be fixed accurately; it was at the end of the present Devonshire Place
mews, and is incorrectly described in one or two books as having been on
the site of Devonshire mews, which would take it out of the High Street
altogether.
This manor-house was originally a royal palace, built by Henry VIII.,
doubtless as a kind of hunting-lodge for the adjacent Marylebone Park,
as Regent's Park was then called.
It is said to have been visited by Mary and Elizabeth, and as there are
authentic records of the latter Queen's entertainment of the Russian
Ambassador here, the statement is probably true. The house was rebuilt
and considerably altered when it became the manor-house at a later date,
but after having borne this title for many years it was let as a school
in 1703, and was pulled down in 1791.
Another house about 100 yards south of this in the High Street has often
been confounded with it (the manor-house), but this was built by Edward
Harley, second Earl of Oxford, for the reception of the famous Harleian
collection of MSS., begun by his father and continued by himself. When
this collection was purchased by the British Museum the house, known as
Oxford House, became a boarding-school for girls. The grounds stretched
out at the back, covering the space now occupied by Beaumont Street,
Devonshire Place, and part of Devonshire Street. Some time before the
house became a school these grounds were detached, and a noted
bowling-green was established here. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's sharp
remark in reference to this, "Some Dukes at Marylebone bowl time away,"
has often been quoted. There was close to the green a noted tavern
called the Rose of Normandy. This is supposed to have been built in the
early half of the seventeenth century, and was a well-known resort of
gamesters and idlers. Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, against whom Lady
Mary's sally was principally directed, is said to have spent much of his
time there. He used to give a dinner to his associates at the end of the
season, and his parting toast was, "May as many of us as remain unhanged
meet here again next spring." In a plan of the Duke of Portland's estate
in 1708 two bowling-greens are shown, one in the gardens at the back of
the manor-house, and one behind the tavern. Both of these bowling-greens
were afterwards incorporated into the famous Marylebone Gardens.
These Gardens were entered through the tavern above mentioned, and were
opened before 1737; up to that date the public had free access, but
afterwards were admitted only on payment of one shilling, for which,
however, they received an equivalent of "tea before eight o'clock," or
"half a pint of wine during the concert." There was a theatre in the
Gardens, in which balls, concerts, and scenic displays took place. The
musical department was for some time under the direction of Dr. Arne,
and the fireworks under Signor Torre. An allegorical play was performed
on June 4, 1772, in honour of the King's birthday.
In 1778 the Gardens were closed, complaints having been made by the
inhabitants as to the danger of fire from the fireworks. Pepys mentions
the Gardens as "a pretty place," and John Locke records "bowling at
Marebone and Putney by persons of quality." These Gardens formed the
scene of McHeath's debauchery in the "Beggars' Opera." Devonshire Place,
built on the site, is a fine wide street.
Almost opposite to the church, on the north side of the Marylebone Road,
is the Charity School for Girls, a large, well-built edifice, which
stands back behind a high brick wall. An inscription on this wall
proclaims "St. Marylebone Charity School for the maintenance and
education of the daughters of poor inhabitants. Supported solely by
voluntary contributions. Founded 1750. Moved to this date 1838."
In 1750 a few benevolent gentlemen inaugurated the scheme, and at first
its benefits were open to boys and girls alike. In 1754 the Dowager
Countess of Oxford, having granted a piece of land in High Street for
the term of 999 years at peppercorn rent, the school house was erected.
The numbers of the children varied according to the income. In 1829 it
was considered advisable to devote the charity exclusively to girls, and
the boys were dispersed. In 1838 the present schoolhouse was built on
ground leased from the Duke of Portland. P. Hardwicke was the architect,
and the result is entirely satisfactory.
The girls enter at ten, or two years earlier if they are paying pupils,
and remain till sixteen. They make everything for themselves at the
school excepting hats and boots, and do all their own domestic work, the
kitchen and laundry being under the superintendence of a cook and
laundress. Large orders of needlework are executed, but the mornings are
devoted to bookwork.
They still wear the picturesque dress of the time of the establishment
of the foundation. On Sundays they are dressed in brown frocks with
elbow sleeves and mittens, and wear white fichus and aprons and snowy
Dutch caps, like the children of the Foundling Hospital. The building is
on the site of Marylebone Park House, an old house, parts of which the
architect has incorporated into its successor; a handsome oak floor and
marble mantelpiece of the Queen Anne period are to be seen in the
board-room. At its southern end High Street bifurcates, becoming Thayer
Street and Marylebone Lane.
In 1839 Charles Dickens came to a large house in Devonshire Terrace,
facing York Gate. This was his home for eleven years, during which
appeared "Martin Chuzzlewit," "Dombey and Son," "David Copperfield," and
many minor works.
Marylebone Lane is a narrow, crooked street on the site of a real lane,
which followed the windings of the Tyburn and overhung its left bank. At
the south end stood the ancient parish church already referred to. The
fact of the churchyard having surrounded the church was proved by the
number of bones and human remains dug up at the foundation of the Court
House. This Court House stands in a wedge-shaped block. It is now
superseded by the larger Court House in Marylebone Road. The Vestry
offices were in this block which was originally built in 1729, and
rebuilt in 1804. It is a plain brick building, with a clock dial set in
a triangular pediment. It adjoins the site of the old Watch House on
ground where the parish pound stood formerly. A stone let into the
adjacent building records "A.D. MDCCXXIX St. Marylebone Watch House,"
and is surmounted by a coat of arms. It is curious to reflect that not
so very long ago, as men count time in history, the little lonely church
stood here on the brink of a stream and surrounded by fields.
Marylebone Lane is now a very poor and squalid district.
In 1237 one, Gilbert Sandeford, obtained leave to convey water to the
City from the Tyburn, and laid down leaden pipes, the first recorded
instance of their use for this purpose in England. Once a year the Mayor
and Corporation visited the head of their conduits, and afterwards held
a banquet in the Banqueting House in Stratford Place. "The Lord Mayor
and Aldermen and many worshipful persons rode to the conduit heads to
see them, according to the old custom; and then they went and hunted a
hare before dinner and killed her, and thence went to dinner at the
Banqueting House at the head of the conduit, where a great number were
handsomely entertained by their Chamberlain. After dinner they went to
hunt the fox. There was a great cry for a mile, and at length the hounds
killed him at the end of St. Giles with a great holloaing and blowing of
horns at his death, and thence the Lord Mayor with all his company rode
through London to his place in Lombard Street" (Strype). The Banqueting
House was demolished in 1737, long after Sir Hugh Myddelton's scheme
(1618) for supplying London with water from the New River had rendered
the Marylebone conduits unnecessary.
Stratford Place is a cul-de-sac opening out of Oxford Street. It was
built about 1774 by Lord Stratford, the Earl of Aldborough, and others.
It was Lord Stratford who built Aldborough House in this place, before
which General Strode erected a column to commemorate the naval victories
of England. The column, which was a Corinthian one surmounted by a
statue of George III., fell in 1805, eight years after its erection. The
house in Stratford Place was subsequently occupied by the Duke of St.
Alban's, Prince Esterhazy, and others.
Vere Street was called after the Veres, Earls of Oxford. The western
district post-office is situated here, and at the north end is the
little Church of St. Peter's, formerly called Oxford Chapel. T. Smith
says this was considered one of the most beautiful structures in the
Metropolis; taste has altered considerably since those days. It is a
small squat building erected in 1724 by Gibbs. In 1832 it was altered,
redecorated internally, and named St. Peter's.
The marriage of the Duke of Portland with the heiress of the Newcastle
and Oxford families took place here in 1734. The Rev. F. D. Maurice was
a former incumbent.
Henrietta Street was named after Henrietta, heiress of the Duke of
Newcastle; and Welbeck Street, after Welbeck, the Duke of Portland's
seat in Nottinghamshire. It was one of the earliest built after
Cavendish Square, and shares in the prevailing medical element of the
district. The West End Hospital is on the west side, next door to
Welbeck Hall, used by the Plymouth Brethren. At the upper end of the
street is the Russian Embassy and chapel.
Wigmore Street is wide and lined by good shops. It was called after
Wigmore Castle, the ancient seat of the Harleys, Earls of Oxford. This
was one of the first streets to be built after Cavendish Square; it was
burned in 1729, but rebuilt.
Wimpole and Harley Streets are long, dreary arteries which give the
impression of having been cut out of cardboard. At Nos. 43 to 45 is now
Queen's College, and next door is the Governesses' Home and Registration
Office. The College was first established in 1848. It owed its origin
partly to the Governesses' Benevolent Institution, and partly to the
exertions of the Rev. F. D. Maurice and the Rev. C. G. Nicolay. The
first object was to assist governesses to obtain certificates of
efficiency, but this is no longer the primary object. The College
occupies two fine old houses thrown into one; but though the picturesque
ceilings and staircases add to its interest, the narrow passages and
turnings are inconvenient. The names of Kingsley, Maurice, Trench, of
Sterndale Bennett and of Hullah, associated with its early development,
are sufficient to give the foundation exceptional interest.
South of Weymouth Street is a poor, squalid district. In this is
Westmorland Street, where stands St. James's Chapel. This was built in
1774, and was first called Titchfield Chapel, and subsequently Welbeck
Chapel, before it gained its present name. It was thoroughly restored in
1869-77. Externally, the chapel has no architectural beauty, but inside
a richly-coloured Burne-Jones window, placed so low as to give the
impression of an altar-piece, lights up the building.
Cavendish Square is the nucleus from which all the surrounding streets
have radiated. The ground was laid out in 1717, when the circular garden
in the centre was designed. For a time the name of the Square wavered
between Oxford and Cavendish, and it was referred to indiscriminately as
one or the other; but at length the present name gained favour. An
equestrian statue of the Duke of Cumberland, presented by General
Strode, formerly stood in the garden. At the southern end there is a
bronze statue of Lord George Bentinck by Campbell. James Brydges, Duke
of Chandos, formed a design for building in the Square a princely
residence, and he took the whole of the north side for a site. He had
amassed a large fortune as Paymaster in Queen Anne's reign, and he
intended to purchase all the property between this spot and Edgware, so
that he might ride from town to country over his own domain. But only a
part of his palace was ever completed. The two similar buildings still
standing on each side of Dean's Mews were designed for lodges. One of
the wings was occupied for a time by Princess Amelia, aunt to George
III., and subsequently by the Earl of Hopetown. This has since been
demolished. One of these is now a convent of the nuns of the Holy Child
Jesus.
On the west side of the Square is Portland House, a heavy stone edifice
of great size standing back behind a high brick wall. The stables and
grounds connected with it stretch through to Wimpole Street. The house
was first called Bingley, and later Harcourt House. It was designed by
Inigo Jones for Lord Bingley in 1722-23, and purchased after his death
by the Earl of Harcourt, and when it was bought by the Duke of Portland,
it was for a second time renamed. This was the only house standing when
the Duke of Chandos designed his palace. The ground was then worth 2s.
6d. a square foot. In 1833 a man then living remembered a fox being
killed in the Square.
The streets leading from the Square are all of about the same date, and
were built or laid out in the eighteenth century. At No. 24, Holles
Street Lord Byron was born.
Chandos House in Chandos Street was a part of the original house
designed by the Duke of Chandos. A long, low, rough, stuccoed building,
containing the Medical Society of London, is here also, besides numerous
offices of other societies, mostly medical.
In Queen Anne Street, No. 23 contains the offices of the Portland
estate. It is a quaintly-built house, quite modern, with a commemorative
tablet to Turner, R.A., who lived here. At No. 72 Fuseli formerly lived.
Portland Place was built about 1772, and measures 126 feet in width. It
is one-third of a mile long, and was designed by the brothers Adam. It
was Nash's fancy to make Regent Street run straight on into Portland
Place to lead up to a palace to be built for the King in Regent's Park,
but this design was subsequently abandoned. The Chinese Embassy is in
No. 49.
On the site of the Langham Hotel originally stood Foley House, built by
the Duke of Foley. In his lease with the Duke of Portland it was
expressly stipulated that no other house should be built to block the
view northward. Thus, when Portland Place was built, it was made of the
present enormous width in consequence of this stipulation. Foley House
was demolished in 1820, and part of the site was bought by Sir James
Langham, whose name is preserved in the adjacent street. The well-known
architect, Nash, was employed by him to build a house, but Sir James
was dissatisfied with the construction. It is said that Nash, then
employed in carrying out Langham Place, made it curve, to spite his
employer, instead of carrying it on in a continuous line to Portland
Place, as was at first designed.
All Souls' Church is also Nash's work. This church was built 1822-24,
and is of a curious design with a circular portico surrounding a
circular tower surmounted by a spire. The altar-piece is by Westall,
R.A. The church was restored in 1876. Dr. Thomson, late Archbishop of
York, and Bishop Baring of Durham, were among the former incumbents.
Queen's Hall, close by, is used for concerts and entertainments.
The London Crystal Palace, erected in 1858, stood formerly on the site
of a great drapery establishment at the north-east corner of Regent
Circus.
Halfway down the part of Regent Street above the Circus is the
Polytechnic Young Men's Christian Institute and Day Schools, also the
Polytechnic School of Art, founded in 1838, and enlarged ten years
later. It was originally intended for the exhibition of novelties in the
Arts and practical Sciences, especially agriculture and other branches
of industry. Exhibitions were held here and lectures and classes
established, but in 1881 the building was sold, and is now used as above
indicated.
Margaret Street was named after Margaret, heiress of the Newcastle and
Oxford families. In it is All Saints' Church, a decorative building
which has been described as the most beautiful church in the Metropolis.
It was built by W. Butterfield, and the first stone was laid by Dr.
Pusey on All Saints' Day, November 1, 1850. The whole of the interior is
covered by mural decorations. The frescoes in the chancel were executed
by W. Dyce, R.A. The style is Early English, and the spire reaches a
height of 227 feet.
The church stands on the site of a chapel which is said to have been the
cradle of the High Church Movement in the Metropolis. It is curious to
read that in the eighteenth century this chapel was an isolated
building, and that a shady lovers' walk led from it to Manchester
Square, and another walk through the fields to Paddington!
In No. 204, Great Portland Street is the London Throat Hospital. The
Jews' Central Synagogue, a large and imposing building in the Byzantine
style, is just to the north of New Cavendish Street. In Portland Place
there was formerly a well-known tavern, the Jew's Harp, where Onslow,
Speaker to the House in George II.'s reign, used to resort incognito.
St. Paul's (episcopal) Chapel stands to the north of Langham Street.
This was formerly Portland Chapel, and was erected 1766 on the site of
Marylebone Basin, which had for some time formed the reservoir of a
water-supply. The chapel was not consecrated until 1831, when it
received its present name. This name recalls a market begun here in 1721
by Edward, Earl of Oxford, but not opened till 1731, owing to the
opposition of Lord Craven. The market had a central vane, with date of
foundation and the initials of Lord Harley, Earl of Oxford, and his
wife. He obtained a grant "authorizing himself, his lady, and their
heirs to hold a market on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays for the
sale of flesh, fish, fowl, herbs, and all other provisions." It does not
seem, however, to have answered his expectations, for the central room
was afterwards used as a pay-office for Chelsea out-pensioners. On the
site of this Oxford Mansions now stands.
Titchfield Street was built about the end of the eighteenth century.
Loutherbourg, R.A., lived here, and W. Collins, R.A., was born in this
street in 1787.
All the rest of this district is very dreary. There are various chapels
and charitable institutions scattered about in the streets; but it seems
likely before long that land in such an advantageous position will be
required for buildings of a better class, which will bring in more rent
than the present ones.
[Illustration: MARYLEBONE DISTRICT.
Published by A. & C. Black, London.]
Wells Street chiefly consists of large manufacturing premises. St.
Andrew's Church has been opened out by the demolition of adjoining
houses. It is celebrated for its choir.
Nollekens the sculptor's studio was at No. 9 in Mortimer Street. The
Middlesex Hospital stands back from the street, with two wings enclosing
a cement courtyard. This hospital was instituted in 1745 for sick and
lame patients. It was first situated in Windmill Street, Tottenham Court
Road, but was removed to Marylebone Fields, as the present site was then
called in 1755. The site was obtained from Charles Berners on lease for
the term of 999 years, and the first stone of the building was laid by
the Duke of Northumberland. The building of the wings was completed in
1775, and they were extended in 1834. Various additions were made to the
hospital, and improvements carried out in the interior arrangements, but
it was not until 1836 that a charter of incorporation was obtained.
At the end of the eighteenth century several of the wards not then
required were opened for the reception of the French refugees as a
temporary shelter.
And with this we bring our "Circuit Walk" to an end, having found
therein many things interesting, and not a few curious, even in a
district usually accounted by no means exceptional in these respects.
INDEX
Aberdeen Place, 72
Aiken, Miss, 30
Akenside, Mark, 19
Aldborough House, 97
Aldred Road, 37
Alford, Dr., 80
Alvanley, Lord, 35
Anderson, Mary, 29
Apple Village, 79
Arbuthnot, Dr., 19, 30
Arne, Dr., 93
Arundel, Earls of, 57
Atye, Sir Arthur, 40
Austen, Sir John, 58
Austin, John, 75
Avenue Road, 53
Bacon, 52
Baillie, Joanna, 28, 30
Baker Street, 83
Baker Street Bazaar, 83
Banqueting House, 96
Barbauld, Mrs., 25, 30
Baring, Bishop, 102
Barrow Hill, 63
Bedford College, 83
Belmont House, 23
Belsize Avenue, 46
Belsize Crescent, 46
Belsize Lane, 45
Belsize Manor, 2, 44
Belsize Park Gardens, 46
Berkeleys, 57
Bingley, Lord, 100
Bird in Hand, The, 25
Blandford Square, 69
Blennerhasset, John, 59
Bolton House, 28
Bonomi, 86
Booth, 29
Botanical Gardens, 67
Brabazon, Sir Roger de, 2
Branch Hill, 26, 27
Branch Hill Lodge, 27
Brawne, Fanny, 22
Browning, Robert, 90
Bryanston Square, 79
Bryanston Street, 80
Buckland Crescent, 46
Bull and Bush, The, 9
Burgh House, 19
Burney, Fanny, 17, 19
Burton, Decimus, 65
Butler, Bishop, 23
Buxton, Sir Fowell, 10
Byron, Lord, 27, 89, 100
Caenwood House, 12
Cannon Hall, 15
Capland Street, 72
Carlisle House, 23
Carlisle Street, 72
Cato Street, 79
Cavendish Square, 99
Cemetery, 85
Chalcots, 47, 54
Chalk Farm, 54
Chandos, Duke of, 99
Chandos House, 100
Chapels:
Brunswick, 80
French, 83
St. James's, 99
St. John's Wood, 61
Paddington, 76
St. Paul's, 103
Portman, 83
Roman Catholic, 85
Charity, 88
Charles, Mrs. Rundle, 33
Chatham, Earl of, 10
Chicken House, 22
Chinese Embassy, 101
Cholmeley, Sir Roger, 40
Christian Union Almshouses, 75
Christ Church Road, 15
Churches:
All Saints', 61, 103
All Souls', 53, 102
Annunciation, 80
St. Barnabas, 71
Christ, 15, 71
St. Cuthbert's, 41
St. Cyprian's, 70
Emanuel, 72
St. John's Wood, 62
St. Luke's, 79
St. Mark's, 61, 75
St. Mary's, 44, 78
St. Mary the Virgin, 53
Marylebone, 87
Marylebone, New, 89
Marylebone Presbyterian, 80
St. Matthew's, 72
Parish, 30
St. Paul's, 53
St. Peter's, 46, 97
St. Saviour's, 47
St. Stephen's, 49
St. Stephen the Martyr's, 63
St. Thomas's, 84
Trinity, 39
Church Lane, 25, 29
Church Row, 30
Church Street, 72
Cibber, Colley, 29
City Conduit Estate, 59
Clarke, Sir Thomas, 27
Clock House, 26
College Road, 47
Colleges:
Congregational, 39
New, 39
Westfield, 40
Collins, R.A., 104
Collins, Wilkie, 10, 52
Colosseum, 66
Conduit Fields, 35
Constable, 20, 27, 30
Constitutional Club, 28
Cornwall Terrace, 65
Court House, 95
Craik, Mrs., 10
D'Arblay, Madame, 17
Davy, Sir Humphrey, 67
Dawes, 65
De Clyf, Sir William, 58
De Insula, William, 57
De Mortimer, Roger, 74
De Vere, Robert, 57
Devonshire Street, 92
Dibdin, 78
Dickens, 13
Dorset Square, 69
Downshire Hill, 21
Du Maurier, 26
Earl Street, 71
Edgware Road, 73
England's Lane, 47
Erskine House, 11
Erskine, Lord, 30
Esterhazy, Prince, 9, 97
Eton Avenue, 46
Eton Road, 47
Evelina, 17
Eyre Estate, 61
Eyre, Samuel, 59
Fellows Road, 47
Fenton House, 26
Ferns, The, 34
Finchley Road Station, 39
Fitz John's Avenue, 30
Flagstaff, 13
Fleet Road, 52
Foley House, 101
Foote, 9
Forset, Edward, 58
Fortune Green, 36
Fortune Green Lane, 38
Free Library Reading Room, 25
Frognal, 34
Frognal Gardens, 35
Frognal Hall, 35
Frognal Park, 30
Frognal Priory, 35
Frognal Rise, 27
Fuseli, 101
Gainsborough, Earl of, 2, 17
Gainsborough Gardens, 18
Garrick, 9
Gayton Road, 21
Gayton Street, 24
George Street, 83
Godfrey, Sir Edmondbury, 54
Golden Square, 26
Gordon Riots, 12
Goulburn, Dr., 80
Governesses' Home and Registration Office, 98
Great Central Hotel, 78
Great Central Railway, 60
Great Central Station, 78
Great Cumberland Place, 80
Great James Street, 71
Great Portland Street, 103
Green Man Lane, 15
Grove Road, 71, 72
Grove, The, 20
Hampstead Cemetery, 38
Hampstead Conservatoire of Music, 48
Hampstead Green, 49
Hampstead Ponds, 21
Hampstead Square, 15
Hampstead Public Library, 39
Hanover Terrace, 70
Harcourt, Earl of, 100
Harcourt Street, 76
Harleian Collection, 58, 91
Harley, Edward, 58
Harley Street, 98
Harlowe, Clarissa, 14
Haverstock Hill, 5, 49
Heath, The, 6, 8
Heath, East, 8
Heath Street, 5, 25
Heath, West, 5
Heathfield House, 15
Hendon, 30
Henrietta Street, 97
Hertford House, 85
Hertford, Marquis of, 65, 85
Hickes, Sir Baptist, 2
High Street, 5, 24, 62
Hill Street, 70
Hill, Sir Rowland, 50
Hinde, 65
Hobson, Thomas, 58
Hogarth, 9
Holford House, 66
Holles, John, Duke of Newcastle, 58
Holles Street, 100
Hollybush Hill, 27
Hollybush Tavern, 28
Holy Maid of Kent, 74
Homer Row, 76