passed for building a wooden bridge from Putney to Fulham, which was
finished in the year 1729 at an expense of £23,975, and the ferry was
bought up, those interested in it being paid proportionately. The plan
for the bridge was drawn by the celebrated Mr. Cheselden, Surgeon of
Chelsea Hospital. The bridge was 789 feet long and 24 feet wide, with
openings for vessels to pass through, the largest of which, in the
centre, was named Walpole's Lock, in honour of Sir Robert Walpole, who
helped to procure the Act of Parliament to build the bridge. A toll of a
halfpenny was charged foot-passengers, and on Sundays this was doubled,
for the purpose of raising a fund of £62 a year, which was divided
annually between the widows and children of poor watermen belonging to
Putney and Fulham as a recompense to the fraternity, who were not
allowed to ply on Sundays after the building of the bridge. This bridge
was purchased by the Corporation of London, and by them transferred to
the Board of Works, who erected in the years 1884-1886 the present
substantial stone bridge on the site formerly occupied by the aqueduct
of the Chelsea Waterworks Company. The approaches on both sides have
been greatly improved, and it is now toll-free.
The parish church of St. Mary's stands on the river-bank adjoining the
bridge, and was originally built as a chapel of ease to Wimbledon, and,
owing to absence of all records, the date of its erection cannot be
ascertained, though it is certainly older than the church at Mortlake
(1348), for Archbishop Winchelsea held a public ordination in it as far
back as 1302. The stone tower is of more recent date, being probably not
later than the middle of the fifteenth century. The church suffered
greatly in the dreadful storm which happened in November, 1703. Facing
south on its tower is a sundial with the appropriate motto, "Time and
tide stay for no man."
Pepys makes frequent mention of Putney and the church, and his
contemporary Evelyn also speaks of the village. This place maintained
its suburban character until a few years ago, and it is not long since
the High Street was represented as having one broad pavement lined with
stately trees, and a kennel on either side, by means of which the road
was watered in summer. From the bridge westward the river has been
embanked and a promenade built and lined with seats, and this is a
favourite spot on warm summer evenings. At the far end of this broad
road are the boat-houses of the London, Thames, Leander, and other
well-known clubs, mostly of brick, with dressing-rooms upstairs and wide
balconies giving fine views of the river. Some boat-building and
oar-making also is to be found here, as this is the headquarters of
London rowing, and noted for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat-race. This
race was first rowed at Henley in 1829, next from Westminster to Putney
in 1836, and that course was adhered to until 1851, when that from
Putney to Mortlake was adopted, and this, save on three occasions--in
the years 1846, 1856, 1863--has since been the battle-ground of the
Universities.
After leaving the High Street at the bridge end, the way to the
river-bank is down what was formerly Windsor Street, but is now known as
part of the Lower Richmond Road; and here on the south side, covering
the site of River Terrace, now torn down, and River Street, stood "the
Palace," so called from its having been frequently honoured by the
presence of royalty. It is described as having been a spacious red-brick
mansion of the Elizabethan style of architecture, forming three sides of
a square, with plate-glass windows overlooking the river, and possessed
of extensive gardens and pleasure-grounds. It was built within a
courtyard, and approached by iron gates. It occupied the site of the
ancient mansion of the Welbecks, and was erected by John Lacey, citizen
and clothworker of London, in 1596. Queen Elizabeth honoured Lacey with
her company more frequently than any of her subjects, and between the
years 1579 and 1603 at least twelve or fourteen visits of hers to this
house at Putney are recorded. The house is mentioned as the headquarters
of Fairfax in 1647. In that year, when Charles I. was at Hampton Court,
all the Parliamentary Generals were at Putney. Cromwell was at Mr.
Bonhunt's, the site of which is not known; Ireton at Mr. Campion's (a
school in the occupation of Rev. Mr. Adams when Lysons wrote, and now
covered by Cromwell Place); Fleetwood was at Mr. Martin's; and the other
officers at neighbouring mansions, of which at that time there seem to
have been many. Councils were held in the church, seated round the
Communion-table, the officers afterwards listening to a sermon. Two days
after the King escaped from Hampton the army quitted Putney, having been
there some three months.
Facing the river near the Putney Steamboat Pier is a big hotel, the Star
and Garter, for long a landmark at Putney, and recently rebuilt in all
the splendour of red brick and gilt. Beyond this formerly stood a number
of old houses--Clyde House, Riverside House, Thanet Lodge, Laburnum
House, Windsor House, and Point House; these had tiled roofs and
bay-windows, and formed a picturesque group. They have recently been
replaced by large mansions, called Star and Garter, and University
Mansions. In Spring Gardens was formerly a curious collection of the
cottages of watermen and boatmen, but these have now vanished. The lane
has been paved and the whole district altered.
West of this as far as the common many alterations have taken place in
the last few years, and now the market-gardens and fields are covered
with street after street of small two-storied cottages stretching in
straight lines from the Lower Richmond Road to the river. The same
applies to the district between here and the Upper Richmond Road as far
west as the London boundary at Northumberland Terrace. Here stood until
recently prolific gardens and orchards, but now the site is covered with
streets arranged as closely as possible, and filled with a rather better
style of dwellings than those to the northward.
Passing west, we come at length to the gateway of the Ranelagh Club at
Barn Elms. From this entrance, with its large gates and porter's lodge,
the private road runs over the Beverley Brook, and, swerving to the
west, enters the park proper. This manor was given by Athelstane to the
Canons of St. Paul's, and is still held by them. The mansion of Barn
Elms was formerly in the possession of Sir Francis Walsingham, and here
in 1589 he entertained Queen Elizabeth. Pepys and Evelyn both make
mention of this place in their diaries, and it was here that the duel
was fought--January 16, 1678--between the Earl of Shrewsbury and the
Duke of Buckingham. The meetings of the Kitcat Club were held here in a
room specially built for the purpose by Jacob Tonson, the bookseller,
who lived in a house formerly known as Queen Elizabeth's Dairy, and died
there November 25, 1735. At present Ranelagh rivals Hurlingham as a
social outdoor club, and the merits of the respective grounds are a
matter of opinion.
On the Lower Common, standing out by themselves, are two old houses, Elm
Lodge and West Lodge, in big gardens sliced off the common. The houses
are fancifully painted, and half hidden behind a privet hedge and a row
of elms. The common to the south is bare of bushes, but to the north
there are still big clumps of gorse and brambles, with many straggling
trees between. Putney Cemetery is on the common, and further west that
of Barnes is seen. At the beginning of the Mill Hill Road is an old
cottage hidden behind closely-trimmed trees and a high hedge, the
residence of the cattle gate-keeper, whose duty it was in former years
to prevent the straying of animals from the parish of Barnes into that
of Putney. The gate has been removed, but the place marks the London
boundary, which follows the line of the big ditch due south across the
Lower to the Upper Richmond Road.
On the south side of the Lower Common stands a long row of staring Queen
Anne cottages, and at the east end of them the Church of All Saints, in
the Early English style, erected in 1874, with schools close by. Hidden
away behind the church is an old wooden farmhouse, the last of many that
formerly dotted these fields.
Passing eastwards, the Upper Road leads to the Charlwood Road, and
across the railway-bridge the new streets, Norroy and Chelverton Roads,
have been made as far as the High Street through the grounds of The
Lawn, an old house which stood next the Spotted Horse. To the west short
roads have been pushed out into the market-gardens, and north, at the
angle, stands the Quill Inn, behind which Quill Alley, a narrow paved
passage skirting the backs of the houses, leads into a labyrinth of
small streets set at all angles and of all degrees of respectability.
There are many newly-built flats on either side of Quill Alley. Every
foot of ground is taken up, and from the Coopers' Arms to Gardeners'
Lane the district is compact with small houses and shops. Here in
Walker's Place, a square of old houses, with gardens in front, under the
shadow of an enormous brewery, was formerly a little wooden tumbledown
inn known as the Coat and Badge. This has been rebuilt; it was so called
from the insignia of the actor Doggett's annual prize for Thames
watermen. At the end of this lane stands an old hostelry, the Coopers'
Arms, and at the end of Gardeners' Lane was another, the Bull and Star,
also rebuilt recently. Gardeners' Lane leads through a closely built up
settlement to the Whirlpool, and here the last remnant of the
market-gardens is to be found.
In the High Street, which is fast altering its character, there are one
or two old houses, but the greater number are modern. The Public
Library, which is situate in Disraeli Road, leading off the High Street,
was first established in 1887. It is only since 1899 that it has
occupied its present building, which, with the site, was the gift of Sir
George Newnes, Bart., M.P., and was opened by the late Lord Russell of
Killowen, Lord Chief Justice of England.
To the east of the High Street the residential part of Putney is built
up of new, clean streets, laid out on the market-gardens and orchards
that till recently occupied most of this district.
In Northfield Square stood several fine old houses, one of which,
Fairfax House, made way for the Montserrat Road at its High Street end;
and another, Grove House, said to originally have been a convent, and
associated by tradition with the name of Oliver Cromwell, disappeared
when the western end of Disraeli Road was made. The railway-station
adjoining occupies the site of some very old houses, and in the
railway-cutting the workmen came upon a sewer, in which were discovered
some silver spoons of ancient date. A Baptist chapel in the Werter Road,
Oxford Congregational Chapel in the Oxford Road, and Emanuel Church in
the Upper Richmond Road, supply the religious needs of the
neighbourhood.
Passing along the Putney Bridge Road from the High Street, Brewhouse
Lane runs north to the waterside; on one side are rows of new shops, on
the other a swimming-bath. This lane was formerly one of the principal
landings for ferry passengers to Putney, but to-day is almost deserted.
An engraving of Fulham by Preist in 1738 is evidently taken from the
steps, and shows the bridge and Fulham Church. From this landing a fine
view is to be had of Putney Bridge; upstream and downstream is seen the
big iron lattice bridge that carries the District Railway over from
Fulham on its way to Wimbledon. A soap-boiler's establishment with
several smaller yards makes the lane busy, but there are still a lot of
small cottages--some very old--of a poor type, and rented for the most
part by labourers.
Passing on, the almshouses founded by Sir Abraham Dawes are on the south
side. He was a farmer of the Customs, an eminent loyalist of the reign
of Charles II., and one of the richest commoners of the time. Originally
built for twelve almsmen and almswomen, they have been latterly occupied
entirely by women. The north side of the road is here substantially
built up, and the Deodar, Florian, and Merivale Roads on the Cedars
Estate are comparatively new. Two old houses, Cedar Lodge and Crest
House, remain, with Park Lodge at the corner of the Atney Road, newly
fronted, but below the grade of the road. To the railroad arch which
spans the road are built on the north side a row of new cottages with
shops opposite. Beyond the arch at the bend of the road, which is here
narrowed by an old house encroaching on the footpath, is a fine old
mansion, Moulinere House.
Returning whence we came, we pass up the High Street and come to Putney
Hill, which forms a test of the endurance of cyclists.
At the base of Putney Hill stands The Pines, the residence of Swinburne
the poet. Here, where modern villas have risen most recently, and
stately trees fallen most rapidly, stood Lime Grove, the seat of Lady
St. Aubyn. This mansion derived its name from a grove of limes through
which the road to the house formerly led; and it was here in 1737 that
Edward Gibbon, the historian, was born. He was educated in Putney till
his ninth year, when he was sent to a public school at Kingston. It was
on Putney Hill that the following event occurred: When Cardinal Wolsey
ceased to be the holder of the Great Seal of England, and, obeying the
mandate of Henry VIII., quitted the Palace of Whitehall, he removed to
his palace at Esher. Embarking at Whitehall Stairs, he went by water to
Putney, and started up the hill, but was overtaken by one of the royal
Chamberlains, Sir John Norris, who presented him with a ring as a token
of a continuance of His Majesty's favour. Stow tells how Wolsey at once
got off his mule unaided, and, kneeling down in the dirt on both knees,
held up his hands for joy at the King's most comfortable message.
Passing up the hill, a few new streets are being pushed into the fields,
which are, however, still continuous to the westward, the limit of
building being apparently reached for a time in that direction, and,
after a short climb past fine houses with spacious grounds and drives,
we come to Putney Heath near the Green Man, a quaint little road-house
of the last century; close by it is the old cattle-pound. The heath, of
some 400 acres, somewhat resembles that of Hampstead, and from the
higher ground some excellent views are to be obtained, whilst the sandy
hollows and surface are plentifully covered with heather, gorse, and
brambles. On the northern side, facing the road which leads to
Roehampton, are many fine houses--among others, Grantham House, the
residence of Lady Grantham; Ashburton House; Exeter House, occupied by
the second Marquis of Exeter, who, divorced from his Marchioness, wooed
and won for his bride a country girl under the guise of an artist;
Gifford House; and Dover House, the seat originally of Lord Dover,
afterwards of Lord Clifden, and now the residence of J. Pierpont Morgan.
To the west of the heath lie Putney Park and Roehampton. Putney
Park--styled Mortlake Park in old memorials--was reserved to the Crown
by Henry VIII. Charles I. granted the park to Richard, Earl of Pembroke,
who here erected a splendid mansion, which soon after his decease was
sold, together with the park, to Sir Thomas Dawes, by whom it was again
disposed of to Christina, Countess of Devonshire, whom Charles II.
visited at this place with the Queen-mother and the Royal Family.
Putney Heath is divided by the Portsmouth Road, which starts at the
Green Man and meets the Kingston Road at the foot of the hill in Putney
Bottom, and facing this road are many fine houses, as well as the
reservoirs of the Chelsea Water Company, from which water is conveyed to
the Middlesex side of the Thames by pipes beneath the roadway of Putney
Bridge.
To the south of the reservoirs is a fine new house Wildcroft, the
residence of Sir George Newnes, Bart., which stands in the grounds of
the old Fireproof House, lately pulled down. This house was erected in
1776 by David Hartley, son of the celebrated Dr. Hartley, to demonstrate
the efficacy of his plan for securing buildings from fire. This plan
consisted in thin sheets of iron and of copper being laid between floor
and ceiling to prevent the ascent of heated air from the lower to the
upper rooms. The lower part of this house was repeatedly set on fire in
the presence, among others, of the King and Queen, the members of
Parliament, the Lord Mayor, and the Aldermen. The House of Commons
granted Hartley £2,500 in aid of the expenses incurred, and the
Corporation erected in the grounds an obelisk--which can be plainly seen
from the Kingston Road--recording the experiments of the grant. The
heath was the scene of many duels, among others, in May, 1652, Lord
Chandos and Colonel Compton fought with fatal issue, Compton being
killed. In May, 1798, on a Sunday afternoon, William Pitt, the Prime
Minister, who lived in the Bowling-Green House close by, fought a
bloodless battle with William Tierney, M.P.; and in September, 1809, an
encounter took place between Lord Castlereagh and George Canning, when
the latter was wounded in the thigh. This last duel was fought near the
Admiralty semaphore erected in 1796, the site of which is indicated by
the Telegraph Inn immediately behind Wildcroft. Across the corner of the
green from the inn is Bristol House, which owes its name to the Bristol
family, who possessed it till a few years ago, and which was for some
two years the residence of Mrs. Siddons. A part of the estate has been
built on; many handsome residences have been erected.
Next is a large mansion, Highlands, and west of it is the historical
Bowling-Green House, a low, two-storied mansion painted white, with
large windows, and the Pitt arms over the doorway. In this house, shaded
by fine trees, with a beautiful prospect from the lawn, lived for some
years William Pitt, the Prime Minister; and here, on June 23, 1806, he
died. The house derives its name from the bowling-green formerly
attached to it, and for more than sixty years (1690-1750) the most
famous green in the neighbourhood of London. The house had large rooms
for public breakfasts and assemblies, was a fashionable place of
entertainment, and noted for "deep play." South of this Bowling Green
House is Scio, a charming residence, with beautiful lawns facing the
main Kingston Road, in the Gothic style, and from here the flagstaff and
windmill on the heath are noticed. Close by was the gallows in the olden
time, and here it was that one of the last of the highwaymen--Jeremiah
Abershaw--hung in chains in 1795, after suffering the penalty of the law
on Kingston Common, then the place of execution for Surrey. Being
crossed by a main road, this dreary neighbourhood was formerly much
frequented by footpads and highwaymen. Aubrey mentions the gallows near
here, and adds that Roman urns are often found in the dry, gravelly
ground.
Putney Heath merges into Wimbledon Common, a fine expanse of 1,000 acres
of breezy upland. The headquarters of the National Rifle Association
till 1889 were in the Windmill, a picturesque landmark seen from far and
near; but owing to increasing danger and the enormous crowds that
flocked to the camp it was removed to Bisley in Surrey. The Windmill was
formerly a favourite resort of duellists. Some distance from the
windmill is Cæsar's Well, the most historical spot on Wimbledon Common,
and its water is said to possess medicinal properties. This common and
Putney Heath were in the last century the scene of frequent reviews.
George III. reviewed the Surrey volunteers here in 1799, as he had
previously done the Guards in 1767; and Charles II., in 1684, also
reviewed his forces on the heath. At the north-west corner of the heath
lies the village of Roehampton, snugly nestling in a valley, and
consisting of a small cluster of houses. The centre of the village is at
the angle of Roehampton Lane, where a drinking-fountain, a gift of Mr.
Lyne-Stephens, stands in the road, with the Catholic chapel of St.
Joseph's, approached through a beautiful carved oaken lych-gate, facing
it. This chapel and rectory stand in the grounds of Manresa House, a
training college of the Jesuit Fathers. To the north is a quaint old
village inn, the Montague Arms, flanked by a row of old cottages.
Ponsonby Road and Medfield Street are lined with small houses, for the
most part new, very clean, and well kept. The parochial schools, in two
buildings, for boys and girls, are in the Ponsonby Road on the hillside,
and between them is a church, completed in 1899. In the High Street,
which is built up with small shops for a short distance, stands on the
north side, well back from the road, the King's Head Inn, with its
wonderful signboard displayed in the garden, its big, old-fashioned
bay-windows, curious low-ceilinged rooms, and weather-boarded sides,
shaded by great elms, giving it a very picturesque aspect. The gardens,
with tables set out in little nooks, and the stables of the house
across the yard, complete a picture, of which few are to be found near
London now. In this street is one of the buildings of St. Mary's
Convent, a red-brick pile used as a laundry.
Returning to Roehampton Lane, and passing up the rise to the south, we
come to the Alton Road, lined with good houses, and a little to the west
the Bessborough Road falls into it, and runs through a favourite
residential district built up with fine dwellings. Here the hollows made
by gravel-digging on the edge of the heath are being, in a measure,
filled up with earth from the building going on near by, and opposite
The Elms, on the brow of the common, a peculiar tomblike building is
noticed. This is merely a spring-house covering the artesian well that
supplies the drinking-fountain in the village. At Highwood, a
solidly-built mansion, we come to the Portsmouth Road, and after passing
several villas, to Kingston Road at the foot of the hill. Here, on the
west side, Richmond Park stretches parallel with the road, the enclosing
wall being so close to the road as to give the houses hardly any garden;
still, from here to the Robin Hood Gate there are many pretty villas,
and at Beverley Brook a row of cottages has been erected close to the
wall. On the east side of the road a new cemetery of the Putney Burial
Board is under the lee of the hill, and beyond are fields stretching
southward, running up to and meeting Wimbledon Common. In the hollow
adjoining the main road is the Newlands Farmhouse to which these acres
belong, and adjoining is the Halfway House, at one time an inn said to
have been the favourite drinking-place of the highwayman Abershaw. Stag
Lane leads to the common, and further on Beverley Brook is crossed, here
a narrow strip of Wimbledon Common meets the highroad. This stream from
here, through the park, and across Barnes Common into the Thames, is the
western boundary of London, and by following it we pass cottages on the
right, and may note the beautiful views to the east toward Wimbledon and
Combe. If we turn into Richmond Park through the Robin Hood Gate, so
called from the roadside inn near, we come to one of the prettiest
corners of the park, from which roads diverge in all directions. On the
rise to the west is White Lodge, at one time the residence of the Duke
and Duchess of Teck, parents of the Princess of Wales; and bearing to
the right we see the deer-paddock, with Silver Hill and the King's Farm
Lodge. The area of the park is a little over 2,015 acres, and it was
formed by Charles I. in the early years of his reign out of wood and
waste land. The wall--eleven miles in circumference--was built without
consulting the owners and tenants of the houses and farms enclosed. In
1649 this park was given to the City of London in perpetuity, but was
handed back again to Charles II. on his restoration. The Princess Amelia
closed the public rights of way through the demesne, but in 1758 a
decision of the courts renewed this privilege.
Leaving the park on the right, we see Mount Clare, built in 1772 by
George Clive, and named in honour of Claremont, the residence at Esher
of his relative Lord Clive. On the west side of Priory Lane are three
mansions, of which one, Clarence House, was for awhile the residence of
the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. Clarence Lane skirts the
grounds of Grove House, which was in the reign of George IV. the
residence of the celebrated danseuse, Mademoiselle Duvernay. The lane
comes out into Roehampton Lane opposite Roehampton House, a fine
red-brick building, with wings, erected in 1712. The ceiling of the
saloon has a painting of the Banquet of the Gods by Sir James Thornhill,
the father-in-law of Hogarth.