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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Chelsea, by George Bryan
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Chelsea
+ In the Olden & Present Times
+
+
+Author: George Bryan
+
+
+
+Release Date: June 1, 2014 [eBook #45854]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHELSEA***
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1869 edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
+
+
+
+
+
+ CHELSEA,
+ IN THE OLDEN & PRESENT TIMES.
+
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ BY GEORGE BRYAN.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ “It is not given to all to have genius—it is given to all to have
+ honesty of purpose; an ordinary writer may have this in common with
+ the greatest—that he may compose his works with a sincere view of
+ administering to knowledge.”—BULWER LYTTON.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Entered at Stationers’ Hall.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ CHELSEA:
+ PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,
+ 4, ALFRED COTTAGES, CAMERA SQUARE, KING’S ROAD.
+ MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ 1869.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+THERE are circumstances in connection with the publication of this volume
+which I deem it necessary to mention. Some persons probably have thought
+that such an undertaking should have devolved on an individual possessing
+greater literary attainments, and occupying a higher position in the
+parish than I do in it. To this impression I willingly give my assent.
+But this has not been the case; and the length of time (upwards of forty
+years) since the late Mr. Faulkner published his “History of Chelsea,”
+and the consequent difficulty of procuring a copy—independently of the
+fact that much contained in that work is now altogether devoid of
+interest, and also that, from the great improvements and alterations in
+the parish, there required many additions to be made to it—induced me, in
+the decline of life, to undertake the present task.
+
+As an additional justification for the course I have pursued, it must not
+be forgotten that Chelsea is my native parish, and that I have possessed
+peculiar facilities for acquiring the necessary information; and,
+moreover, that in early life I composed in type a great portion of Mr.
+Faulkner’s first edition, and at a subsequent period was employed as the
+printing-office reader of his edition in two volumes. This gave me
+frequent opportunities of seeing him, and witnessing his laborious
+exertions to produce a work as complete “as the utmost diligence, care,
+and patience enabled him to collect.” I cannot but think that these
+considerations—combined with the fact of my having been, for many years
+since that period, connected with the press in London—will remove all
+impressions of assumption, on my part, for submitting the present volume
+to the impartial judgment of the parishioners and the public.
+
+I have purposely avoided all dry details of parochial management, &c., as
+being foreign to the nature of the work and rendered now unnecessary in
+consequence of the voluminous Annual Vestry Reports, which may easily be
+obtained. My object has rather been to make the volume interesting, as
+far as possible, without being guilty of “book-making.”
+
+The work embodies all the essential and interesting information that
+could be obtained, with a great amount of original matter, and should the
+volume not appear so bulky as some might have expected, it is simply
+owing to the rejection of extraneous subjects.
+
+That the intelligent working-man, and persons of limited means, might
+possess the work, I published a certain number of copies at a very great
+sacrifice, trusting that the motive would be rather an inducement than
+otherwise for others to purchase the volume. Local histories, unlike
+other works, can only have a small circulation, and the price charged for
+them must be necessarily regulated by the probable number that will be
+sold.
+
+In conclusion, I beg to offer my grateful acknowledgments for the
+kindness and assistance which I have received from several gentlemen, and
+now submit the result of my labours to the favourable criticism, and I
+trust remunerative patronage of the inhabitants and others interested in
+a parish which, in many points of view is unusually interesting and
+instructive.
+
+AUGUST, 1869.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+ (The figures at the end of each line denote the page. Notices of
+ Distinguished Residents are interspersed throughout the volume.)
+
+Alston House, 92
+
+Aston, the Misses, 152
+
+Ashburnham House, 55
+
+Atterbury, Dr., 78
+
+Arbuthnot, Dr. John, 80
+
+Astell, Mrs. Mary, 183
+
+Atkyns, Sir Robert, 219
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Boundaries of Chelsea, 8
+
+Bray, Lord, 5
+
+Bell, The Ashburnham, 10
+
+Bowes, Thomas, 15
+
+Buckingham House, 35
+
+Buckingham, First Duke of, 35
+
+Buckingham, Second Duke of, 36
+
+Bristol, Earl of, 36
+
+Beaufort House, 37
+
+Beaufort, Second Duke of, 37
+
+Beaufort Street, 39
+
+Battersea Bridge, 39
+
+Belle Vue House, 44
+
+Bælar, Pætrus, 47
+
+Brunel, Sir Mark Isombard, 51
+
+Boscawen, Mr. 61
+
+Balloon Ascent in 1784, 62
+
+ Chelsea Steam Captive, 169
+
+ Centenarian Trip in ditto, 224
+
+Boyle, Robert, Esq. 64
+
+Balchen, Admiral Sir John, 65
+
+Bowack, Mr. 82
+
+Burney, Dr. 104
+
+Baths, Dr. Dominiceti’s, 117
+
+Butler, Rev. Weeden, sen., 117, 152
+
+Blunt, the late Rev. Henry, 139
+
+Blunt, Rev. G. A. 140
+
+Bentley, Mr. 168
+
+Bedford, Mr. Paul, 168
+
+Blackwell, Dr. Alexander, 183
+
+Bunhouse, the Original Chelsea, 200
+
+Burial Ground, St. Luke’s, 141
+
+ King’s Road, 151
+
+ Moravian’s, 46
+
+ Jew’s, 74
+
+ Royal Hospital, 195
+
+Burial of a Female Dragoon, 196
+
+Burgess, Rev. R. 210
+
+Botanic Gardens, Queen’s Road, 177
+
+Borough of Chelsea, 1st Election, 222
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Church, The Old Parish, 3
+
+ St. Luke’s, 125
+
+ Christchurch, 180
+
+ St. Jude’s, 207
+
+ Trinity, Sloane Street, 209
+
+ St. Saviour’s, 214
+
+Cugnac, The Marquis de, 5
+
+Cheyne, Lady Jane, 9
+
+Cheyne, Charles, Esq. 9
+
+Chamberlayne, Dr. 14, 81
+
+Cadogan, the Hon. and Rev., 20
+
+Clock House, 49
+
+Cremorne House, 54
+
+Cope, Sir John, 64
+
+Carlyle, Thomas, Esq. 91
+
+Clarendon, 3rd Earl of, 66
+
+China Manufactory, 86
+
+Cheyne Walk, 93
+
+Clare, Rev. Thomas, 106
+
+Chalmer, Francis, Esq. 113
+
+Cook’s Ground, 92, 165, 170
+
+Cadogan, Lieut.-Col. 135
+
+Clark, Rev. George, 137
+
+Cipriani, John Baptist, 151
+
+Coffee House, Don Saltero’s, 108
+
+Church Street, 75
+
+Chelsea Common, 215
+
+Cadogan Place, 214
+
+Chelsea Chapel, 208
+
+Cancer Hospital, 219
+
+Consumption Hospital, 221
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dacre, Lord and Lady, 11
+
+Davies, Rev. R. H. 22
+
+Sir John Danvers, 42
+
+Duke Street, 44
+
+Duel, Fatal, 66
+
+Denyer, John, Esq. 91
+
+Dodd, Dr. 118
+
+Doggett’s Coat and Badge, 121
+
+Dispensary, Chelsea, 160
+
+Durham House, 186
+
+Dudmaston House, 55
+
+Dilke, Sir C. Wentworth, Bart. 211
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Etymology of Chelsea, 2
+
+Ellesmere, Rev. Dr. Sloane, 152
+
+Eggleton, The Misses, 113
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Flood, Luke Thomas, Esq. 44, 137
+
+Fraine, Mr. J. 114, 115
+
+Flowers and Fashion, 161
+
+Flood Street, 164
+
+Faulkner, Mr. Thomas, 185
+
+Farrier, Mr. Robert, 186
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Gervoise, Richard, Esq. 6
+
+Guildford, Richard, Esq. 9
+
+Gorges, Sir Arthur, 12, 34
+
+Gregory, Lord Dacre, 33
+
+Gough House, 181
+
+Gibson, Patrick, the Centenarian, 52
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Hamey, Dr. Baldwin, 7, 66
+
+Heber, Rev. Reginald, 20
+
+Hatchett, Charles, Esq. 44
+
+Harding, Bishop, 69
+
+Hargrave, Francis, Esq. 75
+
+Haworth, A. H. 77
+
+Hoadly, Bishop, 100
+
+Hunt, Leigh, Esq. 113
+
+Hutchins, Mrs. (Daring Robbery and Murder at her house) 156
+
+Hoblyn, Thomas, Esq. 211
+
+Hans Place, 213
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Indian Esquimaux, 48
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Jennings, Henry C. Esq. 49
+
+Justice Walk, 86
+
+Jubilee Place, 164
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Kingsley, Rev. Charles, 137, 140
+
+King’s Road, 153, 155, 169
+
+King, Rev. Dr. 19
+
+Kent, Duke of, 182
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Littleton, Rev. Dr. Adam, 6, 19
+
+Lawrence, Sir John, 8
+
+Lindsey House, 45
+
+Lindsey Row, 49
+
+Lordship’s Place, 91
+
+Lawrence Street, 88
+
+Lowry, Wilson, 167
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Monuments in Old Church, 4
+
+More, Sir Thomas, 5, 30
+
+Milman, Sir W. 13
+
+Manor House, Description of the, 105
+
+Martin, John, R.A., 51
+
+Moravians, the, 45
+
+Mazarin, Duchess of, 182
+
+Markham Sq. Con. Church, 174
+
+Marlborough Chapel, 216
+
+Mead, Dr. Richard, 183
+
+Mellon, Mr. Alfred, 167
+
+Monsey, Dr. 195
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Northumberland, Duchess of, 12
+
+North, the Hon. Brownlow, 102
+
+Neild, James, Esq. 120
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Ormond, Duchess of, 185
+
+Orrery, 4th Earl of, 65
+
+Owen, Rev. J. B. 207
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Park Chapel, 67
+
+Parish Registers, 144
+
+Petyt, William, Esq. 85
+
+Pavilion, the, 212
+
+Presentation of Colours to the Old Volunteers, 198
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Queen’s Elm, 73
+
+Queen’s Road West, 177
+
+Queen’s Road East, 202
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Royal Hospital, 187
+
+Royal Military Asylum, 203
+
+Ranelagh, Old, the Rotunda, 197
+
+Roman Catholic Chapel, 215
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Stanley House, 56
+
+St. Mark’s College, 58
+
+Stanley, Sir Robert, 13
+
+Sloane, Sir Hans, 14, 37, 173
+
+Swift, Dean, 79
+
+Shadwell, Thomas, Esq. 80
+
+Smollett, Dr. 89
+
+Sailing Matches, 41
+
+Sloane Terrace Chapel, 210
+
+School of Discipline, 185
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Turner, J. M. Wm., R.A., 53
+
+Trelawney, Bishop, 99
+
+Trimnell, Bishop, 100
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Winchester Palace, 97
+
+Walpole, Sir Robert, 185
+
+Wellesley, Hon. and Rev. Dr., 138
+
+Woodfall, Henry, Esq. 15
+
+Whitelocke, Gen., Trial of, 193
+
+Whitelands Training Institution, 176
+
+Whitlock, Rev. G. S., 181
+
+West Brompton Con. Church, 60
+
+Warren, Henry, Esq. 217
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Vestry Hall, The, 171
+
+Varley, Mr. John, 167
+
+Victoria Hospital, 181
+
+
+
+
+BOOK I.
+
+
+The Etymology and Boundaries of the Parish—The Old Church: its Monumental
+Inscriptions; Remarkable Spring Tides, taken to Church in a Boat,
+Penance, &c.—Ancient Manor Houses, and Distinguished Residents—Moravian
+Chapel and Burial Ground—Park Chapel—St. Mark’s College—The New West
+Brompton Congregational Church—Loss of Sir John Balchen and 1100 Seamen
+in the “Victory”—Ascent in a Balloon in 1784—Fatal Duel—The Knight and
+the Poor Carpenter—Jews’ Burial Ground, to which is added an Amusing
+Anecdote—The Queen’s Elm—Singular Tavern Signs, &c.—The old Embankment of
+the Thames. Interspersed with Notices of many of the most Eminent
+Residents in the Parish in the “Olden Times,” and other Interesting
+Particulars.
+
+LORD BROUGHAM, in the course of some remarks on modern English
+literature, incidentally observed that “local histories were not only
+interesting to the residents in the districts to which they referred, but
+such minor works would be found of immense value to future national
+historians.” This was also the avowed opinion of Mr. Faulkner, when he
+published his invaluable “HISTORY OF CHELSEA,” upwards of 40 years since,
+and my motive in undertaking the present work is to carry forward the
+great object which that laborious local historian contemplated. The
+defects, and no doubt there will be many discovered in it, are submitted
+to the kind and impartial consideration of the reader. My humble
+position in life will not in the slightest degree, I feel confident, tend
+to depreciate my long-cherished desire—especially as the shades of
+evening are fast closing the day-light of my earthly life—to add to the
+information which has already been given respecting a parish to which I
+am much attached, both by birth and early associations.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The earliest mention of Chelsea is to be found in the Saxon Chronicle, in
+the year 785; from which record it appears that a Synod was then held in
+it, and at which period it was the residence of Offa, king of the
+Mercians. As regards the etymology of its name both ancient and modern
+writers have expressed different opinions. Mr. Lysons says, he has seen
+it written Cealc-hylle, in an old charter of Edward the Confessor, and
+hence objected to the obvious etymology, as there is neither chalk nor
+hill in the parish. Mr. Faulkner considers, however, that “hylle” is an
+evident mistake for “hythe;” and Cealc-hythe signifies not a place
+abounding in chalk, but a wharf or landing-place for chalk brought from
+other quarters. This amended definition seems at once to remove the
+previous objection, particularly as large quantities of chalk and lime
+were formerly, and even now at times, landed at a wharf by the river-side
+at Chelsea. In the ancient record of Domesday, it is written Cherchede
+and Chelched. The parish was called Chelchethe in the taxation of Pope
+Nicholas, in 1291; and this was the common way of spelling it for several
+centuries. Among the manorial records of the time of Edward II. it is
+spelled Chelcheya and Chelchuthe. Mr. Norden says, “It is so called from
+the nature of the place, whose strand is like the Chesel, (ceosel, or
+cesel,) which the sea casteth up of sand and pebble stones, thereof
+called Cheselsey, briefly Chelsey.” How altered is the state of the
+strand or shore at the present time! Would that there were now only the
+sand and pebble stones! But there is a probability that this complaint
+will be remedied. The long expected embankment from Battersea Bridge to
+Chelsea College, it is said, really _is_ to be commenced and completed,
+and those old and dilapidated houses in that narrow and dangerous
+thoroughfare, known as Duke Street and Lombard Street, are to be pulled
+down. If this should be the case, the parishioners will then possess one
+of the finest promenades, with Battersea Park opposite to it, which may
+be found along the entire banks of the river Thames.
+
+Having made this slight digression, to infuse a little of what is
+popularly called “new life” into our subject, we will here mention that
+the county of Middlesex received its name from having been inhabited by a
+party of Saxons, who, being located in the midst of the three kingdoms of
+the East, West, and South Saxons, were called by their neighbours
+Middlesaxons, which, in common conversation, was soon abbreviated to
+Middlesex.
+
+The parish of Chelsea is bounded on the north by the Fulham Road, which
+separates it from Kensington. On the east at the entrance into Sloane
+Square, at which place there was an open rivulet, which divided it from
+St. George’s, Hanover Square, and was said to rise at or near to
+Hampstead; and, after crossing Hyde Park, where it formed the Serpentine
+River, and Knightsbridge, flowed behind Cadogan Place (along a portion of
+Lowndes’ Square) into the Thames, at Ranelagh, which adjoined Chelsea
+College. In January, 1809, this rivulet overflowed its banks, and caused
+great devastation for several days. The waters formed a complete lake,
+and were of considerable depth. Boats were employed in carrying
+passengers from Chelsea Hospital to the old Bunhouse, on their way to
+London. On the west, the parish is divided from Fulham a little beyond
+St. Mark’s College; and on the south it is bounded by the Thames.
+
+That portion of the parish at Kensal New Town, which is near to Wilsden,
+will be briefly noticed again in reference to the “Ancient Manor Houses.”
+This land, as held by the parish, is about 173¾ acres.
+
+
+
+The Old Parish Church.
+
+
+IT will soon be seventy years since I was first taken to this venerable
+Church. The most trifling incidents in childhood often bring to
+remembrance, when arrived at mature age, events of an important and
+interesting character. Such was the case with regard to my earliest
+conscious attendance at Chelsea Old Church. At the period to which I
+allude, residing at the other part of the parish, we had to go across
+what was then called the “Common,” situated to the east of the present
+new St. Luke’s Church, a portion of which was at that particular time
+covered with new-mown grass to dry previously to being carried away.
+Most young persons love to toss and tumble about the hay when such an
+opportunity is afforded them, and certainly I felt as delighted with the
+sport as others of my own age. Often afterwards, when there was a
+disposition not to take me, I earnestly pleaded to go with the rest to
+the Church, but my youthful thoughts were more fixed on some anticipated
+enjoyment on the road to it. As I advanced in years, however, my native
+Old Parish Church became gradually endeared to me, and nothing connected
+with it scarcely ever escaped my notice.
+
+The exact period when the Church was erected is a question of great
+uncertainty. In the Domesday Survey of the Parish no mention is made of
+any endowment for a priest, which is considered by some writers a proof
+that there was no Church existing. This conclusion is doubtful. There
+is no record relative to the Rectory previous to the reign of Edward II.,
+therefore it is conjectured that the Church was first founded about that
+period.
+
+Mr. Bowack says, “In the year 1667, the old Church, which was much
+decayed, being too small to contain the congregation, grown large by the
+vast increase of buildings about that time in the town,” (what would he
+now think, in 1869, of the immense number of houses, and 70,000
+inhabitants!) “it was agreed by the parishioners that part of it should
+be demolished, and that such alterations and additions should be made as
+were necessary for decent accommodation. Accordingly the shattered tower
+and west end of the Church were pulled down, and the north and south
+aisles carried several yards towards the west, by two brick walls, being
+in all about 80 ft. from the ground. The walls of the Church were
+raised, the windows enlarged, the old parts beautified, the inside new
+paved, the churchyard considerably raised, and enclosed with a high wall
+of brick; and most of this done at the voluntary charge of the
+inhabitants, and the whole roof, lead, timber, &c., at the sole cost of
+the Lady Jane Cheyne. The Church was furnished with all the necessary
+ornaments, and the steeple with a good ring of six bells, by the bounty
+of the inhabitants.”
+
+From this statement it would appear that the Church was originally of
+small dimensions.
+
+
+
+MONUMENTS, &c.
+
+
+It will not be asserting too much if we say that the Old Parish Church
+contains more magnificent monuments, to the memories of distinguished
+individuals, than are to be found in any other church in the metropolis.
+
+LORD BRAY.—In the chancel, the most ancient monument is that of Lord
+Bray, and of his son Lord John Bray. It is an altar-tomb, now much
+defaced, but was originally ornamented with the effigies in brass of
+these two noble lords, and with escutcheons of their arms. According to
+Weever, there was the following inscription in his time:—“Of your
+charitie pray for the soul of Edmund Bray, knight, Lord Bray, cosin and
+heire to Sir Reginald Bray, Knight of the Garter.” There is a very long
+and curious account of the funeral of Lord John Bray in the Herald’s
+College, 1557.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR THOMAS MORE.—Against the south wall of the chancel is the monument of
+Sir Thomas More, erected according to his own desire, in the year 1532.
+The tablet on which the inscription is engraved is under a Tudor arch,
+the cornice of which is ornamented with foliage, and in the centre of it
+is his crest, viz., a Moor’s head. The spandrils of the arch are
+ornamented with branches of the vine, and in the midst are his arms and
+those of his first wife, and on each side are the arms of himself and his
+two wives. The eventful history of More, and the termination of his
+earthly career, must be familiar to the reader. After he was beheaded,
+his body is said by some to have been interred in the church, but others
+have contended that it was buried in St. Peter’s, in the Tower. There
+are many legends respecting the head, but Mr. Brayley asserts positively
+that it was finally deposited in St. Dunstan’s, near Canterbury, and that
+he saw the head there many years ago. The inscription on the tablet is
+of considerable length.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE MARQUISE DE CUGNAC.—Near the Communion Table, against the south wall,
+on a square ornamental slab, is an inscription to the memory of
+Elizabeth, the wife of the Marquis de Cugnac. As a proof of his unshaken
+love he erected this monument. She died in 1653, aged 20 years. The
+marquis was of a Protestant family, famous in the reigns of Henry IV.,
+Lewis XIII. and XIV.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE SEDILE.—In the south wall of the chancel, near the altar, was usually
+placed the “_Sedile_” a seat for the use of the priest at certain
+intervals during the celebration of the Mass, but when the church was
+almost rebuilt, in 1667, this ancient architectural ornament, and many
+others were removed, and not a vestige of them now remains.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THOMAS HUNGERFORD, Esq.—In the upper chancel is the monument of the
+above-named gentleman, having the effigies of himself and his two sons in
+armour kneeling on one side of an altar, and his wife and daughter on the
+other. The entablature is supported by three Corinthian pillars, resting
+on pedestals.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+REV. JOHN RUSH.—On the right of the one above are tablets to the memory
+of the Rev. John Rush and family. He was Curate of the Parish for a
+great many years, and when the new Parish Church was completed, Mr. Rush
+became Minister of the Old Church, and resigned the curacy. He was one
+of the Directors of the Waterloo Bridge Company, and took a great
+interest in everything connected with the construction of that bridge.
+He died in 1855, aged 85, and was buried in the Brompton Cemetery.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+TWO DAUGHTERS OF WILTON, THE SCULPTOR.—Against the east wall is a
+monument, composed of two urns of white marble, to the memory of Lucy
+Smith and Anne Wilton, two sisters, 1781. Wilton, their father, was the
+sculptor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Original Altar Piece was very plain, formed by an obtuse arch
+ornamented slightly with foliage, &c. In the centre was painted the
+Decalogue; while the north side displayed the Camp of Israel, and the
+south side Moses on the Mount, receiving the two tables of the Law.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Rev. ADAM LITTLETON, D.D.—On a square marble tablet, against the north
+wall of the lower chancel, is an inscription to the memory of this
+eminent divine, who was rector of this parish for 24 years. He died in
+1694, aged 66.
+
+On the east wall, on plain marble slabs, are inscriptions to the memory
+of Martha Denyer, who died in 1795, John Denyer, in 1806, and Elizabeth
+Denyer, in 1824. This family was very benevolent. Amongst a few other
+inscriptions is one to the memory of Edward Holl, Esq., who was a regular
+attendant at the church, and much respected. He died in 1823.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+RICHARD GERVOISE, Esq.—Between the north aisle and lower chancel is a
+large monument raised in the form of an arch open at both sides, about 10
+ft. in height, ornamented with roses, branches, and fluted carving,
+erected to the memory of Richard Gervoise, Sheriff of London, who died in
+1557, and also in memory of his son.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BALDWIN HAMEY, M.D.—On a pillar, near the preceding, are inscriptions to
+the memory of Dr. Baldwin Hamey, Ralph Palmer, Esq., and Alice, his wife.
+Mr. Palmer was a kind benefactor to the church. He died in 1715.
+
+On the west side of the same pillar is an inscription to the memory of
+Henry Powell, Esq., who was a great friend to the widow and fatherless.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+COLOURS OF THE OLD VOLUNTEERS.—Over the nave are suspended the colours of
+the two battalions of Queen Charlotte’s Royal Volunteers, which were
+placed there on the disbandment of the regiment. These banners were
+presented by her Majesty in 1804, at a time when the country was
+threatened with invasion. {7} One or two of them are almost in ribbons,
+but it is to be hoped they will remain untouched in their present
+position as long as possible. There are still living some few old people
+in the parish who remember, when boys, marching by the side of these
+colours with all the heroic consequence of supposed military triumph.
+
+The PULPIT is composed of oak, divided into panels, and ornamented with
+carved foliage and fruit. There was formerly a massive sounding board to
+correspond with it, but which was necessarily taken away when the pulpit
+was judiciously placed in its present central position in the middle
+aisle.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having noticed the chancel and nave, we will proceed to that part which
+is called the LAWRENCE CHAPEL, at the north side. This chapel is
+considered by many to be coeval with the first endowment of the church.
+It was built by the then Lord of the Manor, whose mansion stood near it,
+the site of which is now occupied by Lawrence Street, so called after the
+Lawrence family. The old manor house was pulled down by Henry VIII., who
+built another in Cheyne Walk, to which allusion will have to be
+frequently made. The Lawrence chapel was many years ago in the
+possession of Mr. Offley, who bequeathed it to Colonel Needham, of whom
+it was bought in the year 1789, with part of the east side of Lawrence
+Street, to which it is an appendage, by Mr. Lewer. It is still private
+property.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THOMAS LAWRENCE, Esq.—Against the north wall of this chapel is the
+monument of the father of Sir John Lawrence, on which are represented
+himself, his three sons, Elizabeth his wife, and six daughters, all
+kneeling. On the cushion on which Mrs. Lawrence kneels are two babes,
+wrapped up close to the chin, with their faces only visible. The cornice
+is supported by three fluted Corinthian columns. Underneath are the
+following lines:—
+
+ “The yeares wherein I lived were fifty-fower,
+ October twenty-eight did end my life;
+ Children five of eleven God left in store,
+ Sole comfort of they’re mother and my wife.
+ The world can say what I have been before,
+ What I am now examples still are rife;
+ Thus Thomas Lawrence spekes to tymes ensving
+ That Death is sure, and Tyme is past reneving.”
+
+SIR JOHN LAWRENCE, Bart.—On a large ornamented tablet of black marble,
+against the east wall, is an inscription to the memory of Sir John
+Lawrence, Bart., who died in 1638, aged 50. Attached to it are these
+quaint lines:—
+
+ “When bad men dye and turn to their last sleep,
+ What stir the poets and engravers keep,
+ By a feigned skill to pile them up a name,
+ With terms of Good, and Just, out-lasting fame:
+ Alas! poor men, such most have need of stone
+ And epitaphs; the good, indeed, lack none,
+ Their own true works enough do give of glory
+ Unto their names, which will survive all story:
+ Such was the man lies here, who doth partake
+ Of verse and stone—but ’tis for fashions sake.”
+
+On the same wall is the monument of Sarah Colvile, daughter of Thomas
+Lawrence, Esq., and wife of Richard Colvile, of Newton, in the Isle of
+Ely. From small trusses, ornamented with human heads, rise two Doric
+pillars, with a curved entablature which supports a pediment. The soffit
+of the cornice is decorated with clouds, stars, and a dove; and on the
+edge of the cornice is a passage of Scripture (1 Cor. xv. 52). Between
+the pillars is a half-length figure of a female, wrapped in a winding
+sheet, with her hands in a supplicating posture, and as rising from the
+tomb. The inscription states she was the happy mother of eight sons and
+two daughters. She died in 1631, in the 40th year of her age.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There is also an inscription on the floor of this chapel to the memory of
+Henry, youngest son of Sir John Lawrence, who died in 1661, aged 30.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+LADY JANE CHEYNE.—This stately monument is placed against the wall of the
+north aisle, but before we proceed to give a description of it, we will
+notice the inscription that was placed at the entrance to the vault of
+the Cheyne family, at the bottom of the chancel:—
+
+ “Charles Cheyne, Esq., Lord of this Manor of Chelsea, which was
+ purchased by the rich dowry of his wife, erected this burial-place
+ for his most excellent wife, the Lady Jane Cheyne, eldest daughter of
+ William Duke of Newcastle, not long deceased, and for his own use,
+ when he shall die. It was consecrated the 3rd day of November, 1669.
+ I beseech thee, Almighty God, that she may quiety rest here till the
+ resurrection of the flesh. Amen.”
+
+The monument consists of a semi-circular temple, the façade supported by
+two Corinthian columns of Scagliola marble, rising from a plinth and
+pedestals, with a proper entablature, surmounted by an elliptical
+pediment, the tympanum of which is ornamented with scroll work and
+foliage, and the soffit of the upper cornice consists of panels, with
+rosettes and foliage, and dentals, with pendant guttæ placed alternately.
+To give the latter a resemblance of their original intention, the base of
+the pediment was justly decreased in width in the centre. From acrotini
+at the shoulders rise flaming urns, and in the centre is a richly
+ornamented cross. In the interior of this temple is a large black
+sarcophagus, resting on pedestals of Scagliola marble. On this
+sarcophagus is represented Lady Cheyne, in white marble, lying upon her
+left side, and reclining upon a tesselated cushion, holding a book; at
+her feet lies a coronet. This monument was executed by the celebrated
+Bernini, and cost £500. It is generally considered to be a _chef
+d’œuvre_ of art. Lady Cheyne died in 1669, aged 48.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the sarcophagus, under the figure of Lady Jane Cheyne, is an
+inscription to the memory of Charles Cheyne, Viscount Newhaven, and Lord
+of the Manor of Chelsea, who was buried in the same vault. He departed
+this life in 1698, aged 74, being 29 years after Lady Jane Cheyne, his
+first wife’s death.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+RICHARD GUILDFORD, Esq.—On a marble tablet, near the preceding, is this
+inscription:—“Richard Guildford, who died 16th Nov. 1680, and also his
+two wives, Abigail and Elizabeth. He gave to this parish for ever a
+yearly sum of £10, to be distributed on the 5th of December, the day of
+his wedding with his wife Elizabeth.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+HENRY RAPER, Esq.—Near this spot are deposited the remains of this
+gentleman, who died in 1789, and of his wife Katherine Raper, who died in
+1823. This family was greatly respected.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the west end of the north aisle formerly stood the old font, and in a
+book case close to it a large folio Bible, Fox’s Book of Martyrs, a folio
+Common Prayer Book, and the Homilies of the Church of England, each
+secured with a chain. The books are now placed at the south side of the
+church, and the present marble font stands at the entrance to the middle
+aisle.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the left of the great western entrance is an inscription on a marble
+tablet to the memory of Mrs. Bayley, who died in 1828, aged 45. This
+tablet was placed by her uncle, Wilton, the sculptor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE ASHBURNHAM BELL.—This bell originally in the steeple that was taken
+down for security in 1815, is now placed in the porch, as a relic of
+former days. On a board near the bell are recorded the following
+particulars:—
+
+ “This bell was given to the Old Parish Church of Chelsea by the Hon.
+ Wm. Ashburnham in the year 1679. It was a grateful offering on his
+ part to commemorate his escape from drowning in the Thames, into
+ which he had wandered during a dark night of the above year, and from
+ which he was saved by hearing the clock of this church strike the
+ hour of nine. Many changes in the church having taken place since
+ then, and this bell having long remained unused and nearly forgotten,
+ it is here preserved as an interesting Chelsea antiquity, having been
+ removed from the Clock Tower and placed in its present position by
+ order of the Church Trustees, and under the direction of
+
+ A. GERALD W. BLUNT, M.A., Rector.
+
+ R. HENRY DAVIES, B.A., Incumbent of the Church.
+
+ T. B. DIPLOCK, M.D., G. W. RICHARDS, } Churchwardens.
+
+ _March_ 1862.”
+
+There was another account given of this bell many years ago. It was that
+the Hon. W Ashburnham was returning home from Lambeth in a boat at night,
+when almost suddenly there came a dense fog over the river, which
+prevented him seeing any object whatever. He became alarmed, and allowed
+the boat to drift for some distance, expecting every moment it would run
+foul of some barge or craft, and that he would be plunged into the river,
+when to his great joy he heard Chelsea Church clock strike nine, and,
+judging from the sound that he was nearly opposite the church, he seized
+the oars and pulled away as direct as he could towards it, and at length
+landed safely on shore. It afterwards appeared that had the boat drifted
+much further it would have been upset, and in all probability Mr.
+Ashburnham would have met with a watery grave. The family, considering
+the striking of the clock to have been a most providential means of
+saving his life, gave the bell, and made certain conditions that it
+should be rung every evening during the winter months, in case of any
+future similar event. The sexton paid 5s. to the bell-ringer for
+attending at nine o’clock, as stated, for the season.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the right of the western entrance, in the south aisle, is an
+inscription to the memory of Teak S. Edwards, Esq., F.L.S., who died in
+1819, aged 50. “As a faithful delineator of nature few equalled, and
+none excelled.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near to where now the Homilies are placed was originally fixed the
+monument of Lt.-Col. the Hon. H. Cadogan, executed by Chantrey, a fine
+specimen of that celebrated sculptor’s chisel. It was removed to the New
+Parish Church, some years since, and consequently it must be noticed in
+the account of that beautiful architectural edifice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+LORD AND LADY DACRE.—This is one of the most magnificent monuments that
+can be found in any parish church in London, and my only surprise is that
+so few of the inhabitants of the parish, comparatively, have inspected
+it. It stands against the wall of the south aisle, and was erected to
+the memory of Gregory, Lord Dacre, and Anne, his wife. They are
+represented in white marble, lying on a sarcophagus, under an arch
+supported by marble pillars of the Corinthian order. Lord Dacre is in
+armour, with a long beard and short hair; her ladyship is habited in a
+gown and long cloak with a ruff. A dog is at the feet of each. On
+either side is a lofty obelisk. Over the arch are the arms of the
+family; the whole is richly ornamented with flowers and several pieces of
+elaborate Mosaic work.
+
+The parish of Chelsea, by Lady Dacre’s will, have some presentations to
+her Almshouses in Westminster, on condition of keeping the monument in
+repair. It has been lately painted and beautified. Lord Dacre died in
+1594, and Lady Dacre in 1595. This monument was originally placed in Sir
+T. More’s chapel, it is so described in Lady Dacre’s will. When the
+church was almost rebuilt in 1667, it was placed in its present
+situation.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On a marble tablet, against the same wall, is an inscription to the
+memory of Catherine, wife of the Rev. T. Mahon, Rector of Newport, Co. of
+Mayo, Ireland, who died in 1822, aged 20.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR ARTHUR GORGES.—Bowack, in his “Antiquities of Middlesex,” mentions a
+monument raised about 4 ft. from the ground, with the effigies of Sir
+Arthur Gorges, his lady, three sons, and five daughters, in brass plates
+fixed thereon, no trace of it can now be discovered. There is, however,
+on a black slab, fixed against the north wall of Sir Thomas More’s
+chapel, an inscription to the memory of Arthur Gorges, Esq. (eldest son
+of Sir Arthur Gorges), who died in 1668. He married Mary, daughter of
+Lord Bayning. This was her third marriage. She is here buried with her
+husband.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR THOMAS MORE’S CHAPEL, which was built by him, belonged to the
+proprietor of his house until it was sold by Arthur Gorges, Esq., to
+Lionel, Earl of Middlesex, when he reserved the chapel to himself, as he
+continued to reside at Chelsea in another house. In 1664, when he sold
+the last-mentioned house, he only renewed a right of burial for his
+family. The chapel passed therefore with the house, through various
+owners, to Sir William Milman, and ultimately it became the freehold
+property, for many years, of the late Mr. Mann, of Paradise Row, now
+called Queen’s Road West. It is still private property. A large Gothic
+arch opens into the chancel, and is supported by pillars, the capitals of
+which are ornamented with human heads, rudely but curiously carved,
+together with bundles of rods resembling the fasces or badges of the
+ancient Roman magistrates; on the entablature of the easternmost is the
+date 1527.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+DUCHESS OF NORTHUMBERLAND.—The venerable monument of Lady Jane Guildford,
+Duchess of Northumberland, is placed against the north wall of this
+chapel. This interesting memorial consists of an altar-tomb under an
+arched recess, crowned by four canopies and supported by five reticulated
+pillars, the bases of which rest on the altar-tomb as on a plinth. The
+faces of the tomb are divided into panels, containing quatrefoils
+enclosing shields, and one coat of arms remains. The back of the recess
+is divided into three compartments by small graduated buttresses; that on
+the west contained the arms, and sons, while that on the east displays
+the effigies of the Duchess and her daughters. The soffit of this recess
+is richly groined, the canopies are divided by graduated buttresses with
+pinnacles at their apices; they consist of a trefoiled arch with angular
+pediments crocketed, and terminating in rich finials, and the spandrils
+are panelled. The frieze, formed by two cavittoes, is ornamented, the
+lower with rosettes, and the upper with portcullis and rosettes arranged
+alternately. The whole is surmounted by a cornice of foliage. The
+Duchess appears in the front, kneeling, habited in a surcoat, with her
+arms richly emblazoned, originally in enamel. Behind her are her
+daughters, with their Christian names engraved over their heads in Gothic
+letters. On the left side were represented, on a brass plate, (now long
+torn off) the effigies of her sons. The inscription states that the
+Duchess had issue thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters. She
+died “at her maner of Chelsey, ye 22 daye of January, in ye second yere
+of ye reigne of our Sovereyne Lady Queene Mary the first, and in A.D
+MDLV., on whose soul Jesus have mercy.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR W. MILMAN.—On the same wall as the preceding is the monument of this
+gentleman, who died in 1713. There is also another to the memory of
+several of the same family.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR ROBERT STANLEY.—The monument of this distinguished resident is at the
+east end of the chapel. Two figures, representing Justice and Fortitude,
+support the arms of Stanley, and three large urns; on the centre one, on
+a medallion, is the bust of Sir Robert in alto relievo, who is
+represented with whiskers but no beard. On the urns, on each side, are
+medallions of two of his children, whose deaths are noticed on the
+monument. He died in 1632, and was the second son of the “Earle of
+Darbie.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near the principal window here is a small brass plate fixed into a marble
+tablet to the memory of Humphrey Peshall, Esq., who died in 1650.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There are a few other inscriptions in different parts of the church, but
+the principal and most ancient ones have been all noticed. We will now
+proceed, therefore, to describe some of the monuments in the old
+churchyard.
+
+DR. CHAMBERLAYNE.—On the south side, fronting the river, there are
+several monuments to the memory of this family, for the erection of which
+and for making a vault Dr. Chamberlayne obtained a grant from the parish,
+in consideration of a benefaction which will probably be mentioned
+hereafter. He was buried here in 1703. On the left side of the western
+window, on a large mural slab, is an inscription to his memory. The
+latter part of it is remarkable:—“He was so studious of doing good to all
+men, and especially to posterity, that he ordered some of his books,
+covered with wax, to be buried with him, which may be of use in times to
+come. God preserve thee, O traveller! go, and imitate him. This
+monument, not to be rashly violated, his friend, Walter Harris, Doctor of
+Physic, caused to be erected as a testimony both of his respect and
+grief.”
+
+“Dr. Harris evinced some singularity of opinion,” says Mr. Faulkner, “in
+supposing that posterity would gain any information from works thus
+entombed with the body of their author; but whatever might have been the
+intention, his views in depositing the books in the tomb of his friend
+have been frustrated, as, some years since, Dr. Chamberlayne’s tomb
+yielded to the injuries of time, and, on examination, it was discovered
+that the damp and moisture admitted by the general decay, had totally
+obliterated almost every appearance of them; his seal, with his arms, was
+however still perfect.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A FEMALE HEROINE.—One of the inscriptions to the memory of the
+Chamberlayne family is as follows:—In a vault hard by lieth Anne, sole
+daughter of Edward Chamberlayne, LL.D., who long declining wedlock, and
+aspiring above her sex and age, fought under her brother, with arms and
+manly attire, in a fire-ship, against the French, for six hours, on the
+30th June, 1690. After returning home she married Sir John Spragg, with
+whom she lived very affectionately for eighteen months, but, giving birth
+to a child, she died a few days after in 1691!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the north side of the churchyard, on a mural monument, is an
+inscription to the memory of John Pennant, Esq., who died in 1709.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR HANS SLOANE, Bart.—In the south-east corner is a large and handsome
+monument to the memory of this distinguished resident in the parish, and
+of his lady. As frequent notices are taken of Sir Robert Stanley in this
+work, it is only necessary here to give a brief description of the tomb.
+It is composed of Portland stone, on the top of which, under a portico,
+supported by four pillars, is placed a vase of white marble, with four
+serpents entwined around it, executed out of one piece; on each side is
+an entablature, the arms on one, and the crest on the other. It was
+executed by Wilton, the statuary, and was caused to be erected there by
+his two daughters, Elizabeth Cadogan and Sarah Stanley. Sir Hans Sloane
+died in 1753, in his 92nd year. Lady Sloane died in 1724.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+HENRY S. WOODFALL, Esq.—Near the north-east corner of the churchyard, on
+a flat stone, was some years since an inscription to the memory of Henry
+S. Woodfall, the celebrated printer of the Letters of Junius, who spent
+the latter part of his life in calm retirement amongst his Chelsea
+friends. He was an associate of many distinguished literary characters,
+and died in 1805.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+PHILIP MILLER, Esq.—Close to the preceding spot is an obelisk to the
+memory of Philip Miller, Curator of the Botanic Gardens, Chelsea, and
+Author of the Gardeners’ Dictionary, &c. He died in 1771, aged 80. This
+monument was erected by the Fellows of the Linnæan and Horticultural
+Societies in 1815.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Against the wall of the old Vestry Room (now School Room) are tablets to
+the memory of Thomas Bowes, M.D., F.R.S., William Moncrieff, Professor of
+Humanity at St. Andrew’s, and Mrs. Methuen. The dates of these are 1723
+and 1732.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+These are the principal raised cenataphs and mural tablets in this
+ancient churchyard.
+
+
+
+ERECTION OF AN ORGAN.
+
+
+On the 22nd of January, 1818, the following resolution was unanimously
+carried at a meeting in Vestry assembled:—“Resolved that this meeting
+sensibly feels the propriety as well as the necessity of an organ being
+placed in the parochial Church, and that the best means to effect this
+desirable object will be by voluntary subscription, and that it be
+immediately entered into.” A committee was appointed to carry this
+resolution into effect, and Luke Thomas Flood, Esq., was requested to
+become the treasurer, but, although a great many contributions were
+received, the aggregate sum was insufficient for the purpose, and the
+money was tendered back to the subscribers. This failure, and the offer
+made, occasioned considerable amusement amongst some of the parishioners,
+and many laughable squibs were printed and circulated. The most
+ludicrous of these was a poetic effusion, written by a gentleman of
+education and who was not altogether a stranger in literary circles. It
+was entitled “_The Organ in the Suds_,” and embodied much of that wit and
+humour which is so frequently displayed in “PUNCH.” Sometime afterwards,
+however, the effort was successfully renewed, and an organ was purchased.
+The two principal candidates for organist were Mr. Goss, then
+comparatively unknown in the musical world, but who has since risen to
+eminence as a composer, and is now organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and
+Mr. Ling, who had become a great favourite with many of the subscribers.
+The feeling amongst the friends of these gentlemen was very strongly
+manifested, and the proceedings on the day of election were characterized
+by much excitement. Mr. Ling obtained the greatest number of votes from
+the subscribers, and consequently was elected. Mr. Goss, however, was
+appointed organist of the New Church, when it was completed, by the
+Church Trustees, agreeably to the decision of Dr. Crotch, Mr. Attwood,
+and some others, who were requested to decide on the relative
+qualifications of the candidates. There were a great many parishioners
+present on this occasion.
+
+From the Report of the Old Church Organ Committee, dated Feb. 16, 1819, a
+copy of which is now before me, it appears that the entire amount
+received was £325 4_s._ 6_d._; that the organ cost £200, and that the
+expenses altogether were no less than 125 4_s._ 6_d._, including £24
+4_s._ for a Faculty, and £25 to Mr. H. Bevington, for removing the organ
+and keeping it in repair for twelve months, as per agreement. The
+remaining expenditure was for necessary alterations in the gallery, and
+for fittings, &c. The organ had been previously erected in a private
+mansion, which will explain the charge for removal, and the sum paid for
+the organ was considered at that time to be a great bargain.
+
+The singing, prior to the erection of the organ, was indeed very bad,
+being almost entirely confined to the school children, who were placed in
+galleries specially erected for them, at the extreme western part of the
+church, and so close to the ceiling that a grown person could scarcely
+stand upright in them.
+
+
+
+SPRING TIDES.—TAKEN TO CHURCH IN A BOAT.
+
+
+A circumstance occurred at the church, about the year 1809, of a singular
+character. There had been some very high tides during the week, and on
+the following Sunday morning the waters rose several feet against the
+southern boundary wall, which rendered the employment of a boat necessary
+to convey those of the congregation who resided in the neighbourhood near
+to Battersea Bridge to the western entrance of the church. Although
+there have been some very high spring tides since that time, I am happy
+to say, the congregation have always been enabled to walk to the Old
+Church without the least fear of being drowned on their way to it! The
+raising of the road, and other alterations, have no doubt checked such
+overflowings at this particular spot.
+
+
+
+DOING PENANCE.
+
+
+The next event is one of unusual interest. The statement may be relied
+upon as authentic, and the circumstance of its not having gained
+publicity has been owing to the few persons who witnessed it and the
+secrecy enjoined, but after nearly sixty years have elapsed, and the
+individuals concerned being long since deceased, the particulars may now
+be fairly disclosed without any breach of confidence.
+
+A short time after the conclusion of Divine Service, on a Sunday morning,
+a gentleman alighted from a carriage and proceeded to the Vestry Room,
+where two others were waiting his arrival. As soon as the congregation
+had dispersed, the parties, with two or three parochial officers, &c.,
+went to the entrance of the middle aisle, and the inner door being
+closed, the person especially referred to hurriedly knelt down. A paper
+was then placed in his hand, which was a recantation of certain
+opprobrious epithets that he had applied to a lady in one of the streets
+in the parish, stigmatizing her publicly by a term which the reader can
+easily supply. When he recited the offensive words he laid particular
+emphasis on them, evidently in a spirit of bravado and not of contrition.
+Penance and penitence were not in any way, apparently, considered by him
+as synonymous terms. There is scarcely an individual who would suppose
+that such an event occurred, at so comparatively recent a period as sixty
+years ago, in the old Parish Church of St. Luke, Chelsea.
+
+
+
+SACRILEGE.
+
+
+On Wednesday night, the 27th of December, 1827, this church was
+sacrilegiously broken into, and the following articles stolen, viz., two
+plated flagons, two plated chalices, two plated salvers, a blue cloth
+covering the Communion Table, and a table cloth and napkin for the same;
+a crimson cushion and hanging for the pulpit, the brass branches from the
+pulpit and those from the chandeliers in the middle aisle. On Thursday
+night, the 1st of February following, the church was again entered and
+robbed of the chandeliers, the brass curtain rods, and the cushions from
+the churchwardens’ and overseers’ pews.
+
+A reward of £100 was offered by the Secretary of State, and £70 by the
+parish, for the discovery of the robbers, who were soon after taken,
+tried at Newgate, and condemned to be transported for life.
+
+
+
+RECTORS AT THE OLD CHURCH.
+
+
+The following is a list of the names of most of the rectors, commencing
+with the earliest one recorded, and terminating with the Hon. and Rev. G.
+V. Wellesley, D.D., who continued of course rector when the new St.
+Luke’s Church was completed. The list of subsequent rectors will be
+found placed in the notice of that church:—
+
+ Patrons. Name. Institution.
+Edward II. Roger de Berners 1316
+ „ Nicholas Hosbound 1339
+Edward III. Martyn de Moulish 1348
+ „ William Palmer 1368
+Abbot & Conv. West. Thomas de Preston 1368
+ There were altogether 29 Rectors instituted by the Abbot and Convent
+ of Westminster.
+Sir Thomas More John Larke {19a} 1530
+ „ John Richardson {19b} 1543
+Duchess of Somerset Richard Ward {19c} 1585
+C. Cheyne, Esq. Adam Littleton, D.D. 1669
+Viscount Cheyne John King, D.D. 1694
+Sir Hans Sloane Sloane Elsmere, D.D. 1732
+ „ Reginald Heber, M.A. 1766
+Earl Cadogan and Henry Thomas Drake, D.D. 1770
+Stanley
+Lord Cadogan W. B. Cadogan, M.A. 1775
+Lady Mendip and Mrs. D’Oyley Charles Sturgess, 1797
+ M.A.
+Earl Cadogan Hon. and Rev. Dr. 1805
+ Wellesley
+
+The Rev. Dr. Littleton was educated at Westminster School, under the
+celebrated Dr. Busby, and afterwards became Prebendary of Westminster.
+He was well skilled in the Oriental languages and in rabinnical learning.
+He died at Chelsea in 1694, in the 67th year of his age.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Dr. John King was a divine of considerable literary eminence.
+Amongst a variety of works he published a sermon, entitled, “The Divine
+Favour the best Alliance; or, Repentance the Safest Sanctuary in Times of
+Danger; preached at the Parish Church of Chelsey,” in 1701. There is in
+the British Museum a small quarto volume, in manuscript, by Dr. King,
+containing “Remarks on the Life of Sir Thomas More,” and a letter,
+designed for Mr. Hearne, respecting Sir T. More’s house at Chelsea. He
+died in this parish in 1732, aged 80, much respected, and was buried at
+Pertenhall. The family of Dr. King bear the same arms with Robert King,
+the first Bishop of Oxford.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Dr. Sloane Elsmere died in 1776, and left behind him a volume of
+sermons to be published for the benefit of the “Girls’ Charity School,”
+of which he was the original founder. He was a relation of Sir Hans
+Sloane.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Reginald Heber received his school education at the Free School,
+Manchester, from whence he removed to Brasenose College, Oxford. Mr.
+Heber, in 1766, succeeded to a considerable estate (his elder brother
+dying unmarried) at Hodnet, in Shropshire; and in the same year he was
+inducted to the rectory of Chelsea, the presentation to which had several
+years before been purchased for him by his brother. He found the
+rectoral house in bad condition, and partly rebuilt and greatly improved
+the whole of it. In 1770 he exchanged the rectory of Chelsea with Dr.
+Drake, rector of Amersham, Bucks, for Malpas, in Cheshire. Mr. Heber
+married, in 1773, the daughter of the Rev. Martin Bayly, which lady died
+the following year, leaving an infant son, Richard Heber, who became
+Member for the University of Oxford. Eight years after he married,
+secondly, the daughter of Dr. Cuthbert Allanson, by whom he had two sons,
+Reginald, the late lamented Bishop of Calcutta—a prelate whose memory is
+revered by Christians of all denominations—the other son was Thomas
+Cuthbert Heber, and he had also one daughter. Mr. Heber died at Malpas
+in 1804, in his 76th year.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hon. and Rev. William Bromley Cadogan, second son of Lord Cadogan,
+was born in 1751, and had his education at Westminster School, from
+whence he was removed to Christ Church College, Oxford. He obtained
+several prizes at the University for classical knowledge. On the death
+of Dr. Drake he was presented to the rectory of Chelsea. He also became
+vicar of St. Giles’s, Reading. Mr. Faulkner gives a singular anecdote
+relating to the unsolicited offer of this vicarage to Mr. Cadogan. Lord
+Bathurst, who was then Chancellor, called at Lord Cadogan’s house, and
+desired to see him. His lordship was not at home; and the servants,
+seeing Lord Bathurst very plainly dressed, admitted him into the hall
+only, having no suspicion of his high rank. The Chancellor therefore
+wrote a note at the hall table, requesting Lord Cadogan to accept the
+vicarage of St. Giles’s, Reading, for his son. The offer of so valuable
+a preferment, and so near to the family seat at Caversham, was peculiarly
+acceptable to Lord Cadogan. It appeared, however, that the parishioners
+were deeply affected by the death of the Rev. Mr. Talbot, their late
+vicar, and equally grieved at the appointment of his successor; but they
+flattered themselves that the new vicar, being a young gentleman of noble
+family, would feel no disposition to do the duties himself, and that the
+Rev. Mr. Halward, who had been recently appointed, and towards whom they
+already were much attached, might be continued in the curacy. A petition
+for this purpose was presented to Mr. Cadogan, but it was rejected with
+strong marks of disapprobation. The old congregation therefore became
+dispersed. Some of them, under the patronage of the Countess of
+Huntingdon, opened a place for Divine worship for themselves, while
+others, who were unwilling to leave the church altogether, thought that
+they perceived marks of sincerity in his conduct and preaching,
+attempted, by frequent admonitory letters, to convince Mr. Cadogan of
+what they considered to be his “errors,” and to set him “right.” On this
+occasion several letters passed between him and Mrs. Talbot, the widow of
+the previous vicar, whose house was opened for religious exercises, and
+where prayer was occasionally offered up for his conversion. Mr. Cadogan
+is said to have been highly offended, but at length, humbled and subdued,
+he fell at the feet of accumulated kindness, and confessed to the last
+moment of his life, that “Mrs. Talbot’s letters and example were the
+principal means of leading him to the saving knowledge of Christ.” It
+produced, it appears, a great change in his manner of preaching, and led
+the way to his intimacy with the Rev. Mr. Hill, Mr. Romaine, and others,
+who were distinguished by the title of popular preachers. He likewise
+offered the curacy to Mr. Halward, who previously he had but “lightly
+esteemed,” but that gentleman had then accepted some preferment which
+prevented him from acceding to the offer. Mr. Cadogan divided his time
+between Chelsea and Reading; but finding his labours in both places too
+arduous, he let the rectory-house, and left Chelsea in charge of the Rev.
+Mr. Middleton, his curate, except at the season of Lent, and of the
+Sacrament, on which occasions the church was crowded. Mr. Cadogan was
+seized at Reading on a Thursday evening, after his lecture, with an
+inflammation of the bowels, and departed this life on the following
+Tuesday, expressing with his lips that which was his “glorious theme, the
+unbounded love of Christ.” He died in 1797, aged 46.
+
+A monument, designed by Bacon, is erected in the church at Reading.
+Beneath the inscription are the crosier or pastoral staff; the rod of
+Aaron, which budded and yielded almonds; and the book mentioned in the
+Revelations, as sealed with seven seals.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Charles Sturges was presented to this rectory in 1797.
+Respectful mention is made of him in Mrs. Trimmer’s publication on the
+Sunday Schools of Old Brentford. He has a copy of Latin verses in the
+Musæ Etonenses, and another in the Academiæ Cantabrigiensis Luctus, on
+the death of George II. The sudden death of Mr. Sturges was another
+verification of that passage in our Burial Service, “In the midst of life
+we are in death,” &c., which he had read many times at the graves of the
+parishioners. He expired on the 22nd of April, 1805, after only half an
+hour’s illness, from an apoplectic seizure, immediately before the hour
+of dinner, at the rectory of Loddington, Northamptonshire, and his
+remains were interred in the chancel of that church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hon. and Rev. Gerald Valerian Wellesley, D.D., succeeded Mr.
+Sturgess. A notice of him will be found in the account of the New Parish
+Church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. R. H. Davies, M.A., who had been previously senior curate of the
+new Parish Church, succeeded the Rev. John Rush when he died in 1855, as
+Incumbent of the Old Church. Through his exertions and instrumentality,
+a small vestry, or robing room, has been attached to the church. The
+great inconvenience and injury to the Minister’s health, arising from his
+having to walk across the churchyard in his robes, and also to change
+them, especially in the winter months, had been sadly experienced and
+justly complained of by almost every officiating clergyman in my
+recollection. Very considerable alterations and great improvements have
+likewise been made in the interior of the church, during the fourteen
+years that Mr. Davies has been the Incumbent, without interfering greatly
+with its ancient architecture. Perhaps the best way to convey an
+adequate idea of what has been accomplished will be to give an account of
+the expenses, taken from a Report recently published.
+
+The New Gallery £395 11 0
+Re-pewing 420 13 6
+New Stoves, &c. 44 15 0
+Iron Railing 65 0 0
+Ventilators 32 18 9
+East Window 83 18 7
+Reading Desk 5 3 6
+New Vestry, &c 94 14 3
+Corona in Chancel 12 0 0
+Alterations to Organ 60 0 0
+
+A great part of the cost of these extensive and essential alterations was
+contributed by the Trustees for building the new St. Luke’s Church; a
+very large portion by the liberal contributions of the congregation, and
+a part also by the Rev. Mr. Davies’s own friends not connected with the
+church, and others to whom he applied. The schools, as will be seen,
+have been greatly benefitted, and various charitable societies
+established, by which means vast blessings have been conferred on the
+poor in the neighbourhood.
+
+
+
+PETYT’S SCHOOL ROOM AND VESTRY.
+
+
+In the year 1706, a Vestry Room and School Room, with apartments for a
+master, were erected at the expense of W. Petyt, Esq. {23} There is a
+descriptive inscription upon the west front of the school room, which
+records the donation, at the conclusion of which it is added, “To all
+which may God give a blessing. Soli Deo Gloria.” The original deed of
+gift is entered in the Vestry minutes. Mr. Petyt resided in Church
+(lane) Street, and died there in 1707, aged 71, but was buried in the
+Temple Church. He was a member of the Inner Temple, and Keeper of the
+Records in the Tower of London.
+
+In 1819 there were 100 boys and girls educated and clothed free of any
+expense to their parents. The girls at that period were instructed in a
+house rented in Lordship’s Place, near Cheyne Row. These schools, with
+the master and mistress, were transferred to the new School Rooms, at the
+back of the present Parish Church.
+
+The Rev. Mr. Davies recently appealed to the Vestry for a grant of £100
+to make considerable repairs in this old building, it being in a most
+dilapidated condition (the ground floor, which was the Vestry Room, was
+for some time previously used as a fire-engine station), and the one
+school room altogether inadequate for the proper accommodation of the
+children of the district, promising himself to be answerable for the
+deficiency in the amount of the expenditure. The Vestry, in
+consideration of its having been bequeathed to the parish, complied with
+the request. Mr. Davies likewise obtained for the same laudable object a
+grant of £20 from the Ragged School Union, the congregation generously
+contributing the remaining sum required to put the building in thorough
+repair. The entire cost was rather more than £279. There are now three
+good school-rooms instead of one, as was formerly the case, and
+consequently the number of children attending the schools has been
+greatly augmented.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It may here be mentioned that the “watchhouse,” and the “stocks” for
+vagrants, formerly stood close to the river, opposite the church.
+
+
+
+History of the Manor.
+ROYAL AND DISTINGUISHED RESIDENTS.
+
+
+BLACKSTONE, in his “Commentaries,” says that manors are, in substance, as
+ancient as the Saxon Constitution. The manor of Chilchell, or Chelcheya
+(Chelsea), was given it appears, in the reign of Edward the Confessor to
+the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, by Thurstan, the governor of the
+king’s palace, who held it of him. This gift was confirmed by a charter,
+which transfers the manor, with all its rights and appurtenances, as
+fully as it was held by Thurstan: “besides, together with this manor, as
+a free gift, every third tree, and every third horse load of fruits grown
+in the neighbouring wood at Kyngesbyrig” (now called Knightsbridge).
+This charter, which is in the Saxon language, is still preserved in the
+British Museum. It is sealed with a waxen seal, suspended by a silken
+string, after the Norman fashion, in the front of which are the effigies
+of the king, holding in his right hand a cross, and in his left a globe;
+on the reverse is the same image, holding in his right hand a spear
+surmounted by a dove, and bearing in his left a sword, with this
+inscription on both sides, “The seal of Edward King of England.”
+
+King William, by a charter dated at Westminster, confirmed the land to
+the Monastery of Westminster.
+
+The Record of Domesday Book, to which we are so greatly indebted, was
+begun in 1080, and completed in 1086. In it is mentioned the lands in
+Chelsea, then in possession of the Church of Westminster.
+
+The general description given of menial persons, including those in the
+manor of Chelsea, at the period when the survey of the land belonging to
+the lords, or great landowners, was taken, shows the lamentable state of
+thousands of our fellow-creatures. Slaves were allowed nothing but
+subsistence and clothes, and were distinguished from freemen by a
+peculiar dress. Long hair was a mark of dignity and freedom; for that
+reason, slaves, (menial persons,) were obliged to shave their heads, by
+which they were reminded of their inferiority of condition. At length
+Henry VIII. granted manumission to two of his slaves and their families,
+for which he assigned this just reason: “God at first created all men
+equally free by nature, but many had been reduced to slavery by the laws
+of men. We believe it, therefore, to be a pious act, and meritorious in
+the sight of God, to set certain of our slaves at liberty from their
+bondage.” The granting of leases, which afterwards followed, almost
+completely emancipated the “villain-slave,” so that at the time of
+Elizabeth, scarcely any person existed to whom the former laws applied.
+
+Gervace, abbot of Westminster, aliened the manor of Chelchithe, to his
+mother Dameta and her heirs. Afterwards it was held by the heirs of
+Bartholomew de Fontibus.
+
+Several court rolls of this manor, during the reigns of King Edward III.
+and Richard II. are among the records of the Dean and Chapter of
+Westminster.
+
+A brewer, of the name of North, was presented at one of these courts for
+not putting up a sign as was customary; and at another the wife of Philip
+Rose was fined 6_d._ for being a common babbler.
+
+Simon Bayle appears to have been lessee of the manor house, 33 Hen. VI.,
+and from that period there is a total deficiency of records till the
+reign of Henry VII.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Reginald Bray was now in possession of the manor. He was Receiver
+General to Sir Henry Stafford, a younger son of the Duke of Buckingham,
+who married the widow of the Earl of Richmond, and mother of Henry VII.
+There are many interesting historical particulars respecting Sir Reginald
+Bray. He was buried in the chapel of St. George, Windsor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From Sir Reginald Bray the manor descended to Margaret, only child of his
+next brother, John, who married Sir William Sandys, created afterwards
+Lord Sands. He was one of those peers who subscribed the articles
+exhibited to Henry VIII. against Cardinal Wolsey; and the next year was
+also one who signed the declaration to the Pope, intimating the danger of
+losing his supremacy, in case he did not comply with the king’s wishes in
+regard to his divorce from Queen Catherine. He died in 1542.
+
+There have been various surmises as to the correct definition of “Sands
+End,” in Fulham parish, which immediately adjoins Chelsea, and is called
+such for a short distance. I venture to suggest the following
+explanation. Lord Sands, being Lord of the Manor of Chelsea, his rights
+terminated at the spot just mentioned, and to record this fact the people
+of Fulham called it Sands End, signifying thereby that Lord Sands’s
+jurisdiction and property ended there. Perhaps this idea is not
+original, but I have never heard it thus explained, and therefore I have
+given it.
+
+This Lord Sands, a few years previous to his death, conveyed to Henry
+VIII. the manor of Chelsea, with certain closes or land situated at
+Kensal Green, near Wilsden, containing about 137¾ acres. {26} In 1861
+there were in that part of Kensal which belongs to this parish 591 houses
+and 3223 inhabitants. The number of houses has since increased, and the
+present population may be estimated at 3500 persons. There are a great
+many highly respectable residents, and a large number of superior new
+houses are continually being erected in the adjoining wealthy parishes,
+which will ultimately increase the trade and value of property in the
+entire district. There are also several new Churches and Chapels built
+within the last few years in the neighbourhood. The Paddington Canal,
+which passes through the detached parts of Chelsea and Kensington, was
+opened with an aquatic procession on the 10th of July, 1801, in the
+presence of a vast concourse of spectators.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+“Henry VIII. was probably induced to possess this manor,” says Mr.
+Faulkner, “from having observed, in his frequent visits to Sir Thomas
+More, the pleasantness of the situation on the banks of the Thames; and
+from the salubrity of the air, deeming it a fit residence for his infant
+daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, then between three and four years of
+age. But, on his obtaining it, finding that the manor house was ancient,
+and at that time in possession of the Lawrence family, {27} he erected a
+new manor house on the eastern side of Winchester House,” which stood on
+the site of the river-side entrance to Oakley Street, Cheyne Walk. It
+was “here the young Princess was nurtured, and it most probably was her
+chief residence during her father’s reign. In 1540, Sir Francis Bryan
+was made ‘Keeper of Chelsey’ for life, by patent, 31 Hen. VIII.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the marriage of Henry with Catharine Parr, this manor was assigned to
+that Queen as part of her jointure. Most unfortunately for her future
+welfare, Catharine, after the decease of the king, placed her affections
+upon the brother of Jane Seymour, Thomas Lord Seymour, to whom she was
+subsequently married. Whatever she might have dreaded from the temper of
+her previous royal husband, was realized in the accumulated injuries she
+received from Seymour, whose turbulent passions and uncontrolled ambition
+led him to aspire to the hand of the Princess Elizabeth, who then resided
+at Chelsea under the Queen’s care. She died at Sudeley Castle in 1548,
+not without suspicion of poison.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After the death of Catharine Parr, the manor was bestowed on the Duke of
+Northumberland by Edward VI. On the accession of Mary, the duke was
+impeached, attainted of high treason, and beheaded in 1553.
+
+Jane, Duchess of Northumberland, was a most singular instance of the
+vicissitudes of fortune, having been the wife of one of the greatest men
+of that age, she lived to see her husband lose his head on a scaffold; to
+see one son share his father’s fate, another die in a prison, and the
+rest of her children live only by permission. Amidst this accumulated
+distress, which was heightened by the confiscation of her property, she
+displayed great firmness of mind, though left destitute of fortune and
+friends, till the arrival of some of the Spanish nobility, who interested
+themselves so warmly in her favour, that they prevailed on the Queen to
+reinstate her in some of her former possessions. She made a will,
+written with her own hand, unassisted by the advice of any learned in the
+laws. Amongst a variety of other bequests, she left to Sir Henry Sidney
+the gold and green hangings in the manor house, “water side, at Chelsey.”
+“My will,” she says, “is earnestly and effectually, that little
+solemnities be made for me, for I had even have a thousand foldes my
+debts to be paide, and the poore to be given unto, than anye pompe to be
+shewed upon my wretched carkes; therefore to the wormes will I goe, as I
+have afore wrytten in all poyntes, as you will answer yt afore God; and
+you breke any one jot of it, your wills hereafter may chaunce be as well
+broken.” Notwithstanding the strict injunctions contained in her will,
+she was buried with great funeral pomp, in February, 1535; two heralds
+attending, with many mourners, six dozen of torches, and two white
+branches, and “a canopy borne over her effigies in wax, in a goodly
+hearse to the church of Chelsey.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Ann of Cleves, after her divorce from Henry VIII., appears to have
+resided in this manor house, where, it is said, she died in 1557, and was
+buried in Westminster.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Queen Elizabeth, in 1559, leased this manor to Ann, Duchess of Somerset,
+widow of the late Protector, for life. Her Majesty afterwards granted
+the manor to John Stanhope, Esq., vice-chamberlain of her household. On
+the accession of James I. he was created Lord Stanhope, of Harrington.
+
+After several families had held the manor, we find it in possession of
+the Cheyne family.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles Cheyne, afterwards Viscount Newhaven, married Lady Jane, eldest
+daughter and co-heir of William Duke of Newcastle, with whom he obtained
+an immense fortune. This lady is celebrated for her excellent
+endowments, which she exhibited in a distinguished manner during the
+civil wars in the reign of Charles I., in her keeping the garrisoned
+house of her father, where she was left with one of her sisters, against
+the enemy, till, overpowered by their force, she was made prisoner, but,
+by the success of the royal arms, it was retaken. Her duty and piety to
+her exiled father, in making repeated remittances, which she effected by
+the sale of some rich jewels left her by her grandmother, the Lady Ogle,
+after the vain efforts she had made for his pardon, deserve to be
+remembered. Lord Cheyne, as we learn from the inscription on Lady Jane’s
+monument, purchased the manor of Chelsea with a part of the large dower
+she brought him on his marriage. His lordship very highly embellished
+the house and gardens, and they excited some curiosity at the time. Mr.
+Evelyn, in his Diary, thus notices them: “I made my Lord Cheyney a visit
+at Chelsea, and saw those ingenious water-works invented by Mr.
+Winstanley, in which were some things very surprising and extraordinary.”
+This Mr. Winstanley was the ingenious architect who built the Eddystone
+Lighthouse, and perished in it when blown down by the great storm in
+1703. When Lord Cheyne died in 1698, he was succeeded by William, his
+son and successor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Hans Sloane, Bart., purchased the manor of William Lord Cheyne, the
+second and last Viscount Newhaven, in the year 1712. Sir Hans was
+descended from a family originally of Scotland, but settled in the north
+of Ireland, where he received his first education. At that early age he
+evinced a very strong inclination to study the works of Nature, which he
+pursued with uncommon application through the rest of his life. Being
+desirous of improving himself in the several branches of physic, to the
+profession of which he was ardently devoted, he came to London, and
+resided in a house adjoining to the laboratory of Apothecaries’ Hall.
+Here Mr. Sloane acquired a perfect knowledge of the preparations and uses
+of most chemical medicines; and at the same time prosecuted his favourite
+science of botany in the Apothecaries’ Gardens at Chelsea. He ultimately
+became President of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and
+associated and corresponded with most of the eminent men of his day. He
+had been previously Secretary to the Royal Society, which he held for 20
+years without any salary, and was the intimate friend of Sir Isaac
+Newton. In the last sickness of Queen Anne he was called in to her
+assistance, as one of her physicians, as he had been on some former
+occasions. He was created a baronet by George I., an honour which had
+never before been conferred upon any physician in England. Upon
+purchasing the manor of Chelsea, he gave a portion of the ground of his
+garden to the Apothecaries’ Company, in order to perpetuate it for the
+improvement of botanical knowledge, and to communicate to others that
+instruction which he had himself received there. Besides the donation of
+so large and valuable a piece of ground, in a delightful situation on the
+banks of the Thames, and near the metropolis, he contributed largely
+towards building the stairs at the water-side gate, and an additional sum
+towards the expenses of the garden. When Sir Isaac Newton died, Sir Hans
+Sloane was chosen as President of the Royal Society, and continued in
+that high office for fourteen successive years. His decay was very
+gradual, and foretold that he would one day “drop like a fruit fully
+ripe.” He died in 1753, and was interred in the churchyard of Chelsea,
+in the same vault with his lady. His funeral was attended by many
+persons of distinction, and several Fellows of the Royal Society. He has
+been styled “the father of natural history in these realms.”
+
+Sir Hans Sloane’s invaluable Museum, sold to the nation at his decease
+for £20,000, being about a fourth of its value, was the nucleus, and so
+far the first foundation, of the British Museum. He bequeathed one
+moiety of the manor of Chelsea to his daughter Sarah, the wife of George
+Stanley, Esq., of Paultons, in Hampshire, and the remainder to his second
+daughter, the lady of Charles Lord Cadogan, in which family the property
+still remains. Hence the names of Cheyne Walk, Hans Place, Sloane
+Street, Cadogan Place, Oakley Street, and Paultons Square. The eldest
+son of Earl Cadogan takes his father’s second title, Viscount Chelsea.
+
+Mrs. Stanley, daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, left one son and two
+daughters; Hans Stanley, Esq., the son, who died in 1780, and bequeathed
+to his sisters, Anne, the wife of W. Ellis, Esq., afterwards Lord Mendip,
+and Sarah, the wife of Christopher D’Oyley, Esq., his moiety of this
+manor, with the reversion to Lord Cadogan and his heirs.
+
+
+
+Sir Thomas More’s House.
+
+
+SIR THOMAS MORE purchased an estate at Chelsea, about the year 1520, and
+built himself a house, as Erasmus describes it, “neither mean nor subject
+to envy, yet magnificent and commodious enough.” The site of this house
+has been long disputed. The Rev. Dr. King, (who is noticed amongst the
+rectors of the Old Church), in his “Letter designed for Mr. Hearne,”
+relative to Sir Thomas More’s house, and which is in the British Museum,
+says, “As seven cities in Greece contended for the birthplace of Homer,
+so there are no fewer than four houses in this parish which lay claim to
+Sir Thomas More’s residence, viz.: that which is now the Duke of
+Beaufort’s; that which was lately Sir Joseph Alstone’s; that which was
+once Sir Reginald Bray’s, and afterwards William Powell’s, which is now
+built into several tenements; and that which was lately Sir John
+Danvers’s, which is also now pulled down; and on part of the ground a
+small street is built, called Danvers Street, and some other houses. Now
+of all these, in my opinion, Beaufort House bids fairest to be the place
+where Sir Thomas More’s stood.” He then proceeds to give his reasons for
+arriving at this conclusion, which, when considered in connection with
+the statements of other writers on the subject, clearly establishes the
+correctness of Dr. King’s opinion. Sir Thomas More’s house, therefore,
+we will conclude stood almost on the site of what is now called Beaufort
+Street, facing Battersea Bridge. After his death, however, very
+considerable alterations and additions were made by succeeding occupants,
+both in regard to the house and grounds attached to it. The house, in
+its altered state, was pulled down about 140 years ago.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Erasmus gives a pleasing description of the manner of More’s living with
+his wife and family at Chelsea. “There he conversed with his wife,” says
+he, “his son, his daughter-in-law, his three daughters and their
+husbands, with eleven grand-children. There is not a man living so
+affectionate to his children as he; he loveth his old wife as well as if
+she was a young maid.” Fox, in his Martyrology, however, throws a sad
+blast over the character of More. He states that More used to bind
+heretics to a tree in his garden, called “The Tree of Troth,” but this
+was denied by More himself. Henry VIII., to whom he owed his rise and
+fall, frequently came to Chelsea to visit him. Sometimes the king would
+ascend to the house-top with him to observe the stars and converse on
+astronomy. Amongst the illustrious foreigners entertained and patronised
+by Sir Thomas More, may be mentioned Hans Holbein, a celebrated painter,
+who lived with him for nearly three years painting portraits of him, his
+relations, and friends. It is generally admitted that he had a house in
+Chelsea for aged people, whom he daily relieved.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+More delighted in telling the following “merrie story,” as he termed
+it:—A friar while preaching “spyed a poore wyfe of the paryshe whysperyng
+to her pew-fellow, and he fallyng angry thereto, cryde out unto her
+aloude, ‘Hold thy babble, I byd thee, thou wyfe in the red hood!’” He
+regularly attended Chelsea Church, and very often assisted at the
+celebration of Mass, and at times he would put on a surplice and join the
+quire.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The pathetic story of More’s wit was never so touchingly illustrated as
+on the day after he resigned the Great Seal. He went to Chelsea Church
+as usual with his wife and family, none of whom he had yet informed of
+his resignation. During the service, as was his custom, he sat in the
+choir, in a surplice. After service it was the custom for one of his
+attendants to go to her ladyship’s pew, and say, “My Lord is gone
+before.” But this day the Ex-Chancellor came himself, and making a low
+bow, said, “Madam, my Lord is gone.” Then, on their way home, to her
+great mortification, he unriddled his mournful pleasantry by telling her
+his lordship was gone, in the loss of his official dignities.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Thomas had four children, three daughters and one son; the latter was
+the youngest. His first wife wished very much for a boy; at last she
+brought this son, who proved to be of slender capacity; upon which he
+said to her, “You have prayed so long for a boy, that now you have got
+one that will be a boy as long as he lives.” The good lady walked away
+from him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+By indefatigable application, More cleared the Court of Chancery of all
+its causes. One day, having ended a cause, he called for the next, and
+was told there was “no other depending in the Court.” He was delighted
+to hear it, and ordered it to be inserted on the records of the Court.
+It gave rise to the following epigram, not the worst in the English
+language:—
+
+ “When More some time had Chancellor been
+ No More suits did remain;
+ The same shall never More be seen
+ Till More be there again.”
+
+The pitiful story of More’s daughter, Margaret, parting with her beloved
+father, on the morning of his cruel execution, is truly affecting. She
+followed him to the scaffold—embraced him, implored his blessing, wept
+upon his cheek, bidding him in anguish adieu. A second time she went
+forward to him, clung round his neck and kissed him, when at last,
+notwithstanding his apparent gravity, tears fell from his eyes * * * and
+soon afterwards she was severed from him for ever! It appears that his
+original intention to be interred in the Old Church, was unhappily not
+fulfilled. Dr. King states that “his body was buried in the chapel of
+St. Peter, in the Tower, and his head, after some months, was bought by
+his daughter, Margaret, and taken down from London Bridge, where it was
+fixed upon a pole, and was buried,” probably as stated, in St. Dunstan’s,
+near Canterbury. Aubery, however, asserts that “after he was beheaded,
+his trunke was interred in Chelsey Church, near the middle of the south
+wall, where was some slight monument erected, which being worne by time,
+Sir John Lawrence, of Chelsey, at his own proper costs and chardges,
+built to his memorie a handsome one, with inscription, of marble.” This
+statement, as regards the interment of Sir Thomas More’s body, does not
+accord with the opinion of most other writers on the subject.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After the death of More, his mansion was granted in the 28th of Henry
+VIII. to Sir William Paulet, afterwards Marquis of Winchester, to whom
+Edward VI. granted in fee both that and all other premises in Chelsea and
+Kensington, forfeited by his attainder.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Marquis of Winchester, who was so much of a courtier as to
+accommodate himself to princes as well as to subjects of very different
+characters, was, from his natural and acquired abilities, perfectly
+qualified to act with propriety in the highest offices of the state. In
+the reign of Edward VI. he was made Lord High Treasurer of England. It
+is said that by his councils, in a great measure, the Duke of
+Northumberland’s design of setting the Lady Jane Grey on the throne was
+prevented; for which good office of loyalty to them, the Queens, Mary and
+Elizabeth, continued him in the Treasurer’s Office, which he enjoyed for
+thirty years; and on being asked how he preserved himself in that place
+through so many changes of government, he answered, “By being a willow,
+and not an oak.” He died in 1572, aged 97 years. The marquis greatly
+enlarged and improved the house, and, according to Norden, “adorned
+Chelsea with stately buildings.” His eldest son, John, second Marquis of
+Winchester, died at Chelsea in 1576. The widow of the first marquis died
+in 1586.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Gregory, Lord Dacre, soon afterwards had possession of Sir Thomas More’s
+house. He was the son of Thomas Fynes Lord Dacre, who succeeded his
+grandfather in the 26th of Henry VIII.; and who, in 1541, was engaged
+with some other persons in chasing the deer in Sir Nicholas Pelham’s
+park, when a fray arising between them and the keepers, in which one of
+the latter was killed, he was found guilty of being accessary to the
+murder, and suffered death accordingly; but his children were restored to
+their honours in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Gregory, Lord Dacre, died
+at Chelsea in 1594, without issue; and his sister Margaret, the wife of
+Samuel Lennard, Esq., claimed the barony, and was allowed it in the
+second of James I.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Lady Dacre survived her husband but a few months, and bequeathed her
+house at Chelsea, with all its appurtenances, to the great Lord Burleigh,
+with remainder to his son Robert, afterwards Earl of Salisbury, and Lord
+High Treasurer. “I have seen,” says Lysons, “among the records at the
+Rolls Chapel, a pardon of alienation to Sir Robert Cecil, dated June 21,
+39th Elizabeth, for acquiring these premises of Thomas Lord Buckhurst.”
+This distinguished nobleman, afterwards Earl of Dorset, was brother to
+Lady Dacre, and resided frequently with his sister at Chelsea, but it is
+not known whether he had any interest in the estate.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Earl of Salisbury is supposed to have rebuilt Sir Thomas More’s
+house, as the initials of his name were to be seen on the pipes and in
+several of the rooms.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, bought the house of the Earl of
+Salisbury, and probably came immediately to reside in it, as there are
+some entries respecting his family in the Parish Register in the
+beginning of the year 1609. By his first wife, Lady C. Hastings,
+daughter of Francis, Earl of Huntingdon, he had two sons, Thomas, his
+successor in the title, and Edward; and by his second wife, widow of W.
+Norris, Esq., he had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married Sir Arthur
+Gorges, and also two sons, Henry and Robert. The latter died in 1609,
+and was buried at Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Arthur Gorges, on the death of Henry, Earl of Lincoln, became the
+possessor of the house, and he and Lady Elizabeth, his wife, in
+consideration of £4300, sold it to Sir Lionel Cranfield, afterwards
+created Earl of Middlesex. It was described as the “greatest house at
+Chelsea, with two fore great courts adjoining, environed with brick
+walls, also a wharf (landing-place for a pleasure boat, &c.) lying in
+front, having a high brick tower on the east and west ends, and a high
+water tower, standing upon the west corner of the wharf, and the
+watercourse belonging thereto. An orchard, a garden, having a peryment
+standing up in the middle, and a terrace on the north end thereof, with a
+banquetting house at the east end of the terrace, having a marble table
+in it. A great garden, dovecote close, containing five acres, the
+kitchen garden, brick-barne close, containing ten acres.” Lord Middlesex
+held the mansion till 1625, when he sold it to Charles I., who, in 1627,
+granted the said house, &c., to the Duke of Buckingham.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, the son of Sir George
+Villiers, was born in 1592. By the elegance of his person, and the
+courtliness of his address, he gained as great an ascendance over King
+James as the favourite of any other prince is known to have done by a
+long course of assiduity and insinuation. The Earl of Clarendon says,
+that the duke “was of a most flowing courtesy and affability to all men
+who made any address to him, and so desirous to oblige them, that he did
+not enough consider the value of the obligation, or the merit of the
+person he chose to oblige; from which much of his misfortune resulted.”
+He married Lady Catherine Manners, the daughter of Francis, Earl of
+Rutland, by whom he had three sons and a daughter; he was assassinated at
+Portsmouth in 1628, by one Felton. The eldest son, George, who succeeded
+him in his title and estates, being very young at the time of his
+father’s murder, was sent to travel during the civil wars; and returning
+to England whilst Charles I. was under restraint, he and his brother,
+Lord Francis Villiers, thought themselves obliged to venture their lives
+and fortunes for the king at the first opportunity. Soon after, the
+Parliament voted that he should be proceeded against as a traitor, and
+that his estates should be sequestered.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Thomas More’s house, for such it ought still to be considered,
+notwithstanding the great alterations made in it, was now known as
+Buckingham House, in consequence of its having been granted to the first
+Duke of Buckingham. It appears by the following extract from a
+periodical paper after that duke’s death, to have been in possession of
+his daughter Mary, who married James, Duke of Richmond and Lenox: “The
+Duchess of Lenox, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, being then at
+Oxford, petitioned the Lords for leave to come to London, or to her house
+at Chelsey, to be under Dr. Mayerne’s hands for her health; a pass was
+ordered for her, and the concurrence of the Commons desired.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Buckingham House, in 1649, having been seized by the Parliament, was
+committed to the custody of John Lisle, one of the Commissioners of the
+Great Seal. This gentleman’s own estates were afterwards confiscated,
+and he then retired to the continent. He was shot by some unknown person
+as he was going to church at Lausanne. A short time after the house was
+granted to Sir Bulstrode Whitlock, who resided with his family at Chelsea
+for some years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Bulstrode Whitlock was the son of a Judge of the Court of King’s
+Bench; he wrote a memorial of English affairs from the latter part of the
+reign of Charles I. to the Restoration.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George, the second Duke of Buckingham, soon after the Restoration,
+recovered his father’s estates, and was the possessor of this house for a
+few years, but was soon obliged to dispose of it for the benefit of his
+creditors.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dryden, in his poem of Absalom and Achitophel, has drawn the following
+portrait of this nobleman in the character of Zimri:—
+
+ “A man so various, that he seemed to be
+ Not one, but all mankind’s epitome:
+ Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong,
+ He’s every thing by starts, and nothing long;
+ But in the course of one revolving moon,
+ Was Chymist, Fidler, Statesman, and Buffoon.
+ In squandering wealth, was his peculiar art,
+ Nothing went unrewarded but desert.
+ Beggar’d by fools, when still he found, too late
+ He had his jest, and they had his estate.”
+
+James Plummer, one of the Duke of Buckingham’s principal creditors, was
+the person in whose name this house was aliened in 1674, in trust, for
+George, Earl of Bristol, who is said to have died at Chelsea, and to have
+been buried in the church, but there is no memorial of him, or entry of
+his interment in the Parish Register.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George Digby, Earl of Bristol, was born in 1612, and was educated at
+Oxford; he soon became distinguished by his remarkable advancement in all
+kinds of elegant literature. In the beginning of the Long Parliament he
+was disaffected to the Court; shortly afterwards he appeared a declared
+enemy to the Parliament; and having testified his dislike of their
+proceedings against Lord Strafford, he was expelled the House of Commons
+in 1641. Upon the death of the king his lordship was exempted from
+pardon by the Parliament, and obliged to live in exile till the
+restoration of Charles II., when he recovered all he had lost; he grew
+very active in public affairs, spoke frequently in Parliament, and made
+himself conspicuous for his enmity to Lord Clarendon. Lord Bristol died
+in 1677, “neither loved nor regretted by any party.” The house at
+Chelsea he bequeathed to his Countess, Lady Ann Russell, daughter of
+Francis, Earl of Bedford, who sold it in 1682, to the Marquis of
+Worcester, created Duke of Beaufort, and who died in 1699.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The name of the house was now changed to Beaufort House. Mr. Evelyn, in
+his Diary, makes frequent mention of it:—“I went with my Lady Sunderland
+to Chelsey (1679), and dined with the Countess of Bristol (her mother) in
+the great house, formerly the Duke of Buckingham’s, a spacious and
+excellent place for the extent of ground and situation, in a good air.
+The house is large, but ill-contrived, though my Lord of Bristol expended
+much money upon it. There were divers pictures of Titian and Vandyke,
+and some of Bassans, very excellent, especially an Adonis and Venus, a
+Duke of Venice, a Butcher in his shambles selling meat to a Swiss, and of
+Van Dyck, my Lord of Bristol’s picture, with the Earl of Bedford’s at
+length. There was in the garden a rare collection of orange trees, of
+which she was pleased to bestow some upon me.” Again, in 1683, Mr.
+Evelyn says, “I went to see what had been done by the Duke of Beaufort on
+his house at Chelsey; he had made great alterations, but might have made
+a better house with the materials and the cost he had been at.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry, second Duke of Beaufort, by his will, dated in 1712, left all his
+estates, in trust, to be sold, and the produce appropriated according to
+a settlement made at his marriage. The house, however, continued to be
+the residence of that noble family till about the year 1720. Mary,
+relict of the first duke, died here in 1714, at the good old age of 85
+years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It may here be observed that Chelsea, not only in former times, but at
+the present period, 1869, is admitted to be generally a very healthy
+parish. This assertion is proved by the weekly reports given to the
+Vestry by Dr. Barclay, the medical officer of health, and which is
+confirmed by other gentlemen of the medical profession. The reports read
+at the meetings of the Chelsea Board of Guardians, also, shew that a
+great many of the inmates of the workhouse live to a very advanced age;
+and from peculiar facilities I possessed, many years ago, I can
+positively assert that the number of aged persons, who had for a long
+period been residents, was greater than in most of the other suburban
+parishes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Hans Sloane, after the mansion had stood empty for several years,
+purchased it in 1736, for the sum of £2,500 at a public sale, and had it
+pulled down in 1740. The gate, which was built by Inigo Jones for the
+Lord Treasurer Middlesex, he gave to the Earl of Burlington, who removed
+it to his gardens at Chiswick, which occasioned the following lines by
+POPE:—
+
+ PASSENGER.
+
+ O Gate, how com’st thou here?
+
+ GATE.
+
+ I was brought from Chelsea last year,
+ Batter’d with wind and weather;
+ Inigo Jones put me together;
+ Sir Hans Sloane,
+ Let me alone,
+ Burlington brought me hither.
+
+This gate was placed in an avenue near the house at Chiswick, and
+consisted of a portico, supported by two columns of the Doric order on
+one side, and pilasters on the other. On two stone tablets were
+inscribed: “Builded by Inigo Jones, at Chelsea, MDCXXI.” “Given by Sir
+Hans Sloane, baronet, to the Earl of Burlington, MDCCXXXVII.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Bowack thus describes Beaufort House in 1705: “This house is between two
+and three hundred feet in length, has a stately ancient front towards the
+Thames, also two spacious court yards, and behind it are very fine
+gardens. It is so pleasantly situated, that the late Queen Mary had a
+great desire to purchase it before King William built Kensington, but was
+prevented by some secret obstacles.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Attached to the house was a chapel, which appears to have been attended
+by a few of the inhabitants. In various marriage licenses, granted in
+1722, and in other years, persons were to be married in the Parish
+Church, in the chapel of Chelsea College, or the chapel of Beaufort
+House.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The above account of this celebrated mansion cannot fail to be highly
+interesting to the generality of readers. Mr. Faulkner has truly
+observed, “that few houses can boast of having been the residence of such
+a succession of noble and distinguished characters.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Beaufort (row) Street, which was begun to be built about 1766, takes its
+name from the Duke of Beaufort. A portion of his vast estate was the
+property of Mr. Long, a very old and respected parishioner, partly
+leasehold, under Earl Cadogan, and some of it, if not all, is still held
+by that family.
+
+
+
+Battersea Bridge, Sailing Matches, &c.
+
+
+To meet the tastes of all classes of readers, I shall occasionally
+deviate from the prescribed order which it was my original intention to
+have pursued; by doing so it will remove the weariness that frequently
+arises, especially in works of this description, from dwelling too long
+on one particular subject. This motive, I trust, will be accepted as an
+apology for apparent digressions.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There was formerly a Ferry a little eastward of the spot where now stands
+Battersea Bridge, and consequently not far distant from the distinguished
+mansion just described. It belonged to Thomas, Earl of Lincoln, who sold
+it in 1618 to William Blake. After some time it became the property of
+Sir Walter St. John, and passed with the Bolingbroke estate to Earl
+Spencer, under whom it was held in 1766, when an Act of Parliament was
+obtained for building a bridge over the Thames, from Chelsea to
+Battersea, and empowering Lord Spencer to build the same. Fifteen
+proprietors having subscribed a sum of money each, it was accordingly
+begun in 1771, was opened for foot-passengers in the same year, and in
+the following year was ready for carriages. From 1772, when the bridge
+was finally erected, to the present time, 1869, is exactly 97 years, and
+this is the precise age of it. It is a most unsightly structure of wood,
+about one furlong in length, 28 ft. wide, and its cost rather more than
+£20,000. The proprietors have a vote for the counties of Middlesex and
+Surrey.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Lamps were first placed on the bridge in 1799, and in 1821 and 1822 an
+iron railing 4-ft. high, on the western side, was substituted for the
+original wooden railing, and in 1824, the eastern side was completed. So
+far apart were the original wooden railings, which were placed crossways,
+that the body of a child might have passed through them, and, if not
+observed, no person cognizant of the fatal accident. There were also, at
+the above period, eight projecting recesses, four on each side,
+constructed for the safety of foot-passengers, and a slightly raised
+pathway made.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The number of lives that have been sacrificed at this bridge, together
+with the barges sunken at it, even within the last few years, is really
+painful to contemplate. It is a sad contrast, in every respect, to the
+elegant structures that now span the river, and it is to be hoped there
+will soon be erected another one in its place—one that will be an
+ornament to Chelsea, Battersea, and the metropolis.
+
+
+
+HYDE PARK ON THE THAMES.
+
+
+That part of the river, known as Chelsea Reach, was so fashionable a
+rendezvous of pleasure boats and barges in the reign of Charles II. that
+some persons have described the scene as being a sort of Pall Mall
+Afloat, and it was called “Hyde Park on the Thames,” in that king’s
+reign. The reach is the widest of any part westward of London Bridge,
+which rendered it peculiarly suitable for such grand aquatic displays.
+There were dukes and duchesses, marquises, earls, and barons, with a
+similar fashionable throng to that which may still be witnessed in Hyde
+Park. The watermen were arrayed in dresses of all colours, and the whole
+presented a scene of grandeur which cannot be adequately described.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Fishing, at the above period, was carried on to a very considerable
+extent at Chelsea; but, owing to the fishermen using unlawful nets, and
+other causes, it fell into decay, and, finally, proved an unprofitable
+speculation. In my earlier days two or three fishermen earned a scanty
+living by selling the fish they caught, and a few lovers of angling also
+occasionally “pulled up” some very fine roach and dace, in the prime
+season, at Battersea Bridge.
+
+
+
+SAILING MATCHES.
+
+
+The river at Chelsea, some years since, presented in the summer season a
+very animating and pleasing scene. The sailing matches attracted numbers
+from London, and excited great interest amongst the inhabitants. As aged
+men, however, are said to see nothing now equal to “the days when they
+were young,”—and lest it should be thought I was magnifying the scene,
+making the sailing matches of former days something like, for excitement
+and enthusiasm, the present renowned Oxford and Cambridge Boat Races—I
+will endeavour to avoid the possibility of being charged with giving an
+exaggerated description of them. But, seriously speaking, it may be
+said, with truth, that Cheyne Walk and Battersea Bridge, on such
+occasions, were crowded with many of the nobility, and a vast number of
+ladies and gentlemen, either in carriages or on horseback. The fleet of
+sailing boats, with the little _Spitfire_ generally ahead, and “Tom
+Bettsworth,” {41} the owner, on board, when seen at a short distance
+approaching Chelsea, with the sun shining on the white canvas sails, and
+other pleasure boats decorated with flags, in many of which were
+musicians playing various lively popular tunes, presented a sort of
+miniature resemblance to those delightful spectacles which are now only
+to be seen off Erith, &c. The steamboats have rendered such displays
+impracticable for some years past at Chelsea, and pleasures of this kind
+must give way to the transactions of business and public convenience.
+Commodore Capt. Harrison, a distinguished member of one of the first
+Yacht Clubs, took a great interest in the Chelsea Sailing Matches. He
+resided in the parish, and was highly esteemed for his conviviality and
+gentlemanly deportment. His remains were interred in the Brompton
+Cemetery.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I will now renew the notices of distinguished residents in this part of
+the parish, occasionally giving a short description of new public
+erections, and other interesting particulars.
+
+Henry Sampson Woodfall, Esq., was born in Little Britain, in 1739, and
+when he retired from the active affairs of life, he took a house in
+Lombard Street, near the Old Church. At a very early age he had the
+honour of receiving from Mr. Pope half-a-crown for reading to him, with
+much fluency, a page of Homer. When twelve years old he was sent to St.
+Paul’s School, on leaving which he was apprenticed to his father, a
+printer in Paternoster Row; and at the age of nineteen he had committed
+to his charge the whole business of editing and printing the “Public
+Advertiser.” From this period till the beginning of 1793, he continued
+constantly in the exercise of this laborious function. During so long a
+time, when parties ran extremely high in politics, it is not surprising
+that a printer should have gotten into some difficulties. He used
+jocularly to say to his Chelsea friends that he had been fined and
+confined by the Court of King’s Bench; fined by the House of Lords and
+Commons, and indicted at the Old Bailey. He laid particular emphasis on
+the words “fined” and “confined.” His conduct respecting those
+celebrated letters, signed JUNIUS, displayed great integrity and
+disinterestedness of character. He associated much with Garrick,
+Coleman, Bonnel, Thornton, Smollett, Goldsmith, and other wits of his
+day, and his own conversation overflowed with interesting anecdotes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In this street resided for many years Mr. W. Lewis, bookbinder, the
+intimate friend of Dr. Smollett, and his fellow companion, on their
+journey from Edinburgh to London. It was by the advice of Smollett that
+he settled at Chelsea; he is pourtrayed in the novel of “Roderick
+Random,” under the character of Strap the Barber, and many facetious
+anecdotes are there related of his simplicity, vanity, and ignorance of
+the world. Mr. Lewis died about 1785.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Danvers Street was begun to be built in the latter end of the 17th
+century, on the site of Danvers Gardens, and from thence takes its name.
+Danvers House adjoined Sir Thomas More’s estate, if it was not actually a
+part of his property, or that of his son in-law, Roper; there existed
+anciently a thoroughfare or private way between the houses in Lombard
+Street, on the north side, towards the King’s Road, but to what extent
+cannot now be ascertained.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir John Danvers, who possessed this property as early as the reign of
+Elizabeth, was the younger brother of Sir H. Danvers, created Earl of
+Danby in 1625, and by reason of his noble birth was made Gentleman Usher
+to King Charles the First. In this promotion, having more pride than
+wit, he lived above his income, and finding himself plunged deeply in
+debt, and discarded by his family and his Sovereign for associating with
+the seditious, and propagating their principles about the Court, he, with
+hopes of gain, and of protection from his creditors, joined the rebels,
+always embraced the religion of the prevailing party, and at last
+submitted to that base office, to assist with his presence in the mock
+court of justice, and, with his hand and seal to the warrant annexed, to
+take away the life of that king whose bread he had eaten; being induced
+thereto (as a writer of that period states) chiefly through an
+expectation of ousting his brother, and seizing upon his estate for his
+own use, by the same authority and power as so unjustly cut off his
+Majesty’s head. He died a natural death in 1659, before the restoration.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir John married Magdalen, daughter of Sir Richard Newport, and relict of
+Sir Richard Herbert, by whom she was mother of the famous Lord Herbert of
+Cherbury.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After the death of her first husband this lady continued a widow twelve
+years, and was highly esteemed for her great and harmless wit, cheerful
+gravity, and obliging behaviour, which gained her an acquaintance and
+friendship with most people of eminent worth or learning in the
+University of Oxford, where she lived four years, to take care of the
+education of her eldest son, her children being all young at the death of
+their father. She died in 1627, and was buried at Chelsea. The Dean of
+St. Paul’s, whilst preaching her funeral sermon, could not refrain from
+tears, as Walton reports, who was present.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Danvers House passed from the Danvers family to the Hon. T. Wharton, who,
+by Queen Anne, in 1714, was created Marquis of Wharton. The house was
+pulled down about 1716. The garden and grounds extended to the King’s
+Road; considerable remains of this house were discovered on the site of
+Paultons Square in 1822, consisting of the foundations of walls, the
+remains of the great bath, and various fragments of stone pillars and
+capitals, the whole covering a great space of land, but being considered
+by the proprietor, Mr. Shepherd, nurseryman, too extensive to take up,
+they were again covered with earth. It was Sir John Danvers who first
+introduced into this country the Italian method of horticulture, of which
+his garden was a most beautiful specimen. Against the wall of the house
+at the south end of Danvers Street, is placed a stone thus
+inscribed:—“This is Danvers Street, begun in ye year 1696 by Benjamin
+Stafford.” In 1742 this was a public house, the sign of the Bell, which
+was suspended across the street. The house at the south-west corner was
+also, it is said, formerly a public house, known by the sign of the
+Angel.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Duke Street, as already indirectly intimated, was first built at the time
+when the Duke of Buckingham resided at the “greatest house in Chelsea,”
+and was thus named in compliment to that nobleman. There is nothing
+clearly known as to the origin of Lombard Street.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Luke Thomas Flood, Esq., first resided in Cheyne Walk, but afterwards
+removed to the spacious house at the western corner of Beaufort Street,
+fronting the river. He was a very great benefactor to the parish, an
+active and intelligent magistrate, and interested himself in promoting at
+all times whatever was conducive to the welfare and improvement of
+Chelsea. He was treasurer of the Parish Schools for many years, and, in
+1818, through his indefatigable exertions, he succeeded in nearly
+doubling the number of children that had attended them, and who were
+clothed and educated free of expense to their parents. Towards the close
+of his life he went to Brighton, where he remained till his death, which
+occurred about 1860. His munificent annual gifts to the poor of this
+parish, as bequeathed in his will, but which he desired to be at once
+carried into effect, during his remaining days, will cause his memory to
+be revered in this parish by all future generations. Mr. Flood possessed
+some valuable pictures by the most eminent Masters.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles Hatchett, Esq., resided in the adjoining house, known as Belle
+Vue House. It was built by his father, in 1771. In it was a small but
+choice collection of pictures, amongst which were two landscapes, by
+Salvator Rosa; a Madonna and Child, by Andrea del Sarto; a beautiful
+small landscape, by Van Goen; another by Ferg, and a large one by George
+Barrett, R.A., with cattle, by the elder Mr. Gilpin. A very excellent
+portrait of Mrs. Hatchett, by Gainsborough; and a picture, supposed to be
+by Giovanni Bellini, the subject “a Dead Christ and Holy Family.” The
+library was very extensive, containing many valuable editions of the
+Greek and Latin Classics, a numerous series of historical works, and the
+voluminous Transactions and Memoirs of the Royal Society. The collection
+of manuscript and printed music was also very considerable. Mr. Hatchett
+was the author of several works on chemical science, and was a magistrate
+for the county. He contributed to most of the local charities, and as a
+private gentleman was much respected. He died in 1846, at an advanced
+age.
+
+
+
+Lindsey House, the Moravians, &c.
+
+
+This ancient mansion stands also in front of the river, and adjoined Sir
+Thomas More’s. It was erected by the Earl of Lindsey, in the reign of
+Charles II., on the site of a house originally built by Sir Theodore
+Mayerne, an eminent physician, and the only instance on record of a
+physician who was retained in that character by four kings. He lived
+many years in Chelsea, and died here at the age of 82. At his death,
+Robert, Earl of Lindsey, purchased the house, which he pulled down, and
+erected the present edifice; it has, however, undergone great alterations
+by subsequent proprietors, and is now divided into five houses. The Earl
+of Lindsey died in 1701, but his widow resided here till 1705. In the
+same year Lindsey House was occupied by Ursula, Countess Dowager of
+Plymouth, and by her son, Lord Windsor. It was afterwards in the
+possession of Francis, Lord Conway, the second son of Sir E. Seymour, who
+was created a peer in 1703. By his third wife, Charlotte, sister to Lady
+Walpole, he had Francis, Marquis of Hertford, who was born at Chelsea in
+1718. The house continued in the Ancaster family till 1750, when it was
+purchased for the Moravian Society.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Count Zinzendorf, who was the purchaser, formed an intention of
+establishing a settlement at Chelsea for the Moravians, and took a plot
+of ground to erect a large building for the reception of three hundred
+families, to carry on a manufactory; and, besides possessing Lindsey
+House, he also purchased a piece of ground, part of the gardens of
+Beaufort House, for a burial ground, together with the stables belonging
+to that old mansion, and likewise a slip of ground to erect a chapel.
+The chapel was fitted up, but the settlement, which was to be called
+Sharon, failed. The house was, however, inhabited by some of the
+society. Count Zinzendorf himself lived there, and presided over the
+community as long as he dwelt in England. In 1754 an English provincial
+Synod was held here, at which the minister of the brethren’s church at
+London, John Gambold, a divine greatly esteemed for his piety and
+learning by several English bishops, who were his cotemporaries at
+Oxford, was consecrated a bishop of the church of the brethren; he had
+previously published a hymn book for the children belonging to the
+brethren’s congregation, printed entirely with his own hands at Lindsey
+House. The inmates of the house consisted chiefly of Germans and
+missionaries, for whose use the Count principally intended the
+establishment, that they might make it a sort of caravansera or resting
+place when they arrived in this country, in passing to or from their
+various missionary establishments in the British dominions. The panels
+of the great staircase, being wainscotted, were painted by Haidt, a
+celebrated German artist; there were also in the house several admirable
+portraits. The house was sold by the society in 1770. There has not
+been any other settlement for the Moravians since that period. Their
+church is episcopal and has been acknowledged as such by Parliament.
+They live, in their settlements, like members of one large family; the
+most perfect harmony prevails amongst them, and they seem to have but one
+wish at heart, the propagation of the Gospel and the general good of
+mankind.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Moravian Burial Ground, the entrance to which is at the north end of
+Milman’s Row, occupies about two acres of ground. The whole is divided
+into four distinct compartments. The brethren are buried in separate
+divisions from those of the sisters; for, as in their public assemblies,
+they still adhere to the ancient custom of separating the sexes, the men
+occupying one, and the women the other side of the chapel, so they retain
+it even in their burying ground. The tomb-stones are all flat, placed on
+turf, raised about six inches above the ground, in regular rows. The
+inscriptions in general record only the names and age of the persons
+interred. Amongst them are the following:—
+
+ * * * * *
+
+William Hammond, 1783, formerly a clergyman of the Church of England; he
+was of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and was the author of a book,
+entitled, “The Marrow of the Gospel,” being the substance of some sermons
+preached before the University. He was a man of considerable learning,
+and an excellent Greek scholar, in which language he wrote his own life.
+The late Rev. Mr. La Trobe had the manuscript in his possession some
+years ago.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+James Fraser, aged 63, 1808, who made fifty-six voyages between England
+and Labrador, in the service of the Moravian Missions on that coast.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+James Hutton, 1795, of whom there is an engraved portrait in mezzotinto,
+with a trumpet to his ear. This worthy and well-known character was
+accustomed to pay morning visits to some of the first families in
+Chelsea; he used likewise to seek out objects that were in distress, and
+relieved them according to their necessities. The character of Albany,
+in Miss Burney’s celebrated novel of Cecilia, is said to be meant for his
+portrait. He died in the 80th year of his age.
+
+The Rev. C. J. La Trobe succeeded him as secretary to the brethren.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+James Gillray, 1799, forty years sexton at this cemetery, father of
+Gillray the celebrated caricaturist, whose works are so much admired for
+their spirit and effect.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Pætrus Bæhler, 1770. A very active Minister among the Moravians, and one
+of their bishops. He came to England in 1738, was very intimate with
+Wesley and Whitfield, whom he visited at Oxford, and who were in the same
+ship with him when he went to America as Minister of the Colony of
+Georgia.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Benjamin La Trobe, 1786, father of the Rev. C. J. La Trobe, a man of
+distinguished excellence as a preacher, the editor of several religious
+works, and for a long time superintendent of the congregation in England.
+He removed many “absurdities which prevailed in their religious
+proceedings, and which had subjected the whole community to unmerited
+scandal.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Christian Renatus, Count of Zinzendorf, May 28, 1832. There is against
+the south wall of the chapel a tablet to his memory. He was the only son
+of the celebrated Count Zinzendorf.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mary Theresa Stonehouse, daughter of Sir John Crisp, Bart., and wife of
+the Rev. George Stonehouse, 1751. This monument is on the right of the
+preceding.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In this cemetery also lies buried an Esquimaux Indian, called Nunak. As
+he had not been baptized, he was not permitted to lie in the same
+division with the community, but was placed outside the walk under an elm
+tree, having an inscription to his memory in the same style as the rest
+of the Brethren.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The burial service of the church is particularly impressive. The coffin
+being deposited in the middle of the chapel, a hymn is sung by the
+congregation, for they value and carefully cultivate music as a science,
+and the responses of their liturgies are attended with peculiar effect.
+The Minister then delivers a discourse, in which some account is given of
+the deceased, with suitable exhortations. The form of service contained
+in their Liturgy is next read, and the congregation then follow the
+corpse, the men walking together, and the women the same. A scriptural
+passage is read, commencing as follows. “Meanwhile none of us liveth to
+himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die,
+we die unto the Lord,” &c. The following is then sung by the
+congregation:—
+
+ “Now to the earth let these remains
+ In hope committed be,
+ Until the body, chang’d, obtains
+ Blest immortality.”
+
+While the above verse is being sung the body is let down into the grave.
+A prayer is then offered, and the whole is concluded by singing a verse
+of another hymn.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The chapel at the north side of the burial ground occupies the site of
+the old stables of Beaufort House. It is a plain building, displaying no
+architectural adornments, and it is now upwards of fifty years since
+Divine service was performed in it by the brethren. For a long time it
+has been occupied as a schoolroom for the boys belonging to Park Chapel
+National and Sunday Schools, and most of the annual meetings of the
+numerous societies, which are supported by the congregation of Park
+Chapel, are at present held in it.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The house adjoining the entrance to the Moravian Chapel and Burial
+Ground, some few years since pulled down, was for many years in the
+occupation of the Howard family, of the Society of Friends. The elder
+Mr. Howard was gardener to Sir Hans Sloane; his brother having a natural
+genius for mechanics, became a clockmaker, and made the clock in the Old
+Church, in 1761, for the sum of £50. In the front of Howard’s house was
+placed a large clock, and hence the origin of the appellation, “Clock
+House,” as now applied to what was once the Moravian chapel.
+
+
+
+LINDSEY ROW.
+
+
+It was mentioned at the commencement of the description of Lindsey House,
+that it had been divided into five houses, called Lindsey Row. These
+houses still remain, and are inhabited at the present time by families of
+great respectability. They command a most delightful prospect of the
+Thames, which here forms a sort of bay; the view from the upper stories
+is bounded on the south by the Surrey Hills, and Putney Heath on the
+north.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry Constantine Jennings, Esq., a most eccentric and unfortunate
+gentleman, resided in the first house on the east. He was born in 1731,
+and was descended from a very ancient and illustrious family, the Nevils.
+The celebrated Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, he reckoned among his
+progenitors. At an early age he obtained a commission in the first
+regiment of Foot Guards, and afterwards went abroad on his travels.
+While in Italy, he formed an acquaintance with the Duke of Marlborough,
+then Marquis of Blandford, and it is said he suggested the idea of the
+cabinet of antiques, afterwards engraved by Bartolozzi, and so well known
+as the Marlborough Gems. It was at this period, doubtless, that Mr.
+Jennings acquired a passion for objects of taste. On his return to
+England, he repaired to his seat at Shiplake, in the county of Oxford,
+and unfortunately for him became addicted to the pleasures of the turf,
+and the result was that his fortune was soon dissipated. Mr. Jennings
+now withdrew from society and lived in obscurity. A sudden change of
+fortune seems, however, to have released him from pecuniary difficulties,
+for we find him collecting, with great ardour, every object of antiquity,
+&c., that was presented to his notice, and which he could purchase. He
+also possessed a most valuable library. But, again, he became reduced in
+his circumstances, and had to dispose of his books and collections at a
+vast loss.
+
+From this time but few particulars are known of Mr. Jennings, until he
+settled at Lindsey Row, about 1792. Here he continued to reside, fully
+occupied as an antiquary, a virtuoso, and an author, until, at length,
+his health began to decline, and his fortune daily became deteriorated,
+in consequence of his inordinate passion for collecting objects of taste;
+at last he closed his eccentric career a prisoner within the rules of the
+King’s Bench, where he expired February 7, 1819, aged 88.
+
+This remarkable gentleman, whom I well remember, seemed more properly to
+belong to some distant generation rather than the one in which he
+lived—his character, dress, and manners, were so different in every
+respect. The fate of such a man, to a certain extent, awakens our
+sympathy, for his pursuits were generally throughout his life most
+refined; and the disasters which befel him is a warning to many in the
+present day.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Jennings’s Museum well deserves to be noticed. It consisted of a
+rare and valuable collection of the most chosen specimens of taste, and
+probably the completest collection of shells. Many fine specimens of
+minerals and scarce coloured gems, cameos, and intaglios; crystals, and
+other choice productions of nature, such as diamonds of almost every
+colour, rubies, emeralds, pearls, sapphires, &c.; not to omit many
+excellent specimens of well-preserved birds and quadrupeds. Old, and
+first-rate impressions of prints from Raphael, and others of the Roman
+school; some fine specimens of sculpture, both ancient and modern; many
+fine and scarce impressions of first editions, classical and of the
+entertaining kind, with many original drawings and pictures; in short,
+all that could interest one who had been long a real amateur. Among the
+portraits was a fine one of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and another of
+Titian and his Mistress, the Mary in her fourteenth year; likewise
+several rare enamel miniatures of interesting characters; among which was
+one of the Princess Elizabeth, about seventeen years of age, this latter
+by Holbein; with some well-preserved medals in gold and silver.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+This collection was disposed of by auction, by Mr. Phillips, in 1820; the
+shells, and most valuable articles, being removed to Bond Street, and the
+preserved birds, quadrupeds, and other articles of rarity, together with
+the furniture, were sold at Lindsey Row.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+T. Bonner, Esq., a gentleman much respected in the parish, resided in
+Lindsey Row for many years. Mrs. Bonner was at all times most active in
+relieving the necessitous and deserving poor. She occupied the house
+some time after the death of her husband, and died a few years ago.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Mark Isombard Brunell, the originator and designer of the Thames
+Tunnel, resided for a considerable period in the centre house. His
+public works will immortalize his name to the latest posterity, as being
+one of the most eminent engineers of the present century.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Martin, R.A., K.L., so well known for those grandly-conceived and
+sublime compositions, “Joshua commanding the Sun to stand Still,” “The
+Fall of Nineveh,” “The Last Judgment,” &c., also resided in Lindsey Row
+for some years. The late Prince Consort was a frequent visitor to his
+Studio, and it is a pleasing fact to record that Mr. Martin kindly
+permitted the neighbouring inhabitants, and others, to have access
+occasionally to it, accompanied by an attendant, during his absence from
+home. He died, as will be remembered, not many years since.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Timothy Bramah, Esq., a distinguished engineer, likewise occupied a house
+in Lindsey Row, for some years. The family was always greatly respected,
+and a member of it still resides in a house near the one where Mr. Bramah
+resided. The “Bramah Lock” at once denotes the celebrity of the firm.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. James Hutchins, M.A., who succeeded his father, the Rev. John
+Hutchins, as Evening Lecturer at the Old Church, resided for some years
+at a house at the western corner of Milman’s Row, fronting the river.
+Mr. Hutchins, the son, was also Evening Lecturer at the new St. Luke’s
+Church for several years. The Lecturer was remunerated by voluntary
+contributions, chiefly, collected from the inhabitants throughout the
+parish, the average amount altogether being about £60 per annum.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Milman’s Row, which nearly adjoins Lindsey Row, and which might now with
+great propriety be called Milman Street, leads to the King’s Road. It
+derives its name from Sir William Milman, who died in 1713, the estate
+having been for some years in his possession. The ancient
+parsonage-house and grounds, which were exchanged by the Rector in 1566,
+with the Marquis of Winchester, for the present Rectory, stood upon this
+spot. Strewan House, which is on the western side of Milman’s Row, has
+been occupied at different periods by many highly-respectable families.
+It is now in the possession of George Berry, Esq.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The foundry, which belonged to a person of the name of Janeway, was
+situated near World’s End Passage. It was very extensive, and here the
+old bells of the Church were re-cast in 1759. Riley Street, which stands
+on part of the foundry ground, was built principally in 1790.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Patrick Gibson, aged 111 years, lived in a house near the old World’s End
+Tavern. For many years this remarkable man was a purser in the navy, in
+the reign of George III., and on all occasions he was invariably found in
+the thick of the battle, fighting with the most determined bravery. He
+assisted in conveying General Wolfe off the field, and served under Lord
+Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. William IV., when Duke of Clarence,
+visited him at Chelsea, and took great interest in his affairs. He
+resided in the parish 20 years, and died in 1832, at the remarkable age
+of 111 years, which was proved to be correct from official dates and by
+particular events. An exceedingly striking portrait of Patrick Gibson,
+by McNaughten, adorns the walls of Greenwich Hospital.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The World’s-End Tavern was a noted house of entertainment in the reign of
+Charles II.; the tea-gardens and grounds were extensive, and elegantly
+fitted up for the reception of company. The origin of the sign of the
+house is uncertain. It was probably so named on account of its then
+considered distance from London, and the bad and dangerous state of the
+roads or pathways to it. Most of the visitors came in pleasure boats
+along the Thames. This ancient tavern is particularly mentioned in
+Congreve’s comedy of “Love for Love,” in a dialogue between Mrs.
+Foresight and Mrs. Frail, in which the former accuses the latter of
+having been seen at the “World’s End.”
+
+ _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 declare you can keep your
+ countenance—surely you’ll make an admirable player.
+
+ _Mrs. Frail_.—I declare 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 Word’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 declare 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! bother on’t that I could not discover her
+ without betraying myself. (_Aside_.)
+
+Joseph Mallard W. Turner, Esq., R.A., resided for some time in a small
+house directly facing the Thames, in the road leading to Cremorne, where
+he died in 1851. No doubt he selected this spot on account of the
+attractive scenery on the river, and the fine view of some parts of
+Surrey, as also to enjoy for a time the benefits arising from a more
+secluded life. At the age of thirty years, Mr. Turner was recognised as
+the first landscape painter of the day. For a period of sixty years he
+contributed to every exhibition of the Royal Academy, sending in all 259
+pictures. For many years he refused to part with some of the choicest
+specimens of his art, and after his death it was found that he had left
+those to the English nation, together with a great number of drawings and
+engravings. Mr. Turner, while residing here, lived in almost entire
+seclusion. He would not see any person, excepting a few very intimate
+friends, and, in fact, was extremely anxious not to be recognized. This
+inclination, at the close of his life, was very natural. The world is
+indebted to him for his productions, and Chelsea is proud to add his name
+to its list of distinguished residents.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The roadway in front of the house occupied by Mr. Turner, and along the
+front of that part of the river, has been considerably widened, and now
+presents a well-formed embankment. A handsome terrace has been erected,
+besides a number of houses on the adjoining ground.
+
+
+
+CREMORNE HOUSE.
+
+
+This villa was first formed by Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon, who died
+in 1746. It afterwards belonged, successively, to Richard, Viscount
+Powerscourt; to the Countess Dowager of Exeter, relict of Brownlow, the
+eighth Earl; and to Sir Richard Lyttleton, who married the Dowager
+Duchess of Bridgewater, and died in 1770.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After the death of the Duchess, in 1777, Thomas Dawson, Viscount
+Cremorne, at that time Baron Dartrey, purchased the villa in 1778. He
+considerably enlarged and embellished the premises, under the skill of
+the eminent Mr. James Wyatt. His lordship died in Stanhope Street,
+Mayfair, in 1813, in his 89th year, greatly respected, and bequeathed the
+estate to his relict, the late Viscountess. It is stated, in an account
+published shortly after Lord Cremorne’s death, that “his generosity was
+unbounded, and his heart, in the most comprehensive sense, charitable.
+But his most excellent character is, that he was a Christian in mind and
+practice.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Dowager Viscountess Cremorne, born in Philadelphia in 1740, died at
+her house in Stanhope Street in 1825, in the 86th year of her age. Her
+ladyship resided at Chelsea a great portion of the year, and kept a large
+establishment. She was one of the most kind-hearted residents in the
+parish. For years it was her custom to entertain annually the children
+of the parochial and other schools, and she patronized the tradesmen of
+Chelsea as far as it was practicable, giving special orders to that
+effect to her household. Queen Charlotte occasionally visited her in the
+summer months, when the children again attended, and received tokens of
+her benevolent regard for them. She was buried by the side of her
+husband in the family vault at Stoke. The carriages of the Royal Family
+followed in the funeral procession for some distance, and most of the
+tradesmen closed their shops. She bequeathed the villa to her first
+cousin and executor, Granville Penn, Esq., second surviving son of Thomas
+Penn, and brother of John Penn, Esqrs., of Stoke Park, Bucks, Hereditary
+Governors and Proprietaries of the Province of Pennsylvania. Granville
+Penn, Esq., resided in it for a few years. It would occupy too much
+space to give a sketch even of the history of this distinguished family.
+
+Lord and Lady Cremorne possessed a very fine and extensive collection of
+paintings, which were sold by auction, on the premises, in 1827. Amongst
+them was a copy of Correggio’s picture of the Madonna and Child, and St.
+Jerome at Parma, by Copley, full size, and accounted the best copy of
+that celebrated picture. The late Lord Lyndhurst purchased it. The
+grounds, &c., are now known as Cremorne Gardens, but this once pretty
+villa can scarcely now be recognised as the favourite residence of Lord
+and Lady Cremorne.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Ashburnham House is situated to the west of the late Lord Cremorne’s
+premises. Dr. Benjamin Hoadley built the house, in 1747, for his own
+residence, but it has since been greatly altered by different occupiers.
+He was the eldest son of the Bishop of Winchester, and was a Fellow of
+the Royal Society when very young. In the learned world he was known as
+a philosopher. Dr. Hoadley was also an eminent physician. At his death
+Hoadley House was purchased by Sir Richard Glynn, who sold it to the Earl
+of Ashburnham, and thence it obtained the name of Ashburnham House. It
+was next in possession of that learned physician, Dr. Cadogan, who
+resided in it for a few years, and planted in the garden a large quantity
+of medicinal herbs. Lady Mary Coke resided here for about ten years, and
+sold it to Mr. Brown, who occupied a house near to it, called Ashburnham
+Cottage. Mr. Stevens at length possessed the house, and resided in it
+for many years. Afterwards it was the residence of the Hon. Leicester
+Stanhope, subsequently Earl of Harrington.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the banks of the river, in front of Ashburnham House, was a piece of
+land, called the Lots. The Lammas rights of the parishioners, with
+respect to this land, are now extinct. Those who wish to know the
+particulars, will find them fully recorded in the Annual Vestry Reports,
+which may be obtained at the Vestry Hall, and which will render many
+parochial details in this work quite unnecessary.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the south side of the King’s Road, and near to the boundary line which
+divides the parishes of Chelsea and Fulham, is Dudmarton House, which was
+for a considerable period the residence of Samuel Gower Poole, Esq., who
+erected a chapel on the premises, where he occasionally preached, and
+amongst others the Rev. Dr. Jay, of Bath, the Rev. John and Charles
+Hyatt, the Rev. Dr. Collyer, &c. The Rev. Dr. Raffles, it is stated,
+preached his first sermon there when he was quite a youth. Mr. Poole
+also established a school for the education of poor boys, many of whom
+were clothed through his exertions.
+
+
+
+Stanley House, St. Mark’s College.
+
+
+Near to what is now the Chelsea Railway Station, on the north of the
+King’s Road, is Stanley House. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth this was
+part of the estate of Sir Arthur Gorges, who was knighted in 1597, and
+died in 1625, and who built a house on this site for his own residence.
+Rowland White, writing to Sir Robert Sidney, Nov. 15, 1599, says, “As the
+Queen passed by the faire new building, Sir Arthur Gorges presented her
+with a faire jewell.” The family of Gorges at this period possessed very
+considerable property in Chelsea, which they afterwards gradually
+disposed of to the Cheyne family and others.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Arthur Gorges was the intimate friend of Spenser, who lamented the
+death of the first Lady Gorges, daughter of Viscount Bindon, and who died
+in 1590, in a beautiful elegy, entitled Daphnaida; he has recorded
+likewise the conjugal affection and the talents of her husband, under the
+name of Alcyon, in the following elegant lines:—
+
+ “And there is sad Alcyon, bent to mourne
+ Though fit to frame an everlasting dittie;
+ Whose gentle spright for Daphne’s death doth tourne
+ Sweet lays of love to endlesse plaints of pittie.
+ Ah! pensive boy, pursue that brave conceipt
+ In thy sweet eglantine merriflure;
+ Lift up thy notes unto their wonted height,
+ That may my muse and mates to mirth allure.”
+
+Sir Arthur married, secondly, Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, Earl of
+Lincoln, by which marriage he became possessed of Sir Thomas More’s
+house, which, in 1619, he conveyed to Lionel, Lord Cranfield. He died in
+1625, leaving by his second wife six children. Lady Elizabeth Gorges,
+his widow, in 1637, sold this estate to her daughter, Lady Elizabeth
+Stanley, widow of Sir Robert Stanley, and confirmed the same by her will
+in 1643, in which year she died. The family of Stanley appear to have
+held possession of this estate, and resided here till the latter end of
+the seventeenth century, when this branch of it became extinct, in the
+male line, by the death of William Stanley, Esq. in 1691. The house was
+rebuilt about this period; and, being left in an unfinished state, was
+for several years unoccupied. It belonged, in 1724, to Henry Arundel,
+Esq. Admiral Sir Charles Wager died here in 1743. It is said that this
+gallant officer was educated a Quaker, and that though he left that
+society, he was always particularly kind to its members.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After passing through several hands, Stanley House became the property of
+Miss Southwell, afterwards the lady of Sir James Eyre, Lord Chief Justice
+of the Common Pleas, who sold it in 1777 to the Countess of Strathmore,
+one of the most intelligent female botanists of the age. Her ladyship
+had begun to build extensive hothouses and conservatories, brought
+exotics from the Cape, and was continually raising an increase to her
+collections, when, by an unfortunate marriage, the cruel spoiler came,
+and threw them like loathsome weeds away. The Countess married A. R.
+Bowes, Esq., whose barbarities to her exceeded every thing recorded in
+the annals of crime, and drew upon him the execrations of the whole
+country. {57} After suffering innumerable indignities from her husband,
+the Countess exhibited articles of the peace against him in the Court of
+King’s Bench, and obtained a separation, under heavy securities. She
+passed the remainder of her days in much affliction, both in body and
+mind, and departed this life on the 20th April, 1800. Bowes died
+miserably in a jail.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Stanley House was purchased of the Countess of Strathmore, by Mr. Lochee,
+who kept the Military Academy at Little Chelsea, and was for some time in
+the occupation of Richard Warren, M.D. This eminent physician was the
+son of the Rev. Richard Warren, Archdeacon of Suffolk. He died in 1797,
+and was buried in the chancel of Kensington Church, where a monument,
+with a Latin inscription, was erected to his memory.
+
+About the year 1815, Stanley House was purchased by William Hamilton,
+Esq., who resided in it for some time, and made great additions to the
+original structure, by building a picture gallery on the east side. He
+had a good collection of paintings, a capital portrait of his father, the
+Rev. Dr. Hamilton, Vicar of St. Martin’s in the Fields, and many fine
+casts of the Elgin marbles. In 1822, Mr. Hamilton was appointed Envoy to
+the Court of Naples, and during his absence from Chelsea, he let the
+house to some distinguished families, amongst them may be mentioned the
+Marquis of Queensbury. Mr. Hamilton afterwards sold the estate to the
+National Society.
+
+
+
+ST. MARK’S COLLEGE.
+
+
+Stanley House, as it was formerly called, became the residence of the
+Principal of St. Mark’s College, which was established by the National
+Society, in the year 1841, as a Training Institution for Schoolmasters,
+in connexion with the Church of England. To the Rev. Derwent Coleridge,
+M.A., the first Principal of the College, must be attributed the eminent
+position it has attained among the educational institutions of the
+country. He was the Principal of the College for a period of
+twenty-three years, and greatly beloved by the Students, popular among
+his Colleagues and Assistants, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of
+the Council, who had the pleasant task of co-operating with him. In
+January, 1864, he was presented by the late Bishop of London to the
+Rectory of Hanwell, which occasioned his resignation.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Many candidates of great eminence were desirous to become the Rev. Mr.
+Coleridge’s successor, and from among them the Rev. John G. Cromwell,
+M.A., Hon. Canon of Durham, and formerly Scholar of Brasenose College,
+Oxford, was selected, his testimonials being of the very highest order,
+and his successful administration of the Training College at Durham,
+during 12 years, appeared to the Council a sufficient guarantee for his
+success at St. Mark’s. This expectation has now been happily fully
+realized.
+
+The Vice-Principal is the Rev. C. F. Eastburn, M.A., Fellow of St. John’s
+College, Cambridge, and the Rev. C. S. Dawe, B.A., is the Normal Master
+in the College, and Head Master of the School, and, from the testimony of
+those who are well-qualified to form an impartial opinion, they most
+efficiently discharge their respective arduous duties, and this just
+acknowledgment equally applies to the Tutors, Mr. W. Lawson, F.R.G.S.,
+and Mr. O. Breden.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the west side of the house the National Society added a quadrangle,
+built in the Italian style, and in the grounds, near the chapel, an
+octagon building as a Practising School, for teaching children who reside
+in the locality. The grounds of the College consist of eleven acres of
+garden and grass land.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Upper School gives a superior education to 160 boys, who are
+instructed in all the usual branches of an English education, and also in
+Latin and French.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Middle School gives a similar education, with the exception of Latin
+and French, to 180 boys.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Lower School is intended for the sons of the humbler classes, and
+gives sound instruction in elementary subjects to 200 boys.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There is accommodation in the College for 100 Students, who are being
+trained here for Schoolmasters.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chapel stands close to the Fulham Road, and is open to the public
+twice every day, at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. On Sundays the Services begin at
+11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The seats are free, and the expenses are defrayed by
+voluntary contributions. There is no endowment of any kind. The
+exterior of the building is unpretending. The interior has a distinctive
+character given to it by the windows of stained glass, which produce an
+impression of warmth and beauty. There is an excellent organ and a full
+choir, composed of the Students and a certain number of boys from the
+schools. The Services are all choral, and on Sundays are usually well
+attended. On the anniversary of the College foundation, St. Mark’s Day,
+April 25, a sermon is preached and a collection made on behalf of the
+Chapel Funds, and the surrounding gentry and clergy, together with the
+former Students, are invited to a banquet. At the last Anniversary
+Festival the sermon was preached by the Dean of St. Paul’s, the text
+being selected from Luke iv. 16. In the evening, in the Lecture Hall of
+the College, selections from an Oratorio and other pieces were admirably
+rendered by the Students, under the direction of the Rev. T. Helmore,
+precentor, and John Hullah, Esq., to a crowded and most fashionable
+audience, and many of the old Students of the College. We must also
+mention E. C. May, Esq., to whom much of the proficiency of the choir may
+be justly attributed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We will pass by Mr. Veitch’s Royal Exotic Nursery, and the extensive Show
+Establishment belonging to Messrs. Weeks & Co., both of which will
+probably be noticed in a subsequent part of this work, when a more
+general notice will be taken of the entire King’s Road, and merely
+observe that a great number of villas, and many superior dwelling houses,
+have been erected within the last few years in this immediate locality.
+As examples of such instances it is only necessary to mention the
+splendid house built by John Weeks, Esq., in Edith Grove, and those in
+Gunter Grove, Maude Grove, &c., in addition to which many more well-built
+houses are now being erected in the neighbourhood.
+
+
+
+WEST BROMPTON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
+
+
+This structure is worthy of special notice. It stands on a valuable
+freehold site, and was erected in 1866, at a cost of between £5000 and
+£6000, exclusive of the site. It has sittings for 1100, and owes its
+existence to the exertions of the present pastor, the Rev. C. Winter, who
+had previously preached for some time in a small chapel in Gunter Grove.
+The style adopted is Gothic, of the geometric decorative period. The
+building is faced with Kentish ragstone, and all the dressings are of
+Boxhill buttstone. The design consists of three central door-ways, with
+a large five-light traceried window over, and traceried side light;
+separate entrances to the staircases with panelled parapets and side
+roofs over; the sides and chancel end of the building are of brick; the
+windows in two tiers with stone dressings; the upper tier consists of
+circular traceried windows, and the whole design is such as to produce a
+very pleasing effect, which will be much increased when the tower and
+spire are carried up as intended. The building is entered in front by
+the doors before mentioned, and a spacious vestibule leads through inner
+lobbies to the body of the church, which occupies an area of 70 ft. by 50
+ft., but including chancel and entrance lobbies its length is 106 ft.
+The building is surrounded on three sides with spacious galleries,
+supported by iron columns, handsomely decorated, running up to and
+supporting the roof. The ceiling is divided into bays by wood spandril
+arches springing from column to column, and from the columns to the
+walls. The chancel arch is a very effective piece of coloured brickwork,
+and the chancel recess is arranged with its windows and angular plan so
+as to add much to the general effect, which is considerably increased by
+a very handsome memorial window, the gift of the family of Mr. Pitts, one
+of the deacons of the church. The building is lighted by star-lights of
+an improved design suspended from the roof. The pulpit, which is
+spacious and handsome, is of Caen stone and stands on a platform, around
+which the seats are arranged concentrically, a great improvement on the
+ordinary rectangular pewing. The larger room under the chancel is
+devoted to a variety of useful purposes, such as Infant School, Sunday
+Schools, Day School, &c. The chapel in Gunter Grove has been converted
+into a Public Hall, and ultimately no doubt will prove of general use to
+the neighbourhood. The Sunday Schools, one of which is held at the Hall,
+number about 300 children.
+
+
+
+LITTLE CHELSEA, OR WEST BROMPTON.
+
+
+Proceeding a little to the north-west, we arrive at what was formerly
+called Little Chelsea, but which is now designated West Brompton.
+Without wishing to remove our neighbour’s land-mark, or to trespass
+beyond the precise boundaries of Chelsea, the parish of Kensington being
+on the north side of West Brompton, we will notice the residence of
+William Boscawen, Esq., who resided near to those spacious mansions now
+being erected on the grounds formerly known as Walnut-Tree Walk, now
+called Redcliffe Gardens. Mr. Boscawen was the younger son of General
+George Boscawen, and was born in 1752. At an early age he was sent to
+Eton, where he obtained the particular notice and favour of the
+celebrated Dr. Barnard. From Eton he removed to Exeter College, Oxford,
+and afterwards studied the law, became a member of the Middle Temple, and
+was called to the bar. His legal studies were not unfruitful, as he
+published an excellent book under the title of “A Treatise of Conviction
+on Penal Statutes,” &c., 1792, 8vo. In 1785 he was appointed a
+Commissioner of the Victualling Office, in consequence of which he soon
+after quitted the bar, and in the following year married a daughter of
+Dr. Ibbetson, Archdeacon of St. Albans. Being an excellent classical
+scholar, and warmly attached to literary pursuits, Mr. Boscawen
+published, in 1793, “A Translation of the Odes of Horace,” which, being
+much approved of, was soon followed by a Translation of the Satires,
+Epistles, and Art of Poetry. In 1801 he published a small volume of
+Poems, which displayed an elegant taste, a poetical mind, and a correct
+versification, and he was for several years an able coadjutor to the
+British Critic. He died, after a short illness, in 1811. That excellent
+institution, the Literary Fund, he considered almost as his child, and
+his affection to it was testified not only by contribution, but by annual
+verses in its praise, and assiduous attendance at its meetings.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Lochee’s Military Academy was established at this place about the
+year 1770, and enjoyed a high degree of reputation; many of our most
+eminent military characters received their education under him. The
+premises, which were laid out as a regular fortification, and were opened
+to view, excited much attention at the time. Mr. Lochee afterwards,
+unfortunately, engaged in the revolutionary troubles which agitated
+Flanders in the year 1790, and being taken prisoner by the Austrians, was
+condemned to be hanged; he, however, obtained permission to come to
+England, to settle his affairs, upon condition of leaving his only son as
+a hostage; and upon his return to the Continent he suffered the
+punishment of death. His son, afterwards, married a daughter of the late
+Mr. King, an eminent book auctioneer, of King Street, Covent Garden, and,
+lamentable to relate, fell by his own hands.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BALLOON ASCENT IN 1784.—On the 16th of October, in the above year, an
+immense concourse of people assembled at Mr. Lochee’s Military Academy,
+to witness Mr. Blanchard’s ascent in his balloon. The fields, for a
+considerable distance round the spot, were crowded with horse and foot,
+in consequence of which, a general devastation took place in the gardens,
+the crops being either trampled down or torn up; the turnip grounds were
+totally despoiled by the multitude; all the windows and houses were
+filled with company, and every roof and tree was crowded with spectators.
+At twelve o’clock Mr. Blanchard, and Mr. Sheldon, a surgeon, stepped into
+the car, and the cords being loosened, the balloon slowly ascended, when
+it was discovered that it would be requisite to throw out some ballast;
+but before this could be accomplished, it struck some trees and descended
+to the ground. Being lightened, it again ascended, and moved
+horizontally about a quarter of a mile, when it made a rapid direction
+towards Sunbury, where they alighted, and Mr. Sheldon reluctantly quitted
+the car. Mr. Blanchard re-ascended, and pursued his aerial excursion to
+Rumsey, Hants, where he descended, at half-past four in the afternoon, in
+a meadow, and still standing in his car. The balloon was first seen over
+Abbotswood Common, and appeared about the size of a small hogshead. Upon
+his alighting he was jovially entertained. The day being rather dark,
+and the atmosphere low, the balloon was out of sight in about thirty
+minutes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+About the year 1699, the Earl of Shaftesbury purchased an estate at
+Little Chelsea, which had formerly been the property of Sir James Smith,
+whose widow resided there in 1695. The Earl rebuilt the house, and
+generally resided in it during the sitting of Parliament. He was first
+charged to the parish rates in 1700. Locke here wrote part of his
+“Essay,” and Addison several of the Spectators.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Anthony Astley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury, the learned author of
+“The Characteristics,” was born in 1671, in the house of his grandfather,
+who took such care of his education, that, at the age of eleven, he is
+said to have read with ease both Latin and Greek. In 1683, he was placed
+at Winchester School, where he continued till 1686, when he made the tour
+of Italy and France. About five years after his return from Italy, he
+visited Holland, where he passed much of his time in the society of
+Bayle, Le Clerc, and other ingenious men. Soon after his arrival in
+England, he became Earl of Shaftesbury, by the demise of his father, but
+did not attend the House of Lords during the first session after he had
+succeeded to the peerage; nor did he appear there till his friend, Lord
+Somers, sent a messenger to acquaint him with the pending partition
+treaty in February, 1701. On the accession of Queen Anne he retired to
+Chelsea, to continue his favourite course of study; here he resided till
+1711, when he set out for Italy, and died at Naples in 1719. His
+lordship’s philosophical writings are generally known. Of his letters
+there are several extant, dated from Chelsea in 1708.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The house was afterwards the residence of Sergeant Wynne, and of his son,
+Edward Wynne, author of several Tracts, whose knowledge and proficiency
+in polite literature could only be exceeded by his charity and
+benevolence. Dying a bachelor in 1785, his estates, together with his
+house at Little Chelsea, and his very valuable library, collected chiefly
+by his father, devolved to his brother, the Rev. Luttrell Wynne. This
+house was alienated by him to William Virtue.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The parish of St. George, Hanover Square, purchased it in the year 1787,
+as an additional workhouse for the poor. An Act of Parliament passed
+that year, declares it to be in St. George’s Parish, so long as it shall
+continue to be appropriated to its present use. The same act exempts it
+from all dues and rates demandable by the Rector and the parish of
+Chelsea, on condition of paying to the former £3 3_s._ per annum, and to
+the latter £6 13_s._ 4_d._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir John Cope, Bart., about the year 1700, resided in a large house at
+Little Chelsea, according to Bowack, which was subsequently occupied as a
+private mad house. The house has been pulled down, and its site is now
+called Odell’s Place. Sir John sat for Oxfordshire and Banbury in
+several Parliaments. He married Anne, daughter of Mr. William Booth, by
+whom he had seven sons, and one daughter. There are some entries of
+their baptisms in the Parish Register. Sir John died January 11th, 1721.
+His fourth son, Galen, born at Chelsea, resided there about the time of
+his father’s death. The worthy baronet was a magistrate for this county,
+and his name regularly appears for a series of years affixed, in
+confirmation of the parochial rates.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Robert Boyle, Esq., a most distinguished philosopher and chemist, the
+seventh son of Richard, Earl of Cork, resided, in 1661, at Little
+Chelsea, and there he was visited by the learned and eminent of his time.
+Monsieur de Monconys, in his Travels, thus mentions a visit which he made
+to Mr. Boyle at this place:—“I went after dinner with Mr. Oldenburg and
+my son, two miles from London, in a stage coach, for five shillings, to a
+village called Little Chelsea, to visit Mr. Boyle.” After giving an
+account of several experiments which Mr. Boyle made in his presence, he
+thus proceeds:—“He has a very fine laboratory, where he makes all his
+extracts, and other operations, one of which he shewed me with salt,
+which being put in quite dry with gold leaves sixteen times thicker than
+that used by gilders into a crucible on a slow fire, even over a lighted
+candle, the salt calcined the gold so perfectly that water afterwards
+dissolved them both, and became impregnated with them in the same manner
+as with common salt. He possesses a very fine telescope, and two
+excellent microscopes, which are larger than mine.” Mr. Evelyn, in his
+Diary, has also recorded a visit to the same place. “I went with that
+excellent person and philosopher, Sir Robert Murray, to visit Mr. Boyle
+at Chelsea, and saw divers effects of the Eolipile for weighing air.”
+Bishop Burnet, in Mr. Boyle’s funeral sermon, has given an eloquent
+account of this great philosopher and scholar.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles, fourth Earl of Orrery, grand-nephew to Mr. Boyle, was born at
+Little Chelsea in 1676. He was author of a comedy, entitled, “As you
+Find it,” and of some verses which discover his wit and poetical genius.
+Queen Anne created him a peer of Great Britain in 1711, by the title of
+Lord Boyle, of Marston, in the county of Somerset. His lordship died in
+1737. He was the improver of that noble instrument the Orrery, which, in
+honour of him, was called after his name.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir James Wishart resided in Little Chelsea, and died in May, 1723. He
+was a native of Scotland, and was made an Admiral by Queen Anne; in 1710
+he became a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, in which year he was
+returned Member of Parliament for Portsmouth. The Queen also conferred
+the honour of knighthood upon him; but, in the following reign, he lost
+all his places, and was dismissed from the service, for favouring the
+interest of the Pretender.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Admiral Sir John Balchen, another distinguished naval officer, resided in
+Little Chelsea about 1723. He was lost in the “Victory” in the year
+1744. Sir John sailed, in July, from Spithead with a strong squadron, in
+quest of an opportunity to attack the French fleet at Brest, under the
+command of M. de Rochambault. In the Bay of Biscay he was overtaken by a
+violent storm that dispersed the ships, and drove them up the English
+Channel. Admiral Stewart, with the greater part of them, arrived at
+Plymouth; but Sir John Balchen’s own ship, the Victory, which was at that
+time considered to be the most beautiful first rate in the world,
+foundered at sea; and this brave officer perished, with all his officers,
+volunteers, and crew, amounting to eleven hundred choice seamen.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Right Hon. Edward Hyde, third Earl of Clarendon, died at his house at
+Little Chelsea in 1723. He married Catherine, daughter to Henry Lord
+O’Brien, eldest son and heir to the Earl of Thomond, of Ireland, by whom
+he had a son and two daughters. The title descended to the Earl of
+Rochester, and soon after became extinct.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+FATAL DUEL.—In January, 1784, a duel was fought in a field near Little
+Chelsea, between Captain Charles Mostyn, of the navy, and Captain Clarke,
+of the African Corps, which terminated in the death of the former, who
+was shot through the heart. The quarrel originated in defence of a Jew,
+who went about diverting company, by taking off Mr. Fox. Some words
+arising, Captain Clarke demanded an apology, which Captain Mostyn
+declined to make to him. Mr. Mostyn was a gallant officer, only 25 years
+of age, who, for his intrepid behaviour, had been made post-captain in
+the Solitaire, a French ship of the line, taken by the Ruby. Happily for
+the humanity of England, such dark blots on its history are now for ever
+erased, by the adoption of more stringent laws and the advancement of
+religious and moral principles.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Baldwin Hamey was born in 1600. He retired to Little Chelsea from
+the hurry of his profession the year before the Fire of London, saving
+thereby his library; he also escaped from the direful effects of the
+plague in London. At Chelsea he contributed largely towards the erection
+of the church steeple, and gave the great bell which had his name on it.
+I may here state that the first large bells are mentioned by Bede, in the
+year 680. Before that period the early British Christians made use of
+wooden rattles (sacra ligna) to call the congregation of the faithful
+together. Dr. Adam Littleton, in gratitude to Dr. Hamey for the above
+benefactions, printed at the end of the first edition of his Latin
+Dictionary, a copy of Latin verses which he dedicated to him. Dr. Hamey
+was a great scholar, a philosopher, and an eminent physician. At his
+death he bequeathed to the College of Physicians the estate of Ashlins,
+in Essex, besides money and books. There is a manuscript life of him,
+written about 143 years ago, by his relation, Mr. Palmer. “Chemistry,”
+says the biographer, “now began to come into vogue, which Dr. Hamey could
+not well be reconciled to, from his Galenical principles, and at his age.
+It seemed to him to be a stroke of quackery.” He declined a knighthood,
+and the offer of being first physician to Charles II. after his
+restoration. The same modesty made him waive the offer of being
+President of his beloved College of Physicians, although he had held all
+other subordinate offices in it. He died in 1676, and was buried in the
+Old Church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Goat and Boots Tavern still stands at the eastern corner of Park
+Walk, West Brompton, or Little Chelsea, although from its age it seems
+probable that in a few years a new house will be substituted for it. The
+sign was originally painted by Morland, to pay his tavern bill. In old
+deeds it is called the Goat. Perhaps poor Morland added the “Boots” to
+the sign to make it more attractive, and to get a better price from the
+proprietor, but this is mere conjecture.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Park Walk, in a very old map of Chelsea, is called Lovers’ Walk, and it
+appears to have been planted with trees, but from some unknown
+cause—surely all the loving lads and lasses had not left the parish—it
+degenerated into Twopenny Walk. After dark, from its retirement and
+seclusion, it was dangerous for persons passing that way. It has been
+now for many years a good thoroughfare from the King’s Road to West
+Brompton, having Park Chapel in a central position, and houses on both
+sides of the road. When the improvement at the bottom of Milman’s Row is
+entirely completed, there will then be an excellent and continuous
+roadway to the river-side.
+
+
+
+Park Chapel, &c.
+
+
+This Chapel was so called from being situated within the precincts of
+Chelsea Park, which originally formed the northern part of Sir Thomas
+More’s grounds. It was built in 1718, by Sir Richard Manningham, who, in
+1730, granted a lease of it to the Rev. William Lacey, of Battersea. At
+that period there was only the Old Church, and an additional episcopal
+place for Divine worship was needed for the convenience of the residents
+in Little Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following is a complete list to the present period of the Clergymen
+who have been Ministers at Park Chapel:—
+
+1730 Rev. William Lacey, Battersea.
+1736 — Dr. Sloane Ellesmere, Rector of Chelsea.
+1766 — Mr. Gower, Chelsea.
+ — — Mr. Jacobs, Rector of St. Dunstan’s in the West.
+1785 — Dr. Kelly, Vicar of East Mere, Hants.
+1792 — Jas. Ward, Fellow of Queen’s Col., Cambridge.
+1797 — Thomas Ellis.
+1800 — J. Manning.
+1802 — J. Gee Smyth, Rector of Chellesworth, Suffolk.
+1812 — John Owen, Rector of Paglesham, Essex.
+1822 — Henry John Owen, son of the preceding.
+1834 — John Harding.
+1836 — Henry Vaughan.
+1836 — Thomas Vores.
+1841 — John C. Miller.
+1846 — W. Cadman.
+1852 — C. J. Goodhart.
+Dec. 1868 — J. G. Gregory.
+
+The Rev. J. Gee Smyth, M.A., who it will be seen possessed Park Chapel in
+1802, made very considerable alterations in it about 1810. It may be
+said to have been almost rebuilt by him. The late Mr. Richard Mann, of
+Chelsea, took a very correct sketch of the chapel, as altered by Mr.
+Smyth. Since 1810, at different times, it has undergone great repairs
+and some material improvements.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. John Owen, M.A., was born in London in 1765. He received his
+education at St. Paul’s School, and removed from thence to Corpus Christi
+College, Cambridge, where he prosecuted his studies with such success as
+to obtain several prizes, and to be elected a Fellow of his College.
+After taking holy orders, he soon distinguished himself as a preacher,
+and attracted the notice of Bishop Porteus, who bestowed on him the
+living of Paglesham, in Essex, having previously recommended him to the
+Curacy of Fulham, which he held until the decease of that venerable
+prelate; and, on his resigning the Lectureship, in 1813, the inhabitants
+of that parish presented Mr. Owen with a handsome testimonial of their
+attachment, as an acknowledgment of the faithful manner he had discharged
+his duties. He was one of the distinguished founders of the British and
+Foreign Bible Society, and acted as honorary secretary for eighteen
+years. During the whole of this period he most zealously advocated, in
+every possible way, the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, in
+conjunction with the Rev. Dr. Steinkoff, and the Rev. Joseph Hughes,
+M.A., of Battersea. Mr. Owen possessed great mental talents, both as an
+extempore preacher and a writer. He was remarkably quick and correct in
+his conceptions, extremely thoughtful in forming his conclusions, and
+kind and considerate whenever a sense of duty compelled him to differ
+from others in opinion. He wrote the History of the British and Foreign
+Bible Society, and other works; and continued to discharge his sacred
+duties as Minister of Park Chapel as long as his health permitted. He
+died at Ramsgate, the 26th of September, 1822, in the 57th year of his
+age. He resided at Fulham during nearly the entire period of his active
+life.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Henry John Owen, M.A., succeeded his father in 1822. While at
+Park Chapel he was much esteemed by the congregation, and when he left
+many deplored the loss of him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. John Harding, M.A., was appointed Minister of Park Chapel in
+1834. Some time after he became the Rector of St. Ann’s, Blackfriars.
+In both parishes he was much beloved by his congregations, and greatly
+esteemed by the parishioners. At length he was consecrated Bishop of
+Bombay, and, having remained in India for many years, he returned to
+England, and a short time since preached on a Sunday evening at Park
+Chapel. An affecting scene took place on that occasion, as his lordship
+left the chapel. A great number of persons had assembled outside to shew
+the respect they entertained towards him, notwithstanding his long
+absence from Chelsea. When Bishop Harding approached, he seemed almost
+overpowered with the kind recollection manifested by so many of the
+congregation and other inhabitants, and, after a slight pause, he said,
+with considerable emotion, “My dear friends, I thank you from my heart
+for your kind remembrance of me. May God bless every one of you!” It
+should here be mentioned that Bishop Harding, previously to his ministry
+at Park Chapel, had been at St. Luke’s New Parish Church, with the late
+revered Rev. H. Blunt, M.A., father of the present respected Rector, at
+which Church he was also greatly esteemed.
+
+The Rev. Henry Vaughan, M.A., did not long remain at Park Chapel, as the
+state of his health rendered it impossible for him to continue. Some
+short time afterwards he was called to his eternal rest. I heard it once
+stated that Christian love was engraved on his forehead.
+
+The Rev. Thomas Vores, M.A., who was next in succession, was, like his
+predecessors, much beloved. About five years after his appointment he
+vacated it, and went to Hastings.
+
+The Rev. Dr. Miller, the Rev. W. Cadman, M.A., and the Rev. C. J.
+Goodhart, M.A., were equally respected as being zealous and faithful
+ministers. The two former are, at the present time, in the full vigour
+of life, and actively engaged in discharging their sacred duties in large
+parishes. With respect to Mr. Goodhart, who has only recently left the
+chapel, and whose ministry there extended over so many years, it would be
+a difficult task to notice him adequately in a given space; the best
+summary will be to state that on his retirement he was presented with a
+silver salver and a purse containing about £540, as a testimony of the
+high respect entertained by the congregation for his long and faithful
+ministrations.
+
+The Rev. J. G. Gregory, M.A., succeeded Mr. Goodhart at the close of the
+year 1868. The body of the chapel, since his appointment, has been
+entirely re-pewed, the old high pews having been all removed, and the
+seats made more commodious by additional width being given to them.
+Several other alterations have been made, and a few more are said to be
+in contemplation. The whole interior of the chapel is therefore now
+greatly improved, both as regards comfort and appearance. The exterior
+of the structure, however, requires to be altogether rebuilt, as soon as
+practicable, so as to accord with the ecclesiastical architecture of the
+present day, especially in such a locality as West Brompton and South
+Kensington. In the Vestry Room are portraits of the different Ministers
+of Park Chapel, commencing with the Rev. John Owen, and terminating with
+the Rev. Mr. Goodhart, with only one exception, the portrait of Mr.
+Vaughan, the absence of which may be attributed to the short period of
+his ministry, in consequence of his illness and death, and the difficulty
+afterwards of procuring a correct likeness of him. It would be well if
+this memorial portrait could be added to the others.
+
+Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex attended this chapel
+in 1812, when a collection was made for the benefit of the schools, on
+which occasion a guard of honour, selected from Queen Charlotte’s Royal
+Volunteers, was stationed at the doors on their arrival and departure.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Adjoining the chapel a building was erected, in 1828, by subscription,
+and the profits of a sale of fancy work, for the reception of the
+children of Park Chapel Schools, &c. The whole charge originally was
+£900. Several alterations, however, have since been made in the
+arrangement of this building. The Girls’ Day and Sunday Schools, and the
+Infant School, are now only held in it, besides a few occasional meetings
+in connection with the numerous benevolent societies supported by the
+liberal contributions of the congregation. The boys’ school was
+transferred to the Clock House some years since. This latter school owes
+its origin to Samuel Gower Poole, Esq., who once resided in Dudmaston
+House, King’s Road, and to whom reference has already been made. The
+annual meetings. &c., are also held in the Clock House schoolroom.
+
+
+
+CHELSEA PARK.
+
+
+This was part of the property of Sir Thomas More, and is called, in old
+deeds, the “Sand Hills;” was originally open fields, with a footpath
+across to Little Chelsea. The whole was enclosed with a brick wall, in
+1625, by the Lord Treasurer, Cranfield, and converted into a park, which
+name it has retained ever since, but the walls have gradually given way
+to the erection of buildings. The park originally consisted of 32 acres,
+situated north of the King’s Road, between Park and Upper Church Street.
+{71}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1721 a patent was obtained for a manufactory of raw silk, and this
+park was taken for the purpose, and planted with mulberry trees. It
+attracted a considerable share of public attention at the time, but
+proved unsuccessful. The premises of the Raw Silk Company were rated in
+the parish books at £200.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In Walpole’s Catalogue of Engravers, it is stated that James Christopher
+le Blon, in 1734, set up a project for copying the cartoons in tapestry,
+and made some fine drawings for the purpose. Houses were built, and
+looms erected, on the above mulberry ground, but either the expense was
+too great, or the contributions did not arrive fast enough. The bubble
+burst, several suffered, and Le Blon was heard of no more.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+INTERESTING PARTICULARS OF SIR HENRY AND LADY WILSON. On the northern
+border of the old park, just described, is a capital mansion in which Sir
+Henry Wright Wilson resided for many years, the entrance to it being in
+the Fulham Road, and which is still designated as Chelsea Park. The
+pleasure grounds attached to it were some years since much more extensive
+than they are at present. Sir Henry married a daughter of the Earl of
+Aylesbury, who was left a valuable estate in Hampshire, said to be worth
+about £3000 a year, under the most singular circumstances. Lady Frances
+Wilson was informed in the year 1824, while at breakfast, that an
+eccentric person named Wright, who had died a few days previously at an
+obscure lodging in Pimlico, had appointed her and Mr. C. Abbot his
+executors, and after some legacies had bequeathed to Lady Frances the
+residue of his property by a will dated as far back as 1800. As Lady
+Frances declared herself unacquainted with the name of the testator, she
+at first concluded that there was some mistake. After further
+explanation, the person of Mr. Wright was described to her, and Lady
+Frances recollected that the description answered that of a gentleman she
+had remembered as a constant frequenter at the Opera many years
+previously. To satisfy herself of the identity she went to Mr. Wright’s
+late lodgings, and saw him in his coffin, when she recognised the
+features as those of the person whose eyes had so often persecuted her
+when she was Lady Frances Bruce, but who had never spoken to her, and of
+whom she had no knowledge whatever. {72} Lady Francis was never
+considered by her friends to be beautiful, and the general opinion at the
+time was that the legacy was intended for a lady who occupied a box next
+to that in which Lady Frances sat when at the Opera. Sir Henry was in
+Parliament when the above estate came into his wife’s possession, but he
+afterwards had to contest his seat, and lost it.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SIR HENRY WRIGHT WILSON AND THE POOR CARPENTER.—The following anecdote
+will no doubt amuse many readers. Sir Henry’s establishment was large,
+and he had been accustomed to employ at times a jobbing carpenter, who
+had at one period been in better circumstances. This person had received
+specific instructions to do certain work, which required a little
+trifling assistance, such as to help him to remove something which stood
+in the way, and which the carpenter could not possibly do without
+temporary aid. He asked several of the grooms and others to assist, but
+they all made frivolous excuses, and consequently the work was not done
+by the appointed time. When Sir Henry returned home he noticed that his
+orders had been neglected, and, on ascertaining the particulars, without
+making any remarks, he quietly entered the house. The next morning,
+however, he gave instructions for his carriage with four horses to be
+immediately got ready. He then sent for the carpenter, and after a short
+time the carriage was at the entrance door, when, to the great surprise
+of the servants, he desired him to take a seat in it. Sir Henry then
+mounted his horse, and, notwithstanding the dirty state of the roads,
+took them through Fulham, over Putney Bridge, round by Wandsworth and
+Battersea, back to Chelsea. On their return he insisted that the horses
+and carriage should be immediately cleaned, or else to be dismissed from
+his service. Sir Henry being esteemed a good master they preferred
+obedience, and it was said that although the carpenter was afterwards
+subject to an occasional jeer, he never had again to complain of their
+conduct towards him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+QUEEN’S ELM.—This is situated at the top of Upper Church Street, but the
+spot for some time past seems to be merged into the Fulham Road, and is
+either so called, or else it is described as being near to it. The
+original name, Queen’s Elm, which it is to be hoped will still be
+retained, is said traditionally to have derived its origin from the
+following circumstance. Queen Elizabeth was walking out with the great
+Lord Burleigh, and being overtaken with a heavy shower of rain, took
+shelter under an elm tree growing on this spot. After the shower was
+over, she said, “Let this henceforth be called the Queen’s Tree.” This
+tradition is remarkably confirmed, as will be seen by the following
+extract:—“It appears by the Church Book, beginning 1586, and in the 28th
+Elizabeth, that the tree at the end of the Duke’s Walk is in Chelsea
+parish called the Queen’s Tree; and that there was an arbour built round
+it by one Bostocke, at the charge of the parish.”
+
+
+
+The Jews’ Burial Ground, &c.
+
+
+The Jews’ Burial Ground is at Queen’s Elm, and was erected in 1816 by the
+individuals whose names are inscribed on the wall of the entrance
+building, and to their descendants. There is also inscribed the 16th
+Psalm in Hebrew. The lower part of the building is called the hall, the
+upper part is intended for the keeper. Unlike the arrangement in the
+Moravians’ Burial Ground, the graves are in rows, without any distinction
+as to sex. At burials the mourners do not approach the grave, but stand
+at a distance, so that they may hear sufficiently to join in the prayers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. J. B. Owen, M.A., Vicar of St. Jude’s Church, Chelsea, in an
+admirable lecture delivered by him in 1862, in the Vestry Hall, King’s
+Road, related the following anecdote:—“An Hebrew friend amused and
+puzzled me with a sentiment he had once given at a festival of one of the
+London Guilds. Being pressed for a toast, he gave ‘The Queen of the
+Jews, and of no other nation.’ Many conjectures were hazarded, as wide
+of the mark as Jezebel and the Queen of Sheba. The company confessed
+themselves beaten, and at last my friend gave the answer—‘Queen
+Victoria.’ But this only darkened the enigma more than ever. After some
+time, he said, J. (or I.) E. W. S. makes Ireland, England, Wales, and
+Scotland, and J. E. W. S. spells Jews, and makes Victoria ‘Queen of the
+Jews, and of no other nation.’”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+“England,” said Mr. Owen, “owes a great national debt of amends to their
+Hebrew brethren. For several centuries they were bought and sold as
+chattels, plundered and exiled, as if they were outlaws. In the
+sixteenth year of Edward I. all the Jews in England were imprisoned, and
+though they redeemed themselves for a vast sum, three years after, the
+fraudulent tyrant banished them all; and they remained in banishment 364
+years, till the rough justice of old Oliver Cromwell restored them to
+their trade and worship. The proverb ‘worth a Jew’s eye’ alludes to the
+barbarities practiced on the Jews, whose money was commonly extorted from
+them by drawing their teeth, or putting out their eyes. There are no
+judgments in Scripture more terrible than those denounced against the
+oppressors of Judah. We may be thankful that we have lived to witness
+the last vestige of injustice to our Hebrew fellow-citizens erased from
+our statutes. Have we also honestly received the social and religious
+interests of the Jews into the unreserved sympathy of Christian hearts?”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Francis Hargrave, Esq., a barrister, resided in York Place, (the houses
+of which are now nearly all converted into shops, and which is situated
+near to the Jews’ Burial Ground), for a considerable period. He
+particularly distinguished himself in the _Habeas Corpus_ case of James
+Somerset, a negro, for whom he was counsel, and his argument was the
+occasion of a precedent being established for the freedom of slaves the
+moment they set foot on English land. He possessed a very extensive and
+most valuable library, which Parliament purchased for £8000, in order
+that it might be placed in the British Museum. He died here in 1821,
+aged 80.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sydenham Edwards, Esq., F.L.S., an eminent botanical draughtsman, lived
+in Charles Street, Queen’s Elm, and afterwards removed to Barrossa Place,
+where he died in 1819. The Flora Londinensis, Rees’ Encyclopædia, &c.,
+were greatly indebted to his masterly pencil.
+
+
+
+CHURCH STREET.
+
+
+Alexander Stephens, Esq., built and resided in Park House, Upper Church
+Street, for a great many years. He was the author of several popular
+works, was born at Elgin, about 1757, and completed his education at the
+University of Aberdeen, which he left at the early age of 18 years, for
+the purpose of proceeding to the West India Islands, principally with a
+view to add to his stock of useful information and knowledge of the
+world. Mr. Stephens purchased a Commission in the 84th regiment, but
+never joined in consequence of the sudden reduction of that corps. At
+the age of 21, he entered himself a member of the Middle Temple, where he
+continued his vigorous pursuit of legal studies for several years. His
+earliest production was “Jamaica,” a descriptive poem; and his next,
+published within a few years afterwards, “The Temple,” a kind of law
+journal. But of his printed works, undoubtedly, the most approved are
+the volumes of the “Public Characters;” also a “Life of John Horne Took,”
+and the “History of the Wars, which arose out of the French Revolution.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The industry of Mr. Stephens in the collection of the materials for his
+biographical works has not often been surpassed. He was accustomed to
+commit to paper the most trifling memoranda illustrative of the history
+of any eminent individual the moment they were communicated to him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Stephens enjoyed the confidential friendship of the late Duke of
+Kent, and was in habits of unreserved intimacy with many other
+distinguished characters of the age. He was related to the Duke of
+Roxburgh, whose claim to that title he pleaded with memorable success in
+the House of Lords.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Although generally of retired habits, Mr. Stephens often felt interested
+in the parochial concerns of Chelsea, and distinguished himself by the
+manliness and zeal with which he supported measures which to him appeared
+likely to prove beneficial.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Stephens wrote much and well for the periodical press. The pages of
+the Analytical Review abound in important articles from his pen. To the
+Monthly Magazine, also, he was a frequent contributor. Besides the
+composition of papers on the Belles Lettres, he was in the habit of
+furnishing biographical notices for that journal. In extent of
+information touching the lives and actions of the cotemporary generation,
+he was equalled by few writers of his age. Mr. Stephens’s sound
+constitution was gradually impaired by intense study, added to the
+immoderate use of coldiam, on the efficacy of which he placed implicit
+reliance. For the last two years of his life he suffered severely from
+the gout, and at last died somewhat suddenly at his house in Upper Church
+Street, in 1821, aged 64, and was interred in the burial ground attached
+to St. Luke’s Church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A. H. Haworth, Esq., occupied a house in Upper Church Street in 1825, and
+for some time previous to that year. He possessed an unrivalled Museum
+of Entomology and Natural History, the collection of 40 years laborious
+research. It would be impossible here to give any thing like an adequate
+notice of what it contained. There were about 40,000 insects, arranged
+in systematic order, and about 20,000 dried plants, arranged in natural
+order, and glued. His contributions to the Linnæan Society and
+Horticultural Society, Philosophical Magazine, &c., were greatly
+esteemed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I. N. Sartorius, Esq., so long celebrated for his faithful delineations
+of animal life, resided in this street in 1830, and for some years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Philip Reinagle, Esq., R.A., celebrated for his beautiful specimens of
+landscape paintings, and whose family were eminent for their proficiency
+in the fine arts, resided also here about the same period.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+W. H. Davis, Esq., at a much later period, resided also for many years in
+Upper Church Street, near the King’s Road; he was considered to be one of
+the best animal portrait painters, and was constantly employed every
+Smithfield Cattle Show, his works being very highly prized.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Crossing the King’s Road, we enter into that portion of Church Street
+which leads direct to the Old Church. This ancient thoroughfare was
+built upon at a very early period, and many eminent persons have resided
+here at various times; but principally since the Rectory was removed
+hither, in 1569, from Milman’s Row.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+William Tebbs, Esq., Proctor, resided nearly opposite the Rectory House,
+in Church Street, for many years; he was highly respected professionally,
+and much esteemed for his kindness and liberality to the poor. Mr.
+Tebbs, sen., dwelt here in 1819, and his name appears subsequently and
+previously for a long time as a contributor to most of the local
+charities.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry Virtue Tebbs, Esq., son of the preceding, and who was in
+partnership with his father, resided in a commodious detached house, with
+large enclosed garden, in Cooks’ Ground, for a long time. Like the rest
+of his family he was greatly respected by the inhabitants, and ever ready
+to promote every good work in the parish. Of him it may truly be said
+that he was the constant friend of the needy and helpless. He was a
+zealous supporter of the Chelsea Auxiliary Bible Society, and he devoted
+most of his leisure hours in promoting the various societies connected
+with Park Chapel, especially the Day and Sunday Schools. Some few years
+since he removed from the parish to the deep regret of a numerous circle
+of friends, whose sincere hope is that his benevolent heart may still
+beat for many a year to come.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+One of the most ancient mansions (pulled down some few years ago) was
+called Church Place. It was said to have been the residence of various
+eminent persons; and some have confidently asserted that it was the
+palace of the Earl of Essex. It was also said to have been used by Queen
+Anne as a laundry. In the back front there was a date, cut in brick,
+“1641.” This old house is first mentioned in the parish books in 1696;
+it is also mentioned repeatedly in the Inquests of Court Leet, and Court
+Baron, before and after that period.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Atterbury resided facing the river, near the Old Church, in 1695, as
+appears by the parish books, and afterwards in Church Street, for several
+years; one of his letters is dated from hence in 1698. There he became
+acquainted with Swift, in 1711, to whom he was before unknown.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, was born in 1662, and was
+educated in Westminster School, and afterwards was elected a Student of
+Christ Church, Oxford, where he soon distinguished himself by his wit and
+learning, and gave early proofs of his poetical talents. In 1687, he
+made his first essay in controversial writing, and shewed himself an able
+and strenuous advocate for the Protestant religion. In 1691 he took holy
+orders, and was elected in the same year Lecturer of St. Bride’s, London,
+and Preacher of Bridewell Chapel.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Upon the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702, Dr. Atterbury was appointed
+one of her Majesty’s Chaplains in Ordinary; and in 1704 was advanced to
+the Deanery of Carlisle. In 1713, at the recommendation of Lord
+Chancellor Harcourt, the Queen promoted him to the Bishopric of
+Rochester.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1722, Dr. Atterbury, on suspicion of being concerned in a plot in
+favour of the Pretender, was apprehended and committed to the Tower.
+Shortly afterwards he was condemned to perpetual exile. Just before
+this, a large fine dropped to him as Dean of Westminster, but he could
+have no right to receive it without the seal being set to it in full
+chapter. Sir Robert Walpole earnestly enquired whether a Chapter could
+not be held in the Tower, that he might receive the benefit of the fine.
+A chapter was accordingly there held, and the Bishop received a £1000 for
+his share. This anecdote, which is well authenticated, does great credit
+to the liberality of Walpole.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Atterbury, in his private character, was most amiable and exemplary;
+as a preacher he was eloquent, and as a writer, his sermons, letters and
+other tracts, proved most decidedly that he possessed piety, genius, and
+erudition. On the 18th of June, 1723, having the day before taken leave
+of his friends, this eminent prelate embarked on board the Aldborough
+man-of-war, and landed on the Friday following at Calais.
+
+ A prelate for wit, and for eloquence fam’d,
+ Apollo soon miss’d, and he need not be nam’d;
+ Since amidst a whole bench, of which some are so bright,
+ No one of them shines so learn’d and polite.—_Sheffield_, 1719.
+
+The celebrated Dean Swift came to Chelsea in the year 1711, and took up
+his residence facing Dr. Atterbury’s house in Church Street.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick, in Dublin, an illustrious poet,
+and political and satirical writer, was born in Dublin in 1667, and died
+in 1745. Of a life so various and so full of business as Swift’s, we
+know not what part we could select consistent with the limits of this
+work that would not excite rather than gratify curiosity.
+
+The company of Swift was courted by persons of the first rank in life and
+literature; the following peculiarities may be related:—He made to
+himself a rule never to speak more than a minute at a time, and to wait
+for others to take up the conversation. He was singularly happy in
+punning; and used to say, that none despised that talent but those who
+were without it. He also greatly excelled in telling a story; but, in
+the latter part of his life, used to tell the same rather to often.
+Though to strangers he appeared churlish, and austere to his servants, it
+is said he was a kind and generous master; he was also very charitable to
+the poor.
+
+Swift has been very minute and circumstantial in describing the
+particulars relative to his residence here, and his acquaintance with Dr.
+Atterbury. I will select one instance of it:—“I got here,” says he,
+“with Patrick and my portmanteau for sixpence, and pay six shillings a
+week for one silly room, with confounded coarse sheets. I lodge just
+over against Dr. Atterbury’s house; and yet, perhaps, I shall not like
+the place the better for that.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Thomas Shadwell, Esq., Poet Laureat, another resident of Church Street,
+was born at Stanton Hall, Norfolk, and received his education at Bury
+School, and Caius College, Cambridge. His father, who held a place of
+profit and distinction in the law in Ireland, bestowed the learning and
+exercises of a gentleman upon him. Notwithstanding that, Lord Rochester
+has said,
+
+ “None seem to touch true Comedy
+ But hasty Shadwell and slow Wycherlye,”
+
+yet that lord had a better opinion of his conversation than his writings
+when he said “that if Shadwell had burned all he wrote, and printed all
+he spoke, he would have shewn more wit and humour than any other poet.”
+In the reign of William III. he succeeded Dryden, as Poet Laureat, under
+whose lash he had previously fallen. His works, consisting of seventeen
+plays, were published in three volumes 12mo. in 1720, with a short
+account of his life written by his son, Sir John Shadwell, Knight, who
+was physician to Queen Anne, and resided in a house at Chelsea, which had
+been previously occupied by Dr. Arbuthnot. Shadwell died at Chelsea in
+1692, aged 52, and was buried in the Church, November 24, when a funeral
+sermon was preached by his friend Dr. Nicholas Brady, in which he assures
+us that “his natural and acquired abilities made him sufficiently
+remarkable to all that he conversed with, very few being equal to him in
+all the becoming qualities and accomplishments of a gentleman.” His
+widow, who had been an actress, survived him, and resided at Chelsea some
+years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. John Arbuthnot, a native of Scotland, had his education in the
+University of Aberdeen, where he took the degree of Doctor of Physic. He
+came to London about the year 1695, and at first taught the mathematics
+for his support. His facetious and agreeable conversation introduced him
+by degrees into practice; and he became eminent in his profession. Being
+at Epsom when Prince George of Denmark was suddenly taken ill, he was
+called in to his assistance; his advice was successful, and his Highness
+recovering, employed him ever afterwards as his physician.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Queen’s death, and the disasters which fell upon his friends on that
+occasion, deeply affected his health and spirits; and, to divert his
+melancholy, he paid a visit to his brother, a banker, at Paris. He
+returned to London, and continued his medical profession with great
+reputation, employing his leisure hours in writing papers of wit and
+humour.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+About this time Dr. Arbuthnot took a house in Church Street, where he at
+times entertained a select number of his friends. He died in 1735 in
+Cork Street, Burlington Gardens. In his writings he has shewn himself
+equal to any of his cotemporaries in humour, wit, and learning. Sir John
+Shadwell, son of the Laureat, afterwards occupied the house.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Edward Chamberlayne, it appears from the land tax book of this
+parish, anno 1704, resided next door to Dr. King, the rector, in a house
+that is still standing, and which is a few doors north of the White Horse
+public house, in Church Street. He was descended from an ancient family,
+and born at Odington, in Gloucestershire, in 1616. During the civil war
+he made the tour of Europe. After the Restoration he was chosen F.R.S.;
+and, in 1669, attended Charles, Earl of Carlisle, as secretary to the
+embassy to Stockholm, with the order of the Garter for the King of
+Sweden. Shortly afterwards the degree of LL.D. was conferred on him at
+Cambridge, and also the same at Oxford at a later period. About the year
+1679, he received the appointment of tutor to the Duke of Grafton, one of
+the natural sons of Charles II.; and subsequently he instructed Prince
+George of Denmark, consort to Queen Anne, in the English language. He
+died at his house in Church Street in 1703, having been an active
+magistrate in this parish for many years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Chamberlayne, (son of Dr. Chamberlayne,) who resided in the house
+formerly occupied by his father, was a learned and worthy man. He was
+admitted into Trinity College, Oxford, in 1685, and was gentleman usher
+to George Prince of Denmark. He translated, from the French and Spanish:
+1. The Manner of making Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate. 2. From Italian into
+English, A Treasure of Health, written by Castor Durant de Gualdo,
+physician of Rome. 3. The Arguments of the Books and Chapters of the Old
+and New Testaments, with Practical Observations, written originally in
+French by the Rev. Mr. Ostervald, Professor of Divinity, and one of the
+members of the church at Neufchatel, in Switzerland, and by him presented
+to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of which society he was
+a member. 4. The Lives of the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences;
+translated from the French of M. de Fontenelle; republished since, in
+1721, under the title of “Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences of
+Paris, Epitomized, with the Lives of the late Members of that Society.”
+5. The Religious or Christian Philosopher; or, The right Use of
+Contemplating the Work of the Creator; translated from the Dutch of Dr.
+Nieuwentyt, with cuts. 6. History of the Reformation in and about the
+Low Countries; translated from the Low Dutch of Gerard Brandt. 7. The
+Lord’s Prayer, in 100 Languages. 8. Dissertations, Historical,
+Theological, and Critical, on the most memorable events of the Old and
+New Testaments, wherein the Spirit of the Sacred Writings is shewn, their
+authority confirmed, &c. Mr. Chamberlayne was Fellow of the Royal
+Society, to whom he communicated several papers on important subjects.
+He augmented and improved his father’s book of “The Present State of
+Great Britain,” to the latter editions of which his name is prefixed. He
+was not only learned but pious, earnest at all times in promoting and
+disseminating religious principles. In the old churchyard, facing the
+river, are inscriptions to the memory of this distinguished family. {82}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Bowack, to whom we are so much indebted for his valuable information,
+resided near Dr. Chamberlayne’s house in Church Street. In 1705 he began
+to publish, in folio numbers, “The Antiquities of Middlesex; being a
+Collection of the several Church Monuments in that County; also an
+Historical Account of each Church and Parish, with the Seats, Villages,
+and names of the most eminent Inhabitants.” The work extended through
+the parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick, and Acton, and was
+then discontinued. It is much to be regretted that he could not complete
+his design. He has preserved many monumental inscriptions, since
+destroyed. Mr. Bowack was writing master to Westminster School. “I
+have,” says Mr. Faulkner, in reference to his own work, “carefully
+embodied the greater part of the information contained in his (Bowack’s)
+folio volume, now become extremely scarce.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Martyn, Esq., who resided in Church Street, next door to Dr.
+Chamberlayne, was the son of a merchant of London. He was born in 1699.
+With him it was a subject of frequent exultation, in after-life, that
+Providence had thrown him into a country, and produced him at a period so
+fertile in genius and literary accomplishments. “It was truly the golden
+age of learning,” says Mr. Faulkner, “and to converse with those heroes
+who adorn it was deemed no mean privilege, or glory, by one who well knew
+how to value mental wealth.” He was sent by his father to a private
+school (his mother died when he was scarcely a twelvemonth old), and here
+by his own industry rather than by any advantage of instruction, he made
+a tolerable proficiency in school learning, but was taken away from his
+beloved books to engage in the business of a counting house. Most youths
+of his age, in such an occupation, would have found their minds
+sufficiently employed, but he, insatiate of knowledge, after the labours
+of the day, dedicated most of those hours which are usually given to
+bodily rest to the improvement of his understanding.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Martyn’s propensity to the science of botany was first excited by an
+acquaintance with Mr. Wilmer, an apothecary, who afterwards became the
+reader in the Botanic Garden at Chelsea, and by an intimacy contracted
+with Dr. Blair and Dr. Sherard. In the year 1732, he published a
+translation of “Tournefort’s History of Plants about Paris,” and in the
+same year a “Catalogue of the Plants about London,” but he did not
+complete it. From a strong conviction that observations made upon plants
+in their natural places of growth were the least liable to error, he
+about the same time began his botanical excursions, which were mostly
+performed on foot, and were continued for a long period with unwearied
+diligence. His “Hortus Siccus,” containing 1,400 specimens, is a
+sufficient testimony of his industry. Nor did he confine himself wholly
+to the contemplation of vegetables, and their hidden virtues; the
+numerous insect tribe began to attract no small share of his attention.
+In 1721, he principally instituted the Botanical Society, in London. Dr.
+Dillenius was president, and Mr. Martyn was secretary. This society kept
+together till 1726. About this time he became a member of the Royal
+Society, and now began to apply himself most seduously to the practice of
+physic. For this purpose he was admitted of Emmanuel College, Cambridge,
+and kept five terms, with an intention to have proceeded regularly with
+his degrees, but from peculiar circumstances he was prevented from
+finishing his design. He had now lived and practised physic in Great St.
+Helen’s, Bishopsgate Street, during three years; but, finding the air of
+London disagree with his constitution, he embraced a favourable
+opportunity which offered of removing to Chelsea, where he practised
+physic with success and great reputation for above twenty years.
+
+In 1733, he was chosen Professor of Botany in the University of
+Cambridge, where he had given several courses of lectures, and had
+greatly restored the study of that science.
+
+Mr. Martyn, in 1723 (as is stated in a preceding page), married Eulalia,
+youngest daughter of the Rev. Dr. John King, Rector of Chelsea, by whom
+he had three sons and five daughters, all of whom were born in Church
+Street, Chelsea, in the same house wherein their mother was born and
+died, and in which her father, Dr. King, lived and died. Mrs. Martyn
+died in 1749, from a cancer in her breast, occasioned by a violent blow
+given her as she was walking in London.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1750, Mr. Martyn married, secondly, a daughter of Claude Fonnereau,
+Esq., merchant of London, who bore him one son and survived him. Soon
+after this he retired to Streatham, Surrey. In 1761 he resigned his
+professorship of botany; and some time after presented to the University
+his library of botanical books, amounting to above 200 volumes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Chelsea, notwithstanding the happiness he enjoyed at Streatham, seems
+after all to have been his favourite place of abode, as he removed back
+again to his former residence in Church Street, and at last, by the most
+gradual and gentle decay, died there in 1768.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Martyn’s benevolence was that of a Christian, diffusive and
+unconfined; he was considered as the father of the poor in the parish,
+and gave constant attention to the sick, both in and out of the
+workhouse. He was the author of many works, two of which we shall
+notice:—
+
+ “An Account of an Aurora Australis, seen at Chelsea, March 18, 1738–9.”
+ This was the first account which had ever been given of that
+ phenomenon.
+
+ “An Account of an Earthquake felt in London, February 8, 1749–50.”
+
+The following extract from the latter account will no doubt interest the
+reader: “At 40 minutes after noon, all the houses were violently shaken,
+especially those nearest the river. A maid servant, passing from one
+under office to another, felt the ground, which was six feet below the
+surface, shake. Of those who were in the street, or on the river, some
+felt, others not. It was felt at Fulham, but not at Hounslow, Brentford,
+nor Richmond, nor farther westward than Kensington Turnpike; it seemed to
+terminate in the west, about two miles beyond Chelsea.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Martyn was also engaged in a weekly paper, called “The Grub Street
+Journal,” which had a large sale, about the year 1736. It was one of the
+most curious of the periodical papers of that period. In a fine vein of
+irony it attacked the heroes of the Dunciad, and tells some secrets of
+their obscure quarrels. {85} The papers he contributed are distinguished
+by the signature “B.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+William Petyt, Esq., to whom we have already slightly referred, in the
+account of his gift to the parish of the School Room at the Old Church,
+resided in Church Street, and died there in 1707, aged 71 years. Of his
+progress through life there is no information, except that he enjoyed
+considerable reputation as a writer on the laws and constitution of
+England, which are preserved in the Inner Temple Library. There is a
+long Latin epitaph to his memory in the Temple Church. It was the year
+before his death that he built the schoolrooms and vestry.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The White Horse Inn in Church Street, which was burnt down some years
+since, and a new one substituted for it, was a very ancient house, built
+in the style which prevailed in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Queen
+Elizabeth. The disposition of the rooms, the ancient panelling, and the
+various grotesque ornaments and carving, especially of human figures in
+the form of brackets, were well worthy of inspection, and excited the
+attention of most strangers who visited the house.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The old Parochial Guardian Society mostly held their meetings at the old
+White Horse Inn. The principal room was large and consequently
+well-adapted for such purposes; and when the parishioners met in open
+vestry, the house being opposite to the Vestry Room where they assembled,
+it was particularly convenient on such occasions for the accommodation of
+the ratepayers generally. The above society comprised a great many
+members, and acted in conjunction with a large number of the resident
+gentry of the parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Justice Walk, which extends from Church Street to Lawrence Street, took
+its name from a magistrate who lived in it. An avenue of lime trees
+formerly adorned it, and, being kept in good order, it was a very
+agreeable footway for passengers. There is now in it a commodious
+Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1841. The exterior is plain and unpretending.
+The interior is neat, comfortable, and well ventilated. Beneath the
+chapel is a spacious school room, in which the Sunday School is held.
+This school is very well attended. Through the exertions of the members,
+and other friends, the interior of the chapel has recently been painted,
+and rendered more comfortable in many respects.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chelsea China Manufactory was situate at the corner of Justice Walk,
+and occupied the houses to the upper end of Lawrence Street. Several of
+the large old houses were used as shew-rooms. It has been discontinued
+for nearly 90 years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The manufactory of Chelsea porcelain was set on foot and carried on by a
+Mr. Spremont, a foreigner. The establishment employed a great number of
+hands; but the original proprietor having acquired a large fortune
+retired from the concern, and his successors, wanting his enterprise and
+spirit, did not so well succeed, and in a few years finally abandoned it.
+Previous to the dissolution, the proprietors presented a memorial
+respecting it to the Government, requesting protection and assistance, in
+which they stated that “the manufacture in England has been carried on by
+great labour and a large expense; it is in many respects to the full as
+good as the Dresden; and the late Duke of Orleans told Colonel York that
+the metal or earth had been tried in his furnace, and was found to be the
+best made in Europe. It is now daily improving, and already employs, at
+least, 100 hands, of which is a nursery of thirty lads taken from the
+parishes and charity schools, and bred to designing and painting: arts
+very much wanted here, and which are of the greatest use in our silk and
+printed linen manufactories.”
+
+Specimens of this porcelain have always been much esteemed, and still
+retain a great value. At the sale of the effects of Queen Charlotte, the
+articles in Chelsea china, of which her Majesty had a large collection,
+brought very high prices. Mr. Watkins, in his Life of Queen Charlotte,
+says, “I beheld with admiration a complete service of Chelsea china,
+porcelain, rich and beautiful in fancy beyond expression. I really never
+saw any Dresden porcelain near so fine.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. A. Stephens, whom we have already noticed, was told by the foreman of
+the Chelsea China Manufactory (then in the workhouse of St. Luke’s,
+Middlesex), that Dr. Johnson had conceived a notion that he was capable
+of improving on the manufacture of china. He even applied to the
+directors of the Chelsea China Works, and was allowed to _bake_ his
+compositions in their ovens in Lawrence Street, Chelsea. He was
+accordingly accustomed to go down with his housekeeper, about twice a
+week, and stop the whole day, she carrying a basket of provisions with
+her. The Doctor, who was not allowed to enter the _mixing_ room, had
+access to every other part of the premises, and formed his composition in
+a particular apartment, without being overlooked by any one. He had also
+free access to the oven, and superintended the whole of the process; but
+completely failed, both as to composition and baking, for his materials
+always yielded to the intensity of the heat, while those of the Company
+came out of the furnace perfect and complete. Dr. Johnson retired in
+disgust, but not in despair, for he afterwards gave a dissertation on
+this very subject in his works; but the overseer assured Mr. Stephens, in
+1814, that he was still ignorant of the nature of the operation. He
+seemed to think that the Doctor imagined one single substance was
+sufficient, while he, on the other hand, asserted that he always used
+sixteen, and he must have had some practice, as he had nearly lost his
+eye-sight by firing batches of china, both at Chelsea and Derby, to which
+the manufacture was afterwards carried.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Chelsea china, originally patronised by the Duke of Cumberland, and
+afterwards by Sir R. Faulkner, was a long time in such repute as to be
+sold by auction, and as a set was purchased as soon as baked, dealers
+were surrounding the doors for that purpose. {87}
+
+
+
+LAWRENCE STREET, &c.
+
+
+Lawrence Street derives its name, as previously intimated, from its
+having been the site of the residence of the Lawrence family for many
+years. On this spot stood the first old Manor House, until Lord Sandys
+alienated the manor to Henry VIII., when that king sold it to Sir Thomas
+Lawrence, and erected another in Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ancient family of Lawrence first came into England with William the
+Conqueror, and settled at Ashton Hall, in the county of Lancaster, where
+they resided for 300 years, and possessed an immense property, which, in
+the year 1591, included 34 manors, the rental of which amounted to £6000
+per annum. It is uncertain when this family first came to Chelsea, but
+as the Lawrence chapel in the Old Church is built in the style of
+architecture which prevailed at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
+they were probably settled here about that period, and some time before
+they purchased the manor house. Some of the family who were buried in
+the chapel have already been mentioned.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The chief branches of this eminent family resided in Chelsea, in London,
+and at Iver, Bucks. Sir John Lawrence, knight, was Lord Mayor of London
+in 1665.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Some “Pious Contemplations,” on the arms of the Lawrence family, are
+written in the margin of their pedigree. They are supposed to have been
+affixed to it in 1664, but the author is not known. The following are
+the concluding lines:—
+
+ “The way to Heaven is not with roses spread,
+ But throng’d with thorns, as was Thy sacred head;
+ Our peace is hack’d and hew’d, our life’s a war,
+ We, for our Cross, must many crosses bear—
+ Or, a red sea our passage doth withstand,
+ Or, fiery serpents, or, a barren sand,
+ Ere we can reach the truly Holy Land.”
+
+ “Christ’s Cross the ladder is that leads to bliss,
+ Blest Jacob’s vision was a type of this;
+ Who climbs by other steps is at a loss—
+ To Heaven the only ladder is the Cross.”
+
+Ann, Duchess of Monmouth and Buccleugh, relict of James, Duke of
+Monmouth, resided in the “great house” in Lawrence Street about 1714, and
+from that time it was called Monmouth House. The following item appears
+in the Churchwardens’ accounts for the year 1716: “Paid the ringers, when
+the Princess (afterwards Queen Caroline) visited the Duchess of Monmouth,
+six shillings.” The Duchess was, it is said, for her agreeable person,
+good sense, and irreproachable character, one of the most amiable ladies
+about the Court. During the first years of her marriage she seems to
+have been as happy, and as much envied as any woman in the kingdom; but
+this happiness was of short duration; she was unfortunately supplanted in
+the Duke’s affections by Lady Harriet Wentworth, daughter of the Earl of
+Cleveland, whose personal charms were superior to her own. Her Grace
+died in 1732, aged 90 years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Gay was for some time secretary to the Duchess, as stated in
+Johnson’s Life of Gay.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Smollett afterwards resided in the same house in Lawrence Street. He
+came to Chelsea on account of the bad state of health of his beloved
+daughter, who was at that time in a consumption, under which she finally
+sank in the year 1763. The house and premises were extensive, and well
+suited for the residence of a person of rank. There are few men of real
+genius who have written more voluminously than Dr. Smollett. His
+entertaining novels are so well known that it seems almost unnecessary to
+mention Roderick Random, the Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, Ferdinand
+Count Fathom, and Sir Launcelot Greaves, the Expedition of Humphry
+Clinker, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+He was bred to the medical profession, and in the early part of his life
+served as a surgeon in the navy. It is said that before he took a house
+at Chelsea he attempted to settle as a practitioner, at Bath, but was
+unsuccessful, chiefly because he could not render himself agreeable to
+the ladies. This, however, was a little extraordinary, for Smollett was
+as graceful and handsome a man as any of the age; besides, there was a
+certain dignity in his manner which could not fail to inspire respect
+whenever he appeared. Abandoning physic altogether as a profession, he
+fixed his residence at Chelsea, and turned his thoughts entirely to
+writing.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Smollett’s History of England has had a most extensive sale. He is
+said to have received £2000 for writing it and the continuation. During
+the last years of his life he was employed in abridging the Modern
+Universal History, great part of which he had originally written himself.
+In the year 1755 he set on foot the Critical Review, and continued the
+principal manager of it till he went abroad for the first time, in the
+year 1763. He had made some very severe remarks on a pamphlet published
+by Admiral Knowles, who commenced a prosecution against the printer; and,
+just as sentence was going to be pronounced, he came into Court, and
+avowed himself the author; upon which he was fined £100, and condemned to
+three months’ imprisonment in the King’s Bench. It is there he is said
+to have written the Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves, in which he has
+described some remarkable characters, then his fellow-prisoners. When
+Lord Bute was called to the chief administration of affairs, he was
+prevailed upon to write in defence of that nobleman’s measures, in a
+weekly paper called the Briton. This gave rise to the well-known North
+Briton, wherein he was rather baffled.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Smollett’s constitution being at last greatly impaired by a sedentary
+life, and assiduous application to study, he went abroad for his health
+in 1769. He wrote accounts of his travels, in a series of letters to his
+friends, which were afterwards published.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+During that time he appears to have been occasionally in a distressed
+state of mind. In his first letter he writes:—“In gratifying your
+curiosity, I shall find some amusement to beguile the tedious hours;
+which, without some such employment, would be rendered insupportable by
+distemper and disquiet. You knew and pitied my situation: traduced by
+malice, persecuted by faction, abandoned by false patrons, and
+overwhelmed by domestic affliction.” He here alludes to the loss of his
+only daughter. In another letter, addressed to Mr. Reid, of this parish,
+he desires to be remembered to his Chelsea friends, wishing them that
+health and happiness to which he himself was a stranger, and adds, “I am
+very glad to know your concert was so brilliant, and I hope all your
+Chelsea societies will continue to flourish.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Smollett returned to England, but afterwards went back to Italy,
+where he died in 1771.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The old Chelsea Stage Coaches started from Lawrence Street and Church
+Street, between which places there were extensive stabling, and a
+residence for the proprietor in the centre of the yard. The fare for
+inside passengers was 1_s._ 6_d._, outside 1_s._, and no intermediate
+fare at a lower sum was taken. Thanks to the General Omnibus Company, to
+the Steamboat, and the Railway Companies, we can now go to almost the
+extremity of London for 6_d._ and a shorter distance for 3_d._
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Lordship Place takes its name from having been the site of the barns,
+&c., of the Lord of the Manor. It is a short street, near the river,
+connecting Lawrence Street with Cheyne Row. In the early Parish
+Registers occur many lamentable details of poor people being found dead
+in these barns, where they had taken refuge from the inclemency of the
+weather.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Cheyne Row was built in 1708, and was named after the Lord of the Manor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Denver, Esq., resided in Cheyne Row for the last twenty years of his
+life. He devoted his time to study, and the forming of a collection of
+early printed Bibles, manuscripts, and missals, which was at last one of
+the most valuable in England. His daughter, Miss Denyer, was very clever
+in painting and illuminating on vellum, &c. Her drawings and miniatures
+were equal to the finest specimens of the middle ages. Mr. Denyer died
+at the age of 71, and was buried in the Old Church, and his affectionate
+daughter was also interred near her father and mother. This family was
+distinguished for their benevolence to the poor.
+
+In Cheyne Row, within my recollection, many old and influential families
+have resided there, who were greatly respected. Amongst them may be
+mentioned Edmund Chalmers, Esq., Thomas Chalmers, Esq., John Hulme, Esq.,
+Edward Holl, Esq., the benevolent Mrs. Hebert, Richard Draper, Esq.,
+George Blyth, Esq., and Isaac Wrentmore, Esq.
+
+Thomas Carlyle, Esq., who is so well-known in literary and other
+distinguished circles, and who is certainly one of the most profound
+writers of the present age, has resided in Cheyne Row for a great many
+years. The University of Edinburgh, last year, conferred on him the
+highest honour it could bestow. His habits of life at Chelsea are
+naturally secluded, but he is nevertheless greatly respected by those who
+have an opportunity of acquiring a knowledge of his social worth. Mr.
+Carlyle begins now to bend with age, although apparently in tolerable
+health, and, notwithstanding his recent severe bereavement, not a cloud
+seems to dim the vigour of his intellectual faculties.
+
+In Upper Cheyne Row there was formerly a manufactory for melting gold and
+silver in crucibles, which was said to produce the best articles of the
+kind in England.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Cook’s Grounds was formerly a back way to Alston House, Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Cook’s Ground Chapel was originally built for the use of the French
+Protestants, who had taken refuge in this country after the revocation of
+the edict of Nantes, in the year 1685. Several French gardeners settled
+upon this spot, and the Rev. Dr. King, the rector, mentions them in terms
+of great kindness, and strongly recommends them to the protection of his
+successors. The chapel was for many years in the Independent Connexion.
+The Rev. Benjamin Fielder, in 1773, succeeded the Rev. Mr. Trail, and
+died in 1803. His death was very affecting; he had seated himself in the
+pulpit, and, after a hymn had been sung, he was observed with his head
+reclining, and without any signs of life. He was immediately removed,
+but never spoke afterwards. The Rev. John Bunce, who was well known and
+respected in Chelsea, was minister at this chapel for many years, and
+subsequently Dr. Tracey, Mr. Webb, and at the present time Mr. Hayward.
+
+
+
+Alston House, Cheyne Walk.
+
+
+Shrewsbury, or Alston House, a capital mansion, built about the latter
+end of the reign of Henry VIII., was situated in Cheyne Walk, to the west
+of the present “Pier Hotel.” This house was considered for a long time
+to have been the residence of Sir Thomas More; but Dr. King has proved,
+from the most authentic documents, that it never had any just pretensions
+to that honour.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It was an irregular brick building, forming three sides of a quadrangle.
+The principal room was one hundred and twenty feet in length, and was
+originally wainscotted with carved oak. One of the rooms was painted in
+imitation of marble, and appeared to have been originally an oratory.
+Certain curious portraits on panel, which had ornamented the large rooms,
+were destroyed some few years since; this is to be regretted, as, in all
+probability, they represented its former owners, or, at least, some
+persons of note.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Leading from the premises, towards the King’s Road, there is a
+subterranean passage, which has been explored for a short distance. It
+is said, traditionally, to have communicated with a cave or dungeon,
+situated at a considerable distance from the house; but for what purpose
+made, no one now in its vicinity confidently presumes to guess.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following information concerning this subterranean passage, is
+obtained from a letter of Miss Gulston to Miss Tate, who was the
+proprietor of the estate:—
+
+ “I have found an old man, now living at Chelsea, who worked at the
+ paper manufactory when a lad, and who has established the facts. I
+ have always been laughed at when I have mentioned the story. I have
+ gotten two drawings of the room and passage.
+
+ “The entrance to this passage was from the room used by the paper
+ stainers as a drying place. It had no fire-place in it; the
+ dimensions were nearly as follows: 25 feet high, 50 long, 36 wide;
+ the ceiling was strong with beams, to sustain the upper floors, but
+ without any plastered ceiling. You descended into it by a wide
+ winding staircase, through a circular-top door, strongly fortified
+ with rivets and four large hinges: this door was so contrived, that
+ it opened far enough back to hide the approach to the hole, and could
+ there be fastened so as to have the appearance of belonging to the
+ large room, and the circular steps leading to it caused the more
+ deception.
+
+ “The side walls are all brick. This man never could proceed with his
+ light more than a distance of thirty yards, when the light invariably
+ went out. The passage is free from any incumbrance of earth, or from
+ any part of the side walls having given way; as far as could be
+ ascertained, its direction was towards the river.
+
+ “It is regularly paved with two flag stones, leaving a border of six
+ inches of earth; width 3 feet, length 5½ feet.
+
+ “This passage was discovered, owing to the proprietor having been
+ robbed of a quantity of paper for years. The man now alive
+ volunteered to detect the thief; the paper was found on the staircase
+ descending to the passage.
+
+ “E. GULSTON.”
+
+Alston House was for many years the residence of the Shrewsbury family.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George, Earl of Shrewsbury, succeeded his father in the title, June 28th,
+the 13th Edward IV., while a minor. In the reign of Henry VIII. he was
+in high favour with that monarch, was steward of the household, and a
+privy counsellor, and accompanied the King at his interview with Francis
+I. at Guisnes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 28 Henry VIII., on the rebellion in the North, called “the pilgrimage
+of grace,” occasioned by the dissolution of the lesser monasteries, he
+was constituted the King’s Lieutenant, to march thither with a powerful
+army, he himself having raised a number of men at his own expense, when
+the Earl, and the Duke of Norfolk, succeeded in bringing the rebels to
+submission, and obtained for them the King’s pardon. This nobleman
+resided occasionally at Chelsea; and here his sixth son, by his first
+wife, was born. The Earl died 1538; he is characterised by Polydore
+Virgil, “as a person noble, prudent, and moderate through the whole
+course of his life.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Francis, his son and heir, is mentioned among the freeholders in the
+court rolls of the Manor of Chelsea, 35 Henry VIII. This nobleman also
+enjoyed the favour of his sovereign during three succeeding reigns. In
+1545 he was appointed the King’s Lieutenant in the North; and in the
+following year was installed one of the Knights Companions of the most
+noble order of the Garter. In 2 Edward VI. he had the command of a large
+army that was sent into Scotland, and in 1st of Queen Mary was made
+President of the Council of the North. He died September 21, 1560.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George, Earl of Shrewsbury, son of the preceding, was installed a Knight
+of the Garter, May 17, 1562. In 1568 the custody of the Queen of Scots
+was committed to his charge. In 1573, he presided as Lord High Steward
+at the trial of the Duke of Norfolk; and on the death of his Grace, which
+happened soon after, he was constituted Earl Marshal of England. He died
+1590, and was buried at Sheffield, in the county of York. “An
+inquisition, taken at Derby, 3rd April, 33 Elizabeth, on the death of
+George, Earl of Shrewsbury; after reciting lands, &c., in many counties,
+adds Middlesex, one capital messuage, &c., in Chelsea. The value is
+lumped in many manors, into a gross sum of £800 a year.” The inscription
+on his monument, among other things, sets forth, “That, as he excelled in
+mind, so was he skilled in the affairs of war.” On the arrival of Mary,
+Queen of Scots, in England, she was again put under his care, and so
+continued till 1584. His behaviour to her was ever generous and
+honourable, sparing no cost for her entertainment. Words cannot fully
+express the care and concern he had for her, nor can envy itself say
+otherwise than he was a faithful and prudent person; in a word, his
+integrity in his high office was not to be suspected, although evil
+disposed persons secretly and vaguely gave out that he had used too much
+familiarity with his royal prisoner. Thus, noble by descent, he was more
+noble and illustrious in his actions; famous at home and abroad; loyal to
+his prince and true to his country; and he resigned his soul in “a good
+old age.” The Earl married to his second wife, Elizabeth, widow of Sir
+William St. Loo, Captain of the Guards to Queen Elizabeth, who survived
+him, and to whom he probably bequeathed his house at Chelsea, as it
+appears to have descended to her son William, first Earl of Devonshire.
+In “Lodge’s Illustrations of English History,” is a letter of this
+nobleman, dated from Chelsea, in 1585.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury. This lady, who was much celebrated
+for her beauty and accomplishments, and still more for her extraordinary
+fortune in the world, was daughter of John Hardwick, Esq., of the county
+of Derby. At the age of fourteen she was married to Robert Barley, Esq.,
+who, in about two years, left her a very rich widow. The next husband
+was Sir William Cavendish, ancestor of the Duke of Devonshire. Her third
+was Sir William St. Loo. In this third widowhood she had not survived
+her charms of wit and beauty, by which she captivated the then greatest
+subject of the land, George, Earl of Shrewsbury, whom she brought to
+terms of considerable honour and advantage to herself and children; for
+he not only yielded to a very large jointure, but to a union of families,
+by marrying Mary, her youngest daughter, to Gilbert, his son and
+afterwards his heir, and giving the Lady Grace, his youngest daughter, to
+Henry, her eldest son. In 1590 she was a fourth time left, and continued
+a widow till her death. Her’s was a change of conditions that, perhaps,
+never fell to any one woman before or since: to be four times a
+creditable and happy wife, and to rise by every husband to greater wealth
+and higher honours; and, after all, to live seventeen years a widow in
+absolute power and plenty. She built three of the most elegant seats
+that were ever raised by one person in the same county—Chatsworth,
+Hardwick, and Oldcoates; all transmitted entire to the first Duke of
+Devonshire. The Countess died in 1607, aged 87. She bequeathed all her
+estates to her son William, Earl of Devonshire; and we find this nobleman
+to have been in possession of this mansion at Chelsea soon after her
+death.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+William, Earl of Devonshire, received his education with the sons of the
+Earl of Shrewsbury, his father in-law; and, being distinguished for
+eminent abilities, was advanced to the dignity of Baron Cavendish, by
+James I. in the third year of his reign; at which time of his creation
+his Majesty stood under a cloth of state in the hall at Greenwich,
+accompanied by the princes and the greatest part of the nobility, both of
+England and Scotland. In 1618 he was created Earl of Devonshire. He
+died at Hardwick in 1625. The Earl married, to his second wife,
+Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Boughton, Esq., of the county of Warwick,
+and widow of Sir Richard Wortley. This lady survived him, and continued
+to reside at Chelsea till her death, which happened in 1643, as appears
+by the parish book, in which are also entries of the burials of some of
+her domestics.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After the death of the Countess of Devonshire, this ancient house became
+the property of Sir Joseph Alston, who was created a baronet by Charles
+II. in 1682. Mrs. Mary Alston, the wife of this gentleman, died here in
+1671, and her funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Littleton, who published
+it shortly after, in quarto. Sir Joseph was in possession of this house
+in 1664; it afterwards came into the possession of Mr. Tate, and was
+occupied as a stained paper manufactory.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1813 it was pulled down, and the materials sold by a builder, who had
+obtained possession; and now not a stone remains to show where it once
+stood.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The family of Tate were originally of Chelsea, and had at one time large
+property here, which they parted with by degrees. They attained property
+also in Leicestershire, through a marriage with the daughter of Lord
+Zouch.
+
+
+
+Bishop of Winchester’s Palace.
+
+
+The Bishop of Winchester’s Palace, which was pulled down some years
+since, adjoined the gardens of Alston House, on the east, and on the site
+of which is now Oakley Street, and a terrace of well-built houses,
+fronting the river. The houses erected in Oakley Street are throughout
+of a superior class, and as the road is of considerable width, with a
+good pavement, it now forms the most respectable and important direct
+thoroughfare from the King’s Road to the centre of Cheyne Walk. The
+contemplated embankment and Albert Bridge will be noticed at the
+conclusion of this work, so as to get correct information.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ancient palace of the Bishops of Winchester, in Southwark, having
+been dilapidated and laid waste, an Act of Parliament was passed in the
+year 1663 empowering George Morley, Bishop of Winchester, to lease out
+the houses in Southwark, and for other purposes. In the ensuing year the
+Bishop, in pursuance of this Act of Parliament, purchased a new brick
+house at Chelsea, then lately built by James Duke of Hamilton, and
+adjoining to the Manor House, Cheyne Walk, on the east, and Alston House,
+on the west, for £4250, to be the future residence of the bishops of this
+see, and to be called Winchester House. By the Act it was held to be
+within the diocese of Winchester.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Bishopric of Winchester is of good antiquity, and has never changed
+the see since its foundation. The Bishops are Chancellors of the see of
+Canterbury, and Prelates of the most noble Order of St. George, called
+the Garter, which office was vested in them by King Edward III. at the
+establishment of that noble Order, and has continued with them ever
+since. Anciently, they were reputed Earls of Southampton, and are so
+styled in the Statutes of the Garter, made by Henry VIII.
+
+
+
+BISHOPS SINCE THE RESTORATION OF KING CHARLES II.
+
+1662. George Morley, Bishop of Worcester.
+1684. Peter Mews, Bishop of Bath and Wells.
+1707. Sir Jonathan Trelawney, Bart., Bishop of Exeter.
+1721. Charles Trimnell, Bishop of Norwich.
+1723. Richard Willis, Bishop of Salisbury.
+1734. Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Salisbury.
+1761. John Thomas, Bishop of Salisbury.
+1781. Hon. Brownlow North, Bishop of Worcester.
+1820. George Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln.
+
+Dr. Tomline was the last Bishop of Winchester who had possession of this
+ancient house, but he never resided in it.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George Morley, chaplain to Charles I., was a great scholar and an eminent
+divine. After the death of the king he retired to the Hague, where he
+attended on Charles II. At the Restoration he was made Dean of Christ
+Church, and in the same year Bishop of Worcester, whence he was
+translated to Winchester. His constant practice was to rise at five
+o’clock in the morning, to go to bed at eleven, and to eat but once a
+day. By these rules he preserved his health with very little
+interruption through the course of a long life. He died in 1684.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Peter Mews was born at Parscandle, in Dorsetshire, in 1618, and was
+educated at Merchant Tailors’ School, under the care of Dr. Winiffe, then
+Dean of St. Paul’s, and afterwards Bishop of Lincoln. From school he was
+elected scholar to St. John’s College, Oxford, and became Fellow of the
+same College at the commencement of the civil war. Soon afterwards he
+left Oxford, entered the royal army, and was promoted to the rank of
+captain; he served for some time, and then went to Holland.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+During the Interregnum he took holy orders, and at the Restoration
+returned to his college, where he took the degree of D.D. On the death
+of Dr. Bailey he was made President of St. John’s College. In 1669 he
+was chosen Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and in 1673 he was promoted to the
+see of Bath and Wells, which he held for about twelve years, till he was
+translated to Winchester. He died 1706, aged 88.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SINGULAR PREDICTIONS.—In 1706, John Needs, a Winchester scholar, foretold
+the deaths of Mr. Carman, chaplain to the College, of Dr. Mews, Bishop of
+Winchester, and of himself, within that year, to several of his
+school-fellows, among others, to George Lavington. This declaration
+exposed him naturally to much raillery in the school, and he was
+ludicrously styled “Prophet Needs.” Mr. Carman died about the time he
+mentioned. For this event, however, he had little credit, it being said,
+that the death of such an old man might reasonably be expected. Within
+the time prefixed Bishop Mews also died by a strange accident. He was
+subject to fainting fits, from which he soon recovered by smelling
+spirits of hartshorn. Being seized with a fit whilst a gentleman was
+with him, and perceiving its approach, he pointed eagerly to a phial in
+the window; the visitor took it, and in haste poured the contents down
+the Bishop’s throat, which instantly suffocated him. As the time
+approached which Needs had prefixed for his own dissolution, of which he
+named even the day and the hour, he sickened, apparently declined, and
+kept to his chamber, where he was frequently visited and prayed with by
+Mr. Fletcher, second master of the school, and father of the Bishop of
+Kildare. This gentleman reasoned and argued with the youth, but in vain;
+for with great calmness and composure the patient resolutely persisted in
+affirming that the event would verify his prediction. On the day he had
+fixed, the house-clock being kindly put forward, struck the hour before
+the real time; he saw through the deception, and told those who were with
+him, that when the church clock struck he should expire—he did so!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Fletcher left a memorandum in writing to the above purpose; and
+Bishop Trimnell, about the year 1722, having heard this story at
+Winchester, wrote to New College, of which Mr. Lavington was then Fellow,
+for further information. His answer was, that “John Needs had indeed
+foretold that the Bishop of Winchester (Mews) and old Mr. Carman should
+die that year; but then they being very aged men, he had foretold, for
+two or three years before, that they should die in that number of years.
+As to foretelling the time of his own death, I believe he was punctually
+right.” Dr. Lavington gave the same account to his friends after he was
+Bishop of Exeter.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Jonathan Trelawney was a younger son of Sir J. Trelawney, of Petynt,
+Cornwall; but his elder brother dying in 1680, he inherited the title.
+He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where there is a portrait of
+him. He was in succession Bishop of Bristol, Exeter, and Winchester; a
+man of polite manners, competent learning, and uncommon knowledge of the
+world.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Bishop Trelawney was one of the seven prelates committed to the Tower by
+James II. for their efforts to maintain the Protestant cause. When the
+news of his probable peril of life reached Cornwall, the miners proposed
+coming up to London in a vast body to demand the bishop’s release. The
+song in every mouth was—
+
+ “And shall Trelawney die?
+ And shall Trelawney die?
+ Then twice five hundred Cornish men
+ Will know the reason why.”
+
+It is said that the bishop was open, generous, and charitable, a good
+companion, and a good man. He died in 1721. {100}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles Trimnell, son of the Rev. Charles Trimnell, Rector of Repton
+Abbotts, Huntingdonshire, was educated at Oxford. He was consecrated
+Bishop of Norwich in 1707; was made Clerk of the Closet to George I., and
+translated to the see of Winchester in 1721. This bishop, naturally of a
+weak constitution, did not long survive his last promotion. He died at
+Farnham in 1723, aged 40. This prelate was a steady partizan of the
+revolution, which he defended by his pen; warm, yet temperate; zealous,
+yet moderate; and his piety did not prevent him from gaining a perfect
+knowledge of mankind.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Richard Willis, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, was promoted to the
+deanery of Lincoln, by King William; and in 1714 was consecrated Bishop
+of Gloucester, translated in 1721 to Salisbury, and thence to Winchester
+in 1723, where he resided till his death, which happened suddenly at
+Winchester House, Cheyne Walk, in 1734, aged 71; his wife was buried in
+Chelsea Church, in 1727, but he himself was buried in his own Cathedral.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Bishop Hoadly, a prelate of great merit, was the son of the Rev. Samuel
+Hoadly, Master of the Public Grammar School at Norwich; he was educated
+at his father’s school till he went to Catherine Hall, Cambridge, where
+he afterwards became College Tutor, and appears to have been held in high
+esteem throughout the whole course of his academical studies. Although
+he applied to study with an intensity of application that made him
+eminent, he acquired at the same time considerable proficiency in music.
+In 1698 he was ordained, and about three years afterwards he married Miss
+Curtis, a great proficient in the art of painting, many of her portraits
+exciting public attention, particularly one of Bishop Burnet.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1704 Mr. Hoadly obtained the rectory of St. Peter le Poor; he began
+writing as soon as he came to London; and in 1709 the following vote was
+passed in the House of Commons:—“Resolved, That the Rev. Benjamin Hoadly,
+having often justified the principles on which his Majesty and the nation
+proceeded in the late happy revolution, hath justly merited the favour
+and recommendation of this House. That an humble address be presented to
+her Majesty, that she would be graciously pleased to bestow some dignity
+in the church on Mr. Hoadly, for his eminent services, both to the Church
+and State.” A change of Ministry prevented any benefit arising to him
+from this address; but he afterwards had bestowed on him, by the
+grandmother of the Duke of Bedford, the rectory of Streatham, Surrey.
+Soon after the accession of George I. he was made Bishop of Bangor. From
+thence he was successively translated to those of Hereford, Salisbury,
+and Winchester, which last he enjoyed nearly twenty-seven years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It is somewhat a singular circumstance, that when Bishop Hoadly went to
+Court to kiss the King’s hand on his promotion, he did not know the way
+up stairs, the attendants being all busily engaged at the moment, and by
+mistake he sat down in an outer room unobserved, and some affirm that he
+lost the honour of being presented on that occasion to his Majesty.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The doctrines contained in his publications gave such offence to the
+clergy, that they produced the famous Bangorian Controversy. On the 16th
+of December, 1761, having supped, he retired to bed in perfect health,
+but in the middle of the night he was seized with a fit of vomiting, of
+which the violence abated in about an hour. Medical assistance was
+immediately sent for, and the bishop seemed better, but about two o’clock
+the following even, his lady found him dead, without knowing the precise
+moment of his departure. As a writer, he possessed powerful talents; his
+greatest defect, perhaps, was in extending his periods to a disagreeable
+length; for which Pope has thus recorded him:—
+
+ “But, sir, of writers? Swift for closer style,
+ But Hoadly for a period of a mile.”
+
+Amongst the most celebrated writers of modern times, who have possessed
+great argumentative powers, this “defect” is generally a natural
+consequence. Lord Brougham, for instance, was remarkable for the length
+of his periods, or final sentences, but with him it evidenced deep
+thought, and enabled him to impart into his writings and speeches that
+eloquence and force of language for which he was so highly extolled.
+Bishop Hoadly might have been one of those “powerful” writers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. John Thomas was born in 1696, and in 1733, being then Fellow of All
+Souls College, Oxford, he was presented by the Dean and Chapter of St.
+Paul’s, to the united parishes of St. Benedict’s and St. Peter’s, Paul’s
+Wharf, London. In 1742 he became Canon Residentiary of St. Paul’s, and
+was sworn in one of his Majesty’s Chaplains in Ordinary. He was
+consecrated Bishop of Peterborough in 1747, and four years after was
+appointed Preceptor to the Prince of Wales. On the death of Bishop
+Hoadly he was presented to the see of Winchester. Dr. Thomas died at his
+episcopal palace, Cheyne Walk, in 1781, aged 85, having sustained
+throughout life the character of an exemplary prelate. {102}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hon. Brownlow North was born in 1741, was the younger son of the
+first Earl of Guildford, and brother to that Lord North who became twice
+Prime Minister of this country, once during the American war, and,
+secondly, in conjunction with Mr. Fox. Mr. North was first educated at
+Eton, and afterwards at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1770 he was
+promoted from a canonry at Christchurch, to the deanery of Canterbury.
+His elder brother being now Prime Minister he obtained the mitre of
+Lichfield and Coventry in 1771, at the early age of 30. In 1744 he was
+promoted to the see of Worcester, soon after which he was promoted to the
+rich see of Winchester. By his wife, formerly Miss Bannister, a lady
+previously well known in the fashionable world, he had a very numerous
+family, of whom both sons and sons-in-law were amply provided with
+valuable livings in the church. The bishop with his family went to
+Italy, and shortly after their return his lady died; his lordship died at
+his palace at Chelsea, after a long illness, accompanied with blindness,
+at the age of 79, July 12, 1820.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Bishop North was kind and charitable. The present writer gladly embraces
+this opportunity to testify to the truth of this statement. The bishop
+was walking in front of his palace, as was his frequent custom, when the
+writer, then quite a youth, fell accidentally with considerable force on
+the shore of the river, it being at the time “low water.” The bishop
+observing the accident, and perceiving the injury sustained, gave
+immediate instructions for his being carried home, compensating the men,
+and offering to pay any additional expenses. This may appear no more
+than an act of duty on the part of the bishop, but the writer cannot
+refrain from remembering it as a deed worthy of a “good Samaritan.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Winchester Palace was of humble exterior, and displayed little of
+grandeur or of magnificence. It was two stories in height, and built
+with red bricks, without pilasters or any other architectural ornament;
+but, however plain in its exterior, it comprised every convenience and
+comfort that could be required for a large establishment. The building
+formed a quadrangle, and its principal entrance was in the south front,
+the ground floor of which comprised the great hall, kitchen, and chapel,
+the latter being of moderate dimensions, plainly but neatly fitted up.
+The great staircase at the eastern end of the hall led to three grand
+drawing rooms, which extended the whole length of the south front, and
+which, during the residence of Bishop North, were splendidly furnished.
+The walls were covered with beautiful paper, having gold borders, the
+ceilings were richly ornamented in stucco work, and the chimney-pieces
+composed of various coloured marbles, put up at considerable expense by
+the bishop after his return from Italy. The sleeping rooms, and other
+domestic chambers, occupied the whole north front, commanding fine views
+over the gardens adjoining. On the ground floor of this front were two
+libraries, and other apartments, bounded on the east by a great gallery,
+leading to the gardens.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having been obliged in the year 1791, by the bad health of part of his
+family, to seek the climate of Italy, Bishop North collected there many
+curious articles of undoubted antiquity, of modern art, and of natural
+history, of which the principal were, Greek sepulchral vases, specimens
+of ancient marbles used in the Roman villas, mural paintings from
+Herculaneum, beautiful works in Mosaic, fine bronzes, splendid gems,
+curious china, &c. These were disposed with much taste in various
+apartments of the house, and some of them we will notice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The great entrance hall was 40 ft. long, and 20 ft. wide; on a table
+stood an antique juvenile bust of Bacchus, which was much admired.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The grand staircase was of noble proportions, and was ornamented with a
+variety of objects of taste, disposed in glass cases, consisting of
+specimens of all the articles of domestic use among the ancient Romans.
+Here likewise stood a sepulchral Roman vase of white marble, ornamented
+with rams’ heads and elegant festoons of white flowers, with the
+following inscription:—
+
+ Semproniæ
+ Elegantiorib. choreis
+ Psallendoq; Præstantis
+ Suæ viridis in medio juventæ
+ E. Vivis
+ Per crudelia fata direptæ
+ Sodaliu. Sibi. Choors. Dilecta
+ D.O.M.
+ Moer. M.P.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ In bloom of youth, midst sweet companions dwelling,
+ With elegant and tuneful arts excelling,
+ Fate did Sempronia suddenly remove:
+ Submissive to the wise behests of Heaven,
+ Those lov’d companions (full of hope) have given
+ To her this token of their loss and love.
+
+ W. B.
+
+Near the preceding was a plaster cast of Dr. Burney, author of the
+History of Music, taken from the original bust by Nollekens. The three
+drawing-rooms were of the same dimensions as the hall; the first was
+ornamented with several mosaic and fresco paintings from Herculaneum, and
+other works of ancient arts. In the next apartments were portraits of
+Bishop North, and his lady. Along the gallery which led to the garden
+were disposed, in glass cases, a rich variety of beautiful shells, with
+spars and ores, and a large collection of Italian marbles. The house was
+also adorned with many specimens of modern art, in modelling and
+painting, executed by Miss North, the Hon. Mr. Brownlow North, and by
+others of his lordship’s family.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Winchester House was well and expensively supplied with water, conveyed
+by pipes from a conduit, built by Henry VIII., situated in the King’s
+forcing grounds at Kensington.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Upon pulling down the palace a singular discovery was made. In a small
+room, to the north front, and at the north-west corner, were found on the
+plaster of the walls, nine figures of the size of life, viz., three men
+and six women, drawn in outline with black chalk in a bold and animated
+style. Various opinions have been given respecting these spirited
+sketches. They displayed much of the _manner_ of Hogarth, who lived on
+intimate terms with Bishop Hoadly, and it was supposed that these figures
+applied to some domestic incident in the bishop’s family, or to some
+scene in a play. His lordship’s partiality for the drama was great. A
+near relative, who resided in Chelsea, wrote the comedy of “The
+Suspicious Husband.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The palace remained unoccupied after the death of Bishop North; for Lady
+Tomline, the wife of Bishop Tomline, conceived a dislike to the place
+altogether. His lordship, in consequence, applied to Parliament and
+obtained an Act to enable him to sell the premises. The Lord of the
+Manor became the purchaser; and subsequently the whole fabric was sold by
+auction.
+
+
+
+Description of the Manor House.
+
+
+As full particulars have already been given of the distinguished
+occupiers of the ancient Manor House, Cheyne Walk, it is here only
+necessary to describe the structure of this once celebrated residence.
+{105}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Immediately adjoining Winchester Palace, on the east, was situated the
+ancient Manor House and lands. It was a spacious house, built by Henry
+VIII., the original consisting of a rather plain brick structure, one
+storey above the ground floor, with irregularly-shaped windows, and
+divided by four buttresses of great width, carried up considerably higher
+than the roof, either as ornaments or concealed flues. The parapet of
+this part was castellated. Two additions, on the east, seems to have
+been subsequently added to the original; one of them being three stories
+in height, the other of two, without either buttress or embrasures. The
+number of windows in the entire front was thirty-four, and the entrance
+door accorded with the period of Henry VIII. The whole presented an idea
+of monastic antiquity.
+
+Sir Hans Sloane, it is said, was buried from the eastern end of the Manor
+House. A man, named Howard, who was employed in the removal of his
+books, stated that they amounted to nearly 40,000 volumes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On part of the site of the old Manor House, and adjoining Winchester
+Palace, in the first house eastward in Cheyne Walk, resided for a long
+time the Rev. Thomas Clare. When the destruction of the episcopal domain
+took place, Mr. Clare, with some difficulty, obtained a portion of the
+land upon which the gardens of the above venerable edifice stood, in the
+arrangement and disposition of which he omitted nothing which might do
+justice to the memory of its former illustrious owners and occupiers, or
+excite the approbation of visitors of judgment and taste.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Richard Steele appears, from the parish books, to have rented a house
+by the water-side, rated at £14 per annum. In a letter from Sir Richard
+to Lady Steele, dated Chelsea, 14th of February, 1716, he says, “Mr.
+Fuller and I came hither to dine in the air, but the maid has been so
+slow that we are benighted, and chuse to lie here rather than go this
+road in the dark. I lie at our own house, and my friend at a relation’s
+in the town.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Richard was born about the year 1676, in Ireland, but of English
+parents. At a very early age he was sent from Dublin to London, and was
+educated with Addison at the Charter House; from hence he removed to
+Merton College, Oxford; he left the University without taking a degree,
+and entered the army, a step highly displeasing to his friends. However,
+as he had a constant flow of good nature, a generous frankness of spirit,
+and a sparkling vivacity of wit, these qualities rendered him the delight
+of the soldiery, and having made choice of a profession which set him
+free from all the ordinary restraints in youth, he indulged his
+inclinations in the wildest excesses. He became Secretary to Lord Cutts,
+who obtained for him the rank of captain in Lord Lucas’s regiment of
+Fusileers; and, in the beginning of Queen Anne’s reign, he was appointed
+to the profitable place of Gazetteer, to which he had been recommended by
+Mr. Addison. Steele had already exhibited his talents as a dramatic
+writer with success, and in 1709 he began to publish “The Tatler,” which
+was undertaken by him in concert with Dr. Swift, and others; and by this
+work his reputation was perfectly established. This was followed by “The
+Spectator,” which was carried on chiefly by the assistance of his friend
+Addison, and the success of this paper being still superior to that of
+the former, encouraged him to proceed in the same design in the character
+of “The Guardian.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1710 Sir Richard was made a Commissioner of the Stamp Duties, which
+office he resigned in 1713; and from a placeman he became a violent
+oppositionist. He took his seat in the House of Commons as Member for
+Stockbridge, in Hampshire, but was expelled thence in a few days after
+for writing several seditious libels. From this time till the death of
+Queen Anne his attention was wholly engrossed in writing and publishing
+political tracts. {107}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the accession of George I. he was again taken into favour; was
+appointed Surveyor to the Royal Stables at Hampton Court, had the honour
+of knighthood conferred upon him, and during the whole of this reign
+continued to receive many marks of the royal bounty.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It might now naturally be imagined that, taught by ample experience, Sir
+Richard would pay some attention to economy: such, however, was the power
+of habit, and such was his thoughtless profusion, that scarcely a
+twelvemonth had passed before he was obliged to sell his share in a
+theatre to relieve the oppressive exigencies of want. In 1725 he
+surrendered the whole of his property to his creditors, and retired to
+Wales, where, in the following year, he was seized with a paralytic
+stroke, which rendered him incapable of any further literary effort.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+By the indulgence of the mortgagee he resided on his estate, near
+Carmarthen, which he had formerly acquired on his marriage with his
+second wife. After lingering nearly two years in this secluded
+situation, he died September 21, 1729. Such was the chequered life of
+Steele, at one time exulting on the wing of prosperity; at another
+depressed by all the evils of the most embittered poverty. His frailties
+were not the offspring of vice, but the effects of habitual carelessness
+and the want of prudence. Compassionate in his heart; unbounded in his
+benevolence; no object of distress that he could relieve ever left him
+with a murmur; and in the hour of prosperity he was ever ready, both with
+his influence and property, to promote the views of literature and
+science, and to assist the efforts of unprotected genius. Mental wealth,
+however poor and humble the possessor, was esteemed by him to be of
+invaluable worth. {108}
+
+
+
+Don Saltero’s Coffee House.
+
+
+This well known coffee-house was first opened in the year 1695, by one
+Salter, who had been a servant to Sir Hans Sloane, and had accompanied
+him on his travels. The collection of curiosities, which were
+principally the gift of his master, being the duplicates of his various
+curious collections, drew from London a multitude of spectators. It
+existed for more than a century, and was at length sold by public auction
+in the year 1799.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In “The Tatler,” No. 34, Sir Richard Steele has given the following
+humorous description of this once far-famed collection of rarities, and
+of its eccentric proprietor:—
+
+ “Being of a very spare and hective constitution, I am forced to make
+ frequent journies of a mile or two for fresh air; and indeed by this
+ last, which was no further than the village of Chelsea, I am farther
+ convinced of the necessity of travelling to know the world; for, as
+ it is usual with young voyagers, as soon as they land upon a shore,
+ to begin their accounts of the nature of the people, their soil,
+ their government, their inclinations, and their passions, so really I
+ fancied I could give you an immediate description of this village
+ from the Five Fields, where the robbers lie in wait, to the
+ coffee-house, where the _literati_ sit in council. A great ancestor
+ of ours, by the mother’s side, Mr. Justice Overdo, (whose history is
+ written by Ben Johnson,) met with more enormities by walking
+ _incognito_ than he was capable of correcting; and found great
+ mortifications in observing, also, persons of eminence, whom he
+ before knew nothing of: thus it fared with me, even in a place so
+ near the town as this. When I came into the coffee-house, I had not
+ time to salute the company, before my eye was diverted by 10,000
+ gimcracks round the room, and on the ceiling. When my first
+ astonishment was over, comes to me a sage, of thin and meagre
+ countenance, which aspect made me doubt whether reading or fretting
+ had made it so philosophic; but I very soon perceived him to be of
+ that sect which the ancients call Gingivistæ, in our language,
+ tooth-drawers. I immediately had a respect for the man; for these
+ practical philosophers go upon a very rational hypothesis, not to
+ cure, but to take away the part affected. My love of mankind made me
+ very benevolent to Mr. Salter; for such is the name of this eminent
+ barber and antiquary. Men are usually, but unjustly, distinguished
+ rather by their fortunes than their talents, otherwise their
+ patronage would make a great figure in that class of men which I
+ distinguish under the title of Odd Fellows; but it is the misfortune
+ of persons of great genius to have their faculties dissipated by
+ attention to too many things at once. Mr. Salter is an instance of
+ this; if he would wholly give himself up to the string, instead of
+ playing twenty beginnings to tunes, he might, before he dies play
+ _Roger de Caubly_ quite out. I heard him go through his whole round;
+ and, indeed, I think he does play the Merry Christ Church Bells
+ pretty justly; but he confessed to me, he did that rather to show he
+ was orthodox than that he valued himself upon the music itself. Or
+ if he did proceed in his anatomy, why might he not hope in time to
+ cut off legs, as well as draw teeth?
+
+ “The particularity of this man put me into a deep thought, whence it
+ should proceed that, of all the lower order, barbers should go
+ further in hitting the ridiculous than any other set of men: watermen
+ brawl, cobblers sing; but why must a barber be for ever a politician,
+ a musician, an anatomist, a poet, and a physician. The learned
+ Vossius says, his barber used to comb his hair in iambics; and indeed
+ in all ages, one of this useful profession, this order of cosmetic
+ philosophers, has been celebrated by the most eminent hands. You see
+ the barber, in Don Quixote, is one of the principal characters in the
+ history, which gave me satisfaction in the doubt, why Don Saltero
+ writ his name with a Spanish termination; for he is descended in a
+ right line, not from John Tradescant, as he himself asserts, but from
+ that memorable companion of the Knight of Mancha; and I hereby
+ certify, to all the worthy citizens who travel to see his rarities,
+ that his double-barrelled pistols, targets, coats of mails, his
+ sclopeta, and sword of Toledo, were left to his ancestor, by the said
+ ancestor to all his progeny down to Don Saltero. Though I go thus
+ far in favour of Don Saltero’s merit, I cannot allow a liberty he
+ takes of imposing several names (without my licence) on the
+ collections he has made, to the abuse of the good people of England,
+ one of which is particularly calculated to deceive religious persons,
+ to the great scandal of the well-disposed, and may introduce
+ heterodox opinions: he shows you a straw hat, which I know to be made
+ by Madge Peskad, within three miles of Bedford, and tells you it is
+ Pontius Pilate’s wife’s chambermaid’s sister’s hat. To my knowledge
+ of this very hat, it may be added, that the covering of straw was
+ never used among the Jews, since it was demanded of them to make
+ bricks without it.
+
+ “Therefore this is really nothing, but, under the specious pretence
+ of learning and antiquity, to impose upon the world. There are other
+ things which I cannot tolerate among his rarities, as the china
+ figure of a lady in the glass case, the Italian engine for the
+ imprisonment of those who go abroad with it; both of which I hereby
+ order to be taken down, or else he may expect to have his
+ letters-patent for making punch superseded, be debarred wearing his
+ muff next winter, or ever coming to London without his wife.
+
+ “It may be thought, perhaps, I have dwelt too long upon the affairs
+ of this operator; but I desire the reader to remember that it is my
+ way to consider men as they stand in merit, and not according to
+ their fortune or figure; and if he is in a coffee-house at the
+ reading hereof, let him look round, and he will find there may be
+ more characters drawn in this account than that of Don Saltero; for
+ half the politicians about him, he may observe, are, by their place
+ in nature, of the class of tooth-drawers.”
+
+The curiosities of this collection were deposited in glass-cases, and
+consisted of a great variety of petrifactions, corals, chrystals, ores,
+shells, animals preserved in spirits, stuffed animals from various parts
+of the world, idols, curious Chinese manuscripts, missals, birds, snakes,
+butterflies, medals, models, fire-arms, fishes, portraits, prints, &c.
+
+A catalogue of the whole was printed, with the names of the donors
+affixed; and under the management of skilful hands this collection could
+not have failed to produce ample remuneration and profit.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Such collections, aided by those of Tradescant, Ashmole, and Thoresby,
+cherished the infancy of science, and should not be depreciated now, as
+the playthings of a boy are scorned after he has arrived at manhood. Mr.
+Pennant’s ancestor, who lived at Chelsea, often took his great nephew,
+Mr. Pennant’s father, to the coffee-house, where he used to see poor
+Richard Cromwell, a little and very neat old man, with a most placid
+countenance, the effect of his innocent and unambitious life. He
+imagines this was Don Saltero’s coffee-house, to which he was a
+benefactor, and has the honour of having his name mentioned in the
+collection. {111}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Pennant, when a boy, saw “his uncle’s gift to the great Saltero,”
+which was “a lignified hog.” What Mr. Pennant thus facetiously
+denominates, is called, in the edition of Saltero’s catalogue that we
+have seen, “a piece of a root of a tree that grew in the shape of an
+hog.” He feared this matchless curiosity was lost; at least, it is
+omitted in the last, or forty-seventh edition of the catalogue.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+What author, except Mr. Pennant, can flatter himself with delivering his
+works down to posterity in impressions so numerous as the labours of Don
+Saltero?
+
+The name of Don Saltero made its first appearance in the newspaper, June
+22nd, 1723; whence the following account of himself and his rarities is
+extracted.
+
+ “Sir, fifty years since to Chelsea great,
+ From Rodman, on the Irish main,
+ I stroll’d, and maggots in my pate,
+ Where, much impro’d, they still remain.
+ Through various employes I’ve past,
+ A scraper, virtuos’, projector,
+ Tooth drawer, trimmer, and at last
+ I’m now a gimcrack-whim collector.
+ Monsters of all sorts here are seen,
+ Strange things in nature as they grow so,
+ Some relics of the Sheha queen,
+ And fragments of the fam’d Bob Crusoe.
+ Knick-knacks, too, dangle round the wall,
+ Some in glass cases, some on shelf,
+ But what’s the rarest right of all,
+ Your humble servant shows himself.
+ On this my chiefest hope depends,
+ Now if you will the cause espouse,
+ In journals pray direct your friends
+ To my Museum Coffee-House:
+ And, in requital for the timely favour,
+ I’ll gratis bleed, draw teeth, and be your shaver.
+ Nay, that your pate may with my noddle tarry,
+ And you shine bright as I do—marry, shall ye
+ Freely consult your Revelation Molly.
+ Nor shall one jealous thought create a huff,
+ For she has taught me manners long enough.”
+
+ CHELSEA KNACKATORY.
+
+ DON SALTERO.
+
+Dr. Franklin, in his Life, mentions coming to Chelsea to see Don
+Saltero’s collection:—“We one day (says he) made a party to go by water
+to Chelsea, in order to see the College, and Don Saltero’s curiosities.
+On our return, at the request of the company, I undressed myself, and
+leaped into the river. I swam from near Chelsea the whole way to
+Blackfriars Bridge, exhibiting, during my course, a variety of feats of
+activity and address, both upon the surface of the water as well as under
+it. The sight occasioned much astonishment and pleasure to those to whom
+it was new. In my youth I took great delight in this exercise.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+This noted coffee-house was for many years, in the present century,
+conducted in a most respectable manner. There was a subscription room,
+where gentlemen met and conversed, and which was frequently visited by
+men of literature and science, many of whom are still living, but of late
+years it had lost the celebrity of former days. It was rebuilt in 1867,
+is now a capital private residence.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry Redhead Yorke, Esq.—This accomplished scholar died at his
+residence, at No. 19, Cheyne Walk, in 1813, in the 41st year of his age.
+He was a great classical scholar. In his youth as he himself expressed
+it, he was “madly in love with ideal liberty.” He became an officer in
+the French army, and a member of the National Convention, and personally
+acquainted with all the leading characters of the French Revolution. He
+was denounced by Robespierre; and but for a friendly hint from the
+celebrated Condorcet, must have been guillotined, had he been one hour
+longer in making his escape.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the month of March, 1798, he was liberated from Dorchester Castle,
+after an imprisonment of four years, for a seditious libel. He had paid
+a fine of £200, and entered into securities for £2,000.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Some years previous to his death his political ideas became moderated,
+and he manifested a strong sense of the value of the British
+constitution. He had been called to the bar; a profession for which he
+was highly qualified, and in which there was every reason to hope he
+would have risen to high eminence, had his life been prolonged. Indeed,
+the zeal with which he devoted himself to his various professional
+pursuits, hastened, if it did not bring on, the disorder which put a
+period to his existence at the comparative early age of forty-one years.
+As a classical scholar, and nervous elegant writer, he has left few
+equals. His letters, under the signature of “Galgacus,” have scarcely
+been surpassed since the days of Junius. In private life, Mr. Yorke was
+distinguished for benevolence and liberality of sentiment, openness of
+character, and his company was courted by men of all parties.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Francis Chalmer, Esq., (son of Edmund Chalmer, Esq.,) resided in Cheyne
+Row for a great many years. He was a magistrate for the county, and
+highly esteemed in the parish. As a gentleman he was affable and
+courteous, and kind to the poor. He died at his house in Cheyne Row, in
+July, 1859, and was interred in the Brompton Cemetery.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Leigh Hunt, Esq., the well-known author of many interesting works, and
+who was the associate of the most distinguished political as well as
+literary men of the earlier part of the present century, occupied a house
+in Upper Cheyne Row for a considerable time.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Miss Frances Elizabeth Eggleton, and Miss Christian Mary Eggleton, lived
+in Cheyne Walk. They were the daughters of Mr. David Eggleton, of Church
+Street, a very old Chelsea family. The former lady died in 1861, and the
+latter in 1867. Miss Frances Eggleton bequeathed a sum of money, to be
+given at her sister’s death to the Rector and Churchwardens, in trust,
+for them to give, on Christmas Eve, “a shoulder of mutton of not less
+than seven pounds in weight, and not exceeding eight pounds in weight,
+and four pounds of bread, to each of twenty poor persons of Chelsea,
+being married persons and having a family.” An extract from her will,
+respecting this gift, will be inserted amongst the other parochial
+legacies.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles Rawlings, Esq., who resided in Cheyne Walk for many years, was
+much respected in the parish, and was of a most benevolent disposition.
+His deed of gift in 1862, and the legacies in 1864, will be found in the
+list of Chelsea Charities.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Bayford, a distinguished proctor, and father of the present Dr.
+Bayford, resided with his family in a spacious house, within a few doors
+of Manor Street. His sons, in their younger days, were particularly
+attached to aquatic exercises.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Nathaniel Handford, Esq., an old and respected parishioner, resided also
+in Cheyne Walk, where he died. Mrs. Sarah Handford, his relict, who did
+not very long survive him, left several small legacies, in 1865, to
+various charitable societies in the parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+W. Carpenter, Esq., well-known in literary circles, and who has long been
+connected with the press, resided likewise within the last few years in
+Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+R. E. N. Lee, Esq., occupied the house at the corner of Manor Street,
+(now in possession of Dr. Sannemann,) for a considerable period. He was
+Steward of the Manor for eighteen years. He died in 1833, and in St.
+Luke’s Church there is a tablet to his memory. No family was more
+respected in Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. J. Fraine, a solicitor, resided at No. 13, in Cheyne Walk, and died
+in 1785, aged 70. The history of this gentleman and his family was
+marked by some very uncommon circumstances. He was himself afflicted
+with a continual gnawing pain in his left arm, which he carried on a
+board in a sling; and by pinching his jaws and throat, and beating his
+right cheek through the violence of the pain, he had marked them very
+much. He compared the sensation to a worm in the marrow of the upper
+bone of his arm, and used to keep a boy to beat it with a stick whenever
+the pain returned, and to tap on the back of his head with a piece of
+wood covered with cloth. Mr. Fraine’s death was occasioned by the fall
+on his right thigh of a leaden weight, with which he was exercising as a
+remedy for his complaint; the injury brought on a speedy mortification.
+This extraordinary case was fully described in a letter, subsequently
+written by Dr. Monsey. The calamities of this unhappy gentleman extended
+also to his son and daughter, both of whom fell by their own hands.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Fraine’s only son. King Samuel, an amiable, accomplished young man,
+who received his education at Christ Church, Cambridge, put an end to his
+existence at his chambers in the Temple, in 1799, aged 22 years, for
+which no reason can be assigned but disappointment in love.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Miss Fraine, whose duteous attention to her tortured and frequently
+impatient father was most exemplary, after the dreadful catastrophe of
+her brother’s suicide, not wholly unaccountable from hereditary
+irregularities of system, seemed to have a dread (not aversion) of
+marriage. The tendency of her social feelings, strictly regulated and
+controlled by the reserve of modesty and the dignity of virtue, almost
+irresistibly inclined her best affections towards wedlock; whilst her
+extremely sensitive forethought shunned the general result of engagements
+ennobling to mankind in general, but appalling in many lights to herself.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+During this state of mind, repeatedly avowing her contempt for birds,
+cats, and dogs, she expressed great attachment for infant children. Miss
+Fraine, in 1780, frequently expressed to a very near neighbour her ardent
+wish that a particular child were placed under her own sole and immediate
+management. “I cannot safely marry,” she would often observe, “but I
+shall undertake the charge of an infant’s education with delight.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+After making many serious colloquial attempts to reason against such an
+intention, the Rev. Weeden Butler sent some sportive lines to the highly
+gifted and unfortunate lady. It succeeded so far as to repress any
+further application by the lady, but her feelings remained the same. The
+following elegant jeu-d’esprit was written with similar effect. She
+appears to have possessed great sensibility of feeling without adequate
+reflection.
+
+
+
+SALE OF A DAUGHTER,
+
+
+ In fairy guise and playful mood,
+ Euphrania, young and fair, and good,
+ Vows, if her friends a price would set
+ Upon their daughter Harriet,
+ Herself the gift of Heaven would buy,
+ And cherish it beneath her eye.
+ Does, then, Euphrania mean to say,
+ (If we would cast our young away,
+ Like ostriches) she’d prove a mother,
+ And rear the nestling of another?
+
+ Ye powers, it is a strange temptation!
+ Let us not treat it with flirtation.
+ Come, think upon it well, dear wife;
+ We love our offspring as our life.
+ Euphrania’s offer is adoption:
+ Take it, or leave it, is our option.
+
+ Heigho! I read your tearful eye,
+ “For the babe’s good we must comply.”
+ ’Tis said, ’tis done. Now, in a trice,
+ Let us determine well the price;
+ And, shunning all superfluous joke,
+ Settle the worth of infant folk.
+ The bargain is as clear as water;
+ Full many a one has sold a daughter.
+
+The consent of the parents having thus been obtained, the price to be
+given for the infant daughter is the next consideration. The following
+is a summary of the supposed value of the child:—
+
+ Imprimis. For a hazel eye, £52 10 0
+And tongue that never told a lie, &c.
+ Item, for pranks and wanton wiles, 80 0 0
+Nods and becks, and wreathed smiles, &c.
+ Item, for filial obedience, 100 0 0
+One of our daughter’s chief ingredients, &c.
+ Then, item, for her race and name, 200 0 0
+Nearly in value both the same, &c.
+ Item, for every hope and fear 67 10 0
+That hitherto hath chequer’d care, &c.
+ £500 0 0
+
+ For such a sale, to us are due
+ A Bond, and final Judgment too;
+ From you the former may be given,
+ The latter must be left to . . . Heaven.
+
+Advised, pressed, solicited, nay, perhaps, commanded by an anxious
+father, this lady at last married. Soon afterwards she grew melancholy
+and desponding, and fell by her own hand, at her residence at Richmond,
+in the year 1785. She married Captain Fortescue.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+DR. DOMINICETI’S BATHS.—The dwelling house afterwards occupied by the
+Rev. Weeden Butler, a few doors from Flood Street, Cheyne Walk, was once
+inhabited by one Dominiceti, an Italian physician, of very considerable
+notoriety and talents. At this house he established medicinal baths for
+the cure of all diseases; and it was fitted up with pipes, &c., for the
+accommodation of numerous patients, who might choose to reside with him
+while they were under his care. In 1765 it is described as a large,
+pleasant, and convenient house, which contains four spacious and lofty
+parlours, two dining rooms, and thirteen bed chambers. On the east side
+of the garden, and directly communicating with the house, was erected an
+elegant brick and wooden building, 100-ft. long, and 16-ft. wide, in
+which were the baths and fumigatory stoves, etc. It appears, from his
+own account, that he expended about £37,000 altogether in erecting,
+contriving, and completing his house, and baths in Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Among his visitors and patients, at Chelsea, was his Royal Highness
+Edward Duke of York, who entrusted the preservation of his life to
+Dominiceti’s sole direction for above a month; and that in direct
+opposition to the advice of the Physicians and Surgeons of the Royal
+household. Sir John Fielding, having experienced the good effects, as he
+considered, of these baths, wrote a “Vindication of Dr. Dominiceti’s
+Practice of removing various afflicting diseases by medicated baths,
+stoves, fumigations, and frictions, founded on facts.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dominiceti resided for several years in Chelsea. He became bankrupt in
+the parish in 1782, and at length disappeared, overwhelmed with debt.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We will now notice one of the most distinguished scholars and clergymen
+of the early part of the present century, the Rev. Weeden Butler, who
+resided in the above-mentioned house for a great many years, and also one
+of his sons, etc., until a comparatively recent period, and which cannot
+fail to be highly interesting to a large number of readers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Weeden Butler was born at Margate, in 1742. When aged fourteen,
+he lost both his parents; and with his own free will was articled as
+clerk to Mr. Rosewell, a respectable solicitor, in Angel Court,
+Throgmorton Street, London. At the expiration of his term, he was
+offered by his considerate late master and constant friend till death, a
+share in the business; but he had determined to renounce for ever the
+profession of the law, and resolved, by intense study and application, to
+improve his superior intellectual powers, and ardently to prepare himself
+for holy orders. About this time, he frequented all the churches and
+chapels within and around the vast metropolis, as an enquirer after
+truth. The result of his search fixed his choice, and he devoted his
+time thenceforth, as a firm member of the Establishment, upon the fullest
+conviction of its excellence. The course of his classical and
+theological reading was directed by that splendidly and variously gifted,
+but most unhappy character, Dr. William Dodd, to whom, for a salary of
+small extent, he acted as an assiduous amanuensis, till his patron’s
+ignominious death, in 1777.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Dodd’s “Commentary on the Holy Bible,” was partly compiled, and
+wholly written out for the press, by the then unknown Rev. Weeden Butler,
+who also greatly assisted in editing the four last volumes of “The
+Christian’s Magazine,” and corrected the proof sheets of the poem, in
+blank vase, “Thoughts in Prison,” of which Dr. Dodd’s own MS. was in the
+possession of Mr. Butler’s eldest son in 1829–30. In this last
+singularly affecting composition occur lines indicative of the worth of
+the person eulogized, and of the author’s gratitude:—
+
+ “But I am lost! a criminal adjudg’d!
+ A guilty miscreant! can’st thou think, my friend!
+ Oh! BUTLER ’midst a million faithful found;
+ Oh! can’st thou think, who know’st, who long hast known,
+ My inmost soul; oh! can’st thou think, that life,” &c.
+
+Dr. Dodd resigned his office of Morning Preacher, in Charlotte Street
+Chapel, Pimlico, in February, 1776, and at his strong recommendation, Dr.
+Courtney nominated the deserving Reader, Mr. Butler, who was licensed
+Morning Preacher accordingly; and afterwards by purchase he became
+proprietor of the chapel, officiating therein up to the year 1814. When
+the subject of the present article retired from Chelsea, to Gayton; where
+he piously discharged the duties of curate to his second son, till his
+increasing infirmities compelled him to resign this his last charge, and
+he finally withdrew to Greenhill, in the neighbourhood of Harrow, where
+he died.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+He was master of the school in Cheyne Walk for forty years; where many
+persons of considerable rank had been so thoroughly grounded in morality
+and general learning as to become bright ornaments to their country.
+Amongst other scholars, the Rev. Weeden Butler had the gratification of
+seeing his two sons treading assiduously in his own paths. The Rev. G.
+Butler, D.D., in 1805, was chosen Head Master of Harrow School, and
+continued as such, with great reputation, for many years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The elder Mr. Butler was one of the earliest institutors of the “Society
+for the Discharge and Relief of Persons imprisoned for small debts,” and
+most materially assisted James Neild, Esq., his next door neighbour, in
+firmly establishing that excellent Institution. The friendship, indeed,
+which existed between these two benevolent characters, cannot be better
+exemplified and attested than by the following few extracts from a letter
+written by Mr. Neild, dated Chelsea, January 1, 1808.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+“When I look back to the distant period of our lives, and observe, that,
+of the first Committee of the Society, you, Rev. Sir, and myself, remain
+the only survivors, I cannot but feel the most powerful, and, at the same
+time, the most humble gratitude to the Great Disposer of all human
+events, for having suffered me to live and witness the happy result of
+our early and well-meant endeavours. * * * * With growing and
+well-merited esteem, Sir, I witnessed your successful exertions in behalf
+of the Society, at its earliest institution. Often have I felt the
+influence acknowledged by all who have heard the eloquent and impressive
+discourses which you have delivered from the pulpit, in recommendation of
+the objects embraced by this Charity, and never can the gratifying
+recollection be effaced which beamed from every countenance around you,
+when you mentioned the receipt of £100 from an eminent advocate for
+suffering humanity.” Mr. Neild concludes by referring to the promotion
+of Mr. Butler’s son (Dr. Butler), which he considers to be the reward of
+his virtues; of those early advances which his father’s tuition enabled
+him to make in literature, and to the purity of his Christian principles.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1787 he instituted the Chelsea Sunday Schools, with the sanction of
+the Rev. W. B. Cadogan. His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent had a great
+regard for Mr. Butler, and appointed him one of his domestic chaplains.
+Hardly one charitable Society in London existed, to which his popular
+oratory did not essentially contribute credit and profit. He died in a
+good old age, and his remains were placed in the family vault at Chelsea.
+The Rev. Weeden Butler, his eldest son, occupied the same house for many
+years afterwards, as also the son of the latter, Thomas Butler, Esq., who
+was much esteemed by a numerous circle of friends while he resided in
+Cheyne Walk. The whole of this family were remarkable for their
+classical attainments and love of literature. The Rev. T. Helmore,
+Precentor, St. Mark’s College, has since resided in Mr. Butler’s house.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A very fine portrait of Dr. Dodd, painted by Gainsborough, and a large
+quarto volume of the doctor’s unedited poems, in MS., bound, including a
+tragedy, called “The Syracusans,” and a comedy, called “Sir Roger de
+Coverly,” were left by Mr. Butler, to his legatees. The portrait is the
+only likeness extant The Rev. Philip Dodd, and the Rev. Weeden Butler
+(eldest son of Mr. Butler), possessed all the Doctor’s unprinted sermons.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+James Neild, Esq., who resided at No. 4, Cheyne Walk, was born in 1744,
+at Knutsford, in Cheshire, in the neighbourhood of which his family had
+some good estates. He came to London, and was placed with Mr. Hemming,
+the King’s goldsmith, but after a short time, he removed to a jeweller’s.
+In 1770 he settled in St. James’s Street, and continued there till the
+year 1792, when finding his health declining, and having recently lost
+his wife, he retired from business to Chelsea, with an ample fortune.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The attention of Mr. Neild, very early in life, was drawn to the
+distressed state of persons imprisoned for debt; the endeavour to
+alleviate which soon became his favorite pursuit, and one which he
+followed with intense application.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1773, having previously visited most of the prisons in England, and
+many on the continent, he was, together with his benevolent friends, Dr.
+John C. Lettson, and the Rev. Weeden Butler, chiefly instrumental in
+instituting the Society for the Relief and Discharge of Persons
+imprisoned for small debts. In 1812 he published “The State of the
+Prisons,” in a quarto volume, a work teeming with valuable information.
+Mr. Neild died in 1814, and was buried in Battersea Church. He married a
+daughter of John Camden, Esq., of that parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Camden Neild, Esq., was a magistrate for the county, and the son of
+the preceding. He resided in his late father’s house in Cheyne Walk, and
+bequeathed half a million of money to Queen Victoria. He died in 1852.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Goss, Esq., the present organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral, lived at
+No. 3, Cheyne Walk. He was appointed Organist of St. Luke’s New Church,
+when that sacred edifice was completed. His proficiency, even at that
+early period of his musical life, excited general admiration, and large
+portions of the congregation frequently waited in the Church, at the
+close of Divine Service, to listen to his concluding performances.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There are several highly respectable families, who have for many years
+resided in Cheyne Walk, of whom it would have been only an act of justice
+to notice, but the strict rules of propriety prevent my discharging an
+otherwise pleasing duty, which, in some instances especially, is much to
+be regretted, as they take a deep interest in the promotion of whatever
+tends to enhance the welfare of the parish.
+
+
+
+DOGGETT’S COAT AND BADGE.
+
+
+Mr. Thomas Doggett, a native of Ireland, was an actor, and made his first
+appearance in Dublin; but his efforts not meeting with sufficient
+encouragement he removed to London, where he performed with great
+reputation, and by his talents, industry, and economy, acquired a
+competent fortune, and quitted the stage some years before he died. He
+was also a patentee and manager of the theatre with Wilks, Booth, and
+Cibber; the latter of whom gives Doggett the following character:—“He was
+the most original and the strictest observer of nature of all his
+cotemporaries. He borrowed from none of them; his manner was his own, he
+was a pattern to others, whose greatest merit was that they had sometimes
+tolerably imitated him. In dressing a character to the greatest
+exactness, he was remarkably skilful; the least article of whatsoever
+habit he wore seemed in some measure to speak the different humour he
+presented, a necessary care in a comedian, in which many have been too
+remiss or ignorant. His greatest success was in characters of lower
+life, which he improved from the delight he took in his observations of
+that kind in the real world. In songs, and particular dances too of
+humour, he had no competitor. Congreve was a great admirer of him, and
+found his account in the characters he expressly wrote for him. In those
+of Fondlewife in his Old Bachelor, and Ben in Love for Love, no author
+and actor could be more obliged to their mutual masterly performances.
+He was very acceptable to several persons of high rank and taste, though
+he seldom cared to be the comedian, but among his more intimate
+acquaintances.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+He is highly spoken of in the Spectator. He wrote one play, called “The
+Country Wake,” a comedy, acted with great applause; and out of this play
+were made two farces, “Hob, or the Country Wake,” and “Hob’s Wedding.”
+The first has been acted often with great success, and likewise several
+songs have been added to it in imitation of the Beggar’s Opera, since
+which it has been acted under the title of Flora.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In his political principles he was, in the words of Sir Richard Steele,
+“a Whig up to head and ears;” and he took every occasion of demonstrating
+his loyalty to the house of Hanover. One instance, among others, is well
+known; which is, that in the year after King George I. came to the
+throne, in 1715, Doggett gave a waterman’s orange-coloured coat and
+silver badge to be rowed for; on the latter is represented the Hanoverian
+horse.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+This contest takes place on the 1st day of August, being the anniversary
+of that King’s accession to the throne, between six young watermen, who
+had just completed their apprenticeship; the claimants starting off on a
+signal being given at that time of the tide when the current is strongest
+against them, and rowing from the Old Swan, near London Bridge, to the
+White Swan, at Chelsea. This tavern adjoined the Apothecaries’ Botanical
+Garden, on the east, and enjoyed a great share of public favour for many
+years; but in the year 1780, it was converted into a Brewhouse. Since
+this period, the place of landing the victor has been at a house bearing
+the same sign, near to Cheyne Walk. I have been favoured with the
+following chorus, said to be written by a waterman:—
+
+ “Let your oars, like lightning flog it,
+ Up the Thames as swiftly jog it,
+ An’ you’d win the prize of Doggett,
+ The glory of the river!
+ Bendin’, bowin’, strainin’, rowin’,
+ Perhaps the wind in fury blowin’,
+ Or the tide agin you flowin’,
+ The coat and badge for ever!”
+
+Mr. Doggett, at his death, left a sum of money, the interest of which was
+to pay for the same for ever.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The “Yorkshire Grey” public house stood at the west corner of Old Manor
+Street, opposite the river. It was a very old tavern, mostly frequented
+of late years by the watermen who plied at the stairs opposite to it. It
+has recently been pulled down, and two good private dwelling houses now
+occupy the site.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the year 1824, a new road was opened, connecting Old and New Manor
+Street, forming a direct communication from Cheyne Walk to the King’s
+Road, and St. Luke’s Church. Prior to that period a large garden crossed
+the street, with a wall and iron railing, so that the two streets were
+entirely detached.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+With respect to the embankment of the shores of our parish, this was
+certainly the work of ages, much posterior to the Norman Conquest, nor
+was it even completed before the latter end of the seventeenth century,
+for, from the manorial records, we find them to have been frequently
+imperfect, whilst the keeping them in repair and good order, was a
+subject of vexatious dispute between the Lord of this Manor and his
+tenants; and hence sometimes by the parish and the turnpike trust;
+sometimes by those persons who inhabited houses immediately in front of
+the River, to the extent of their own frontages; and sometimes by the
+Lords of the Manor themselves, to the extent of their frontages. This
+uncertainty respecting the right of repair was attended with many evils,
+the walls being often out of order, and in a dangerous state. In
+December, 1822, upon the trial of an indictment on the prosecution of the
+Kensington turnpike trust, against the Lords of the Manor, in the Court
+of King’s Bench, the Chief Justice ruled at _nisi prius_, that the _onus_
+rested on the latter, unless and until they could show on whom by right
+of tenure, or otherwise, the burthen lay.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having now arrived at the conclusion of Book I., in which are described
+all that is worthy of special notice in a great portion of the western
+extremity of the parish, I shall commence Book II., with a description of
+that beautiful architectural structure, St. Luke’s Church.
+
+
+
+
+BOOK II.
+
+
+Consecration and other interesting particulars of St. Luke’s Church and
+Burial Ground—Its Monuments, &c.—Rectors, Curates, and
+Lecturers—Parochial National Schools, &c.—The Workhouse and the Old
+Burial Ground—The Origin and Condition of the King’s Road in the “Olden
+Times:”—Its state at the commencement of this Century, together with some
+notices of the New Buildings, and its thriving Trade at the present
+Time—Markham Square Congregational Church—Savings’ Bank—Chelsea
+College—Charles II. and Nell Gwynne—The Royal Military Asylum—Old
+Ranelagh—The Original Bunhouse—The whole interspersed with many other
+interesting notices of Distinguished Residents, &c.
+
+
+
+St. Luke’s Church and the Burial Ground.
+
+
+IT will be necessary before we give a description of this beautiful
+edifice to state some particulars respecting the Burial Ground, or, more
+properly speaking, the Cemetery, in the centre of which the Church is
+erected. The Act of Parliament for providing this additional Burial
+Ground for the parish was passed in 1810, and certain Trustees therein
+named were appointed to carry it into effect. They accordingly purchased
+of Earl Cadogan, the Lord of the Manor, a piece of ground, in the present
+central situation, containing rather more than four acres, and enclosed
+it with a substantial wall and strong iron railing.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+As I was present at the consecration of this Burial Ground, and also of
+the Church, a brief account of which I published at the time, the
+following particulars I can fully authenticate. With respect to many
+circumstances which I shall mention, in connexion with the Church, they
+may be relied upon as being accurately stated from my own personal
+observation.
+
+In November, 1812, the enclosure of the spacious new Burial Ground having
+been in every respect completed, with a small Chapel erected close to the
+entrance on the north side, designed exclusively for reading the Funeral
+Service, on Saturday, the 21st of the above month, the same were
+consecrated by the Bishop of London, accompanied by his Chaplains, the
+Chancellor and Registrar of the Diocese, the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Wellesley,
+rector, the Churchwardens, Trustees, and a large number of the
+inhabitants.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The preliminary prayers were offered at the Old Church, and the Bishop
+having declared his assent to the petition presented to him for
+consecrating the new ground, the procession proceeded from the Church.
+On their arrival there was an immense assemblage to witness the
+consecration. The Bishop then perambulated the ground, reading such
+portions of the Service as is specially appointed, and afterwards
+completed the consecration in the Chapel.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the year 1819, an Act of Parliament, 59 Geo. III., cap. 35, May 19,
+was obtained for building a new Church, and the Rector and Churchwardens,
+and 59 other inhabitants of the parish, were appointed to carry the same
+into effect. The central portion of the new Burial Ground was
+appropriated for this purpose, and on the 12th of October, 1820, the
+first stone of the new Church was laid by the Hon. and Rev. Dr.
+Wellesley, as proxy for his brother, the Duke of Wellington, who was
+prevented from performing the ceremony by receiving “the King’s commands
+to attend him on public business that day at his palace in Pall Mall.”
+Many of the vast assemblage of spectators having waited a long time for
+His Grace’s arrival felt somewhat disappointed, and some of them
+attributed his absence to the political excitement which prevailed just
+at that period, but this was far from being the general opinion.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A procession was at last formed in the following order:—His Royal
+Highness the Duke of York’s Band; the Beadles of the Parish; Mr. James
+Savage, the architect; the Builder, with a silver trowel on a crimson
+velvet cushion; the Treasurer, with a metal box and sundry coins, and a
+brass plate, on a velvet cushion. The Hon. and Rev. Dr. Wellesley,
+rector, supported by the Churchwardens; the Curates and Lecturer of the
+Parish, and the Trustees appointed under the Act of Parliament for
+building the Church.
+
+The service used on similar occasions having been read by the Rector, the
+box with the coins, and the brass-plate were deposited by the Rector upon
+the stone prepared for the purpose, which was then lowered down and
+secured with the customary formalities. The inscription on the stone was
+as follows:—“This stone was laid on the 12th day of October, A.D., 1820,
+by Field Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington, the Hon. and Rev.
+Gerald Valerian Wellesley, Rector; Richard Rattenbury and Richard Mann,
+Churchwardens.” The day was remarkably fine, and the spectacle
+altogether produced a very imposing effect, notwithstanding the
+disappointment experienced by the absence of the Duke of Wellington. A
+spacious amphitheatre was erected for the accommodation of ladies, and
+the ceremony concluded with a beam of satisfaction on the countenances of
+nearly all present.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Church is built of Bath stone, in the Gothic style of the 14th
+century, and is approached by a sweep carriage way and flagged footpath.
+The west front has an arcade, extending the whole breadth of the
+frontage. From the centre of this arcade rises a lofty tower, the upper
+part panelled and crowned with an open battlement. It is strengthened at
+the four corners by octagonal buttresses, which are finished by
+open-worked pinnacles, of a form which gives the exterior of the edifice
+a very picturesque appearance, and when seen at a distance is very
+attractive. The height from the ground to the top of the pinnacle is 142
+feet, and the view from the tower on which these pinnacles rise, affords
+a very fine view of the parish and its surrounding scenery. From the
+tower, the body of the building is seen to extend, embraced and supported
+by its flying buttresses, which stretch their airy fronts from between
+the Clerestery windows to the outer wall of the side aisles, when they
+are continued solidly down to the ground. The walls of the side aisles
+and Clerestery are both finished with perforated parapets of elegant
+forms.
+
+At the eastern end, the principal feature is the altar window, 32 ft.
+high and 16 ft. wide, divided by mullions into seven bays in width, and
+four stories in height, exclusive of the pointed arched head, which has a
+beautiful wheel centre. This end has also two octagonal turrets, the
+upper stories of which are ornamented with open-worked panels and
+crocketted domes. There are also two porches communicating with lobbies
+and staircase, to afford the most ample entrance and exit. In the middle
+part, and below the great window, the Vestry Room is projected.
+
+On the flanks the buttresses project about six feet, and their
+extremities are connected by a dwarf wall, which defends an open area,
+giving light and air to the crypt under the Church. The unbroken line of
+this wall makes a solid base for the whole building, which gets lighter
+and lighter as it ascends to the top, where numerous feathery pinnacles
+impart softness and richness to the extremity that meets the sky.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From the great western arcade you enter by three sets of folding doors to
+the vestibule, at the sides of which are placed the principal staircases
+to the galleries. The principal or middle aisle of the Church is entered
+from the centre of the entrance lobby by lofty folding doors, glazed with
+plate glass, and as there is no western gallery to project before these
+doors you have at once the full effect of the interior. In this Church,
+unlike most others, the western gallery is obtained by a recess over the
+vestibule, and is principally occupied by a splendid organ by Nicholls,
+comprising the great organ, choir organ, and swell organ, containing
+thirty-three stops and 1876 pipes. The organ is considered one of the
+finest and most powerful in London. The bellows, when charged, contains
+70 cubic feet of wind. {128} The King’s Arms, placed in front of the
+organ, is executed in a solid piece of mahogany, and is a masterly
+production.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The inside of the Church is 130 feet long, and 61 feet wide, divided into
+a nave and two side aisles, separated by clustered columns and pointed
+arches. The small column in front of the cluster continues up to the
+vaulted ceiling, and there branches out into numerous ribs, which spread
+their airy lines in the most graceful manner over the ceiling, tied
+together at their numerous intersections by carved pendant bosses, the
+principal light being from the clerestery windows gives an aerial effect
+to the ceiling, which hardly appears to belong to “mid earth,” although
+actually built of solid stone, whose power of gravitation appears here to
+be suspended by the magic of art, of which this is said to be the only
+instance of the kind attempted for the last 300 years. From the pavement
+to the crown of the vault is 60 ft., clear height, a greater height than
+is to be found in any edifice in London, excepting St. Paul’s Cathedral
+and Westminster Abbey. The lofty position of the windows diffuses a
+clear and calm light throughout. The church was for some years lighted
+by oil-lamps in the three really magnificent chandeliers, but for a long
+time gas has been very judiciously substituted.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A circumstance occurred in reference to these massive and splendid
+central chandeliers, at nearly the conclusion of one of the Sunday
+Evening Services, which occasioned great excitement amongst the
+congregation, and it was feared at the time would be attended with loss
+of life, but fortunately only one elderly person was seriously injured.
+These chandeliers were obliged to be lowered by means of a windlass, and
+men from the contractor for lighting the church, by oil-lamps, had to
+attend and lower them both before and after Divine Service, in the first
+instance for the purpose of lighting, and secondly to extinguish the
+lights. It was the practice of these men, who came from London, and were
+anxious to return home as soon as possible, to lower the weighty
+chandeliers on a certain signal being given to them at the belfry door,
+as soon as the organist commenced “playing the congregation out,” but on
+this occasion it was a sermon in aid of a charity, and the organ was only
+played previous to the singing of a hymn while the collection was being
+made. This caused the mistake. Some of the congregation in the
+galleries, perceiving that one of the chandeliers was unsteady and slowly
+descending, rushed forward to make their exit, which created great
+confusion and alarm, the result being the accident previously mentioned.
+The Hon. and Rev. Dr. Wellesley, rector, being present, although not
+officiating, immediately explained the circumstances, and soon afterwards
+the alarm was allayed and the service concluded. The lighting of these
+oil-lamps was attended with great expense and much labour. A
+considerable saving is now effected by the introduction of gas, labour on
+the Sunday is lessened, and the dirt occasioned by the trimming of the
+lamps altogether obviated.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The galleries, south and north, are well constructed. There is breadth
+of surface and simplicity of outline throughout. From some positions the
+columns of the nave, which impart such a grandeur to the entire interior,
+impedes the view of the preacher, even from the northern gallery, but
+this is unavoidable in Gothic architecture.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the eastern end, the great window, 32 ft. high, and 16 ft. wide, is a
+most conspicuous feature. The bottom of the window, being 22 ft. from
+the pavement, affords ample space for the altar-piece, which is designed
+in the manner of a Gothic shrine or screen.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The altar, or communion, is ascended by three steps, and is enclosed by a
+Gothic railing. The chairs and stools are designed in character, and are
+good specimens of wood carving; they were executed by Mr. Relph, from the
+designs of the architect.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The altar-piece is “The Entombing of Christ,” by Northcote. It had been
+previously exhibited at the British Institution, Pall Mall.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+For some years after the church was completed the large eastern window
+was glazed simply with plain glass, as will be seen from the following
+Vestry Minute, dated April 24, 1823:—“It is the opinion of this Vestry
+that it would be expedient to have a stained-glass window at the east
+end, &c., and that the money necessary for the same be attempted to be
+raised by voluntary subscriptions.” This effort proved unsuccessful, and
+on the 29th of August, in the same year, Thomas Bryan, Esq., of. Cadogan
+Place, transmitted the following letter to a subsequent Vestry meeting:
+“Since I had the honour of being appointed treasurer for the purpose of
+receiving voluntary contributions for the purchase of a stained-glass
+window, I beg to announce that I have not received any money but what has
+been duly returned to the parties.” This great defect has since been
+remedied, and a very handsome and appropriate stained-glass window,
+representing the apostles, &c., now adds materially to the beautiful
+appearance of the interior of the church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The vestry is a large room, 28 ft. square, and is finished in character
+with the general style of the building. For some years the meetings of
+the parishioners were held in it. The proceedings on some occasions were
+very noisome, and as they frequently took place on Wednesday mornings, or
+on special days for prayer, there was at times such an interruption as
+rendered it impossible for the clergyman to proceed. The Act of
+Parliament since passed, and the erection of the Vestry Hall, in the
+King’s Road, have happily for ever removed that cause of complaint. In
+this vestry room, at the church, there is an exceedingly good portrait of
+Mr. Flood, an oil painting, in a large and handsome frame. It is an
+admirable likeness.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following is another description of the interior of this edifice,
+written by a gentleman who has favoured the public with an accurate
+detail of most of the modern Churches erected some few years since in the
+vicinity of London. It will be seen that this account, as regards some
+of the architectural particulars, supplies several deficiencies in the
+preceding description, while at the same time there are inserted in the
+former many interesting details which could not possibly be included in a
+second notice of the interior of the church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the west end is a vestibule, extending across the whole building, and
+occupying the space beneath the organ gallery and staircase. This is
+separated from the church by a fine stone screen, consisting of a large
+pointed arch, flanked by square open buttresses, and ornamented above
+with a range of upright divisions, finished with a blank cornice; in the
+centre is a bow, or projection in the corbel style, in the front of which
+is a dial. The doorway is formed of carved oak, representing tracery
+work and mullions, the upper part of the panelling being pierced and
+glazed. Above this screen is the organ, in a carved oak case, the design
+of which is an assemblage of three towers, with pinnacles at the angles,
+and united by flying buttresses, the wood work ornamented with upright
+arched panels.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On each side of the church are seven arches, resting upon six octangular
+columns, to each of which four small pillars are attached, an additional
+one being placed upon the capitals of those which are situated towards
+the body of the church, and carried up towards the vaulting. At each of
+the extreme ends of the arcade a semi column is attached to the walls, to
+complete the number necessary for sustaining the arches. The main
+pillars and arches are ornamented with a simple ogee moulding. The
+aisles are occupied by galleries that hide the lower divisions of the
+windows, which are only seen externally, no light being admitted below
+the galleries through the outer walls. Between the clerestery windows
+and the arcades below is the metzonine story, fronted by four cinque-foil
+headed arches, and finished with a cornice of roses in enriched quatre
+foils, designed as in imitation of the ancient trifolium.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The eastern window does not fill up the entire wall as we find in all
+ancient buildings, but a considerable portion of plain masonry is left
+round it. The space below is occupied by a splendid stone altar-screen
+of a beautiful antique design. It consists of five upright divisions,
+formed by the buttresses, the central being the width of two of the
+others; they are covered by ogee arches, with cinque foil sweeps in each,
+the centre one having a canopy of the same sort, but more highly enriched
+with a greater number of sweeps. From the canopies rises a series of
+upright divisions, with trefoil heads; and above is an entablature; the
+frieze of foliage in alto relievo; the cornice of various mouldings, and
+the whole is fronted by seven demi angels, in ancient costume, crowned;
+one hand of each is placed on the breast, the other held up in the
+attitude of benediction. The screen is flanked on each side by a
+magnificent composition of niche work, ranging above two small doorways
+leading to the vestry, the arches of which are obtuse, and the
+architraves entirely formed of mouldings. Above the point of the arch of
+each door case is an hexagonal canopy, highly enriched, and supporting
+the pedestal of a large and similarly formed niche above it, crowned with
+a like canopy, which rises above the rest of the screen, and occupies a
+portion of the wall on each side of the window. The pierced stonework,
+elegant buttresses, and minute pinnacles of this elegant composition,
+form an assemblage of architectural ornament which would not disgrace any
+age in which the pointed style prevailed; the scale of grandeur in which
+they are executed, and the general tastefulness that marks the design,
+together with the correct style of the elaborate details, would do honour
+to a cathedral.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The centre division of the church is roofed with stone from east to west.
+The style of vaulting is, however, full two centuries earlier than the
+building: the nave of Westminster Abbey seems to have been the prototype.
+That part of the roof immediately above the altar is groined in a
+different manner, the surface of the cove being filled with long panels
+separated by arched ribs, springing from corbels, and crossing the church
+from side to side; the same is repeated above the organ; the corbels are
+all sculptured with figures of angels, which at the altar are represented
+in the act of prayer, and over the organ appear to be chanting the hymn
+of praise; though these portions are well executed, the conceit of
+varying the design is too novel to be admired.
+
+From the groined roof depend three elegant brass chandeliers, suspended
+on gilt chains.
+
+The pulpit of wainscot is octangular, and stands on a frame work of
+pointed arches; it is not wanting in ornament but it falls short of the
+ancient oak carvings. The reading desk, also of wainscot, which is
+situated on the opposite side of the nave, is similar in design. The
+fronts of the galleries are set off with panelling, having cinque-foil
+heads; but wanting that boldness of relief which distinguishes the
+ancient specimens of carved wood work; to the altar chairs, the same
+remark applies.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The font is situated in the centre aisle, near to the pulpit and reading
+desk; it is of an octangular form, and sustained on a pillar of the same
+shape. The different sides are panelled, each containing a shield in an
+enriched quatrefoil, and the pillar is ornamented with upright panels.
+It is executed in marble, and the carving appears to be highly deserving
+of praise.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Within the last few months there has been placed in the church a lectern,
+which corresponds with the general character of the edifice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The entire edifice is highly creditable to the parish, and may be
+considered as a lasting monument to the memory of Mr. James Savage, the
+architect.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The crypt or vaults under the church are well worthy of inspection. They
+are conveniently approached, on the north side, by a flight of steps, and
+are lofty, light, and thoroughly ventilated. Here may be seen the
+foundation of the tower, which is an inverted dome, and all the columns
+of the nave are likewise built on and connected by inverted arches. No
+doubt the construction of these numerous vaults added considerably to the
+aggregate cost of the edifice, and when interments were prohibited in the
+metropolitan parishes the anticipated return was at once stopped, still
+they strengthen the entire fabric, and ensure a freedom from damp, which
+is most desirable. In several of these vaults are deposited the remains
+of some of the most respected parishioners.
+
+The fees for burials in the vaults were as follow:—
+
+ Single Coffin. Parishioner. Non-Parishioner.
+An Adult £13 0 0 £19 10 0
+Children, 7 to 14 yrs. 8 0 0 12 0 0
+„ under 7 yrs. 5 10 0 8 5 0
+
+None but leaden coffins, enclosed in wood, were allowed to be deposited
+in the vaults, nor of less thickness than 5 lb. to a foot superficial.
+
+Length from East to West of the body of the 130 ft.
+Church, including the recess of the altar and
+organ gallery, in the clear of the walls inside
+Length of Side Aisles, in the clear inside 108 ft.
+Breadth from North to South 61 ft.
+Breadth of the Nave 27 ft. 5½ in.
+Height of the Nave, inside 60 ft.
+Height of the Side Aisles, inside 31 ft. 9 in.
+Whole length outside from East to West, including 186 ft. 10½ in.
+Tower and Vestry
+Height from the ground to the top of the pinnacle 142 ft.
+
+There are ten bells, which were cast at Mr. Mears’s Foundry,
+Whitechapel:—
+
+The weight of the first 6 cwt. 1 qr. 8 lb.
+ „ „ second 6 cwt. 1 qr. 18 lb.
+ „ „ third 6 cwt. 3 qr.
+ „ „ fourth 7 cwt. 16 lb.
+ „ „ fifth 7 cwt. 2 qr. 9 lb.
+ „ „ sixth 8 cwt. 2 qr. 9 lb.
+ „ „ seventh 10 cwt. 3 qrs. 19 lb.
+ „ „ eighth 12 cwt. 1 qr. 11 lb.
+ „ „ ninth 15 cwt. 3 qrs. 14 lb.
+ „ „ tenth 23 cwt. 9 lb.
+
+The church was consecrated on the 18th of October, 1824, and as the
+foundation stone was laid on the 12th of October, 1820, the building of
+the edifice occupied about four years.
+
+
+
+MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS IN THE CHURCH.
+
+
+There are many neat and well-designed marble tablets placed on the walls
+in different parts of the church, and one monument in particular which
+will be specially noticed. It would have afforded me great satisfaction
+to have transcribed all the tributes of affection there recorded, and
+also those in the Burial Ground, but the limited nature of this work
+would only admit of noticing a few of them. By adopting this course it
+will enable me to refer to a variety of interesting subjects, which
+otherwise in all probability must have been omitted.
+
+The monument, to which allusion has just been made, commemorates a hero
+who distinguished himself during the Peninsular war:—
+
+ To the Memory of
+ Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Henry Cadogan,
+ of his Majesty’s 71st Regiment,
+ who fell in the Battle of Vittoria, on June 1st, 1813,
+ in the 33rd year of his age.
+ The Officers of his Regiment have erected this Monument,
+ In token of their esteem and regret.
+
+This beautiful production of the chisel of Chantrey, which is placed in
+the north gallery, represents two soldiers lamenting the death of their
+heroic commander, whose portrait is on a medallion surrounded with flags,
+with the Imperial eagle of France underneath; the letter “N.” is on the
+top of the pillar which supports the eagle. On the pedestal which
+supports the sarcophagus is the word “VITTORIA,” encircled with a
+laurelled crown; the sarcophagus is ornamented with a guilloche moulding.
+Chastity of design and delicacy of execution are the special
+characteristics of this admirable specimen of art. There is another
+monument to the memory of this gallant officer, erected at the public
+expense, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and also a third in the Cathedral of
+Glasgow.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+During the battle Colonel Cadogan had been detached to an important
+position; and when it was discovered that he had been mortally wounded,
+it was proposed to take him off the field. “No,” said he, “my death is
+now certain, and very near; suffer me to conclude my life with the
+pleasure of seeing the continuation of our triumph; carry me to an
+height, from whence I can observe it.” He was carried to one, when his
+back was placed against a tree, and there he expired, after expressing
+his gratitude to those around him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In a vault near this spot lies the remains of the Right Hon. Charles
+Henry Cadogan, Earl Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea, in the county of
+Middlesex, Baron Cadogan, of Oakley, in the county of Buckingham. Born
+17th Nov. 1749, and died on the 23rd Dec. 1832.
+
+Honoria Louisa Countess Cadogan, died September 12, 1845, aged 58.
+
+Sophia Lucy Cadogan, wife of Lieut.-Col. Hon. Geo. Cadogan, Grenadier
+Guards. Born March 5, 1812; died Jan. 26, 1852.
+
+ Sacred to the Memory of
+ Admiral the Right Honourable George Earl Cadogan,
+ Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath,
+ Knight of the Imperial Order of Maria Theresa, of Austria.
+ Born May 5, 1783: died Sept. 15, 1864.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There are inscriptions on marble tablets to the memory of the following
+respected parishioners, amongst some others:—
+
+ General Wilford, who resided for many years at Ranelagh, departed
+ this life in 1822, aged 69.
+
+ Mr. William Terwin, died Feb. 24, 1826, in the 74th year of his age.
+ Also, his brother, Mr. John Terwin, died Jan. 8, 1827, in his 69th
+ year.
+
+ Joseph How, Esq., of Swan Walk, Paradise Row, (Queen’s Road West,)
+ died in 1825, aged 72. He was much respected.
+
+ Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, widow of T. Smith, Esq., of No. 1, Manor
+ Terrace (now No. 167, King’s Road), who, by will, in 1828, bequeathed
+ £500 three per cent. consols, to be expended annually as specified
+ therein.
+
+ Thomas Bryan, Esq., of Cadogan Place, a magistrate for the county,
+ died in 1830, aged 66. He was much respected, and was for some time
+ treasurer of the Parochial Schools, and ever ready to promote a
+ charitable object.
+
+ G. H. Hopkinson, Esq., died in the year 1829, and Charles Hopkinson,
+ Esq., in 1830 (banker), resided in Cadogan Place for many years.
+
+ R. E. N. Lee, Esq., resided for many years in Cheyne Walk, and died
+ in 1833. For 18 years he was Steward of the Manor.
+
+ Richard Harmer, Esq., of Sloane Street, died in 1840, aged 80 years.
+ He was benevolent, and his death was much deplored by many of the
+ tradesmen in the locality.
+
+ The Rev. G. Clark, M.A., chaplain at the Royal Military Asylum, a
+ clergyman universally esteemed, died in 1848.
+
+ Peter Burrard, Esq., of Rayner Place, departed this life in 1842. He
+ was a captain in Queen Charlotte’s Chelsea Volunteers, served the
+ office of churchwarden, and was greatly esteemed by a large number of
+ the parishioners.
+
+ Luke Thomas Flood, Esq., was a magistrate for the county, and for a
+ great number of years treasurer of the Parochial Schools. There is a
+ marble monument to his memory, near to the vestry door, in the
+ church, which is a fine specimen of the sculptor’s art. His
+ munificent annual gifts to the deserving and aged poor parishioners,
+ however, is a memorial of greater value than the most costly
+ monument. He died at Brighton, in 1860, at a very advanced age.
+
+ The Rev. Charles Kingsley, M.A., the late rector, and father of the
+ Rev. C. Kingsley, the popular author, died in 1860, aged 78. A
+ notice of this kind-hearted clergyman is given in the brief record of
+ the Rectors of this church.
+
+
+
+COST OF BUILDING THE CHURCH, &c.
+
+
+The original sum for the building of the Church, as agreed to at a Public
+Vestry, held on the 20th of August, 1818, was not to exceed in all
+£30,000, including every other advance that may be made from the
+Commissioners of Churches, and others. The interest of this sum,
+together with the principal, was to be paid out of a church rate, and the
+rate for this purpose was not to exceed one shilling in the pound. {137}
+From a statement I possess, shewing the various amounts received and paid
+by the Trustees for building the church, and including the charges for
+constructing a sewer from it to the river Thames, from the 21st of July,
+1819, to the 27th of October, 1824, it appears that the total sum
+expended to that period was £34,716 14s. 3d. This amount includes £2,020
+paid for the sewer, and £3,595 for interest on annuities, up to the time
+of the above statement. The entire cost of building the church, &c., is
+generally estimated as being rather more than £40,000. It is calculated
+that it will very well accommodate 2,000 persons.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There was a petition signed against the New Church Bill, in which it was
+acknowledged that there was a total inadequacy of church accommodation in
+the parish—the population of which the petitioners stated to be 20,000
+souls—but they submitted that “it would be better to erect two chapels,
+capable of holding 1,500 persons each, one to be situated at each
+extremity of the parish, which might be done for one half the church
+would cost.” Dr. Anthony Todd Thomson, of Sloane Street, who was one of
+the most able speakers in the parish, most powerfully advocated the
+erection of two chapels, but the opposition entirely failed.
+
+
+
+RECTORS AT THE NEW ST. LUKE’S CHURCH.
+
+
+In the account of the Old Church a list of the Rectors connected with
+that ancient edifice was given, we will now refer to those since the
+completion of the new Parish Church.
+
+The Hon. and Rev. G. V. Wellesley, D.D., who had been for many years
+previously Rector, was a brother of the Duke of Wellington, “the great
+hero of many a hard-fought battle.” Making a deduction for some slight
+difference in the corporeal appearance of them, there was a great
+resemblance of features, and in quickness of conception, correctness of
+judgment, and general determination of character, there was an
+astonishing similarity. Dr. Wellesley was quick in forming his
+conclusions, and appeared at times to be somewhat hasty, but generally it
+would be found that his views were founded on truth and justice. This
+remark applies more especially to the part he took as chairman of many of
+the “open vestry” parish meetings, at which there was frequently much
+contention. It was admitted, however, by those who were at times opposed
+to his views that his conduct was impartial and conciliatory, and the
+natural result was that he gained the respect of all classes of the
+ratepayers, and thus allayed much of that asperity of feeling which is
+too often manifested by contending parties.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Wellesley’s appointment of the Rev. Henry Blunt, M.A., then a young
+clergyman who had gained the esteem of a large portion of the
+parishioners, as Morning Preacher and Senior Curate, gave great
+satisfaction, and, as presently will be seen, shewed the correct opinion
+he had entertained of Mr. Blunt’s piety, zeal, and qualifications to
+discharge the sacred duties he had so wisely entrusted to him. Dr.
+Wellesley, after some years had elapsed, resigned, and died at
+Bishopwearmouth, at an advanced age.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Some few particulars respecting the Rev. H. Blunt may here be very
+appropriately mentioned. The following opinion of him, as a preacher,
+given by an avowed infidel, will convey a tolerably good idea of his
+impressive manner of delivery. I will give it as nearly as possible in
+the individual’s own words. “I went,” said he, “to your place yesterday,
+(meaning the church,) and if ever I go again anywhere it shall be to hear
+Mr. Blunt. I went in and meant to come out shortly, but I had no sooner
+looked at him than his keen eyes seemed fixed on mine, and as he appeared
+so sincere in what he said, I remained till he had finished. He
+certainly was most persuasive, and it spoilt my dinner.” This was
+afterwards mentioned to Mr. Blunt, who smiled, and said, “I hope there
+were many others who went home to their dinners equally impressed.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+When Trinity Church, Sloane Street, was completed, the Rev. Mr. Blunt
+became the Incumbent (the parish at that time was not as at present
+divided into ecclesiastical divisions). Here he was again greatly
+beloved by his large congregation, including both rich and poor. Some
+years afterwards he accepted the Rectory of Streatham, Surrey, where he
+at length died, as much esteemed by the inhabitants there, as he had been
+previously at Chelsea. Mr. Blunt was the chief founder of the first
+Benevolent Society established in this parish, in 1829, entitled the
+Chelsea Relief Association, and principally through his exertions no less
+a sum than £163 was collected within a very short period. Hence arose
+other similar societies, whose benevolent objects are well deserving of
+support. The Infant School, in Markham Street, might be considered as
+Mr. Blunt’s cherished offspring, and the National Schools at all times
+were regarded by him with feelings of deep regard.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Mr. Lockwood, M.A., succeeded the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Wellesley,
+as rector, and manifested great interest in promoting the welfare of the
+parish, but after a comparatively short period he resigned.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Charles Kingsley, M.A., next became Rector, and continued as
+such for many years. He was but seldom absent from the parish, and
+exhibited on all occasions a kind and benevolent disposition. He died in
+the year 1860, aged 78. Mrs. Kingsley was very active in establishing
+the Rectory Girls’ School, and in promoting a variety of charities to aid
+the poor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. G. A. Blunt, M.A., (son of the late Rev. H. Blunt,) succeeded
+Mr. Kingsley, and is the present Rector. He has evinced the greatest
+desire to promote the religious, moral, and intellectual advancement of
+the working classes, and takes a deep interest in promoting the Parochial
+National and Infant Schools, &c. There is one charitable society, of
+such a humane and practical character, that it deserves to be specially
+noticed. It is called “The Sick Kitchen.” In a printed “Letter
+addressed to the Congregation and Parishioners of St. Luke’s, Chelsea,”
+1869, Mr. Blunt states that it is “carried on in a building erected for
+the purpose in 1861, in the Rectory Garden. Its object is to provide
+nutritious dinners for the poor who are recovering from sickness. It is
+supported by voluntary contributions, the early Communion alms, and half
+the contents of the church boxes at St. Luke’s. An average of thirty
+poor people are thus supplied daily for nine months in the year. There
+is no charge made, the orders being given by the Curates and District
+Visitors, among the cases they visit. The dinners consist of roast meat
+three times a week, soup, puddings, &c., on the alternate days; beef tea
+daily.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The advowson anciently belonged, as already stated, to the Abbot and
+Convent of Westminster, till they exchanged it, 17th July, 28 Henry
+VIII., together with their manors of Neyte and Hyde, with the king, for
+the priory of Hurley. It continued in the possession of the Crown till
+Queen Elizabeth, by letters patent, dated July 3rd, second year of her
+reign, demised to Ann, Duchess of Somerset, the advowson of the parish
+church and rectory for her life, the reversion to the Queen. After the
+death of the duchess it was granted to the Earl of Nottingham and his
+Countess for three lives. King Charles I. granted the advowson, with the
+manor, to James Duke of Hamilton, and in the next reign Charles Cheyne,
+Esq., purchased the manor, to which the rectory has ever since been
+annexed.
+
+In the year 1327, 1st of Edward III., the rectory was rated at thirteen
+marks, and in the king’s books at £13 6s. 8d., and the yearly tenths £1
+6s. 8d.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Among Dr. King’s original papers is the following account of the rectory:
+“The ancient parsonage-house, with 14 acres and 22 perches of land, stood
+west of the Duke of Beaufort’s, then the Marquis of Winchester’s. In
+lieu of which, upon an exchange, the present house, and land about it,
+was given to the rectory for ever, by the consent of the Queen, the then
+patron, Dr. Edmund Grindall, Bishop of London, and Robt. Richardson,
+Rector of Chelsea, who conveyed the old house and land to the Marquis by
+writing, bearing date May 3, 1566.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1650, it was reported to the Commissioners appointed by the
+Parliament, that the parsonage-house of Chelsea, with twenty acres of
+glebe, belonging to the same, were valued at £60 per annum, and the
+tithes worth £60 more.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rectory House, situated in Church Street, is very plain as regards
+its exterior appearance. The grounds are enclosed by a wall, and there
+are carriage entrances to the house. The interior is commodious, but
+scarcely adequate to the requirements of a large establishment in the
+present day.
+
+
+
+THE BURIAL GROUND, OR CEMETERY.
+
+
+In the south and north portions of the ground there are a great number of
+memorial stones, and a few brick vaults. That portion, situated at the
+north-eastern division, near to Bond Street and Marlborough Square, the
+ground of which is raised above the general surface, may be considered
+almost as one huge grave, containing a mass of interments. It was
+originally called “The Poor Ground,” on account of its being devoted
+exclusively for those who were buried at the expense of the parish. It
+would display much good feeling and sympathy, if some simple but
+appropriate record was placed there. It might be done by subscription,
+should there be no funds available for such a purpose.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+With respect to the numerous inscriptions, it would be impossible, as
+already stated, to notice more than a very few of them, and they contain
+generally only the name and age of the person interred. And, after all,
+we may say with the poet,
+
+ “The best concerted schemes men lay for fame,
+ Die fast away; only themselves die faster.
+ The far-famed sculptor and the laurelled bard,
+ Those bold insurancers of deathless fame,
+ Supply their little feeble aids in vain.”
+
+ BLAIR’S GRAVE.
+
+William Jones, Esq., aged 83, resided in Manor Street, Cheyne Walk. He
+was a good Hebrew and Greek scholar, but it is in the character of a
+naturalist that he must be principally regarded, Mr. Jones having painted
+from nature about 1,500 species of butterflies in a most masterly manner,
+and not only painted but arranged and characterized them in Latin.
+
+Matthew Yatman, Esq., of Lindsey Row, died in 1814; he was a most
+accomplished gentleman.
+
+Signor Carlo Rovedino, an Italian, died in this parish Oct. 6, 1822, aged
+71; he was well known on the continent and in this country as a bass
+singer.
+
+Thomas Raven, a pupil in St. George’s Hospital, died in his sleep in
+1826, aged 20.
+
+Dr. John M‘Leod, the companion of Sir Murray Maxwell, and the author of a
+voyage in H.M. ship “Alceste,” to the Yellow Sea, and of her shipwreck in
+the Straits of Gaspar; he died in the King’s Road in 1820, aged 38.
+
+Thomas Davey, Esq., of the King’s Road, died in 1833; he was a celebrated
+florist, and resided opposite Royal Avenue Terrace. This gentleman
+served most of the old parochial offices, and his general good-natured
+disposition gained for him the respect of all parties in the parish.
+
+William Tebbs, Esq. died in 1831, aged 59; he was beloved by a large
+circle of friends, and esteemed by all who knew him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Most of the old and respected parishioners of Chelsea, who once occupied
+a prominent position in it, have passed away from the scenes of this
+world, to enjoy, it is hoped, that pure and unalloyed happiness which can
+only be realized in that kingdom where there is neither poverty, anxiety,
+sorrow, or pain. Some of them no doubt are interred in this ground, but
+it would have displayed partiality to have noticed some and emitted
+others.
+
+From an official statement, dated Dec. 22, 1823, shewing the receipts and
+disbursements under each head, from the incorporation of the Burial
+Ground Trustees, April 10, to September 1823, it appears that the whole
+amount of expenditure, during the above period, was £17,243 8s. 6d. This
+amount included £4,713 1s. 0¼d., for enclosing the ground, and £1,135 5s.
+7½d., for building the temporary chapel, which was erected at the
+northern entrance, for reading the Funeral Service, previously to the
+erection of the Church.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In concluding the account of St. Luke’s Church, and Burial Ground, I
+venture to insert, at the request of some subscribers to this work, the
+following lines:—
+
+
+
+REMINISCENCES OF ST. LUKE’S CHURCH.
+
+
+ Whene’er I view that beauteous tower,
+ Built with artistic taste and power
+ Upon yon sacred sod,
+ My heart awakes, with thankful strain,
+ For in old age I see again
+ That temple of my God.
+
+ Once in that Church I bent the knee,
+ And join’d the holy minstrelsy
+ That lifts the soul above:—
+ The powerful organ swell’d on high,
+ And many felt that God was nigh,
+ Inspir’d by faith and love.
+
+ I’ve seen there a bride, in rich attire,
+ Receive the ring from her loving sire,
+ And sign the marriage book:—
+ Then when they left the bells were rung,
+ And the porch fill’d with old and young,
+ To see their happy look.
+
+ I’ve stood beside the baptismal font,
+ Where children oft to Christ were brought,
+ And th’ cross mark’d o’er their brow:—
+ And it was a joyful after-sight
+ To see them, in emblematic white,
+ Confirm their sponsor’s vow.
+
+ The preacher, by his earnest way,
+ Fill’d the Church on the Sabbath day,
+ And touch’d their hearts within:—
+ He told them of the bleating sheep, {144}
+ Of Saul’s deceit, and crime so deep,
+ And warn’d them of his sin.
+
+ And there have aged pilgrims stood,
+ (Now safely pass’d o’er Jordan’s flood,
+ And gain’d blest Canaan’s shore,)
+ Each burthen there they seem’d to cast,
+ As if each danger they had pass’d,
+ And all their toil was o’er.
+
+ And last I’ve seen the funeral train,
+ Like mourners on a desert plain,
+ Come slowly with their load:—
+ I’ve stood beside the silent bier,
+ And watch’d the trickling kindred tear
+ Fall in death’s drear abode.
+
+ Oh! when I view that sacred tower,
+ At morning or at evening hour,
+ By pure devotion led,
+ I love to meditate awhile—
+ I think I see some angels smile
+ Above the peaceful dead!
+
+_Chelsea_, 1867.
+
+ GEORGE BRYAN.
+
+
+
+PARISH REGISTERS.
+
+
+We now come to an exceedingly interesting subject, interesting alike,
+both to old and young, when we consider the very small population of the
+parish three centuries back compared with the present time now numbering
+about 70,000. Many of the early records of Parish Registers, will be
+found often written in so quaint a style as to be almost amusing, still
+they carry with them solemn thoughts, if rightly regarded, which ought to
+produce a salutary effect. When we read, too, the inscriptions on the
+monuments in our cathedrals, old churches, and in our cemeteries, and
+find ourselves actually walking over the remains of noblemen, statesmen,
+and others—some celebrated for their noble and gallant conduct, or for
+hospitality and munificence, and many for their devotion to the study of
+theology, literature, the fine arts, &c.—we become, as it were, rivetted
+to the sacred spot, and whatever pleasing historical associations may
+occur to the mind, they are involuntarily mingled with reflections of a
+far more solemn character.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The first institution of Parish Registers in England commenced in 1501,
+16th of Henry VIII., although the keeping of them was not strictly
+enjoined till the injunction of Lord Cromwell, 30th of Henry VIII., but
+he being considered as a favourer of innovations in religion, the good
+intent of them was much misrepresented, and his order rarely attended to
+by the clergy. A second order of this kind was issued in the second year
+of Edward VI., 1547, though perhaps little complied with. A third order
+is found in the statutes of the National Synod, by Cardinal Pole, about
+1555, and the last and most successful in the 1st, 7th, and 39th years of
+Elizabeth.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The first Chelsea Parish Register Book is a small folio, vellum, a great
+part of which is beautifully written. It commences with the year 1559,
+and appears to be accurately kept, except that it is imperfect during the
+Interregnum; and there are some omissions in the burials between 1564 and
+1591, and between 1644 and 1652, the year in which it ends. In the first
+leaf there is this memorandum: “A Booke begun in the House of God for
+Regestringe of all Christenings, Marages, and Burialls within the Parishe
+of Chelsey, provided for that purpose by J. Tomkins and Thomas Saunders,
+Church Wardens, the 19 daye of Feburarie 1559, and new in the time and
+yeare of Richard Warde, Parson of Chelsey, 11 March, 1599.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following are a few selected from the Baptisms, Marriages, and
+Burials:—
+
+
+
+BAPTISMS.
+
+1559. William Hitchcock was baptized the 19th day of Februarie.
+ (This is the first registered.)
+1576. Gabriel, the son of Thomas Browne, Parson, 3rd April.
+1593. Elizabeth, filia Johis. Stanhope, armi. and Margaritæ
+ uxoris ejus, 14th August (afterwards married to Sir Lionel
+ Talmash.)
+1594. Margaret Stanley, 17th April.
+1595. Carolus filius Johs. Stanhope, armi. April 27. (afterwards
+ second Lord Stanhope.)
+1597. Charles, a boy, by estimacon x or xii yeares old, brought
+ by Sir Walter Rawlie from Guiana, Feb. 13.
+1599. William, the sonne of Sir Arthur Gorge, Kt., 31st May.
+1600. Timoleon, sonne of Sir Arthur Gorge, and Lady Elizabeth,
+ his wife, baptized primo Octobris.
+1612. Frances, the daughter of Sir Walter Alston, Knight, 26th
+ April.
+1613. Fielde, a poor man child, found in the east field of
+ Chelsey, 13th October.
+1639. Chelsey, a child born in the west fields, was baptized Feb.
+ 1.
+
+The remaining baptismal entries, and some of those omitted, include the
+sons or daughters of the Earl of Nottingham, Lord Cranfield, Earl of
+Lincolne, Sir John Danvers, Sir G. Wentworth, Lord Commissioner
+Whitelocke, Charles Cheyne, Esq., Charles Stanley, Esq., Sir Henry
+Herbert, Earl of Lindsey, &c.
+
+
+
+MARRIAGES.
+
+1559. W. Harris and Eliz. Buger. (This is the first marriage
+ registered.)
+1560. In this year there were four marriages, and a very few
+ afterwards until 1600.
+1582. T. Mansell, esquier, son and heir to Sir Edward Mansell,
+ and Mary Mordant, daughter of Lord Mordant, July 30.
+1589 Johannes Stanhope, armiger, et Margaritta Mackwilliams,
+ alias Cheecke, 6 die Maii. (He was created a Baron in
+ 1606.)
+1607. Richard Warde, Parson, and Elizabeth Fisher, Jan. 29.
+1648. Sir John Danvers and Mrs. Grace Hewet, Jan. 6.
+
+ No entry of marriages from 1648 to 1652, when there were
+ three.
+1675. W. Cheyne, Esq., only son of Charles Cheyne, Lord of this
+ Manor, and Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas, both of this parish, Dec.
+ 16.
+1703. Lord Windsor and Lady Dowager Jeffreys, relict of Judge
+ Jeffreys.
+1711. The Hon. Algernon Grevile and the Hon. Mary Somerset,
+ grand-daughter to the Duchess Dowager of Beaufort, Dec. 24.
+1713. The Duke of Grafton and Lady Somerset, April 10.
+
+BURIALS.
+
+1565. None were buried—not a single person died in the parish,
+ during this year.
+1593. Thomas Larrance de civitate, London, goldsmith.—John
+ Edwards and Thomas Evans, servants, buried both together,
+ died of the plague. Three more died of the plague about
+ the same time.
+1594. Alice Griffin, a poore washwoman, buried 2nd Feb.—Ann, a
+ poore woman, buried from a stable.
+1594. Gregorie Fynes, Lord Dacre of the South, 25th Sept., whose
+ funeralls and burial were kepte the 5th Novemb. at
+ Chelsey.—The Lady Anne, wife of Lord Dacre, was buried 15th
+ of May, whose funeralls were solemnized at Chelsey, the
+ 19th June, 1595.
+1603. Catharyne, the Countess of Nottingham, was buried at
+ Chelsey the 28th of Feb., and her funeralls were honourably
+ kepte at Chelsey, the 28th March.—George, a poore boye, was
+ buried 2nd March; he died in the Lordship’s Yarde.
+1604. Thomas Younge, a Yeoman of the Guards, Sept. 29, who hath
+ given to the parishes of Chelsey, Willsden, and Kensington,
+ xx_s._ apiece yearly for ever to the use of the poore
+ there.
+1605. Catherine, wife of Richard Warde, Parson of Chelsey.
+1606. Richard Munden, the Clerk, buried of the plague; also his
+ son, Thomas, of the plague. {147}
+1608. Thomas Forrest, a godly preacher, Feb. 7.—Richard Eryth,
+ our poore Schoolmaster, March 26.
+1609. William Gulley was buried out of the Erle of Lincolne’s
+ stable, 14 Augusti—One William Morgan, a poore man died in
+ a straw house, and buried Oct. 1.
+1610. There were six buried of the plague this year.
+1613. Jana, a poore woman, out of the barn, Dec. 25.—A poore
+ woman found dead at the Earl of Lincoln’s, and another in
+ the Lordship’s barn, buried the same day.
+1615. The Lord of Effingham buried.—Richard Ward, Parson, Sept.
+ 2.
+1620. Katharin, Countesse of Huntingdon, Aug. 14. She was
+ daughter of John, Duke of Northumberland.
+1625. Sir Arthur Gorges, Oct. 10.—Twenty-two persons died of the
+ plague.
+1627. Magdalen Danvers, wife of Sir John Danvers, June 8.
+1632. Sir Robert Stanley, buried Jan. 23.
+1636. Eight died of the plague this year.
+1638. Sir John Lawrence, Knt., Nov. 14.
+1643. Lady Elizabeth Gorges, buried July 29th.—Six died of the
+ plague in the parish this year.
+1668. Arthur Gorges, Esq., April 8.
+1669. Lady Jane Cheyne, Nov. 1.
+1688. Sir Joseph Alston, Knight, May 31.
+1692. Thomas Shadwell, Esq., Poet Laureat, Nov. 24.
+1694. Dr. Adam Littleton, rector, July 3.
+1698. Charles, Viscount Cheyne, Lord of the Manor, July 13.
+1703. Dr. Edward Chamberlayne, May 27.
+1714. Sir Thomas Lawrence, Bart., April 25.—Countess Dowager of
+ Radnor, sen., July 15.
+1731. Mrs. Mary Astell, May 14; she published an Essay in Defence
+ of the Fair Sex, &c., and resided in Chelsea the greatest
+ part of her life.
+1753. Sir Hans Sloane, Jan. 18.
+1775. Henry Mossop, January 1st; he made his appearance at Drury
+ Lane Theatre in 1752, and was one of the first actors of
+ his time; he died in great distress in this parish, but,
+ after his death, his brethren paid him every respect; his
+ remains were followed by all the theatrical corps at that
+ time in London, at the head of whom was Garrick, to Chelsea
+ Church.
+1799. Dr. William Kenwick, June 13, the author of several
+ dramatic and poetical works.
+1780. Sir John Fielding, September 13; he was half-brother to the
+ celebrated Henry Fielding, author of “Tom Jones,” and
+ succeeded him to the presidency at Bow Street, which,
+ although nearly blind from his youth, he filled with great
+ sagacity for many years.
+1785. John Baptist Cipriani, December 21.
+1804. Catherine Ruini Galli, December 30. This lady died at her
+ lodgings in Chelsea, in the 81st year of her age. She was
+ the last surviving scholar of Handel, who composed some of
+ his airs for her. Galli had a mezzo soprano voice, and
+ first appeared at the Opera House.
+1805. Dr. Bisset, May 21; he kept an academy in Sloane Street,
+ and published several works.
+1805. Henry Sampson Woodfall, Esq., Dec. 11.
+
+ (It would occupy a volume to give even a selection of the Baptisms,
+ Marriages, and Burials that have since taken place.)
+
+
+
+THE OLD PARISH BOOKS.
+
+
+The original books, previous to the year 1696, are all lost; and the
+parishioners are indebted to the industry of Lord Cheyne for the
+preservation of many of these historical fragments. The following few
+extracts from the early dates, taken from amongst many others, are
+singular:—
+
+1595. Of Richard Munden, wch he gained to the Church by the Wheel
+ of Fortune, xxix_s._ viii_d._
+1697. Gave a poore man by the College, having just buried his
+ wife and left with 3 small children, and in great agony and
+ dispair, fearing he would with himself make away, 1s.
+
+ Payd for a truss of straw to put in the Cage, for a poore
+ woman to lye on, and gave her two pence, 8d.
+
+ Payd Mr. Tuley for cureing Charles Matthews’s toes of a
+ mortification, £2 5s.
+
+ Gave Stacey, for shaving a child’s head, 6d.
+1707. Ordered, in Vestry, that the weekly pensioners shall wear
+ badges, according to the Act of Parliament, or else be
+ excluded from the said weekly pension.
+1782. Resolved to employ a number of labourers to cut off all the
+ little twigs, in order to destroy certain insects which
+ appear everywhere in our trees and hedges; and from which
+ the most dreadful consequences are apprehended if they are
+ suffered to remain.
+1795. Resolved, that a bounty of twenty guineas be offered and
+ paid to eight men, agreeably to Act of Parliament, for the
+ service of his Majesty’s navy; and, if not sufficient, the
+ churchwardens to have power to augment the same.
+1796. Resolved to make a rate of 4d. in the pound to defray the
+ necessary expenses of raising eleven men for the service of
+ his Majesty’s navy.
+
+As the population increased the records of the parish naturally became
+more voluminous, and for many years past the proceedings of the
+vestrymen, and also of the Board of Guardians, are kept in the most
+admirable manner. This, it is true, is the effect of the improved state
+of society, the passing of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855, and
+the introduction of better Laws for the relief and maintenance of the
+poor.
+
+
+
+THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS.
+
+
+These schools are situated at the east side of the Cemetery. The pointed
+style was adopted on account of the contiguity of the building to the
+Parish Church. It consists of a centre, with low wings. The wings are
+occupied by the schools, and the centre as residences intended for the
+master and mistress; a large pointed arch connects the two divisions.
+The first stone was laid on the 18th of June, 1824, by the Hon. and Rev.
+Dr. Wellesley, rector, with the customary formalities, at which there
+were present the late Rev. Henry Blunt, and several other clergymen,
+besides a vast number of the parishioners, including many ladies. In
+1826 the entire building was finished, and the children were admitted.
+
+
+
+CHELSEA WORKHOUSE.
+
+
+Before the year 1723 there were no workhouses in England. It was the
+custom to relieve the able-bodied at their own dwelling places, and the
+aged and infirm were, in many cases, supported by the alms given at the
+church. In 1727, it was “agreed that the churchwardens should be
+empowered to take, with all convenient speed, a proper house upon lease,
+in the name of the parish, for the use of the poor.” In 1733 it was
+resolved, at a vestry, “That a committee be appointed to find out the
+most proper method to procure a workhouse for the poor, and an additional
+burial ground.” The result was that Sir Hans Sloane gave the present
+ground for both purposes, and the first erection of the workhouse took
+place about 1737.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The building, at the early part of this century, contained but few
+dwelling rooms, besides those occupied by the master and mistress. It
+had two wings, however, the one to the south-west was built in 1792, and
+the south-east wing in 1797. The whole did not occupy much space. There
+was a garden, tastefully laid out, with a neat box-edging around each
+compartment. {150} An aged inmate was the gardener, and he took great
+delight in keeping it in good order. How altered is now the appearance
+of the workhouse! The pretty garden, where once I plucked a flower, has
+long since disappeared, and on its site are erected extensive buildings,
+to afford necessary accommodation for the vast increase of inmates.
+Since the period to which I first alluded many additions have been made
+to the original workhouse, and consequently it was altogether devoid of
+uniformity; but as it has been within the last few years almost rebuilt,
+under the direction of G. Handford, Esq., architect and surveyor, of the
+King’s Road, the defect mentioned is no longer apparent. Indeed, unless
+it had been an entire new erection, no further improvement, as regards
+the exterior, could have been made. The interior is well arranged, both
+for comfort and convenience. There are at the present time upwards of
+560 inmates, and the Guardians afford every reasonable indulgence to the
+aged and deserving amongst them. Thomas Symons, Esq., the Chairman of
+the Board, is highly esteemed by the parishioners, and they have recently
+presented to him a very handsome testimonial of respect.
+
+
+
+THE KING’S ROAD CEMETERY.
+
+
+This cemetery adjoins the workhouse, and the ground was the gift of Sir
+Hans Sloane. It was consecrated in 1736, by Edmund Gibson, Bishop of
+London. In 1790 it was enlarged by a grant from Lord Cadogan.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The obelisk, near the centre, was erected to the memory of Andrew Millar,
+an eminent bookseller in London, who died in 1768, aged 61 years; he had
+little pretensions to learning, but possessed a very nice discrimination
+in selecting his literary counsellors.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On a flat stone, on the north side, is an inscription in memory of John
+Martyn, F.R.S., Professor of Botany at Cambridge, and Eulalia, his wife,
+youngest daughter of the Rev. Dr. King, rector. She died in 1748–9, and
+Mr. Martyn in 1768.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Baptist Cipriani, the celebrated artist, and one of the earliest
+members of the Royal Academy, was interred in this burial ground. On the
+north side is a tomb to his memory. Cipriani excelled in delineating the
+human figure, and was much employed by the printsellers in making
+drawings, which are well known by Bartolozzi’s beautiful engravings from
+them; he died in 1785, aged 58.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Philip Withers, D.D., July 1790. In 1779 he published proposals
+for a splendid edition of the Table of Cebes, with plates and notes,
+intended for the benefit of the Sons of the Clergy, but owing to some
+misunderstanding with Archbishop Cornwallis, the work never appeared; he
+lived in Sloane Square in 1789, and imprudently published several
+libellous pamphlets, for which he was convicted. He was committed to
+Newgate for twelve months, fined £50, and died there of a fever.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Sloane Ellesmere, rector, was buried here in 1766; and Lady Rous,
+aged 90, widow of Sir W. Rous, Alderman of London, in 1777.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Hannah Aston and Anne Aston, two sisters, died in 1806. These
+unfortunate young women were daughters of Mr. Aston, of Robinson’s Lane
+(now Flood Street), and had been with a party to Richmond. On their
+return the boat struck on a barge near Putney Bridge, by which accident
+they were both drowned, together with Mr. Isaac Van Butchell, son of the
+eccentric Dr. Van Butchell.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In this ground is the family vault of the Rev. Weeden Butler, whom we
+have noticed amongst the residents in Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. John Fraser, nurseryman, who resided many years in the King’s Road,
+close to Sloane Square; he was ardently attached to botanical researches,
+and several times explored the wilds of North America; he died in 1811.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, of the King’s Road, died in 1828, in the 49th year
+of her age, after a short but severe illness.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There have been but few interments in this burial ground for many years.
+When the new St. Luke’s cemetery was completed, in 1812, this ground was
+closed, excepting to those who had relatives previously buried in it.
+The population of the parish, from the year just mentioned, rapidly
+increased, and the burials, about 1832, amounted in the year to upwards
+of 600, but many of these belonged to the adjoining parishes, and a large
+proportion were children.
+
+
+
+The King’s Road:
+ITS ORIGIN, EARLY CONDITION, AND PRESENT STATE.
+
+
+As this road is the central great thoroughfare through Chelsea, some
+early particulars respecting it cannot be otherwise than interesting. It
+was originally only a footway through the fields, for the use of the
+farmers and gardeners to get access to their lands; but soon after the
+restoration of Charles II. it was found a convenient way for his Majesty
+to go to Hampton Court Palace, and thus it was, after some discussion
+between the Government and the parishioners of Chelsea, converted into a
+coach road. The following extracts from the petition of Sir Hans Sloane,
+Bart., Lord of the Manor, and other freeholders, will give a sufficient
+detail of its history and origin, and from which it appears that disputes
+had arisen concerning the right of way; and after the claims of the
+inhabitants had been considered by the Lords Commissioners of his
+Majesty’s Treasury, the matter was finally decided in their favour in the
+year 1719, the 5th of George I.:—
+
+ TO THE RT. HON. THE LORDS OF HIS MAJESTY’S TREASURY, &c. {153a}
+
+ “That before the restoration of King Charles the Second, and some
+ time after, the fields of Chelsea were open fields; and that the
+ bridge, called Bloody Bridge, {153b} was only a foot-bridge, with a
+ plank or board; and the way leading thence to the lane facing
+ Blackland House, {153c} was then only a foot-path of about five feet
+ wide, and the lands on each side were plowed and sowed close up to
+ the same; and that from the said lane to the town gate was only a
+ baulk, or head land, of about ten or twelve feet broad, or
+ thereabouts; and the lands on each side of the said head-lands were
+ also ploughed up to the edges thereof; and that the said head-land
+ was used by the owners and occupiers of the said lands for a way,
+ egress and regress, to their lands, with ploughs and other utensils
+ of husbandry, and to carry off their crops from their lands, time out
+ of mind. That some time after the restoration, King Charles II.
+ built Bloody Bridge, as it now stands; and, as we are informed,
+ agreed with the then Lord of the Manor, and others concerned, for the
+ said head-land, for his Majesty’s private road, allowing the
+ freeholders their ancient way through the same. Whereupon the king
+ made the road with gravel, and the landowners ditched out their lands
+ on each side of the same; and the king took upon him the repair of
+ the gate at the town end (which before was maintained by the
+ parishioners), and as soon as the fields were sown, was hung up and
+ shut, and, after harvest, was always open until seed time returned
+ again, as many yet alive well remember. And ever since the
+ landholders of the said parish have been in possession of a free way
+ and passage to their lands through the said road, (some persons
+ having no other way,) and were never denied it during the reigns of
+ King Charles the Second, King James, King William, and Queen Anne, as
+ we can make appear by sufficient evidence. Now, whereas, upon his
+ present Majesty’s repairing the said road, the present
+ Surveyor-General has given orders to shut the gates against the
+ landholders of Chelsea, to their great detriment, and, as we
+ conceive, to the debarring them of their right. We humbly beg your
+ Lordships will take the matter into your consideration, hear our
+ evidence, and grant us such relief as, in your great wisdom, you
+ shall think fit. That the late Duchess Dowager of Beaufort (to whose
+ stables and offices there is no other way), about five or six years
+ ago, ordered her stewards and servants to cut down a turnpike, which
+ Mr. Manly, the Surveyor-General, had set up between the walls at the
+ corner, next Church Lane (Street); and they carried the posts away,
+ being set up, as she said, upon her ground.”
+
+To this petition was attached the evidence of several of the freeholders,
+in confirmation of what was stated in the above petition. One of these
+was given by Mr. Matthew Hutchins, gardener, of the King’s Road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The above petition was referred to Hugh Cholmley, Esq., Surveyor-General,
+and William Watkins, Esq., Surveyor of his Majesty’s private roads. The
+reports from these two official gentlemen were evasive and
+unsatisfactory, and consequently a second statement was sent to the
+Commissioners, in reply to the objections. This last statement from Sir
+Hans Sloane was dated May 6, 1719.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the same day (May 6) the following letter was received:—“My Lords
+direct Mr. Watkins to permit the tenants of the lands adjoining to the
+King’s Road, through Chelsea, to have free passage through the same, with
+their carts and horses, in the manner they have been accustomed to; and
+that the ditches which belong to the land, and lately filled up, be
+opened again.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The above particulars explain the origin of placing the gates, or bars,
+at different parts of the King’s Road, and which many of the parishioners
+at the present time well remember.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Daring robberies and murders appear to have been very frequent about this
+period, especially in the Five Fields, (now Eaton Square, &c.) and along
+the whole line of the King’s Private Road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Timbs, F.S.A., says, “In the King’s Road, near the spot where is now
+the Vestry Hall, the Earl of Peterborough was stopped by highwaymen in
+what was then a narrow lane; and the robbers, being watched by some
+soldiers, who formed a part of the guard at Chelsea College, were fired
+at from behind the hedge; one of these highwaymen turned out to be a
+student in the Temple, whose father having lost his estate, his son lived
+by ‘play, sharping, and a little on the highway,’ the desperate resources
+of the day.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In September, 1753, a Mr. Crouch, cook to the Earl of Harrington, was
+attacked at night by two men who took his watch and money, and then
+stabbed him with a knife and beat him till he died. {155}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following most diabolical and remarkable case of burglary and murder
+occurred in the King’s Road in 1771:—
+
+On the site of the King’s Parade (near to Oakley Square) stood an ancient
+farm, which was in the occupation of the family of Mrs. Hutchins for many
+years. She was a widow, and some Jews it appeared made inquiries as to
+her circumstances, and considering there was a chance of obtaining
+valuable booty, determined on robbing the house. In June, 1771, they
+sauntered about the fields till 10 o’clock at night, and then went and
+knocked at the door, which was opened by a female servant, when
+immediately eight Jews entered the house. They seized the girl and
+treated her with great severity. Mrs. Hutchins went to her servant’s
+assistance, but one of them, Levi Weil, called Dr. Weil, compelled her to
+sit in a chair, after which he threw part of her clothes over her head to
+prevent her seeing their faces, and threatened to murder her if she made
+any resistance. They then went up stairs to a room, where Joseph Slow
+and William Stone, two men servants, were in bed, and in a sound sleep.
+Dr. Weil gave Stone a violent blow on the breast, when Slow instantly
+started up, on which the others cried out “Shoot him!” and a pistol was
+fired, the ball from which entered the body of Slow, who exclaimed, “Lord
+have mercy upon me! I am murdered! I am murdered!” They then dragged
+him to the stairs, which, being observed by Stone, he made his escape out
+of the window. They then robbed the house, and demanded money of Mrs.
+Hutchins, one of them struck her violently, and threatened to kill her.
+She was compelled at length to give her watch and 64 guineas, after which
+they quitted the house. Mrs. Hutchins then went to see her servants.
+She found the two maid-servants bound together; and no sooner had she
+given them their liberty than the wounded man said, “How are you, madam,
+for I am dying.” These words were scarcely uttered, when he fell down on
+the floor, and having suffered the most excruciating pain, expired on the
+following day, leaving a wife and two children to lament his loss.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The robbery and murder was no sooner known than a reward was offered from
+the Secretary of State’s office, for the apprehension of the gang. The
+offer was seconded by that of a much larger reward from the City of
+London; and also another of £50 from the parishioners of Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The murderers, however, remained undiscoverd for a considerable time till
+Daniel Isaacs, one of the gang, became the means of discovering his
+accomplices, in the following manner:—Isaacs, being touched with remorse
+of conscience, &c., sent for a friend and acknowledged himself to be one
+of the nine men concerned in the robbery and murder at Mrs. Hutchins’s,
+at Chelsea. He desired his friend to inform some magistrate of it; and
+having told him the names and places of abode of his accomplices, his
+friend went immediately to Sir John Fielding, at Bow Street, who sent the
+officers after them, by which means seven of them were taken. The cause
+of this confession and remorse of conduct, on the part of Isaacs, was
+distress. He applied for relief to the elders of the Jewish synagogue,
+but the treasurer refused him any immediate assistance, urging as a
+reason that he should not have left his native country, Holland, where he
+might have obtained probably an honest living. At that time a great
+number of Jews came to this country, and a selection of cases could only
+be relieved. Isaacs, in consequence of the refusal, became greatly
+distressed, and, in order to gain the reward, offered by the City of
+London, made the above confession.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Isaacs was admitted to give evidence against his accomplices, six of whom
+were soon apprehended, but the other made his escape. There appears to
+have been some discrepancy as regards the number of the gang, one account
+states eight, while another mentions nine.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the Old Bailey Sessions, in December, 1771, Levi Weil, Asher Weil,
+Marcus Hartogh, Jacob Lazarus, Solomon Porter, Hyam Lazarus, and Abraham
+Linewill, (the man who had absconded) were indicted for the robbery and
+murder, when the two of the name of Weil, with Jacob Lazarus and Solomon
+Porter, were capitally convicted, and Marcus Hartogh and Hyam Lazarus
+were acquitted.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mrs. Hutchins deposed on the trial, that about six weeks before her house
+was robbed, Hyam Lazarus came to it, inquiring for one Beetham, a weaver,
+when she said she knew no such person; that on the 11th of June, the
+night of the robbery she heard the dog bark, about ten o’clock at night,
+her men being then gone to bed; that she called to one of her two
+maid-servants to see what was the matter with the dog, and shortly after,
+hearing a noise, she ran herself to see, and found her maid, Mary
+Hodgkin, with her cap off, and some men using her extremely ill; that to
+the best of her remembrance, she recollected Levi Weil and Hyam Lazarus
+to be among these men; and though her fright was exceedingly great, she
+did her endeavour to assist her maid, but that Levi Weil (called the
+Doctor,) pushed her into a chair, and pulled her upper petticoat over her
+face, which hindered her seeing any of the rest. Hearing her cook cry
+very much, one of them said, “Cut her throat;” another, “If you don’t
+hold your tongue, I will cut your throat.” Then coming to her (Mrs.
+Hutchins) they offered to tie her legs, and she begged they would not, as
+she would not stir; whereupon they all went to another room, the door of
+which being locked, they said they would break it, if not immediately
+opened, and returned from it in about five minutes; that then going up
+stairs, she shortly after heard somebody cry “fire!” and after much
+swearing, heard also a pistol go off, and a man cried out, and begged
+they would not; that, endeavouring to get out at the back door, she was
+prevented by some men on the outside, who told her if they were not her
+friends they would blow her brains out; that then returning to her chair,
+she heard a very great noise above stairs, as if they were throwing the
+servant down, and a little while after she heard another pistol go off;
+that the wounded man, endeavouring to get down, came to her, and said,
+“How are you ma’am, for I am a dead man;” on which, turning short, he
+fell on the ground; that his shirt was on fire close to the wound just
+under the shoulder, which she put out, that he groaned very much, and
+complained of being cold; that the people in the house, running from room
+to room, came down to her, and Levi Weil, to the best of her knowledge,
+took the buckles out of her shoes, and two others attempted to put their
+hands into her pockets; she begged they would not, saying she would give
+them something worth their acceptance, and accordingly gave them her
+purse and watch; that asking where her plate was, she told them, and they
+took it out of the cupboard, and gave it to their companions at the back
+door. That going into the parlour, where there was a cupboard, they
+broke it open; and she following, told them there was nothing in it worth
+having but paper; but that one of them, a short, thick, elderly man,
+struck her on the face with a pistol, and would have shot her, had not
+the Doctor turned the pistol with his hand.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Recorder prefaced the sentence with a judicious and just compliment
+to the principal Jews, for their very laudable conduct in the course of
+the prosecution, and hoped no person would stigmatize a whole nation for
+the villanies of a few.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+These men, as was customary formerly in cases of murder, were tried on a
+Friday, and on the following day (the Jewish Sabbath) they were
+anathematized in the Synagogue.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+As their execution was to take place on the following Monday, one of the
+Rabbies went to them in the press-room of Newgate, and delivered to each
+of them a Hebrew book, but declined attending them to the place of death,
+nor even prayed with them, at the time of his visit. Their wives and
+children were admitted to take their leave of them before they set out
+for Tyburn, where executions took place. {159}
+
+ * * * * *
+
+An immense number of people attended the execution. They prayed
+together, sung an hymn in the Hebrew language, and soon afterwards were
+launched into eternity.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following anecdote, in reference to this daring robbery, was very
+frequently related many years ago, and I do not remember that its
+veracity was ever questioned. Soon after the conviction of the Jews, the
+Queen paid a visit to Mrs. Hutchins, and, after expressing the deepest
+sympathy for her sufferings, desired to be informed whether she could
+advance the interests of any member of the family. A circumstance was
+mentioned to her Majesty, which resulted in one of the junior branches
+being ultimately educated at one of the Universities.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We will now briefly notice the King’s Road, as it was at the earlier part
+of the present century. At the entrance into Chelsea parish, at the
+eastern end of Sloane Square, the bridge, to which we have several times
+referred, was at that period probably about 14 or 16ft. wide, on both
+sides of which there was a wall of sufficient height to protect
+passengers from falling into the narrow rivulet which it spanned, and
+which belonged to the commissioners of sewers. There were two little
+cottages near to this stream, and immediately contiguous to them was Mr.
+Burgess’s premises, who carried on a very good business, as a coach
+builder, &c. The houses around Sloane Square were nearly the same as
+they are at the present time, but the square was an open space, simply
+enclosed by wooden posts, connected by iron chains, where boys frequently
+played at cricket, &c. Here, too, Queen Charlotte’s Royal Volunteers
+often assembled, and marched off in military order to Hyde Park,
+accompanied by an excellent band.
+
+In 1812 the Chelsea and Brompton Dispensary was established in Sloane
+Square, principally through the great exertions of the Rev. George Clark,
+M.A., the then chaplain of the Royal Military Asylum. At the meeting
+convened for that purpose, the late W. Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., presided,
+whose name will be ever associated with the abolition of slavery, and as
+the advocate of almost every humane society in this country. This
+admirable institution indicates the rapid growth of the population. The
+earliest annual average of patients did not exceed 1200, in 1860 it was
+upwards of 6000, and since the last date the number has greatly
+increased. The first physicians were Dr. Ainsley and Dr. Adam Black, and
+its first surgeons Robert Smith and Anthony Todd Thomson, Esqrs.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Fraser’s Botanical Grounds adjoined Sloane Square. He explored
+distant parts of the world several times, so ardently attached was he to
+botanical researches. He was patronized by a large number of the
+nobility and gentry. His death took place, in 1811, at his residence.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It will be seen shortly that if the King’s Road, in the “Olden Times,”
+was almost exclusively occupied by farmers and gardeners, that, for a
+number of years afterwards, one of the principal attractions to it was
+the many celebrated nursery and floricultural grounds.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The high wall at the Royal Military Asylum, which formed the back of the
+boys’ lavatory, &c., and which stood more forward than the present
+enclosure, had no pathway whatever against it, and the road being at one
+part very narrow, it was not only inconvenient but at times dangerous.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Colvill’s Nursery Ground stood on the site of Colvill Terrace, and
+the entrance to it was at the eastern corner. His display of flowers
+excited general admiration, and consequently an immense number of the
+gentry generally paid him a daily visit during the summer season.. The
+grounds, however, were only enclosed with an old wooden fence, and here
+again there was no footway for passengers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Thomas Davey was also a celebrated florist, and his ground was
+opposite what was called the White Stiles, now known as the Royal Avenue
+to Chelsea College. The origin of the former name arose from there being
+an ornamental stile at the entrances.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The grounds of Mr. Colvill were detached from those of Mr. Davey by a
+footpath, on both sides of which there were neatly-trimmed hedges, and as
+butterflies abound in floricultural gardens, this passage was called
+“Butterfly Alley.” Some houses have since been built on this site, and,
+although the road is narrow, it now assumes the name of Keppel Street,
+connecting the King’s Road with the Fulham Road. Opposite the
+above-named alley there was a bar placed across the road, to prevent
+waggons, &c., from passing unless the driver produced proof that he was
+going to some resident in it. The origin of these bars has just been
+fully detailed.
+
+Mr. Pratt, a friend of Mr. Faulkner, wrote the following lines, “Flowers
+and Fashion,” in reference to the above two celebrated floricultural
+grounds:—
+
+ Where smiling Chelsea spreads the cultur’d lands,
+ Sacred to Flora a pavilion stands,
+ And yet a second temple neighb’ring near
+ Nurses the fragrance of the various year;
+ Of Davey this, of Colvill that, the care,
+ While both the favour of the goddess share.
+ But not for her—the deity of flowers—
+ _Alone_ the incense breathes, still higher Powers:—
+ Fair Venus marks each temple for her own,
+ And FASHION sits upon a blossom’d throne.
+ She, pow’r supreme! bids vanquish’d Flora kneel,
+ And drags proud Beauty at her chariot wheel.
+ The Cyprian Queen asserts her loftier sway,
+ And blushing rivals with a smile obey.
+ At Fashion’s shrine unnumber’d suppliants bow,
+ And to their idol chaunt the sacred vow.
+ A thousand Eves, each as their mother fair,
+ To these gay Edens every hour repair:
+ And though the wreaths boast but a fleeting bloom,
+ And often press at eve a twilight tomb,
+ Still, as by magic, we behold each morn
+ A fresh supply the pillag’d scenes adorn;
+ And though the lovely plunderers bear away
+ The fairy sweets that open’d with the day;
+ Though one fair Paradise is lost each night,
+ Another blooms with the returning light.
+ Thus, strange to tell! near London you behold
+ The age of FASHION, BEAUTY, and of GOLD.
+
+The old White Hart public-house and tea-gardens, situated on the opposite
+side of the road to Mr. Davey’s grounds, was a rather ancient-looking
+place of resort. It was well-conducted, and occasionally a great many
+persons visited it. On its site is now a very respectable tavern.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near to this house, a little to the east, about 1818, a poor man was
+sitting by the roadside, apparently in the most pitiable state of hunger
+and destitution. A pensioner belonging to Chelsea Hospital, a man of
+colour, was passing along at the time with a can of soup and a small loaf
+of bread, which he had just previously received as his dinner allowance,
+some of the men being allowed to have private lodgings. The pensioner
+gazed for a moment at the wretched object of misery, and then, with a
+heart full of sympathy, gave him some of the soup and bread. Such an act
+of benevolence excited the attention of a very young man, who, whenever
+he met the kind-hearted black pensioner, always felt a feeling of respect
+for him. Some time afterwards it came to the knowledge of this youth
+that the pensioner had been convicted of a certain crime, not now a
+capital offence, and sentenced to be executed. This communication very
+much surprised him, but he could not erase from his memory the humane
+conduct he had witnessed. Accordingly, he went to Newgate on the
+following day, unknown to his friends, to see the condemned malefactor.
+On his arrival at the prison the turnkey at the entrance door refused him
+admittance, and told him, in a gruff manner, that he must get an order.
+He then went direct to the Sheriff’s residence, and, after some
+conversation, obtained a special order for admission. The turnkey now
+became very respectful, and the young man was immediately conducted to
+the yard where the condemned prisoners took the benefit of the fresh air.
+The aged convict’s appearance was much altered, and during nearly the
+whole time of the visit tears rolled down his cheeks. He was thus
+visited several times, and, at length, through a petition presented by
+the authorities at Chelsea Hospital, and another from some of the
+parishioners, the unhappy black man’s sentence was mitigated to
+transportation for life. At one of the interviews, the culprit asked for
+some memorial of the young man’s kindness, having been previously told
+that his life would be spared, and a Bible was given to him, with the
+name of the youthful donor written in it. An assurance was given that he
+would see him again that week, but when the young man went the poor black
+pensioner had been removed from the prison, and he never heard of him
+afterwards. The evidence produced at the trial fully justified the
+verdict of being guilty of the charge, but there was gross culpability on
+the part of the prosecutrix.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A little beyond the old White Hart tea gardens, to the west, on the same
+side of the road, was the residence of the elder Mr. Downing. It stood
+in a neatly laid out garden, and resembled very much in appearance one of
+those old but comfortable retreats which may still be seen by the
+roadside in some parts of the country. Adjoining the garden was his
+extensive Floor Cloth Manufactory (on the site of which is now Wellington
+Square). This spacious building was situated a short distance from the
+road, and the approach to it was by a carriage-way on each side, the
+centre being a grass plat. In this manufactory were held most of the
+earlier annual meetings of the Chelsea Auxiliary Bible Society, which
+were invariably crowded. Amongst the speakers were the Rev. G. Clark,
+M.A., the Rev. John Owen, M.A., the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M.A., the Rev.
+John Morison, D.D., the Rev. R. H. Shepherd, the Rev. John Bunce, and
+several others. Mr. Downing, sen., was a gentleman esteemed alike for
+his piety and benevolence, and his sons and other branches of the family
+have at all times maintained a similar respect.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The residence and manufactory which we have just described was pulled
+down some years ago, and the present one was then erected. A deplorable
+event occurred, about 38 years since, at Messrs. Downings’ new Floor
+Cloth Manufactory, which it is requisite to notice in a work of this
+description. A young man, whose name was Butler, the son of very worthy
+parents, and who had borne a tolerably good character previous to the
+fatal event we are about to mention, was convicted and executed at
+Newgate, for setting fire to a portion of the premises. The fire broke
+out in or near to the stables, and as it occurred on the Sunday morning,
+between the hours of twelve and one o’clock, the horses were of course
+locked in them. It was with great difficulty that they were rescued.
+The evidence, although principally circumstantial, resulted in the jury
+finding a verdict of “Guilty.” Notwithstanding the most strenuous
+efforts to save the life of the young man, he suffered the extreme
+penalty of the then law. A Wesleyan minister, who attended him at his
+last moments, published a pamphlet stating his reasons for believing that
+he was innocent. He was interred in St. Luke’s Burial Ground, and the
+Church was crowded to excess.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the same side of the road, and opposite Wellington Square, was
+formerly the Nursery belonging to Mr. Moore. A little further westward
+was the residence of Mr. Evans, sen., known as Box Farm. For many years
+he lived there, and was much respected in the parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Smith Street was begun to be built in 1794, by the late Thomas Smith,
+Esq., of Manor Terrace, but it was not finally; completed until about
+1807.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Little’s Nursery Ground was established many years since, and at the
+present time it is celebrated for the production of some of the choicest
+plants and flowers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Jubilee Place was first opened in 1809, and named in commemoration of
+that event in the annals of the reign of George the Third.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Flood Street, it appears, by ancient documents, was originally called
+Pound Lane, probably from the pound of the manor standing on or near its
+site. It was known for some years by the name of Robinson’s Lane, and
+since the buildings were continued to the King’s Road, it was, by an
+order from the magistrates, called Queen Street. It has recently been
+altered to Flood Street, so named as a tribute to the memory of Luke
+Thomas Flood, Esq., for his munificent annual gifts to the poor of this
+parish, and by doing which many mistakes are now obviated, as there was
+and is still Queen’s Road West adjoining Cheyne Walk.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Upper Manor Street was originally called Wellesley Street, in honour of
+the Rev. Dr. Wellesley, the then rector of the parish. A murder was
+committed in this street about forty years since, which created great
+excitement throughout Chelsea. An elderly female resided in one of the
+houses, and she was found dead early one morning under circumstances
+which left no doubt whatever that the dreadful crime just mentioned had
+been perpetrated. Two men were apprehended, who lived in the
+neighbourhood, and who had been seen standing near the house at about 12
+o’clock the preceding night, but beyond that fact no further evidence was
+adduced. It appeared they were both at a public house that evening, and
+left when it was closed, but they produced no witnesses to prove that
+they went afterwards direct to their homes. The evidence in support of
+the charge being insufficient, the magistrate discharged them. One of
+them was a second time charged with the murder, but the result was the
+same. The name of the street was then altered.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Robert Street, and the adjacent streets, have all been built in the
+course of the present century.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Roll’s Nursery Grounds were situated two or three doors from that old
+established house, the “Six Bells,” and joined Argyll House. His son
+carried on the business for many years, and the family were greatly
+respected.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Edward James Mascall, Esq., a gentleman who occasionally took a very
+active part in parochial affairs, resided in what is now called Argyll
+House for many years.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The entrance to Cook’s Grounds, from the King’s Road, was anciently a
+back way to the stable-yard of Alston House, in Cheyne Walk. Some years
+ago the stone frame-work of the gate was visible in a garden in Upper
+Cheyne Row. Formerly the parishioners had only the privilege of a
+footway through the glebe land from the King’s Road, as appears from the
+following extract from the Vestry Minutes:—
+
+ * * * * *
+
+“1755. Sept. 18. Whereas the road leading from the north end of Great
+Cheyne Row over the glebe land to the King’s Private Road, is the proper
+right of Mr. John Narbonne, of this parish, and whereas the inhabitants
+of this parish do frequently pass and repass that way, not only with
+corpse to the New Burying Ground, but to the Workhouse contiguous, as
+well as to other places; and as the privilege is only upon sufferance, by
+consent, and during the pleasure of Mr. Narbonne, therefore we
+unanimously agree to pay him and his heirs, as long as this privilege
+shall continue, upon the 1st day of May in every year, being from the day
+the Burying Ground was consecrated, the sum of one shilling, which we
+order shall be paid by the churchwardens for the time being.” There have
+been no material alterations made from its recent state during my
+remembrance; but Cook’s Grounds will soon be no longer recognised as it
+was in 1868, as many very superior houses are now being erected, which
+will be presently noticed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Pamplin, another celebrated nurseryman, resided at the western corner
+of Cook’s Grounds. The old dwelling-house has just been pulled down.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The King’s Parade, opposite Cook’s Grounds, was erected in 1810. It is
+no longer known as the “Parade”—principally so called on account of the
+stone-pavement, which was considered then a luxury to walk on at that
+part of the road—but is now included under the general appellation of the
+King’s Road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Edward Wright, comedian, of the Adelphi Theatre, lived at Merton
+Villa, Trafalgar Square, opposite Cook’s Grounds, for some time. He died
+in France some few years ago.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the site of Oakley Square there still remained a portion of Mrs.
+Hutchins’s market garden. The road at this spot was very narrow, and no
+pathway for passengers on that side. Here, again, there was an
+obstructive bar placed across the road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Faulkner mentions a singular circumstance that occurred just at this
+place. He says, “About the year 1796, I was present at a stag-hunt in
+Chelsea. The animal swam across the river from Battersea, and made for
+Lord Cremorne’s grounds; and upon being driven from thence ran along the
+water-side as far as the Church, and turning up Church Lane (street), at
+last took refuge in Mrs. Hutchins’s barn, where he was taken alive.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A little on the west of Oakley Square, in a spacious house, Mrs. Kelly,
+the author of several novels, conducted a most respectable school. It
+was subsequently taken for the reception of invalid soldiers, who came to
+pass the Board at Chelsea Hospital, previous to their discharge from the
+army. This house, long since pulled down, was said to have been built
+about the year 1715.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Adjoining the preceding house, and at the corner of Upper Church Street,
+was the “Rose and Crown,” a small road-side public-house, standing much
+below the level of the road, and, from its appearance, had evidently been
+built at an early period. At the entrance was a wooden bench, on which
+many a weary traveller took rest. On the site of this house is now the
+Cadogan Arms.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Passing Church Street, and proceeding westward, the road was extremely
+narrow. At the south corner of Church Street there was an additional
+house to what there is at the present time, and the old residence on the
+opposite side, lately pulled down, projected several feet forward on the
+road, without any pathway for foot-passengers. There is now a capital
+carriage-road and a good pavement, with some commanding shops at the
+northern corner.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Adjoining, on the north side of the King’s Road, are the extensive
+premises of Messrs. Ransome and Co., the eminent saw-mill engineers, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the opposite side were the Nursery Grounds belonging to Mr. Shepard,
+the main portion of which now forms Paultons Square, and the remainder,
+formerly in the occupation of Mr. H. Larner, has recently been purchased
+by Mr. Gray, the horticultural builder, in addition to his extensive
+works in Danvers Street. He is making very considerable alterations,
+and, when completed, it will no doubt be an ornament to this fashionably
+frequented road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The late Mr. Alfred Mellon, so celebrated for his concerts, and musical
+entertainments, lived for a considerable time in what is known as “The
+Vale,” which is situated on the opposite side to Paultons Square, where
+he died some two or three years since. He was buried in the Brompton
+Cemetery, and his funeral was attended by a great many of his private
+friends, and by a large number of the most eminent men in the musical and
+theatrical world, by all of whom he was highly respected.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. John Varley, the celebrated water colour painter, and principal
+founder of the old Society now in Pall Mall East, whose works are well
+known to the world, lived at 10, Beaufort Row, now Beaufort Street, about
+the year 1810. His town house was in Conduit Street, Regent Street.
+During the time he resided here he made a very excellent drawing of the
+Old Church, from near the Bishop of Winchester’s Palace, in Cheyne Walk,
+the property of J. H. Chance, Esq., which was lent and exhibited at the
+Great Exhibition of 1862. Many other beautiful sketches of Chelsea were
+made by Mr. Varley from the shores, as well as from one of Mr.
+Bettsworth’s boats, which was always at his service. Some of the family
+have long been and are now residents in Chelsea and Brompton. Mr. John
+Varley was born in 1778, and died in 1842.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+When Mr. Varley left Chelsea, Mr. Dorrell, the artist, took the house,
+and afterwards Mr. J. Stark, the well-known oil painter of woodland
+scenes, occupied it. Two prettily painted pieces, although small, are
+now to be seen at the South Kensington Museum. Mr. Stark was born in
+1794, and died in 1859.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Wilson Lowry, F.R.S., M.G.S., lived near to Battersea Bridge, about the
+year 1809. He was known not only for his eminence as an engraver, but
+also for his extensive knowledge of anatomy, natural philosophy,
+mathematics, mineralogy, and geology, added to an extraordinary talent
+for metaphysical discussion, which placed him on terms of intimacy with
+the first philosophers and most scientific men of his day, and in the
+year 1812, unsolicited, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, next
+to Sir Joshua Reynolds, the only artist who was honoured by such a
+conferment. He died in 1824, in his 63rd year. Mr. Lowry’s only
+daughter by his second wife was Mr. John Varley’s second wife.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. John Galt, the author of “Sir Archibald Wylie,” and the “Ayrshire
+Legatees,” lived in Beaufort Row about 1809.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Ralph Wedgwood, (of the firm of Josiah Wedgwood and Co.,) the
+celebrated manufacturers of the Queen’s Ware, died at Chelsea in 1837.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Bentley, one of Mr. Wedgwood’s partners, superintended a branch
+establishment at Chelsea, about 1770, for finishing and painting the best
+pieces.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Paul Bedford, the popular comedian, late of the Adelphi and Haymarket
+Theatres, resides in Lindsey Place. He is much respected in private
+life, and as an actor few have obtained greater celebrity.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Returning to the King’s Road, and proceeding from Beaufort Street, we
+arrive at “the Man in the Moon” tavern. There are many conjectures
+respecting the origin of the sign of this house, but nothing certain has
+been elucidated. As a celebrated neighbouring tavern was called the
+“World’s End,” perhaps the original proprietor thought he would give his
+house an equally singular sign.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+We have already noticed the Clock House, Lord and Lady Cremorne’s Villa
+(now known as Cremorne Gardens), Ashburnham House, Stanley House, St.
+Mark’s College, &c.; but there are one or two others to which we will now
+briefly allude. The first of these is Messrs. Christie’s Flour Mills,
+established a great many years ago. The premises are situated at the
+western extremity of the parish, and close to the Chelsea Railway
+Station. Mr. Ormson, horticultural builder, resides at Dudmaston House,
+which is opposite the entrance to St. Mark’s College.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The King’s Road, at the commencement of this century, was by no means a
+place for general business. There were here and there, it is true,
+tradesmen who succeeded very well, but, generally speaking, the line of
+road was almost exclusively occupied by nurserymen and florists, and thus
+it became a fashionable resort for the nobility and gentry. The road, in
+most parts, was very narrow, and the different grounds were mostly
+enclosed by wooden palings. There was nothing like a good pathway for
+passengers, excepting at certain places. At night there were only a few
+gloomy oil-lamps, and the lives and property of the inhabitants were
+principally entrusted to a small number of private watchmen. When
+disturbances or robberies in the streets occurred in the daytime, the
+tradesmen-constables of the parish had the onerous and sometimes the
+dangerous duty to quell them, and take into custody the offenders or
+perpetrators. It need scarcely be added that when sent for, on such
+occasions, the constables were frequently—“_Not at home_!”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Let us now take a glance at the present state of the King’s Road, and a
+few more of the vast improvements which have been made in it. But,
+before doing so, we will give some particulars descriptive of a novel
+enterprise which is attracting a large share of public attention at the
+present time.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE CHELSEA STEAM CAPTIVE BALLOON.—This monster aerial balloon ascends
+daily, weather permitting, from a part of the grounds known as the
+Ashburnham estate, a little beyond Cremorne Gardens. The balloon itself
+is 93 feet in diameter, and has a cubical capacity for gas of 421,161 ft.
+It is capable of taking up into the air no less than 30 passengers, and
+is attached to one strong rope, 2000 ft. long, which passes round a
+balance wheel, and thence to a large cylinder worked by an engine of 200
+horse power. These appliances are all fitted in a kind of amphitheatre,
+from the centre of which the ascents take place. The supposed altitude
+to which the rope allows ascent is 2000 feet, but as a rule the height is
+generally less. The cost of the balloon alone is stated to be £24,000,
+and the value of the gas required (pure hydrogen) £600. It is composed
+of linen and India rubber, made of five thicknesses, and is the property
+of a French gentleman well known for his attachment to scientific
+experiments.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the opposite side of the road, and adjoining St. Mark’s College, is
+Mr. Veitch’s Royal Exotic Nursery. These grounds for a great many years
+belonged to Mr. Knight, who possessed a most choice collection of Cape
+plants, &c., and who was patronized by nearly all the nobility and gentry
+in this country. Mr. Veitch has fully sustained the celebrity acquired
+by his predecessor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A little further eastward is Mr. W. Bull’s Nursery, and on the opposite
+side is the Ashburnham Park Nursery, belonging to Mr. J. W. Wimsett.
+Both of them are distinguished cultivators of rare and valuable plants.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near to Cremorne Gardens, on the opposite side of the road, is the
+extensive Show Establishment belonging to John Weeks and Co.,
+Horticultural Builders and Hot-Water Apparatus Manufacturers, Engineers,
+and Iron Founders. The Horticultural Building and Engineering department
+is carried on near to Messrs. Downing’s Floor Cloth Manufactory, in the
+King’s Road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Proceeding on, eastward, we arrive once more at Cook’s Grounds, which
+was, as previously stated, a private way originally to the stabling of
+Sir Joseph Alston’s House, in Cheyne Walk. The old house, for so many
+years occupied by Mr. Pamplin, the nurseryman, on the western entrance in
+the King’s Road, has recently been pulled down, and two commanding shops
+erected on the site, by Mr. Leete, the builder, of Little Cadogan Place.
+They contain thirteen rooms each, built with white bricks and
+compo-dressings, with enrichments and cornices. On the right-hand side
+of Cook’s Grounds, from the King’s Road, about 30 superior-looking
+private dwelling houses are now being built, each of which will contain
+eight rooms. These are also built with white bricks, and will have what
+is termed “cant” windows. The road opposite them is intended to be 50
+ft. wide, and there will be a good pavement. When this great improvement
+is finally completed, and carried forward to Cheyne Walk, which no doubt
+is the intention, this new street will then scarcely be surpassed by
+Oakley Street. In Trafalgar Square, likewise, there are a number of very
+superior dwelling-houses now in course of erection, and, when the entire
+square is finished, there will be an excellent road from Cheyne Walk to
+the South Kensington Museum.
+
+
+
+THE VESTRY HALL.
+
+
+This building is situated on the south side of the King’s Road, and is
+nearly opposite Robert Street. The foundation stone was laid on the 12th
+of December, 1859. The arrangements for the accommodation of the public
+were under the superintendence of W. W. Pocock, Esq., the architect, and
+notwithstanding it was a very inclement day, there were at least a
+thousand persons present.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In a bottle were deposited a suitable inscription on vellum, a list of
+the parish officers for the year, one copy of each of the three Annual
+Reports of the Vestry, a copy of the “Metropolis Local Management Act,”
+with its Amendments, and of the “Nuisances Removal Act,” and one of each
+of the Coins of the present Reign. The band of the Royal Military Asylum
+attended, and played several popular airs, which added greatly to enliven
+the proceedings.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following particulars are extracted from the “MORNING ADVERTISER,”
+Tuesday, December 13th, 1859, and which were inserted in the Fourth
+Annual Report of the Vestry, 1860.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The foundation stone was laid by Viscount Chelsea in due form, in the
+presence of Robert Hanbury, Esq., and the Hon. G. Byng, the Members for
+Middlesex, W. Tite, Esq., M.P., the Rev. C. Kingsley, the Rector of the
+Parish, the Members of the Vestry, and a large number of the influential
+inhabitants of the parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The building is in the Italian style, with stone facings. The length is
+about 140 ft., and between 60 and 70 feet in breadth. The great hall is
+64ft. in length, and 40 ft. wide, and accommodates upwards of 1000
+persons. The board room is about 45 ft. by 30.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The time appointed for the ceremonial was two o’clock in the afternoon,
+and at half-past one o’clock the gentlemen invited to take part in the
+day’s proceedings assembled in the Vestry-Room of St. Luke’s Church, and
+proceeded from thence to the site of the proposed building, headed by the
+juvenile band of the Royal Military Asylum, playing national and other
+appropriate airs. The procession, on arriving at the spot, was received
+with loud cheers by a large number of the inhabitants who were admitted
+within the grounds.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Tite, M.P., opened the business of the day in an appropriate speech,
+in the course of which he alluded to the kind gift of the freehold site
+by Earl Cadogan, the money for the erection of the building having been
+voted by the Vestry. The new hall, he said, when built, would not only
+be useful as regarded parochial purposes, but it would be an ornament to
+that locality. He was not disposed to introduce politics into a matter
+so purely parochial, but he could not help saying that, in the event of
+Chelsea obtaining a right to send representatives to Parliament—to which
+it is fully entitled on account of the number, respectability, and
+intelligence of its inhabitants—they could meet in their new hall, and
+there canvass and consider the claims of the candidates who presented
+themselves for their suffrages.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Hanbury and Mr. Byng then severally addressed the numerous assemblage
+in suitable speeches.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Charles Lahee, the respected Vestry Clerk, then read the following
+document, which was afterwards deposited in the bottle previously
+referred to:—“This building, the foundation stone of which was laid by
+the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Chelsea, on the 12th day of our Lord one
+thousand eight hundred and fifty nine, is intended for the transaction of
+the parochial and municipal business of Chelsea, which contains at the
+present time a population, by estimation, of seventy thousand persons.
+It is built by the Vestry constituted by an Act for the better Local
+Management of the Metropolis (18th & 19th Victoria, cap. 120) upon
+freehold land presented them by the Lord of the Manor, and his heirs,
+from the designs of Mr. Willmer Pocock, architect, by Thomas Piper and
+Sons, builders. Contract sum £5630. Lord of the Manor, George, 3rd Earl
+of Cadogan.” To which was attached the names of the Rector,
+Churchwardens, Vestrymen, &c., &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Richard Burgess, of Trinity Church, Sloane Street, then offered
+an appropriate prayer, after which,
+
+Mr. W. Rabbits, one of the vestrymen, presented a silver trowel to
+Viscount Chelsea, to be used in laying the first stone, and to be kept by
+his lordship as a token of the respect of the parishioners for him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Viscount Chelsea having expressed his acknowledgments for the compliment
+paid him,
+
+Mr. Pocock, the architect, then placed the bottle containing the
+documents, &c., in the cavity of the under stone, which was covered with
+mortar. The other portion of the stone was then let down, and Viscount
+Chelsea having gone through the usual “masonic” operations in a
+workmanlike manner, his lordship declared the Vestry Hall to be in due
+course of erection amidst the loud cheers of all present.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The erection of the entire building was completed in 1860, and, occupying
+such a central position, it adds materially to the respectability of the
+King’s Road. It is an attractive structure, and its architectural design
+reflects great credit on Mr. Pocock. The estimate laid before the Vestry
+Finance Committee on the 21st of February, 1861, by Mr. Charles Lahee,
+the Vestry Clerk, of the total probable cost of the Vestry Hall
+buildings, including the fittings and furniture, was altogether £12,059
+16s. 2d.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A portion of the building is occupied by the Chelsea Literary and
+Scientific Institution, for the use of which a rental is paid. T. L.
+Bull, Esq., was the original founder, and to his indefatigable efforts,
+for a considerable time, may be attributed the advantages that have been
+derived from it. It appears, however, that the receipts of this useful
+and admirable institution are unfortunately just now insufficient to meet
+the necessary expenditure, but it is gratifying to record that at a late
+influential meeting, held at the Vestry Hall, to consider the “present
+position and future prospects of the Institution,” and at which Lord
+George Hamilton, M.P., presided, it was unanimously resolved to extricate
+it from temporary difficulties.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Charles Lahee, who has been Vestry Clerk for many years, has a
+private dwelling-house at the Vestry Hall. The offices are on the ground
+floor, and the large hall is at the rear of the building. The spacious
+room above the offices, and which fronts the road, is where the vestrymen
+weekly assemble, adjoining it are committee rooms, &c. The whole
+interior is well-arranged and admirably adapted for the requirements of
+the parish, which has now become one of the most populous and important
+in the metropolis.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In Flood Street, near to the King’s Road, is a small Chapel belonging to
+the Primitive Methodists.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+METHODIST NEW CONNEXION CHAPEL.—This Chapel, which is situated in Radnor
+Street, King’s Road, was originally attached to the Commercial Tavern.
+After some time had elapsed it was converted into a place for Divine
+Worship, having undergone material alterations and made a distinct
+building. The Rev. Clifford Hooper was the Pastor, and the Congregation
+rapidly increasing they ultimately erected the Congregational Church in
+Markham Square. When that structure was completed, Radnor Street Chapel
+was purchased by the Methodist New Connexion Society, and to that body of
+the Christian church it still belongs. There is a very excellent Sabbath
+School, and the members and friends have expended, at different times,
+considerable sums in making it both commodious and comfortable.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Savings’ Bank is situated on the north side of the King’s Road. It
+was established in the year 1819. The benefits derived by the labouring
+classes, and others of limited means, by the establishment of such banks,
+are now so well known and appreciated that it would be needless to
+enumerate them. The Chelsea Savings’ Bank is one of the most secure and
+best conducted in London.
+
+
+
+CHELSEA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
+MARKHAM SQUARE.
+
+
+The foundation stone of this Chapel was laid on Tuesday, October 5th,
+1858, and the building was opened for public worship on April 3rd, 1860,
+the Honourable and Rev. Baptist Noel, M.A., preaching at noon, and the
+Rev. Newman Hall, LL.B., in the evening. The Rev. Clifford Hooper was
+the first Pastor. He resigned the pastorate on account of failing health
+on the 3rd of June, 1863, and died on March 6th, 1864. The Rev. R.
+Brindley, of Bath, then accepted the pastorate, commencing his ministry
+on November 22nd, 1863, and on October 19th, 1865, was suddenly and
+unexpectedly called to his rest, in the very prime of life and in the
+midst of his labours. The Rev. Andrew Mearns, of Great Marlow, was then
+invited to become Pastor, and commenced his ministry, at Chelsea, on
+September 16th, 1866, where his pulpit ministrations and pastoral labours
+have been greatly blessed.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chapel stands in a very prominent position, covering a large piece of
+ground at the north end of Markham Square, forming a very conspicuous and
+beautiful object from the King’s Road.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The form of the building is slightly cruciform, having transepts
+projecting about five feet from the body of the Chapel. The prominent
+feature of the exterior is a tower and spire, rising from the west side
+of the southern transept to the height of 138 feet.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The proportions are well-conceived, and the effect good. The dimensions
+in the clear, are, length 85 ft. 2 in.; length, including apse, 93 ft. 6
+in.; width 41 ft. 3 in.; width across transept 51 ft. 3 in.; height from
+floor of chapel to ridge of open roof, 49 ft.; height from floor to roof,
+on the wall line, 22 ft.; and the height of school rooms 13 ft.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The style of the building is in the second period of the Gothic. The
+exterior is entirely of stone; the interior, will accommodate on the
+ground and gallery floors, 1,150 adults, besides an additional gallery in
+the apse for the organ and choir.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ground floor is raised about four feet above the footway, and beneath
+are lofty and spacious schoolrooms for about 850 children, with requisite
+offices. The building was erected from a design by John Tarring, Esq.,
+of Bucklersbury, and Messrs. Myers, of Lambeth, were the contractors who
+undertook the erection.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Sabbath School is well attended, and the labours of the teachers and
+superintendent very successful. Above 380 children are registered as
+scholars, and, on Feb. 28, the actual attendance was 256 in the morning
+and 356 in the afternoon, taught by 33 teachers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The various institutions and agencies connected with this Church are
+likewise flourishing under the oversight of the Pastor, who, we trust,
+may be long spared to a beloved and loving people.
+
+
+
+WHITELANDS TRAINING INSTITUTION.
+
+
+The old house now attached to these extensive premises was for many years
+a boarding school, conducted by the Misses Babington. Previous to that
+period it had no doubt been a scholastic establishment for young ladies,
+as I find that a discourse was delivered here, about 1772, by the Rev.
+John Jenkins, A.M., on Female Education and Christian Fortitude under
+Affliction.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the year 1842 the house and grounds were taken on a long lease by the
+National Society, and in 1850 a public meeting was held in London to
+raise funds for the erection of the present buildings.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Institution provides for the education, maintenance, and training of
+more than 100 young women, between the ages of 18 and 25, who purpose to
+become teachers of National Schools; and, secondly, for the daily
+instruction of children of the neighbourhood, in four schools.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In one of these schools the charge of 10s. per quarter is made. It is
+attended by children whose parents would not wish to send them to the
+National Schools.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The vast improvements which are everywhere conspicuous throughout the
+length of the King’s Road, as regards that portion of it which is within
+the boundaries of Chelsea, are far more numerous than in any other road
+in the metropolis. At the eastern and western extremities of the parish,
+there are Railway Stations, then there are the steamboats, besides these
+there are the omnibuses traversing the road every quarter of an hour.
+What a contrast does the King’s Road now present when compared with what
+it was at the commencement of this century!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I now return to the bank of the Thames, passing through Flood Street,
+proceeding eastward along Queen’s Road West, (formerly called Paradise
+Row,) the residence of many of the Nobility and Gentry in the “Olden
+Times.”
+
+
+
+Queen’s Road West.
+
+
+In the year 1664, Mr. James Hamilton, probably by order of the Lord of
+the Manor, made a survey of this parish. It was further continued, till
+the year 1715, by the Rev. Dr. King, the rector, to whose labours this
+work is much indebted.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From Hamilton’s survey, it appears that the Earl of Radnor resided in
+Paradise Row, {177} adjoining Robinson’s Lane. He entertained his
+Majesty King Charles II. most sumptuously on the 4th of September, 1660,
+at this house. When the above survey was taken, his relict, Lady Radnor,
+was in possession of the premises. There are in the Parish Register
+several entries of baptisms and deaths of this family. Lord Radnor died
+at this house July 17, 1685, and Lady Radnor, his second wife, who
+survived him, resided at Chelsea till her death in 1714. His son,
+Francis, by his second wife, who was a gentleman of general learning and
+good abilities, was buried at Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the north end of George Place, Queen’s Road West, formerly stood an
+old white house, called “Queen Elizabeth’s Larder,” which was pulled down
+to erect the present houses.
+
+
+
+THE BOTANIC GARDEN.
+
+
+On the south side of Queen’s Road West, near to the river, is situated
+the garden belonging to the Company of Apothecaries. The earliest record
+that we possess of a Botanical Garden in England, was that of the
+celebrated John Gerarde, the father of English botany. The next in order
+of time was that of the elder Tradescant, who, about 1630, established a
+garden for the cultivation of exotic plants at South Lambeth; this
+collection was presented, in 1667, to the University of Oxford. The next
+garden in succession is this at Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Of these premises, containing three acres, one rood, the first lease was
+taken by the Company in the year 1673, for the term of 61 years, at a
+ground rent of £5 per annum. Mr. Evelyn thus mentions a visit he paid
+it:—“1685, August 7th, I went to see Mr. Watts, keeper of the
+Apothecaries’ garden of simples at Chelsea, where there is a collection
+of innumerable rarities of that sort particularly; besides many rare
+annuals, the true-bearing Jesuits’ Bark, which had done such wonders in
+quartan agues. What was very ingenious was the subterranean heat,
+conveyed by a stove under the conservatory, all vaulted with bricks, so
+as he has the doors and windows open in the hardest frosts, secluding all
+the snow.” Mr. Watts was succeeded by Mr. Doody, who enjoyed
+considerable eminence as a botanist, and he continued to superintend it
+till 1717, when the celebrated Petiver was appointed, who had officiated
+as demonstrator of plants since 1709. He accumulated so large a
+collection of natural history, that, some time before his death, Sir Hans
+Sloane is said to have offered him £4000 for it. After his death, Sir
+Hans Sloane purchased it, and it went eventually to the British Museum.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Hans Sloane granted the freehold of these premises, in 1722, upon
+conditions that the Company should pay a quit rent of £5 per annum for
+ever, and employ the same as a Physic Garden; that the Company should
+deliver to the Royal Society fifty specimens, the growth of the garden,
+till the number should amount to three thousand.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It was here that Sir Hans Sloane first studied his favourite science; and
+he continued a friend to this establishment, continually enriching it
+with scarce and curious plants, besides contributing largely towards the
+building, &c. As a tribute of gratitude the Company of Apothecaries
+employed the celebrated Rysbrach on a marble statue of their benefactor,
+which stands in the middle of the garden. He is represented in a
+Doctor’s gown, with a full-bottomed peruke, and a roll in his right hand.
+It displays much dignity, and conveys a most pleasing impression of the
+learned person whom it represents. On the north side of the pedestal is
+the following inscription:—“In honour and perpetuation of the memory of
+Sir Hans Sloane, Bart., an eminent physician, and great encourager of the
+science of botany, this statue was erected by the Company of Apothecaries
+of London, 1733.” On the west side, “They being sensible how necessary
+that branch of science is to the faithful discharging the duty of their
+profession, with grateful hearts and general consent, ordered this statue
+to be erected in the year of our Lord 1733, that their successors and
+posterity may never forget their common benefactor. Placed here in the
+year 1737.” There is another inscription, similar in purport, on the
+south side of the pedestal.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The garden is laid out in divisions, in which the plants, shrubs, and
+trees, are arranged systematically. On the south side of the garden,
+facing the Thames, formerly stood two large cedars of Lebanon. Lysons
+says, that Sir Joseph Banks made an accurate admeasurement of these
+trees, in 1793, and found the girth of the larger to be twelve feet
+eleven inches and a half, that of the smaller twelve feet and half an
+inch. Upon being measured again, in 1809, they had increased twelve
+inches in girth since 1793. There is now only one of these trees.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Philip Miller resided many years in the house at the garden, and
+rendered himself particularly distinguished by his botanical works. He
+succeeded to the office of curator of this establishment in 1722, and
+resigned a little before his decease, which took place in 1771. He was
+buried in Chelsea churchyard, where a monument has been since erected to
+his memory by the Fellows of the Linnean and Horticultural Societies of
+London. He was succeeded in the management of the garden by his pupil,
+Mr. Forsyth, who, in 1784, was appointed chief superintendent of the
+Royal Gardens at Kensington, which he held till his death in 1804. Mr.
+Anderson was subsequently curator, and Mr. Wheeler demonstrator.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having thus endeavoured to give a brief sketch of the rise and progress
+of this establishment, it only remains to mention a few particulars in
+reference to its present condition.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Within the last twenty-five years the garden has been in a great measure
+remodelled, and in consequence has become better adapted to the purpose
+for which it is maintained, namely, the instruction of medical students.
+Several of the old hot-houses and greenhouses have been removed, and new
+ones erected in their place; new arrangements of medicinal plants have
+been formed; and groups representing the natural orders of plants have
+been brought together to facilitate their study. Formerly two cedars of
+Lebanon, some of the first planted in England, were conspicuous objects
+from the river, but in 1853 one of these, which had become much decayed,
+was blown down, the other still remains, but is gradually decaying, being
+not only injuriously affected by the smoke of London, but like all the
+other large trees in the garden, more or less damaged by the deprivation
+of water caused by the construction of the deep sewer in the Queen’s
+Road. A fine specimen of a rare tree, the Salisburia adiantifolia, the
+Ginkgo of Japan, with leaves resembling those of the Maidenhair Fern in
+form, may be seen towering above the wall in the Queen’s Road. The
+alterations in this garden were commenced in 1846 by Mr. Robt. Fortune,
+the Chinese traveller, who was succeeded, in 1848, by Mr. Thomas Moore,
+the present Curator.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near to the Botanic Garden, in front of the river, stood a capital
+mansion, erected in the reign of Queen Anne, which was for many years
+inhabited by Mrs. Banks, the mother of Sir Joseph Banks.
+
+
+
+CHRIST CHURCH.
+
+
+This Church was consecrated on the 26th of June, 1839. It stands on a
+piece of ground for many years previously a market garden, and is
+situated in Paradise Street, Queen’s Road West. The exterior is
+particularly plain, and would admit of great improvements were there
+funds available for such a purpose. The interior will probably seat
+about 1000 persons. On the opposite side of the street there are
+neatly-designed schoolrooms, in which the children belonging to the
+National, Infant, and Sunday Schools assemble for instruction. Each of
+these schools is very well attended. The residents in a great portion of
+the immediate locality are poor, and consequently the most strenuous
+efforts are necessary to raise sufficient funds to meet the expenditure.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. W. H. Howard, M.A., was the first Incumbent of the Church, and
+was much esteemed. He was a kind-hearted clergyman, and made every
+effort in his power to promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of the
+numerous poor in his district. He resigned in 1845.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. W. W. Robinson, M.A., was, as is well known, most zealous in his
+exertions to accomplish the same great object. He was likewise a most
+strenuous supporter and advocate of Total Abstinence Societies from all
+intoxicating liquors.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. G. S. Whitlock, M.A., succeeded Mr. Robinson. He displays an
+untiring zeal in the discharge of his sacred duties, and there are
+gratifying testimonies to prove that his ministerial labours have been
+blessed. Under his energetic administration of affairs a large amount of
+voluntary subscriptions have been collected, and many important
+improvements in the interior of the Church have been effected, and should
+he be spared to the District, no doubt the exterior will soon likewise
+have a more imposing appearance.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+GOUGH HOUSE was erected at the commencement of the last century by John,
+third Earl of Carberry. He died in his coach, as he was returning from
+London to this house in 1713, and was interred in Westminster Abbey.
+After his death the house and premises were in possession of the Gough
+family, several of whom resided here. Sir Richard Gough was a merchant
+in London; he died in 1727. Sir Henry Gough took the name of Calthorpe,
+in compliance with the will of his uncle, Sir Henry Calthorpe, K.B., and
+was created a peer, in 1796, by the title of Baron Calthorpe.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The house was at length occupied by Mrs. Pemberton, who conducted an
+establishment for the education of young ladies for many years. The Rev.
+Richard Wilson, D.D., subsequently resided in it for a considerable
+period. At the present time the approach to this old mansion presents a
+melancholy contrast to what it was in former days.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Gough House is now the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children, established
+in 1866. The frontage is otherwise occupied, and consequently the
+originally attractive appearance is entirely destroyed. The youthful
+patients come from all parts of the metropolis, and several from the
+country. The objects of the institution are as follow:—
+
+1. The treatment, as in-patients, of children between the ages of two
+and twelve years.
+
+2. The treatment, as out-patients, of children under sixteen years of
+age.
+
+3. The training of nurses for children.
+
+The Rev. A. G. W. Blunt, M.A., Rector of Chelsea, takes a deep interest
+in promoting this much-needed and admirable institution. The committee
+are now earnestly making an appeal for contributions to create a Building
+Fund, and when it is known that there is not in all the metropolis a
+single hospital BUILT for the special reception of children, it is to be
+hoped that such a noble charity will receive the liberal assistance of
+all benevolent persons.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Edward Montague, first Earl of Sandwich, resided in this neighbourhood in
+1663. Mr. Pepys, in his Diary, has recorded a visit he paid to that
+nobleman. “March 28, 1663. To Chelsea, where we found my lord all
+alone, with one joint of meat at dinner, and mightily extolling the
+manner of his retirement, and the goodness of his diet; the mistress of
+the house hath all things most excellently dressed; amongst other things
+her cakes admirable, and so good, that my lord’s words were, they were
+fit to present to Lady Castlemaine . . . ”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Archbishop Sharpe resided here about 1691; he preached the sermon at the
+coronation of Queen Anne. Mackay says, “He is one of the greatest
+ornaments of the Church of England, of great piety and learning, a black
+man, and 55 years old.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles, Duke of St. Albans, natural son of Charles II. by Eleanor Gwynn,
+had a house here about 1692.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Fitton Gerrard, the last Earl of Macclesfield of that family, died at his
+house in Chelsea, in 1702. A law-suit was commenced about the right of
+succession to his property, between Lord Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton,
+who had married his niece. A duel was fought between the competitors in
+Hyde Park, which proved fatal to both parties. The Duchess lived in
+Chelsea till 1714.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry, Duke of Kent, had a house in Queen’s Road West, about 1715. On
+his Grace’s death, in 1740, the Dukedom of Kent became extinct.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The beautiful Duchess of Mazarin resided in Queen’s Road West, and died
+there in 1699, aged 52. Her dramatic routs and musical entertainments
+were celebrated for their magnificence. The singers were from the
+theatres, and the instrumental performers the most eminent masters of the
+time. It is said that the design of introducing the Italian Opera into
+England was first concerted in this assembly. Lysons was told that it
+was usual for the nobility and others who dined at her house to leave
+money under their plates to pay for their entertainment. She appears to
+have been in arrears for the parish rates during the whole time of her
+residence at Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mrs. Mary Astell resided here the greater part of her life, which was
+spent in writing for the advancement of learning, religion, and virtue.
+“The good Christian,” she would say, “only hath reason to be cheerful in
+this world.” She died at her house in 1731, in her 63rd year, beloved by
+all who knew her, and greatly esteemed by the inhabitants.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Richard Mead, it appears by the parish books, resided here about
+1714; he was an eminent physician. Matthew Mead, his father, was a
+celebrated Nonconformist divine. Dr. Mead had a house also in Great
+Ormond Street, which became a repository for all that was curious in
+nature and art. He built a gallery for his pictures and antiquities,
+which, when sold, produced as follows:—
+
+ 57 days’ sale of books £5,518 10 11
+ 3 ditto pictures 3,417 11 0
+ 14 ditto prints and drawings 1,908 14 6
+ 8 ditto coins and medals 1,977 17 0
+ 5 ditto antiquities 3,246 15 6
+
+The world was deprived of this distinguished physician in 1754. To the
+poor he gave money as well as advice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Francis Windham had a house in Queen’s Road West, about 1700. He
+entertained Charles II. at Trent, after the battle of Worcester, where
+the king remained concealed for several days.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. James Miller was born in 1703. He wrote the oratorio of “Joseph
+and his Brethren,” and translated and adapted to the English stage, the
+“Mahomet” of Voltaire, which met with great applause; but on the third
+night of its representation, being for his own benefit, he died suddenly
+at his house at Chelsea, in 1743.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Alexander Blackwell, a physician, resided in a house near the Botanic
+Garden; he became involved in his circumstances, and was taken to prison
+for debt. Mrs. Blackwell possessed by nature a fine genius for drawing
+and painting, and being told that a Herbal was wanted, she drew from the
+life several of the physical plants. These were shewn to several eminent
+men, who being pleased with the undertaking she proceeded with the work,
+and at length procured her husband’s liberty. She not only made the
+drawings, but engraved them on copper plates, and coloured them. This
+celebrated work was completed in 1739. Mr. Rand, who had the care of the
+Botanic Garden, rendered her every assistance in his power.
+Unfortunately Dr. Blackwell left Chelsea and went to Sweden, where he was
+appointed physician to the king. Sometime afterwards, however, he was
+found guilty of high treason “in plotting to overturn the constitution of
+the kingdom, and sentenced to be broken alive on the wheel.” {184} It is
+further said that “he prayed with great devotion; but, having laid his
+head wrong, he remarked jocosely that, being his first experiment, no
+wonder he should want a little instruction.” Such jocularity, at such an
+awful moment, does not accord with earnest prayer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Thomas Stackhouse, a learned and pious divine, resided in
+Queen’s Road West, about the year 1750; he was the author of “The History
+of the Bible,” &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. John Collett, the painter, resided here for a long period. The
+favourite subjects of his pencil were pieces of humour, somewhat in
+imitation of Hogarth. Collett died here in 1780.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. John Giles Eccardt had a house here for some years, and died in 1779;
+he was a painter of some eminence. The portrait of Gay, the poet, in
+Lord Orford’s works, now almost extant, is from a painting by Eccardt.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. W. Hamilton, a pleasing artist, resided also here for several years;
+his most capital work was “The Queen of Sheba entertained at a banquet by
+Solomon.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Samuel Cotes lived in Queen’s Road West, where he died in 1818. He
+painted miniatures both in enamel and water colours, and was in great
+practice.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mary, Duchess of Ormond, resided in a large house, near Chelsea Hospital,
+in 1730. She was a daughter of the Duke of Beaufort, and the second wife
+of James, Duke of Ormond. This house was for many years afterwards
+occupied as a school. It enjoyed a distinguished reputation for maritime
+education. The novelty of having a ship built on the play-ground,
+completely rigged, with sails bent, and of capacity sufficient to admit
+of twenty-four of the young gentlemen going aloft at one time, attracted
+general notice. This ship moved round on swivels, which enabled her to
+represent the evolutions of wearing or tacking. She was under the care
+of an old naval lieutenant, and was named “The Cumberland.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Robert Walpole had a house and garden “next the College.” He built
+here an octagon summer-house and a large greenhouse, the latter filled
+with fine exotics by Lady Walpole; he had also a curious grotto. Nell
+Gwynn is said to have lived in this house when it was Crown property. It
+was taken down about 1808. On the site of this house is now a spacious
+infirmary for the sick and aged pensioners of Chelsea Hospital.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+SCHOOL OF DISCIPLINE.—This is the oldest Reformatory for young girls in
+London. It was opened by Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, who, with some Christian
+friends, brought six other children from Newgate to a small house at
+Chelsea, in 1825. Since that time a larger house has been taken in
+Queen’s Road West, near to Chelsea Hospital, and the number of children
+increased. They are daily instructed in the love and fear of God,
+carefully trained in all useful branches of household work, needlework,
+and the usual subjects of elementary secular education. The number of
+children now boarded, clothed, and educated in the school is 42. It is a
+“Certified Industrial School,” for the purpose of receiving, by
+magistrates warrants, girls who are either found begging, homeless, or
+frequent the company of thieves, &c. Twenty-one of such, in 1869, were
+under detention. They are paid for by the Home Office, the parents,
+where possible, contributing to their maintenance. The others are such
+as need restraint and discipline, and the parents are required to pay
+sums varying from 6d. to 5s., according to their means. It is conducted
+by a Ladies’ Committee, Mrs. Cromwell, the lady of the Principal of St.
+Mark’s College, kindly discharging the duties of honorary secretary.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Thomas Faulkner, to whom this work is so greatly indebted, lived at
+the corner house, opposite the grounds of Chelsea Hospital. He was one
+of the principal booksellers in the parish, and possessed great literary
+attainments. As a local historian none have excelled him, and in private
+life no parishioner was more respected. He was interred in the Brompton
+Cemetery, where there is the following inscription to his memory:—“Thomas
+Faulkner, the historian of Chelsea, and an inhabitant of that parish 60
+years. Born 1777, died 1855. Lector si monumentum requiris libros ejus
+diligenter evolve.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Richard Suett, who acquired considerable repute as a low comedian,
+died at his lodgings here in 1805, aged 47. He made his first appearance
+at Drury Lane in the character of Ralph, in the Maid of the Mill. He was
+buried on the north side of St. Paul’s Cathedral, where he had been
+educated as one of the choir; his disposition was amiable, and the needy
+always shared his mite.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+DURHAM HOUSE.—It appears that a large house was standing on this spot in
+1694, it was then called the Ship House, and is said traditionally to
+have been a tavern, and frequented by the workmen whilst the Royal
+Hospital was building. The present structure, which was built in the
+beginning of the last century, has been distinguished for a great number
+of years as an eminent school. It is at present in the occupation of the
+Rev. John Wilson, D.D., of Holy Trinity Church, Knightsbridge.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Durham Place was built in 1790, by Mr. Richardson, who was for many years
+steward to the Lord of the Manor; he resided in the detached house
+adjoining, on the north, which had extensive grounds, and was called by
+him Manor House.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Green’s Row, a little eastward, was built in 1765. It was for many years
+the property of a Mr. Green, an extensive brewer. In one of these houses
+Henry Blunt, Esq., father of the late Rev. H. Blunt, resided for a
+considerable period. Mr. Blunt, sen., was universally respected in the
+parish. He held a commission in Queen Charlotte’s Chelsea Royal
+Volunteers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In Rayner Place resided Philip Burrard, Esq., for many years. He served
+the office of churchwarden of the parish, &c., and was a captain in the
+old Chelsea Volunteers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Robert Farrier, a celebrated artist and portrait painter, has resided
+in Hemus Terrace for some years. He is a very old inhabitant, and much
+respected.
+
+
+
+Chelsea Royal Hospital.
+
+
+On the site of this noble establishment—the home of our military
+veterans—was originally a college or place of education for controversial
+divines. It was projected by Dr. Sutcliffe, Dean of Exeter, in the reign
+of James I. The king was one of its best patrons, and supported it by
+various grants and benefactions; he himself laid the first stone of the
+edifice, in 1609; gave timber requisite for the building, and ordered
+that when erected it should be called “King James’s College at Chelsey.”
+Thus fortified, Dean Sutcliffe experienced no difficulty in obtaining
+from Charles, Earl of Nottingham, an advantageous lease of a plot of land
+which the latter held under the Crown, and which was called “Thame Shot,”
+for which he paid the yearly rent of seven pounds ten shillings. A
+charter of incorporation was granted, which limited the number of its
+members to a provost and nineteen fellows, of whom seventeen were to be
+in holy orders, the other two might be laymen. Their employment was to
+consist in noticing and recording the principal historical and religious
+events which might occur during the time they remained in office; but
+none of the members, on being elected bishops, could be permitted to
+retain their fellowships; by this charter, also, the college was enabled
+to use a corporate seal. The building, however, progressed but slowly.
+The Dean’s funds became exhausted; the proceeds of the king’s letter
+proved small. Out of two quadrangles which it was contemplated to erect,
+and of which the lesser was to be internally surrounded by a piazza, only
+a portion of one side was completed. Still the number of those who took
+an interest in the matter daily increased, and were far from despairing.
+“The work we confess,” says Darley, “hitherto proceeded slowly; and no
+marvel, seeing great works are not easily achieved. Noah’s Ark, God’s
+Tabernacle and Temple, &c., were long in building; and do we wonder that
+this college is not finished?”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Several causes contributed to render the king’s appeal through the medium
+of the bishops of slight avail. In the first place, the expenses
+attending the collection of briefs were then inordinate. The money,
+after it had been gathered, passed through many hands, each of which took
+care to attach a portion to itself; while the efforts made about the same
+time to push forward the building of St. Paul’s Cathedral stood very much
+in the way of the completion of King James’s College. {188} With James
+I. died the only conscientious supporter, excepting the founder, and a
+few churchmen; the death of Sutcliffe was a deadly blight upon the
+prospects of his infant college. It was afterwards converted into a
+place for prisoners of war; and, with the manor, of which the Parliament
+took forcible possession, was ultimately put up to sale. Darley says,
+“It became a cage of unclean beasts, a stable for horses; and not only a
+place to make leaden guns in, but desired also for a palcestra to manage
+great horses and to practise horsemanship.” A print of the original
+design of this college was prefixed to a small book, called “The Glory of
+Chelsey College,” by John Darley, B.D., Rector of Northill, Cornwall.
+1662. Archbishop Laud called it sneeringly “Controversy College.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1667, Charles II. resolved on granting this college to the Royal
+Society, which was about that time incorporated. And as a grant of the
+manor of Chelsea had been made to the Duke of Hamilton by Charles I., the
+heirs of that nobleman now conveyed it to Andrew Cole, in trust, for that
+learned body. The Society, however, did not hold their sittings in it,
+probably from its dilapidated state; they ultimately conveyed it, in
+1681, to Sir Stephen Fox, for the king’s use, in order to build Chelsea
+Hospital, for the sum of £1,300.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I will now give a description of the establishment of Chelsea Hospital.
+The building, as it now stands, was begun by Charles II., continued
+during the short reign of his successor, and completed by William and
+Mary.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It has been just stated that the site of King James’s College was
+purchased of the Royal Society for the purpose of erecting this Hospital;
+but not being found sufficient, the lands lying between the College and
+the river Thames, and that in front of the present Hospital, now called
+Burton’s Court, were also purchased of Lord Cheyne and Sir Thomas
+Grosvenor, for about the sum of £1100. About twenty-two acres of this
+land, lying on the eastern side, were, in 1690, granted by the Crown to
+the Earl of Ranelagh.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There are several pleasing legends told as to the origin of Chelsea
+Hospital. The following is one of them:—The King was sitting in his
+chariot, with poor Nell Gwynne, when observing her unusually pensive, he
+asked:
+
+ “What ails thee, Nell?”
+
+ She replied: “A dream I had last night, troubleth me sore.”
+
+ “What _was_ thy dream, Nell?”
+
+ “Methought I was in the fields at Chelsea, and slowly and
+ majestically there rose before mine eyes, a beautiful palace of a
+ thousand chambers; and in and out thereat walked divers many old and
+ worn-out soldier-men. Some had lost a leg, some an arm, others were
+ blind of an eye, many bore piteous scars of old wounds in the wars,
+ upon their wrinkled faces, and all of them were aged, and past
+ service. But none of them looked ill-at-ease, and as they went out,
+ and as they came in, the old men cried, ‘God bless King Charles!’ and
+ I awoke, and was sore discomfitted, that it was only a dream!”
+
+ “Cheer up, Nelly,” said the King. “Thy dream shall be fulfilled,
+ mayhap, thou shalt yet see old soldiers come in, and go out, crying,
+ ‘God bless King Charles!’ The monarch did violence to his infirmity,
+ and kept his word.”
+
+No appeal seems to have been made to the public at large, as was the case
+with King James’s College; but while the voluntary contributions of the
+charitable were received with gratitude, the troops were, to a certain
+extent, burdened with the expenses of the asylum from which they were
+themselves to derive the sole benefit. From the pay given to these, a
+deduction was made of one shilling in the pound; which, being divided
+into three equal parts, was one to defray the expenses of the Paymaster’s
+office, one to the general use of the soldiers, and one to the
+accumulation of a fund, first, for the building, and ultimately for the
+maintenance of the hospital. By giving to this a retrospective effect,
+so as to include the whole of the year 1680, and strengthened by
+donations of £1,300 from Sir Stephen Fox, of £1,000 from Tobias Rustas,
+Esq., of £1,000 from Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, and of nearly
+£7,000 from the Secret Service Fund, the projectors of the establishment
+had at their disposal a sum of £17,012 14s. 7d. with which they
+determined to make a beginning.
+
+The edifice was consequently begun in the year 1682, but was not
+completed till 1690. King Charles II., attended by a great number of the
+principal nobility and gentry, laid the first stone of this magnificent
+structure on the 16th of February, 1682. The whole expense of the
+building is computed to have amounted to £150,000.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Christopher Wren, to whose genius and abilities we owe the grandest
+edifices of which our metropolis can boast, gave the original design, and
+conducted the building to its completion.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Chelsea Hospital is generally considered to be a fine specimen of Sir
+Christopher Wren’s professional abilities. It possesses a superior air
+of grandeur, more spacious arrangement of the principal parts, greater
+attention to the central points, for grace and effect, and a higher
+degree of chastity maintained in the whole structure than any public
+design entered into by Sir Christopher Wren, or his immediate successors.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the grand entrance, from the King’s Road, are four detached stone
+piers, with breaks, with an entablature, on which are military trophies.
+These piers, by their disposure, give three passes; the iron gates much
+modernised; dwarf walls, having cornices in succession, containing small
+door-ways. Two lodges, right and left, carry on the line, containing
+four compartments, or blank windows each.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The central approach, from the King’s Road to the north general front of
+the Hospital, including the Royal Avenue, has a very imposing effect,
+with trees on either side.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+It would be impossible to give in this work an architectural description
+of Chelsea Hospital, or of its arrangements. It is within the reach of
+every inhabitant of London, and now as our country friends have the
+benefit of frequent railway excursions, almost every person in the
+country, may at any time give this home of England’s worn out and gallant
+defenders a personal inspection. Still it is necessary that a general
+sketch of the building and grounds should be given. I have therefore
+extracted most of the following particulars from Mr. Gleig’s admirable
+work.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Chelsea Hospital occupies, with the buildings, courts, gardens, and
+offices attached, an area of something more than 54 square acres. Its
+principal courts, or quadrangles, are three in number; of which the
+central alone existed in 1690, though the good taste of a modern
+architect has provided that no discordance in style should be anywhere
+perceptible between the nucleus and the additions which have, from to
+time, gathered round it. Over the whole, there hangs an air of sobered
+and collegiate repose, as far removed from gloom on the one hand, as from
+garishness on the other; a character every way suitable to the purposes
+to which the edifice has been set apart, and in strict accordance with
+the habits and condition of its inmates.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The central court, which is open towards the south, and separated from
+what are called the water-gardens only by an iron railing, is closed in
+on the east and west by two ranges of buildings 365ft. in length by 40 in
+width; on the north and south by the hall and chapel, divided one from
+the other by a handsome cupola and gateway. In these long buildings, or
+wings, to the extent at least of 200ft. the old soldiers are chiefly
+housed—that is to say, such of them as are rated in the hospital books as
+privates, corporals, and sergeants. Sixteen wards or barracks arranged
+each into 26 bed places, furnish the men with adequate accommodation;
+while the sergeants occupy cabins, closed in, one at each extremity of
+the ward, in which it is their duty to preserve order. For the captains
+and light-horse distinct lodgings are provided. At the southern
+extremity of each wing, so as to project into the water-gardens, are the
+apartments of the Governor and the Lieutenant-Governor, both comfortable
+dwellings, altogether free from ostentation, yet well fitted for the uses
+of the distinguished officers to whom the honour of presiding over the
+first of England’s military establishments may be assigned.
+
+ “Go with old Thames, view Chelsea’s glorious pile,
+ And ask the shatter’d hero whence his smiles;
+ Go view the splendid domes of Greenwich—go,
+ And own what raptures from reflection flow.”—ROGERS.
+
+The Chapel and Hall present, when examined from without, a perfect
+uniformity of appearance. Each has its plain brick front, indented with
+tall arched windows; and each appears to lean upon the noble stone
+pillars that flank the central gateway; while along that face that looks
+in upon the square, is a piazza, or covered gallery. Beneath are
+benches, on which the old men may occasionally be seen smoking their
+pipes in the heat of a summer’s day; while from either end branches off a
+passage, opening out a communication with the lesser or flanking
+quadrangles. Moreover, the cornice of this piazza bears a neat
+inscription, indicative of the purpose which the hospital is meant to
+serve, and partly commemorative of the names of the sovereigns to whom
+the country stands indebted for so noble an institution.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hall is 110 ft. in length, and 30 in width; an oblong of the best
+proportions, in length, width, and height, befitting the purposes of the
+Royal Institution. Wainscotting with compartments rise to the sills of
+the windows, and is continued to the high pace. At the entrance end,
+compartments also, with a gallery supported by ornamented cantalivers; on
+the centre of the gallery a large ornamental shield with the Royal Arms
+of Charles II. most exquisitely carved.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Over the gallery is a large allegorical picture, painted by Ward,
+representing Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, in a triumphal car,
+trampling upon the emblems of War, Anarchy, and Rebellion, whilst Victory
+is crowning him, and Peace and her attendant deities are following in her
+train. It was purposely painted for the Hospital, and a present from the
+British Institution. Concerts, in honour of Queen Anne’s coronation,
+were performed in the great Hall of the Hospital, in the year 1702, under
+the direction of Mr. Abel, singing master.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There is a statue of Charles II. in the centre of the square, cast in
+bronze, in the garb of a Roman warrior, and facing the north. It is said
+to be the production of Gibbons; but as a mere work of art, it cannot be
+very highly commended.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+With respect to the lesser or flanking squares, they are given up
+entirely to the lodgings of the officers of the establishment, to public
+offices, including clerks’ chambers, board-room, &c., and, as has just
+been stated, to the accommodation of a certain number of captains and
+light-horsemen. In both, the buildings are lower and less solid than
+those which surround the principal square. But the general character is
+the same throughout. Brick walls, inlaid with a profusion of square
+windows, all of them deep seated, and carefully touched in the mouldings;
+free-stone finishings to each angle, gateways flanked by free-stone
+pillars, and a roof universally high, and covered with grey shining
+slate, point to a period when, in the arrangement of such edifices, every
+approach to a classic model was in this country carefully eschewed.
+
+Let us return to a further description of the Hall, and also notice some
+events which have taken place in it.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Over the high table, and occupying the whole length of the western face,
+is another painting, which was designed and begun by Verrio, though
+finished by Henry Cook, representing Charles II. on horseback, surrounded
+by groups of heathen gods, with a distant view of Chelsea Hospital in the
+background. This painting was the gift of one of the Earls of Ranelagh.
+Flags and trophies, taken in battle, are suspended round the hall. These
+occupy, in a double row, the spaces that intervene between the windows,
+while in front of the music gallery, elevated above a bundle of spear
+handles, waves the Union jack. In the hall are double rows of tables,
+generally covered, as if all the inhabitants of the pile took here their
+meals; but the practice of dining together has long since died out.
+Among the officers it ceased in 1796; among the men some years
+previously.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+TRIAL OF GENERAL WHITELOCKE.—On Thursday, Jan. 30, 1808, this hall was
+prepared for the trial of this officer. The charges against him were in
+substance four, viz.:—
+
+1. Having, contrary to the tenor of instructions, in the summons to
+Buenos Ayres, required that the civil officers and magistrates should be
+prisoners.
+
+2. Exposing the army, in marching against Buenos Ayres, to a destructive
+discharge of musketry from the town.
+
+3. Not being present personally on the advance against Buenos Ayres.
+
+4. Surrendering the Fortress of Monte Video without necessity.
+
+The Court, after having proceeded with the trial for several days,
+allowed the General a week for his defence; and on the 24th of March, the
+Secretary to H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief communicated officially to
+General Whitelocke the sentence of the Court Martial, as approved by his
+Majesty, as follows:—“That the said Lieutenant-General Whitelocke be
+cashiered, and declared totally unfit and unworthy to serve his Majesty
+in any military capacity whatever.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There have been two or three Courts of Inquiry, &c., convened at
+subsequent periods, but they created nothing like the interest that was
+shewn at the time of the above trial.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The remains of the late Duke of Wellington were laid in great state in
+this hall for several days in September, 1852. Thousands of persons from
+all parts of the country, as well as many distinguished foreigners, came
+to witness the splendid but mournful spectacle. Such exhibitions,
+however, seem rather to belong to past ages than to the present period.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From the Hall to the Chapel the visitor passes across a noble vestibule
+lighted from above by a cupola, and which, besides serving as a
+communication to both apartments, constitutes the principal entrance into
+the Hospital itself. Over the altar is a fresco painting, which
+represents the Resurrection of our Saviour, sublimely described in the
+28th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. It is the production of Sebastian
+Ricci. The chapel bears the same proportions as the dining hall. It was
+consecrated by Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, on the 13th of October,
+1691. The service of plate, for the use of the altar, was given by King
+James II.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The first organ was the gift of Major Ingram; but, in 1817, a new one was
+placed in the original case, built by Gray, at the expense of four
+hundred guineas. It contained at that time 704 pipes with 12 pedal
+pipes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the chapel are deposited the standards of Tippoo Saib, the whole of
+the eagles, thirteen in number, that were taken during the war with
+France, &c. Both the chapel and hall must be visited to be fully
+appreciated, and this remark equally applies to the different wards, the
+water-garden, and indeed every part of this noble establishment.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Chelsea Hospital is, of course, designed to furnish an asylum for those
+members of the regular army alone, whom wounds, sickness, or old age, may
+have totally disabled. Its inmates are therefore, in some way or other,
+invalids, that is to say, men affected by some infirmity, which, though
+not visible to the eye of the common spectator, is by the patient himself
+abundantly felt. For the reception of those who require admission into
+it, a spacious Infirmary has been erected, where the aged patients
+receive the best medical treatment and every requisite comfort.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Amongst the chaplains during this century may be mentioned the Rev. W.
+Haggitt, M.A., the Rev. Richard Yates, D.D., the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A.,
+and the Rev. G. Matthias, M.A., who at the present time holds the
+appointment.
+
+
+
+THE HOSPITAL BURIAL GROUND, &c.
+
+
+On the east side of the Hospital, adjoining Queen’s Road East, originally
+called Jews’ Row, is the cemetery, formerly used for the interment of the
+officers and pensioners belonging to the establishment. Near the
+entrance, on the right, is the tomb of Simon Box, the first pensioner
+there buried in 1692.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There is a very droll epitaph in this burial ground, to the memory of
+William Hiseland, which states that “when an hundred years old he took
+unto him a wife.” It appears he had served in the army 80 years. He was
+born in 1620, and died in 1732, so that at his decease he was 112 years
+old. A literary gentleman, referring to the above marriage, exclaimed,
+“Oh, the centenarian wooer and antidiluvian bridegroom—of what chronology
+was his bride? Let us hope she was as silly at one end of the mortal
+story, as he was in his second childhood, at the other!”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In this ground was buried General Sir William Fawcett, K.B., Governor of
+the Hospital, who died in 1804, aged 76. His remains were attended to
+the grave by the Prince of Wales, the Dukes of York, Clarence, Kent, and
+Cambridge, and by several noblemen and general officers.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Although Dr. Monsey was not buried here, yet, as he died in the Hospital,
+we must not omit to notice so remarkable a character. Sir Robert Walpole
+assiduously cultivated his acquaintance, and the celebrated Earl of
+Chesterfield acknowledged with gratitude the benefits he had derived from
+his medical assistance.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The character of Dr. Monsey, in point of natural humour, is thought to
+have borne a near resemblance to that of Dean Swift. His classical
+abilities were indeed enviable, and his memory wonderfully retentive;
+insomuch that he was allowed to be a storehouse of anecdote. The
+exuberance of his wit, which, like the web of life, was of a mingled
+yarn, often rendered his conversation exceedingly entertaining, sometimes
+rather offensive, and at other times pointedly pathetic and instructive.
+Sir Robert Walpole knew and valued the worth of his “Norfolk Doctor,” as
+he called him; but though he knew it, he neglected it. The Prime
+Minister was very fond of billiards, at which his friend very much
+excelled him. “How happens it,” said Sir Robert, in a social hour, “that
+nobody will beat me at billiards, or contradict me, but Dr. Monsey?”
+“They get places,” said the Doctor, “I get a dinner and praise.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following anecdote is very characteristic of the Doctor’s turn of
+temper, and is said to be well attested. He lived so long in his office
+as physician to Chelsea Hospital, that, during many changes of
+Administration, the reversion of his place had been successively promised
+to several medical friends of the Paymaster-General of the Forces.
+Looking out of his window one day, and observing a gentleman below,
+examining the hospital and gardens, who he knew had secured the reversion
+of his place, the Doctor came down stairs, and going out to him, accosted
+him thus:—“Well, sir, I see you are examining your house and garden, that
+ARE TO BE, and I will assure you they are both very pleasant and very
+convenient. But I must tell you one circumstance—you are the fifth man
+that has had the reversion of the place, and I have buried them all. And
+what is more,” continued he, looking very scientifically at him, “there
+is something in your face that tells me I shall bury you too!” The event
+justified the prediction, for the gentleman died some years after; and,
+what is still more extraordinary, at the time of the Doctor’s death there
+was not a person who seems to have even solicited the promise of a
+reversion. He died in 1788, aged 94.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On a table monument is an inscription to the memory of John Wilson, Esq.,
+Deputy Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal
+Volunteers. He died of apoplexy in 1812, aged 56. The monument was
+erected by the officers of his regiment, as a token of their esteem.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Benjamin Moseley, M.D., thirty years physician to the hospital, was
+buried here in 1819, aged 73.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+General Sir David Dundas, Governor of Chelsea Hospital, was buried here
+in 1820. His funeral was attended by the Duke of York, accompanied by
+his Staff.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BURIAL OF A FEMALE DRAGOON.—Christiana Davis died at Chelsea in 1739.
+For several years she served as a dragoon, undiscovered, in the Royal
+Irish Enniskillen Regiment; but receiving a wound in her body she was
+then discovered, though her comrades had not the least suspicion of her
+being a woman. She behaved with great valour afterwards in Flanders, and
+was very useful in a battle to supply the soldiers with water and other
+necessaries, even to the mouth of a cannon. She had an allowance of one
+shilling per day, which she received till her death. She was interred,
+according to her desire, amongst the old pensioners, and three vollies
+were fired over her grave.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Hannah Snell was also buried in this ground by her own desire. She
+enlisted, in 1745, in Guise’s Regiment of Foot, in which she served for
+some time, but deserted and enlisted in the Marines. She was severely
+wounded, and, on her recovery, sent to England. Her heroic conduct
+procured for her an annual pension of £30 for life. She also procured a
+pension from Chelsea Hospital, and after her discharge continued to wear
+her uniform. At length this poor creature became insane, and was placed
+in Bethlehem Hospital, where she died.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Charles Burney, Mus.D., author of the History of Music, &c., was buried
+here in 1814, aged 88; he was organist at Chelsea Hospital, and father of
+Madame D’Arblay, the authoress of Evelina, Cecilia, and Camilla. She was
+also for many years the organist.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Many a distinguished officer and old veteran have been interred in this
+ground. Amongst the pensioners some have lived to a great age. Thomas
+Asbey, buried in 1737, aged 112.—John Rogers, 1764, aged 103.—Robert
+Cumming, 1767, aged 116.—Peter Dowling, 1768, aged 102.—Peter Burnet,
+1773, aged 107.—Joshua Cueman, 1794, it is stated, aged 123.—Richard
+Swifield, 1805, aged 105.—Abraham Moss, 1805, aged 106.—John Wolf, 1821,
+aged 107.—John Salter, 1827, aged 104. I have frequently conversed with
+the latter centenarian. In his youth he must have been a fine-built man,
+standing upwards of six feet high. He might often be seen, even within a
+short time of his death, sweeping away the autumn leaves in the walks of
+the hospital grounds, as a matter of choice. Such a circumstance
+suggests many serious reflections, which I leave to the reader to supply.
+There is also said to be an inmate at the present time, aged 106.
+
+
+
+OLD RANELAGH GARDENS.
+
+
+Adjoining the Royal Hospital, on the eastern side, stood the mansion of
+Richard, Earl of Ranelagh. This nobleman, about the year 1690, obtained
+from the Crown a large grant of land; he built a house thereon, and made
+it his principal residence till his death in 1712. In 1730 an Act was
+passed vesting this estate in trustees, and three years after the house
+and premises were sold in lots. About this period, Lacy, the patentee of
+Drury Lane Theatre, projected a plan for establishing a place of public
+entertainment on a large and splendid scale; and, in pursuance of this
+scheme, he took a lease of these premises. But it appears he soon gave
+up the undertaking, as in 1741, when the Rotunda was built, there were
+two other lessees, one of whom became a bankrupt. The property was then
+divided into 36 shares of £1000 each, the greater number of which were
+held by Sir Thomas Robinson, who built for himself a house adjoining to
+Ranelagh Gardens. Several of his friends took shares in the concern, and
+it became for a time prosperous.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rotunda was opened with a public breakfast, &c., in 1742. It was an
+imitation of the Pantheon at Rome. The external diameter was 185 ft.,
+the internal 150 ft. The entrances were by four Doric porticos opposite
+each other, and the first story was rustic; round the whole, on the
+outside, was an arcade, and over it a gallery, the stairs to which were
+at the porticos. The interior was fitted up with great taste, and from
+the ceiling descended 28 chandeliers, in two circles. Music and dancing
+were the principal attractions. From the branches of the trees that
+shaded every walk festoons of coloured lamps hung down. Royalty,
+nobility, and gentry visited it.
+
+
+
+PRESENTATION OF COLOURS TO THE CHELSEA VOLUNTEERS.
+
+
+On the 4th of January, 1804, a brilliant scene was displayed at Ranelagh,
+on the presentation of Colours to the Chelsea Royal Volunteers. About
+noon the trumpet announced the arrival of the Courtly party in three of
+his Majesty’s carriages, followed by others belonging to different
+noblemen. The company having alighted, Lady Harrington was conducted to
+her box by the Vice-Chamberlain. The Countess being seated two pairs of
+Colours were introduced, and placed on each side of the royal box. The
+King’s Colours of each regiment consisted of a plain Union standard, but
+the regimental one, which was designed and executed by the Queen and
+Princesses, was a superb piece of needlework, the ground being a rich
+purple silk, having in the centre his Majesty’s arms, embroidered and
+surrounded with sprigs of variegated tints and figures. At the lower
+corners were the letters “C. R.,” and under the armorial bearings the
+words, “Queen’s Royal Volunteers.” {199} After prayers and a suitable
+discourse, Lady Harrington thus addressed the officers:—
+
+ “Gentlemen,—Her Majesty having been graciously pleased to confer upon
+ me the honour of presenting to you these Colours, I am anxious to
+ express how highly I am flattered by this distinguished mark of the
+ Queen’s favour. At a time of all others the most awful, when our
+ country is threatened with the unprovoked attack of a most implacable
+ enemy, and when you have evinced your readiness to stand forward in
+ the defence of everything that is most dear to us all, what can be
+ more gratifying to you than being so particularly distinguished by
+ her Majesty, and receiving your Colours from her? Animated as your
+ hearts must be in gratitude to the Queen, in addition to every other
+ noble sentiment that has guided you, from the moment of the first
+ offer of your services, it would not only be superfluous, but
+ presumptuous in me, to add anything more upon the occasion than the
+ expression of every fervent wish for your success in the event of the
+ enemy carrying his threats into execution; confident that no power,
+ however strenuously exerted, will ever wrest these Colours from you
+ while there is yet left a man in your corps to defend them.”
+
+To this speech a suitable answer was made by Lord Hobart, who expressed,
+in behalf of the corps, the most patriotic and grateful sentiments.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Subsequent Directors turned Ranelagh into mere Assembly and Concert
+Rooms, and the gardens for a display of fire-works. It soon ceased to be
+an attractive promenade, and the brilliant display of beauty it had made
+for years was seen no more.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In 1805 an order was made for taking down Ranelagh House, which had been
+the residence of Sir Thomas Robinson, and the Rotunda. The furniture was
+sold by auction, and the entire buildings. General Wilford became the
+purchaser of a portion of the land, on which he erected a large house,
+and resided in it for many years. The ruins of some of the original
+buildings belonging to Ranelagh Gardens remained for a considerable time
+afterwards. In the front of General Wilford’s house, on the north, some
+excellent cricket matches were played, for Chelsea then abounded with
+first-rate cricketers.
+
+At length the Crown purchased General Wilford’s house and the land
+adjoining it, whereon the Rotunda formerly stood, for the use of Chelsea
+Hospital, and when Lord John Russell (now Earl Russell) became
+Paymaster-General, he caused the Ranelagh field, which was near the
+river, to be laid out into portions or lots, for the old men to occupy,
+each as his private garden. The remaining portion of the land of
+Ranelagh, on the east, has since been added to the Hospital Gardens, and
+presents one of the most picturesque specimens of gardening in the
+vicinity of London. To these gardens the public have free access. Along
+the side of them there is an excellent road leading to the Suspension
+Bridge, and on the opposite side a splendid range of Barracks erected
+within the last few years.
+
+
+
+THE ORIGINAL CHELSEA BUNHOUSE.
+
+
+Chelsea was famous for its buns from the commencement of the last
+century. Swift, who lodged in Church Lane (street), and used to walk to
+and from town, “two good miles, and just 5748 steps,” writes to Stella,
+in 1712, “Pray, are not they fine buns sold here in our town? * * * Was
+it not r-r-r-r-r-r rare Chelsea buns? I bought one in my walk.” This
+old bunhouse was a rather long building of one storey, with a colonnade
+in front, projecting over the pavement, the dwelling-house attached to it
+standing in the rear, with a large and well-kept garden behind it. It
+was situated in what was called Grosvenor Row, known as such at the time
+the bunhouse was pulled down, the site of which is a little eastward
+beyond the boundary line of this parish, and not far distant from Chelsea
+Hospital. George II. and Queen Caroline, and the princesses, bought buns
+here; as did George III. and Queen Charlotte, who presented to the
+proprietor a silver half gallon mug, and five guineas in it. Here, on
+Good Friday morning, £250 has been taken for buns; and so lately as 1839
+no less than 240,000 buns were sold here on Good Friday. This may appear
+to many an incredulous number; but few persons at the present time can
+form an adequate idea of the immense demand for them.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. J. B. Owen, of St. Jude’s, Chelsea, in one of his admirable
+lectures, delivered in 1860, humourously observed, “There is no poetry
+more delicate, nor was street music more popular, than the old bellman’s
+cry—‘Smoking hot, piping hot, Chelsea buns!’ Picture the enthusiasm of a
+local rhymer thus immortalising the article:—
+
+ O flour of the ovens! a zephyr in paste!
+ Fragrant as honey, and sweeter in taste!
+ Hail to the bellman, who sings as he runs,
+ ‘Smoking hot, piping hot, Chelsea buns!’
+
+ As flaky and white as if baked by the light,
+ As the flesh of an infant, soft, doughy, and slight;
+ The public devour thee like Goths and Huns,
+ ‘Smoking hot, piping hot, Chelsea buns!’
+
+ Prelates, and princes, and lieges, and kings,
+ Hail for the bellman, who tinkles and sings,
+ Bouche of the highest and lowliest ones,
+ ‘Smoking hot, piping hot, Chelsea buns!’
+
+ Like the home of your birth, or the scent of a flower,
+ Or the blush of the morning on field or bower,
+ There’s a charm in the sound which nobody shuns,
+ Of ‘Smoking hot, piping hot, Chelsea buns!’
+
+This bunhouse had become so famous, not only throughout London, but for
+several miles round it, that not to visit Chelsea on Good Friday, and
+purchase some of the “rare buns,” was considered as unaccountable amongst
+a certain class—such as the servants of the nobility and gentry, shopmen,
+mechanics, and apprentices—as it would have been for them to acknowledge
+that they had never heard of Greenwich Fair. But this part of Chelsea,
+and the adjoining “Five Fields,” now Eaton and Belgrave Squares, actually
+did represent a minor Greenwich Fair. From my own personal observation I
+should say, provided the weather was favourable, there were generally on
+Good Fridays nearly 200,000 persons collected in the immediate
+neighbourhood. It was a fair to all intents and purposes. In the “Five
+Fields” there were drinking booths, swings, gingerbread stalls, nine-pins
+being played, gaming, and all the other vicious “entertainments” which
+annually disgraced the metropolis in former times. Such was the pressure
+of the immense crowd at the bunhouse, from about three o’clock in the
+morning till five in the afternoon, that the only mode of supplying the
+demand for buns was by obtaining them through apertures in the shutters.
+The bunhouse, however, was very respectably conducted, and such scenes as
+I have described were only to be witnessed on the day previously named—a
+day set apart to commemorate the most momentous event, as regards its
+consequences, in the history of the world.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+There were many things very attractive at the original bunhouse. In it
+was a collection of pictures, models, grotesque, figures, and modern
+antiques. In a conspicuous position were two leaden figures of
+grenadiers of 1745; a plaster figure of William, Duke of Cumberland; a
+painting of the King and Queen seated; a model of the bunhouse, and of
+the exploits of a bottle conjurer. This celebrated building was pulled
+down some years since, and with it the olden charm fled.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Having thus arrived at the eastern boundary of the parish, I trace my
+steps through Queen’s Road East, formerly called Jews’ Row. Many years
+ago this road, for scenes of depravity, was as bad as any part of the
+East end of London; but it happily was confined to this limited locality,
+and arose from the circumstance that the Out-Pensioners from nearly all
+parts of the country had to come to Chelsea Hospital to receive their
+pensions, and disabled soldiers to pass the Board, &c., previously to
+being discharged from the army. The Government at length wisely altered
+the arrangement for paying the Out-Pensioners, and they now receive their
+pensions in districts nearer to where they dwell, which prevents their
+being put to the expense of coming to London, being robbed by “sharpers,”
+or beset by prostitution. Jews’ Row, and its former scenes,
+comparatively speaking, have passed away, and what remains of vice and
+crime, in some of the crammed courts leading from it to Turks’ Row, is
+gradually disappearing, through the exertions of the Rev. J. B. Owen,
+M.A., of St. Jude’s Church, the District Visitors, and other agencies.
+These courts will probably be cleared away before many years have
+elapsed, and Queen’s Road East will then become one of the leading and
+most attractive thoroughfares in the parish of Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+One very great improvement took place some few years since. The Burial
+Ground was enclosed by a high dismal-looking old wall, which was pulled
+down, and a new one built, not more than three feet high, on which a neat
+iron-railing is placed, thus removing much vice and preventing many
+robberies, and rendering the road perfectly safe.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the year 1793 a horrible murder was committed in a house fronting the
+North Court of the Royal Hospital. The victims were Mr. Silva and Mary
+Williams, his servant. It appears to have been perpetrated in the
+morning, between half-past eight and twelve o’clock.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+George Saunders, at the inquest, stated that when the alarm was given he
+entered the house, and, on lifting up the servant, Mary Williams, there
+were signs of life, but she expired in two or three minutes. Mr. Silva
+was alive, but speechless, and died shortly afterwards. He found in a
+closet in the kitchen two iron chests, unlocked, and empty. In the front
+room, one pair of stairs, a bureau open, with the drawers out, and the
+papers in confusion, and on the floor a quantity of bedding, folded up.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. North, surgeon, gave a fearful account of the wounds received, and
+the jury, after a lengthened investigation, found a verdict of wilful
+murder by persons unknown.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A nephew of Mr. Silva was taken up on suspicion, and examined at Bow
+Street. He shewed, by respectable evidence, that he was at home when the
+murder was committed, and was discharged. This person, however,
+afterwards committed suicide, and he was buried in the highway at
+Chelsea, leaving great doubts of his innocency of the crime.
+
+
+
+Royal Military Asylum.
+
+
+On the site of the Royal Military Asylum stood a capital mansion, the
+residence for many years of the Cadogan family, and afterwards the
+property of Sir Walter Farquhar, Bart., of whom it was purchased for the
+purpose of erecting the present Institution.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Royal Military Asylum for the children of soldiers of the regular
+army is situated near the Royal Hospital, on the north east. It was
+built by Mr. Copland, from the designs of Mr. Sanders. On the 19th of
+June, 1801, the first stone of this structure was laid by the Duke of
+York, accompanied by many general officers, and a considerable number of
+the nobility. The motives which gave rise to the establishment, and the
+principles upon which it is founded, are alike honourable to the present
+enlightened age, and congenial with the soundest maxims of policy,
+humanity, and benevolence. “The necessity of such an Institution will
+appear obvious,” says Mr. Faulkner, “when we consider the helpless and
+forlorn condition of many among these orphan objects of commiseration,
+who in this comfortable asylum are clothed, have good wholesome food,
+acquire a decent education, are taught the principles of Christianity,
+and, finally, are made useful in whatever course of life they may be
+enabled to adopt.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ground in front of this spacious building is laid out in grass plots
+and gravel walks, and planted with trees. The edifice forms three sides
+of a quadrangle; it is built of brick, with an elegant stone balustrade
+in the centre of the western front, which is ornamented with a noble
+portico of the Doric order, consisting of four columns, which support a
+large and well-proportioned pediment. On the frieze is the following
+inscription:—“The Royal Military Asylum for the Children of Soldiers of
+the Regular Army.” Over it are the Imperial arms. The north and south
+wings are joined to the principal front by a colonade, which forms a good
+shelter for the boys in wet weather.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The vestibule is in the centre of the grand front. On the left and right
+are the dining halls, 80 ft. long and 30 ft. wide. Over these are the
+schoolrooms, of the same dimensions. The committee-room is over the
+vestibule.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The north wing contains the apartments of the Commandant, Surgeon,
+Quartermaster, and dormitories for the boys; the south wing, apartments
+for the Adjutant and Secretary, the Masters of the Normal and Model
+Schools, and dormitories.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the south of the grounds stands the Normal School of the Royal
+Military Asylum, in which reside the Students who are being trained for
+Schoolmasters in Her Majesty’s army.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chapel was consecrated in 1824, and is calculated to contain the
+whole of the establishment, with accommodation for upwards of 100
+visitors.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The girls were removed to Southampton in 1823, and the boys in that
+institution removed to Chelsea, so that now the latter contains only
+boys, and the former only girls.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the 20th of June, 1805, George III., the Queen, with the Princesses
+and Royal Dukes, visited the R.M. Asylum. They inspected several of the
+apartments, dining hall, &c., and his Majesty said it was one of the best
+institutions in the country. This was a regular gala day for the
+children.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands paid a visit to the Royal
+Military Asylum in the year 1824. Their Majesties were attended by
+Major-General Sir Willoughby Gordon, and appeared much delighted with the
+establishment, the nature of which was explained to them by the
+interpreter. They were received by the full band playing “God save the
+King,” and were highly gratified with the skill of the juvenile
+musicians. After having seen the children at dinner, their Majesties
+witnessed the various gymnastic exercises, and at their departure were
+saluted by the hearty cheers of the youthful regiment, which was drawn up
+before them.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+His late Royal Highness the Duke of York was the founder of this
+Institution, and constantly bestowed his best exertions in promoting the
+welfare, and increasing the comforts, of the helpless inmates nurtured
+within its walls. On his last visit, the children crowded round their
+benefactor, and gave him three hearty cheers. Such was the effect
+produced by it that the Duke could not refrain from shedding tears; and,
+patting the head of the foremost boy, he ejaculated, as he passed down
+the steps, “God bless you, my lads.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the 7th of January, 1827, a sermon was preached by the Rev. G. Clark,
+M.A., chaplain, on the demise of the Royal Founder, at the conclusion of
+which he thus addressed the children:—“I need not tell you that it has
+pleased Almighty God to take away from this world the President of this
+Institution, the Duke of York. He was the firm friend of your fathers,
+and also a kind and steady friend to you, their children. Whatever
+advantages you enjoy in this Asylum, you owe, under Divine Providence, to
+the Duke of York. He was the founder of this Institution, and by his
+recommendations and exertions it was begun and completed. Many of you
+will remember this good friend who is now taken from us. A few months
+ago you beheld him walk through your ranks; you saw in his countenance
+the pleasure he felt from witnessing the healthy and creditable
+appearance of so many children of British soldiers. I exhort you to hold
+his memory in your hearts and affections; show your gratitude by
+improving the advantages he has given to you in this Asylum, and by doing
+your duty to God and man when you go forth into the world.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The following tribute to the memory of the Duke of York was written by
+Dr. Veitch, at that time physician to the Chelsea Dispensary:—“The
+knowledge which his late Royal Highness possessed of human nature, and
+what was becoming the character of British soldiers, induced him to
+impress on their minds a system of discipline at once correct and
+conveying lofty feelings; so that men thus trained were at all times
+ready to prefer death to subjugation. We may here say, with truth, that
+to the love of his country and the army he has prematurely fallen a
+victim. No self-gratification, no pleasures, were ever by him allowed to
+interfere with the duties he owed to the army and his country, and
+however late his hour of going to rest, he was invariably the first man
+at his post in the morning. We find individuals who are distinguished as
+statesmen, as admirals, as generals, but who are without the smallest
+pretensions to true greatness, because their talents and their courage
+are not blended with the chivalrous, the gallant, and finer inspirations
+flowing from the heart. Such men are generally anxious enough that their
+services should be appreciated by their Sovereign, while they overlook
+what they owe to others who have mainly contributed to their fame and to
+their fortune. The late illustrious Duke had no such narrowness; his
+soul was surrounded with generous and delicate attributes, rendering all
+periods of his splendid career utterly inaccessible to deeds of darkness,
+and also ever ready to expand to the light of truth, to the claims of
+justice and of humanity; and he is therefore eminently entitled to the
+character of a great man; because his high attainments in military
+affairs were combined with an exalted and refined sense of courage and of
+honour.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Lieutenant-Colonel George Williamson, the first Commandant of the Royal
+Military Asylum, died Sept. 6, 1812, and his remains were interred in the
+Burial Ground of the Royal Hospital on the 11th of that month. In
+consequence of the respect in which his memory was held by his Royal
+Highness the Commander in Chief, and the Commissioners of the Asylum, it
+was determined that he should be honoured with a military funeral; and
+his body was followed to the grave by the above-mentioned royal and
+illustrious personages. The procession was received, at the front
+entrance of the Royal Hospital, by the officers of that establishment,
+and conducted by the chaplains to the Chapel, where the funeral service
+was read by the Rev. G. Clark, and several psalms were sung by the
+children. The body was then carried to the burial ground in the same
+order, and the remaining part of the ceremony performed; the Duke of
+York, the Commissioners, officers, and children of the Institution,
+surrounding the grave. The whole was conducted with the greatest order
+and solemnity, and presented a very impressive scene. Since the erection
+of the Chapel, a handsome monument has been placed therein to the memory
+of this meritorious officer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+About the year 1810 part of the glebe opposite to the Royal Military
+Asylum was purchased, under the authority of an Act of Parliament, for
+the use of this Institution; and other land, at Merton, in Surrey, was
+bought with the money as glebe to the Rectory of Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In concluding this brief description of the Royal Military Asylum, it may
+justly be observed that the contemplation of such a noble fabric is
+calculated to excite the liveliest emotions of gratitude for having been
+born in a country which abounds with charitable institutions. To the
+soldier it must continually afford the most pleasing prospects for the
+comfort and support of his infant children, and it will induce him to
+serve, if possible, with greater confidence and energy, feeling assured
+that if he falls in battle his country has provided a home for his
+helpless children.
+
+
+
+ST. JUDE’S CHURCH.
+
+
+This Church is situated in Turks’ Row, almost adjoining the extreme
+southern side of the Royal Military Asylum. The first stone of the
+edifice was laid in August, 1843, and it was consecrated and opened for
+Divine Service in June, 1844. The Rev. John Patterson, M.A., was the
+first Incumbent, and on his leaving Chelsea, the Rev. Shadwell Morley
+Barkworth, M.A., succeeded him. The present Incumbent is the Rev. J. B.
+Owen, M.A., who has laboured most zealously in the District some years.
+To his indefatigable exertions, and to the visitations of the District
+Visitors, &c., connected with the Church, much of the demoralization
+which generally prevailed in the numerous crowded courts, lying between
+Turks’ Row and Queen’s Road East, has been removed. Attached to the
+Church are National, Free, and Infant Schools, each of which are very
+well attended. A portion of the children belonging to the Hans Town
+Industrial School are here accommodated with sittings. The Church will
+hold about 900 persons.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Proceeding in an easterly direction we arrive at what was formerly known
+as White Lion Street. Here very considerable improvements have been
+effected. The whole of one side of this street has been pulled down, by
+which means there is now a good road from the Suspension Bridge to
+Knightsbridge.
+
+
+
+CHELSEA CHAPEL.
+
+
+This Chapel was erected in 1865, and is situated on a part of the site we
+have just described, adjoining Lower Sloane Street. The Church
+worshipping within its sacred walls formerly occupied Paradise Chapel,
+Queen’s Road West, which still remains, and which was originally a school
+room belonging to a scholastic establishment, which occupied for many
+years the site of Calthorpe Place. It is still retained by the members
+of the above Church as a Ragged School.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chapel is a plain white brick building, without any particular
+attempt at architectural display. Mr. James Cubitt was the architect.
+It will seat probably 1000 persons. There is a schoolroom underneath the
+Chapel, which will contain about 600 adults, in which there is a Day
+School for Girls and Infants in the week, and the Sunday School is also
+held in it, which numbers about 200. The Rev. Frank H. White, who
+resides in Hemus Terrace, is the Minister, and is much esteemed not only
+by the members of the church, but by all with whom he is associated in
+life.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I must now proceed to Sloane Street, where first “I drew the breath of
+life,” and which is consequently endeared to me by recollections of the
+very earliest events of my life.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. Holland, in the year 1777, took a lease of one hundred acres of land,
+called in old records Blacklands, of Charles, Lord Cadogan, which now
+consists of Sloane Street, Cadogan Place, Hans Place, Exeter Street,
+Ellis Street, D’Oyley Street, Sloane Square, George Street, &c. The
+buildings were begun just at the commencement of the American war, owing
+to which their progress was much impeded.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+A very great improvement has at last been made at Grosvenor Bridge, in
+ancient times called Blandel Bridge. Its name was probably corrupted to
+“Bloody Bridge,” in consequence of the numbers of robberies and murders
+formerly committed on this spot. The entrance here into the parish, at
+the eastern end of Sloane Square, has been after years of delay
+considerably widened, and some spacious shops erected. There is also now
+an Underground Railway Station, and the West London Commercial Bank has
+likewise extensive premises in Sloane Square, both of which will confer
+very great advantages on the inhabitants of Chelsea, and the public in
+general.
+
+
+
+Trinity Church, Upper Chelsea.
+
+
+This Church is situated at the south end of Sloane Street, near Sloane
+Square. It is a brick structure of Gothic architecture, the western
+front consisting of a centre flanked by two wide towers rising to a level
+with the roof, and terminating with lofty octagonal spires. A large
+entrance door occupies the space from tower to tower to the height of the
+first division, giving access both to nave and aisles, over which stands
+a large window separated by two mullions, with trefoil headings slightly
+ornamented; above this is placed a circular stone surrounded by tracery,
+intended, probably, at some future period for a clock. The towers to the
+first blocking course are plain, but above they are enriched with
+trefoil-headed windows, divided into two compartments, slender buttresses
+separating the towers octagonally to the summit, crowned by a battlement
+and surmounted by obtuse-headed pinnacles. At each side of the centre
+great door there is a smaller one for ingress and egress to the aisles
+and galleries.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The interior of the Church presents no peculiar feature requiring special
+notice, at the same time it possesses in its design all that is essential
+to impress the mind with the sacred character of the edifice. Those who
+are unable to pay for a sitting have comfortable free seats provided for
+them. The Church will probably accommodate 1500 persons. Attached to
+it, on the right, is a spacious schoolroom, designed to correspond with
+the architecture of the exterior of the Church. The whole of the schools
+are very well attended.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The late Rev. H. Blunt, M.A., was the first Incumbent, and when he
+resigned the Rev. Richard Burgess, B.D., the present Rector of the
+Church, succeeded him. Trinity Church, from its consecration in 1830,
+has always been very numerously attended.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the Church are several tablets, amongst them is one to the memory of
+the Rev. H. Blunt.
+
+
+
+SLOANE TERRACE WESLEYAN CHAPEL.
+
+
+This Chapel was built in 1811. It is a neat and substantial edifice.
+The galleries extend round three sides of the interior, and the whole
+will accommodate about 1200 persons. The erection of this place of
+worship is to be attributed to the liberality of several beneficent
+gentlemen, among whom may be especially mentioned Joseph Butterworth,
+Esq., who, at that time, had summer apartments in Chelsea. The attention
+of these Christian friends had been arrested by observing a large number
+of the middling and poorer classes, in the vicinity of Jews’ Row,
+wandering about upon the mornings of the Sabbath. They accordingly took
+a large room, or small chapel, at nearly the end of George Street, and
+subsequently erected Sloane Terrace Chapel. The congregation and the
+members rapidly increased, and at various times many alterations have
+been made so as to render the chapel and schoolrooms more commodious. It
+is a pleasing thought, that, amidst a vast amount of Sabbath desecration,
+there is not a Church or Chapel in the parish, where the Sabbath School
+is not well attended.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Nearly opposite to Sloane Terrace, in Sloane Street, resided for many
+years H. W. Burgess, Esq., a most accomplished artist. His gentlemanly
+deportment and piety endeared him to a large circle of friends. There
+was scarcely a benevolent society in the parish to which he was not a
+contributor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Thomas Hoblyn, Esq., who for many years was the Rector’s Churchwarden at
+St. Luke’s Parish Church, occupied a house at the corner of Cadogan
+Street, Sloane Street. He was one of several newly-appointed
+magistrates, about the time of the passing of the first Local Act of
+Parliament for the better assessing and collecting the Poor’s Rate, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The above house is now occupied as an Industrial Home for Girls, one of
+the many admirable institutions which reflect so much credit upon that
+part of Chelsea.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Captain G. Bague, R.N., resided also in Sloane Street, nearly opposite
+Cadogan Place, for a long period. He was made a magistrate for the
+county at the same time as Mr. Hoblyn.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The late Rev. H. Blunt, M.A., resided for a considerable time in Sloane
+Street.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The late Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, Bart., resided for some years at
+72, Sloane Street. He died in 1869, at St. Petersburgh, after a short
+illness, which unexpectedly proved fatal, at the age of 58. He was born
+in London in 1810, was the only son of the late Mr. Charles Wentworth
+Dilke, chief proprietor and at one time editor of the _Athenæum_
+newspaper, and subsequently the manager of the _Daily News_, and who died
+about eight years ago. His mother was Maria, daughter of Mr. E. Walker.
+He was educated at Westminster School, and subsequently at Trinity Hall,
+Cambridge, where he took his degree in Law instead of Arts. In early
+life he was associated with the literary labours of his father, whom he
+largely aided by his cultivated tastes, his wide range of information,
+sound judgment, and habits of business. He was one of the earliest
+promoters of the first Great Exhibition, and, indeed, acted as the
+leading member of the Executive Committee. The fact of his occupying
+such a position naturally brought Mr. Dilke into close and frequent
+contact with the late Prince Consort, who was much struck with the
+ability he displayed, and at whose suggestion the honour of knighthood
+was offered to him in recognition of his services. That honour, however,
+he declined; and with it refused all pecuniary remuneration, wishing his
+services to be purely honorary. Her Majesty, however, resolved that he
+should not be wholly unrewarded, sent to Mrs. Dilke a handsome
+diamond-bracelet, which, no doubt, will become an heirloom in the Dilke
+family. Mr. Dilke was also associated with the second Great Exhibition
+as one of the five Royal Commissioners appointed by Her Majesty. It has
+always been understood also that the resuscitation of the Royal
+Horticultural Society of London has been in a very great measure due to
+his exertions as one of the most active of its vice-presidents. It will
+be remembered that almost immediately after the death of the Prince
+Consort Her Majesty was pleased to confer a baronetcy on Mr. Dilke in
+recognition of the Prince’s friendship and personal regard for him. Sir
+Charles Wentworth Dilke sat in the last Parliament in the Liberal
+interest for Wallingford, defeating Mr. Serjeant Malins (who has since
+attained the Judicial Bench), but he lost his seat at the last general
+election. The late baronet, who was a magistrate for Westminster and for
+the county of Middlesex, married in 1840 Mary, a daughter of Captain
+Chatfield, but was left a widower a few years ago. By her he has left a
+son, born in 1843, Mr. (now Sir) Charles Wentworth Dilke, of Trinity
+Hall, Cambridge, who was returned at the last election as one of the
+members, in the Liberal interest, for the newly-enfranchised constituency
+of Chelsea, and another son, Mr. Ashton Wentworth Dilke, born 1850.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The present Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, Bart., M.P., resides at his late
+father’s house in Sloane Street. He has extensively travelled in
+America, and has published a very interesting work, entitled “Greater
+Britain,” and is the author of several pamphlets on social and political
+topics.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE PAVILION, HANS PLACE.—A few particulars respecting this once
+beautiful estate will no doubt be interesting to many of the readers of
+this work. When Mr. Holland took the lease of the land, formerly known
+as “Blacklands,” now Upper Chelsea, he reserved to himself 21 acres of
+it, on which he built an elegant house for his own residence. This was
+called the Pavilion, and it was purchased of Mr. Holland’s executors by
+Peter Denys, Esq., and became afterwards the property of his relict, the
+Right Hon. Lady Charlotte Denys, who resided in it with her family for
+some years afterwards. It consisted of three sides of a quadrangle, open
+to the north, and the approach was from Hans Place. The house was
+superbly furnished.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In the library, on two mahogany pedestals, stood two busts in statuary
+marble of Pitt and Fox, by Nollekens. In the dining room were two
+excellent pictures by Fuseli; one a vision of Lady Jane Grey, before her
+execution, from a manuscript letter of Bishop Latimer to Dr. Bullinger;
+the other a scene from the tragedy of King Lear. To which might be added
+many others of equal worth.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The south front faced an extensive and beautifully-planted lawn, gently
+rising to the level of the colonnade and principal floor. This front was
+originally built as a model for the Pavilion at Brighton, and was
+ornamented by a colonnade of the Doric order, extending the whole length
+of the building.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+On the west side of the lawn was an Ice-house, round which was erected an
+admirable representation of the ruins of an ancient Priory, in which the
+appearance of age and decay was strikingly faithful. The Gothic
+stone-work was brought from the ancient demolished residence of Cardinal
+Wolsey, at Esher, in Surrey. The lawn was ornamented by a fine sheet of
+water, which produced a most pleasing effect. The Priory displayed
+considerable variety of fanciful intricate paths and scenery, profusely
+ornamented with shrubs, and had a private communication with the house by
+the walks of the shrubbery.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Lady Charlotte Denys gave annually a treat to the children of the “Hans
+Town Schools,” &c., and had booths erected in which they partook of tea,
+whilst others contained fruit and playthings to amuse them. On these
+occasions the inhabitants were admitted to witness the pleasing juvenile
+scene.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+HANS PLACE, SLOANE STREET.—Miss Landon (L.E.L.) was born in “snug Hans
+Place” in 1802, and spent the greater portion of her life in it. She
+went to school at No. 22, kept by Miss Rowden, who published “A Poetical
+Introduction to the Study of Botany,” and “The Pleasures of Friendship,”
+and at length became the Countess of St. Queutin.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Among the inmates of the same house have been Lady Caroline Lamb, who
+married the Hon. W. Lamb, afterwards Viscount Melbourne, Miss Mitford,
+Lady Bulwer, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wigan, the talented artistes, resided for some time
+in Hans Place.
+
+
+
+ST. SAVIOUR’S CHURCH.
+
+
+This Church is situated a little to the north of Hans Place, and near to
+Walton Street. The exterior has no particular pretensions to
+architectural display. The interior is neat, and possesses a greater
+degree of architectural design. It will seat probably more than 1000
+persons. The Rev. W. Niven, M.A., was the first Incumbent, and retained
+it until recently, when the Rev. George Weldon, M.A., succeeded him. Of
+Mr. Niven it may justly be said that he was zealous and faithful, kind to
+the poor, and respected by all classes. There are excellent schools and
+many charitable societies which are liberally supported by the
+contributions of the congregation.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+CADOGAN PLACE.—These capital houses were principally erected by Mr. W.
+Whitehead, sen., on part of the land leased originally to Mr. Holland, as
+previously mentioned. Amongst the residents at different periods may be
+selected the names of Capt. Acklom, R.N.; Thomas Bryan, Esq.; W. B.
+France, Esq.; each of whom were made magistrates for the county at the
+same time as Mr. Hoblyn and Capt. Bague; C. Hopkinson, Esq.; H.
+Warburton, Esq., M.P.; Sir William Clay, M.P.; Dr. Veitch; the Rev.
+Richard Burgess, and the Rev. J. B. Owen.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+In Little Cadogan Place Mr. William Whitehead, jun., lived for a great
+many years. He was an extensive builder, and occupied a very prominent
+position in the parish.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+BOTANIC GARDENS, SLOANE STREET.—This garden was first planned and laid
+out in 1807, by Mr. Salisbury. The extent of ground was about six acres,
+and formed a delightful promenade for company. In the original plan the
+whole collection of plants was arranged according to the system of
+Linnæus, and was disposed of in seventeen different compartments. When
+Mr. Tate, in the year 1820, took possession of the premises, the
+inhabitants, wishing to make it a public promenade, the above arrangement
+was entirely superseded, and the interior of the ground laid out and
+converted into a Nursery. Mr. Tate, however, still devoted the hothouses
+and greenhouses to the raising of curious and rare exotics. Mr. Tuck,
+nurseryman and seedsman, is now in possession of a portion of the ground,
+but the whole presents a very different appearance to what it did many
+years ago.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHAPEL, situated in Cadogan Street, was built in 1811,
+by voluntary subscriptions. Previous to the erection of this Chapel, the
+Irish poor and others in Chelsea, as well as the Roman Catholic veterans
+in the Royal Hospital, had not any place to resort to on Sundays, or at
+such other times as they deemed it necessary to attend. Besides, there
+were several families in the locality who considered the erection of the
+Chapel indispensable. The Clergyman’s house adjoins the Chapel, and was
+built at the expense of the Rev. Abbé Voyaux de Franous, D.D. On the
+south of Cadogan Street, some short distance west of the Chapel, are the
+Convent, the Schools, and the Burial Ground, the latter being now closed
+for interments.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Upon the site of the west end of Cadogan Street stood an ancient house,
+inhabited, in Bowack’s time, by Lady Matthews; it was afterwards known
+for many years as the Marlborough Tavern and Cricket Grounds. It is
+probable that the house was first established as a tavern during the
+life-time of the great Duke of Marlborough, who, it is said, resided at
+one time in Chelsea; hence Blenheim Street, &c., all contiguous.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The old Admiral Keppel Inn, with its tea gardens, was pulled down in
+1856, on the site of which is now a large tavern.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+CHELSEA COMMON was called in ancient records Chelsea Heath. It was
+bounded on the north by the Fulham Road; on the east by Blacklands Lane,
+now Marlborough Road; on the south by College Place, abutting on the
+King’s Road; and on the west by Sydney Street. It was attached to the
+Manor. Certain ancient houses, cottages, and farms, had a right of
+pasturage for forty cows and twenty heifers. To keep these there was
+always a cowkeeper, whose business it was to mark the cattle, to drive
+home the cows at night to the several owners, and to impound all cattle
+unmarked, or any horses which broke into the Common, or were found there.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+When the Old Church was to be rebuilt, the Common was enclosed by the
+consent of Charles Cheyne, Esq., Lord of the Manor, and the several
+proprietors, for 21 years, to defray part of the charges, by a lease
+bearing date March 1674, and thereby let to George Hill and Francis
+Guildford, who enclosed it, and quietly enjoyed it till 1695, when it was
+thrown open again. It would be an unnecessary waste of space to notice
+what took place for some years afterwards.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+At the commencement of the present century, however, the Lords of the
+Manor, the Rector, and the other proprietors, let the Common on building
+leases; after which the leases were found defective, by reason of one of
+the proprietors being under age, and it being considered that the then
+Rector could not bind his successors. An Act of Parliament was therefore
+obtained, which confirmed the leases and made them effectual.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Common (as was) has been for many years covered with houses,
+comprising Keppel Street, Whitehead’s Grove, College Street, Marlborough
+Square, Leader Street, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The principal entrance to the Brompton County Court is in Whitehead’s
+Grove. The house was formerly occupied by the Rev. Dr. Roberts, who gave
+instruction to a limited number of young gentlemen who resided with him.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Catholic Apostolic Church is situated in College Street, near to
+Whitehead’s Grove. The exterior has some claim to architectural design,
+although the entrance at the side is small, and there are no windows to
+give relief to its massive appearance. There is ample light, however, in
+the interior of the structure, and it is in every respect commodious.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The spacious Drill Hall belonging to the 1st Middlesex Engineer
+Volunteers is also in College Street, near to the Fulham Road, where
+recruits are enlisted.
+
+
+
+MARLBOROUGH CHAPEL.
+
+
+The old saying, “Where there is a will there is a way,” was never more
+clearly exemplified than in the erection of this chapel, which occupies
+the northern corner of Marlborough Square, and fully warrants the
+inscription engraven on its summit, “This is the Lord’s doing, it is
+marvellous in our eyes.” The necessity of having a place of worship in
+the Methodist connexion had long been felt by many in the neighbourhood,
+and a room was consequently taken in Pond Place, but as it proved
+unsuitable for the purpose, Mr. Cripps, of Keppel Street, was induced to
+open his large workshop for a Thursday evening service, and having
+obtained a minister from the Hinde Street Circuit to preach the first
+sermon, was amply repaid for his kindness by a very crowded and attentive
+congregation. Mr. Hunt, an active and zealous member, commenced a class
+on the following Sunday afternoon, which increased so rapidly as to make
+him extremely anxious for the purchase of a spot of ground for a chapel,
+and after many disappointments, and much discouragement, succeeded in
+obtaining the present site. The difficulty of raising funds for its
+erection was a subject of great moment, but, on communicating with many
+friends, their offers of assistance were so numerous, and accompanied
+with such generosity, that all doubt as to the result was at once
+removed. In a few weeks promises were made, and fulfilled, of all kinds
+of materials for its erection, both externally and internally, and, aided
+by the gratuitous labours of many devoted followers, was completed and
+opened July 30, 1849, about five months from its commencement. It is a
+neat and commodious structure, and will hold about 400 persons. It has
+lately undergone several alterations and improvements. There is an
+excellent Sunday School attached to the chapel, at which there is an
+average attendance of nearly 300 children.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Brompton District Letter Sorting Post Office is situated nearly
+opposite to the northern side of St. Luke’s Cemetery. It was erected a
+few years ago, and is well adapted and arranged for the intended
+purposes.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Near to Sydney Street, and to the north of St. Luke’s Church, was
+formerly situated a solitary small house, known as Cock’s Hall. It was
+said to have been built by Captain Cock, a petty officer in the Royal
+Hospital. On a stone in the front of it was an inscription, “Built in
+1710, rebuilt in 1767.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Dr. Biber, author of “The Life of Pestalozzi,” and editor of the _John
+Bull_ newspaper, resided for some time in Sydney Street, as did also
+Thomas Wright, Esq., the antiquary and historical writer.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Henry Warren, Esq., President of the New Society of Water Colour
+Painters, resided for some time opposite St. Luke’s Church, and at a
+subsequent period at the corner of Church Street, which house has been
+recently pulled down.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+From the periodical publications of the time, and from other sources, it
+appears the following persons have resided in this parish at various
+periods:—
+
+Robert Ratcliffe, the first Earl of Sussex of that family, and Lord High
+Chamberlain of England, died at his palace at Chelsea, November 26, 1542.
+
+Robert Viscount Fitzwalter was created Earl of Sussex by Henry VIII. in
+1527. He married first, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Stafford, Duke of
+Buckingham; secondly, Margaret, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Derby;
+thirdly, Mary, daughter of Sir John Arundel.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+John Pym, a distinguished Member of the House of Commons, resided at
+Chelsea for several years. {218} He was Member for Tavistock, and was a
+remarkable instance of what wonders, strength of parts, and force of
+eloquence, could effect. His influence was superior to authority, but by
+many he was thought to have made a very bad use of power; his intent was
+to reform, not to abolish the Government; and yet he was a principal
+engine in bringing about a revolution, which he never intended, and which
+he did not live to see; he died December 8, 1643. His excessive
+application to public affairs is supposed to have hastened his death.
+“He was a man,” says Hume, “as much hated by one party as respected by
+the other. At London, he was considered as the victim of national
+liberty, who had abridged his life by incessant labours for the interest
+of his country. At Oxford, he was believed to have been struck with an
+uncommon disease, and to have been consumed with vermin, as a mark of
+Divine vengeance for his multiplied crimes and treasons. He had been so
+little studious of improving his private fortune in those civil wars, of
+which he had been one principal author, that the Parliament thought
+themselves obliged from gratitude to pay the debts which he had
+contracted.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Count D’Estrades, who came to England to negociate the sale of Dunkirk,
+as ambassador from Lewis XIV., resided at Chelsea during the years 1661
+and 1662. This fact appears by the dates of his letters, of which a
+translation appeared in 1755. He had his first audience of his Majesty
+King Charles II. on the 27th of July of the former year. It was usual
+for the Foreign Ambassadors at that time to make their public entry from
+the Tower of London, but on this occasion the King sent his own coaches
+to Chelsea, to carry the Ambassador, and the Count was accompanied by the
+equipages of the whole of the diplomatic corps at that time in London.
+
+Count D’Estrades was invited by letters from the Chancellor himself, in
+order to conclude the bargain; £900,000 were demanded, £100,000 were
+offered. By degrees the English lowered their demands, and the French
+raised their offers. The bargain was concluded at £400,000.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Sir Robert Atkyns, either Chief Baron of the Exchequer, or his son, the
+historian of Gloucestershire, appears by the Parish Books to have resided
+in Chelsea in 1684.
+
+Sir Robert Atkyns, K.B., was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer under
+William III., which office he held with distinguished ability and
+integrity. This gentleman, by his influence, promoted the Revolution,
+and by his pen defended it in tracts replete with legal knowledge.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hon. Colonel Rieutort died at his house, Chelsea, on the 24th
+January, 1725–6, in his 66th year. He was born of a good family, at
+Montpelier, in France, where he early bore arms; and, having left his
+native country, on account of the Protestant religion, he attended
+William III. in the wars of Ireland. He afterwards served the Crown of
+Great Britain in Piedmont; and in 1703 assisted Count de Frise in the
+vigorous defence of Landau, then besieged by the French. In 1704, he
+went into Portugal with the Earl of Galway, who sent him to the relief of
+the Prince of Hesse, then closely beset in Gibraltar, where he
+contributed very much to the preservation of that important place. He
+was interred in Chelsea Church.
+
+
+
+THE CANCER HOSPITAL.
+
+
+This hospital is situated in the Fulham Road, almost facing the
+Consumption Hospital. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone was
+performed on Monday, May 30, 1859, by Miss Burdett Coutts, in the
+presence of a very numerous and respectable company, including Dr. Tait,
+Bishop of London, Archdeacon Sinclair, Rev. D. Coleridge, Rev. J. B.
+Owen, the Rev. Fathers Ballard and Bagshawe, Priests of the Oratory, at
+Brompton, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. Thomas Pearson commenced the proceedings with prayer, after
+which the Bishop of London addressed the assemblage, and said they were
+met to lay the foundation stone of a most excellent institution, destined
+to bestow great blessings on a large portion of the community—a house for
+the reception of persons afflicted with a most painful disease, demanding
+the greatest sympathy from all friends of humanity. His Lordship, at the
+close of his address, prayed for its permanency and success.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Miss Coutts having deposited the bottle, with the usual contents, in a
+cavity in the lower stone and spread the mortar, the upper stone was duly
+lowered into its place, after which Miss Coutts gave the customary knocks
+and declared the stone duly laid.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Rev. J. B. Owen next addressed the assembly, after which John Abel
+Smith, Esq., proposed thanks to Miss Coutts for having done them the
+honour of laying the foundation stone of the hospital. The Bishop of
+London said that he had been requested by Miss Coutts to acknowledge the
+compliment paid her, and to assure them that she should continue to take
+the greatest interest in the prosperity of the Institution.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The building has a frontage of 130 ft. and a depth of 50 ft., surrounded
+by an area of 10 ft., securing to the building the means of convenient
+external communication and ventilation. It is constructed of plain white
+Suffolk bricks, relieved with bands of red brick, keystones, and cornices
+of stone dressing. The lower story contains the kitchens, larders, and
+the rooms for the out-patients. The principal ground floor is approached
+by a flight of steps, and this contains the hall and a handsome staircase
+of stone, apartments for the house-surgeon and medical officers, and
+wards for patients. Apparatus for heating and ventilating the building
+is provided—everything, in short, that is calculated to add to the
+comforts and assist the recovery of the patients. On the first story are
+the wards. In the males it appears this direful disease shows itself
+more frequently in the face, lip, and tongue, and among some of them in
+the breast. Of the females nearly five-sixths suffer in the breast.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The building, in all its details, has been open about six years. It was
+erected from the design of David Mocatta, Esq., by Messrs. Lawrence, at a
+cost of £7,000. William Marsden, M.D. was the founder.
+
+
+
+HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION.
+
+
+This is another admirable Institution, and, although it is situated just
+beyond the boundary of Chelsea parish, on the north of the Fulham Road,
+it has a very strong claim to be noticed in this work. It is a beautiful
+Elizabethan structure, built in the shape of the letter H, the depth of
+each wing being 190 ft., and the width of the building 200 ft. It stands
+in a square piece of ground covering three acres, and faces the public
+road. On entering the Lodge-gate there are three broad drives, one to
+the central entrance, which opens to a cheerful hall upon the first
+floor; another to the east entrance, which leads to the offices for the
+transaction of the hospital business; and the third to the west entrance,
+which is for the use of inmates and the friends of the in-patients on
+visiting days.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The ground floor is on a level with the gardens. The west wing and part
+of the centre of this floor contain the Dispensary and Out-patient-rooms,
+Laboratory, Museum, and Sitting-rooms of the Resident Clinical
+Assistants. The east wing contains the apartments of the Resident
+Medical Officer and Matron, Linen-room, Store-room, Secretary’s Office,
+Board-room, &c.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The first floor is devoted exclusively to Female Patients, saving small
+rooms for the Chaplain, and for each of the two Head Nurses, and the two
+requisite Sculleries, Baths, and Lavatories.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The arrangements of the second floor are precisely the same as those on
+the first floor; the wards being occupied by Male Patients, for whom
+there are about 107 beds.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The attic floor has comfortable dormitories for the Nurses and Servants,
+and in the Tower-rooms are the sleeping apartments of the Resident
+Clinical Assistants.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Chapel stands on the north side of the hospital, and parallel with
+the centre portion. The approach is by a corridor opposite the front
+entrance, to which the patients have immediate access from their
+respective galleries. The chaplain is the Rev. E. B. Allen, B.A., whose
+faithful exhortations and kind manner of addressing the patients have
+gained for him the esteem of all who know his worth.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+His late R.H. the Prince Consort laid the foundation stone of the
+hospital in 1844.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+THE HOME.—This Institution is conducted and maintained by a few
+benevolent Ladies, as an auxiliary to the above hospital, for persons who
+are either waiting their turns for admission to the hospital, or after
+leaving it, during the necessary time occupied in the full
+re-establishment of their health and their search for employment. This
+excellent “Home” is at Manor House, near Durham Place, Chelsea.
+
+
+
+CHELSEA IMPROVEMENTS.
+
+
+The Metropolitan Board of Works (Loans) Bill, empowering the Metropolitan
+Board of Works to raise money to construct the Chelsea Embankment, and to
+effect other improvements, having received the Royal assent, there is now
+no doubt that the Chelsea Embankment works will be very shortly
+commenced.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Bills for the “Belgrave Market,” which will remove the unsightly
+block of buildings between Turk’s Row and Jew’s Row, and the “Belgravia
+and South Kensington New Road,” which will open a direct communication
+from Eaton Square to the South Kensington Museum, have also become law.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The works of the Albert Bridge are still suspended, but there is reason
+to hope that they will shortly be recommenced, and rapidly completed.
+
+
+
+FIRST ELECTION OF MEMBERS FOR THE BOROUGH OF CHELSEA.
+
+
+I will now endeavour to record a few impartial particulars respecting the
+proceedings on the day of election, with the ultimate state of the poll,
+when the two first members for the Borough of Chelsea were elected. The
+nomination took place on Tuesday, the 17th of November, 1868, and the
+election on the following day.
+
+The hustings were erected in an open and central place near the South
+Kensington Museum, and was capable of holding about 200 or 300 persons.
+C. A. Bannister, Esq., of Chelsea, was the Returning Officer, and he
+performed his duty with the utmost courtesy and fairness.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The candidates originally were C. Wentworth Dilke, Esq., {223} Sir Henry
+Hoare, Dr. Russell, and C. J. Freake, Esq. Mr. Odger, a working man, who
+was warmly supported by a large number of the constituency, retired
+previous to the nomination from what may be fairly considered the most
+honourable motives.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+R. Freeman, Esq., of Kensington, proposed Mr. C. W. Dilke, and John Boyd,
+Esq., of Argyll House, King’s Road, seconded the nomination.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Wingfield Baker, Esq., proposed Sir H. A. Hoare, and James Heywood, Esq.,
+seconded.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The Hon. E. C. Curzon proposed Mr. Freake, and the Hon. Capt. Maude
+seconded the nomination.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+General Sir A. S. Wangle proposed Dr. Russell, and Captain Morley
+seconded.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The show of hands was then taken, and there being a large majority for
+Mr. C. W. Dilke and Sir H. A. Hoare, the two liberal candidates, a poll
+was demanded on behalf of Dr. Russell and Mr. Freake, which took place on
+the following day, the 18th of November, 1868. The proceedings were of
+the most orderly character, generally speaking, at all the thirteen
+polling booths.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The state of the poll was declared to be as follows:—
+
+Dilke 7,357
+Hoare 7,183
+Russell 4,177
+Freake 3,929
+
+About 2,000 persons were present, and the four candidates with their
+friends.
+
+
+
+SINGULAR ASCENT IN THE CAPTIVE BALLOON.
+
+
+A female inmate of St. George’s Workhouse, Fulham Road, named Hogg,
+having completed her hundredth year, August 3, 1869, was asked by Mr.
+Godrich, the medical officer, if, at her advanced age, there was any
+particular wish he could gratify. Her reply was that she should like to
+go up in the balloon, and see the world once more. Arrangements were
+made for the following Thursday, and, accompanied by the Matron and a few
+of Mr. Godrich’s friends, they ascended, and after enjoying themselves
+for some considerable time descended quite safely, the centenarian
+expressing herself much delighted with the aerial trip.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+I have at length arrived at the conclusion of my work, and it now only
+remains for me to bid the reader a respectful FAREWELL.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ERRATA.—At page 68, line 10, _read_ “East Meon, Hants,” instead of “East
+Mere, Hants.”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ FREDERICK BELL, PRINTER, KING’S ROAD.
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes
+
+
+{7} For on account of the presentation of these colours, see “Ranelagh,”
+in a subsequent part of this work.
+
+{19a} In 1534 he was attainted for denying the King’s supremacy, and
+executed at Tyburn, the 7th of March in that year.—_Holinshed’s
+Chronicle_.
+
+{19b} He was ejected from the Rectory in 1554, for being a married
+priest, but was restored by Queen Elizabeth.—_Strype’s Stowe_.
+
+{19c} He gave, by will, £15 to the poor of this parish, and to the
+repairing of the lead of the church. He was buried at Chelsea in 1615.
+
+{23} From Dr. King’s MSS. it appears there had been a Clerk’s house and
+school-rooms on this site previous to the erection of the present
+building.
+
+{26} There is on accidental mistake at page 3. The number of acres at
+Kensal, belonging to the parish, should have been, as above, 137¾ acres.
+
+{27} This ancient manor house stood on the site of Lawrence Street, near
+the Old Church, and derived its name from having been the residence of
+the Lawrence family for a long period.
+
+{41} Mr. Thomas Bettsworth was well known to the parishioners and much
+respected. He was Churchwarden at the New Church, and took an active
+part in parochial affairs.
+
+{57} Life of A. R. Bowes, Esq., by Jesse Foot.
+
+{71} Earl Cadogan’s Records.
+
+{72} I was well acquainted with these particulars, but for the sake of
+accuracy I have taken an extract from “A Walk from Loudon to Fulham,” by
+the late T. C. Croker, Esq., a work of great worth and highly
+interesting. Published by William Tegg, London, 1860.
+
+{82} See Old Church, page 14.
+
+{85} Gent. Mag., 1753.
+
+{87} Stephensiana, Monthly Magazine.
+
+{100} Granger, vol. iv., p. 293.
+
+{102} Gent. Mag. May, 1781.
+
+{105} See History of the Manor, p. 24.
+
+{107} Biog. Dram.
+
+{108} Dr. Drake’s Essays.
+
+{111} Pennant’s History of Whitford and Hollywell, p. 16.
+
+{128} Mr. Goss, the present Organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral, was then
+Organist of the Church.
+
+{137} The Act specifies £20,000 and a Sixpenny Rate.
+
+{144} In allusion to a very impressive sermon preached by the late Rev.
+H. Blunt, from 1 Sam. xv. 14.
+
+{147} The number that died of the plague this year in London was 30,578.
+
+{150} The Writer’s father was one of the two Overseers of the Poor in
+1805.
+
+{153a} Drawn up in the hand-writing of the Rev. Dr. King, Rector.
+
+{153b} We find mention of Bloody Gate and Bridge as early as the reign
+of Queen Elizabeth. This spot was situated at the eastern entrance into
+Sloane Square, and where Chelsea is divided from St. George’s, Hanover
+Square.
+
+{153c} The whole of the land, now the site of Sloane Street, was
+anciently called “Blackland.” It extended as far as the Marlborough
+Road, some few years since known as Blackland Lane.
+
+{155} Gent. Mag., 1753.
+
+{159} Annual Register, 1771, p. 160.
+
+{177} Queen’s Road West was formerly called Paradise Row.
+
+{184} Gent. Mag. 1747. pp. 298, 400.
+
+{188} Rev. G. R. Gleig’s “Chelsea Hospital.”
+
+{199} These Colours are deposited in the Old Church.
+
+{218} Granger’s Biog. Hist., vol. ii. p. 211.
+
+{223} Now Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke.
+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHELSEA***
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