[Picture: Oak, planted by Charles the Second]

Hyde Park Corner is now the most magnificent entrance to the metropolis;

the entrances to the Parks, Apsley House, and, in the background, the

glorious towers of Westminster, form a scene at once imposing and

national. Formerly the entrance was very mean; a turnpike blocked the

way, and instead of the classic archways, paltry lodges and iron gates

led to the parks. Between the lodge and park side was a dead wall, eight

feet high, built in the reign of Charles II., but removed in 1828. The

toll-house was sold by auction, October 4th, 1825, and cleared away

immediately.

[Picture: Hyde Park Corner—1824]

The existing entrance to Hyde Park was completed in 1828, from designs of

Mr. Decimus Burton; the frieze was designed by Archibald Henning; the

ironwork by Bramah. The Triumphal Arch leading to Constitution Hill was

built about the same time; its beautiful gates were likewise the work of

Bramah.

From Hyde Park Corner the distances to the west are measured; a standard

stood near to Apsley House till about 1827.

KENSINGTON GORE was, as before shown, originally called

Kyngsgore—firstly, because it belonged to the king; and secondly, from

its peculiar shape; gore, an old English word, meaning “a narrow slip of

land,” according to the old glossaries. In Kent, the peasantry call a

triangularly-shaped piece of ground a gore; and seamstresses use the word

in a similar manner to the present day, to express a gusset or piece of

stuff let into their work. The early history of the Gore in connection

with Kilburn Priory has been noticed; and here its modern story must be

told. From Prince Albert’s Road to Noel House is generally now

considered as the Gore.

Brompton Park Nursery was established during the reign of Charles II.

During the greater part of the seventeenth century the land appears to

have belonged to the Percivals, ancestors of the Earl of Egmont. Philip

Percival, the friend of Pym and Hollis, was born here in 1603. Brompton

Park appears to have extended from what is now called Cromwell Road to

the road from Knightsbridge to Kensington. Various properties were cut

out of it; but the Percivals were here at least till 1675. Soon after

this date about sixty acres appear to have been formed into a nursery

garden, the first ever established in this country. It early excited

great attention, more particularly about 1690–1700, when it belonged to

George London and Henry Wise, the most celebrated gardeners of the time.

Evelyn, in his “Diary,” records, on April 24th, 1694, taking “Mr. Waller

to see Brompton Park, where he was in admiration at the store of rare

plants, and the method he found in that noble nursery, and how well it

was cultivated.” Evelyn again alludes to the nursery in his “Sylva,”

declaring that the “sight” of it “gave an idea of something greater” than

he could express. He speaks highly of the skill and industry here shown,

and says the like is not to be met with in this or any other country.

Bowack, writing in 1705, affirms that if the plants were valued but at

one penny each, they would be worth above £40,000.

Messrs. London and Wise translated from the French “The Complete

Gardener,” published in 1701. They were gardeners to William III.; and

Kensington Gardens were laid out by them. Wise also superintended the

laying-out of Hampton Court; and Evelyn mentions visiting him there.

After them, the establishment went through various hands; but when the

surrounding fields were built on, the smoke injured the plants; and the

railways bringing up fruit and vegetables cheaper than they could be

brought to perfection at here, the business gradually diminished, and in

1853 entirely ceased.

Along an ancient wall separating the grounds from those of Cromwell

House, a valuable collection of vines was planted, which were cultivated

with great success. This wall, the contents of the gardens, and the

dwellings therein, were cleared away in 1855. The following list of

owners is chiefly taken from Faulkner:—

1681. Lukar and Co. 1714. Smith and Co.

1686. Cooke and Co. 1756. Jefferies and Co.

1689. Wise. 1788. Gray and Co.

1694. London and Wise. — Gray, Adams, and Hogg.

1700. Swinhoe. 1849. Adams and Hogg.

Mr. James Gray, who was chief partner in this concern so long, died at

Brompton in 1849. He is mentioned with respect in Faulkner’s “History of

Kensington.”

Park House, a plain but spacious mansion, pulled down in 1856, adjoined

Princes Gate. It was divided from the road by a brick wall, part of that

ancient one just mentioned, for this house stood within Brompton Park:

hence its name. Probably a more ancient mansion stood here; but the late

one was for many years the seat of the Veres, bankers of the city of

London. Afterwards it became the residence of William Evans, Esq., M.P.,

soon after whose death it was sold.

Eden Lodge was the residence of Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India.

Here he retired after his return, and died in 1849.

Mercer Lodge, a small brick residence, was inhabited by Frank Marryat,

son of the novelist, and himself an author of one or two books of travel.

Mr. Henry Mayhew now resides here.

Immediately adjoining is a row of five houses, called emphatically

Kensington Gore. All are faced with white stucco, are very small, and

appear as if intended for the lodge of some great mansion never erected.

Two of them, which seem to contain but one room, have, however, second

storeys at the back, and good gardens, which, with the Park in front,

render them very pleasant residences. At one of these houses, in 1816,

Mrs. Inchbald inquired after some lodgings which were to let. The

landlady was too fine a personage for the writer of “The Simple Story,”

and so exacting in her demands that her applicant indignantly wended her

way elsewhere. No. 2, now called Hamilton Lodge, was once the occasional

residence of John Wilkes. The house was kept by Mrs. Arnold, mother of

his second daughter Harriett, who married Mr. Serjeant Rough, afterwards

an Indian judge. Wilkes sometimes had high visitors here: Mr. Leigh Hunt

quotes a memorandum of his, regarding a dinner here to Counts Woronzow

and Nesselrode; and if we are to set down Sir Philip Francis as Junius,

here Junius visited, as Mrs. Rough said, frequently; and when a child he

once cut off a lock of her hair. Wilkes to the last walked hence to the

city, attired in his scarlet and buff suit, with a cocked hat and

rosette, and military boots, a dress authorised by his position as

colonel of militia. The urn over the doorway Mr. Leigh Hunt imagines to

have been placed there by him as an indication of his classic taste, and

the supposition is most probably correct. No. 5 was the residence for

awhile of Count D’Orsay.

GORE HOUSE.—In 1808, Mr. Wilberforce took this mansion (which had

previously been the residence of a Government contractor) for his home.

He found it, he says, more salubrious than his house at Clapham; and

writes further, “We are just one mile from the turnpike at Hyde Park

Corner, having about three acres of pleasure-ground around our house, or

rather behind it, and several old trees, walnut and mulberry, of thick

foliage. I can sit and read under their shade, with as much admiration

of the beauties of nature as if I were two hundred miles from the great

city.” Here he passed many years of his happy and useful life, his house

the resort of those men who awoke our land from the deadly torpor into

which years of fearful warfare had plunged it. Here came Clarkson,

Zachary Macaulay, Romilly, and others, to commune together on those

measures which, to quote Channing, brought about “the most signal

expression afforded by our times of the progress of civilisation and a

purer Christianity.”

Wilberforce was exceedingly partial to Gore House, and his friends appear

to have always found a ready home within it. In 1814, Mr. Henry

Thornton, for many years M.P. for Southwark, and one of his most earnest

supporters, came here for the benefit of the air and medical aid. He

lingered a few weeks, and died here January 17th, 1815, aged fifty-three.

Isaac Milner, too, an early friend, who came to London to attend the

Board of Longitude, died here after five weeks’ illness, on April 1st,

1820.

The following year Wilberforce quitted Gore House. He retired to Marden,

in Surrey, a lovely spot and an interesting locality; but he regretted

leaving

“The still retreats that soothed his tranquil breast,”

and often in after years alludes to his old home, its associations, and

his “Kensington Gore breakfasts.”

Great is the contrast Gore House next presents: strange are the

mutabilities of a metropolitan mansion. After the philanthropist, a few

unknown persons held the place ere the next celebrity, one of a totally

opposite character, reigned. Lady Blessington—for to her allusion is

made—came here in 1836; and the opposition of ideas called forth by such

persons seems to have suggested to James Smith his

GORE HOUSE: AN IMPROMPTU.

Mild Wilberforce, by all beloved,

Once own’d this hallow’d spot,

Whose zealous eloquence improved

The fetter’d Negro’s lot;

Yet here still slavery attacks

When Blessington invites:

The chains from which he freed the Blacks,

She rivets on the Whites.

Lady Blessington came to Gore House in 1836; and the brilliant circle

which thronged around her in Seamore Place was increased with the greater

capabilities of the new residence. Haydon, writing February 27th, 1835,

says, “Everybody goes to Lady Blessington’s. She has the first news of

everything, and everybody seems delighted to tell her. She is the centre

of more talent and gaiety than any woman of fashion in London.” To Gore

House came novelists and dramatists, artists and actors, statesmen and

refugees. Here Louis Napoleon, just escaped from captivity at Ham, first

came for the shelter of an English roof; and afterwards—deep lesson too—a

few years later she went forth as privately perhaps as her guest had

entered, from the palace of which she had been Queen, to seek in the

capital of him whom she had harboured, that support she had so freely

bestowed on him; the late refugee then having an empire rapidly falling

into his hands; her object was not gained, and on this occasion “hope

left a wretched one that sought her.” Lady Blessington finally quitted

Gore House April 14th, 1849.

Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, was daughter of Edmund Power, a

coarse, unfeeling squire of Tipperary. She was born September 1st, 1790,

and at fifteen married to a Captain Farmer, as brutal a character as her

father. They separated in 1807, and he, compelled to go to India, died

there.

Being denied a home under her father’s roof, she for some years lived in

seclusion and study, but becoming acquainted with the Earl of

Blessington, married him in February, 1818. Then another phase of her

life commenced, and their mansion in St. James’s Square was the resort of

the most fashionable of the day. Her beauty at this time was very great,

and afforded a theme for the pen of Byron, and the pencil of Sir Thomas

Lawrence. With the poet she became acquainted during her well-known

continental tour, during which the introduction to D’Orsay also took

place. Lord Blessington dying at Paris in 1825, his widow remained there

till after the Revolution of 1830, when she returned to London.

Connected with the story of Lady Blessington, that of Count D’Orsay is

intimately woven. He was a great favourite of Lord Blessington, whose

daughter by his first wife was, when quite a young girl, fetched from

school to marry him; and a promise also is said to have been given from

the Count to his Lordship, and from the Count’s mother to Lady

Blessington, that they (the Count and her Ladyship) would never leave

each other. Be that as it may, they lived together for above a quarter

of a century, and increase of years seemed still stronger to consolidate

the engagement. D’Orsay led a gay and extravagant life in London,

considerably beyond his means, in great measure appearing to consider his

patronage sufficient payment. He undoubtedly possessed great abilities,

was an excellent artist, and a humourist of the first water. But his

conduct to his wife was cruel in the extreme; she was spurned by him

entirely; he still pocketing an income from her father’s estates! For a

long time he could only make his exit from Gore House on Sundays, for

fear of arrest, and his extravagancies vastly accelerated the day of

retribution. He and Lady Blessington retired to Paris, and Gore House

was stripped of its contents by public sale. There, whatever was the

cause, they met not with the reception anticipated. Lady Blessington

died soon after, on June 4th, 1849. D’Orsay designed her monument, and

in little more than three years after his career was ended. He died July

1st, 1852.

Gore House became, in 1851, Monsieur Soyer’s “Symposium for all Nations.”

Here that celebrated minister of the interior provided international

feasts, farewell banquets, &c.; and various amusements in the

highly-decorated rooms conduced to the public pleasure. The gardens were

beautifully laid out and ornamented with sculpture, while the interior

testified to the industry and taste of Madame Soyer in the art of

painting. In February, 1852, all was again dismantled, its _Baronial

Hall_ and _Encampment of all Nations_ being sold by auction.

Gore House was shortly afterwards purchased by the Royal Commissioners of

the Great Exhibition of 1851. The whole estate comprised about

twenty-one acres, added to which were Gray’s Nursery Grounds, Park House,

and Grove House, and various market-gardens, the grounds of Cromwell

House, and other lands belonging to the Earl of Harrington and the Baron

de Villars. Acts of Parliament were passed legalising the plans of the

Commissioners, and in accordance various old footpaths, &c., were

stopped, and houses removed. A complete revolution has been effected,

two magnificent roads leading from the Gore to Cromwell Road at Brompton

have been formed, and at length Gore House itself was doomed. Its

materials were sold by lots on July 17th, 1857, and soon after the

building was removed.

Grove House, adjoining Gore House, was for many years the residence of

Lady Elizabeth Whitbread, widow of the celebrated statesman. With Gore

House it has, since 1852, been used for schools and offices of the

department of Science and Art.

Beyond this spot our description does not extend: the district of All

Saints and manor of Knightsbridge stretch much further, but such parts

have been already described by Mr. Faulkner. Ere, however, I quite leave

the Gore, it must be mentioned that, among others, Carrington Bowles, the

celebrated printseller, had a house, and died here June 20th, 1793. The

Rev. Thomas Clare, vicar of St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, and an author of

some repute, also at one time resided here.

KINNERTON STREET is so called from an estate belonging to the Grosvenor

family. Here is a dissecting school and anatomical museum attached to

St. George’s Hospital.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE GREEN, formed by the junction of the Kensington and Fulham

Roads, was formerly of greater extent than at the present time. It was

formerly the village green in reality, and its last Maypole was preserved

as lately as 1800. At its east end was, till about 1835, a watch-house

and pound, and Addison, in a humorous paper in the “Spectator,” alludes

to it. Proposing to satisfy by home news the craving for intelligence

occasioned by the just concluded war, he writes,—“By my last advices from

Knightsbridge, I hear that a horse was clapped into the pound on the

third instant, and that he was not released when the letters came

away.”—(_Spectator_, No. 142.)

The greater part of the Green is now covered by Middle Row, a medley of

very inferior houses. On the north side is an old inn (rebuilt in 1851)

called after the bluff Marquis of Granby. The soldier has been

dethroned, and Sir Joseph Paxton promoted in his stead.

Vernon, the Butcher Cumberland, Wolfe, Hawke,

Prince Ferdinand, Granby, Burgoyne, Keppell, Howe,

Evil and good, have had their tithe of talk,

And fill’d the sign-posts then as Wellesley now.

William Moffatt, who in conjunction with Frederick Wood, surveyed London

and published a valuable and clever map of the levels thereof, lived at

this time in Middle Row. His coadjutor still lives (in indigent

circumstances) in the locality.

The small plot of ground railed in, is said, by a very general tradition,

to have been the spot where the victims of the plague from the Lazar

House and elsewhere in the hamlet were buried. I have strong reasons for

placing faith in this tradition; and in 1808, some human remains found

where now stands William Street were buried here, it being considered the

proper spot for such. King’s Row, built in 1785, has not a cellar to a

single house for this reason. At its end is a detached brick building,

the school-house of All Saints district.

A market was held here till the beginning of the present century for

cattle every Thursday; the last pen-posts were not removed till 1850. A

fair was also held here annually on July 31st.

Grosvenor House, which formed with Mr. Rogers’ premises one tenement, was

for many years the residence of the Gosling family, who were for a long

while connected with the hamlet. Francis Gosling, Esq., an eminent

banker, lived here; he died February 25th, 1817. Bennett Gosling, Esq.,

his nephew, resided in Lowndes Square, where he died, May 12th, 1855.

The “Pakenham” was built as the hotel for an intended railway terminus.

On its site was an old house, many years the residence of Mr. Egg, the

founder of the well-known firm of gunsmiths in Piccadilly.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE TERRACE till within the last five-and-twenty years had not

a shop in it. Every house was private, and had a deep basement area in

front. The corner house, now divided, was for many years Mr. Telfair’s

“College for the Deaf and Dumb.” James Telfair died in 1796, aged 84;

his son, Cortez Telfair, died April 23rd, 1816, aged 65. Both were

buried at Kensington, and in the church is a tablet to their memory. It

states Cortez Telfair to have been celebrated for his literary

attainments; but what these were I have not been able to learn, other

than that, in 1775, he edited “The Town and Country Spelling Book.” {147}

In one of the houses immediately facing the Chapel resided for many years

Maurice Morgann, Esq., author of an “Essay on the Character of Falstaff,”

and Under-Secretary of State to the first administration of Lord

Shelburne. He was also Secretary to the Embassy for ratifying the Peace

with the United States in 1783.

Besides his remarkable “Essay on Falstaff,” he published “Remarks on the

Slave Trade,” a useful and earnest pamphlet. In the “Gentleman’s

Magazine,” December, 1815, a writer endeavoured to fix on him the

authorship of the “Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers,” now known to

have been concocted by Mason and Walpole, but published under the

pseudonyme of “Malcolm M‘Gregor, of Knightsbridge, Esq.” But Dr.

Symmons, Morgann’s friend and executor, denied the ownership, and

declared his repeated injunctions were, that all his papers should be

destroyed, and that he never published any but those with his name.

Symmons had previously said, “Some of those writings destroyed, in the

walks of politics, metaphysics, and criticism, would have planted a

permanent laurel on his grave.” {148} Mr. Morgann is one who has an

honourable niche in Boswell’s inimitable “Life of Johnson.”

Morgann afterwards removed to High Row, where he died March 28th, 1802,

in his seventy-seventh year. “As a man, he stood detached from the

general contagion of the age he lived in; neither complying with the

vices of the great, however familiar or seductive, nor with their

frivolities, however general or imposing. His mind was compounded of

pure and simple elements, which inseparably mixed in his business, his

friendships, and intercourse with all mankind; and it was often no less

pleasing to his friends, than to the lovers of virtue in general, to see

with what lustre those plain but prepossessing colours outshone the glare

of fashion, and the accommodating varnish of modern morals.” {149a}

LOWNDES SQUARE, so named from William Lowndes, Esq., of Chesham, to whom

the land belongs. According to Dr. King, rector of Chelsea (1694 to

1732), in his MS. account of that parish, {149b} this site at one time

belonged to a Benedictine convent. It certainly formed part of the gift

of Edward the Confessor to the Abbey, but has been in lay hands ever

since the Reformation. At about where William Street joins the Square

stood a large detached house, formerly a place of amusement, and known as

Spring Garden. Dr. King mentions it as “an excellent Spring Garden.”

{149c} And among the entries of “The Virtuosi, or St. Luke’s Club,”

Established by Vandyke, is the following allusion:—

“Paid and spent at Spring Gardens, by Knightsbridge, forfeiture £3 15

shgs.” {149d}

That enjoyable chronicler, Pepys, too, I fancy alludes to Spring Gardens

in the following entry in his “Diary.” It must be premised that the

hearty clerk of the Admiralty had been to Kensington, and there, as was

frequently his wont, had had what he innocently and amusingly terms a

“frolic”:—

“June 16, 1664. I lay in my drawers, and stockings, and waistcoat

till five of the clock, and so up, and being well pleased with our

frolic, walked to Knightsbridge, and there ate a mess of cream, and

so to St. James’,” &c.

And again he chronicles (April 24th, 1665) a visit to the Park. “But the

King being there, and I now-a-days being doubtful of being seen in any

pleasure, did part from the town, and away out of the Park to

Knightsbridge, and there ate and drank in the coach and so home.”

Spring Gardens was at this time a name applied to almost all places of

outdoor recreation, the appellation being borrowed from the celebrated

garden near Charing Cross. But Pepys speaks also of a place of

entertainment called “The World’s End,” at Knightsbridge, which I believe

could have been only the sign adopted by the owner of this garden for his

house. Pepys, on another occasion relating that he went forth to Hyde

Park, was “_too __soon to go in_, so went on to Knightsbridge, and there

ate and drank at the World’s End, where we had good things, and then back

to the Park, and there till night, being fine weather, and much company.”

(“Diary,” May 9th, 1669.) Again, on May 31st in the same year, he

records going “to the World’s End, a drinking-house by the Park, and

there merry, and so home late.”

Congreve, in his “Love for Love,” alludes, in a regular woman’s quarrel,

to the place:—

_Mrs. Frail_.—Pooh, here’s a clutter!—Why should it reflect upon

you?—I don’t doubt but you have thought yourself happy in a hackney

coach before now. If I had gone to Knightsbridge, or to Chelsea, or

to Spring Garden, or Barn Elms, with a man alone—something might have

been said.

_Mrs. Foresight_.—Why, was I ever in any of those places! What do

you mean, sister?

_Mrs. Frail_.—Was I? what do you mean?

_Mrs. Foresight_.—You have been at a worse place.

_Mrs. Frail_.—I at a worse place, and with a man!

_Mrs. Foresight_.—I suppose you would not go alone to the World’s

End?

_Mrs. Frail_.—The World’s End! What do you mean to banter me?

_Mrs. Foresight_.—Poor innocent; you don’t know that there is a place

called the World’s End. I’ll swear you can keep your

countenance—surely you’ll make an admirable player.

_Mrs. Frail_.—I’ll swear you have a great deal of impudence, and, in

my mind, too much for the stage.

_Mrs. Foresight_.—Very well, that will appear who has most. You

never were at the World’s End?

_Mrs. Frail_.—No.

_Mrs. Foresight_.—You deny it positively to my face?

_Mrs. Frail_.—Your face! what’s your face?

_Mrs. Foresight_.—No matter for that, it is as good a face as yours.

_Mrs. Frail_.—Not by a dozen years’ wearing. But I do deny it,

positively, to your face, then.

_Mrs. Foresight_.—I’ll allow you now to find fault with my face; for

I’ll swear your impudence has put me out of countenance. But look

you here now; where did you lose this gold bodkin?—Oh, sister!—oh,

sister!

_Mrs. Frail_.—My bodkin!

_Mrs. Foresight_.—Nay, it is yours—look at it.

_Mrs. Frail_.—Well, if you go to that, where did you find this

bodkin? Oh sister! sister! sister every way!

_Mrs. Foresight_.—Oh! devil on’t that I could not discover her

without betraying myself. (_Aside_.)

The house belonging to this garden stood till about 1826. For many years

it was the residence of a Dr. C. Kelly, who here had an anatomical

museum. He resided here in 1773, and quitted it about 1805. The house

was afterwards tenanted by a gentleman named Bowes; and the museum became

the auction-room of Mr. Herring. About 1818, Warren, builder to George

III., took the premises; he turned the whole into workshops. After him

came Mr. Cubitt, who, about 1828, procuring a lease from Mr. Lowndes,

pulled the whole down, and laid out the ground for buildings. The first

houses were erected about 1836–7, but it was not till 1849 that the

square was wholly completed.

Various relics of the Civil War have been found on this site: arms,

spurs, bits, cockades, &c.; and relics telling of a different kind of

struggle—staves and handcuffs, evidences of successful rencontres between

the footpad and the constable. A path by the stream’s side ran along to

Bloody Bridge, proceeding thence to Ranelagh. On grand gala nights such

paths were protected by patrols and the more able of the Chelsea

Pensioners.

Among the eminent inhabitants of Lowndes Square may be enumerated the

late Sir William Molesworth and Mr. Leader, M.P. for Westminster, at No.

1; Mr. M. J. Higgins, celebrated for his contributions on military

matters to the _Times_, also lived at No. 1. He is thus delineated by

Mrs. Gascoigne in her poem, “Belgravia:”—

“Nor whilst my muse still haunts these favourite bounds,

Shall she forget to sing thy Square, O Lowndes!

Harbour of peace, near which the troubled sea

Of human traffic roars unceasingly,

Yet enters not—though day by day it swells

Fiercer and fiercer; at the opening dwells

A man whom rage and clamour ne’er withstood,

The well-known champion of the neighbourhood!

Him all who seek oppression view with fear,

For sharp his wit, his mind acute and clear!

With subtlest force, he wields the powerful pen.

But aims it at abuses, not at men!

Him Vestries know, and Rate Collectors dread,

For cool his spirit—hard his reasoning head;

And though a giant in his strength he be,

Yet free from Tyrant’s love of rule is he;

And whilst men seek, and to his judgment bend,

They find in him a leader and a friend.” {154}

Mrs. Gascoigne, author of “Belgravia,” “Spencer’s Cross Manor House,”

“The Next Door Neighbours,” and other works, resides at No. 14. Admiral

Sotheby, one who fought at the Nile, lived at No. 38, and died January,

20th, 1854. Sir Henry Campbell, who died in 1856, Sir Willoughby Cotton,

Mr. Tite, M.P., Mr. Brassey, the extensive contractor, Mr. Whiteside,

M.P., Mr. R. B. Wingfield, and Mr. Malins, M.P., number also among the

inhabitants of Lowndes Square.

The row of houses on the south side was designed by Mr. Lewis Cubitt, and

with greater regard to architectural effect than anything of its kind

then in the metropolis. It was built in 1843.

LOWNDES TERRACE—A row of shops between William Street and Sloane Street,

occupying the site of a row of old-fashioned houses, of two storeys high,

with pleasant gardens in front and rear, giving the roadway quite a rural

appearance. The house at the eastern end belonged to one Banting, who

built some projecting shops over the front gardens in 1815, and named the

row Waterloo Market. His expectations were not realised; and in 1823

these old premises were removed, and the present houses erected. There

were but six houses. At No. 5 resided, fifty years ago, Andrews, an

artist of some repute in his day; and at No. 6 for some years lived the

mother of Rodwell, the author and composer; and her son’s early years

were partly passed at this pleasant spot.

At the west end of this row a narrow lane, called Porter’s Lane, led to

the fields. On its right-hand side, and divided from it by a hedge,

stood a large detached mansion, known as Knightsbridge Grove, approached

through a fine avenue of stately trees from the highway. For many years

a man named Hicks, a “sporting character,” kept the place, and George

IV., when Prince of Wales, and others of similar tastes, were led hither.

Mr. Egg, the gunmaker, once erected a large wooden building for some

balloon experiments in the grounds. And this was, I believe, the house

where the notorious Teresa Cornellys attempted to recover her bygone

reputation.

Teresa Cornellys was a native of Germany; and early showing an

inclination to music, was brought up to it as a profession, and soon

became celebrated on the Continent as a public singer. Having

accumulated a considerable sum of money, she came to England, about 1757;

and her fame gradually becoming known, she was induced, in 1763, to open

Carlisle House, Soho Square, as a place of public entertainment. None

but the upper classes were admitted, and the rooms were decorated in the

most costly manner. Her balls, concerts, and masquerades soon gained

great celebrity, being carried on in a most glaring and extravagant

style. And this was not all: her masquerades were characterised, not

only by indecency, but also by mockery of the most solemn feelings and

principles. {157a} The lessees of the theatres were injured by her

popularity, and stimulated the outcry which began to arise; and at length

she was convicted before Sir John Fielding for performing dramatic

entertainments without a licence. The opposition of the managers, and

the Pantheon opening with a class of amusements somewhat similar in 1772,

with the restraint imposed by the magistrate’s decision, combined to ruin

her; and in August, 1772, her effects were sold by auction, and she

became a bankrupt. {157b}

The allusions to Mrs. Cornellys in contemporary literature are

innumerable; Murphy, in his Epilogue to _Zobeide_, 1771, refers to her

popularity:—

“Oh, farewell!

For her each haunt that charms a modern belle!

Adieu, Almack’s! Cornellys’! masquerade!

Sweet Ranelagh! Vauxhall’s enchanting shade!” &c.

This allusion will suffice for one view of her career. The opposite is

severely described by Combe, in his satire “The Diabolady,” published in

1777:—

“The ready ministers of hell’s commands,

Obedient fly, and take their several stands

At Court, Cornellys’, and the Coterie;

Where vice, more vicious by effrontery,

Fearless, unblushing, braves the eternal laws

Of God and man to aid the devil’s cause.”

After her bankruptcy she followed her profession for several years at

various places in London, but in 1785 was obliged to retire from the

importunities of her creditors. Ten years after, to the great surprise

of the public, she reappeared at Knightsbridge as Mrs. Smith, a retailer

of asses’ milk. A suite of breakfast-rooms was opened; but her former

influence could not be recovered. The speculation utterly failed; and at

length she was consigned to the Fleet Prison. There she ended her

shallow career, dying August 19, 1797.

Immediately beyond the entrance to the Grove stood Messrs. Downing’s

floor-cloth manufactory, formerly Morley and Downing’s. It was a

pleasant detached house, with a clean white front, and conspicuous green

verandahs. It was pulled down in 1823, and the manufacturing department

removed to the King’s Road.

MONTPELIER SQUARE, so called from the salubrity of its air, {159} was

built about 1837. Mr. Fairholt, the distinguished artist and antiquary

(at No. 10), Mr. Walter Lacy (38), Dr. Morison (27), and the Rev.

Mackenzie Walcot, to whose writings on the city of Westminster I owe

several obligations, are among its residents.

NEW STREET, built, I believe, about 1773, was a new street across the

fields to Sloane Street, and is the point dividing Knightsbridge and

Brompton—formerly, according to the landladies, a very “respectable”

street; it has in our day sadly changed. At No. 7, Chalon, the animal

painter, resided; and at No. 6, the Right Hon. David Pigott in 1824 and

’25, while studying under Mr., afterwards Chief Justice, Tindal. Mr.

Godwin, the editor of the _Builder_, also in his boyhood. In Exeter

Street resided a family named Perrin, one of whom it has been said was

employed by the Duchess of Kingston to furnish a place of meeting between

Prince George, afterwards George III., and his fair _inamorata_, Hannah

Lightfoot. {160} The Perrins appear to have long resided in

Knightsbridge; entries of the name occur in the registers of Trinity

Chapel as far back as 1680.

PARK SIDE, abutting on the south side of Hyde Park, is a part of the

manor of Knightsbridge, although eastward of the stream, and is the

freehold of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The Birkheads were once

the lessees; at present it is rented by the descendants of Mr. Gamble, of

Trinity Chapel. The row of petty shops at its east end were erected

about fifty years since, the houses formerly extending no further than

the one now occupied by Miss Marshall. The Knightsbridge Bank, a private

concern, was carried on in Mr. W. Stocken’s house, and these shops were

offices belonging thereto.

Just within the park is a conduit, which supplies the palace with spring

water; a descent of three steps in the main road led to a receptacle for

its supply to the inhabitants of Knightsbridge, which still exists in

another form. Close to this “spring,” as it is termed, the stocks were

placed for the punishment of village sots and rogues. No hamlet around

the “great wen,” as Cobbett called the metropolis, was without one.

Taylor, the water-poet, says—

“In London, and within a mile, I ween,

There are of jails or prisons full eighteen,

And sixty whipping-posts, and stocks, and cages!” {161a}

At No. 10 resided for many years John Read, a man of great benevolence of

character, of scientific celebrity, and of high repute in the locality.

He was born in 1726, and being brought up as a mathematical

instrument-maker, settled in Knightsbridge about 1754. He became known

for his researches into electricity, {161b} and published, in 1793, an

octavo volume, entitled “A Summary View of the Spontaneous Electricity of

the Earth and Atmosphere,” an accurate and judicious work; but it led him

into a controversy with Dr. Peart, a writer on the same subject. He also

studied meteorology, and a journal on that subject he contributed to the

“Philosophical Transactions.”

Other points of his history are told on the stone to his memory in St.

George’s Ground, Bayswater, where he was buried. The inscription I

subjoin:—

Sacrum Memoriæ

of

MR. JOHN READ,

Mathematical Instrument Maker,

a Native of

WHALLEY IN LANCASHIRE,

who died at

KNIGHTSBRIDGE

(where he had resided nearly sixty years)

on the 22nd day of September, 1814,

in the 88th year of his Age.

Without Patron, or Patrimony, by the honest fruits of Industry, he

laid the foundation of an easy competence. More indebted to Prudence

than Fortune for his acquisitions; but to Temperance alone for his

length of days. A deep Researcher of the latent causes of Nature’s

Phenomena; her vital Principle, he held in obedience, while he

enriched the science of Electricity with his experiments. Pleased in

the pursuit of Knowledge, and happy in the practice of Virtue; He was

a Philosopher with a benevolent heart, the Father of the

Knightsbridge Charity School; of the Free School of his native place

the Revivor. He lived an Example worthy of imitation, and died

without a groan.

Thus lived John Read, and so his spirit fled

And here his ashes mingle with the Dead.

Mr. Thomas Goding, founder of the well-known brewing firm, lived at No.

12.

The Queen’s Head, an old inn next the Chapel, was pulled down in 1843.

The house was once very curious inside, but had been considerably

altered. On its removal the date 1576 was found inscribed in the

brickwork.

The White Hart was more curious than the Queen’s Head, and retained its

characteristics to the last, when it was removed for the Albert Gate

improvements. Human remains, various ancient implements, and coins were

turned up below its foundation. A filthy court ran from it along the

bank of the stream. I have seen a memorandum of agreement by which a

house next door to the White Hart was let in 1694 for _five pounds per

annum_.

PRINCES GATE.—Two terraces are so called, very absurdly. {163} The real

gate is an entrance to the Park opposite, named after the Prince of

Wales, and opened in October, 1848. It stands on the highest plot of

ground between Hyde Park Corner and Windsor Castle.

Of the western terrace Mr. Leigh Hunt complains that “each house is too

high for its width,” and says “they resemble a set of tall thin gentlemen

squeezing together to look at something over the way.” I cannot agree

with Mr. Hunt’s humour, and consider them a very handsome and pleasing

row. Mr. Elmes, architect of St. George’s Hall, was designer, I believe,

and Mr. Elger the builder; the eastern row was finished in 1851, the

western in 1855. At No. 23, Vice-Chancellor Parker resided for a short

while before his death. Between the two terraces stands

KINGSTON HOUSE, built about 1770, a large and pleasant mansion, and when

first erected attracting notice by the conservatory attached to it. In

this conservatory is a large window, representing a garden scene, painted

by John Martin when a pupil of Charles Muss, the enamel painter.

Elizabeth Chudleigh was daughter of a Devonshire gentleman, who died when

she was very young; but her mother having interest with Mr. Pulteney, she

was appointed, at the age of eighteen, maid of honour to the Princess of

Wales, mother to George III. In the aristocratic circle into which she

was now introduced, she soon became a great favourite, and more than one

young scion of nobility cast a lover’s eye towards her. The young Duke

of Hamilton was, however, the successful one; and the pledge of affiance

passed mutually. He set forth on his travels, and she retired to the

residence of an aunt, Mrs. Hanmer, where she found one of the most

frequent visitors was the Hon. Mr. Hervey. He seems to have made up his

mind instantly; but aware of her pledge to the duke, he induced Mrs.

Hanmer to intercept their letters. The result of the scheme was as

Hervey expected: no letters arriving, Miss Chudleigh believed herself

slighted; and wrought on by the persuasions of Mrs. Hanmer, agreed to

accept Captain Hervey. They were married privately, August 4th, 1744,

but separated the day after, she continuing to fill her office as maid of

honour. The dissimulation this compelled her to practise was probably

the main cause of her after misfortunes; it was only by the knowledge

that he would be compelled to maintain her, that Captain Hervey could be

induced not to assert his claim; and her union being unknown at Court,

she was still as much courted as ever. Home came Hamilton—he had been

faithful to her—and demanded that explanation she was not able

(unaccountably to him) to give, offered his hand again, which, of course,

she was compelled to refuse. His despair was excessive; inquiries were

made, and the duplicity of Mrs. Hanmer unveiled.

Unfortunately, instead of allowing time to soothe her sorrows, she began

to drown them in a manner which showed a disregard of her sex and

position. To escape the torrent of torment, she resolved to travel; but

unwilling to go alone, was indiscreet enough to advertise in the

newspapers for a companion. She succeeded, and off they started; but, as

might have been expected, were soon tired of each other, and separated at

Berlin. Here she was introduced to the great Frederick, who treated her

with great distinction.

Returning home, she plunged into all the dissipation which then

characterised society in the metropolis; but again her husband crossed

her path and seemed determined to claim her, and finding remonstrance

useless, she resorted to the dishonest stratagem of tearing out the leaf

bearing the register of her marriage. Her husband had now no power to

prove their union, as the clergyman who performed the ceremony was dead.

This step she soon regretted; for Captain Hervey, succeeding to the

Earldom of Bristol, by his father’s death, her vanity made the rank of

Countess very acceptable, and through the clerk she succeeded in

replacing in the register-book the leaf she had abstracted.

Such was her position when the Duke of Kingston offered her his hand. Of

course such was impossible; and accordingly they lived together for

several years, but with such observance of external decorum, that though

a moral, it was not an evidenced certainty. Her husband, on negotiations

being opened, refused to gratify her with the title of Duchess; but a

separation afterwards suiting his own wishes, he agreed not to oppose her

application for a divorce, and the necessary proofs being withheld, it

was granted. She now attained her wishes, and was married to the Duke

March 8th, 1769.

While the Duke lived, the legality of the marriage was not questioned;

but he died September 24th, 1773, and left her his whole fortune, on

condition she did not marry again—a restraint she was by no means

inclined to abide by. She, however, set out for Rome, where Ganganelli

gave her apartments in the palace of one of his cardinals, and otherwise

showed her distinction. Here, however, her gaiety was soon stopped by

news of a disagreeable nature from home.

A Mrs. Cradock had been present as a domestic at her marriage with Lord

Bristol, and, being in reduced circumstances, applied to the Duchess’s

solicitor for relief; he, discrediting her tale, refused any, on which

she went to Mr. Evelyn Pierrepoint, nephew of the Duke, and informed him

of every particular. He thereupon preferred an indictment for bigamy

against the Duchess, of which being informed, she, after surmounting

various obstacles, landed at Dover, and was immediately bailed before

Lord Mansfield, preparatory to taking her trial.

Before, however, that came on, an unexpected enemy appeared. Foote,

imagining the case to afford capital material for his wit, wrote a piece,

called “The Trip to Calais,” in which the Duchess was cleverly satirised

as _Lady Kitty Crocodile_. Foote, whose real object was to obtain a sum

of money to suppress the piece, contrived to let her know what was astir;

and the Duchess, alarmed for once most terribly, sent for him. He waited

on, and read her a part of his play. She felt the sting, and rose in

great passion, declaring his delineation scandalous. He denied that the

character was intended for her ladyship, and the play was left for her

perusal. An intimation was made as Foote expected; but he refusing the

offer of £1,600, and declaring he would not abate one shilling from the

£2,000 demanded, he lost all; for her friends interceding with the Lord

Chamberlain, he sent for, and censured the play. Foote published a

letter of remonstrance, but the Duchess making every preparation for an

action at law, he was completely defeated. A paper-war ensued, in which

Foote had the advantage, greatly to the amusement, if not edification, of

the public.

On April 15th, 1776, her trial commenced in Westminster Hall, Lord

Bathurst sitting as Lord Steward. She was convicted; but pleading the

privilege of the peerage, was discharged with a caution.

She left England immediately, and passed the rest of her life abroad.

She purchased a magnificent estate near Fontainebleau, where she died,

August 20th, 1788. {170a}

After the death of the Duchess of Kingston, her mansion at Knightsbridge

became the residence, successively, of Sir George Warren, Lord Stair,

Lord Listowel, and the Marquis of Wellesley, brother of the great Duke of

Wellington, and himself one of the foremost statesmen of the time. He

resided at Kingston House some years, living in great retirement, and

died in it September 26th, 1842, in his 83rd year. {170b}

Kingston House was, after Lord Wellesley’s death, again the residence of

the Earl of Listowel, to whom the freehold belonged; and it is at present

inhabited by his son, the present earl. {170c}

QUEEN’S BUILDINGS, commenced about 1770, and was named after Queen

Charlotte. That part of it between Sloane Street and Hooper’s Court was

originally called Queen’s Row, the remainder Queen’s Buildings,

Knightsbridge, and at one time Gloucester Buildings.

First, I will notice Queen’s Row. Here, in 1772, the celebrated

engraver, William Wynne Ryland, resided. Ryland was born in 1732, and,

inclining towards the profession of an engraver, became a pupil of Simon

Revenet, then established in this country. On quitting him, his

godfather, Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, sent him to Paris, where he studied

under Francis Boucher, and J. P. Le Bas. After four years sojourn he

returned to England, and was appointed engraver to the King. He was the

first person who introduced into this country the style of engraving in

the chalk manner, applying himself chiefly to the pictures of Angelica

Kauffman. This system he greatly improved, and in it had no equal.

Strutt laments that his “mercantile engagements should have occupied so

valuable a part of his precious time, and prevented his pursuing the art

with that alacrity his genius required, which seemed formed for great and

extensive exertions.” He commenced business originally in Cornhill, but

here became bankrupt. He afterwards came to Knightsbridge, where he

resided till the dreadful act was discovered which consigned him to the

gallows.

On July 26th, 1783, he was tried before Judge Buller, for forging a bill

of exchange for £200. He well-nigh escaped; the forgery being so

beautifully executed that it was only the evidence of the paper-maker

which convicted him. Great exertions were made to save him, but

fruitlessly; and he was executed at Tyburn, August 29th, 1783. A few

months after, the stream being cleared of some of its mud, in order to

widen the roadway within the Park, a tin box containing some of the

unfortunate man’s plates for counterfeiting banknotes, was discovered.

{172}

No. 14 (corner of Hooper’s Court) was from 1792 to 1797 the residence of

Mr. J. C. Nattes, an artist of celebrity in his time. About the year

1800 this house became the residence of the celebrated Arthur Murphy.

Arthur Murphy was born at Cork in 1727. Early in life he was sent to St.

Omer’s, where he studied till his eighteenth year, when he returned to

Cork, and passed two years as clerk in a merchant’s counting-house. At

the end of this time he came to London, and entered a banking-house in a

similar capacity. But literature captivated him, the drama especially,

and it soon absorbed his mind.

[Picture: The House in which Murphy lived, 14, Queen’s Buildings]

His first publication, the “Gray’s Inn Journal,” commenced October 21st,

1752, and continued for nearly two years. But his prospects changing by

an uncle’s death, he, in October, 1754, betook himself to the stage,

appearing at Covent Garden, and performing _Othello_, _Hamlet_,

_Macbeth_, &c. But it was apparent an actor’s life he could not follow;

Churchill severely lashed him in the “Rosciad,” and Murphy retaliated in

an ode, an effusion as coarse as his opponent’s attack.

To literature he now mainly turned his attention. In 1756 he produced

“The Apprentice,” a farce, for Garrick; in 1758 “The Upholsterer,” and in

the ensuing two years “The Orphan of China,” “The Desert Island,” and

“The Way to Keep Him;” and in 1761 he published “All in the Wrong,” “The

Citizen,” and “The Old Maid.”

In the year 1757 he applied for admission to the Middle Temple, but, on

the ground of being an actor, was refused; he, however, induced Lord

Mansfield to interfere on his behalf, and through this influence he

entered Lincoln’s Inn. He was called to the Bar in 1762, and eventually

became leader of the Norfolk Circuit. Lord Loughborough also gave him a

Commissionership of Bankrupts—an office he held till his death.

The study of “Coke upon Littleton” was not, however, sufficiently

attractive to wean him from his literary pursuits, and several plays, all

of which were highly popular, appeared in rapid succession. Among these

were his celebrated “Grecian Daughter” and “Know your own Mind.” This

latter piece, published in 1777, was written for Mr. Harris, and was the

last he brought on the stage.

Besides these he also published an edition of Fielding’s works, with a

preliminary essay on his life and writings, an “Essay on the Life and

Genius of Dr. Johnson,” a translation of Tacitus, and various others.

In 1788 he retired to Hammersmith, where he resided till 1800; he then

came to Knightsbridge, and here, with the exception of a short time in

Brompton Row, he resided till his death. In this house his “Life of

Garrick” was written; he appears to have been happy and comfortable in

it, occupying the first and second floors, and having a neat and

intelligent landlady, whose interest he secured by procuring her son a

presentation to Christ’s Hospital. He died June 18th, 1805, frequently

repeating during the day the couplet of Pope—

“Taught half by reason, half by mere decay,

To welcome Death, and calmly pass away.”

It was to Murphy, Johnson owed his introduction to Mr. Thrale. “I

question,” says Madame D’Arblay, “if Mr. Thrale loved any man so well.”

With Reynolds and Burke, too, he was intimate, and reviewed the latter’s

“Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful.” At Knightsbridge he became

intimate with Maurice Morgann; but from the singular construction put by

the latter on the characters of Shakespeare’s plays, silence on these

points was bespoke in their interviews. Morgann died before Murphy, who

deeply regretted, Mr. Foote tells us, his friend’s death. {175}

At the corner of Sloane Street, and occupying the site of the first four

houses in it, was the Swan, an ancient and well-known hostelrie—a place

of great trade in former times. The sign still exists at No. 5, Sloane

Street; and that of the “Clock House” is also the same. Indeed the

latter was only the “tap” to the former, and the separation of interests

has not occurred above forty years. The old house was pulled down about

1777 or 1778. Otway, in “The Soldier’s Fortune,” alludes to it:—

_Sir Davy Dunce_.—“I have surely lost, and ne’er shall find her more.

She promised me strictly to stay at home till I came back again; for

aught I know, she may be up three pair of stairs in the Temple now;

or it may be, taking the air, as far as Knightsbridge, with some

smooth-faced rogue or another; ’tis a damned house that Swan,—that

Swan at Knightsbridge is a confounded house.”

Tom Brown also celebrates the Swan; and Dr. Wolcot (Peter Pindar) lays

the scene of one of his coarse effusions there:—

“At Knightsbridge, at a tavern called the Swan,

Churchwardens, overseers, a jolly clan,

Ordered a dinner for themselves—

A very handsome dinner of the best, &c.”

Beyond Hooper’s Court (so called from its owner) Mr. J. G. Huck, an

artist, lived at No. 11; Ozias Humphry in 1792 and 1793 at No. 19

(Mitchell’s). At 21, Thomas Trotter, an ingenious engraver and

draughtsman, especially in portraits. He died February 14th, 1803, and

was buried in the Broadway ground, Westminster.

At No. 7 resided Michael Underwood, M.D., one of the most distinguished

members of the medical profession then living. He wrote several

professional works, which, notwithstanding the advance of the science,

yet maintain their reputation. He attended Caroline of Brunswick at the

birth of the Princess Charlotte. Was a very benevolent man and the

gratuitous adviser to the poor of the whole neighbourhood. He died here

March 14th, 1820.

RUTLAND HOUSE, a large red-brick mansion, occupied the site of the

present Rutland Gate. John, Duke of Rutland, who bore the sceptre at the

coronation of George III., and once filled the office of Lord Lieutenant

of Ireland, died here May 29th, 1779, aged 88. The celebrated Marquis of

Granby, his son, also resided here. {177} The whole estate, consisting

of above six acres, was offered for sale by Mr. Robins in 1833, but was

bought in, and in a year or two after the house was pulled down, and the

land let for building. It belongs to Furzon Manners, Esq., now, a

descendant of the Viceroy.

Rutland Gate was commenced in 1838, and completed as far as Clytha House

in 1840. The remainder has been built since, the whole being completed

in 1856.

The large detached house on the western side (24) was built by John

Sheepshanks, Esq., the distinguished patron of British Art, who here

gathered together that choice and valuable collection which he has so

nobly presented to the nation. The collection was removed early in 1857.

Clytha House, the residence of Lord Edward Howard, was built for Mr.

Jones, of Clytha, who here gathered a collection, chiefly of the early

Italian schools, which was sold May 8th, 1852.

[Picture: The Half-way House]

Poor Eliot Warburton dated the second edition of his “Crescent and the

Cross” from Rutland Gate; at 21 resides Mr. Edward Corbould, one of our

finest delineators of female beauty; No. 22 was the residence of the

Marchioness Wellesley, widow of the eminent statesman; Mr. Albert Way,

the antiquary, Mr. Cotton and Mr. Prescott, both governors of the Bank of

England, also number among the residents of Rutland Gate. Nearly

opposite the western end of Rutland Gate, built in the roadway, stood an

old inn, of very bad character at one time, called the “Halfway House.”

An unusual array of stabling, troughs, pig-styes, &c., in a very

unsightly manner, were built along the causeway; and over the door were

several proofs of the faith in the old superstition that horse-shoes were

a preventive to the visits of evil spirits. In one sense the charm was

not efficacious, the house, from its lonely situation, being a resort for

the highwayman and footpad. A curious notice of a trial is given in

“Knight’s London,” where the thief-taker stated that if not met about

this spot, they should not have caught the robber at all: a proof of

their frequency, indeed! Jerry Abershaw is said to have been a visitor

here, and when the house was pulled down a secret staircase from a small

chamber in the western part of the house was found built in the wall, to

lead gradually down into the stables. Many a villain, doubtless, thus

escaped when the officers of justice were close upon him.

The “Halfway House” was pulled down in 1846 at an expense of £3,050, in

addition to the purchase of the fee. {180}

ST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL.—A number of gentlemen of the medical profession,

dissenting from the system of management carried on at Westminster

Hospital, broke off their connection with it, and engaged Lanesborough

House for a new institution, conducted under their own auspices.

[Picture: Lanesborough House, afterwards St. George’s Hospital]

Lanesborough House is described by Pennant as the _country house_ of the

eccentric nobleman immortalised by Pope:—

“Old politicians chew on wisdom past,

And totter on in business to the last,

As weak, as earnest, and as gravely out,

As sober Lanesbro’ dancing with the gout.”

He caused the following quaint distich to be inscribed on the house front

in reference to its situation:—

“It is my delight to be

Both in town and country.”

The allusion of Pope to the dancing propensities of this nobleman is

curiously borne out by the fact, that when Prince George of Denmark died

he sought an interview with the widowed Queen, and advised her to dispel

her grief by following his favourite amusement. Not till disabled

entirely by the gout did he give up this relaxation. The “Golden

Gallery” around the dome of St. Paul’s was gilded at his expense.

Lanesborough House was of red brick, three storeys high, with one small

doorway, approached by three or four steps to the centre; the new

authorities added two wings, also of red brick, and on January 1st, 1734,

the institution was opened, having been established on October 19th,

1733.

One of those who took a leading part in this foundation was John Allen,

apothecary to the household of George I., George II., and George III.

successively. He remained a governor till his death, on March 17th,

1774. Another staunch supporter was the celebrated anatomist, Cheselden,

the friend of Pope and other literary men. Some of his greatest

operations were performed here. He was also surgeon to Chelsea Hospital,

and in its graveyard lies buried.

The hospital gradually increased in wealth and usefulness, till in 1784

the governors issued advertisements asking for increased aid to prevent

its decay. This arose from the fact that a large legacy left by a Mrs.

Crayle caused an idea to be spread abroad that further aid of this kind

was hardly wanted. Its legacies had been a main source of income; they

now fell off, and the Crayle bequest being reversionary, the income

rapidly fell, and at Christmas, 1783, the institution was above £1,900 in

debt; but a third of the profits of the Handel Festival held in

Westminster Abbey in 1784 enabled the governors to overcome their

difficulties.

The celebrated John Hunter was one of the eminent men who have been

connected with St. George’s Hospital. He was appointed surgeon in 1768,

and always took an active part in its management. Here on October 16th,

1793, his life was suddenly terminated. He had long disputed a matter of

right with his colleagues, and in an altercation he was flatly

contradicted, when a trifling address might have turned aside the

quarrel. He rushed into an adjoining room and there fell into the arms

of Dr. Robertson, one of the physicians, and his life was gone in an

instant.

The increasing prosperity and demand on the Hospital proved at last that

the old building did not afford the necessary accommodation, and

accordingly its destruction was resolved on. This was effected in 1827,

and the present building erected from designs by Wilkins. The old front

was towards Hyde Park; the new one faces the Green Park, and is rendered

imposing by its bold and massive tetrastyle portico, supported by square

columns. Besides its numerous wards, here are a chapel, museum,

lecture-room, and private apartments. The museum, so valuable to the

surgeon, is not adapted for the public, unless to point a moral to the

vicious and unwary. The mere curiosities are interesting; among them is

the half-sovereign taken from Mr. Brunel’s windpipe, by Sir Benjamin

Brodie, presented by its proprietor; the hide of the cow from which

Jenner took the first vaccine matter; a packet of needles, which came

simultaneously from the frame of a young lady, money and knives from

patients’ stomachs, and other similar relics.

One regular fund is yet wanting to render the institution complete. Many

a fellow-creature, who is entirely destitute, enters here, and, when

recovered, re-enters the world, without a roof to shelter his weakened

frame, or the wherewithal to obtain the common necessaries of life. Of

late this has been to a certain extent remedied. A porcelain slab has

been let into the wall (a corner-stone of faith it has been called)

bearing the simple inscription—“In aid of those patients who leave this

Hospital homeless and in need.” Ought such an appeal to rest solely on

the charity of the busy multitudes passing by? To announce such a fund

would, I believe, ensure its success.

In the burial-ground of St. George’s parish at Bayswater, is a headstone

inscribed—

“Sacred to the Memory of the Rev. James Clarke,

who died June 9th, 1811, aged 85 years.

During fifty-one of which he discharged the duties of Chaplain

to St. George’s Hospital, with credit to himself, and benefit to

the Institution.”

St. George’s Hospital formed a theme for one of Miss Landon’s poems.

ST. GEORGE’S PLACE, till of late years, consisted of old-fashioned

houses, about two storeys high. About 1827 the first improvement was

made by the opening of Wilton Place, and gradually these old houses have

been pulled down to make room for superior ones. Towards the upper end,

these houses were detached. In one of them lived a Captain Warner, one

of the heroes of Quebec. About 1829, Liston lived at No. 7, and at No.

12 for many years resided Mr. Richards, a well-known London auctioneer,

who died here in 1810.

At No. 14 resided for many years the mother of Mr. Justice Burton, to

whom belonged the freehold of this strip of land. She died here in 1799.

Her son, Mr. Justice Burton, resided for many years in the house at the

west corner of the entrance to the Barrack. Bred to the law, he became

Recorder of Oxford and a King’s Counsel, and in July, 1778, was appointed

one of the judges of Wales and Chester. He represented Woodstock and

Oxford in several Parliaments, supporting the ministry of William Pitt,

and at last became Father of the Benchers of Lincoln’s Inn. He died in

Brook Street, December, 1832, aged 89. The freehold mentioned was

originally vested in the Laremar family. The first one of whom anything

is known, was one William Laremar, captain of the Loyal Rebecca, a ship

trading to Virginia in 1676, a time when the colony was disturbed by the

rebellion of Nathaniel Bacon; the use of the vessel was given to the

governor, Sir William Berkeley, by whom Laremar was appointed Commodore

in St. James River, and was “maynly instrumental in the suppression of

that rebellion and mutiny,” for which good service he received

compensation from the Admiralty, the secretary of which was then Samuel

Pepys. From the Laremars the property passed to the Burtons, from them

to the Coles, and it is now enjoyed by Owen Blayney Cole, Esq. Liston

also resided at 14 many years; and the next house was once tenanted by

the Tathams, one of whom married Adam Adolphus, brother of the celebrated

counsellor.

In No. 3 of the present houses lived General Campbell, an old Peninsular

veteran. He died in June, 1852. No. 10 is the residence of Mr.

Coningham, M.P. for Brighton, and 11, of James Goding, Esq.

The “White Horse Inn” was formerly established on the site of No. 11.;

afterwards it was removed to the corner of the entrance of the Foot

Barracks, but was pulled down in September, 1856, with three houses, one

of which was Liston’s. Nos. 15 to 20 were built in 1849–50.

From the corner of Wilton Place the row extends ten houses further. No.

28 was Mr. Blore’s, the statuary’s. A house which stood at the corner,

and narrowed the entrance to Wilton Place very considerably, was removed

about 1841. For many years a Mrs. Dowell carried on the business of

tobacconist here. She was an eccentric old damsel, and so exceedingly

partial to the late Duke of Wellington, that she was continually

inventing some new plan whereby to express her regard. She sent him

occasionally patties, cakes, and other similar _delicacies_, and as it

was useless to attempt to defeat the old woman’s pertinacity, everything

was taken in. To such a pitch did she carry this mania, that I have

heard she regularly laid for him at her table, constantly expecting he

would call in. With her lodged William Pickett, who lived in

Knightsbridge the greater part of his life. A gravestone in St. George’s

ground tells his short history:—

“Sacred to the memory of Mr. William Pickett, artist,

who died at Knightsbridge, on the 23rd day of May, 1821,

aged 45 years.”

I must not leave St. George’s Place without a notice of John Liston. He

was born in 1776; and his father, who lived in Norris Street, giving him

a superior education, he, in 1795, became second master at Archbishop

Tennison’s school near Leicester Square; but thus early the stage appears

to have fascinated him, for he quitted his situation for acting plays

with the elder boys. He then went into a mercantile house in the City.

When Liston first appeared on the stage is not accurately known; but the

following note from a celebrated manager of the time appears to prove

that to him, at least, he was well known. It is as follows,—_verbatim_:—

“SIR,

“Your not favoring Me with an answr Relative to the I-dea of the

Cast, I at Random (tho’ very ill) Scratch’t Out, Makes it Necessary

for Me to have Your Opinion, in Order to Prevent Aney Mistake. I am,

“Sir,

“With every Good Wish,

“Yours, &c.,

“TATE WILKINSON.”

He now followed the stage as a profession, and obtained engagements at

various provincial establishments; among others, at Newcastle-on-Tyne,

under Stephen Kemble. The first comic part he performed was the very

subordinate one of _Diggory_, and even in this little part contrived to

throw that irresistible originality of humour for which he afterwards

became so celebrated. I have seen the copy the actor learnt from, with

his erasures, interlineations, &c.

His first acknowledged appearance on a London stage was at the Haymarket,

on June 10th, 1805, as _Sheepface_, in “The Village Lawyer.” On the same

evening Miss Tyrer made her re-appearance after a lapse of three years.

She was soon after to become his wife, and they were married on Sunday,

March 22nd, 1807, at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. Their mutual friend,

Charles Taylor, the celebrated _Noodle_, in “Tom Thumb,” gave the wedding

breakfast. The union proved a happy one; one son and daughter were its

issue. The former entered the army; the latter married Rodwell, the

composer.

It is impossible, in this sketch of Liston’s life, to notice all his

various performances and successes. His leading triumphs can alone be

glanced at. In January, 1823, he commenced a £50 per week engagement at

Drury Lane, as _Tony Lumpkin_; and in May, 1824, George IV. commanded the

“Hypocrite,” and heartily encored _Mawworm’s_ mock sermon. It was a

favourite part of Liston’s, and his performance of it inimitable. I have

seen a letter from a distinguished living actor, who had played the part,

he says, “greatly against the grain, well recollecting Mr. Liston’s

unapproachable excellence in it.”

In the ensuing year he reached the pinnacle of his fame by his

impersonation of _Paul Pry_. The popularity of the piece was immense,

and chiefly through the unequalled ease and skill with which he acted his

part. His well-known countenance was to be met with in every conceivable

form, in plaster and clay, in china and butter, in the centre of pocket

handkerchiefs, tobacconists’ “screw” papers, and in a variety of other

ways, his unbounded success with the public was attested.

In 1831 he joined Madame Vestris, and performed with increasing

popularity until the end of the season 1837. He never took a farewell

formally of the stage; and the last time he ever performed was for the

benefit of James Vining, in Planché’s “Peculiar Position;” and as

_Monsieur Champignon_ he ended his professional career. It was, I

believe, known to his friends that this would be his last appearance, and

the following address was written by Rodwell on this occasion. It has

never, I believe, been published:—

“Liston, farewell! for once the Comic Muse

Looks vex’d and dismal, griev’d with thee to part;

And heaves true sighs from her reluctant heart,

While virgin tears her clouded eyes suffuse,

By sorrows forc’d, despite of struggling art.

Her mask avails not now. Her faltering voice

Betrays the o’er-mastering passion in her soul;

For she must lose the servant of her choice,

Who made her chariot merrily to roll,

When he the Coachman played; and not less great

As the mock Marquis help’d her mimic state

Absurdly grave; or at his tricks again

As gay-hair’d Figaro swell’d her menial train,

Pompous and plausible, serene and sly,

With witty impudence, and humour dry.

Expert at all trades, too, with _last_ or _block_

Alike to _comb_ or _cobble_ wig or sock;

This he exactly fitted to her toe,

In walk, or jig, or gallopade to go;

And that so quaintly, whimsically curl’d,

It grew the merry wonder of the world.

Ney, just to keep the top or sole together,

He’d patch the Sock ev’n with the Buskin’s leather,

That she might follow in her sister’s path

With pewter poison-pot, and dirk of lath;

While he stalk’d on in Dollabella’s train,

A lord, of whom the Court might well be vain.

Our tears, O Liston! must with hers be blended

To see, too soon, thy comic labours ended.

And haply, oft when other servants bear

Some mawkish viand of our bill of fare,

Oft shall we turn dissatisfied, and wish

For Liston’s sauce, to help th’ insipid dish;

Whose very look and air were quite enough

To win our favour for the cook’s worst stuff.

Or, if the dish be good, provoked to see

Some clumsy serving-man instead of thee.

How shall we think, regretful of thy merit,

Who served up all with such bewitching spirit,

As made the best seem better, and the cook

To thee beholden, more than to his book,

However puff’d by papers, or by rumour:—

Thou great Original in comic humour!”

31st May, 1837.

Nor was this the only tribute Liston received; numerous were the attempts

made to induce him to alter his decision, but he was inflexible, and it

remained irrevocable. One of several letters I have seen I include here,

notwithstanding its writer is living; but he cannot regret to see a

letter given to the world showing such ability and excellent feeling. It

is as follows:—

T. R. C. G., Dec. 18, 1839.

MY DEAR MR. LISTON,—My mother has told me of one or two half-laughing

conversations she has had with you, on the subject of your delighting

the public with a few performances. Jest sometimes leads to earnest,

and, on the principle of never throwing away a good chance, I venture

to send you this to say, that should such a joyful occurrence be

within the verge of possibility at any time, you may consider

yourself King of Covent Garden; act when you please, what you please,

and as long as you please; stop when you please, take what money you

please, and be sure that, do whatever you please, you cannot fail to

please. More than this I cannot say, except that you shall be

allowed to sweeten your own tea, and, when you are too late for

rehearsal, beat the prompter. In plain English, and in sober

earnest, if you will make up your mind to gratify us by playing a few

of your old parts, everything that mortals can do to make you

comfortable and happy shall be done, and we shall be most proud in

being the caterers of a national treat.

I will not bore you more—only say the word, and we are “at your

feet.”

Ever yours, with kind regards to Mrs. Liston, very truly and very

faithfully,

C. J. MATHEWS.

Liston wrote a copy of his answer on the fly-leaf of this letter as

follows:—

MY DEAR MR. MATHEWS,—Notwithstanding the skill you exhibit in

endeavouring to arouse my dormant vanity, be assured, once for all,

it cannot prevail to overcome the unalterable determination I came to

when I quitted the stage, never to reappear professionally before the

public. Not only should I consider my reassuming the cap and bells,

at my advanced age, a moral indecorum; my decaying strength also

would render the experiment too hazardous, and I have no doubt were

Mr. Wakley the coroner to have to preside at an inquest on my

remains, he would—as he did the other day, in the case of a poor old

woman who drank herself to death—suggest to the jury the propriety of

returning a verdict of _Felo-de-se_.

Accept, however, my very grateful thanks for your liberal proposal,

as well as for the terms in which the offer has been conveyed; they

bring back a pleasing remembrance of the position we stood in to each

other a few years back, to which, though for a time interrupted, I

trust we are once again happily restored.

Mrs. Liston joins me in sincere hopes for the continual prosperity of

you and yours, and believe me (once again my _dear_ Charles),

Your friend and well wisher,

J. LISTON.

This correspondence, so interesting and so creditable to both parties,

shows Liston to have had a kind heart and joyous disposition, and that

such can exist with the highest notions of moral responsibility.

Liston’s private life was retired and becoming, the love of literature,

acquired early, never left him; few persons were greater students than

he, and his knowledge of the Scriptures is said to have been very

extensive.

The illness which terminated his life first attacked him four years

previously, in the form of apoplexy. The last attack came on suddenly,

on March 16th, 1846, and he never spoke again. He lingered till the

ensuing Sunday, when he died in the arms of his wife. That same day, and

almost that same hour (half-past ten), thirty-nine years previously, and

_on a Sunday too_, she had sworn “to love and to cherish till death

should them part,” and thus literally she fulfilled her vow.

He lies at Kensal Green; over his grave rises a column, bearing the

following inscription:—

“Sacred to the Memory of John Liston, who died March 22nd, 1846, aged

73. He lived many years an ornament to his profession, and died much

respected and regretted.”

Mrs. Liston survived her husband eight years. Born about 1780, she

became a pupil of Kelly, and made her first London appearance in 1800.

She was always a favourite with the public, the very appropriate part of

_Queen Dolabella_, in “Tom Thumb,” being generally considered her best.

She died at No. 28, Brompton Square, whither she removed from

Knightsbridge, September 19th, 1854.

Behind St. George’s Place was formerly a foot-barrack, established about

1758. It continued to be used as a depot until 1835 or 1836, when

Government sold the remainder of their lease. On part of the drill

ground St. Paul’s Church is built, and the barracks are let out as

tenements. Over a portion of its parade-ground Mr. Dunn built the St.

George’s Gallery, for his “Chinese Collection;” the “Exhibition of Modern

Art” was also, with other attractions, located here; among them Mr.

Gordon Cumming, with the relics of his African exploits. The lease of

this property is just expiring, and various improvements are

contemplated.

TATTERSALL’S.—Richard Tattersall, founder of this well-known

establishment, was born in 1723. He became training-groom to the last

Duke of Kingston, after whose death, I presume, he started on his own

account at Hyde Park Corner, as I find he sold off the Duke’s stud, and

an injunction was applied for, December 14th, 1774, to prevent payment of

the money to the Duchess, then under indictment. In 1775 frequent

advertisements of Tattersall’s show that his business rapidly progressed,

and his establishment soon became the head-quarters of the sporting

world. That it early gained an aristocratic fame is proved by the

allusion in “The Belle’s Stratagem,” first performed in 1782:—

“_Flutter_: Oh, yes! I stopped at Tattersall’s as I came by, and

there I found Lord James Jessamy, Sir William Wilding, and Mr. —.

But, now I think of it, you sha’nt know a syllable of the matter; for

I have been informed you never believe above one-half of what I say.”

Richard Tattersall died February 20th, 1795, aged 72. Two portraits of

him are still in his descendants’ possession; from one of them a portrait

in “Knight’s London” is engraved. {198} He was succeeded in his business

by his only son, Edmund, who carried it on until his death, January 23rd,

1810. His son, Edmund, who founded the foreign trade, then succeeded;

who dying December 11th, 1851, the business came to its present

proprietors.

The entrance to Tattersall’s is from Grosvenor Place, down a deep descent

under an unpretending archway. At the bottom is a tavern, bearing the

appropriate sign of “The Turf,” opposite to which is a gateway, leading

into a circular-shaped inclosure, on the skirt of which is a gravel path

encircling a grass-plot, from the centre of which rises a solitary tree;

here the horses are tried and examined. The subscription room—a well

proportioned one—was designed by Mr. George Tattersall, author of

“Sporting Architecture.” Over the mantelpiece of the counting-house hang

the regulations, dated 1780. In the courtyard is a domed structure

surmounted by a bust of George IV. in his eighteenth year, at which

period of life he was a frequent visitor. Beneath this dome is a pump,

surmounted by the figure of a fox. A writer in the “Sporting Magazine”

(June, 1852) stated that “Tattersall’s annual average of horses brought

to the hammer, is estimated at £45,000,” and that he believed “there were

97 stalls, and 13 loose boxes, or standing for 110.” The chief business

days are Mondays and Thursdays.

TREVOR SQUARE, so named from Sir John Trevor, who had a house on its

site, was built about 1818. The freehold is still that of his

descendant, Lord Duncannon; hence the names to be met with here are

derived, such as Hill Street, Arthur Street, Duncannon Cottage, &c.

At No. 1 in the square lived the notorious Harriette Wilson; and Mrs.

Andrée, a descendant of the Umfreville, whom William the Conqueror styled

his kinsman, died here in 1836.

Trevor Chapel, one of the largest places of worship in the metropolis,

belonging to the Independents, was built about 1817, under the ministry

of the Rev. John Morrison, D.D. He is still its nominal minister, but

his great age and infirmities preclude any active duty. The officiating

pastor is the Rev. John Statham. Dr. Morrison is beloved not only by his

congregation, but by the whole community of London Dissenters. He is

known also as the author of several theological works, the best of which

is a “Commentary on the Psalms.”

In the last century a portion of the land about this part was rented by a

French Protestant refugee family, named Moreau, of which General Moreau

was a member. They returned to France about eighty years since. {200}

All this land one hundred and fifty years ago was the property of Sir

John Trevor, many years Master of the Rolls. He was second son of John

Trevor, of Bynkinsalt, Denbighshire, Esq., by an aunt of the infamous

Chancellor Jeffreys, and was born about 1638. After a very lowly

education, he was taken by a relative, Arthur Trevor, a barrister, as his

clerk. Here he assiduously applied himself to the study of the law, and

afterwards entered the Inner Temple, and was called to the bar. His

advancement was very rapid, for, entering the House of Commons, he upheld

the Royal Prerogative to an extreme, denying the right of Parliament to

inquire into its exercise. He took a prominent part in the unjust

prosecution of the unfortunate Lord Strafford, and strenuously defended

Jeffreys when he obstructed the right of petitioning in the great

controversy between the _Petitioners_ and _Abhorrers_.

When James II. called his only Parliament in May, 1685, Trevor, who sat

for Denbigh, was, through the Government influence, elected Speaker.

{201} The new Parliament, however, did not suit James, and at the

commencement of a second session was dissolved. Trevor’s obsequiousness

was rewarded with the Mastership of the Rolls, an office to which he was

appointed October 20th, 1685. It is said he aimed now at the

Chancellorship, and, with that object, endeavoured to injure Jeffreys by

aiding the outcry against him on the occasion of the shameless case of

Alderman Cornish.

In July, 1688, Trevor was sworn of the Privy Council; but William of

Orange soon after landing, with characteristic meanness he held aloof,

but when James returned after his first flight, imagining a reaction was

come, declared in his favour; his hopes proved transitory, and he

therefore joined the High Tories, who wished to make William Regent only.

He, however, was declared King, and Trevor was removed from the Rolls.

In 1690 a new Parliament was called, and Trevor joined the more moderate

of the two sections into which his party was divided; and having offered

to support the new King, and also bring over partisans from the opposite

camp, if restored to the Speaker’s chair, his proposal was agreed to; and

so well did he perform his part, that William in a few weeks appointed

him First Commissioner of the Great Seal, he still retaining the

Speakership, and in less than two years, his successor at the Rolls

dying, he was restored to that position also. But great inconvenience

resulted, and on May 2nd, 1693, the Great Seal was given to Somers.

In 1694 a great agitation was manifested in the House of Commons, in the

belief that the Court, and even the House itself, was tainted with

bribery. A committee was appointed, and on the 12th March, 1695, Mr.

Foley, the chairman, read its report, which implicated Trevor; and a

debate arising, a resolution was proposed “That Sir John Trevor, Speaker

of this House, receiving a gratuity of 1,000 guineas from the City of

London, after passing of the Orphans’ Bill, is guilty of a high crime and

misdemeanour.” This motion Trevor had the mortification to put from the

chair, and the unparalleled humiliation of declaring it unanimously

carried. The House immediately adjourned, and two days after he resigned

the chair, and on the 16th a motion for his expulsion from the House was

carried, and a new writ issued for the borough he represented. {203} He

was, strangely enough, permitted to retain his Mastership of the Rolls,

and no further proceedings were taken against him. The rest of his life

he wisely spent in his judicial office, never again withdrawing from it

for politics. He died at his house in Chancery Lane, May 20th, 1717, and

was buried in the Rolls Chapel.

Trevor’s character, on the whole, is but a poor one; a selfish ambition

appears to have made him consider the end, and not the means, the chief

object of his care.

His circumstances, doubtless, compelled him to practise a rigid economy,

which, as he advanced in years and position, grew into meanness. But it

would be unjust not to mention the redeeming points in his career. Lord

Campbell states that “he was not only an upright but an enlightened

judge, and he pronounced many decrees which to this day are considered of

high authority.” No charge of bribery or favouritism was ever brought

against him in the fulfilment of his judicial duties. “He had a villa at

Knightsbridge,” says Lord Campbell, “then almost a day’s journey from

London, and he has been absurdly censured for occasionally hearing cases

at his private residence, a practice all equity judges sometimes must

necessarily follow.” And notwithstanding his niggardly disposition he

founded six almshouses in St. Martin’s parish, Shropshire, and provided

also several other charities. He left issue an only daughter, Anne, who

married Michael Hill, of Hillsborough, Esquire, who had two sons—Trevor,

who became heir to the Hills, and was ancestor of the Marquis of

Downshire, and Arthur, who inherited this property, assumed the name of

Trevor, and was, April 27th, 1765, raised to the peerage as Viscount

Duncannon; and from him the present freeholder is descended.

William Street was built about 1830. At No. 11 resided for many years

Lady Morgan, whose works occupy too distinguished a place in our

literature to need mention here. Mrs. Gascoigne, in her poem,

“Belgravia,” after sketching the portrait of Mr. Higgins, as before

given, describes Lady Morgan as follows:

“Nor his the only pen Belgravia’s bounds

Can boast, whose glory far and wide resounds!

Endowed with manly powers, a woman’s quill

Can treat and master every theme at will;

And in her wisdom’s energetic scope,

Put down a _Wiseman_, and unchair a _Pope_.”

The last line alludes to the controversy so cleverly sustained by her

ladyship, as to the genuineness of St. Peter’s Chair—a paper war, forming

a capital chapter for a future Disraeli, and the only amusing episode

connected with the Papal Aggression of 1851.

WILTON CRESCENT was commenced in 1826 by Mr. Seth Smith. At No. 24 for

many years lived Mr. Hallam, the celebrated historian. Here the great

_literati_ of our times were wont to meet, for Mr. Hallam’s assemblies

were of the most celebrated and intellectual. At No. 16 the late Lord

Dudley Stuart once resided; it is now the residence of Mr. Richardson.

No. 20 is the town-house of the Earl of Winchelsea, the “Protestant

Earl;” 39 was the residence of the Rev. W. Bennett; and 30 of Lord John

Russell, before his removal to Chesham Place. Mr. Baron Watson resides

at 38; and Mr. Milner Gibson at No. 50. Lord Chewton, who so gallantly

fell in leading his men at the Battle of Alma, lived at 37.

WILTON PLACE, occupying the site of a cow-yard, into which there was a

narrow entrance from the main road, was built in 1827. At No. 15 Sir

James Macdonald, the gallant defender of Hougoumont, lived, and died

there in May, 1857; also the Hon. Thomas Stapleton, an antiquary, at 13;

Mr. Westmacott at 21. The Chisholm used to occupy 35; and Miss Reynolds,

the actress, still resides at No. 4.

With Wilton Place these notices of Knightsbridge (proper) close; mention

of those eminent persons whose _locale_ cannot be traced will, I think,

appropriately finish this chapter.

RICHARD BENSLEY, the celebrated actor of the last century, resided the

latter part of his life at Knightsbridge. Appearing for the first time,

in 1765, as _Pierre_ in “Venice Preserved,” he maintained a good

reputation as an actor for a lengthened period, not quitting the stage

till May 6th, 1796. He had the honour to deliver Johnson’s prologue to

Goldsmith’s “Good-Natured Man;” and as _Pierre_, _Iago_, and _Hotspur_,

his fame stood high among his contemporaries. He was appointed

barrack-master at Knightsbridge (he had in early life been in the army),

which appointment he held till his death in 1817.

THOMAS HARRISON, a poet, a friend of Addison and Swift—“my own creature,”

the latter calls him—who brought over the celebrated Treaty of Utrecht,

died at Knightsbridge, on February 14th, 1713. He was a _protégé_ of

Swift, who describes him, in 1710, as “a young fellow we are all fond of;

a little pretty fellow, with a great deal of wit, good sense, and good

nature.” He was then tutor to a son of the Duke of Queensbury on _forty

pounds a year_; Swift introduced him to the Ministry, and he was sent out

as Secretary to the Embassy to arrange the Peace of Utrecht, St. John

presenting him with fifty guineas to bear his expenses. Less than two

years had elapsed on February 11th, 1713, when Swift, returning from a

dinner, found a letter on his table from Harrison, telling him he was

ill, and desired to see him. He went in the morning, found him suffering

from fever and inflammation, harassed and penniless; got thirty guineas

for him from Bolingbroke, and a Treasury order for £100 of his arrears of

salary. He then removed him to Knightsbridge for change of air. On

February 14th, Swift writes,—“I took Parnell (the poet) this morning, and

we walked to see poor Harrison. I had the £100 in my pocket. I told

Parnell I was afraid to knock at the door. My mind misgave me. I

knocked, and his man, in tears, told me his master was dead an hour

before.” Swift seems to have loved Harrison, and felt his loss acutely.

“Think,” he says, “what grief this is to me! I went to his mother, and

have been ordering things for his funeral with as little cost as

possible, to-morrow at ten at night. Lord Treasurer was much concerned

when I told him; I would not dine with Lord Treasurer, or any one else.

No loss ever grieved me so much.” And the next day he records, “At ten

at night I was at his funeral, which I ordered to be as private as

possible. We had but one coach with four of us; and when it was carrying

us home, after the funeral, the braces broke, and we were forced to sit

in it, and have it held up, till my man went for chairs, at eleven at

night, in terrible rain.” {209}

Tickell, in one of his poems, mentions Harrison as—

“That much loved youth, whom Utrecht’s walls confine;”

and indeed, though little is known of him, he seems to have been a

favourite with his contemporaries.

BERNARD LENS, miniature painter to George II., retiring from his

profession, settled at Knightsbridge, where he died, December 30th, 1740.

According to Vertue, he was buried at Kensington, but his name does not

appear on the register. He was tutor to the celebrated Duke of

Cumberland, and excelled as a copyist of Rubens and Vandyke, whose

colouring he imitated admirably.

ROBERT MILLER, a loyalist in the American War of Independence. He held

two official situations in Virginia, which he lost in the revolution. He

died at Knightsbridge, February, 17th, 1792.

FRANCIS XAVIER D’OLIVEYRA, a Portuguese chevalier, born in 1702, and

filled the office of Secretary to the Embassy at Vienna. He was

persecuted by the Inquisition on account of the publication of his

travels, and accordingly came to England, where he abjured the Romish

creed. Thus sacrificing fortune to the dictates of conscience, he first

encountered great difficulties, but found friends, especially Archbishops

Potter and Herring. Frederick, Prince of Wales, also assigned him a

pension. He resided some years at Knightsbridge, which he quitted in

1775. He died October 11th, 1783. {211}

The COUNTESS OF ORRERY, friend of Swift, died at Knightsbridge, October

27th, 1758. He esteemed her highly “as a person of very good

understanding, as any he knew of the sex.” In his will, Swift bequeathed

to Lord Orrery “the enamelled silver plates to distinguish bottles of

wine by,” given him by his “excellent lady.”

SETH WARD, BISHOP OF SALISBURY, had his town residence at Knightsbridge.

He was born April 15th, 1617, at Aspedon, near Buntingford. Brought up

at the Free School of his native place, he was removed to Sydney Sussex

College; but refusing to subscribe the covenant, lost his fellowship, and

in 1643 removed to the neighbourhood of London. Part of his time he

spent at Albury, in company with Oughte, and there the two prosecuted

their mathematical studies together.

In 1649, the Savilian Professors of Astronomy and Geometry being removed

from their offices by the Parliamentary Commissioners, Ward was chosen to

fill the former chair. On this he took the oath of allegiance to the

Commonwealth, and exerted himself to restore the lectures, which had been

greatly neglected, and under him they speedily revived.

In 1652, he took his Doctor’s Degree, and in 1659 was made Principal of

Jesus College, and afterwards Master of Trinity College; but at the

Restoration he was compelled to resign these appointments. While at

Oxford he gained the acquaintance of some of the most eminent men of the

time, especially of Wilkins, afterwards Bishop of Chester. Their

meetings led to the formation of the Royal Society, which Ward strongly

supported, and of which he was one of the most efficient members.

Although he had taken office under the Commonwealth, he had friends under

the Monarchy, who were able to forward his interests. Among them were

Monk and Clarendon; and through their intercessions he was presented to

St. Lawrence Jewry, and afterwards to the Precentorship of Exeter. His

rise was now rapid, for in 1661 he was appointed Dean, and in the ensuing

year Bishop of that Diocese.

In 1667 he was translated to the Bishopric of Salisbury, and in the House

of Lords, being an able speaker, took a prominent part in the debates.

He has been accused of lending rather too complying an ear to the Court,

both in Parliament and the rule of his diocese; probably these charges

arose from his supporting the ill-advised and tyrannical Conventicle Act,

which his predecessor, Bishop Earl, a man beloved by all parties, had

opposed. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind he approved of the

opposition to James II., and to two copies of the petition his signature

was affixed.

His residence, when his duties called him to the metropolis, was at

Knightsbridge, and here he was visited by all the leading literary and

scientific men of the day. Evelyn, in his “Diary,” March 25th, 1674,

writes, “I dined at Knightsbridge, with the Bishops of Salisbury,

Chester, and Lincoln, my old friends.” The celebrated Isaac Barrow was

also a frequent guest; and it was at the Bishop’s table he was seized

with the illness which in a short time ended his days. The celebrated

Sir Charles Scarborough was another friend—he also was Ward’s medical

adviser; and Burnet states he was at Knightsbridge with him when the

Queen’s coach came for him to attend her at the birth of the future

Pretender.

The Bishop’s health towards the close of his life was very indifferent,

and at length he was deprived of his faculties altogether, and died at

Knightsbridge, January 6, 1689, in his seventy-second year. He was a

very learned man, as his writings abundantly show, and a very charitable

one. At his native place he founded almshouses, and also left a sum for

apprenticing its poor boys. I know nothing more beautiful or pure in a

great man’s character than to see him remembering in his old age those

villagers among whom, in a comparatively humble sphere, he first drew

breath. Such conduct indicates a benevolent mind and a good heart; and

such public acts which seem to show a different spirit, I would rather

attribute to a temporary fear or extraneous motive, other than the

genuine constitution of the mind. A life of Ward was published by Dr.

Pope, author of the celebrated ballad, “The Old Man’s Wish.” {214}

William Penn resided at Knightsbridge, at No. 8, St. George’s Place, it

is said; in order to be nearer the Court, where he was a great favourite

with the Queen; he left it in 1706. Sir John Chardin, the famous Persian

Ambassador of the time of Charles II., lived once in this same house. So

imbued was he by his travels with Eastern ideas, that on Persian

festivals he used to illuminate his windows with candles. He was buried

at Chiswick, 29th December, 1713. The clever but unfortunate George Anne

Bellamy also lived here in 1747. Dr. Richard Wright, F.R.S., and

physician to St. George’s Hospital, died here, October 14th, 1786. J.

Marshall, a botanist and gardener, and well known as a writer on such

subjects, lived at Knightsbridge many years; and Edward Wakefield, author

of “Ireland, Political and Statistical,” died here, May 18th, 1854, aged

eighty-six. John Allen, of Knightsbridge, in 1685, left to the parish of

Hammersmith 10s. annually to twenty poor people. The Countess of

Yarmouth, mistress of George II., also numbered among its inhabitants.