brentford. At all events, Mr. Corbould, the distinguished painter, took this old inn as a subject; and “The Old Hostelrie at Knightsbridge,” exhibited in 1849 at St. George’s Gallery, formed a pleasing and animating picture. He laid the scene as early as 1497; and opposite the inn stands a well, surmounted by a figure of St. George, while beyond is the spacious green, the meandering stream, the bridge over it, surmounted by an embattled tower; while still further appears the old hospital and chapel. All this is likely to be summarily condemned as the painter’s fancy, but it nevertheless proves that an interest in the place was not confined to the lower orders alone. The house has of late been much modernised, and in 1853 had a narrow escape from destruction by fire;but enough still remains in its peculiar chimneys, oval-shaped windows, the low rooms, large yard and extensive stabling, with the galleries above and office-like places beneath, to testify to its antiquity and former importance.[106]

The “Rising Sun” was for many years the residence of Major Eyre of the Volunteers. It is built of red brick, and on the coping is the date 16—. There was formerly much carved work about the rooms, but all has disappeared: a plain, old-fashioned staircase still exists. It has not been licensed above thirty years.

Trevor Terrace consists of but ten houses. At the last, Mr. Pocock, the architect, resides.

At the corner of South Place, which contains only three houses, is the celebrated floor-cloth manufactory belonging to Mr. Baber. It was the earliest one ever established, and first erected, in 1754, by Nathan Smith. The first block used for patterns was cut by him, and is still preserved in the factory. A woodcut of it is given in “Dodd’s British Manufactures,” where full particulars of the process of this manufacture are given. In 1794 the building was entirely destroyed by fire, but restored theensuing year; the whole was rebuilt in 1824, and presents a remarkable appearance from its great height. At the north end is a clock, over which is placed a figure of Time cut in stone.

The adjoining house (No. 2) was formerly called the “Parsonage,” because inhabited by the Rev. J. Gamble, of Trinity Chapel. This gentleman was in 1796 appointed Chaplain of the Forces, and in 1799 Rector of Alphamstone and Bradwell-juxta-Mare, Essex. For many years also he was private chaplain to the Duke of York, who generally attended his ministry at the Chapel. Mr. Gamble was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, a very able preacher, and a highly popular man. He died in this house July 27, 1811.

Of late years this unpretending house has gained a world-wide celebrity, having been the residence of Edward Sterling, the “Thunderer of the Times.”

Edward Sterling was born at Waterford on the 27th February, 1773. He entered Trinity College, Dublin, and qualifying himself for the bar, was duly called thereto; when the Irish Rebellion breaking out, in his twenty-fifth year, the barristers resolved to raise a corps of volunteers;and thus a complete change in Sterling’s career was commenced. He fought at Vinegar Hill, and doubtless fought well. He quitted the bar, joined the Cheshire Militia, whence he and his company afterwards volunteered into the line. In 1805 the regiment was disbanded, and he removed to Kaimes Castle, Bute, where he cultivated a farm. Afterwards he went into Wales, and was appointed Adjutant of the Glamorgan Militia; and in 1810 published a pamphlet on Military Reform. It was dedicated to the Duke of Kent, and went through a second edition the following year.

In 1812 he wrote a series of letters to theTimes, under the signature of “Vetus,” which were afterwards collected and reprinted. In 1814 he was at Paris, and witnessed the entry of Napoleon after his return from Elba. He made the best of his way to London, which he never quitted as a residence again. He resided at various places in the suburbs, but ultimately settled at Knightsbridge, a more congenial home with its military air; and from this modest nook poured forth the able, torrent-like articles, which gained their unknown author the title of the “Thunderer.”

He died here in the year 1847; his wife, the excellent mother of John Sterling, died here also, on April 16th, 1843.[109]

This house was also a home to John Sterling when in London; and here Carlyle, Maurice, Mill, and other gifted men, visited him. It is now the residence of his brother, Colonel Sterling; and here also came, after his honourable campaign in the Crimea, the brave Sir Colin Campbell, who for his services in India was created Lord Clyde.

Kent House.—H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, about fifty years ago, rented a small house, to which he added till it attained its present size, and was named after him, Kent House. He resided here but a few years. After him, Lord George Seymour inhabited it; and in 1817 the Hon. George Villiers resided here. He was next brother and heir-presumptive to the second Earl of Clarendon, and held several official employments. He married the Hon. Theresa Parker, only daughter of John, first Lord Boringdon, and brother of the Earl of Morley, and died at Kent House, March 21st,1827, leaving a numerous family, three of whom at least have attained a high reputation, viz., the present Earl of Clarendon, the Hon. C. P. Villiers, M.P. for Wolverhampton, and Lady Theresa Lewis, author of “The Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon.”

At Kent House (divided now) reside Earl Morley, and Sir G. C. Lewis, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer. He married Lady Theresa (noticed above), relict of P. H. Lister, Esq., and is author of many important historical and political works, some of which were written in this house.

Stratheden House.—This was many years the residence of a highly respected family named Marsh. Charles Marsh, Esq., was a magistrate of the county, and William Marsh was senior partner in the house of Marsh, Graham, and Co., with which the forgeries of Fauntleroy were so interwoven. In the misfortunes occasioned by this man Mr. Marsh was innocently, but bitterly, involved. He was a very public spirited man, and greatly respected in the locality.

Stratheden House was afterwards the residence of Francis Bassett, Lord de Dunstanville.He was created baronet for his prompt heading of the Cornish miners, and bringing them to the relief of Plymouth, when the combined fleets of France and Spain cast anchor in the Sound in 1779. He sat in the House of Commons many years, supporting Lord North, and afterwards Pitt, by whom, in 1799, he was raised to the peerage. He supported the Tory interest in the Upper House, and, though not a prominent member, drew down on him the ire of the veteran reformer, Cartwright. He died in 1835.

This mansion is now the town residence of Lord Campbell and Lady Stratheden, after whom it is named. The first volume of the “Lives of the Chancellors” is dated from this house.

High Rowextends from Albert Gate Houses to the Barracks; part of it, in an absurd spirit of sycophancy, is now called Albert Terrace. At the west side of the stream, till the improvements were effected, stood a celebrated inn, known as the “Fox and Bull,” traditionally said to have been founded in the time of Elizabeth, and used by her on her visits to Lord Burleigh at Brompton. Its curious sign is said to be the only one of thekind existing. At the “Fox and Bull” for a long while was maintained that Queen Anne style of society, where persons of “parts” and reputation were to be met with in rooms open to all. A Captain Corbet was for a long while its head; a Mr. Shaw, of the War Office, supplied theLondon Gazette; and W. Harris, of Covent Garden Theatre, his play-bills.[112a]Sir Joshua Reynolds is said to have occasionally been a visitor, as also Sir W. Wynn, the patron of Ryland; and George Morland frequently so. The sign was once painted by Sir Joshua, and hung till 1807, when it was blown down and destroyed in a storm. The house is referred to in the “Tatler,” No. 259.

The “Fox and Bull” was for many years the receiving house of the Royal Humane Society;[112b]and here was brought the poor frame of the first wife of the poet Shelley, who had drowned herself in the Serpentine. She had lodged in Hans Place, a short time before, and was known to the landlord’s daughter, Miss Mary Ann Phillips; hence, her remains were treated“tenderly,” and laid out “with care.” An inquest was held, and a verdict returned, which saved her the revolting burial then awarded to the suicide.

A magistrate used to sit here once a-week: the last was Mr. Bond, of Sloane Street. The present is the third house that has existed under the same sign. The first was undoubtedly of Elizabethan build; most of its rooms were panelled and carved, with ornamented ceilings, &c.; and it was not till 1799 that the immense fire-places and dog-irons were removed for stoves. This house was pulled down about 1836, and the second immediately built on its site; this stood till the alterations at Albert Gate made necessary the removal of the business to its present situation.

In 1809 the landlord, digging to form a grain pit for his cows, discovered six entire male skeletons, supposed to be remains of some who had been slain (perhaps attempting to cross the bridge) in the Civil War.

The Cannon Brewhouse, a large unsightly brick building, occupied the remainder of the site of the Albert Gate houses. Formerly here stood a row of mean dwellings, with open cellarsin front, and at the west end a filthy court. They were all removed for the brewhouse, the first stone of which was laid by the late Mr. James Goding, on April 10th, 1804; at the top was a huge wooden cannon.[114]In 1841 the whole was pulled down, and for ten years the ground was unoccupied; in 1851 a temporary building for the Chinese Collection of Mr. Dunn was erected, which in 1852 made way for the large mansion not yet entirely finished.

The house now inhabited by Mr. Murray was, rather more than thirty years since, the residence of Lady Ann Hamilton—the faithful attendant of Caroline of Brunswick. Afterwards Mr. Chalon, and then Mr. Davis, both artists of repute, inhabited it. To Mr. Davis succeeded Mr. White, a naturalist, who had here a large collection of wild beasts and birds. I have heard he was tutor to Van Amburgh.

Mr. Woodburn, when living supposed to be the first judge in matters relating to ancient art, once lived in this house. He died in 1854.The staircases still bear proof of the residence of these artists here.

Captain Corbet, a comrade of St. Vincent, lived at No. 19; Ozias Humphry at 13; Maurice Morgann, opposite Sloane Street, John Taylor, the singer, Paul Bedford (for several years at 18), Mr. Justice Burton, and Mr. McCarthy, the sculptor, at 17—were all residents of High Row. Of these, Humphry will be noticed here. He was born at Honiton in 1742; and early evincing a taste for drawing, was taken from the Grammar School of his native town and sent to London, where he prosecuted his studies most assiduously. Having, after two years’ stay, been compelled to return through the death of his father, he engaged himself to Mr. Collins, a miniature painter at Bath. But in 1763, by the advice of Reynolds, he returned to London, and was brought under public notice through his auspices. For some years he practised with increasing success, and in 1773 set out for Italy with Romney; he returned in September, 1777, and his fame rapidly increased. Miniatures he had chiefly devoted himself to, but now he turned to full-portrait painting, towhich Hayley in his poem addressed to Romney refers:—

“Thy graces, Humphry, and thy colours clear,From miniatures’ small circle disappear:May their distinguished merit still prevail,And shine with lustre on the larger scale.”

In 1785 he sailed for India; but the climate compelling him to return before he had attained his object, he, in 1789, again exhibited in London, confirming his former reputation, and next year he was elected R.A. He was employed to paint a series of original portraits of the Sackvilles by the Duke of Dorset; but ere he had completed them his sight failed him, and though various attempts were made to pursue his art, they were unsuccessful, and he was compelled to terminate his professional career.

Humphry was held in high estimation by some of the greatest men of his time; by Reynolds, Hastings, and Sir W. Jones. He is one of the heroes, too, of Boswell’s inimitable biography: Johnson placed under his care his godson, “a son of Mr. Paterson, eminent for his knowledge of books.” As an artist, though he suffered many disadvantages, he ranked high; as a man of moral worth, and kind affections, he was “zealous in good offices,and strenuous in his efforts for rising genius;” and it was to him Dr. Walcot first introduced Opie.

Besides the poetic niche of Hayley, Owen Cambridge mentions him—

“But, Humphry, by whom shall your labours be told,How your colours enliven the young and the old?”

And Cumberland likewise—

“Crown’d with fresh roses, grateful Humphry stands,While beauty grows immortal from his hands.”

Humphry resided several years in Knightsbridge; he died at 13, High Row, March 9th, 1810, and was buried in St. James’ Chapel ground, Hampstead Road.[117]

Out of the High Row runs Mills’ Buildings, so called from a builder of that name who erected them in 1777. At the top, abutting on the Park, is Park Row: at No. 5, Mr. Thomas Cooper for several years resided; and Mr. F. Matthews once lived in this row.

The spot of ground now occupied by the Duke of Wellington’s stables, just erected from designs by Hardwick, was purchased by theDuke from a Mr. Williams, whose freehold property it was. Several houses in Park Place, the “Nag’s Head,”[118]and five other houses, were removed for these stables. Two of them touched on the Park, and were called Williams’ Cottages.

At the west end of High Row is the barrack for the Horse-Guards, an extensive range of brick buildings, built in 1795, and capable of accommodating 600 men and 500 horses. In the centre of the chief building is an oblong parade, around which are the apartments for the men, and the chief stabling for the horses. A mansion for the officers, riding school, &c., stand at the western end.

Hyde Park.—Of the glories of Hyde Park it is almost superfluous to speak; it has been a place of great popular resort since the days of Charles II. It was then visited, not as now, for air and exercise only, but was much used by the citizens for their sports. May 1st, 1654, a great hurling match was played before the Lord Protector. We read that on that day also “great resort came to Hyde Park, many hundreds of rich coaches, and gallants in attire;but most shameful powdered-hair men and painted and spotted women.” Horse and footraces were also held here. “Shall we make a fling to London, and see how the spring appears there in Spring Garden, and in Hyde Park to see the races, horse and foot?”—(“Merry Beggars, or Jovial Crew,” 1641.)

Many and famous have been the reviews here, some of them of deep historical interest. In October, 1803, as before-mentioned, George III. reviewed the different Volunteer Corps raised by the metropolis, when the total number inspected amounted to 27,077 men, of whom our local contingent mustered in force of 124. The enthusiasm created by the appearance of the Guards on their return from the Crimea, and the first distribution of the Victoria Cross by her Majesty in person, are fresh in the public memory.

It is well diversified with wood and water; the Serpentine in its space amply supplying the latter.

“Well may the coyest of the NineBe proud to sing the Serpentine;For never breeze has swept, nor beamShed light upon a luckier stream.’Tis but a brook, whose scanty source,Hard by, just struggles in its course,But scarce has reached, slow trickling thence,The bounds of royal influence,When, such the favour and protectionThat flows from interest and connection,’Tis bidden a nobler form to take,And spreads and widens to a lake.”[120a]

Would that its waters were kept sweet and pure; how much more enjoyable would its ride and walks be. Life at the Serpentine in the height of the London season, and after a few days’ sharp frost, presents characteristics that can be seen in the metropolis only.

The Hyde Park river, which no river is,The Serpentine—which is not serpentine,When frozen, every skater claims as his,In right of common, there to entertwineWith countless crowds, and glide upon the ice.Lining the banks, the timid and unwillingStand and look on, while some the fair enticeBy telling, yonder skaters are quadrilling;And here the skateless hire the “bestskates” for a shilling.[120b]

As the Serpentine is at these two seasons productive of so much enjoyment, so it is also at the same time the source of much danger. The skater, the bather, and he who is sick of life’s miseries, too often afford employment for the staff at the Receiving House of the Royal Humane Society.

This edifice was erected on its north bank in 1834. One devoted to the same purpose had previously occupied the same spot. In it are beds, warm baths, tables, and apparatus of all kinds for the restoration of those apparently drowned, in the hope that “perchance a spark may be concealed.” Every effort of science is here exercised on the cases requiring such attentions; the inspection of the public is invited by a notice to that effect affixed outside.

Some little distance north and west of the Receiving House, formerly stood a very ancient edifice, known by the name of “The Cake House;” it was built with timber and plaster, and roofed with flat tiles. It was a place for the sale of refreshments to those who visited the park—hence its name. Pepys says, April 25th, 1669:—“Abroad with my wife in the afternoon to the Park, where very much company, and the weather very pleasant. I carried my wife to the Lodge the first time this year; and there in our coach eat a cheesecake, and drank a tankard of milk.” We may imagine by the following that it was the best known and more visited than any other spot in the Park:—“Comely! nay, ’tis no London female;she’s a thing that never saw cheesecake, tart, or syllabub, at the Lodge in Hyde Park.”—(“The English Monsieur,” by the Hon. James Howard. 4to. 1674.)

The Cake House

Adjacent to this old Lodge was the famous Ring, where the racing and other amusements were carried on; and where the ground was often dyed with the blood of the duellist.

The Ring, or parts of it, can still be distinctly traced on the east of the Ranger’s Grounds. Here fell the Duke of Hamilton, after his duel with the Lord Mohun. Swift, in his journal to Stella, Nov. 15th, 1712, says, “TheDuke was helped towards the Cake House, by the Ring, in Hyde Park (where the duel was fought), and died on the grass, before he could reach the house:” a graphic picture, and a sad one, of that fashionable and cruel custom now happily abolished in this country. The journals a century ago were replete with notices of duels fought in the Ring in Hyde Park.

Turn we now from these painful reminiscences. From the Ring, we have in view the costly toy of George IV., the Marble Arch, which, for want of a better destination, was removed to Cumberland Gate from Buckingham Palace; it was designed by Nash, after the arch of Constantine at Rome, and originally was intended to have been surmounted with a chariot and horses, and afterwards with a classic equestrian statue of his Majesty; this was actually executed by Chantry at a cost of 9,000 guineas, but it never reached its intended elevation, and now occupies the pedestal at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square. Perhaps the most satisfactory work of art in connection with the structure is the very beautiful pair of gates. They are said to be thelargest in Europe; are designed in scroll, having six openings, two filled with St. George and the Dragon, two with the royal cypher G.R., and two with lionspassant gardant; they cost 3,000 guineas, and are cast in an alloy composed largely of copper.

At present the erection produces a somewhat poor effect, but it is not fair to criticise it, seeing that its original design has not been carried out; were it surmounted with a well-harmonised group, as at first intended, no doubt its appearance would have been much more imposing.

We have in the Park, just within the entrance at the “Corner,” the statue of Achilles, cast from cannon taken from the French, erected in honour of the late Duke of Wellington, by a subscription of his “Countrywomen,” as told by the inscription thus:—

To Arthur,Duke of Wellington,And His Brave Companions in Arms,This Statue of Achilles,Cast from Cannon taken in the Victories of Salamanca,Vittoria, Toulouse and Waterloo,is inscribedBy their Countrywomen.Placed on this Spoton theXVIII.day of June,MDCCCXXII.By command ofHisMajesty GeorgeIIII.

We give a passing reference to Rotten Row, where, every evening during the season, may be seen one of the most animating and national spectacles of the metropolis; the fine gravelly road is then filled with equestrians of both sexes mounted on the most beautiful horses, and parading up and down to the admiration of the lounging spectators, whiling away their evening hour on the seats or rails skirting the road. This road has lately been injudiciously widened, being unused some eight months in the year, and the crossing thereby rendered the more dangerous the remaining four.

It is needless to speak here of the Great Exhibition of 1851: these pages are not to tell of its beauties, its results, or the enthusiasm it called into play; suffice it to say that our dear old Park was the scene of its glories. We will hope that its peaceful memories may never be effaced from among the nations.

Hyde Park Corner.—The earliest mention of this name I have met with is in the “Chronicle of Queen Mary,” &c., published by the Camden Society, where Wyatt is described planting his “ordenance over agaynstthe parke corner.” The name properly applies to that triangularly-shaped portion of the Park formed by the line from Stanhope Gate to Apsley House. Several interesting incidents have occurred at this spot deserving notice. Here James I., in March, 1606, was met by his whole court and the House of Commons, with the Speaker at their head, to welcome him on his safe return from a hunting excursion near Woking, where it was stated he had been murdered. Here, in 1625, Judge Whitelock sat on the grass which grew in the road, and with his retinue ate the dinner brought with them from the country, afraid to stay longer in London than absolutely necessary, the plague having just carried off thousands of people. After his meal, he galloped to Westminster Hall, adjourned the courts, and quickly retired.

By this road, on August 6th, 1647, Fairfax and his army, all with a laurel branch in their hats, entered from Kensington, accompanied by the House of Commons, to go to Westminster, the matter of the Declaration having been agreed to. From Kensington to the fort here, a guard stood three feet deep; and at Hyde Park Corner they were met by the Lord Mayor andCorporation, come to congratulate them on their arrival. “Lieut. General Cromwell’s regiment of horse” was among them, we are told: this was not his last appearance here. When he returned from his Irish campaign, Fairfax and others met him at Hounslow; and as he approached, Colonel Barkstead’s regiment, drawn up in the highway at the Park Corner, saluted him. In the journal of George Fox, the Quaker, too, is an anecdote of his meeting the Protector here.

After the fight at Brentford, consternation being felt by the Londoners at the near approach of the Royal Army, a chain of forts was thrown up by the citizens, connected with each other by means of earth works and ramparts. Whitelock says it was wonderful to see how the women and children, and vast numbers of people, would come and work at digging and carrying earth to the fortifications. The newspapers of the day teem with curious particulars of the prevailing excitement; one day we read of five thousand felt-makers, another of four thousand porters, then of five thousand shoemakers, and six thousand tailors, all to assist in the pressing work. Nor were the fairsex behindhand; Butler, in his “Hudibras,” alluding to this, says they

“March’d rank and file, with drum and ensignT’ intrench the city for defence in,Raised rampiers with their own soft handsTo put the enemy to stands;From ladies down to oyster-wenches,Labour’d like pioneers in trenches;Fall’n to their pickaxes and tools,And helped the men to dig like moles.”

Fort—formerly at Hyde Park Corner

And Nash, in a note on this passage, says:—

“Ladies Middlesex, Foster, Anne Waller, and Mrs. Dunch, were particularly remarkable for their activity.”

One of these forts stood on the brow of thehill at Hyde Park Corner; it was a large one, consisting of four bastions, commanding the ascent and the adjoining fields. Four years afterwards—no further use remaining for them—the House of Commons ordered their removal.

Dr. King relates an interesting anecdote of Charles II. meeting his brother James at this spot, on his return from a hunting excursion, and escorted by a party of the Guards. Charles, who was out for a stroll in the Park, of which he was very fond, was attended by but two of his Court. The Guards recognising the King, halted; and James being acquainted with the cause thereof, stepped from his coach, and saluted his brother, but expressed his surprise to meet him there almost unattended, and thought he exposed himself to some danger. “No kind of danger, James,” replied Charles, “for I am sure no man in England will take away my life to make you king.”[129]

Respecting this interesting anecdote, a tradition tells us that Charles II. was very partial to a walk in Hyde Park, and that at the spot to which he limited himself generally heplanted two acorns from the Boscobel Tree. The trees from them grew at the north side of the Serpentine, just where the road turns off by the magazine towards Bayswater. For many years they were fenced in, but one only now remains; the other, much decayed, was removed in 1854.

Oak, planted by Charles the Second

Hyde Park Corner is now the most magnificent entrance to the metropolis; the entrances to the Parks, Apsley House, and, in the background, the glorious towers of Westminster,form a scene at once imposing and national. Formerly the entrance was very mean; a turnpike blocked the way, and instead of the classic archways, paltry lodges and iron gates led to the parks. Between the lodge and park side was a dead wall, eight feet high, built in the reign of Charles II., but removed in 1828. The toll-house was sold by auction, October 4th, 1825, and cleared away immediately.

Hyde Park Corner—1824

The existing entrance to Hyde Park was completed in 1828, from designs of Mr. Decimus Burton; the frieze was designed by Archibald Henning; the ironwork by Bramah. The Triumphal Arch leading to Constitution Hill was built about the same time; its beautiful gates were likewise the work of Bramah.

From Hyde Park Corner the distances to the west are measured; a standard stood near to Apsley House till about 1827.

Kensington Gorewas, as before shown, originally called Kyngsgore—firstly, because it belonged to the king; and secondly, from its peculiar shape; gore, an old English word, meaning “a narrow slip of land,” according tothe old glossaries. In Kent, the peasantry call a triangularly-shaped piece of ground a gore; and seamstresses use the word in a similar manner to the present day, to express a gusset or piece of stuff let into their work. The early history of the Gore in connection with Kilburn Priory has been noticed; and here its modern story must be told. From Prince Albert’s Road to Noel House is generally now considered as the Gore.

Brompton Park Nursery was established during the reign of Charles II. During the greater part of the seventeenth century the land appears to have belonged to the Percivals, ancestors of the Earl of Egmont. Philip Percival, the friend of Pym and Hollis, was born here in 1603. Brompton Park appears to have extended from what is now called Cromwell Road to the road from Knightsbridge to Kensington. Various properties were cut out of it; but the Percivals were here at least till 1675. Soon after this date about sixty acres appear to have been formed into a nursery garden, the first ever established in this country. It early excited great attention, more particularly about 1690–1700, when it belongedto George London and Henry Wise, the most celebrated gardeners of the time. Evelyn, in his “Diary,” records, on April 24th, 1694, taking “Mr. Waller to see Brompton Park, where he was in admiration at the store of rare plants, and the method he found in that noble nursery, and how well it was cultivated.” Evelyn again alludes to the nursery in his “Sylva,” declaring that the “sight” of it “gave an idea of something greater” than he could express. He speaks highly of the skill and industry here shown, and says the like is not to be met with in this or any other country. Bowack, writing in 1705, affirms that if the plants were valued but at one penny each, they would be worth above £40,000.

Messrs. London and Wise translated from the French “The Complete Gardener,” published in 1701. They were gardeners to William III.; and Kensington Gardens were laid out by them. Wise also superintended the laying-out of Hampton Court; and Evelyn mentions visiting him there. After them, the establishment went through various hands; but when the surrounding fields were built on, the smoke injured the plants; and the railwaysbringing up fruit and vegetables cheaper than they could be brought to perfection at here, the business gradually diminished, and in 1853 entirely ceased.

Along an ancient wall separating the grounds from those of Cromwell House, a valuable collection of vines was planted, which were cultivated with great success. This wall, the contents of the gardens, and the dwellings therein, were cleared away in 1855. The following list of owners is chiefly taken from Faulkner:—

1681.

Lukar and Co.

1714.

Smith and Co.

1686.

Cooke and Co.

1756.

Jefferies and Co.

1689.

Wise.

1788.

Gray and Co.

1694.

London and Wise.

—

Gray, Adams, and Hogg.

1700.

Swinhoe.

1849.

Adams and Hogg.

Mr. James Gray, who was chief partner in this concern so long, died at Brompton in 1849. He is mentioned with respect in Faulkner’s “History of Kensington.”

Park House, a plain but spacious mansion, pulled down in 1856, adjoined Princes Gate. It was divided from the road by a brick wall, part of that ancient one just mentioned, for this house stood within Brompton Park: hence its name. Probably a more ancient mansion stoodhere; but the late one was for many years the seat of the Veres, bankers of the city of London. Afterwards it became the residence of William Evans, Esq., M.P., soon after whose death it was sold.

Eden Lodge was the residence of Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India. Here he retired after his return, and died in 1849.

Mercer Lodge, a small brick residence, was inhabited by Frank Marryat, son of the novelist, and himself an author of one or two books of travel. Mr. Henry Mayhew now resides here.

Immediately adjoining is a row of five houses, called emphatically Kensington Gore. All are faced with white stucco, are very small, and appear as if intended for the lodge of some great mansion never erected. Two of them, which seem to contain but one room, have, however, second storeys at the back, and good gardens, which, with the Park in front, render them very pleasant residences. At one of these houses, in 1816, Mrs. Inchbald inquired after some lodgings which were to let. The landlady was too fine a personage for the writer of “The Simple Story,” and so exacting in her demands that her applicant indignantlywended her way elsewhere. No. 2, now called Hamilton Lodge, was once the occasional residence of John Wilkes. The house was kept by Mrs. Arnold, mother of his second daughter Harriett, who married Mr. Serjeant Rough, afterwards an Indian judge. Wilkes sometimes had high visitors here: Mr. Leigh Hunt quotes a memorandum of his, regarding a dinner here to Counts Woronzow and Nesselrode; and if we are to set down Sir Philip Francis as Junius, here Junius visited, as Mrs. Rough said, frequently; and when a child he once cut off a lock of her hair. Wilkes to the last walked hence to the city, attired in his scarlet and buff suit, with a cocked hat and rosette, and military boots, a dress authorised by his position as colonel of militia. The urn over the doorway Mr. Leigh Hunt imagines to have been placed there by him as an indication of his classic taste, and the supposition is most probably correct. No. 5 was the residence for awhile of Count D’Orsay.

Gore House.—In 1808, Mr. Wilberforce took this mansion (which had previously been the residence of a Government contractor) for his home. He found it, he says, more salubriousthan his house at Clapham; and writes further, “We are just one mile from the turnpike at Hyde Park Corner, having about three acres of pleasure-ground around our house, or rather behind it, and several old trees, walnut and mulberry, of thick foliage. I can sit and read under their shade, with as much admiration of the beauties of nature as if I were two hundred miles from the great city.” Here he passed many years of his happy and useful life, his house the resort of those men who awoke our land from the deadly torpor into which years of fearful warfare had plunged it. Here came Clarkson, Zachary Macaulay, Romilly, and others, to commune together on those measures which, to quote Channing, brought about “the most signal expression afforded by our times of the progress of civilisation and a purer Christianity.”

Wilberforce was exceedingly partial to Gore House, and his friends appear to have always found a ready home within it. In 1814, Mr. Henry Thornton, for many years M.P. for Southwark, and one of his most earnest supporters, came here for the benefit of the air and medical aid. He lingered a few weeks,and died here January 17th, 1815, aged fifty-three. Isaac Milner, too, an early friend, who came to London to attend the Board of Longitude, died here after five weeks’ illness, on April 1st, 1820.

The following year Wilberforce quitted Gore House. He retired to Marden, in Surrey, a lovely spot and an interesting locality; but he regretted leaving

“The still retreats that soothed his tranquil breast,”

and often in after years alludes to his old home, its associations, and his “Kensington Gore breakfasts.”

Great is the contrast Gore House next presents: strange are the mutabilities of a metropolitan mansion. After the philanthropist, a few unknown persons held the place ere the next celebrity, one of a totally opposite character, reigned. Lady Blessington—for to her allusion is made—came here in 1836; and the opposition of ideas called forth by such persons seems to have suggested to James Smith his

GORE HOUSE: AN IMPROMPTU.Mild Wilberforce, by all beloved,Once own’d this hallow’d spot,Whose zealous eloquence improvedThe fetter’d Negro’s lot;Yet here still slavery attacksWhen Blessington invites:The chains from which he freed the Blacks,She rivets on the Whites.

GORE HOUSE: AN IMPROMPTU.

Mild Wilberforce, by all beloved,Once own’d this hallow’d spot,Whose zealous eloquence improvedThe fetter’d Negro’s lot;Yet here still slavery attacksWhen Blessington invites:The chains from which he freed the Blacks,She rivets on the Whites.

Lady Blessington came to Gore House in 1836; and the brilliant circle which thronged around her in Seamore Place was increased with the greater capabilities of the new residence. Haydon, writing February 27th, 1835, says, “Everybody goes to Lady Blessington’s. She has the first news of everything, and everybody seems delighted to tell her. She is the centre of more talent and gaiety than any woman of fashion in London.” To Gore House came novelists and dramatists, artists and actors, statesmen and refugees. Here Louis Napoleon, just escaped from captivity at Ham, first came for the shelter of an English roof; and afterwards—deep lesson too—a few years later she went forth as privately perhaps as her guest had entered, from the palace of which she had been Queen, to seek in the capital of him whom she had harboured, that support she had so freely bestowed on him; the late refugee then having an empire rapidly falling into his hands; her object was not gained, and on this occasion “hope left a wretched one that soughther.” Lady Blessington finally quitted Gore House April 14th, 1849.

Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, was daughter of Edmund Power, a coarse, unfeeling squire of Tipperary. She was born September 1st, 1790, and at fifteen married to a Captain Farmer, as brutal a character as her father. They separated in 1807, and he, compelled to go to India, died there.

Being denied a home under her father’s roof, she for some years lived in seclusion and study, but becoming acquainted with the Earl of Blessington, married him in February, 1818. Then another phase of her life commenced, and their mansion in St. James’s Square was the resort of the most fashionable of the day. Her beauty at this time was very great, and afforded a theme for the pen of Byron, and the pencil of Sir Thomas Lawrence. With the poet she became acquainted during her well-known continental tour, during which the introduction to D’Orsay also took place. Lord Blessington dying at Paris in 1825, his widow remained there till after the Revolution of 1830, when she returned to London.

Connected with the story of Lady Blessington,that of Count D’Orsay is intimately woven. He was a great favourite of Lord Blessington, whose daughter by his first wife was, when quite a young girl, fetched from school to marry him; and a promise also is said to have been given from the Count to his Lordship, and from the Count’s mother to Lady Blessington, that they (the Count and her Ladyship) would never leave each other. Be that as it may, they lived together for above a quarter of a century, and increase of years seemed still stronger to consolidate the engagement. D’Orsay led a gay and extravagant life in London, considerably beyond his means, in great measure appearing to consider his patronage sufficient payment. He undoubtedly possessed great abilities, was an excellent artist, and a humourist of the first water. But his conduct to his wife was cruel in the extreme; she was spurned by him entirely; he still pocketing an income from her father’s estates! For a long time he could only make his exit from Gore House on Sundays, for fear of arrest, and his extravagancies vastly accelerated the day of retribution. He and Lady Blessington retired to Paris, and Gore House was stripped of its contents bypublic sale. There, whatever was the cause, they met not with the reception anticipated. Lady Blessington died soon after, on June 4th, 1849. D’Orsay designed her monument, and in little more than three years after his career was ended. He died July 1st, 1852.

Gore House became, in 1851, Monsieur Soyer’s “Symposium for all Nations.” Here that celebrated minister of the interior provided international feasts, farewell banquets, &c.; and various amusements in the highly-decorated rooms conduced to the public pleasure. The gardens were beautifully laid out and ornamented with sculpture, while the interior testified to the industry and taste of Madame Soyer in the art of painting. In February, 1852, all was again dismantled, itsBaronial HallandEncampment of all Nationsbeing sold by auction.

Gore House was shortly afterwards purchased by the Royal Commissioners of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The whole estate comprised about twenty-one acres, added to which were Gray’s Nursery Grounds, Park House, and Grove House, and various market-gardens, the grounds of Cromwell House, andother lands belonging to the Earl of Harrington and the Baron de Villars. Acts of Parliament were passed legalising the plans of the Commissioners, and in accordance various old footpaths, &c., were stopped, and houses removed. A complete revolution has been effected, two magnificent roads leading from the Gore to Cromwell Road at Brompton have been formed, and at length Gore House itself was doomed. Its materials were sold by lots on July 17th, 1857, and soon after the building was removed.

Grove House, adjoining Gore House, was for many years the residence of Lady Elizabeth Whitbread, widow of the celebrated statesman. With Gore House it has, since 1852, been used for schools and offices of the department of Science and Art.

Beyond this spot our description does not extend: the district of All Saints and manor of Knightsbridge stretch much further, but such parts have been already described by Mr. Faulkner. Ere, however, I quite leave the Gore, it must be mentioned that, among others, Carrington Bowles, the celebrated printseller, had a house, and died here June 20th, 1793.The Rev. Thomas Clare, vicar of St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, and an author of some repute, also at one time resided here.

Kinnerton Streetis so called from an estate belonging to the Grosvenor family. Here is a dissecting school and anatomical museum attached to St. George’s Hospital.

Knightsbridge Green, formed by the junction of the Kensington and Fulham Roads, was formerly of greater extent than at the present time. It was formerly the village green in reality, and its last Maypole was preserved as lately as 1800. At its east end was, till about 1835, a watch-house and pound, and Addison, in a humorous paper in the “Spectator,” alludes to it. Proposing to satisfy by home news the craving for intelligence occasioned by the just concluded war, he writes,—“By my last advices from Knightsbridge, I hear that a horse was clapped into the pound on the third instant, and that he was not released when the letters came away.”—(Spectator, No. 142.)

The greater part of the Green is now covered by Middle Row, a medley of very inferior houses. On the north side is an old inn (rebuilt in 1851) called after the bluff Marquis ofGranby. The soldier has been dethroned, and Sir Joseph Paxton promoted in his stead.

Vernon, the Butcher Cumberland, Wolfe, Hawke,Prince Ferdinand, Granby, Burgoyne, Keppell, Howe,Evil and good, have had their tithe of talk,And fill’d the sign-posts then as Wellesley now.

William Moffatt, who in conjunction with Frederick Wood, surveyed London and published a valuable and clever map of the levels thereof, lived at this time in Middle Row. His coadjutor still lives (in indigent circumstances) in the locality.

The small plot of ground railed in, is said, by a very general tradition, to have been the spot where the victims of the plague from the Lazar House and elsewhere in the hamlet were buried. I have strong reasons for placing faith in this tradition; and in 1808, some human remains found where now stands William Street were buried here, it being considered the proper spot for such. King’s Row, built in 1785, has not a cellar to a single house for this reason. At its end is a detached brick building, the school-house of All Saints district.

A market was held here till the beginning of the present century for cattle every Thursday;the last pen-posts were not removed till 1850. A fair was also held here annually on July 31st.

Grosvenor House, which formed with Mr. Rogers’ premises one tenement, was for many years the residence of the Gosling family, who were for a long while connected with the hamlet. Francis Gosling, Esq., an eminent banker, lived here; he died February 25th, 1817. Bennett Gosling, Esq., his nephew, resided in Lowndes Square, where he died, May 12th, 1855.

The “Pakenham” was built as the hotel for an intended railway terminus. On its site was an old house, many years the residence of Mr. Egg, the founder of the well-known firm of gunsmiths in Piccadilly.

Knightsbridge Terracetill within the last five-and-twenty years had not a shop in it. Every house was private, and had a deep basement area in front. The corner house, now divided, was for many years Mr. Telfair’s “College for the Deaf and Dumb.” James Telfair died in 1796, aged 84; his son, Cortez Telfair, died April 23rd, 1816, aged 65. Both were buried at Kensington, and in the churchis a tablet to their memory. It states Cortez Telfair to have been celebrated for his literary attainments; but what these were I have not been able to learn, other than that, in 1775, he edited “The Town and Country Spelling Book.”[147]

In one of the houses immediately facing the Chapel resided for many years Maurice Morgann, Esq., author of an “Essay on the Character of Falstaff,” and Under-Secretary of State to the first administration of Lord Shelburne. He was also Secretary to the Embassy for ratifying the Peace with the United States in 1783.

Besides his remarkable “Essay on Falstaff,” he published “Remarks on the Slave Trade,” a useful and earnest pamphlet. In the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” December, 1815, a writer endeavoured to fix on him the authorship of the “Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers,” now known to have been concocted by Mason and Walpole, but published under the pseudonyme of “Malcolm M‘Gregor, of Knightsbridge, Esq.” But Dr. Symmons, Morgann’sfriend and executor, denied the ownership, and declared his repeated injunctions were, that all his papers should be destroyed, and that he never published any but those with his name. Symmons had previously said, “Some of those writings destroyed, in the walks of politics, metaphysics, and criticism, would have planted a permanent laurel on his grave.”[148]Mr. Morgann is one who has an honourable niche in Boswell’s inimitable “Life of Johnson.”

Morgann afterwards removed to High Row, where he died March 28th, 1802, in his seventy-seventh year. “As a man, he stood detached from the general contagion of the age he lived in; neither complying with the vices of the great, however familiar or seductive, nor with their frivolities, however general or imposing. His mind was compounded of pure and simple elements, which inseparably mixed in his business, his friendships, and intercourse with all mankind; and it was often no less pleasing to his friends, than to the lovers of virtue in general, to see with what lustre those plain but prepossessing colours outshone the glare offashion, and the accommodating varnish of modern morals.”[149a]

Lowndes Square, so named from William Lowndes, Esq., of Chesham, to whom the land belongs. According to Dr. King, rector of Chelsea (1694 to 1732), in his MS. account of that parish,[149b]this site at one time belonged to a Benedictine convent. It certainly formed part of the gift of Edward the Confessor to the Abbey, but has been in lay hands ever since the Reformation. At about where William Street joins the Square stood a large detached house, formerly a place of amusement, and known as Spring Garden. Dr. King mentions it as “an excellent Spring Garden.”[149c]And among the entries of “The Virtuosi, or St. Luke’s Club,” Established by Vandyke, is the following allusion:—

“Paid and spent at Spring Gardens, by Knightsbridge, forfeiture £3 15 shgs.”[149d]

That enjoyable chronicler, Pepys, too, I fancy alludes to Spring Gardens in the followingentry in his “Diary.” It must be premised that the hearty clerk of the Admiralty had been to Kensington, and there, as was frequently his wont, had had what he innocently and amusingly terms a “frolic”:—

“June 16, 1664. I lay in my drawers, and stockings, and waistcoat till five of the clock, and so up, and being well pleased with our frolic, walked to Knightsbridge, and there ate a mess of cream, and so to St. James’,” &c.

And again he chronicles (April 24th, 1665) a visit to the Park. “But the King being there, and I now-a-days being doubtful of being seen in any pleasure, did part from the town, and away out of the Park to Knightsbridge, and there ate and drank in the coach and so home.”

Spring Gardens was at this time a name applied to almost all places of outdoor recreation, the appellation being borrowed from the celebrated garden near Charing Cross. But Pepys speaks also of a place of entertainment called “The World’s End,” at Knightsbridge, which I believe could have been only the sign adopted by the owner of this garden for his house. Pepys, on another occasion relating that he went forth to Hyde Park, was “toosoon to go in, so went on to Knightsbridge, and there ate and drank at the World’s End, where we had good things, and then back to the Park, and there till night, being fine weather, and much company.” (“Diary,” May 9th, 1669.) Again, on May 31st in the same year, he records going “to the World’s End, a drinking-house by the Park, and there merry, and so home late.”

Congreve, in his “Love for Love,” alludes, in a regular woman’s quarrel, to the place:—

Mrs. Frail.—Pooh, here’s a clutter!—Why should it reflect upon you?—I don’t doubt but you have thought yourself happy in a hackney coach before now. If I had gone to Knightsbridge, or to Chelsea, or to Spring Garden, or Barn Elms, with a man alone—something might have been said.Mrs. Foresight.—Why, was I ever in any of those places! What do you mean, sister?Mrs. Frail.—Was I? what do you mean?Mrs. Foresight.—You have been at a worse place.Mrs. Frail.—I at a worse place, and with a man!Mrs. Foresight.—I suppose you would not go alone to the World’s End?Mrs. Frail.—The World’s End! What do you mean to banter me?Mrs. Foresight.—Poor innocent; you don’t know that there is a place called the World’s End. I’ll swear you can keep your countenance—surely you’ll make an admirable player.Mrs. Frail.—I’ll swear you have a great deal of impudence, and, in my mind, too much for the stage.Mrs. Foresight.—Very well, that will appear who has most. You never were at the World’s End?Mrs. Frail.—No.Mrs. Foresight.—You deny it positively to my face?Mrs. Frail.—Your face! what’s your face?Mrs. Foresight.—No matter for that, it is as good a face as yours.Mrs. Frail.—Not by a dozen years’ wearing. But I do deny it, positively, to your face, then.Mrs. Foresight.—I’ll allow you now to find fault with my face; for I’ll swear your impudence has put me out of countenance. But look you here now; where did you lose this gold bodkin?—Oh, sister!—oh, sister!Mrs. Frail.—My bodkin!Mrs. Foresight.—Nay, it is yours—look at it.Mrs. Frail.—Well, if you go to that, where did you find this bodkin? Oh sister! sister! sister every way!Mrs. Foresight.—Oh! devil on’t that I could not discover her without betraying myself. (Aside.)

Mrs. Foresight.—Why, was I ever in any of those places! What do you mean, sister?

Mrs. Frail.—Was I? what do you mean?

Mrs. Foresight.—You have been at a worse place.

Mrs. Frail.—I at a worse place, and with a man!

Mrs. Foresight.—I suppose you would not go alone to the World’s End?

Mrs. Frail.—The World’s End! What do you mean to banter me?

Mrs. Foresight.—Poor innocent; you don’t know that there is a place called the World’s End. I’ll swear you can keep your countenance—surely you’ll make an admirable player.

Mrs. Frail.—I’ll swear you have a great deal of impudence, and, in my mind, too much for the stage.

Mrs. Foresight.—Very well, that will appear who has most. You never were at the World’s End?

Mrs. Frail.—No.

Mrs. Foresight.—You deny it positively to my face?

Mrs. Frail.—Your face! what’s your face?

Mrs. Foresight.—No matter for that, it is as good a face as yours.

Mrs. Frail.—Not by a dozen years’ wearing. But I do deny it, positively, to your face, then.

Mrs. Foresight.—I’ll allow you now to find fault with my face; for I’ll swear your impudence has put me out of countenance. But look you here now; where did you lose this gold bodkin?—Oh, sister!—oh, sister!

Mrs. Frail.—My bodkin!

Mrs. Foresight.—Nay, it is yours—look at it.

Mrs. Frail.—Well, if you go to that, where did you find this bodkin? Oh sister! sister! sister every way!

Mrs. Foresight.—Oh! devil on’t that I could not discover her without betraying myself. (Aside.)

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