where it is written Pattricesy. Some authors have supposed that
because Petersham, which belonged to St. Peter's Abbey, Chertsey,
is there spelt Patricesham, that the earliest form of Battersea
originated its connexion with St. Peter's Abbey, the _c_ they say in
both these words was sibilant and therefore did not differ very much
in pronunciation from that it is now, though they admit that it is a
"curious anomaly that while P in _Patricesy_ has been changed into B
the P in _Patricesham_ remains unchanged." What the final syllable
represents is less clear as there are now no traces of Battersea
having been an island although there may have been once. Chelsea, it
is remarked, "was originally _Ceale-hythe_ or Chelc-hythe, and a haven
on the Thames, not an island, just as Lambeth was '_Lambe-hithe_' or
haven, but there is no recorded form of Battersea that would allow
us to say that _ey_ or _ea_ represented _hithe_. There was, however,
until about thirty years ago, a Creek, up which tradition reports that
Queen Elizabeth rowed. A bright little stream rising in Tooting, and
passing by Wandsworth Common, flowed into the Thames at this Creek,
which is now a mere sewer, and its better character is only kept in
remembrance by the name of Creek Street." The Rev. Daniel Lysons, in
a book entitled "The Environs of London," published in 1792, which,
through the kindness of Mr. R. J. S. Kentish, Librarian of the Beaufoy
Library, we have had the privilege of consulting, says, "the name has
undergone several changes. In the Conqueror's Survey, it is called
Patricesy, and has since been written Battrichsey, Battersey and
Battersea, each variation carrying it still further from its original
signification. Of the original signification of the word, I think there
can be little doubt. Patricesy in the Saxon is Peter's water or river;
and as the same record which calls it Patricesy mentions that it was
given to St. Peter, it might then first assume that appellation, but
this I own is conjecture. Petersham, which is precisely the same in
Doomsday--Patriceham, belonged to St. Peter's Abbey, Chertsey, and
retains its original name a little modernised. Aubrey, Vol. I. p. 135,
derives the name from St. Patrick; but Aubrey was mistaken by seeing
it written Patricesy, instead of Petricesy, in Doomsday; but the
Normans were not very accurate spellers. Petersham was written in the
same manner with an a."[1] "The Parish of Battersea is bounded on the
East by Lambeth, on the South by Camberwell, Streatham and Clapham;
on the West by Wandsworth, and on the North by the River Thames. The
greater part of Wandsworth Common, which extends nearly two miles in
length towards Streatham, and a considerable part of Clapham Common
are in the Parish of Battersea." The boundaries of Clapham Parish,
according to the oldest documents of that Parish and Manor, when taken,
have usually commenced at the corner of Wix's Lane, formerly called
Browmell's corner. The limits of Clapham Parish where it adjoins
Battersea in the early part of last century was the subject of a legal
contest, that part of Clapham Common extending to Battersea Rise
being claimed by both parishes. In 1716 the inhabitants of Battersea
inclosed with a ditch and bank the tract of land in question, and
the people of Clapham levelled the bank and filled up the ditch; in
consequence of which Henry Lord Viscount St. John, the Lord of the
Manor of Battersea, brought an action for trespass against those who
were engaged in this work, or their employers, which was tried at the
Lent Assizes at Kingston, in 1718, when the plaintiff was non-suited.
The men of Battersea however were not discouraged but persevered with
greater determination than ever in supporting their claim by including
when they beat the boundaries of their Parish the disputed ground in
their perambulations; and says Mr. Brayley "it would seem to have been
eventually successful, a certain portion of the Common being now held
on lease of Earl Spencer as Lord of the Manor of Battersea."--_Brayley,
Surrey Mantel,_ Vol. III. p. 281.
[Footnote 1: The Manor of Peckham in the Confessor's reign belonged to
this Parish, which has since been thrown into Camberwell; Penge being
still continued as part of the Manor though separated from the rest by
Streatham and Lambeth.--_Manning and Bray's History and Antiquities of
Surrey_, Vol. I., p. 327.]
Last century Clapham Common was little better than a morass; it covers
202 acres. The number and variety of trees both English and exotic with
which it is ornamented give it very much the appearance of a park. The
Metropolitan Board of Works have purchased the manorial rights over the
Common which is now under their supervision. "In the year 1874 (says Mr
Walford) the Enclosure Commissioners for England and Wales under the
Metropolitan Common Act, 1866, and Metropolitan Commons' Amendment Act,
1869, certified a scheme for placing the Common under the control of
the Local Board, the Common was purchased for the sum of £17,000 and it
was proposed that it should be dedicated to the use and recreation of
the public for ever. By the above mentioned scheme the Board were to
drain, plant, and ornament the Common as necessary, no houses were to
be built thereon, but eight lodges necessary for its maintenance."
The writer of a work entitled "Clapham with its Common and Environs,"
says, "The Mount-Pond was originally a gravel pit, excavated
principally to form the turnpike road from Tooting to London. The
Mount was raised, and a Pagoda Summer House planted on the top, by
Henton Brown, Esq., of the firm of Brown and Tritton, Bankers, Lombard
Street, member of the Society of Friends. Mr. Brown lived in the house,
late in the occupation of J. Thornton, Esq., and was at great expense
in forming the Mount and Pond. The Mount was larger than it now is,
and planted with choice shrubs as well as trees. A bridge was thrown
over the east side to connect it with the Common, and a pleasure
boat was kept under it, but which after the failure of Mr. Brown,
went rapidly to decay. He fenced it round with posts and rails, and
in 1748 the Parish gave him leave to put down a close fence, which
a subsequent Vestry refused to ratify. He was also at the expense
of making a conduit from the pond to supply a reservoir in his own
grounds." Lavender Hill seems to have been long noted for its nursery
gardens. Situated on the Hill was Lavender Villa--at the foot of
Lavender Hill was a brook. Now Lavender Hill has the appearance of a
busy town. Splendid shops, handsomely decorated and well stocked line
both sides of the main thoroughfare, and rows of respectable houses
and semi-detached villas forming roads and streets have sprung up in
all directions. The same may be said of a great portion of Battersea
Rise extending to Bolingbroke Grove. Stately trees have been felled
and green slopes that were are now covered with houses, with here
and there a place of worship, and all this transformation has taken
place within the last twelve years. Clapham Common and its immediate
vicinity was in the early years of the present century the seat of the
knot of zealous men who, labouring together for what they believed to
be the interest of pure religion, the reformation of manners and the
suppression of slavery, came to be known as the Clapham sect. One of
the most distinguished of them, William Wilberforce, lived at the house
known as "Broomfield," (Broomwood) on the south-west side of Clapham
Common, and there his no less distinguished son, the late Bishop of
Winchester, was born September 7th, 1805. "Conterminous with his fair
demesne was that of Henry Thornton, the author and prime mover of the
conclave, whose meetings were held, for the most part, in the oval
saloon which William Pitt, dismissing for a moment his budgets and his
subsidies, planned to be added to Henry Thornton's newly-purchased
residence.... It arose at his bidding, and yet remains, perhaps a
solitary monument of the architectural skill of that imperial mind.
Lofty and symmetrical, it was curiously wainscoted with books on every
side except where it opened on a far-extended lawn reposing beneath the
giant arms of aged elms and massive tulip trees."--_Stephen's Essays_,
Vol. II. p. 290. "In this saloon, and on the far-extended lawn,
after their long years of effort, assembled in joy and thanksgiving
and mutual congratulation over the abolition of the slave trade,
Wilberforce, Clarkson, Granville, Sharp, Stephen, Zachary Macaulay and
their younger associates and disciples. But the Villa-cinctured-Common
was also the birthplace or cradle of another and hardly less remarkable
and far-reaching religious movement or institution. Just as it was the
dwelling place, the home or haunt of every one of the most eminent
supporters of the anti-slavery movement, so was it the home or haunt
of the founders of the Bible Society, its earliest ministers or
secretaries, and above all the first and greatest of its presidents,
John Lord Teignmouth."--_Handbook to the Environs of London_, by
James Thorne, F.S.A., Part I. pp. 111, 112. Broomwood was the seat of
the late Sir Charles Forbes, contiguous to which and facing the tall
poplar tree is situated a spacious villa once the residence of the late
Frances Elizabeth Leveson Gower, an estimable Christian maiden-lady
who was a subscriber to several benevolent institutions. She used to
conduct bible readings not only for the female servants of the gentry
of Clapham Common but also for navvies and others of the labouring
classes in her own dining room, where they partook of her generous
hospitality after their daily toil in the shape of a hearty meal.
A Good Example of liberality was given by one Mr. Thornton, of Clapham,
a noble-hearted Christian merchant. One morning, when he had received
news of a failure that involved him in the loss of no less than a
hundred thousand pounds, a minister from the country called at his
counting-house to ask a subscription for an important object. Hearing
that Mr. Thornton had suffered that loss, he apologized for having
called. But Mr. Thornton took him kindly by the hand and said: "My dear
sir, the wealth I have is not mine, but the Lord's. It may be that He
is going to take it out of my hands, and give it to another; and if so,
this is a good reason why I should make a good use of what is left." He
then doubled the subscription he intended to give.
The recently deceased and much lamented Philip Cazenove was for
thirty years a parishioner, residing on Battersea Rise, whose name
was a Synonym for kindness and Christian charity concerning whom we
feel that we cannot pass a better eulogium than that recorded in _St.
Mary's, Battersea, Parish Magazine_ for February, 1880. "He has been a
benefactor such as a parish rarely numbers amongst its church folk. The
magnificent Girls' School in Green Lane was added to Miss Champion's
benefaction, almost at Mr. Cazenove's sole cost. To every church
building scheme, to Battersea College, to new schools, to the proposed
Hospital, to every good work he was a munificent contributor. And what
he did in Battersea, he did in all parts of East and South London,
indeed in all parts of the metropolis and in the country. And he sought
no thanks for his donations, but with a rare self-forgetfulness he
seemed to avoid the acknowledgments of gratitude. His liberality, great
as it was, by no means represented all that he did for good works. In
our parish he took a personal interest in our Schools of all grades.
He always had words of kind encouragement for the teachers. He was
always ready to preside at any meeting, or to act on any committee. And
as his alms deeds went far beyond his own parish so did his personal
service. There was no more familiar face than his in the Board-rooms
of the great Church Societies, for some of the chief of which, as the
Gospel Propagation Society, he acted as Treasurer. He was an active
member of the governing bodies of Guy's Hospital, and other like
institutions, and everywhere he freely gave his sunny sympathy and the
ripe counsels of his long experience. He was indeed a notable instance
of an open-handed, simple-hearted Churchman, some would add 'of the old
school,' and we would say, may God of His mercy put it into the hearts
of others to perpetuate such a 'school' for truly they are a blessing
and a stay to all around them. Our venerated friend was stricken with
illness in the beginning of last year, and it seemed as if he would
then have succumbed to the physical weakness of the action of that
great loving heart. But he rallied somewhat, and during the summer
and autumn he was able to sit in his garden or to drive out in his
carriage. He was able to be at S. Mark's on S. Michael's Day, 1879, and
to receive the Holy Communion there for the last time in the Sanctuary.
With the return of winter, his weakness increased, and after a year of
weariness and languor and the depression incident to his illness, he
entered into the Rest, for which he had yearned, in the early morning
of January 20. Philip Cazenove, born Nov. 23, 1798; died January 20,
1880, aged 81."
Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims
For all the pious dead,
Sweet is the savour of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.
They die in Jesus, and are bless'd;
How kind their slumbers are!
From sufferings and from sins released,
And freed from every snare.
Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord:
The labours of their mortal life
End in a large reward.--_Isaac Watts_, 1709.
At a semi-detached villa situated in this part of the Common,
resided the late Charles Curling, Esq., whose memory many of the
poor inhabitants of Old Battersea cherish with feelings of grateful
respect. He relieved the temporal wants of the needy; opened day and
night schools in order that the poorest might be educated; under his
excellent wife's superintendence maternal meetings were conducted; at
his own expense he supported an Evangelist and a Bible Woman to work in
the district.
The Villa adjoining that of Mr. Curling's was occupied by the late
Misses Sarah Hibbert and Mary Ann Hibbert, who erected Alms Houses in
Wandsworth Road, Clapham, for eight aged women, in grateful remembrance
of their father, William Hibbert, who was for many years an inhabitant
of Clapham. Not least among the benefactresses of the poor might be
mentioned the names of Lady George Pollock, Lady Lawrence, Mrs. Sillem,
and Mrs. Robert Jones, of this part, (all deceased). The memory of the
just is blessed!
When Lysons wrote, Battersea Rise being a salubrious locality was
ornamented with several villas, also it was much admired for its
pleasant situation and fine prospect. Referring to the Market Gardens,
etc., he says, "About 300 acres of land in the Parish of Battersea are
occupied by the market gardeners, of whom there are about twenty who
rent from five or six to nearly sixty acres each." Fuller, who wrote in
the year 1660, speaking of the gardens in Surrey, states, "Gardening
was first brought into England for profit, about 70 years ago; before
which we fetched most of our cherries from Holland, apples from France,
and hardly a mess of rath ripe peas but from Holland; which were
dainties for ladies, they come so far and cost so dear. Since gardening
hath crept out of Holland to Sandwich, Kent, and thence to Surrey;
where, though they have given £6 an acre and upwards, they have made
their rent, lived comfortably, and set many people at work. Oh the
incredible profit by digging of ground! for though it be confessed,
that the plough beats the spade out of distance for speed, (almost as
much as the press beats the pen), yet, what the spade wants in the
quantity of the ground it manureth, it recompenseth with the plenty of
the good it yieldeth, that which is multiplying an hundred fold more
than that which is sown. 'Tis incredible how many poor people in London
live thereon, so that in some seasons the gardens feed more people than
the field."--_Fuller's Worthies_, Pt. 3, p. 77. "These gardeners,"
continues Lysons, "employ in the summer season a considerable number
of labourers, though perhaps not so many as is generally supposed--on
an average I am informed, not one to an acre. The wages of the men
are from ten to twelve, of the women from five to seven shillings by
the week. Most of the women travel on foot from Shropshire and North
Wales in the spring, and as they live at a very cheap rate, many of
them return to their own country richer than they left it. The soil
of the ground occupied by the gardeners is sandy and requires a great
deal of rain. The vegetables which they raise are in general very fine;
their cabbages and asparagus particularly have acquired celebrity." The
asparagus first grown in or near London was raised by the Battersea
gardeners. Owing to its rich and alluvial soil, Battersea has always
been noted for its fine asparagus--110 heads of extraordinary size
and fit for the kitchen have been known to weigh 32 lbs.[1] There was
no market at Battersea, its vegetable produce was sent to the London
market. In _Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica Antiquities_ (British
Museum) Vol. II. p. 227, is a brief note on Battersea by Mr. Theobald.
This old writer says, "The lands are fruitful beyond most others and
this Parish is famous in the London market for its asparagus, hence
called _Battersea Bundles_. It also in the time of a noted man there,
one Mr. Cuff, was famous for producing the finest melons. The common
field called Battersea Field, is constantly cropped with peas, beans,
wheat, etc.... Lands are here let from 50s. down to 16s. an acre....
There are three windmills on the river's brink, one for corn, one
grinds colours for the potters, and another serves to grind whitelead.
Being in the neighbourhood of London so commodiously within about four
miles of the City and on the banks of the river Thames, where so many
conveniences of carriage are constantly to be met, and the merchant can
in an hour return to his country house. Several citizens and merchants
have both built handsome houses here."
[Footnote 1: "Among other branches of industry introduced by the
Flemings at Sandwich, that of gardening is worthy of notice. The
people of Flanders had long been famous for their horticulture, and
one of the first things which the foreign settlers did on arriving in
the place was to turn to account the excellent qualities of the soil
in the neighbourhood, so well suited for gardening purposes. Though
long before practised by the Monks, gardening had become a lost art
in England. It is said that Katherine, Queen of Henry 8th, unable to
obtain a salad for her dinner in England, had her table supplied from
the low countries. The first Flemish gardens proved highly successful.
The cabbage, carrots, and celery produced by the foreigners met with so
ready a sale, and were so much in demand in London itself, that a body
of gardeners shortly removed from Sandwich and settled at Wandsworth,
Battersea, and Bermondsey, where many of the rich garden grounds first
planted by the Flemings continue to be the most productive in the
neighbourhood of the Metropolis."
"Some of the Flemish refugees settled at Wandsworth and began several
branches of industry, as the manufacture of felts, the making of brass
plates for culinary utensils."
"In addition to the Flemish Churches in the City, at the West-end,
and in Spitalfields, there were several thriving congregations in
the suburban districts of London; one of the oldest of these was at
Wandsworth, where a colony of protestant Wallons settled about the year
1570. Having formed themselves as a congregation, they erected a chapel
for worship, which is that standing nearly opposite the Parish Church,
the building bearing this inscription on its front: Erected, 1573;
Enlarged, 1685; Repaired, 1809, 1831."--_Samuel Smile's Huguenots in
England and Ireland_, p.p. 85, 86, 88, 267, 4th Edition.]
In 1816, Stages set out for Battersea from the following places:--A
coach from Pewter Platter, Gracechurch Street, and Black Dog and Camel,
Leadenhall Street, daily at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m., Sunday morning at
11. Red Lion, Strand, daily 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. A cart, Kings and
Key, Fleet Street; Bell, Bell Yard, and George and Gate, and Pewter
Platter, Gracechurch Street; King's Arms, Bishopgate Within; Ship and
Hope, Charing Cross, and Angel and Sun, White Hart, and Spotted Dog,
Strand, daily at 2 p.m. Boats, Queenhithe, and Globe, Hungerford Stairs
daily. Waterman's rates from London Bridge to Chelsea (Battersea)
Bridge--oars, whole fare 2/6, sculls 1/3, with company each person
oars or sculls 4d. Not more than eight persons in any passage-boat
between Windsor and Greenwich. Over the water directly every person 1d.
and sculler's fare 2d. No waterman could be compelled to go below the
Pageants, and Ratcliff Cross Stairs, or above Vauxhall and Feathers
Stairs after five, from Michaelmas to Lady Day, nor after nine in the
evening from Lady Day to Michaelmas.
The annual fair held here in Battersea Square, at Easter, was
afterwards suppressed. The houses in Old Battersea were irregularly
built; the inhabitants were supplied with water from springs. The
County Magistrates held a meeting at Wandsworth, an adjoining village,
where also a Court of Request for the recovery of debts under £5 was
held, under an Act obtained in the 31st of George II., the power of
which was extended by an Act in the 46th of George III. The Court of
Requests, which is called a court of conscience, was first instituted
in the reign of Henry 7th, 1493, and was remodelled by a statute of
Henry 8th, in 1517.--_Stowe._ Established for the summary recovery
of small debts under forty shillings, but in the City of London the
jurisdiction extends to debts of £5.--_Ashe._ There were Courts of
Request in the principal corporate towns throughout the kingdom, until
1847, when they were superseded (those of the City of London excepted)
by the County Debts Court, whose jurisdiction, extending at first to
£20, was enlarged in 1850 to £50. The Lord of the Manor held a Court
Leet at Wandsworth, at which the Headborough and constables for
Battersea were appointed.
"The Manor of Battersea, which, before the conquest, belonged to Earl
Harold, was given by the Conqueror to Westminster Abbey in exchange
for Windsor. The Manor was valued in the Confessor's time at £80, it
afterwards sunk in value to £30, and at the time of the Survey was
estimated at £75. In the taxation of 1291, the possessions of the Abbey
of Westminster in Battersea were rated at £15. Thomas Astle, Esq.,
(says Lysons) has an original deed of Archbishop Theobald, confirming
a charter of King Stephen by which he exempts the greater part of
the Manor from all taxes and secular payments. Dart mentions several
charters relating to Battersea, viz., William the Conqueror's original
grant; a charter of privilege; a grant to the Abbot of Westminster of
liberty to hunt in this Manor; a charter of confirmation in Henry the
First, and another of King Stephen, besides that of privilege before
mentioned."
"After the dissolution of monasteries, the Manor was reserved in the
hands of the Crown; a lease of it was granted to Henry Roydon, Esq., by
Queen Elizabeth, for twenty-one years, in the eighth year of her reign;
it was afterwards granted for the same term to his daughter, then Joan
Holcroft; and was assigned amongst others for the maintenance of Prince
Henry, A.D. 1610. In the year 1627, it was granted in reversion to
Oliver St. John Viscount Grandison. Sir Oliver St. John was the first
of the family who settled at Battersea, he married _Joan_, daughter
and heir of Henry Roydon, Esq., of this place, widow of Sir William
Holcroft. Lord Grandison died in 1630, and was succeeded in that title
and in the Battersea Estate by William Villiers, his great-nephew,
who died of a wound received at the siege of Bristol, A.D. 1644. Sir
John St. John, Bart., nephew of the first Lord Grandison, inherited
Battersea; from him it passed in a regular descent to Sir Walter St.
John, Bart., his nephew, to Sir Walter's son, Henry Viscount St. John,
and to his grandson, Henry Viscount Bolingbroke, who, by an Act of
Parliament passed before his father's death, was enabled to inherit
his estate, notwithstanding his attainder. The estate and manor
continued in the St. John family till 1763, when it was bought in trust
for John Viscount Spencer, and is now property of the present Earl
Spencer."[1]--_Lysons' Environs._
[Footnote 1: CUSTOMS OF THE MANOR.--In this Manor, lands descended
to the youngest sons; but in default of sons, they do not go
to the youngest daughter, but are divided among the daughters
equally.--_Lysons._]
Battersea has many memorials; its historic interest culminates in its
association with the St. Johns. One is stated to have been "eminent
for his piety and moral virtues." Henry in 1684 pleaded guilty of the
murder of Sir William Estcourt, Bart., in a sudden quarrel arising
at a supper party. His case, if Bishop Burnet be correct, could be
regarded only as manslaughter, but he was induced to plead guilty by a
promise of pardon if he followed that advice or of his being subjected
to the utmost rigour of the law on his refusal. No pardon is enrolled
but it is stated that the King granted him a reprieve for a long term
of years; and in the Rolls Chapel is a restitution of the Estate (Pat
36 Charles II.) for which it would seem and the reprieve conjoined he
had to pay £16,000, one half of which Burnet says the King converted
to his own use and bestowed the remainder on two ladies then in high
favour.--_Burnet's History of his own times; fol;_ 1724. _Vol. I. p._
600.
Bolingbroke or Bullingbroke, a town of great antiquity in Lincolnshire,
gave the title of Viscount to the St. Johns of Battersea. In 1700,
Sir Walter St. John founded and endowed a free school for twenty boys,
and both he and his lady afterwards left further sums for apprenticing
some of the number. It was re-built in 1859. Over the gateway in the
High Street, are carved the Arms of St. John, and underneath them is
inscribed the motto, "Rather Deathe than false of Faythe." As we gazed
upon the above motto we were reminded of other lines which we have seen
and read elsewhere. Sir Walter St. John died 3rd July, 1808, aged 87;
his portrait is in the school. He built a gallery at the west end of
the Old Church.
"Dare to be right, dare to be true;
Other men's failures can never save you;
Stand by your conscience, your honour, your faith;
Stand like a hero, and battle till death.