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.
* * * * *