the _Zoological Gardens_, the property of the Zoological Society, and
established in 1826. These gardens are very extensive; and being removed
from the dingy atmosphere, noise, and bustle of London, present an
agreeable and country-like aspect. The grounds have been disposed in
picturesque style—here a clump of shrubby trees and border of flowers,
indigenous and exotic; there a pretty miniature lake; and at intervals a
neat rustic cottage, with straw-thatched roof and honeysuckled porch.
Much of the ground, also, is occupied as green meadows, either subdivided
into small paddocks for deer and other quadrupeds, or dotted with movable
trellis-houses, the abodes of different kinds of birds which require the
refreshing exercise of walking on the green turf. Throughout the whole,
neat gravel-walks wind their serpentine course, and conduct the visitor
to the carnivora-house, reptile-house, bear-pit, monkey-house, aviaries,
aquaria, and other departments of the establishment. The collection of
animals is unquestionably the finest in England. The gardens are open
every week-day, from 9 till sunset, for the admission of visitors, who
pay 1s. each at the gate, or 6d. on Mondays. On Saturday afternoon, in
summer, one of the Guards’ bands generally plays for an hour or two. On
Sunday Fellows are admitted, and non-Fellows by a Fellow’s order.
[Picture: Zoological Gardens]
Botanical Gardens.—These are also situated in the Regent’s Park,
occupying the chief portion of the space within the inner circle. They
belong to the Botanical Society, and contain a very choice collection of
trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants generally. Admission by strangers can
only be obtained through the medium of the members, or occasionally on
the payment of rather a high fee. On the days of the principal flower
and plant shows, these gardens are especially distinguished by the
display of aristocratic fashion and beauty.
[Picture: Horticultural Gardens]
Horticultural Gardens.—These beautiful new grounds are objects of
attraction on many accounts—their merit in connection with garden
architecture, the interest attending the flower-shows there held, and the
special relation existing between the grounds and the Exhibitions at
Brompton. You can enter them by the gates in Exhibition Road and Prince
Albert Road, South Kensington. A few years ago, besides an office in
London, the society had only facilities at Chiswick for holding the great
flower-shows. The present arrangement is in all respects a superior one.
Twenty acres of land were purchased or rented from the Commissioners of
the Great Exhibition of 1851, between the Kensington and Brompton Roads;
the subscribers of the purchase-money being admitted to membership on
favourable conditions. The ground is laid out in three terraces, rising
successively in elevation, and surrounded by Italian arcades open to the
gardens. There are also cascades and waterworks. The highest terrace
has a spacious conservatory, to form a winter-garden. Mr. Sidney Smith
is the architect. The last Great Exhibition building was so planned as
to form a vast southern background to the gardens; and the latter were
spread out in all their beauty, as seen from certain points in the
former. During the summer months the gardens are open on certain
occasions to the public by paying, the days and terms being duly
advertised in the newspapers and journals. Near these gardens is the
towering _Royal Albert Hall of Science and Art_, which was formally
opened by Queen Victoria, on the 29th of March, 1871. The fact of 8,000
people attending within one building to witness the opening of it, will
shew its vast size. The sum of £200,000, up to that date, had been
expended on it. The Hall, in some sense, has been erected in memory of
the late Prince Consort, whose aspirations, during his honourable life
here, were always towards whatever tended to the moral and intellectual
culture of the people of this country. The management of the undertaking
is entrusted to the energetic attention of the scientific men to whom we
owe the South Kensington Museum.
OMNIBUSES; TRAMWAYS; CABS; RAILWAYS; STEAMERS.
Omnibuses.—Very few indeed of the regular old-fashioned coaches are now
to be seen in London. Most of the places within twenty miles of the
metropolis, on every side, are supplied with omnibuses instead. The
first omnibus was started by Mr. Shillibeer, from Paddington to the Bank,
July 4, 1829. From a return with which, by the courtesy of Colonel
Henderson, C.B., Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Scotland Yard,
we were kindly favoured, we gathered, that up to date of the
communication in question,—viz., 28th June, 1870,—the number of such
vehicles licensed in the Metropolitan district was 1,218. Every omnibus
and hackney carriage within the Metropolitan district and the City of
London, and the liberties thereof, has to take out a yearly license, in
full force for one year, unless revoked or suspended; and all such
licenses are to be granted by the Commissioners of Police, whose officers
are constantly inspecting these public vehicles. Generally speaking,
each _omnibus_ travels over the same route, and exactly the same number
of times, day after day, with the exception of some few of the omnibuses
which go longer journeys than the rest, and run not quite so often in
winter as in summer. Hence the former class of omnibus comes to be
associated with a particular route. It is known to the passengers by its
colour, the name of its owner, the name given to the omnibus itself, or
the places to and from which it runs, according to circumstances. The
designations given to the omnibuses, whether meaning or unmeaning in
themselves, are found to be very convenient, because they are generally
written in large conspicuous characters. This being an important matter
to strangers, we shall give a condensed list of some of the chief omnibus
routes in London in the _Appendix_.
Large omnibuses, to work on _street tramways_, after having been tried
within the last few years, having evoked angry discussion between
opponents and defenders, and having been entirely withdrawn, have now
been revived, from Brixton Church to Kennington Gate, on the Mile End and
Whitechapel Roads, City Road, Kingsland, &c., &c., and are rapidly
extending.
There are, to a male visitor, few better ways of getting a bird’s-eye
view of London than by riding outside an omnibus from one end of London
to the other, as, according to the omnibus taken, the route can be
greatly varied.
Cabs.—These convenient vehicles have completely superseded the old
pair-horse hackney-coaches in London; no vehicle of the kind being now
ever seen. There are, according to the return above quoted, 6,793 of the
modern single-horse hackney-coaches in the metropolis altogether—of two
different kinds, ‘four-wheelers’ and ‘Hansoms,’ (named after the
patentee.) The ‘four-wheelers’ are the more numerous; they have two
seats and two doors; they carry four persons, and are entirely enclosed.
The ‘Hansoms’ have two very large wheels, one seat to accommodate two
persons, and are open in front; the driver is perched up behind, and
drives his vehicle at a rapid rate.
Railways.—If omnibuses and cabs are more important than railways to
strangers while _in_ London, railways are obviously the most important of
the three when coming to or departing from London. The following are a
few particulars concerning such railways as enter the metropolis.
_London and North-Western Railway_ has its terminus just behind Euston
Square. The noble portico in front—by far the finest thing of the kind
connected with railway architecture—has been rendered ridiculous by the
alterations in the buildings behind it; for it is now at one corner of an
enclosed court, instead of being in the centre of the frontage. A new
hall leading to the booking-offices, finished in 1849, is worthy of the
great company to which it belongs; the vast dimensions, the fine statue
of George Stephenson, and the _bassi-rilievi_ by Thomas, render it an
object deserving of a visit. This station is the London terminus of a
system exceeding 1,446 miles.
The _Midland Railway_ has a magnificent terminus in the Euston Road, and
a junction with the Metropolitan line. It has already more than 800
miles open.
_Great Northern Railway_ has its terminus at King’s Cross—a building more
remarkable for novelty than for beauty. This company, a severe
competitor to some of older date, has few stations near London; but the
directness of the line of railway renders it important as an outlet to
the north. A good hotel is contiguous to the terminus. The goods’ depôt
has become famous for the vast quantity of coal brought to the
metropolis.
_Great Western Railway_ has its terminus at Paddington, where a fine new
station was built a few years ago. A style of arabesque polychrome
decoration has been adopted, not seen at other metropolitan stations.
Paddington is the head-quarters of the broad-gauge system, which extends
to Weymouth in one direction, to Truro in a second, to Milford Haven in a
third, and to Wolverhampton in a fourth; but some of the broad-gauge
lines belong to other companies; while, on the other hand, this company
has adopted the double-gauge on about 400 miles of its line. The
terminus has a splendid new hotel adjoining it.
_West London Railway_ (now better known as the _West London Extension
Railway_) can hardly be said to have an independent commercial existence.
It was an old and unsuccessful affair, till taken up by four of the great
companies, and enlarged in an important way. It now includes a railway
bridge over the Thames at Battersea; it is connected with the London and
North-Western, the Great Western, and the Metropolitan, on the north, and
with the South-Western, the Brighton, and the Chatham and Dover, on the
south. There are stations at Kensington, Chelsea, and Battersea.
_Hammersmith and City Junction Railway_ crosses the last-named line at
Shepherds’ Bush, and joins the Great Western at Kensal New Town, a mile
or two beyond Paddington.
_North and South-Western Junction Railway_ is, perhaps, valuable rather
as a link between the greater railways, than as an independent line. It
joins the North London at Camden Town, and the South-Western at Kew; and
has stations at Kentish Town, Hampstead, Finchley New Road, Edgeware
Road, Kensal Green, Acton, and Hammersmith. It establishes through
trains with other companies; and although it has no actual London
terminus of its own, it is a great convenience to the western margin of
the metropolis, for the fares are low.
_South-Western Railway_ has its terminus in the Waterloo Road, which has
been placed in connection with the London Bridge Station. The main lines
of the company extend to Portsmouth in one direction, Dorchester in
another, and Exeter in a third; while there is a multitude of
branches—from Wimbledon to Croydon, from Wimbledon to Epsom and
Leatherhead, from Wandsworth to Richmond and Windsor, from Barnes to
Hounslow, from Staines to Reading, &c. There is no good hotel whatever
near the Waterloo or Vauxhall Stations—a defect which seems to need a
remedy.
_Victoria and Crystal Palace Railway_ is a concern in which so many
companies have an interest, that it is not easy to define the ownership.
The Victoria Station, within a quarter of a mile of the Queen’s Palace,
Pimlico, is very large, but certainly not very handsome. The _Grosvenor
Hotel_, attached to it, may rank among the finest in the metropolis. The
Brighton, the Chatham and Dover, and the Great Western, are accommodated
at this station, where both the broad and narrow gauges are laid down.
The railway leads thence, to join the Brighton at Sydenham and Norwood,
by a railway-bridge across the Thames; it has stations at Battersea,
Wandsworth, Balham, Streatham, Norwood, and the Crystal Palace; and
throws off branches to meet the lines of the other three companies above
named.
_London_, _Brighton_, _and South Coast Railway_ has for its terminus a
portion of the great London Bridge Station, contiguous to which a hotel
has been constructed. It also has termini at Victoria and Kensington.
The line leads nearly due south to the sea at Brighton, and then along
the sea-coast, from Hastings in the east to Portsmouth in the west.
There are also several branches to accommodate Surrey and Sussex. Taken
altogether, this is the most remarkable _pleasure-line_ in England,—the
traffic of this kind between London and Brighton being something
marvellous.
_South-Eastern Railway_ has another portion of the large but incongruous
London Bridge Station in its possession. The seaside termini of the line
are at Margate, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover, and Hastings. The Greenwich and
North Kent branches are important feeders; while there are others of less
value. The company have spent a vast sum of money in extending their
line to the north of the Thames—by forming a city station in Cannon
Street, with a bridge over the river midway between London and Southwark
Bridges; and a West-end Station at Charing Cross, with a bridge over the
river at (what was till lately) Hungerford Market. There is also a
connection with the South-Western terminus in the Waterloo Road. The
company have been forced to pay a sum of £300,000 for St. Thomas’s
Hospital, as the only means of insuring a convenient course for this
extension—a striking instance of the stupendous scale on which railway
operations are now conducted.
_London_, _Chatham_, _and Dover Railway_ is a very costly enterprise. It
may be said to start from two junctions with the Metropolitan, has a
large station near Ludgate Hill, (involving great destruction of
property,) crosses the Thames a little eastward of Blackfriars Bridge,
and proceeds through Surrey and Kent to Sydenham, Bromley, Crays,
Sevenoaks, Chatham, Sheerness, Faversham, Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate,
Canterbury, Dover Pier, &c. It also comprises a curvilinear line from
Ludgate to Pimlico, with stations at Blackfriars, Newington, Walworth,
Camberwell, Loughborough Road, Brixton, Clapham, Wandsworth Road, and
Battersea; and a branch to Peckham, Nunhead, and the Crystal Palace.
_Blackwall Railway_, with which is associated the _Tilbury and Southend_,
has its terminus in Fenchurch Street. The station is small and
unattractive; but it accommodates a wonderful amount of passenger
traffic. The original line extended only from London to Blackwall, with
intermediate stations at Shadwell, Stepney, Limehouse, West India Docks,
and Poplar. An important branch from Stepney to Bow establishes a
connection with the Great Eastern Railway valuable to both companies. At
Stepney also begins the Tilbury and Southend line, passing through
Bromley, Barking, and numerous other places. Accommodation is provided,
a little way from the Fenchurch Street Station, for a large amount of
goods traffic. The line is now leased in perpetuity to the Great Eastern
Company.
_Great Eastern Railway_ has its terminus in Bishopsgate Street, or rather
Shoreditch, and a large depôt and station at Stratford. The Shoreditch
station is large. This terminus, however, will shortly be removed to
Broad Street, City. The lines of this company are numerous, and ramify
in many directions towards the east, north-east, and north. Its terminal
points (with those of the associated companies) at present
are—Peterborough, Hunstanton, Wells, Yarmouth, Aldborough, and Harwich;
with less distant termini at Ongar and North Woolwich.
_North London Railway_, consisting wholly of viaduct and cutting, has its
terminus at Broad Street, Finsbury. All its stations are considered to
be in London. It joins the London and North-Western near Primrose Hill,
and the Blackwall at Stepney. It has intermediate stations at Camden
Road, Caledonian Road, Islington, Cannonbury, Kingsland, Dalston,
Hackney, Victoria Park, and Bow. Trains run every quarter of an hour, in
both directions, at fares varying from 2d. to 4d.; and the number of
passengers is immense.
_Metropolitan Railway_, from Finsbury to Paddington, is a very remarkable
one, nearly all tunnel, and requiring the carriages to be constantly
lighted with gas. It runs from Westminster Bridge, _viâ_ Pimlico,
Brompton, Kensington, Notting Hill, and Bayswater, to Paddington, where
it joins the Great Western. It then goes under Praed Street and the New
Road to King’s Cross. There it joins the Great Northern, and thence goes
on to Holborn Bridge, Smithfield Dead Meat Market, and Moorgate Street.
Since the opening of the Metropolitan District Extension Railway, you can
go at present (July, 1870) from the Mansion House, under the Northern
Thames Embankment, before described, to Westminster Bridge, &c. There
are stations near the Mansion House, the terminus; at Blackfriars, the
Temple, Charing Cross, and Westminster.
_Steamers_ and _Steamboat Piers_ have been already referred to.
SHORT EXCURSIONS.
WE shall now direct the stranger’s attention to a few places of interest
easily accessible from the metropolis—beginning with those situated
westward, or up the river.
UP THE RIVER.
[Picture: Chelsea Hospital]
Chelsea.—Chelsea, once a village, is now a part of the metropolis,
Pimlico and Belgravia having supplied the intervening link. During the
last century a pleasant ramble across the fields was much in favour to
the _Chelsea bunhouse_; but no one thinks of Chelsea now, except as part
of London. Sloane Square and Street, and Hans Place, were named after
Sir Hans Sloane, who lived in that neighbourhood. The chief place of
interest at Chelsea is the _Hospital_ for retired invalid soldiers, an
institution similar to the asylum for old seamen at Greenwich. The
hospital, which is situated on a flat stretch of ground bordering the
Thames, and was planned by Sir Christopher Wren, consists chiefly of one
large edifice of red brick, several stories in height, forming a centre
and two wings, or three sides of a square, with the open side towards the
bank of the Thames. On the north, in which is the main entrance, the
style of architecture is simple, being ornamented with only a plain
portico. The inner part of the centre building is more decorated, there
being here a piazza of good proportions, forming a sheltered walk for the
veteran inmates. In the centre of the open square stands a statue, by
Grinling Gibbons, of Charles II., in whose time the hospital took its
rise. The only parts of the structure considered worthy to be shewn to
strangers are the chapel and old dining-hall, both in the central
building. The chapel is neat and plain in appearance; the rows of
benches being furnished with prayer-books and hassocks, and the floor
being paved with chequered marble. Above the communion-table is a
painting of the Ascension, by Sebastian Ricci. The dining-hall is
equally spacious, but is now disused as a refectory. In the hall and
chapel are about 100 flags, taken by British troops in various battles.
The usual number of in-pensioners is about 500, and of out-pensioners not
fewer than 60,000 to 70,000, who reside in all parts of the United
Kingdom. The former are provided with all necessaries, while the latter
have each pensions varying according to their grade. The inmates wear an
antique garb of red cloth, in which they may be seen loitering about the
neighbourhood.
Near Sloane Square is situated a large building forming the _Royal
Military Asylum_, familiarly called the _Duke of York’s School_, for the
support and education of about 500 poor children, whose fathers were
non-commissioned officers and privates in the army. Each regiment of the
British army contributes annually one day’s pay, to aid in supporting the
institution. Between Sloane Square and Chelsea Bridge is the fine new
Barracks for the Foot Guards: the only handsome barrack structure in the
metropolis.
[Picture: Star and Garter, Putney]
Chelsea to Chiswick.—_Battersea Park_, elsewhere described, is just
opposite Chelsea. Beyond the park are _Battersea_ and _Wandsworth_,
places containing very few objects of interest; and backed by _Clapham_
and _Wimbledon_, where many London merchants and tradesmen have their
private residences. Beyond Wandsworth lie _Putney_, _Barnes_, and
_Mortlake_, where the river makes a great bend towards Kew. Between
Putney and Kew many _Regattas_, or boat-races, take place during the
summer; especially the famous annual contest, from Putney to Mortlake,
between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge: these are among the
most pleasant of the up-river scenes. Omnibuses, steamboats, and the
South-Western Railway, give abundant accommodation to the places here
named. On the Middlesex side of the river, just beyond Chelsea, are
_Cremorne Gardens_. Next, we get into a region of Market-Gardens, from
which London is supplied with vast quantities of fruit and vegetables.
_Walham Green_, _Parson’s Green_, and _Fulham_, lie in the immediate
vicinity of these gardens. Strangers would find an hour or two
pleasantly spent hereabouts. The bishops of London have their palace at
Fulham, a picturesque old structure. After passing _Hammersmith_, where
there is a pretty suspension bridge, we come to _Chiswick_, noted for its
market-gardens; here is the house in which Hogarth died; and in the
churchyard is his tomb, with an inscription by David Garrick. The Duke
of Sutherland has a fine mansion at Chiswick; and near at hand are the
old gardens of the Horticultural Society.
[Picture: Palm-House, Kew Gardens]
Kew Gardens.—_Kew_ is one of the pleasantest villages near London. When
we have crossed the Thames from Brentford, by the bridge, we come upon
the green, bounded on three sides by countryfied-looking houses, and on
the fourth by the splendid gardens. The place is very easily reached—by
omnibuses from the city to the Middlesex end of the bridge; by steamers
every half-hour during summer; and by trains from the Waterloo and the
North London Stations. It may be well to remember, however, that the
so-called Kew Station is not actually at Kew. There is another, however,
near the Gardens. By far the most interesting object at Kew is the
famous _Botanic Gardens_. This is a very beautiful establishment,
maintained at the public expense. It contains a rare collection of
plants, obtained from all parts of the world, arranged and labelled in
admirable order by Dr. Dalton Hooker. The flower-beds, hot-houses, and
conservatories, are very numerous. The _great palm __house_, with its
exotics, reaching to a height of 60 feet, and constructed at a cost of
£30,000, forms a grand object. The new _temperate-house_ was constructed
from the designs of Mr. Burton; 212 feet long, 137 wide, and 60 high,
with two wings 112 feet by 62. Extensive new works have been
added—including a lake having a communication with the Thames by a tunnel
under the river-terrace, and a winter-garden, or enclosed conservatory,
more than twice as large as the palm-house. Three detached buildings
have been fitted up as a _Museum of Economic Botany_. The _Pleasure
Grounds_ form a kind of Park contiguous to the Botanic Gardens; the
gardens are 75 acres in extent, and the grounds 240 acres. This
beautiful place is freely open to the public in the afternoon, on Sundays
as well as week-days, after one o’clock.
[Picture: Richmond Bridge]