1^1 £1 IJITVJJO^' CA1IF0%. m MSCElfx> . ^1 i ?^i i ■<'ja3/\miijn>- '^^ojnv3jo>' % ^^OfCAUFOft,^ ^, ^<7Aavaani^'^ ■•'•J'i]]3iS-YS01^^~ ''■^/ia]AINl]]\\~^ ' ^&Aayaaii-i\'^ '-^OAavaaii-i^^-^' ^vr- %a3AiNn]WV^ ^lOSANCEtfj% '■^(?Aavaai]-i^'^ ''&AUViiaiii\'<»' ^■sj]i'M\m'^' <7siiii\mB'> ' -^vMllBRARYQc. r" >- ^ ^.OFCAIIFO/?^. ^^WE•UNIVER% ^^yE■UNIVER% I i^fei 11 •i\\^' '-■&Aavaan-i\'^'^' § fe '^ i? %a3AIN(l]ftV* ^VOSANCElfj-^ %a3AINn-3ftV^ «^ILIBRARYQ^ -^^t-llBRARYQ^ \oirm- ^.OFCAllfOI?^ ^OFCAIIFC:: ^^AHvaan^- ^0Aavaan# ,^WE^)NIVER5■/A ^lOSANCElfXx ^^HIBF '^J^i 13D,SV-S01^ %ai\lN.l ] ^,^l•llBRARYQf^ .^\^E•l)NIVERj'/A ^lOSANCElfXx iryii i^i i(^i ^^lllBRARYQ^^ -^I-IIBRARY Mi Mi KENSINGTON Picturesque & Historical l£^ : ^^■'y^fe' .--^^-.S^JJi^g — ■ - ■ -..--x' M^ ..^ ~ ___.. -"—^^-^ , . ,,„ '--- :." K . d^^ Mm' kI^^' mm W 1^ B KENSINGTON Picturesque $^ Historical W. J. LOFTIE, AUTHOK OF 'A HISTORY OF LONDON,' 'WINDSOR CASTLE, 'THE AUTHOKISEI) GUIDE TO THE TOWER,' F.TC. ETC. WITH UP'WARDS OF THREE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS By WILLIAM LUKER JuN. FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT. CHS. GUILLAUME ET C"=. PARIS LONDON FIELD AND TUER, THE LEADENHALL PRESS, E.C, SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO. : HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO. NEW YORK : SCRIBNER &- WELFORD MDCCCLXXXVni BY COMMAND DEDICATED i^ei- a^aicssrj' ttjc iDuccn 4852'/9 LIBRARY I PREFACE N the foUowint^- ptit^es an attempt is made to trace the history of a great suburban parisii, from the first appearance of its name to the present day. My greatest diffi- FT^^JPBP'"^ culty has been to decide what should be [•^ '• included and what left out, in so ex- tensive a compilation. The material at my disposal was abundant. Mr. Merriman, of Kensington Square, has most kindly allowed me to use his extensive collections, which include those of the late Mr. Callcott. The late Mrs. Henley Jervis, of Holland Park, generously supplied me with the information from which she drew EKNooN sHoiTiNc, HIGH sTKEET, ^j^g dcllghtful " Notcs ou thc Parish KENSINGTON. » Registers," that have appeared from time to time in our Parish Magar^iiic. I have had access to annotated copies of Faulkner's History of Kciisingtou, belonging to the vicar and to Mr. Merriman, to both of whom my thanks are due for the loan of such precious volumes ; and I have an interleaved copy in my own possession. In short, I might have made three volumes, thicker than this one, so ample were the PREFACE accessible collections. But I have endeavoured to pick and choose, first, those things which do not, so far as I know, appear m anj^ former book ; secondly, those things of which Faulkner and Lysons were ignorant ; and thndly, those things which bore (in the descent of the man- orial and other estates. I have endeavoured to avoid mere anecdote, or gossip, except wlierc it threw light on the history, and to make all the names and dates as accurate as possible. The difficulty in this particular has been the greater because so many baseless legends have grown over such subjects as the histor}' of the Veer famih', as it is properly called ; and the formation of Kensington Gardens under Queen Anne and Queen Caroline, to mention two examples onh'. Besides the authorities above named, I have used Mr. Brown's Kciiuas Kiiigdoiii, Leigh Hunt's Old Court Sub- urb, and Mr. Doyle's Official r,.T ^<\ A MAI- OF THE I'i^ r ^\x ^ Parish of Eenslngton f - i__,*/^ ; ''X-vX ^^6 NORTHERN PORTION ixl.l.l.lll : KiJil * T <■ CONTENTS The Geography of Kensington Boundaries — The Harrow Road — Chelsea detached — Si. Margaret, West- minster — Kensington Gore — Knightsbridge — The Fulham Road — Stam- ford Bridge — The Creek — Caunter's Bridge — Kensington in Ossulston — Clienesitun — Unlucky guesses — A'cnna's Kingdom — The Kensings — Bronipton — Kensal — Situation — Levels — Scenery — Geology — Zoology. CHAPTER II The Veres and the Manor The Manor of Kensington — Early notices — Kensington as described in the Domesday Survey — Social state — Population — Industry — The iXbbot of Abingdon — His manor — The parish of St. Mary "Abbot's" — It becomes a vicarage — Customs of the Abbot's Manor — The tenants in 1672 and 1675 — Customs of the Earl's Manor — The tenants in 1675 — Gavelkind — The Court-houses — The family of Veer or Vere — The earldom of Oxford — An unfortunate heiress — "Aubrey the Grymme" — Ham — The Star of Vere — The good earl — The Duke of Ireland — His strange death and burial — Father and son beheaded — The thirteenth earl a prisoner at Ham — Bosworth — Notting Hill sold — The Lady Margaret — " Little John of Camps " — The last of the Veres — Harley, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer — I'edigree of Vere. CONTENTS CHAPTER Holland House The four divisions of Kensington — Netting Earns — Sir Walter Cope — West Town— The Queen's printer— The Abbofs Manor— The Tithes— The Grenvilles — Tlie Abbot's Manor-House — The Earl's Manor — Earl's Court — The heirs of Vere — Cope's Castle — Dame Dorothy — Henry Rich — The Earl of Holland — His execution — His widow — Joseph Addison — His letters to Lord Warwick — Tenants of Holland House — Heniy Fox, Lord Holland — His elopement — The third Lord Holland — His elopement — Lady Holland, drawn by Moore — A ghost stoiy — A duel — Pedigrees of the families of Cope, Rich, and Fox. CHAPTER IV Old Kensington Influence of the plague on Kensington — Campden House — Hicks and his descendants — Lindsey — The Princess Anne — The Duke of Gloucester — Pedigree of the Noels — Burlington — Lechmere — Little Campden House — BuUingham House — Orbell's Buildings — Sir Isaac Newton — Aubrey House — Sheffield House — Scarsdale House — Kensington Square — Young Street — Thackeray in Kensington — Eminent inhabitants of tlie Square — Kensington House — Colby House — Kensington Court — Hale House — The Cromwells and Kensington — Edmund Burke. CHAPTER V Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens The birthplace of Queen Victoria — The manor-house of Neyt — Abbot Littlington and Abbot Islip — John of Gaunt — John of York — The Coppins — The Finches — Lord Chancellor Nottingham — William III. — Extent of Nottingham Park — Curious errors — Queen Anne and Queen Caroline not land-grabbers — Names of the avenues and lawns — The Temple^ — The Alcove— The Barracks— The Conduit— The Water Tower— The Orangery — Tlie Palace — The room in which the Queen was born — The Council Chamber — The Duke of Sussex — Thackeray on Kensington Palace— Lord Harvey and the King's pictures — The State Apartments. CHAPTER VI The Church Why called "St. Mary Abbot's "—History of the Vicarage— An old site — The advowson — A survey of the Vic.irage in 1260 — A survey in 1610 CONTENTS — A survey in 1689 — The list of Vicars from 1260 to :878 — The Old Vicarage-House — ^John Parsons, vicar, and Sebastian Harris, curate — The new Church — Its dimensions — Completion of the spire — The Communion Plate — The Bells — Former Churches on the site — The Monuments — List of those in the Church — List of Memorial Windows — Monuments in the Churchyard— The Vestry and Vestry Hall— The new Town Hall — The Charities : Methwold's, Young's, Jane Berkeley's — The Campden Charities — Cromwell's Gift — Thanet House — Churches in the parish — List— The Pro-Cathedral — Dissenters' Chapels — Cemeteries— Kensal Green — Brompton. CHAPTER VII Modern Kensington A perambulation of the parish — Forty years ago — Crofton Croker's /Fo//' — Knightsbridge — Brompton Row — Beloe — Michael Novosielski — Bromp- ton Square — Alexander Square — Flounder Field — Alderman Heniy Smith — Fulham Road — Onslow Square — Marochetti — Queen's Elm — Thistle Grove — Little Chelsea — Earls and Bishops — Lillie Bridge — South Kensington — Queen Anne architecture — South Kensington Museum — The Gore and Hale Estates — Mr. Moncure Conway on the Albert Hall and Cross — The statues— Sir Henry Cole— Gloucester Road— Canning- Palace Gate— Butt's Field— Hyde Park Gate, or Campden Terrace— Noel House — De Vere Gardens — Earl's Court — ^John Hunter — Princess Char- lotte — Addison Road — Holland Park Road — Melbury Road — Artists' houses — Kensington Road — Campden Hill — Nightingale Lane — "The Dukeries "—The Phillimore Estate— Sir James South — Church Street— CONTENTS The Callcotts— Hornton Street— The Abbey— Netting Hill— The Turn- pike— Norland— Kensington Park— Netting Barns— Gallows Close— The Potteries — Recollections of an Old Inhabitant— The Hippodrome— A Walk in North Kensington— The Gravel Pits— Portobello Farm— A Rookery — Another Rookery — Cromwell's Gift — High Street, Netting Hill Gate — Netting Hill Square — Tower Cressy — New Lodge — Conclusion. (The spot where Lord Camelford wa ILLUSTRATIONS ATsrEY, the, Crimpclcn Hill Road. Addison Road, No. 32— The llnll Do. The Drawing.Room Addison Road (two views) 75 nnd Afternoon shopping, High Sticct, Kensington (initial W) Albert Hall, Concert in the . Albert Hall and Mansions . Albert Hall Mansions . Albert Hall Mansions, in (two views) . . . 232 and Albert Memorial, Africa Albert Memorial, America . Albert Memorial, Asia Albert Memorial, Europe Albert Memorial and Albert Hall Albert Memorial (two views) 229 and Alcove, the .... Arch erected at the Queen's riage, at Kensington Ciate Argyll Lodge Aubrey House . Aubrey House, Haymaking . Aubrey Road " Bf.i.l anii Horns " (the), 15rom]i. liluecoat figure (boy) . liluccoat figure (girl) . Boat-racing on the Round Pond — The Start .... Boughton's (Mr. G. H.) House Boughton's (Mr. G. H.) House, Campden Hill (initial W)— Hall in Boughton's (Mr. G. H.) House- Studio in ... . Boundary Houses, High St., Ken- sington ..... Boundary, House on the Boundary Stones and Cedar Trees Bracket, No. 1 1 Kensington Square Bridge over Serpentine Broad Walk, the Brompton Church and Oratory Brompton Church Avenue, En- trance of ... . Brompton Church Cemetery Brompton Road, 1833, from an old |irint ..... LLUSTRATIONS Bullingham House . .102 Bullingham House (back) . . loi Bullingham House, Old Oak Door 104 Bullingham House, Present en- trance to .... 105 Bust of Archdeacon Sinclair and Tablet in St. Mary Abbot's Church 192 Bust of Mr. Rennell and Tablet in St. Mary Abbot's Church . 192 Bute House, from the Garden . 254 Bute House, from the Road . 253 Bute House, Studio of . 253 Cabmen's Shelter . Campden House from Gloucester Walk .... Campden House, Old Gateway Carmelites, The . Cemeteiy, Kensal Green, Entrance to - Charles Street, Kensington Squar( Charles Street, Kensington Square Old Window in . . Church Street, Kensington . Church Walk . Cleve Lodge ... Coleherne House Cole's (Sir Henry) Monument, South Kensington Museum Cope Family, Arms of (from Ken sington Parish Church) Crippled Boys' Home Crippled Boys' Home, Porch of Cupola Room, Kensington Palace, Doorway in . Do. do. Fireplace ii Dance (A) in Kensington Square, 1815. In colours . . Frontispiece "Disengaged" . . . .210 Dining-room (A) in Netting Hill Square 277 Drayton Gardens, South Kensing- ton Ducks (Feeding) at the Pond . Ducrow's (Andrew) Tomb Duel, Memorial Stone Duke of Sussex's Tomb, Green . ^isMORE Gardens Finch Family, Arm: Flower Walk, the Flower Walk, Winter (two views) . . . 143 and 148 Fo.N Family, .\rms of . . . 79 Greyhound, Porch of the . . 115 Greyhound, The . . . . 1 1 j Hicks Family, Arms of . -95 High Street Kensington Station, night scene .... 252 High Street, Kensington — Winter 255 High Street, Notting Hill Gate, Nos. 50 and 52 . . . 270 High Street, Notting Hill G.ite, Nos. 58 and 60 . . . 263 Hill Lodge . . .23 Hill Side, New Road ... 23 Hippodrome .... 269 Holland House, in the grounds of 70 Holland House, south front . . 71 Holland House, the Ghost Walk . 82 Holland House, west side . . 73 Holland House, Memorial of tlie Duel (now removed) . . 83 Holland Park, Fountain in . . Si Holland's Statue (Lord) . . So Holland Street . . . -177 Holly Lodge .... 256 Hood's (Tom) Tomb, Kensal Green 206 "Hoop and Toy" (The), Bromp- ton Road, 1833, from an old print 213 Hornton Cottage . . .261 Howard's (Mr. George) house, Palace Green . . . .210 Hunter's (John) house . . . 242 Hyde Park Gate. . . . 232 Initial Letter A, In Kensington Gardens. .... 166 Initial letter A, Tricycling . . 131 Initial letter D, In Kensington Gar- dens ..... 209 Initial letter E, In Notting Hill Square . . . . .87 Initial letter P, The Round Pond . 60 Ireland, Arms of Duke of . . viii James Street, Kensington Square (two views) . 112 and 119 Jenner's Statue . . . .144 Jubilee Arch, 1887 . .165 Kensington Yard . Kensington Barracks— Nigl Kensington Court, A Come KS, Barrack LLUSTRATIONS Kensington Court, Bay Wii at No. I Kensington Court Estate Kensington Court, Nos. 7 anc Kensington Gardens, Old t entrance Kensington Gardens, South trance to — Night Kensington Gardens, Top of P West Entrance to . Kensington Gardens, West Kensington High Street, Juljilee Day . . . '. l-^ensington House Ivensington House {another view). Kensington National Schools Kensington Palace : — Belfry ' . . . . Chairs in (two views) . Courtyard .... Door of ... . Door and Porch, north-east end of . Doorway, north-east end of . East Front of . . . Gallery, Queen Caroline in the Gates ..... Gatepost .... Gateway to the Stables Grounds, from In the Cupola Room . King's Gallery, Door in King's Gallery, Fireplace in . Part of Gate (two views) Presence Chamber, Carving in the. . . . ■ . Porch of . Room in which the Qu was born . Sentry Bo-x . South Front of . Studio of Princess Louise Top of Stable Gate Post Under the Belfry . View of the Staircase looking west .... Walk south of . Windows of Room in which the Queen was born . 1744. In colotirs 1793. In colours Kensington Palace, Cottages north of Kensington Place (two views) 67 and Kensington Square Kensington Square, Door No. 1 1 . 15S 156 154 137 164 153 159 I 156 133 134 154 131 164 vensmgton Si|uar Do nf No. Kensington Square, Nos. II and 12 116 Kensington Vestry Hall, Charity Concert in . . . .196 Keystone of Arch of Orange House, Kensington Gardens . . 141 " King of Prussia," High .Street, Kensington, Back of . .122 Do. High Street, Kensing- ton, in the .... 10 Kingston House, Kensington Gore 234 King Street, Kensington Square . 112 Leighton's (Sir Frederick) House 246 Leighton's (Sir Frederick) House — Hall Door .... 247 LeiLilUon's (Sir Frederick) House, Holland Park Road (initial I) . 249 l.eiL^hton's (Sir Frederick) House, llnlland I\ark Road — The Studio 246 Leighton's (Sir Frederick) House, Holland Park Road— The Vesti- Lion's Den, the . Little Campden House Little Campden Llouse, corner of . Little Holland House, 1833, from an old print .... Lodge in Kensington Gardens Lord Holland's Lane(two viewsjSoai Lowther Gardens, Kensington Gore, No. I Lowther Lodge .... Lowther Lodge, Corridor Lowther Lodge, Stairs Lowther Lodge, Windows in the Mali,, in the .... Mall, Statue in the . Mall (the) Dining-room Mall (the) Kitchen Mall (the) Library Melbury Road .... Melbury Road, No. 9, designed by Mr. Burges .... Melbury Road, No. 9— The Hall. Melbury Road, No. 9— A Room in Melbury Road to Holland House, Lane from .... Memorial Stone, the Duel . Millais's (Sir John E.) House Millais's (Sir John E.) Hou.se— The Millais's (Sir John E.) House— The Hall 240 240 ILLUSTRATIONS Milhis's (Sir John E.) House— The Studio 239 Monogram . Faciiii; Title Page Monogram . . . . x Montpelier House, 1776 . . 262 Moray Lodge, Campden Hill . xi Moray Lodge, Ash Tree in the Grounds of . . . . xiii Moray Lodge, Sketched in the Grounds of . . . . xix Natural History Museum . 25 Noel Family, Arms of . . 90 Noel House, Kensington Gore . 90 Netting Hill Gate, Site of . . 265 Netting Hill Grove, in . . 274 Netting Hill Grove, a Room in . 21 Netting Hill in 1750 . . .18 Netting Hill Square, in . . 273 Netting Hill Square, View from . 20 Oak Lodge, Addison Road . xv Old Barn, Holland Park Road . 24S Old Barracks, Palace Green . 135 Old Bayswater Conduit . . 27 Old Water Tower . . -151 Old Campden House . . .91 Old Cromwell House, South Ken- sington . . . . .125 Old House, Bayswater Road . 5 Old Houses, Church Street, Backs of 109 Old Houses, High Street, Kensing- ton, Backs of . . . .211 Old Houses, Silver Street . .163 Old Kensington Church . .185 Old Kensington Church Tower . 1 84 Old Kensington Conduit . .149 Old Lodge, Palace Gates (two views) . . -135 ^n'l 146 Old London, Church Clock in .238 Old London, Fountain in . .238 Old London, Stocks . . . 208 Old London . . . . 27S Old London (another view) . . 22 Old Manor House ... 40 Old Vicarage, Fireplace in . .174 Old Vicarage (the), from the Gardens 1 74 Old Vicarage (the), from Church Street 175 Old Workhouse Man . . .241 Old Wrought Iron Gate and Rail- ing, Kensington Gore . . 9 Orange House, Kensington Gardens (two views) . . 142 and 151 Orange House, the . . .150 Orangery, Gateway near . .149 Paddington Canal . Palace Gardens, Gates of . Palace Gardens, in Palace Gates, Old Lodge Portobello Road . Potteries, Cottages near the . Potteries, Road through the Powder Magazine Pro-Cathedral, the 3 139 7 13s 267 266 267 Queen Anne, initials of. Alcove . 151 " Queen's Elm," Fulham Road, the 218 Queen's Gate Ledge . . . 222 Red Lion Inn, Corner of the Red Lion Inn, Sun-dial on the Red Lion Inn, the. High Sireet, Kensington .... Red Lion Inn : the Old Window . Rich Family, Arms of Rich Monument (Arms en the) in St. Mary Abbot's Church Rich Monument in St. Mary Abbot's Church ..... Round Pond, the Round Pond— Winter . Row, the ..... Row, the, 1793. In colours St. Barnabas Church St. George's Church, Campden Hill St. Cover's Well, Kensington Gardens. .... St. Cover's Well, Kensington Gardens (side view) . St. John's Church St. John's Church, North Doorway of St. Mary Abbot's Church, from an old print .... St. Mary Abbot's Church, Pulpit in St. Mary Abbot's Church, Porch of St. Mary Abbot's Church, from Mr. Tuer's Tennis Court St. Mary Abbot's, in . St. Peter's Church Sambourne (Mr. Linley) at work in his Studio .... Scarsdale Mouse. Scarsdalc House, anotlicr \iew . Scarsdale House, Drawing-Roem . Scarsdale Mouse, Fireplace in Scarsdale Mouse, The Hall . Science and Art Department, South Kensington, Entrance to . Seal, Royal Arms Back of Title Sedan Chairs, Street Travelling in. Jn colours .... ILLUSTRATIONS 143 Serpentine, the . Serpentine, the, 1744* ^^^ coloui Sheffield Terrace, Room in . . 108 Sheffield Terrace, Ruin . . 99 Silver Street (two views) 163 and 258 Silver Street, No. 25 . . .89 Smith's shop in Silver Street, A . 259 South's (Sir James) Equatorial . 256 Speke's Obelisk . . . -15 Tablet to Col. Hutchins in St. Mary Abbot's Church Tablet to Colin Campbell in St. Mary Abbot's Church Tennis Court, Church Walk, Old Gate in . Thackeray's House, Young Street Thackeray's House, Palace Green Thistle Grove Lane, South Ken- sington ..... Tombstone in Bromi^ton Church Cemetery .... Tower Cressy .... Tower Cressy (another view) Tower Cressy, Doorway Tower Cressy, view from Tradesman's Tricycle . Turnpike and Cavalry Barrack; Kensington Veer, Seal of John Veer, Seal of Robert . Vere, Armorial Bearings of . Vere Family, Arms of. Vere Family, Crest of. Vicarage, the Waiting for a fare . Waterworks Tower Watts' (Mr. G. F.) house, 6 Melbury Road .... Where Lord Camelford was shot Windows of the room in which S: Isaac Newton died . W<: W( 275 j Wright's L.ane MAPS. Parish of Kensington — Soutliern portion (2 Maps; Parish of Kensington — Northern portion Kensington Gardens in 1754 (2 Maps) Page 142 v/j;,-..'^ KENSINGTON PALACE GATES. CHAPTER I THE GEOGRAniY OF KENSINGTON Bountlaries. — The Harrow Road — Chelsea detached — St. Margaret, Westminster — Kensington Gore— Knightsbridge— The Fulham Road— Stamford Bridge— The Creel< — Cavmter's Bridge — Kensington in Ossulston — Chenesitun — Unlucky Guesses — I-Ccnna^s Kingdom — The Kensings — Brompton — Kensal — Situation — Levels — Scenery — Geology — Zoology. One of the first things that the modern topographer has to learn is that a boundary is not fi.xed by chance. When \vc look at a map of our parish, or of any parish, we see many unaccountable variations from a straight line : but though these variations are now unaccountable, it by no means follows that they have no meaning. We cannot account for them simply because we are ignorant of the history of the place at which each of them occurs. Sometimes we can find a cause, and we have reason to believe that did wc know more, a cause could be found for every deviation. The outline of the parish of St. George, Hanover Square, a parish of comparatively recent definition, affords an excellent example of the way in which the boundary line is modified by circumstances all of which can be enumerated because they took effect not in the thirteenth century but in the eighteenth. A certain Sir Benjamin THE GEOGF^APHY OF KENSINGTON Maddoks, who had a farm adjoinincj to wliat is now called Conduit Street, let one portion of it, the northern, on a building lease, and another portion, the southern, to Lord Burlington for the erection of his beautiful house and the formation of his exten- sive gardens. When the parish of St. George wa.s divided from that of St. James, the northern portion went to the new division, and the southern remained with St. James. \Vc can thus go round the whole parish and give a reason for each peculiarity. With regard to the subject which more immedi- ately concerns us, the outline, namely, of the parish of Kensing- ton, we are by no means on such firm ground, for the simple reason tliat we do not know for certain when the parish was defined, or what were the forces at work in defining it. By what I have said about St. George's it will be seen that there need be nothing dry in such an investigation, provided we have some few facts to go upon : but mere guessing, especially about topography, is very unprofitable and to my mind very dull work also ; and as there ought to be nothing dull in tracing the boundary of a great historical parish like this, I hope to be able to leave theory altogether aside, and by stating the simple facts to place the reader in a position to judge of such conclu- sions as I may be able to offer. Where I have no certain information I shall say so plainly, and refrain from guessing or forming unsupported theories. Let us begin with the northern boundary of Kensington. It runs in what at first sight looks like an irregular zigzag, slanting ratiier in a southerly direction from a point on the Harrow Road, about 145 )-ards west of the Cemetery Chapel of Kensal Green, to the 4 KENSINGTON corner of Sloane Street nearest to Knightsbridije. This line follows the Harrow Road along by the cemetery for little more than half a mile, when it suddenly bends to the southward, crosses the canal and the railway, and makes a circuit of nearly half a mile, avoiding the " hamlet " of Kensal New Town. Then approaching the Westbourne district, it turns to the southward for about a mile until it reaches the corner of Lonsdale Road and Ledbury Road, where once more it resumes its eastward course, but only for a short way, not more than the third of a mile ; and, at a point just short of Hereford Road North, it turns south for fully half a mile, until, in Palace Gardens, it meets the boundary of St. Margaret's, Westminster, having previously divided Kensington from Willesden, Chelsea and Paddington. Here it may be well to pause for an instant, and ask how does any part of Chelsea come to be on the northern frontier of Kensington ? If we take a cab in Kensington and desire the driver to go to Chelsea, he turns to the south. How, then, is it that we have Willesden and Chelsea jostling each other along the Harrow Road, due north of any part of Kensington ? If we look at the map we sec that Kensal Green is in Willesden, and adjoins what till latel)- was a farm named " Chamberlain Wood," a farm which belonged in ancient times, as far back perhaps as i i 5 o, to a canon of St. Paul's, formed his prebendal manor, and was eventually called after him. A circular, or nearly circular, space on the map, south of Chamberlain Wood, is labelled " St. Luke, Chelsea (detached)." This space is bounded on its eastern side by Paddington, and forms an isolated and separate portion of the riverside parish of Chelsea, the nearest part of which is more than two miles away. Although we cannot account for all the deviations of the boundary we have been tracing, as our parish is a very ancient one, and the circumstances of the time when these divisions were made are not only very remote but very obscure, we can yet account vcr)- completely for the presence here of the outlying hamlet of Chelsea. It is recited in a charter, now in the Hritish Museum, THE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINCTFON 5 that a certain man called Thurstan, who was chamberlain, or master of the household, " prefectus palatinus," to Edward the Confessor, gave his manor of Chelsea to the King's great founda- tion at Westminster : and among the lands mentioned is " sylva proxima ad Kyngesbyrig sita," or " the wood situated near Kingsbury." This wood, part of the great Middlesex forest, was to supply faggots for the abbey fires, and acorns for the abbot's pigs, as in all probability the lower lands of Chelsea, and of Kensington too, were under cultivation by that time. fe^i- This woodland, thus attached to Chelsea so man)- centuries ago, is attached to it still : and the northern boundary of Kensington has to " fetch a compass " to avoid it. It would hardly be worth while to make so long a pause over so small a matter, but for two reasons : some historians of Kensington and Chelsea have made mistakes about the charter, have translated " Kyngesbyrig " by Knightsbridge, and have confused the history of both places ; and as a boundary line does not wind about for nothing, I have thought it worth while here, where the cause of a deviation is known, to stop and explain it. KENSINGTON t m I have not found it possible to account for the course of the boundary between Kensington and Paddington, It seems to be of the most arbitrary character running as it does, not along brooks or road^ but across gardens, and behind houses, withe m; any special natural feature to guide the cv' as to its course. A little house with a slu.j on the Bayswater Road, facing the gates ul 1 Palace Gardens, is actually on the boundar line, and is rated in both parishes. From tlii point as we enter the gates the houses on e; right are in Kensington, and those on our 1. in Paddington : but this is only for about i ; yards, and only five of the houses are in > THE GEOGRAl'llY OF KENSINGTON the south, it runs almost straight through the site of the exhibitions of the last few years, till it touches the new Natural History Museum. There resuming its eastward course, it emerges again upon the highway at the corner of Sloanc Street and Knights- bridge. Kensington Gore, strictly speaking then, is the triangular space intercepted between the parish boundarj' and the high road. Before boundaries were very accurately defined, and while this part of Westminster was still, in all prob- ability, an open moorland, a good hunting country, the corner on the southern side of the highway may very well have been part and parcel of the parish of Kensington. But in the reign of Henry I. one of the abbots of Westminster, Herbert, who must have bought the ground for the purpose, for he could not alienate the estates of his Abbey, gave the Gore to a little priory of nuns at Kilburn. Ever since, if not always before, the boundary of Kensington makes a long circuit to avoid the Gore, and does not rejoin the road till it reaches Knights- bridge. There is great difficulty in accounting for the name of Knightsbridge, and an immense amount of rubbish has been written about it. I have expressed my opinion that it is con- nected with the manor of Neyt, into which, in fact, if we identify Neyt with Kensington Gardens, the bridge, which here took the high road over the Westbourne, must have led. On the other hand it is called Cni^htcbrii^a, in Abbot Herbert's charter ; and KENSINGTON very little later it was known as " Knyghtsbrigg." Davis, in his pleasant little " Memorials of Knightsbridge," identifies it both with Kingsbridge and with Kingsbur\'. Faulkner, who should have known better, does the same. But Kingsburj', as we know, is beyond Willesden, and Kingsbridge was a little farther east on the same road as Knightsbridge and crossed the Tyburn, not the Westbourne. It was built to supersede the " Cowford " of Saxon times, and was known as Stonebridge in the seventeenth ccntur}-, its exact situation being between 105 and 1 06 Piccadilly, a long way from the nearest part ot Kensington. The southern boundary of Kensington is nearly a straight line, and presents none the irregularities ;h are so puzzling in the northern and eastern sides. Yet the first thousand yards or mure, from the corner ■ if Sloanc Street to the point at which the l'"ulham Road is reached at I'elliam Crescent, have not been accounted for, by either natural or artificial conditions. A boundary may be formed, hkc that between Ciiclsca and St. George's, by a brook ; or like that between St. George's and St. James's, by a difference of ownership. Hut in the oldest maps the boundary between the most eastern parts of Ken- sington and Chelsea crosses open fields, and is not guided or altered by estates, or brooks, or lanes. The reason for this lias yet to be found, and may at some ver}- remote period Jiave been the presence of a watercourse which ran eventually into the Westbourne. The Fulham Road once it is reached forms the boundary, aiul there is no change or deviation for a mile and a quarter, until, just as it has passed the entrance to the Brompton THE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINGTON ii Cemetery, it turns suddenly and sharply in a north-westerly direction. The point of turning is, or was, " Stamford Bridge." It is curious to note in passing that Kensal Green Cemetery forms the north-western corner of the parish and Brompton Cemetery the south-western ; so that the illustrious dead buried in Kensington may exceed in number even those buried in Westminster Abbey. At Stamford ]5ridge, then, on the Fulham Road, tiic boundary turns. What docs Stamford Ikidgc cross ? At present it crosses a railway, but before the railway was made it crossed a canal, and before the canal was made it crossed a brook. This brook figures but slightly in history, yet, though neglected by the authorities on such subjects, it had a very important bearing on the modern geography of the district through which it flowed. It formed itself into a series of parish boundaries throughout the whole of its course. First, rising beyond Wormwood, properly Wormholt, Scrubs, it divided Kensington from Hammersmith, then from Fulham, then, hav- ing passed away from Kensington at Stamford Bridge, it divided Fulham from Chelsea. That it must therefore at some period and in some part of its course have been a stream of import- ance is evident, yet apparently it bore no special name, but was known simply as the " Creek," and at the place where it crossed the Kensington Road, at Caunter's Bridge, it is called in some maps Caunter's or Counter's Creek. The size of the brook may have had something to do with the name " Stam- ford," which also occurs as " Stanford," probably its most correct form, and in Faulkner's History as " Sandford." If it marks the site of a ford with stepping-stones, where passengers on the high road between London and Fulham had to pass, this name would be ancient and appropriate. Stamford, in that case, would be a mere corruption of Stane-ford, and Sandford would be wholly erroneous. The Creek, then, which took its rise close to the cemetery of Kensal Green, and of which some short portions looking like common sewers were still visible lately among the rapidly dis- 12 . KENSINGTON appearing fields of the northern end of our parish, was crossed by two or three bridges besides that of Stamford. Old Brompton Lane and Richmond Road lead to Lillie Bridge ; Kensington High Street leads to "Caunter's" or" Counter's " or " Compton's " Bridge, and there was another crossing near the foot of Notting Hill, close to Shepherd's Bush Green. Of these names it is not possible to say much. They refer to old inhabitants or builders, or the signs of taverns, but when we remember that the Creek itself has no special name of its own, we need not wonder if the names of the bridges over it arc a little imccrtain. We have thus gone round the outer edge of our parish and may summarise the result. Kensington is defined by the Harrow Road on the north, by an arbitrary line for which we can in part account on the cast, by the FuUiam Road on the south, and by an anonymous Creek on the west. These boundaries surround a space of 2245 acres, and to walk round the outer edge of the parish we should have to travel 6 miles all but about 160 yards. From north-west to south-east the parish is 3 miles and 6 furlongs in length. From west to east its greatest width is i mile and 7 furlongs, or very nearly 2 miles. Geographically, Kensington is situated in the hundred of Ossulston and the county of Middlesex, a county which, since the beginning of the twelfth century, has been dependent on the City of London, and has had no separate existence. The hundred of Ossulston has been subdivided over and over again, on account of the growth of the population, and Kensington is sometimes used as the name of the western part of Ossulston. Who Oswulf was who gave his name to the hundred I do not know, nor do I know in what part of it his " ton " stood. Kensington itself is the " ton " or town of the Saxon family or tribe of the Kensingas, a tribe who appear also in other parts of England, and may perliaps be the same as the Kem- singas. It is well to note tiiese derivations in passing, because nothing has given rise to wilder or sillier guessing than these i THE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINGTON simple names. For instance, Ossulston, we read, " was named after the original proprietor of this part of the county, who was called Ossiil." This appears in Faulkner's History, and it would have been well if he had stopped there, but he goes on to quote an opinion that it is a corruption of " Ossul's Tuna, or Oldest Town, alluding to London," an incom- prehensible suggestion, as it seems to me ; and he adds, as a more probable conjecture, " that it de- rives its name from the old Ger- man word Waasscl, which signifies "r' water, the hundred being sur- '^'' °^ ^""^ '"''" ''"" ""*' rounded and intersected with rivers and water-courses." So much for Ossulston : Kensington has been the subject of a tissue of still more elaborate theories. I have pointed out its obvious derivation and meaning ; but among other guesses we have those of a number of writers who think that because " Kensington " begins with a K it must have something to do with a King. We have two examples of old names not very far from Kensington in which a King does seem to be men- tioned, namely, Kennington and Kingsbury, and both those places we know belonged to a King or Kings. But we have no kind of evidence that Kensington belonged to a King or was at any time a royal residence. Lysons, writing at the end of the last century, says (i. 499): — " In the Domesday survey this place is called Chenesitun ; in other ancient records Kenesitunc and Kensintune. Chenesi was a proper name ; a person of that name held the manor of Huish in Somersetshire, in the reign of I'^dward the Confessor." To this Faulkner, who quotes it respectfully, adds, " so that perhaps, it might have been originally called Chenesitun, or the town belonging to Chenesi." Leigh Hunt elaborates this deri- vation. Having first said " it is commonly derived from the Saxon Kyning's-tun, King's town," he goes on to mention an 14 KENSINGTON ancient authority who gives it as " Chensnetun," a spclUng 1 have only seen in The Old Court Suburb, and then speculates as follows : — " As the Chenesi family was probably the same as the modern Chcj-nes or Chc}'ncys, and Chej'nc comes from the old French word chcsuc (oak), and ' chensnet ' might have been cliesnc nut, or chestnut (oak and chestnut — chastain — having pos- sibly the same root in French, and their timber, of which Lon- don was built, possessing a good deal in common), Saxon and Norman antiquaries might be led into much pleasant dispute as to the regal and woodland origin of the word Kensington." There is more to the same effect, and in the end Hunt comes to no definite conclusion, having left the proposition much as he found it, and having made no attempt to account for the existence of a French name in the middle of a Saxon countr\-. \\c have a still more fantastic derivation to mention : but the inventor of Queen Kenna can hardly have intended to propound it seriously. It is true there arc modem historians who believe in King Cole of Colchester and in King Belin of Billingsgate. For their benefit it may be well to say that Queen Kenna of Kensington, who is quite as real a monarch as either of the potentates just mentioned, was celebrated in lines entitled Ken- sington Gardens, by Tickell, a second-rate poet of the last century. Dr. Johnson observed that the fiction was unskilfully com- pounded of Grecian deities and Gothic fairies. " Neither species," he continues, " of these exploded beings could have done much ; and when thc\' arc brought together thc}- onl\- make each other contemptible." Unfortunately for modern readers, and for those inquirers who want to know, not what is poetical, but what is true, " these exploded beings " are as com- mon in history as in poetry, and intrude everywhere, at Ken- sington and Chelsea, as well as on Cornhill or at Ludgate. l>ut Kenna was the daughter of Oberon, and loved Albion, the descendant of Neptune, sovereign of thc seas. The tragedy of their lives is fully detailed by Tickell in his poem, and is ])rcttily repeated in modern prose by Mr. Weir Hroun in liis volume entitled Kennas Kingdom, a series of pleasant THE GEOGRATHY OF KENSINGTON chapters on our suburb. I regret to observe that Mr. Brown inclines to the deriva- tion of " Kensington " from " King's -town," but he may be said to err in good com- pany, for Mr. Walford in his splendid book, Old and New Loudon, goes much farther in the same direction, and asserts that " some topographers " derive the name from " Ka.'n- nigston, or from the Saxon Kyningstun, a term syno- nymous with King's Va Town." I have read a good many books in which tiiis name has been treated of, but who Mr. Walford's " some ' topographers " can be I know not, any more than I know from what language Krennigston comes, and how it can be syno- nymous with King's End Town. But did not the lunperor Napoleon III., in his Lift- of Ciesnr, derive Tcddington from Tidc-Knd-Town? And did not Miss Strickland derive Charing Cross from the c/icrc rcinc of Edward I. ? And have we not read somewhere that Nightingale Eane is called after the Knightenguild of the city of London ? If, however, we had none of these " exploded beings " and happy guesses to help or warn us, what would be the carl\- history of Kensington, as told in the local names only ? I do not think the following summary more than we shall be entitled to take as proven. A Saxon tribe settled in England between the settlements of the East Saxons and the West Saxons, and so acquired the name of the Middlesaxons, and their land be- came Middlesex. One of the Middlesaxons, or possibly a Danish conqueror, Oswulf by name, acquired a large tract, called i6 KENSINGTON from his residence in it Oswulf's Town, or Ossulston. One of the parishes which made up tlie hundred of Ossulston was called after the settlement of part of a Saxon family named the Kensings, or Kemsings, who built their town somewhere on the hill between the two great western roads, the road to Read- ing and the road to Uxbridge, both of which may have been in existence at the time. The two ends of the parish, that to the south-east and that to the north-west, were very different in character, and their difference is explained in their names. The wide heathy slope south of the road is Brompton, the town of the broom. The wooded heights to the northward, with their well-watered grassy lawns, are Kensal Green, that is the " green of Kensing's holt " ; for though the " ing " is preserved in Kensington, it may well have dropped out of such a word as " Kensing's holt," or " Kensingshaw." To show that this is a probable derivation for Kensal, I have only to point to " Basing- hal! " and " Bassieshaw Ward," two city local names derived from the " haw " or enclosure of the Basing family. Further- more, the presence in our parish outline of such deviations as those observed at the detached portion of Chelsea, or at the Gore near Knightsbridge, proves that down at least to the be- ginning of the twelfth century, parish boundaries were not very strictly fixed : yet that already two great highways, besides those which ran through the parish, existed in Middlesex, one, namely, which came from Harrow to join the Watling Street, now Edgware Road ; and another which conveyed the bishop from his palace in London to his manor at Fulham, the land which good St. Erkenwald had presented to the sec before the end of the seventh century. Having traced the boundaries of our parish and accounted for the name of our town, we have next to ask about its natural condition. Does it stand high in the world, or is it a valley ? Is it a barren desert or a garden ? Is its soil wholesome and unproductive, or rich and unhealthy ? What are its highest and lowest levels, what streams and brooks docs it possess, what springs and wells? And finally has it any peculiarities THE GEOGRAPPIY OF KENSINGTON. from the point of view of the naturah'st, the geologist, or the botanist ? To answer all these questions fully a volume at least would be needful. But as much that would have to be told of Ken- sington would be equally true of any other part of Middlesex, it may be sufficient here only to mention those things which are in any way peculiar or out of the common. For instance as to the levels of the parish, we may compare its configuration to the form of the letter N. 15eginning at the lowest point, South Street in the Fulham Road, \6 feet lo inches above the Ordnance Datum, or mean water line at Liverpool, we rise rapidly to the top of Campden 1 lill, where we reach i 20 feet. Descending northward to the railway near Latimer Road Station, we are only 28 feet above the Ordnance Level. Thence rising once more we arrive at the highest point in the whole parish, namely the extreme north-western corner of the bound- ary, near Kensal Green Cemetery on the Harrow Road. Here we stand 143.90 above the mean sea level, or I 5 3 feet above the Trinity high-water maik, and can look down even on Lampdcn Hill. Taken along the principal roads theie is almost equal variety in the surface outline. We have to go uphill fiom Shepherd's Bush, at 26 feet, until at Notting Hill Gate we are at 95 feet. Thence we descend gradu- ally till we are at the boundary at 91 feet. Along the Kensington Road the undulations, although never so i8 KENSINGTON steep as at Netting Hill, are of considerable variety. At the entrance of Addison Road the level is onl}- from 20 to 22 feet. Thence there is a gradual rise to St. IVIary Abbot's Church, which stands on a site, as nearly as maj^ be, 50 feet above the Ordnance Datum. The ground then rises slowly, until at Princes Gate, which, though it is in the old Kensington Gore, is outside our parish boundary, it has reached 66 feet, the highest level, I believe, met with anj^where on this road, be- tween London and Windsor. h^inally, where Kensington, Chelsea, and Westminster meet near Albert Gate, the lc\cl is only 35 feet. It will thus be seen that, not only are we, on the whole, very high up in the world at Kensington, but our parish affords us every variety of le\'el, and, from the presence on our frontiers of man_\- open spaces, parks, and gardens, we arc probabh- as well off for scenery as any parish in London. Scenery is a relative thing, and to some people's minds and eyes is not worth looking at, unless there is a background of lofty mountains or the vasty deep. But to me there does not exist in the world any scenery more impressive than the view from the summit of Cainpdcn Hill. The sea of houses surging up and over THE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINGTON. 19 all the hills round about, the innumerable chimneys, the endless streets, stretching to the horizon on all sides, with here and there a dark tree, or the faint glimmer of a green lawn, to remind you that these things exist — such a scene is a marvel on the cartli, a wonder unwitnessed elsewhere ; for we must remember that though there are great cities in our own and other countries, there is no city now in existence worthy to be even compared with London ; and certainl)- none where standing actually in the outskirts, as on Campden Hill, we still see a complete horizon, all of houses. Besides this stupendous sight, we have 20 KENSINGTON also picturesque scenery in abundance. Look northward from Notting Hill Square, for example, and watch while sunshine and shadow, or a flickering breeze lifting and dropping the mist, show you a different view every few minutes. You see per- haps a long street, creeping up the opposite hill and dipping out of sight into the valley beyond, while the grey sky appears to touch the further end, and you feel you have exhausted the view in that direction. But, while you are still looking and 'F^- ' wondering, it all suddenly fades from your sight, like a castle in a cloud, and far beyond, where it had appeared to end, you see another great city, with its towers and spires, its gables and chimney-tops, glittering for an instant in the fitful sunshine, and tlicn disappearing also as uttcrl}- as if it had never existed. All this grey stippling, if I may borrow a technical term from art, this cross hatching of neutral tints, is made up of iiouses. Nearly every house has its famil)-. There is a different drama of life being pla3'-ed under each roof a tragedy, perhaps, or a corned}-, but full of sci)ai-atc human interest, and to the ■HE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINGTON individi tlic thing in the world. Yet, whichever way you turn, the houses are like sands on the sea-shore for multi- tude, and seem to be heaped up in the valleys, and flowinj;:; over the hiL;hcst hills. If you prefer something more pastoral, and wish to rest your eyes, come to the foot of the Broad Walk in Kcnsmj, ^ ton Gardens. There aie few, if any, avenues in England finer in its way than this. Perhaps you prefer something on a smaller scale : try Lord Holland's •QV '^-^^■- 1 ;ensington Lane, or the middle pait of Addibon the fjrcen lawns in Ladbioke Road, or one of Square, or Kensing- ton Park, as it is called. The old houses must be noticed separatel}-, as well as the chuiches : but to a sti anger coming to London for the first tmie I think a drive along the Kensington Road from Hammer- smith, with the rich ^leen trees along Vllen Terrace and I'hillimore Place on cither hand, and the tall spire of M Mary's in front, w ill prove as state- ly an entrance as there is to any city in the world. ; / When the High Street is passed, the gardens and the park on the left, the villas and mansions on the right, the gorgeous Albert Cross and the vast red circumference of the Albert Hall before him, should impress him with a mixed feeling that here he is entering upon the wealthiest city in the world, and the most magnificent, yet one more remarkable for the size than for the beauty of its public buildings. Kensington, then, as a gate to London, may be reckoned superior to an}- other entrance, to Edgwarc Road or Whitcchapcl, to Waterloo Road or St. George's Fields, nay, c\-cn to the grand api)roach by the river past Greenwich Ilnspilal and the Docks. thp: (;kography of Kensington of so much that is h accounts for the The geological formation which convenient, beautiful, and varied, a verdure of such parts of our parish as are not built upon, is tolerably homo- geneous. There is a pre- dominance of clay at the surface on the upper slopes, and of sand and gravel where the ground is flat ; but all Kensington is on the same formation as other parts of the great London district. The sand and gravel are alluvial : the clay lies underneath them, and under it the so- called Woolwich sand. Though there are marks of the glacial and drift periods, and though in the nearly adjacent parish of Ealing traces of prehistoric man have been found, Ken- sington has not been the site of any great discovers- of the kind. There arc no barrows even on Campden Hill, and the only things at all out of the common are certain springs and wells, of which one is, or 4 ^ k\ ^ i m p W^ ■P ' f % //vj . was, in the Hill Lodge parish Th( grounds of within the re are two m Kensington Gardens. Thcie were others, espe- Liall> about the northern 1( pe cf Campden Hill. I \\ uds the end of the nteenth century they began to be esteemed as medicinal. Thej' con- tained Epsom or Glauber 24 KENSINGTON salts, and were, no doubt, very nasty, a first condition till lately with all medicines. Faulkner mentions a spring of this character at Earl's Court, which bore the name of Billings- well, from a former proprietor. There has been some con- troversy lately as to the wells in Kensington Gardens. One, which is a little way from the Round Pond in Black Pond Wood, was observed to run dry when the pond was drained. It is called " St. Go\or's Well." The water docs not deserve the rcinitation it has acquired fcjr purit)-, as it is loaded with organic matter. St. Govor is the patron Saint of the church of Llanover, and Sir J^enjamin Hall, who was first Connnissioner of Works, when, in 1856, the name was put on the well, was owner of the parish, which is in Monmouthshire. Probably the other dedication to St. Agnes may have some similar origin. St. Agnes' Well is in the furthest part of Kensington Gardcn.s, on what used to be called Ikick Barn Hill. A friend who is a I'"ellow of the Zoological Society, and who has resided for many years in Kensington, has kindly THE GEOGRAPHY OF KENSINGTON furnished mc with a list of the birds he has at various times observed in Kensington Gardens and other open spaces near our town. i I i The Nightingale {Pliihviichi iKsciniu) has been seen and heard in Kensington Gardens within the last five years. It used to be com- mon on Campden Hill and in Holland Park ; and the road which leads past Holly Lodge and Argyll House is still locally known as Nightin- gale Lane. The Redstart {Plumiaira ruticilla) was seen in Kensington Gardens, 15th April 1887. The Whe.\tear {Saxicola (enanthc) is a ' ''' "■^^i^'-ns regular visitor to the London parks in spring and autumn. The Song Thrush (Turdus mnsicus) is fairly plentiful. The Redwing (Turdus iliaciis) may be seen in vast flocks passing over Campden Hill, especially in frosty weather, but has not been noticed as a sojourner for some years past. The Blackbird {Turdus mcrula) is frequently to be seen in Kensing- ton Gardens and about Holland Park. The RouiN Redbreast {Erythacus rubcciild) is not so common, but may sometimes be seen and heard. The Hedge Sparrow {Ac- ) still builds in Kensington ( ill dens The Great Titmouse {Pal Hi major') IS common in the same place, but I he Cole I I 1 M o u s E {Panii atcr) IS i-riei The Blue Titmouse {Pants cirrulcus) is fairly plentiful, and several were lately observed about the grounds of Campden House and in Sheffield Gardens. KENSINGTON The Chaffinch {Fringilla Icbs) was once very common, iiid a few may still be seen in Kensington Gardens. Last year (1886) a pair were observed in the grounds of Campden House. The Greenfinch {Fringilla ihloris) w-as very common in Kensington Gardens a few years ago, and may still occasionally be seen there. The House Sp.^rrow {Pns- scr clo?ncsliLits) need hardly be mentioned. The Starling {Sturmis vul- garis) is also frequent. The Skylark {Alauda ar- vensis) occasionally visits London n in Palace Squai-e, Westminster, eported from Kensington during very hard weather. One in December 1S86; and others have been Gardens. The Rook {Corviis fnigilcgus) was very cnnnnon a few years ago, and there were at least three rookeries in Kensington Gardens ; but at present the rooks only build in lioUand Park. The Jackdaw {Corvus monedula) is very common. The Swallow {Hinmdo rtistica) is seldom or never to be found here except at the time of its migrations. One was seen in Kensington Gardens this spring (14th April 1887). The House Martin {Chclidon i/rliica) like the foregoing is only to be seen during its migration, when, however, hundreds, nay thousands of both species have been ob- served hawking flies over the Round Pond and the Serpentine, especially in the spring of 1886, when they were noticed for several days. They ar- rived and departed to- gether. The Cuckoo (Cuculus canoriis) was once com- mon on Campden Hill, THE GEOGKAI'HY OF KENSINGTON 27 and is still to be found there. It is he- of them were buried in the church, and it is even doubtful if they ever actually resided in the parish. A long digression on the earldom of Oxford, the family of Vere, and the hereditary office of Lord High Chamberlain of England, might be pardoned here. I have no intention of inflicting such an antiquarian essay on the reader : but it may be worth while to point out that if any inhabitant of Kensington — or, indeed, of any other parish — chooses to investigate the three branches of this intricate but not uninteresting subject, he will earn the gratitude of many historians, genealogists, and heralds, to whom at present the pedigree of the Veres is a mystery, a tangled web of so far unsolved problems. Was Earl Aubrey, of the time of the Conquest, their ancestor ? Is he the " Albericus de Ver " of Domesday, and if not, who is " de Ver " ? How is the confusion between the first Earl of Oxford and his grandfather the Albericus of Domesday to be unravelled ? If the earldom of Oxford was created by the empress -queen Matilda in 115S, how is it that on the THE VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINGTON 43 death of Earl John in 1526 the title did not go to his sister? There are many such questions to be answered before we shall sec a satisfactory history of the house of Vcrc, a house which Macaulay described in eloquent if somewhat exaggerated language as " the longest and most illustrious line of nobles that England has seen." According to the same historian, " one chief of the house of De Vere had held high command at Hastings." Unfortunately for this statement Mr. Freeman makes no mention of him in his History of tlie Norman Conquest, but in his fourth volume a name occurs which may have caused the confounding of a very obscure Norman adventurer of the period with the founder of a great family. The earldom of North- umberland was given in 1080 "to a certain Alberic or Aubrey, of whom little is known. He was found unfit for so difficult a post ; he either resigned it or was removed from it, and went back into Normandy." This is all Mr. Freeman has to tell us as to Macaulay's hero of Hastings, except that in 1086 when the Domesday Survey was made he was mentioned occasion- ally as having formerly held certain lands which at the time of the return were his no longer. We may therefore dismiss " Earl Aubrey of Northumberland " from among the personages with whom this history is concerned. But in the same Domesday Survey mention is made more than once of another Aubrey, or Albericus, who is described as of Ver, or in the mediaeval Latin form, " de " Ver. Where is Ver ? To this geographical question many answers have been returned by the historians of the great family which was destined to spring from Aubrey, Lord of Kensington, and of many another broad manor in Cambridge, Huntingdon, and Suffolk, and espe- cially in Essex, where the glories of his posterity are still com- memorated by Earl's Colne and Castle Hedingham. It is probable that the name is derived from a little town, Ver, on the river Ver, below Coutances, in Normandy. Albericus, as A^e have seen, held under the bishop of Coutances at first. True, some genealogists have made Veer in Holland the cradle of the race, and other more or less impossible derivations have 44 KENSINCxTON been proposed. According to the unimpeachable authority of the Calcndariiivi Gctiealogicnm, the spelling was almost always Veer, or in Latin " de Veer," and sometimes " de Ver " or " de Vere," this last very seldom and never in English. The first of the Vere family then, of whom we know anything, was the same Aubrey who, at his dying son's request, gave St. Mary's Church, and a large slice of his manor of Kensington, to the Abbey of Abingdon. His successor was also Aubrey, and was made Chamberlain to King Henry I., in the place of Robert Malet, who had been killed fighting against Henry at Tenchebrai in 1 1 06. To this second Aubrey, the Chamberlain, succeeded "Earl" Aubrey, who in Mr. Nichol's {Arch. Joitrn. ix. 18) opinion, was called " earl " or " count " because of his marriage with the heiress of the county of Guisnes. After her death in I 144, and during the quarrels between Stephen and Matilda, he was made earl first of Cambridge, and afterwards of Oxford ; and as his father, the second Aubrey, had been killed in a riot in the City of London, 15 th May 1140, he was already by inheritance lord of the manor of Kensington, and king's Chamber- lain. Nothing can better illustrate the permanency of some English institutions than the fact that when you or I go to visit the palace of Westminster, or apply for a ticket to see some great state celebration, the official whom we address is the descendant and heir of Aubrey Vere, the first of the long line of hereditary royal Chamberlains, who was murdered seven centuries and a half ago. And here it may be worth while to remark that while the male line of the family of Vere has long been e.xtinct, that of the unfortunate Robert Malet continues to exist and to flourish, and among the inhabitants of Kensington we might recently have reckoned Sir Alexander, Sir Henry, and Sir Edward Malet, all of them eminent in the service of their queen and countrj', and all descended from the rival of Aubrey Vere. There are few sadder episodes in history than the story of the carl's first wife. There was a heartlessness about the treat- ment of young people in those days, especially of young people THE VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINGTON 45 who were heirs to a great inheritance, which has often been remarked upon, and which cannot be better illustrated than by the Hfe of Beatrice de Bourbourg, Countess of Guisnes. The Counts of Guisnes were petty sovereigns, and at the time of the wars in England between the Empress Matilda and King Stephen, the old Count Manasses was the last male of his race. His only daughter by his wife Emma, the daughter of William of Arques, lord of Folkestone in England, was called Rosa, but sometimes appears as Sibilla. Manasses himself, her father, is sometimes called John. She married Henry, castellan of Bour- bourg, and died in her father's lifetime, leaving an only daughter, the Beatrice mentioned already. This poor child at her grand- father's death in 1137 became his sole heir, and her grand- mother over in England, the Countess Emma, was anxious to marry her to " an Englishman," as the Normans resident in England were already beginning to be called. The chamber- lain's son, Aubrey, was chosen by the old lady, and the marriage was hastened, we are told, because the young countess was in precarious health, so that in tlie event of her death her inherit- ance should not go directly to Arnold of Ghent, the next heir. The marriage must have been a mere formality — the sick child residing with her father and other relatives in Normandy, while the husband, Aubrey, was engaged in fighting for King Stephen, in England. Henry of Bourbourg at length sent over to summon him. The people of Guisnes were up in arms : and Aubrey, who seems above all things to have been a fighting man, went across the Channel to join in the fray. From that time he assumed the title of earl, " comes " or count. But he had not been long in his county before he must have seen the hopelessness of the struggle. His steward, or deputy, Arnold of Ham, or Hammes, had made himself, and his employer through him, most unpopular. Arrayed against him he found the next heir, Arnold of Ghent, and a certain Baldwin, Lord of Ardres. This Baldwin was wounded in a fight, and was nursed by the abbot of " la chapclle Thierry," who seems, while his neighbours were killing each other, to have been busy thinking 46 KENSINGTON the matter out. Above all things, he concluded, they must get rid of this terrible Englishman, Aubrey "the Grymme." He succeeded in making an arrangement. By the abbot's help and counsel his patient was put forward : Aubrey from England was persuaded to relinquish Guisnes and his wretched wife. Baldwin, on the divorce being pronounced, was formally married to the countess, and Arnold of Ghent had to stand by and see what course events might take. He had not to wait long. Within a few days after her second marriage the poor girl died, and all the machinations of abbots and counts were wasted. Arnold of Ghent succeeded to Guisnes in peace. It is interesting to pause for a moment at the name of the other Arnold, Aubrey Vere's bailiff He is described as of Ham. This was the same Ham which, as a modern fortress, has played a part in French history somewhat like that filled by our own Tower of London. One of Aubrey's descendants was destined to see more of the interior of Arnold's castle than he can have enjoyed, and in the memory of many of us Ham was the prison for si.x long years of tiie future Napoleon HI. The name occurs also in London topographical history, where we read, rightly or wrongly, that near the Hospital of St. Katharine, a little to the cast of the Tower, there was a place known as Hangman's Gains. This mysterious and suggestive name on examination turned out, so it was said, to be a corrup- tion of Hammes and Guisnes, as it marked the settlement of some refugees from those places in France. This is one of those much too plausible derivations which we naturally suspect. Earl Aubrey, as he was henceforth called, " comes Albericus," married again after his divorce from the unhappy heiress of Guisnes, and left a flourishing family, of whom the eldest son, another Aubrey, succeeded him as Earl of Oxford and Chamber- lain in I 194. I remarked above on the slight attention paid in those times to the preferences of young people, especially if they chanced to be heirs to a great inheritance. Thus a marriage was arranged for the greatest heiress of her day, Isabel Bolebcc, by King Richard I. and his Chamberlain. THE VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINOTON 47 Robert Vere was at tliis time a younger son, and his father gave the king 500 marks, as the chronicler says, "to make a wife" for him. Eventually Robert became the third earl, and figures among the barons opposed to King John, being one of the twenty-five appointed guardians of the Charter in 1215. He died on the 25th October 1221, and was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son Hugh, fourth Earl of Oxford, who was licensed to go on the Crusade, 12th February 1237. He must be the earl who is said to have seen the Star of Bethle- hem in Palestine, the star which ever after appeared on the shield of the Veres. But the tradition runs that it shone upon the standard of the third Aubre)', " who, for the greatness of his stature and sterne look, was named Albry the Grymme," and lighted the Crusaders to victory at Antioch in 1098. It is impossible to reconcile these conflicting traditions. Earl Hugh died on the 1 8th December 1263, and the customary " inquisition," held after his death, thus describes his manor of Kensington for us: — "Jurors say that there are in this manor, in the king's demesne, seventy acres, at 4d. per acre ; thirteen acres of meadow, mowed, at 3s. per acre, and the aftermath is extended to 4s. ; eighty-two acres of decayed (debit) pasture extended to 20s., one windmill to 20s.; one hundred acres of wood, of which, every year, may be sold one mark, and the pannage, with the herbage, half a mark; one dove-house, 3s.; the court, with the curtilage and vines, 3s.; one pond, with the ditch, 2s. ; rents of free tenants, £4: 15s.; twenty-one virgates of land there in villenage, rendering 59s. 4^d. ; works and customs thereof, ;^ii:3:4; view of Frank -pledge, los. ; pleas and perquisites of courts, Ss. ; and that the villains may be taxed at the lord's will. The Abbot of Abingdon holds the church to his own use. That Robert Veer is son and next heir of said earl, aged twenty-three years and a half That said Earl held the manor of the King in capite, and it pertains to the barony, as being Chamberlain." It does not appear very clearly whether there was a dwell- ing-house on the earl's manor, for though there are farm build- 48 KENSINGTON ings, a dove-cote, a fish-pond, a walled garden, and other ap- purtenances of a manor or a farm, there is no mention of a hall. Perhaps it is the court and curtilage. The fifth earl was called after his grandfather Robert, and was knii;htLtI ;,^ b\' the great Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicc ." ter, 14th May 1264. This honour shows th.i , he was connected with the popu- lar causL %s.id^^^f^y against the king, but in 1265 he was taken ''''\_ ^' ^' prisoner with others at Kenilworth by Prince Ed- ^^^k:^ ^ ward, and deprived of the office of Great Cham- --t"- ui berlain, which, however, was eventually restored to his son. Earl Robert had a dispute with the King and the Abbot of Abingdon as to his rights at Kensington. The abbot and the earl both claimed the ordinary privileges of lords of manors except that known as " infangthief" or power of life and death over thieves caught on their lands. Eventually the king acknowledged their rights, but a fresh disagreement broke out between the earl and the abbot. It came to no formal decision, and the earl died in September i 296, when the usual juror's inquisition found that he " was seized in his demesne as of fee, the day on which he died, of certain lands and tenements in the vill of Kensington, that is to say, of one messuage, with a garden and curtilage, which is worth per annum, beyond repair of the buildings, 4s.; and one dove-house, worth per annum, 2s. ; twelve score and thirteen acres of arable land, worth by the year, 4d. per acre ; sum ^4:4:4; seven score acres of fresh land, worth by the year per acre id.; sum i is. 8d. Ten acres of mowing meadow, worth by the acre 2s. 6d., sum 25s. ; twelve acres of pasture, worth by the acre lod., sum los. ; rents of assize of free tenants there, io8s. 4'jd. ; that is to say, at Michaelma.s, 59s. 7|d., and at kllastcr, 48s. 8^d. ; one thousand si.K score and eight customary works, price of every work gd., sum 47s. ; twelve score ploughings of twelve acres, price of each ploughing 3d., sum 63s. ; ten half-acres and three-quarters of a half-acre, price of the half-acre 6d., .sum 5s. 4<\d. ; three hundred and THE VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINGTON 49 fifteen eggs at the term of Easter, price of thirty eggs id., sum lO^d.; one windmill worth per annum 13s. 4d. Also the pleas and perquisites of courts are worth by the year 13s. 4d., rents of villains twenty-three cocks, price of each id., sum 23d. Robert Veer, Earl of Oxford, held all the aforesaid of the king in capita, by what service they know not. And that Robert Veer, son of the aforesaid Robert, Earl of O.xford, is his next heir, and is of full age. Sum of the whole £\g : 13 : 6 t." This Robert, the heir, duly succeeded. He earned for him- self, in the thirty-five years he held the title and estates, the name of " The Good Earl." From the Official Baronage we learn that he was knighted on the 2d September 1296, that he was captain of the fourth division of the army in the invasion of Scotland in 129S, and that he married a daughter of the celebrated Lord Mortimer, the favourite of Queen Isabel. Kensington was among the number of his manors when he died in 1331, and the son of his brother Alphonso succeeded him as seventh carl. This was John Veer, a great fighting man. He was a mere boy at the time of his uncle's death, but served with credit in all the wars of Edward III., beginning with the Scottish expedition of 1333. In 1344 he was captured by the French, and on his release, says Dugdale, " about the feast of the Blessed Virgin, returning out of Brittanj', he was by tempest cast upon the coast of Connaught in Ire- land, where he and all his company much misery from those barbar- there, who pillaged them of all they Nevertheless, Earl John returned time to take Jiis share in the com- the first division of the English the glories of Crecy and Poictiers. ■ Rheims, it was said of fatigue, in i 360. Maud Fitz-Payne, who on the death of her brother inherited the barony of Badlesmere. To her he left the manor of Kensington for life, and at her death six years later, it descended to her eldest son, Thomas, eighth Elarl of Oxford, Baron of Bolebec 50 KENSINGTON and Badlesmere. At his death in September 1 371, the manor was described as including a mansion, " worth nothing yearly beyond reprises," that is the expenses, annuities, rent charges, and other deductions with which it was burdened : and we may conchide it was not inhabited by the earls, but was let to a tenant. There was also a dove-house, worth yearly 3s. 46. ; a garden, I2d.; 600 acres of land, at 6d. per acre ; 6 acres of meadow, at 2s. per acre: 100 acres of wood, of which 20 acres may be cut at the end of seven )-cars, and then said 20 acres worth 2s. per acre ; that the wood was cut before the death of the said Earl. Assize rents of free tenants yearly at Michaelmas and Easter, 60s. ; also two cock fowls at Christmas, price 2d. each ; view of frank -pledge at the feast of St. Catherine, worth yearly 30s. one year with another; said manor held in capite by knight's-service. In the next generation the glories of the family culminated and set, for a time at least. The ninth earl was but ten years of age at the time of his father's death. He was one of the special friends and companions of King Richard II., who loaded him with favours and titles. His life belongs to the history of the country, and a mere list of his empIo\-ments would occupy too much of our space ; but I may note that besides the Chamberlain's office, which was spcciall}' confirmed to him, he was Commissioner of Appeal, Constable of Queen- borough Castle, Lord of Colchester and Oakham, and Chief Justice of Chester and North Wales. In 1385 he was made a Knight of the Garter, and in November of the same year. Marquis of Dublin, the first marquis ever created in England, with a grant of the lordship and demesne of Ireland, to hold for life as amply as the king himself had held them. Eleven months later he exchanged this novel title for that of Dulcc of Ireland. Tlic ancient arms of Vcre were degraded to the second place on his escutcheon, and another coat, "Azure, three crowns or, and a bordure argent," was placed before them. Erom the terms of the patent it seems that this coat was regarded at the time as the ancient arms of Ireland. P>ut IJic)' answer exactly THE VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINGTON 51 to what are usually regarded by heralds as the arms of Saint Edmund the king and martyr. The duke married the lady Philippa, the king's first cousin, and daughter of Engucrrand de Coucy, the Lord of Coucy and by a curious coincidence of Ham, whom Edward III. had made K.G. and Earl of Bedford, soon after his marriage with Isabel, his second daughter. To this Sire de Coucy Edward had granted the wardship of the young earl, and the marriage, which proved unhappy, was, of course, arranged before the young people were of an age to think or choose for themselves. The greatness of the Duke of Ireland did not last long. He seems to have specially offended the king's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, by repudiating his wife in favour of a lady named in the scandalous chronicles of the time Lancerona, who is believed to have been a Bohemian in the train of the Queen, Anne of Bohemia. He escaped across the Channel, returned shortly, escaped again, and finally, after some years spent in poverty and distress — " in mentis angustia rerumque penuria" — he was hurt while hunting in the Ardennes by a wild boar, and died at Louvain, shortly after- wards, 22d November 1392, not having more than passed his thirtieth year. The coincidence that a wild boar was the ancient cognisance and later crest of his house, and that his great ancestor, Aubrey the Grymme, was called in Latin " Aper," the Boar, is striking. King Richard, who was power- less to recall him alive, sent orders to Louvain to have the body embalmed and brought to England, where, three years after his death, it was buried at Earl Colne's Priory. " Richard," says Mr. Beltz, " attended by the Dowager Countess of Oxford, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and other prelates, but by few nobles who were not of his household, assisted at the pompous solemnity." The corpse was laid in a coffin of cypress, the face uncovered, and the king is said to have kissed the cold lips of his dead friend, with every sign of sorrow. The duke left no children, and his uncle Aubrey was in January 1393 restored by Act of Parliament to the earldom, 52 KENSINGTON but with a new remainder to his heirs male. This act, which seems to have created a new title, was subsequently held to govern the succession ; and the earldom remained with the heirs male till the death of the last Vere, while the chamberlain- ship went to co-heiresses long before, namely in 1625. But at the restoration of the earldom to Aubrey, the duke's uncle, this office was held by John Holland, afterwards duke of Exeter, the king's half-brother, arid did not return to the Veres till the reign of Henry VH. This carl, usually reckoned the tenth, although as we have seen the restoration of the title constituted practicall}- a new creation, died in April i 400, leaving a son, Richard, to succeed him. Kensington had been settled for life as dower on the widowed Duchess of Ireland, and produced £333. year. Earl Richard became a Knight of the Garter in 1415, and filled various offices of trust under Henry IV. and Henry V. He fought at Agincourt as captain of twenty-nine lances and seventy-nine archers ; but died little more than a j-ear after, February 141 7. Meanwhile the duchess had died 24th September 141 i, and Kensington had gone to the king, Henry IV., under a special arrangement made after the duke's attainder. This date, 141 i, is worth noting, as from the twelfth \-ear of Henry IV. to the eighth \^ear of Henry V. the manor might correctly be called, as it was afterwards incorrectly, "Kingly Kensington." By a special gift in 1420, it was restored to the earl and continued his until his attainder. He and his eldest son Aubrey espoused the cause of Henry VI., and were greatly trusted by Queen Margaret. We read in the Paston Letters (15 16) that " Myn Lord Awbry hathe weddit the Duke of Bokyngham dowtcr, and he was lathe with Master Fastolff, and is gret with the cpvene." This was written on the 2d May 1460. But Queen Margaret, though Lord i\ubrey was so great with her, could do nothing to protect him or his father after the filial fields of St. Albans and Blorchcath. Oxford and liis eldest son, with several other Lancastrian kni'dils, were sent to the Tower b\- I'.dward 1 \'. on the 12th E VERES AND MANOR OF KENSINGTON February 1462, accused of corresponding with the queen. They were tried and condemned immediately before a special on Tower his father 462. of Oxford been held of course, felted, and Uukc of ni. The attempts, VErE ^AMIL^ and shared where, indeed, some 1 his banner led to of the Lancastrian commission, and were beheaded Hill, the son on the 20th and on the 26th of the same month From this date no Lail held Kensington as it hul by his predecessors. It was at first among the estates foi was for a time owned by the Gloucester, afterwards Richaid heir, John " Veer," after various joined the army of Warwick, in its overwhelming defeat at Barnet mistake as to the livery or devices his being attacked by the right win;^ army, a mistake which contributed largely to the causes of Warwick's defeat. With his two surviving brothers, George and Thomas, he was committed to the Tower, and was attainted, but his life was spared. There is some confusion among the historians as to his intermediate adventures, and a surprise of St. Michael's Mount, which he seems to have effected, does not readily fit into the narrative. In 1474, however, we find him a prisoner, and according to all accounts the place of his con- finement was the same castle of Ham, with which, as we have seen, the story of the Veres had already twice connected them. Here he Ian guishcd during the remainder of the reign , ^/«.^f*'*'\ °^ Edward IV. and during the usurpation ^^^f t^k^ I& °' Richard III., to whom in par- ticularOxfoid 3|^i[*W^ '"'-'^'- ^'^^^'^ f'^'t a special enmity as the holdei \''^'x~-Mf^ of h'^ estates, and the tyrant who, while he ^^■■[HR) kept the husband in prison, suffered the unhappy ^ "^"^"^ '^ wife and the mother to starve. Thetwocoun tesses, the elder one a Howard, the younger a Nevil, were reduced to absolute want, while, to use the words of the subsequent act by which the estates were 54 KENSINGTON restored, Richard after his accession retained them, " of his inordynate covetyse and ungodly dispocion." When Richmond made his descent on the EngHsh coast before Bosworth, he had Oxford with him, Sir John Blount, the governor of Ham, having so far committed himself to the undertaking that he released the earl. After the victory he was restored to all the possessions of his family, and was made Constable of the Tower of London. His connection with Kensington was however slight. The debts and charges which had to be paid out of the estates were enormous. Kensington, that is the manor of Earl's Court, was settled as dowry for the two countesses, and we now find Netting Barns, or Knotting Barns, a wholly separate holding. In 148S Earl John sold it. If the story of the fine imposed upon him by Henry VII. for putting his retainers in livery to receive the king at Castle Hedingham be true, he must have sadly wanted money ; and Sir Reginald Bray, his old companion in arms, by whose side he had fought at Bosworth, came to his help by finding him a purchaser. This was no less a personage than the king's mother, the Countess of Richmond, the " Lady Margaret " of so many ecclesiastical endowments. She left the estate by her will to the Abbot of Westminster, the proceeds to be spent in masses, and in payments of the professors on her foundations at Oxford and Cambridge. Thus another great suburban manor went into the hands of the church. It consisted, we are told, of " a messuage, 400 acres of land, 5 acres of meadow, and 140 acres of wood," — this last item being, no doubt, the Kensal Wood which I have already endeavoured to idcntif\-. There was now nothing left to Earl John in Kensington except the nominal rent of West Town. He had other estates, how- ever, and as Constable of the Tower, and " Keeper of the King's Lions" there, he had a residence nearer London and more convenient than Kensington could have been. lie left no children by either of his wives. The first had been a sister of the kingmaker, and during the carl's long detention at Ham had supported herself by needlework. She died in 1507, and THE VERES AND MANOR OK KKNSlNCrrON 55 her liusband married, secondly, the widowed Viscountess Beaumont, Eh'zabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Scrope. He died I oth March 1513, and was succeeded by his nephew " Little John of Camps," as he was called from his low stature and his residence at Castle Camps in Cambridgeshire. He was the last who had even a nominal connection with Kensington. His enjoyment of rank and honour was short. He succeeded in 1513, was admitted Lord Chamberlain, sat as a peer on the trial of the unfortunate Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and married the Lady Anne Howard, daughter of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and aunt of Queen Anne Bolcyn. He died still young, namely in 1526, and his honours and great estates went to collateral heirs. The next carl was his cousin John. The manor of Kensington was settled by Act of Parliament, first on the two widowed countesses who still survived, and then on the three sisters and co-heiresses of John, the fourteenth earl. We may now bid good-bye to the Veres, so far as they were concerned in the history of Kensington. They survived for nearly two centuries in Essex, and in the great Sir Francis Vere and Lord Vere of Tilbury showed that some of the qualities of the Grymme Aubrey and the heroes of Cressy, Agincourt, and Bosworth still lingered among them. At length, on the 12th March 1703, the male line of the family terminated with the life of the sixth Aubrey, who had suc- ceeded as twentieth Earl of Oxford in 1632. His only sur- viving child, Lady Diana, married one of the sons of Charles n. by Nell Gwynn, and the last glories of the white star of Vere were extinguished. Many attempts were made to dis- cover a male heir of the name ; and in the reign of George HL a china-dealer on Tower Hill is said to have satisfied the law-officers of the Crown as to his descent ; but the death of his only son deterred him from any prosecution of his claim. When, some seven years after the death of the twentieth earl. Sir Robert Harley was made Earl of Oxford, the earldom of Mortimer was added to his titles; 56 KENSINGTON lest an heir should yet be found. In 1S53, these titles also became extinct. For the following pedigree I am indebted to Mr. William Loftie Rutton : — Pedigrek of the Family of Vere, Lords of the Manor of Kensington, 1086^1526. Alberic, or Aubrey, of Ver, near Coutanccs in ' ' Albericus de Ver " in Domesday Book, holding lands in cos. Middlese.x, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Esse.x, and Suffolk ; of these were Cheniston, now Kensington in co. Middlesex, Hedingham and Colne in Essex. He eventually retired to Colne Priory, which he had founded, and died in 1088. = Beatrix, said to have been sister (? half-sister) of K. \Vm. I the Conqueror. — Harl. MSS. , 245, 1052, 1155 /vV. Gt. Chamberlain of England, the office being granted to him and his heirs. Slain in a tumult. = Adeliza, Geoffrey, ob. v. p. , bu. Robert, Re dau. of in Abingdon Abbev, the Earl to which, for his King's Wi Gilbert soul's health, his Constable. ofClare. father granted part of the Kensington estate. I ICufemia, = 2 Aubrey 'Vere, i = dau. of T/u- Grim, Count of Guisnes, William Cantelupe. d. s. p. dau. and hr. of (?) ■William de Abrincis. Gt. Chamber- lain, 1st Earl = 3 of Oxford 1155, Beatrix, Countess of Guisnes, dau. of Henry, castellan of Bourbourg, grd. dau. and hr. of Manasses, Cnt. of Guisnes, divorced and re-married to Ifaldwin, Lord of Ardres, 1144. She died same year. Mill Geoffrey, Sheriff of Salop, ii65 = Isb. Say. "William, Bishop of Hereford, 1186-1199. Adeliza = Henry Essex Aubrey "Vere, 2d Earl of Oxford, (it. Chanibcrl.un, Sheriff of Essex & Hertford 1208-13, = Adcliza, dau. of Roger Bigod, E. of Norf. Hed. 1214 s. p. legit., bur. at Colne Priory. Robert "Vere, 3d Earl - of Oxford, Ct. the Barons guard- ians of Magna Charta, d. 1221, bu. at Hatfield -Broad - Oak, Essex, where is his monument. Isabel, dau. and hr. of 'Walter, Baron of Bolebec, Co. Buckingham. She died 1245, and was buried in the church of the Friars Minors at = Richard Engainc, of Blather- wycke, Co. Nortliamp. Hugh Vere, 4th Earl of Ox- = Hawise, dai . of Saior of Sir Henry N'ero ford, Great Chamberlain, 1 Quincey, •larl of Win- (Jt. Addingl d. 1263, bur. at Colne. Chester. Northamp. PEDIGREE OF Robert Vere, 6th = = Alice, dau. 1 1 1 Aubre) Margaret. 1 1 Isabel. Earl of Oxford, and coh. of — =H uyh = John Great Cliambcrl.iin. Gilbert Baro 1 Richard. Cressy. He supported Mont- Samford. _ tenay. fort, E. of Leicester, and commanded in She d. 1317, and was Maud Lora = Reginald army of K. Edw. I. buried at of Argentine, for subjugation of the Priory d 1307. Wales, d. 1296, bu. of Colne. at Colne Priory. 1 Robert Vere, 6th Alphonso 1 Hugh, 1 Thomas 1 Joan. Mary. Earl of Oxford, Vere, Baron Vere, = Wm. = Sir Gt. Chaml.rrlain. d. 1327. Vere, of living 1314. Planta- Edmd. Held command in bu. at Swanscombe, = Agnes, genet. Gedding, army of K. Kdw. I. St. Albans. Co. Kent. or Anne, son of Knight, in Scotland, = Joan, d. s. p. dau. of John, of d. 1331, s. p. dau. of = Dyonysia, William Earl of County = Margaret, dau. of Sir dau. and hr. Baron Roos Warren Suffolk. Roger Mortimer, Richd. of Wm. de ofHamlake, and Earl of March. Foliot. Munchensi. Co. York. Surrey. John Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, Gt. = Maud, sister and cohr. of Giles, Chamberlain. He held command at Crecy and Poictiers. Seized of estates in Cos. Essex, Hertford, Bedford, Buckingham, Cambridge, Leicester, Hereford, Dorset, Wilts, and of Kensington in Co. Middle- sex, b. 1313, d. 1360 at Rheims. Baron Badlesmere, widow of Sir Roger Fitz Payn, Kt., son of Robert, Baron Fitz Payn. She d. 1366, and was buried at Colne Priory. Thomas Vere, 8th Earl of Aubrey Vere, 10th Earl John Vere, 1 Margaret. Oxford, Gt. Chamberlain. of Oxford. He had a c 1396, i = .Si Nicholas Lou- In army of K. Edw. III. newgran t of the earldom, s. p. vain. b. 1337, d. 1371. to him and his heirs. 2 = H nry Lord Beau- = Maud, dau. of Sir Ralph 1393. d. 1400. mont. Ufford, bro. of Robt. Earl = Alice, da a. of John, Baron 3 = Sir John Devereux. of Suffolk. She d. 1413. 1 Fitz-Walter. Robert Vere, 9th Earl of = Philippa Richard Vere, 11th = = Alice, dau. 1 John Alice Oxford, Gt. Chamberlam, dau. of Earl of Oxford, of Sir Vere i = Gui d' K.G. Favourite of the Enguerrand K.G. Fc ught in Richard d. 142 I, Albion. unfortunate K. Richd. II. (or Ingelram) the French wars. Serjeaulx, s. p. 2 = Sir John Ctd. Marq. of Dubhn 1385, de Coney, Had grant by Act Kt., of Fitz Lewes. Duke of Ireland 1386. Earl of of Pari. 1407 of Cornwall, 3 = Nicholas Attainted and banished Bedford, the lands forfeited widow of Thorley. 1388. All his honours for- by Isabel, to Crown by gth Guy feited, d. at Louvain 1393, eld. dau. of Earl, d. I +17. bu. St. Albyn. s. p., bur. at Colne. K.Edw. III. at Colne. 2 = Lancerona, from Bohemia. John Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, = Elizabeth, dau. and b. 1407. Kensington, vvliich the King had held, restored to hini 1420. Went to the Holy Land 1435. Fought for the House of Lancaster. Attainted and executed, 26th Feb. 1462. hr. of Sir John Howard, Kt., uncle (by half-blood) of John, ist Dtike of Norfolk. Robert Vere, =Joan, dau. of Sir Hugh Courtenay, and widow of Sir Nicholas Carew. KENSINGTON 1 Aubrey Vere, 1 i Sir 1 John Vere, 13th Earl of 1 Sir 1 1 Joan. 1 Sir John ex. before Richard Oxford. Restored 1471. George = Sir his father 1462, Vere. With Earl of Warwick when Vere, Wm. Knight. s. p. defeated at Bamet. At- d. 1503. Norris. = = .\lice. = Anne dau. Margaret tainted. Fought at Bos- = Margaret, Kt. dau. of of Humphrey Percy. worth for Henry Earl of dau. and Stafford, ist Duke of Kilring- ton. Sir honours and estates, i H. Wm. = Wm. Buckingham. Thomas VII., and to office of Gt. Stafford Bourchier, Vere. Chamb., iH. VHL, K.G. of son of d. 1489, d. 151 3 s. p. s. The Earl Frome. Henry s. p. 1 = Margt., dau. of Rd. Nevill, Earl of Salisbury. 2 = Elizb., dau. of Sir Richard Scrope. Shed. 1537. Earl of Esse.v. John Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, Gt. (;h.anil). , called from his small sta- ture ' ' Litde John of Camps," s. p., Dorothy (cohr. ) = John Nevill, I Lord Latimer. Elizabeth (cohr.) = Sir Anthony I Wingfield, K.G. = .\nne, dau. o Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk. Shed. 1559. I Ursula (cohr.) d. s. p. I = George Wind- sor, Esq. != Sir Edward Knightley, Kt., of Fawsley, Co. Northamp. Kensington estate cohrs. of John Henry VIII. in divorce of Queen Kath. of Arragon, d. 1540, bu. at Cas. Hedingham. = Elizb. , dau. and hr. of Sir Edw. Trussel,ofCubles- don, Co. Stafford. CoNTiNU.VTiON Ol- THE PEDIGREE OF Veke from 1526, in which yeai the Manor of Kensington ceased to be the possession of the family. I I John Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford, Gt. Chamb. Aubrey In the army of K. Henry VIII. when Bou- Vere, logne was taken, 1544, d. 1562. = Margt., I = Dorothy Nevill, dau. of Ralph Earl of Westmoreland. John = Margery, dau. of John Golding, Esq., Spring, of Halstead, Esse.x. -Katharine = Edward Lord Windsor. I i Geoffrey Elizb. Vere. = Thos. = Elizabeth, Baron dau. of Darcy, Sir John of Chiche. Hardkyn, " of Col- died' unmd. = Edmd. Baron Sheffield. Frances. Earl of Surrey. I I I JohnV.,of Kirby married, but died I I Hall, Esse.\-, s. p. I. 1624. I Edward Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, (it. Chamb. One of the peers appointed to try Mary Q. of Scots. Commanded in the fleet against the Armada, 1588. Dissipated his estates, died 1604, buried in Hackney Church. I , = Peregrine Bertie, Ld. Willoughby of Eresby, d. 1601. „ ' , , , Sir Francis V., distinguished ^ H ."^' general, = Elizb. Dent. He d. < canoi, 1609 s. p.,bu. in Westm. Ab., dau. of , ... k>r i„ < ^ where is his monument. Wm. Walsh. Anne Cecil, dau. of Wm. Ld. Burghley. She d. 1588, bur. in Wcstm. Ab. Elizabeth, dau. of Thos. Trentham, Esq. of Rocester, Co. Stafford. She died 1613. Robt. Ld. Willoughby, | Jane V. = claimed Earldom of 0.\ford and office of Gt. Chamberlain ; allowed the latter. Earl of Lindsey 1626, Robert V., k. in battle, 1595. Henry Hunt, ZZ I ~ . _,,'" of Gosfield, "°™<=^' Baron Vera of T.l- Co. Essex. ';"'-y ^^^5 = Mary Tracey. I d. 163s s.p.ni. , bu. m W. Ab. 'KIJlCKKIi OF .E FAMILY OF VEKE Elizabeth, = Wm. Earl of Derby. I Susan, = Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery. Henry Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, Gt. Chamberlain, fell at the siege of Breda in Holland 1625, s. p., bu. in Westminster Abbey. = Diana Cecil, dau. of Wm. Earl of E.xeter, " one of the greatest fortunes and most celebrated beauties of the period" {Burke). Robert Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford. His claim to titles disputed by Lord Wil- loughby of Eresby (see above). The Earldom adjudged to Vere, the office of of Gt. Chamberlain to Willoughby. The Earl fell at the siege of Maestricht, in Holland, 1632. = Beatrix, dau. of . ■ Van Hemniema, of I Nufen, Friesland. She d. in Holland 1657. Bridget, 1 = Francis, Ld. Norris, aftwds. Earl of Berkshire. 2 = Sir Hugh Pollard, Bart, of King's- Nympton, Devon. I Aubrey Vere, or "de Vere," 20th Earl of Oxford, b. 1626, during i = Anne, dau. and cohr. of Paul, Visct. minority in ward to K, Chas. I. In 1648 commanded a regnit. of Bayning. She d. 1659. Eng. inf. in service of States-General. A Royalist during the Civil 2 = Diana, dau. of George Kirke, Esq., War, and suffered much in the cause. At the Restoration created Groom of the Bedchamber to King K.G. and Ld. Lieut, of Esse.v, d. 1703, s. p. m., aged 76, buried Charles I. She d. 1719, bu. in Ab. in the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, Westminster Abbey. ofWestm., as also the Countess Anne. I I Charles. Cliark Died young. Diana de Vere = Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St. I illegit. son of King Chas. H., d nmarried. Note. — The Earls of O.iford assumed the titles of Bolebec, Samford, and Badlesmere. Mr. Courthope's edition of Nicolas's Historic Peerage, p. 63, has that "in 1625 the claim was referred to the House of Lords ; and it was resolved, 5th April 1626, that the Baronies of Bolebec, Sandford {sic\ and Badlesmere were in ahcyance between the heirs-general of John, VH. Earl of Oxford, without having inquired into the origin or nature of those Baronies, or even their existence in the person of the said Earl." The Baronies of Playz and Scales pertained to the Earls in the same questionable degree. John, the thirteenth Earl, and his successors, appear to have been styled, during the lifetime of their fathers, "Viscount Bolebec." Descent of the Manor of Kensington, which, in 1526, passed from THE Family of Vere by the succession to it of the married SISTERS OF John, 14TH Earl of Oxford, fiis co-iieir.s. John NeviU = Dorothy Vere, sister Sir Anthony Wingfield, Kt. Lord Latimer, I and cohr. of John, = Elizabeth Vere, sister and coh. d. 1542. 14th E. ofO.xford. I of John, 14th E. of Oxford. John Nevill, = Lucy Somerset, Lord Latimer, dau. of Henry E. d. iS77S.p. m. of Wo Sir Robt. Wingfield, Kt., who in 1578 conveyed his moiety of the Manor to Sir Wm. Cornwallis and Lucy Nevill, his wife. Ursula Vere, sister and cohr. of John, 14th E. of Oxford. She married, but d. s. p., .and her share in the Manor passed to the Sir Wm. Cornwallis, Kt.,= of Brome, Co. Suffolk, d. 1613. Lucy Nevill, 3d dau. and coh., who, on division of the estates of Lord Latimer, liad his moiety of the Manor of Kensington ; and the other moiety having been conveyed to her and her husband by Sir Robt. Wingfield, they thus acquired the entire Manor, which eventually passed to their youngest daughter. Cornwallis = Archibald Campbell, 7th Mirl of .Argyll. Tlie Earl and Countess, in the year of the m.arriage, 1610, sold the Kensington Manor and estate to .Sir Walter Cope, Kt. CHAPTER III HOLLAND HOUSE The four divisions of Kensington — Netting Barns — Sir Walter Cope — West Town — The Queen's printer — The Abbot's Manor — The tithes — The Grenvilles — The Abbot's Manor -House — The Earl's Manor — Earl's Court — The heirs of Vere — Cope's Castle — Dame Dorothy — Henry Rich — The Earl of Holland — His execution — His widow — ^Joseph Addison — His letters to Lord Warwick — Tenants of Holland House — Henry Fox, Lord Holland — His elopement — — The third Lord Holland — His elopement — Lady Holland, drawn by Moore — A ghost stoiy — A duel — Pedigrees of the families of Cope, Rich, and Fox. T3' URSUING the history of the divisions of Kensington consequent on the gift to Abingdon by the fifst Earl Aubrc}-, the alienation of Notting Bams by the thirteentli Earl of Oxford, the descent I if Earl's Court to the co-heirs of the fourtcentli earl, and the eventual re- union for a time of all these portions, we see that just before the fall of '-""''" the religious houses, Kensington con- THE ROUND POND. taiucd four manors : Earl's Court, owned jointly b)- the widows of the thirteenth and fourteenth earls ; West Town, by the successors of Simon Downham ; Notting Barns, by Westminster Abbey ; and Abbot's Kensington, b\- v\bingdon Abbc)-. If we pursue the history of an)- one of these estates it brings us to the same name, that of Sir Walter Co{)e. The best way therefore to trace them all will be to begin with that one which he first obtained. HOLLAND HOUSE 6l Wc have also seen that the thirteenth Earl of Oxford was compelled to part with a portion of his estates at the close of the Wars of the Roses, in which he and his family had been so deeply concerned. He sold, through his trustees, the whole northern portion of the parish under the name of Netting or Knotting Barns. There was some mystery or secrecy about the sale. The trustees, or assignees, are named, not the actual seller ; and Sir Reginald Bray is named for the actual buyer, who was, as we have seen, the king's mother, the Lady Mar- garet, Countess of Richmond and Derby. When she left it to Westminster the abbot leased the land to a Tondon citizen, Robert Fenroper, or Fcnrother as he wrote himself (see Parisli Alagaziiic, 18S4, p. 126). From Fcnrother, the lease, which was no doubt a very profitable one to the tenant, passed to his descendants, the children of his daughter Audrey, who had married Henry White. The abbot and his monastery had meanwhile been despoiled of their estates, and the landlord was now, in 1543, the king. Once more then we have a king in Kensington. Henry VHI. was at this time falling into a state of decrepitude, and seems to have thought hunting necessary to his health, with the result that he first appropriated to him- self the monstrous " Honour of Hampton," and afterwards, as he became more and more unwieldy, endeavoured to form a great park or hunting ground all round the western and northern sides of London. In 1543 Henry took up the lease of Netting Barns, by one of those forcible exchanges in which the contracting parties were so unequally matched. He gave the family the manor of Overburgate in Hampshire ; and added this portion of Kensington to the hunting country described in the famous proclamation of 1545, when the im- perious Henry made manor after manor of Middlesex sacred to his own royal " disport and pastime." But it is very un- likely that he ever saw his new acquisition so far west. Less than two years after the proclamation he was dead ; and to connect him with Kensington we have only the anecdote re- ported in the Parisli Magazine (18S4, p. 226). The roads 62 KENSINGTON through the parish were kept in such wretched order that the coffin of the king, when passing from Whitehall to Syon, " was so injured by the jolting it underwent that thorough repair of the leadwork was requisite before it could proceed " to the tomb prepared for it at Windsor. Notting Barns of course descended to Edward VI. ; and in 1549 he leased it to Sir William Paulet, Lord St. John of Basing, and afterwards Earl of Wiltshire and Marquis of Winchester, at 60s. a year. In 1562 Winchester surrendered his lease to Queen Elizabeth, who accepted it in place of a debt, and she must have granted it to her great minister William Cecil, Lord Burghley, for in 1587 he had leave to transfer it to trustees for the benefit of certain of his children after his own death. He still held it in 15981 when he died ; and in 1599 his trustees sold it to Sir Walter Cope. If Cope had kept Notting Barns he would eventually have held the whole re-united parish as it had not been held since Aubrey of Ver gave so large a slice of it to the Abbot of Abingdon. But, though he went through the form of obtaining a pardon from Queen Elizabeth for having bought the land without license, he did not retain possession long. The pardon had cost him £6. He had paid ;^2000 for the manor. In 1 60 1 he sold it to Sir Henry Anderson, a London alderman, and sheriff that same year, obtaining for it no less than ;£^3400, a handsome profit on his expenditure of .£^2006. Though Sir Walter Cope so soon sold Notting Barns, it was only that he might strengthen his hold on other parts of the parish. There is nothing more remarkable in English history than the sudden rise of the middle-class families during the time of Queen Elizabeth. Her long and peaceful reign enriched them, and when James came from Scotland surrounded by swarms of needy adventurers of good birth, he found in his new kingdom a similar crowd, craving not for gold, but for honours and titles. Queen Elizabeth had been very chary of peerages, and left not a single duke in England when she died. But James and his favourites soon filled the House of Lords with HOLLAND HOUSE 63 new titles, and the order of baronets was invented to satisfy the desires of some who could not be refused, as they supported their demands by offers of money. A few of tliem were men of good and ancient family, among whom we may reckon Sir Walter Cope : but others who attained to much higher places, such as Lionel Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, and Baptist Hicks, Viscount Campden, were remarkable for wealth and ability, but not for good birth. The Copes had come to the front as early as the reign of Richard II., and were long seated at Hanwell, near Banbury, where Leiand notices their " very pleasant and gallant house." One of them was cofferer to Henry VII. : and changed his old coat of arms, a black boar, for three coffers, in allusion to an office which no doubt brought him much wealth, even under so penurious a master. Eventually a more pleasing device was granted to him, and his descendants still bear this somewhat complicated shield : " Argent, on a chevron azure, between three roses, gules, slipped and leaved vert, as many fleurs-de-lis, or," plainly allusive to the royal arms and badge. Among his descendants we find, towards the end of the sixteenth century, two brothers, of whom the elder, Sir Anthony, was of Bramshill, and was made a baronet in 161 i. The younger, Sir Walter, held various situations under the crown, and was described as " of the Strand." When King James came in he seems to ha\-e advanced rapidly in the ro}-al favour, and was made one of the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. In 1608 he had a grant for twenty-one years of the fines in the court of King's Bench for a rent of "i^22 :4 : 5^1; and the third part of a farthing." In the same jear he was advanced to the ofifiee of Chamberlain of the Exchequer, and in 1 61 2 he was made Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries. All these were lucrative offices, and we see the result in his large purchases of land, and in the magnificent house which he built at Kensington. At one time or another he possessed almost every part of our parish. We have traced the Netting Hill manor into (and out of) his hands. We have now to tell of the other three manors, and how they came to him one by one. KENSINGTON His second hold on Kensington seems to have been at West Town. This, it will be remembered, was a small estate, with a residence on it which had been leased by Earl Robert in 12S4 to Simon Downham his chaplain, for ever, at the nearl}- nominal rent of a pcnn\'. It is described as the land and pasture at " le Westoune in villa de Kensintone," and as consisting of three crofts called " le Groves." It appears to have been that piece of land which was intercepted between the Abbot's manor and the western border of the parish, and would answer to Addison Road and the land on either side of it. The house stood on a site within the grounds of Oak Lodge (James M'Hcnry, Esq.), still known as " The Moats," but converted into an ornamental lake with a rocky islet in the centre. This was the " Ould House in Kensyngton," mentioned in an inquisition taken after Sir Walter Cope's death. From Simon Downham's heirs it passed in 1454 to William Essex, and Edith his wife, and was called a manor held of the manor of Kensing- ton. A descendant of this William Essex sold it for ^i 000 to the Marquis of W^inchester in 1570. Again, two years ter, it was sold to William Dodington, a citizen, this time price being only ;^700. Master Dod- ington made a good bargain, as in I 58 I he was able to sell his manor of West Town fcr ^2000. buyer as Christo- hcr barker. Tl HOLLAND HOUSE 65 Queen I^'.lizabcth's printer, whose name appears on the title- pages of the famous Breeches Bibles and many others. He paid the whole of the purchase money between the ist antl the 3d November, and held the place for ten years. ]>arker seems, from circumstances which hardly concern us here, to have been a bad man of business : and his descendants, wlio held the same office of royal printer, eventually failed. liut the crash did not come in his time, tliough, if he lost as hcavil}- on all other transactions as on this purchase and sale of West Town, it is a wonder that they held on so long. He had paid ;^2000, and he received ^^1300. The buyer was Walter Cope of the Strand. There still remained two manors in Kensington, the Earl's and the Abbot'.s. Cope was destined to own them both. He seems to have actually lived at West Town after he bought it, and probably was knighted soon after the accession of King James I., in March 1603. The abbot of Abingdon had leased his possessions and tithes in Kensington to a certain William Walwyn, who was auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster. There is an interesting account of him and his family, and an abstract of his will, in the Parish Mnga.zinc (i 8S3, p. 275). In January 1534 he seems to have been lying ill, and as the lease was only for his life, there was already an arrangement made for the reversion. John Grenville, or " Graynefeld," as he spelled it, with Lettis his wife, obtained a conditional lease : and on the Thursday before the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (ist August) 1535, William Walwyn died. The Grenvilles obtained possession and continued to hold the manor after the dis- solution of the monasteries, under their lease of thirty years from 1534. The tithes and demesne lands were separated at the end of that term ; but the manor and rectory continued to belong to the Grenvilles, who paid to the Crown £\g : 6 : ii, and to the vicar four shillings ! This is a good example of the influence of the abbeys in parishes, long after the abbeys themselves had ceased to exist. The tithes were granted b)' Queen Elizabeth to her cousin Sir Edward Carej' for twenty- F 66 KENSINGTON one _\-ears : thc)' next belonged to Robert Horseman, who in 1609 sold them to Robert Gynnc. A century later they were owned bj- one Nor- man, and it might be possible to find out to whom the}' now belong : but one thing is cer- tain, the\- never KENSINGTON : < ' came back to the church. The Abbot's manor seems to have been speedil\- resumed b\' the Crown, as long before the expiration of Sir Edward Carey's twenty -one \-ears it was granted to Eliza Snow, widow, for thirt\--one years. Before this term had run out, the reversion of the manor was leased in 1592 to Henry Buttell, who was already under-tenant of the premises ; but in 1595 it was again leased, this time to Robert Horseman, who appears to have actually lived in the Abbot's manor-house, and who, when the queen sold the place, out and out, over his head, was exceed - up possession. The Manor- house must have stood on or \'cr_\' near the site of the Cavalry and Infantry Barracks, which is wholl}- within the bound- aries of the parish. This we Icnow, bc- to give HOLI.AND HOUSE cause wc read of a piece of meadow called " the J\[ou which lay to the eastw lul of the house. 1 his which answers to 1' il ice Green," was long know n as the Moor, and m i> be identified the moie easily, as on it stood the old Conduit, " servin;:^ foi the Queen's mansion- house at Chelsea." The position of the JDarracks u IS called in question latel). at a revision of the lecjistiation of voters, when a soldier claimed and obtained his fran- chise, in Kensinijton. Owing to the pur- chase, through trustees, of the manor by Walter Cope, and the unwillingness of Robert Horseman to leave what must have been a very pleasant and con- venient dwelling-place, a compromise was arranged by the special intervention of the Queen : and Faulkner prints the agreement in full. By it Robert Horseman was to have the fce- simple of his house and of certain grounds and glebe lands amounting to about 200 acres. The final deed is dated 27th November 1599, and in it the house is ^^'r- callcd both the Manor- 68 KENSINGTON house and the Parsonage house. With it went several closes and woodlands lying on the northern side of the high road towards Acton and known as Norlands, a name still existing in the parish. But Cope retained the rest of the manor, and in particular a piece of orchard which lay near his house ; and it would seem as if this orchard must have been the future site, or part of it, of the house he built himself, he residing in the meanwhile, as we have seen, at the old manor-house of West Town. We can now understand three things which might otherwise puzzle us. We know why Holland House was not the manor- house, we know why Cope, not being able to obtain possession of the manor-house, had to build himself a suitable place of residence, and we know when it was that the Abbot's manor and the rectorial tithes and glebe were finally separated. We do not know, however, for certain what became of the manor- house, unless it is represented by Great Grove House, a half- ruined mansion near the barracks. Living at the " Moats," then, Cope was able to superintend the erection of the mansion so famous in Kensington history as Holland House, and the laying out of the grounds which had come to him with the Abbot's manor. But four years before his death the land at his disposal within the parish was suffi- cient for a park of any size he pleased, for in 1610, the heirs of the Veres had license to sell to Sir Walter Cope " all that manor or lordship of Earl's Court, and all messuages, lands, etc., in Kensington, Chelsey, and St. Margaret's, Westminster, called or known by the name of The Manor of Pearl's Court." Thirty acres, attached to a residence known as Hale House, afterwards Cromwell House, were specially excepted. The two widowed countesses who, as we saw in the last chapter, had been dowried by Act of Parliament with the manor of Karl's Court, had died before 1558 — one of them as early as 1537 — and the estates had descended to the co-heirs of John, fourteenth ]'"arl of Oxford. These were three sisters — Lady Elizabeth, ].ady Dorothy, and Lady Ursula. The last named, though she was twice married, HOLLAND HOUSE 69 died in 1560 childless. The eldest sister married Sir Anthony Wingfield, and the j-ounyer John Nevill, Lord Latimer. This Lord Latimer is chieny re- membered as the second hus- '^^^^^^k' band of a very celebrated lady. "His I ^^ fh m '■''"'''-' "'''^'-' was Katherine Parr, who at 1 l^V^ "^(^S ^^^^ time, although not more than twenty m '(^/\\^f * \ < iiiouL;h." Mr. Rutton, from whose paper ^^^^-- / >— 1 1 ii*i[i[ , - ^l^i^ and a great many ' ' other foreigners were also there. One fails in all the long list to find the names of many ladies ; but it was not until late in life 'Salrick, dau. of John Earl of Upper Ossory. She d. 1778. I Charles James Fox, b. 1749, M.P. for Mid- hurst 1768, Lord of the -Vdmiralty 1770, Sec. for Foreign Affairs 1784, and again in 1806 (vir- tually Prime Minister), d. 1 806, bur. in Westmr. Abbey, s. p. = Elizabeth Bridget .-\rm- stead,a& Blanc, d. 1842. Henry Edward Fo.x, Gen- eral in the army, Gov. of Gibraltar 1804-1810, d. i8ir. = Marianne, dau. of Wm. I Clayton, Esq. \ n Henry Stephen 2 dans. Fox, b. 1791, (married), d. 1846. aenry Stephen William Thomas John George Fox Strangways, FoxStrangways, Chas. Fox- 3d Earl of 4th Earl of Ichester, Baron Ilchester, Baron d. 1859. Ilchester, ric, Ilchester, clc, = Amelia, dau d. .858. d. 1865. of Edw. = Marjori- s. p. ni. s. p. banks, Esq. Henry Richard Fox, F. R.S. = Eliz.abcth, da and F.SA., 3d Baron Hol- land iif Holland, Co. Line, 3d Baron Holland of Foxley, (;o. Wills, kcconler of Not- tingham, Ld. Privy Seal i8o6, C;hanc. of the Duchy of Lan- caster 1830, d. 1840. He assumed, for himself only, the name of Vassall, his children retaining that of Fox. . and hr. of Richard Vassall, Esq. Her previous mar- riage with Sir Godfrey Webster, Bart., was dissolved, June 1797- She died 1845. Henry Edward Fox- Strangways, 5th Earl of Ilchester, Baron Ilchester and Baron Strangways, Baron Ilchester and Stavordale, Baron of Redlynch, b. 1847. = Mary Eleanor Anne I Dawson, dau. of Rich- * ard ICarl of Dartrev. Henry Edward Fox, 1>. 1802, 4th Baron Holland of Holland, 4th Baron Holland :Mary .-\ugusta ventry, dau. George Wm., liarl of Coventry Thomas Atherton Powys, 3d Baron Lilford, d. 1 86 1. Thomas Lyttleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford. CHAPTER IV OL KENSINGTON fliience uf the plague on Kensington — Campden House — Hicks and liis descend- ants — Lindsey — The Princess Anne — The Duke of Gloucester — Pedigree of tlie Noels — Burlington — Lechmere — Little Campden House — Bullingham House — Orbell's Buildings — Sir Isaac Newton — Aubrey House — Sheffield House — Scarsdale House — Kensington Square — Young Street — Thackeray in Kensington — Eminent inhabitants of the Square — Kensington House — Colby House — Kensington Court — Hale House — The Cromwells and Kensington — Edmund Burlce. IVERY extension of the subuib.s in the seventeenth centiiiy, when plague broke out in London year after year, was re- garded with disfavour by the authorities ; and constant efforts were made to pre- vent people from settling in the ncigh- ,. ,j^j|^ ^t' bourhood of the Strand, in Soho, and VhH - <;/iiiiriis, ii. 69), " How hitter, how melancholy, how absurd, to look up OLD KKNSINGTON as you pass by No. 13, and see somebody else grinning out of window, and evidently on the best terms with the landlady." Why No. 13, if not No. 13 Young Street, where he had livcfl so long ? VVc have delayed in Young Street, with Thackeray, but the Square must be reached at last. From its very first founda- tion in the first year of Jaincs II., it has been inhabited b)' people of eminence. The court brought them first, and it is stated that the south side was called the " King's Parade." We read in parochial and other records of such great folks as these : — Tiic in 1693, the Earl of 1697 — we remem- House had gone of the Noel family Right Honourable who here " saw- was his neighbour." in I 7 I 2 at Ken- Pits. In 1721 successively of 0.x- Worcester, had brick house, with and full of fine and carvings." the convent is south-western is much about late in Macau- ' i- , n ,, , 1 1 . 1 , England. He left Kensington in Montgomery lived in No. 45, now Mi house, stables, and cottage extended to Young Street, the last named being the No. 1 3 of which we have already said so much. The Marquis of Montgomery is really the Marquis of Powis, who was Lord Montgomery, and after the death of his father, William Herbert, whom James II. made Duke of Duchess of Mazarin (lainsborough in ber that Campden to another branch — and ill I 7 I I the Joseph Addison, much of Swift, who Swift had lodgings sington Gravel - Bishop Hough, ford, Lichfield, and " a grand old large windows, - oak staircases It stood wlicrc now, at the corner. There this great pre- '" ^'^' lay's History of 1732. The Marquis of Merriman's. The coach- KENSINGTON Powis in 1689, the year of exile, lie was summoned to Parliament as Marquis of Powis in 1722. That he should have been still called Marquis of Mont- gomer)-, the courtesy title he may have assumed when his father was created a Duke, is worth noticing. Archbishop Herring, of York, and afterwards of Canterbury, had a house at the south-eastern corner of Kensing- ton Square when he was Bishop of Bangor, in 1737. Several foreign ambassadors seem to have lived in Ken- sington Square about this time. Among the entries in the parish register is one on the 28th April i 700, of the burial of " A servant, from the Dutch Embassador's, in the Square." In I 71 7 it is "The Dutch Envoy's Lady," 17th January. Prince Talle}-rand was in Archbishop Herring's former residence in v<, KENSINGTON : ::fe. ^CT^sln(^toa S^uar>i_ 'f!.i^y,V,er )u ;ensin(;ton \ habilcLl It is said b) iallcyiaiid. in No. 37, and a secret chainbc hiding place is also _ II, which with its next neighbour formed a single house, and is the only one in the square which retains its original appearance. In the last genera- tion Kensington Square was the place of abode of, among others too numerous to mention, Nassau Senior, who lived at No. 32 in 1826, and afterwards, if I mis- take not, in one of the houses on Ikitt's Field. John Stuart Mill was at No. 18 in 1839. The 1793. '^I't 'lot as en\o}'. There arc double eagles carved among the decorations of No. 30, the house of Mr. Arthur Roberts, which may per- haps be referred to some foreign diplomatist. No.s. 2,6 and t,-/ were originally one house, in- Ihe old door, iron plated, is ; in the drawing room. A shown in No. /•^i .4 ■^€*'V.^aiii- KENSINGTON celebrated Dr. James Veitch lived at No. 33 for six years from 1841. More recently, the lamented John Richard Green, the his- torian of the English people, spent his last summers in No. 14. He went from here to Mentone, where he died, in the autumn of 1S82. Mr. Edward Burne Jones, A. R. A., lived in No. 41 for three years before i S67. The Greyhound Inn is mentioned in Esmond. It belongs to Messrs. Combe the brewers, and its title-deeds reach back to 1686. All good inhabitants of Kensington rejoiced, I think, when it was decreed that Kensington House was to be razed to the ground in 1882. It occupied the site of two very picturesque old buildings, Colby House and Kensington House, and the grounds as laid out by Mr. Grant obliterated the wretched quarter known as Jcnning's Buildings to the southward, and extended to Kensington Square on the west. The old houses were of the same period as the square itself and the palace. The most easterly was at first the propert)' of the Noel famih', one of whom may have ])uilt it : but was . occupied for a time by tiie Duchessof Ports- mouth, and was used for many _\-cars of the last contur>- as a school. James I'dphinstone, the head -master, is commemorated by a l(imbstonc in the church- OLD KKNSINCTON scmblc him. He inatlc an cxtraortli and was one of the orit^inatnrs o yard and a taljlet in the south porch ; he died in I 809, and as he reck- oned Jortin, Johnson, and Frankhn among his friends, we must believe he deserved the praise there bestowed upon him ; but Smollett made fun of him in Roticriik Raiichnii, and liad jMob- ably reason for doiuLj so, thouyh it is not easy to say which of the characters in the novel was supposed to re- wy translation of Martial, the scheme of i>honctic spelling, which crops up at short intervals ever since but does KENSINGTON not seem to make much \va\-. After Elphinstone's time the house was turned into a Jesuit school by some French emigrants, " Peres de la Foi " ; themselves. Rich- the great Irish catcd b)' them, and account, often as he remembered up with ills help whose wrought twined into the great personage here ; exactly op- as they called ard Lalor Shell, orator, was cdu- left an interesting (luotcd.of the place it. We can call the large iron gate rusty flowers monogram of some MiLES STREET ^^^^^ ^'^^ HvCd SQUARE. posite we see the avenue leading to the palace and the beautiful garden in front. The large old-fashioned house is full of the remains of decayed splendour. There is a beautiful walk at the back through the school playground. The head of the establishment, the Prince de Broglie, sits in a chamber covered with faded gilding which had once been richly tapestried. The future Charles X. here visited the Abbe- prince, and Shell mentions the Duke de Grammont and other magnates of the exile. It was probably at this time, if ""^^^"""""'^^'''^^^l ever, that the I open - air mass was sung ac- cording to tra- dition, in the .\lcove, now re- moved, which 4'le of Layer Marney or Sutton Place, from one or other of which old Tudor mansions all the details are imitated. The other houses are, as I have said, chiefly by Mr. Steven- son, and are in a later style. About half the available space has now been covered, and the buildings abut at their southern end on Hamston's Field. 15ut one other monument of Old Kensington remains to be noticed. This ..•,,/• KENSINGTON is Hale Hall, always pointed out by tradition as the residence of the Cromwclls. It has almost, if not quite, disappeared under the South Kensington Museum, but many of us remem- ber its not very lovely south front among the trees near the entrance from the Brompton Road. ^^^^ There certainly were Crom- H^Hl \\ells in Kensington at different J^H^^ times : but I cannot localise any ^^mB^ of them at this south - eastern ^^MHmF J^"—^ corner of the parish. A Robert i"f ; - ' Cromwell was of Kcnsal Green in 1691 : and docs not seem to have been a well-behaved person. For certain of his misdoings the parish registers may be consulted ; and Lou.NER OF THE KiiD LION WN. Faulkncr (p. 371) informs us that one of this name was "a juryman on the trial of Daniel iVxtell, one of the regicides, and challenged by him." Faulkncr concludes that this was the same Robert Cromwell : but as there were nearl}- thirty years between the trial and the wrong done to Jane Savillc, it seems unlikely. Of his rank we gather something from another note. In 1700 there is an entry of the burial of " Mary Cromwell, wife of Mr. Cromwell, farmer." The name also appears in the Marriage Register. On the 10th May 1653, Henry Cromwell was married to Elizabeth Russell. It has never been doubted that this Henry Cromwell was the son of the Protector, who subsequently governed Ireland under his father. His bride was the daughter of Sir I'Vancis Russell, of Chippenham in Cambridgeshire, a devoted adherent of Oliver Cromwell, and one of those designated for his House of Lords. The Rus.sells were further connected with the Cromwclls and with Kensington, for the eldest son and successor of Sir h'rancis, John Russell, married IClizabeth Cromwell, the rroteclor's daughter, aiul widow of Robert Rich, OLD KENSINGTON 127 eldest son of the third Earl of Warwick, by whose ileath without children the succession to the Warwick title was opened to the Earl of Holland. These, so far as I have been able to ascertain, arc the only occurrences of the name of Cromwell in our parochial records ; but tradition will have it that the great Oliver himself lived for a time at Hale Hall : and we can neither accept nor reject it. The purchase of a small estate with money said to be Cromwell's gift, will be mentioned in a later chapter. It will be remembered that Oliver Cromwell's family had formerly gone by the name of Williams. There is no doubt that Richard Williams settled in Kensington, where he had some land in the Earl's Court Manor and the Red Lion Inn in the High Street, at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Further particulars of his career and connections may be seen In the Parish Magazine, 1883, p. 131. It will be sufficient here to say that his mother was Mary Smith, of Mortlakc, first cousin of Walter Cromwell, whose son was the unfortunate minister of Henry VII L: antl that his brother was the Morgan Williams, or John Williams, who is said, upon un- certain evidence, to have married a sister of the Earl of Essex, and to have changed his name to Cromwell. What we may be certain of is that Morgan Wil- liams was the paternal ancestor of the Protector. To return to Hale House ; we may quote the judicious words of Eaulkner : — " The tradition respect- ing the residence of Oliver Cromwell seems to be very strong and universal, and it would have afforded the historian sincere pleasure to have been able to confirm an opinion so prevalent, but, unfortunately, all the documents which he has consulted, both parochial as well as pri\-ate, seem to show- that there is not the least foundation for this conjecture." 128 KEiNSlNGTON Tlie house and some twelve acres of land — the same on which the South Kensington Museum now stands — were part of an estate not exceeding thirty acres, which were reserved to the heirs of the old earls when the rest of the ^jajg^ ^ Earl's Court Manor was sold to Sir jg^^K^^^E^-' Walter Cope in 1609. Thisma- '^^l^^SH^B^ 'i*^'' ''^ ^^''" '-"^ remembered was settled ^-^ (♦ l' iHB^^ °" ^^^^ co-heirs of John, the four- ^^^y [ ^J^^l'' tccnth Earl of Oxford. They were '^i^Sl^^^^^ i*^ ]'- Elizabeth, who married Sir Anthony k^d l.on inn- the old w.nddw Wingfield ; Dorothy, who married Lord Latimer ; and Ursula, who was twice married but left no children. Sir Robert Wingfield, the son of Sir Anthon)-, sold his share of the manor to his cousin Lucy Nevil, daughter and co-heiress of Lord Latimer. She married Sir William Cornwallis, and their daughter, Anne, carried the estate to her husband, Archibald, seventh Earl of Argyll. In 1609 Lord and Lady Argyll had license to sell it to Sir Walter Cope, all but Hale House and the adjoining farm, which were thus separated from the old manor of the Veres. The subsequent historv' of the place may be quoted from Eaulkner : — "In 1612, Archibald Earl of Argyll, ami .Sir Win. Conuvallis, proprietors of ' all that capital messuage or tenement, with the appurten- ances, called Hale House,' sold it to Wm. Weddell, of London, gent., and others, in consideration of the sum of ^80, together with \'arious closes of land, being parcel of the manor of Earl's Court, all in the occupation of Sir Wm. Blake. He, having purchased this property, died seized of it in 1 63 1. The whole of which appears to have been held, in capitc, Ijy one hundredth part of a knight's fee, and valued at .^5 jjcr annum. William Mcthwold, Esq., purchased it of the executors of Sir William Blake, and died here in 1652, and, by his will, bequeathed si.steen acres of land for the maintenance of the poor in the adjoining almshouses, which he had founded. In 1668, Hale House was inhabited by the Lawrences of Shurdington, in Gloucestershire. In 1682, it was in the occupation of Francis Lord Howard of Effingham, whose son Thomas, the si.xth Lord Howard of that family, was born here. In 1754, it was sold by the OLD KENSINCTON 129 Methwold family, to John Fleming, Esq., afterwards created a baronet, and it is now the property of the Earl of Harrington, who married one of the daughters and co-heirs of Sir John Fleming." A portion of the estate had been alienated to a family named Goodfellow, who, like Methwold, was a benefactor to the parish. Faulkner continues : — " Cromwell Gardens were a favourite place of public resort, many years previous to the opening of Florida Gardens ; Mr. Hughes, who built the Surrey Theatre, used to exhibit here his feats of horsemanship in the open air. The adjoining almshouses, situated in the lane leading from Brompton to the town of Kensington, and endowed by Mr. Methwold, have lately been repaired, and are now tenanted in strict conformity to the will of the founder. " A conduit stood near this spot, which is frequently mentioned in old deeds, but I have not been able to ascertain its site, nor does any vestige of it remain." It is odd that Faulkner should make no mention of Edmund Burke. He took Hale House for his son, Richard Burke, who was ill, in 1794. The physician who attended the young man soon saw that there was no hope, and told the unhappy father, who " abandoned himself to the desperation of despair." " His," he cried, " was a grief which would not be comforted." Richard Burke, who, as every one remarked except his fond father, was a very unpromising, and, indeed, unamiable person, died in Cromwell House 2d August 1794, aged 16. The following passage from Faulkner describes the house before it was dismantled : — " Hale House, commonly called Cromwell House, has undergone great alterations, only one room remaining in its ancient state, which is ornamented with painted Dutch tiles, resembling flower-pots, and is still in good preservation. " The principal door has a projecting porch, supported by two wooden pillars, and the door-case is ornamented with military trophies and costume of the seventeenth century well executed. " Over the door is placed a capital bust of Charles II., apparently a copy from that in the centre court of Chelsea Royal Hospital. "The house and premises are at present unoccupied, and present a 13° KENSINGTON dilapidated and desolated condition. Formerly the whole was surrounded with a wall and chevaux-de-frieze, and battlements, resembling a fortified place, part of which still remain on the east side, opening into Mr. Kirke's garden. " Over the mantel-piece there is a recess, formed by the curve of the chimney, in which it is said that the Protector used to conceal himself when he visited this house ; but why his Highness chose this place for concealment, the tradition has not condescended to inform us. This recess is concealed by the wainscot, and is still used as a cupboard." From Hale House the old Gore Lane and the old Love Lane wound up towards Kensington. At the place where Love Lane led into Hogmore Lane, now the Gloucester Road, was a tavern known as the Devil Inn : and the corner itself was called Hell Corner. Whether, as seems likely, this was only a corruption of " Hale Corner," and the presence of the sign an accident, I do not know ; but taverns were not un- frequently named after " the Devil and St. Dunstan," the attri- bution not being complete without the saint who was the patron of metal-workers. % lY.^rvi-P.rx'i^w.. CHAPTER V KENSINGTON PALACE AND KENSINGTON GARDENS The birthplace of Queen Victoria — The manoi-house of Neyt — Abbot Littlington and Abbot Islip— John of Gaunt— John of York— The Coppins— The Finches —Lord Chancellor Nottingham— William III.— Extent of Nottingham Park- Curious errors — Queen Anne and Queen Caroline not land-grabbers — Names of the avenues and lawns — The Temple — The Alcove — The Barracks — The Conduit — The Water Tower — The Orangery — The Palace — The room in which the Queen was born — The Council Chamber — The Duke of Sussex — Thackeray on Kensington Palace — Lord Harvey and the King's pictures — The State Apartments. Lx-p S part of the town of Kensington is in the ■ L — I" parish of Westminster, and as the palace / I is in that part, we can say, in a sense, ~"^ T^ 1 that her Majesty Queen Victoria is a native of Kensington ; and among the jubilee festivities a visit to her birthplace was in- cluded. True, the boundary line between St. Margaret's and St. Mary's passes west- ward of the palace ; but it also cuts off several houses in the High Street, yet they are none the less in the High Street of Kensington, and nowhere else. To de- scribe our parish, and to leave out the Palace and the Gardens, would be to leave out our most in- teresting building, and our most beautiful scenery. KENSINGTON There was probably a house on or very near where the palace now stands at a very remote period. Tlic land surround- ins^ it formet' part of the great estate of tin Abbey of West- minster, in itself a reason SUffi- «hst enikanu: k. kknmncto.n gakhkns, cient to account for the nature of the boundary line. The abbot must have had a house on his manor of Ne\-t, which we know was somewhere west of London. It is usually placed at Chelsea, I think, or at Millbank. But an abbot of West- -. , minster would have no occasion .„ , for a manor-house so near home as Millbank, and as for Chelsea it did not belong to him. The manor originally attached to Westminster was of great size and was divided into Eybury, ____^____^^^_^ where there was house, i:^'# i £)oaadary StrVreS^ Cf Jai- I r.es_ a manor- in \vhat is now I".hur\- Street ; ll>de, which is nowllydcl'ark; and lastly Neyt. It may be that in "Knights- KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS bridge " there is a reference tf) Neyt : but this is only a con- jecture. That there was a manor- iiousc of Neyt, and that it was situated on the Abbot's manor, and somewhere to the westward of Westminster, is certain, exactly answers all the There is no other spot which so equircments of the case. The great Abbot Littling- ton, to whose care and skill so much of the beauty of Westminster Ab- bey is due, died at his manor-house of Neyt in 1386. Here, too, a cen- tury and a half later, came Abbot Islip, whose name is still borne by a chapel in the Abbey. He was sick unto death, and must have foreseen the troubles impend- ing. Neyt makes but few other ap- 134 KENSINGTON pearances upon the page of history : but those few are sufficiently remarkable to render it worth while to identify the site. When the Savoy had been burnt, and John of Gaunt was looking for a suitable residence, he lived for a time during the sitting of Parliament at the Abbot's manor-house at Neyt, before he finally settled down in Ely Place. Its convenient nearness to Westminster was assigned as a reason : but the Duke's tenancy- shows at least that the house was large and commodious. Half a century later it seems to have been let to another prince of the blood, for John, the fifth son of Richard, Duke of York, was born here 14th November 144S, the )-ear of his father's pacification of Ireland, and of the chief events which led eventually to the Yorkist success. John of York died before his brother Edward IV. ascended the throne. This is, I fear, all I can offer as an account of the early history of what grew into Kensington Palace. After the dis- solution, the manor was granted away to various people, and it is difficult or impossible to trace their succession. We meet, a hundred years later, with a famih- named Coppin, who had it, KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS '35 was " a messuage with it; ings there was a field of St. Margaret's, whicli from its name \vc should be tempted to identify w ith the faithe i part of Ki-ii sington Ci ii dens as it i called ' Lull Park Close Faulknci thinks it won derful thit or a great part of it, and also land to the north and west in Kensington. Thomas Coppin sold a field of two acres to the parish in 165 1, just where Clanricarde Gardens arc now ; and a little earlier wc have men- tion of a certain Sir George Coppin who had thirty-six and .1 half acres in one holding, partly in Westminster, partly in Kensington, and partly in Pad- ilington. This answers admir- • ibly to the Kensington Gardens -ew hedges and flower-beds, did not exceed twenty-six acres. The rest was, as it is still, a well-planted open space, up hill and down dale, to the Serpentine, and beyond it to the " Ha-ha " or sunk fence which may possibly be the boundary set when Charles II. gave Sir Heneage leave to dig up the ditch and fence between his land and Hj-de Park. As has been observed, a very small part of all this was in Kensington, and when Faulkner and Leigh Hunt took account only of what belonged to the manor of St. Mary Abbot's, which ap- parently is what the\'did,and mixed up with it Bowack's account of Queen Anne's flower gar- den, they left a pretty little puzzle for solution by posterit)'. I do not pretend to have solved it, but 140 KENSINGTON this I know, that though the second Sir Heneage had a park or farm, or call it what j-ou will, which extended to the confines of Hyde Park, as early as the reign of Charles II., he is only returned as owning nine acres of freehold in the manor of Abbot's Kensington. To this Faulkner appends a note, " Lord Finch's lands are now Kensington Gardens," and a little farther on, where we read that I\Ir. Coppin had an estate in the Abbot's manor of 196 acres, Faulkner adds, " Coppin's lands are now part of Kensington Gardens." Both these statements cannot be correct, but both of them may be, and I think are, erroneous. The nine acres held by Finch were the north-west corner of the fruit garden. Round it a red brick wall was built, many fragments of which we still see here and there in Kensington. These nine acres are now covered by the first six houses in the stately avenue known as Palace Gardens : the only part of what we may call the royal precincts which was and is within the boundary of our parish. Coppin's lands were farther west and north. LODGE IN KENSINGTON GARDENS. KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS 141 It would be very satisfactory to clear up this muddle com- :tcly. It is a very common thing to lay against Queen Caroline, one of the stitutional of queen has been said that she istry possible, that she I'ark to add to her own the same might be said her. Until the whole upon Bowack's correct it will be impossible to contradiction of numer- grcatest and most con- consorts, of whom it made Walpole's min- filchcd land from H}'de pleasure-grounds ; and of Queen Anne before of the muddle founded account is cleared up, prove every step of this ous authorities ; but since I first began to see the difficulty of reconciling two such utterly incompatible statements as those two in Faulk- ner's footnotes on the manor of Abbot's Kensington, every- thing I have found out has tended to strengthen and nothing to weaken the views here put forward. When we have found a contemporary map of the estate as King William bought it, the question will be finally decided. But it is easy to see that when Coppin is returned as having an estate of 196 acres in the manor of Kensington, it cannot have been in what we call Kensington Gardens, no part of which is in the manor of Kensington. And as the boundary between KENSINGTON the park of Nottingham House and Hj'dc Park stood just where it does now in 1662, it is entirely erroneous to say that any land was taken from Hyde Park by Queen Anne or Queen Caroline, or any other monarch who dwelt in what had been Nottingham House. The earliest map I have seen which shows the boundaries on the east side is one in the Grace Collec- tion, and is itself a copy. It represents Hyde Park, and is dated 1725 ; it shows Kensington Gardens, very much as they are now. They were the park attached to Nottingham House, and TOf OF GATE POST. wheu wc Say that land was taken from the park to add to the gardens, we must understand Nottingham Park, not H\'de Park. It is well to keep this distinctly in our minds. Neither Queen Anne nor Queen Caroline took an acre from H)-dc Park. The earliest engraved map of Kensington House, Gardens and Park, is that of Roque, dedicated to Queen Caroline in 1736, the year before she died. I am indebted to Mr. Alerriman for a manuscript key to it, from which we can gather the names of each plot in the park which we call Kensington Gardens. It answers exactly to what we read of the grounds of Sir Hcncage P'inch in 1C62, except that the gardens about the house had been greatly extended, and the park — not Hyde Park, as so many authorities would have us believe — correspondingly dimin- ished. The old royal kitchen garden, which was done away with in 1848, lay well to the KENSINGTON i pUm oFlhefalace Cardeits & Town, oTSensm^tan,, by John Rocque". I7b1 PAUCK VM) GARDKISS London FioJd (Sr Tuw 6tni\Jora.i> treo^'' Estai^^ lENSINCTON PALACE AND GARDENS ■43 noi'tli-wcst, antl was no iloubt the nine or ten acres in the parish ol' Kensington which arc returned as part of the estate of Sir Ileneage Finch in 1673. A Httlc cast of tliis plot was the Wilderness. Its site is marked for us by a few yew trees which still sur- vive. This is described THi: skKiiiNiiM:. ^^ "Old Gardens and Gravel Pits," and is bordered on the west by Hog Walk, which leads to the Gravel Pit Gate, and on the cast by Brazen- face Walk, so called probably from a bronze bust which may have been set up in it. The " Old Mount," so called no doubt to distinguish it from a mound near the present site of the Albert Cross, was behind the Orangery, a beautiful building, of which I shall have more to say. In front was the " Plower Garden," now covered with hothouses. But Queen Caroline, and perhaps before her Queen Anne, had enclosed a much larger piece of the park at the south side of the house. Here, a fine elm avenue, much of which has but lately disappeared, led from the front of the Palace, where a sun-dial through a formal garden, to the "Alcove," a beautiful littlc bit of red brick and marble, de- signed by Wren, which stood against the wall of the "Bath Road," close to stood. :^l§^'rt^'^ ..Xni^iii-'" 144 kensin(;ton ^ High Street. Of the Alcove more is to be said presently. This south garden was the scene of many gay doings, and was thronged on set occasions by the courtiers. The western half was named the "Home Lawn," the eastern the " Slope Lawn." Bordering these lawns and gardens, and running, as it does still, from the " Bath Road " to the " O.xford Road," was the avenue described as the " Grand Walk." Be\-ond it, eastward, la)- the Bason, and all round it, to the NVER- STVTE Scrpcntlne and much farther, was open park, crossed in right lines by formal rows of trees, through which the most delightful views and vistas might be had to the extremities of the grounds, and even into Hyde Park, the boundary line being concealed by the sunk fence which Sir Heneage Finch obtained leave to make in 1662. At the foot of the slope in the valley of the Westbourne, Queen Caroline effected a great improvement by widening the brook. The little stream, winding through a marsh\- hollow, became the Serpentine as we now sec it. The Swan Inn, which stands where the bourne crossed the Bayswatcr Road under a nanow brid-c, as appears b}' .f' d± L ^il-.j^»»*_ KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS '45 Roquc's map, may in its sign refer to the ex- istence of swans on the water. Marlborough Gate, near the same corner, is the modern and -^ ^s^'' " " genteel " name of " Buck Hill ^^^,^^^^,^^^_. ^^.^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ Gate," in which there was a reminiscence of the time when deer were kept in the park of Nottingham House. The high ground east of the Serpentine was similarly called Buck ]5arn Hill, and one of the diagonal drives was Buck Barn Walk. No doubt, there was here, as in other parks of the kind, a shed or " barn " for the deer. Another walk was called after an " Old Pond," which was near the spot now marked by St. Govor's Well. Two en- closures were for horses and carts, and the "Temple Quarter" probably shows us where a "Temple" or summer-house in that form crowned the top of an artificial mound, marked by " Mount Walk," to the westward of the place now occupied by the Albert Memorial. This temple is often mentioned in the literature of the eighteenth century, and was standing within the memory ot many people still vinc!'. 146 KENSINGTON Kensington Gardens have been greatly altered since Roque's map was made. The Cavalry Barracks which stood exactly opposite to what is now called " Palace Gate " have long been removed. The wall which extended from the Barracks along the road to High Street has also been taken away, and with it the beautiful " Alcove " which faced the palace at the foot of the Dial Walk. It has now been set up near Marlborough Gate at the other end of the Gardens, where it ought to have served as an example to the architect who designed the wretched buildings round the fountains at the end of the Ser- pentine. It was built, like the Orangery, for Queen Anne by Sir Christopher Wren, ,ind bears the Queen's monogram on the centre stone of the ,n-ch. It is said that while the Alcove stood in its original y/jj,<„. p. place it was used by the French refugees as a kind of altar for the celebration of an open-air mass during the Revolution, the numbers of the congregation being so great that no building available was large enough to receive them. The southern boundary of the Gardens was formed b\' a long railing, within whicli was the " Royal Road," running parallel with the [^resent " h'lowcr W'alk," and a ride which continued Rotten Row. Within these again was a brick wall. The Cavalry Barracks stood just by the turniM'ke, which itself was at the head of what we now call Palace (late and near the foot of the Broad Walk. A small guard-house or barrack is still standing on the south side of I'alace Green, which wc rip]M-oach ])ast a lodge KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS 147 with a very Wren -like cornice, through a gateway on the pillars of which a lion and a unicorn bear the arms of William III. The Green was formerly the Moor, and is so called in many old records. To the north of the Moor were the royal kitchen gardens, surrounded by a red brick wall. Close to the Green was the Conduit, a low brick building with gable ends, and vaulted within. It was built about 1536, for the supply of water to Chelsea, where Henry VIII. had a "palace," as it was sometimes called, which became the Dower House of his last wife, Katharine Parr, and subsequently of his fourth wife, Anne of Clcvcs, who died there. At the time of its destruc- tion, 1S71, for which I never heard any reason assigned, this MS ;ensington conduit was by far the oldest building left in Kensington. In Palace Green also stood a water tower, erected in the reign of Queen Anne, it is said from the designs of Vanbrugh, and certainly, to judge from the woodcut in h'aulkncr's book, it was worthy of that eccentric architect. The Orangery bears Queen Anne's monogram, and is a very beautiful building of its kind, evidently from Wren's own hand. It was sometimes used as a supper room, and in the reign of George II. for the orange trees in tubs, which were brought out to deck the front of the palace in summer. I cannot but express m\- regret at the neglected aspect of this ENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS little mristcrpiccc at present, and the way in which some glass forcing houses have been placed as if on i)urpose to hide it. The Palace is an irregular pile of red and l)rown brick, and looks very well from the gardens, where the warm colouring contrasts pleasantly with the green foliage. It consists of a central building round a courtyard, and of two long wings, one of which extends north-eastward, and the other south- westward. All are in the same simple style, the only attempt at ornament or architectural effect being in the presence of some carved stone vases over the parapet of the south front, and a pediment towards the east. The clock turret is as plain as such a structure can be, and the most prominent entrance is by a portico of columns barely tall enough for a carriage to drive under them. Another door, at the extreme northern end, is handsome and has the mono- gram of William and Mary, several times repeated. This is sometimes said to be a fragment of Not- tingham Mouse. The palace is at present divided into sets of apartments. Those at the northern end, of which I have just been speaking, arc inhabited by Sir Francis Seymour. The chaplain is lodged in an adjoining set. KENSINGTON The south-western wing is the residence of the Marquis of Lome and the Princess Louise. The apartments under the state rooms look to the east. They were occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Teck for some }-ears, but are now vacant. The last of this set, at the north-east corner of the main building of the palace, is a room with three large windows looking out on the gardens towards the Round Pond. Here, on the north wall, is a small brass plate bearing this in- scription : — IN THIS ROOM (Siueen Dictoria WAS BORN, May 24TH 1S19. Adjoining this chamber is a handsome drawing-room exactly under the central pedimented front, and behind it, to the westward that is, the room is situated in which the Queen held her first council. It is a gloomy chamber, looking into a narrow courtyard, the roof supported by pillars, intended no KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS doubt to strengthen the floor of the Cupola Room, in the state apartments above. The engraving after Wilkie's picture is well known. The picture, which is in the Long Corridor at Windsor Castle, must have been care- fully studied on the spot. The cheerful drawing-room b c y o n d must have INITIALS OF ,iLttN A.N Mi, AI.COVK. bCCU the place where Lord Melbourne and the Arch- bishop announced her accession to the young Queen, in the early morning of 20th June 1837. It was, so far as I can make out, in this same chamber, which h'aulkncr on this occasion only calls the Grand Saloon, that the future Queen was christened on the 24th June I 8 19. "The golden font was brought from the Tower," and crimson velvet cover- ings were brought from the Chapel Royal at St. James's. The 5 pen.'; were the Pi Regent, who in the following year be- came King George IV. ; the Emperor Alexander of Russia, represented b)' the Duke of York ; the Queen Dowager of Wurtemberg, repre- sented by the Prin- cess Augusta, and the Duchess Dowager of KENSINGTON Coburg, represented by the Duchess of Gloucester. The Prince Regent named the infant Alexandrina only it is said, but her mother's name of Victoria was fortunately added in time. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London officiated. The archbishop was Charles Manners Sutton, who died in 1S2S, when he was succeeded by the bishop, William Howlcy, who, eighteen \'ears later, attended with the Prime Minister in this same chamber, to tell the young princess that she was Queen 01 England. Three days after the christening, namely on the 27th of June, the Duchess of Kent attended the afternoon service at Kensington Parish Church, and was publicly churched by the Bishop of Salisbur)-. The duchess and her daughter continued to reside here after the death of the duke, which took place at \\'e\-mouth in the Januar)' of the following yaw. The young princess was often seen in Kensington Gardens, and sometimes took her airings in a little phaeton drawn b\' two minute ponies. This jf^li^^^ «'«,*• w J^- y/^'^Yff^ iv:v,_ KENSINGTON PALACK AND CARDKNS ^k^Ms scene IS repre- sented in a curi- ous contemporary print. Another print, also rare, is a lithograph in the collection of Mr. Merriman. It represents her Majesty at the ikincfss t,oui>!i.:s sTum... age of sixteen, two years, that is, before her accession : and has a facsimile of her signature below, simply the name " Victoria," in small handwriting. The print is by " Fs. Wm. Wilkin." Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, lived in Kensing- ton Palace for a time before her husband became King George IV. Her strange habits, her manners and appearance, were the subjects of much remark in Kensington and Paddington and the neighbourhood. Her death took place at Hammersmith, 7th August 1821 ; and her funeral on the 14th was marked by a terrible riot at Kensington, in which two tradesmen, Honey and Francis, were ^■•'"-- killed. Their grave i ' , and epitaph are, or i were, in Hammer- "^ smith Churchyard. But for the courage and care of Robert Waithman, an alder- man, who happened to be the sheriff ot Middlesex that day, the loss of life would have been far greater. The conflict took place at the corner :^A"r''-^. KENSINGTON wpi y \^''^ ^3-wyA; ^ of Church Street and High Street. The apartments occupied by the Princess Louise and Lord Lome are those in which the late Duke of Sussex resided for many years. The duke, notwithstanding the . . . provisions of the ^*^'' royal marriage act, windows of the room in which the uleen was born. married a lady not of princely rank, not once but twice. In 1/93 lie married Lady Augusta Murray, or " De Amcland," and after her death, which occurred in I 830, he married Lady Cecilia Underwood, the widow of Sir George Buggin, who was created Duchess of Inverness by Queen Victoria in 1840. The Duke of Sussex was Earl of Inverness. The duchess continued to reside here till her death in 1873. The Duke of Sussex formed a famous library in his apart- ments here. The collection of bibles, in particular, was magni- rx. fl ,M.'''"< 'i^>i KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS '55 ..1 K-H- ficcnt. All excellent catalogue was pub- lished by the librarian, Dr. Pettigrew, and the duke was very liberal in per- mitting;' access to the books. I le died here in 1843, and was buried at Kensal Green, in the adjoining parish of Ken- sington. Thackeray, in a few lines, convey.s a just idea of the appearance of the State apartments. George Warrington {Vi/-- GATEvvAY TO THE STABLK.";, giuians/u. "J 2) \s takcH to courtbyhis uncle : — " Walking under the portico of the Palace, they entered the gallery which leads to the great black marble staircase (which hath been so richly decorated and painted by Mr. Kent), and then passed through several rooms, richly hung with tapcstr)- and adorned with pictures and busts, until the}' came to the King's great drawing-room, where that famous Venus by Titian is, and, amongst other master- pieces, the picture of St. Francis adoring the infant Saviour performed by Sir Peter Paul Rubens ; and here with the rest of the visitors to the Court, the gentlemen Majesty issued from his private apartment: conference with certain personages who were called in the newspaper language of that day his M — j — t\-'.s M — n — st— rs. " George Warrington, who had never been in a palace before, had leisure to admire the place, and re- gard the people round him. He saw fine pictures for the first time too, and I daresay delighted in that charming piece of Sir Anthony Van- dyke, representing King Charles the First, his Queen and family, and the noble picture of Esther before Aha- wa ted until h where he was i 156 KENSINGTON suerus, painted by Tintorct, and in which all the figures are dressed in the magnificent Venetian habit." Hcrvey, in his lih-iiioirs (ii. 33) tells us something more of the pic- tures. " In the absence of the King the Queen had taken several very bad pictures out of the great draw- '^^™'- '^'"' '"'"■ i^' ■"■^'''"'"•^'■''='^- ing-room at Kensington, and put very good ones in their places ; the King, affecting, for the sake of contradiction, to dislike this change, or, from his extreme ignorance in painting, really dis- approving it, told Lord Hervey, as Vice-Chamberlain, that he would have every new picture taken away, and every old one replaced. Lord Hervey, who had a mind to make his court to the Queen by opposing this order, asked if his Majesty would not give leave for the two Vandykes, at least, on each side of the chimney to remain, instead of those two sign-posts, done by nobod}' knew who, that had been removed to make wa}- for them. To which the King answered, ' My Lord, I have a great respect for your taste in what you understand, but in pictures I beg leave to follow my own ; I suppose you assisted the Queen with your fine advice when she was pulling my house to pieces and spoiling all my furniture ; thank God, at least she has left the walls standing! As for the Vandykes, I do not care whether the}- are changed or no, but for the picture with the dirty frame over the door, and the three nasty little children, I will have them taken away and the old ones restored ; I will have it done, too, to-morrow morn- „v-^- '"S before I go to London, or else, I "ifl^Ker v"">- know, it will not be KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS 157 done at all.' ' Would your Majcst)',' said Lord Hcrvcy, ' have the gi- gantic fat Venus restored too ? ' ' Yes, my Lord ; I am not so CHAIK IN KENSINGI.IN I'ALACli. j^J^.^ ^^ yOUY Lordship. I like my fat Venus much you have given me instead of her.' " Lord Ilervey, however, had removed " the fat Venus " to Windsor, and some of the other pictures to Hampton Court. Nevertheless he assured the King all should be done as he wished. The Queen, when he told her of it, " was a good deal displeased, and more ashamed. She said, the King, to be sure, was master of his own furniture, and asked Lord Hervey if the pictures were changed, who told her No, and why it was im- bctt W4^H^ KENSINGTON possible they should. She charged him not to tell the King why, but to find out some other reason. " W'hile they were speaking the King came in, but by good luck said not one word of the pictures ; his Majesty stayed about five minutes in the gallery, snubbed the Queen, who was drinking chocolate, for being always stuffing, the Princess Emily for not hearing him, the Princess Caroline for being grown fat, the Duke (of Cum- berland) for standing awkwardh-. Lord Hcrvey for not knowing *w.,-j^''r what relation the Prince of Sultzbach was to the 1^'lcctor Palatine, and then carried the Ouecn to walk and be re- snubbed in the garden." There arc other domestic scenes like this in the Jlru/oi/s, and they come vividly before us when wc visit these now empty rooms. The ill-tempered little King strutting about and snubbing everybody, the Queen submitting with her marvellous lact and goodness, the princesses lolling about, the \-oung duke and Lord IIcrvc\- standing against the wall, the beautiful gardens with their avenues outside, and the pictures, some of which, as seen at the beginning of this century by P\-nc, were of a questionable character, and to judge by some of his views, undoubtedly must have been anything but ornamental. — — * '-g »' KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS '59 )ld State apartments have not been used since the death of George II., which occurred here. They are now incredibly gloomy and ghostly. The pictures which once hung on the walls arc gone to Hampton Court, the tapestry and furniture, including King William's writing-table, which was long shown in his closet, all have ™lnNsI^NGTON?\Ltc'L"^'' dcpartcd. A long passage used to lead from the outer porch to the entrance-hall, but this is now closed, and the staircase with its faded wall-paintings is now the first interior seen. On a gloomy day the strange old masquerading figures are hardl)- visible, but when the sun shines a face here and there comes out with startling distinctness. The painter's idea seems to have been to enhance the size of the staircase b}' representing archways crowded with people, as if look- ing on at a royal procession. The flat ceiling is painted to represent a dome, and other faces peer down through the skylight. The effect, when the paint was fresh, when the mouldings were clean and the gilding bright, may have been very good, at all events, it was the only thing possible, and Kent deserves at least the credit of having made the most of the resources at his command. We are expected to recognise a Quaker and a man in spectacles, J\Ir. Ulric, a page of Lady Suffolk, Peter the Wild Boy, and two blackamoors from Turkey. Thc\' are all more or less black now, and wc can hardly make out the architect with his assistants or the " female of a very pleasing countenance, which is IL 1,1 m nt^ ^^ suppos ed to be a resemblance of an actress i6o KENSINGTON with whom he hved in the habits of peculiar friendship, and to whom lie left part of his fortune." So wrote I'yne in 1S19 ; but the lady has almost faded away now. The presence chamber is chicfi\' remarkable for a Pompeian ceiling, also Kent's, and a beautifully -carved chimney- piece, evidentl)- by Grinling Gibbons. The walls are bare and the floor creaks as we cross it. The doorways in Queen Caroline's drawing- room are handsome, and the view from the great window across the courtyard towards the archway and the turret with its weathercock is interesting if not pretty. Towards this weather- cock George II. gazed anxiously to see if the wind had changed that the ship might come in with his German despatches. It was the last thing he did the morning he so suddenly died. A change of wind meant much more then than it does now, when steamers defy the elements. But the chief apart- ment is the Cube Saloon, or Cupola Room, as it is sometimes called, — a gaunt, gloomy place, thirty -seven feet square, looking into a little courtyard, but still showing traces and remains of former magnificence. The great marble niches once held gilt statues of heathen divinities — they stand in a row on the floor of an adjoining room now — and the fine Ionic columns of the tloorways and the relief by Rysbrach, representing " A Roman Marriage," arc still admir- KENSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS i6i acter of a coach-horse, built in his time ; otherwise the gallery, ninety-four feet long by twenty-four feet wide, would be just the right scenery for the background of a pretty story. William, hard at work in his cabinet, heard a knock at the door, on which he called out, " Who's there ? " " Lord Buck," was the rcpl)-, in a child's voice. It was the little son of Lord Dorset. " What do you want ?" " I want )-ou to be a horse and draw my coach up and down the gallery. I have waited for you a long time." The King able. The King's Great Drawing-room looks out over the gardens towards the Round Fond, and must have been one of the most cheerful of the old rooms, but is now empty and bare, except for the story of Jupiter and Scmclc, which still adorns the ceiling. The most ])lcasing of all these apartments must have been the King's Gallery, of which only the painted ceiling remains, for the gallery has been cut into two or three modern rooms by partitions. The win- dows look south over the Sun-dial Lawn, towards the Alcove, through the avenue iif elm.s, only that the dial and the Alcove and most of the elms arc gone. It can hardly have been in this gallery that William IIL was driven up and down by Lord Buckhurst in the char- I do not think this south front was KENSINGTON It is hardly possible n the external archi- did as he was told, and I am sure, if this was the gallerj', both of them, the horse and his driver, must have been all the better of the exercise. This sunny chamber was, no doubt, the scene of many of the events described by Lord Hervc)-, and through these windows Queen Caroline must have often looked down upon the gay throng that crowdetl the garden below on a Sunday after- noon. A fire which took place soon aftci King William III. came to Kensington may have destroyed all vestiges of old Nottingham House ; but there arc some windows and doorways to be seen in the court as we come out that may well date from the time of Charles II. to say what is Wren and what is Kent tecture ; but the general effect is very picturesque, and the palace suits the park in which it stands. Miss Thackeray, in her Old Kciisiugtoii, thus describes the palace chapel : — "The clock began striking cle\en slowly from the archway of the old palace ; some dozen people are assembled together in the little palace chapel, and begin repeating tlie responses in mea- sm-cd tones. It is a quiet little ]3lacc. The world rolls beyond it on its many chariot-wheels to busier haunts, along the great high-roads. As for the flesh and the devil, can they be those who arc assembled here ? They as- semble to the sound of the bell, advancing feebly, for the most part skirting tlic sunny wall, past KKNSINGTON PALACE AND GARDENS >f'3 tlie sentry at his post, and along the outer courtyard of the palace, where the windows are green and red with geranium pots, where there is a tran- quil ghmmer of autumnal sunshine and a crowing of cocks. Then the little congregation turns in at a side door of the palace, and so through a vestibule, comes into the chapel of which the bell has been tinkling for some week-day service. It stops short, and the service begins quite suddenly as a door opens in the wall, and a preacher, in a white surplice, comes out and begins in a deep voice almost before the last vibrations of the bell have died away. As for the congregation, there is not much to note. There are some bent white heads, there is some placid middle-age, a little youth to brighten to the sunshine. The great square window admits a silenced light, there are high old-fashioned pews on either side of the place, and opposite the communion-table, high up over the heads of the congre- gation, a great square curtained pew, with the royal arms, and a curtained gallery." It should be remembered that this is not the original chapel of the palace, which was removed during the residence of the Duchess of Kent, and stood on the site of the present private staircase. The communion plate is very fine and abundant. The principal pieces date from the reigns of William III. and Queen Anne; a flagon and chalice with date marks of 1660 and 1664 being the earliest. They were presented by Queen Anne. A flagon with the date mark of 1692 was given by William and bears his initials. A paten was contributed b)- George I. in 1 7 14, and a paten and alms- dish by George II. in 1736. The follow- ing list of chap- KENSING'IM^N AC A N I Prince George of Denmark, Dul-;c of Cumberland, died here on the 28tli Octolscr I/OS, and his widow, Queen y\nne, followed him on the 1st August i 7 i 4. George IL, the last king who made Kensington his residence, died in the palace on the morning of the 25th October 1760. CHAPTER VI THE CHURCH Why called "St. Mary Abbot's" — History of the Vicarage — An old site — The advowson — A survey of the Vicarage in 1260 — A survey in 1610 — A survey in 1689— The list of Vicars from 1260 to 1878— The Old Vicarage House- John Parsons, vicar, and Sebastian Harris, curate — The new Church — Its dimensions — Completion of the spire — The Communion Plate — The Uells — Former Churches on the site — The Monuments — List of those in the Church — List of Memorial Windows — Monuments in the Churchyard— The Vestry and Vestry Hall— The new Town Hall— The Charities : Meth- wold's, Young's, Jane Berkeley's — The Carapden Charities — Cromwell's Gift — Thanet House— Churches in the Parish— List— The Pro-Cathedral— Dis- senters' Chapels — Cemeteries — Kensal Green — Brompton. =TP*'LTHOUGH wc are told in the Domesday Sufvcy that there was a priest in Kensington, we do not read that there was any church. Now there are, besides chapels of various denominations, no fewer than thirty- four. There are ten Baptist, five Congregational, three Pres- byterian, four Weslcyan, and seven Roman Catholic chapels, besides Unitarian, Swedenborgian, and other places of worship. The parish is divided intotwcnt}-- )thcr church is St. Mary [ition of Holy 'I'rinit)-, two ecclesiastical districts, Abbot'.s. All the others )r which tl with the TiiK CHURCH 167 Brompton, and St. Harnabas, have been built duiiny the present reign, and a mere enumeration of them would fill several pages. We may pick out for notice only the more remarkable, and notice with them the schools, vestry-halls, cemeteries, and other institutions which have been more or less connected in their growth with our parochial system. The two great cemeteries of the west of London, Brompton and Kcnsal Green, arc both within our borders ; and two older cemeteries, one near the parish church, the other at Holy Trinit}-, have also to be visited. I have already explained why the church has the addition of " Abbot's " to its dedication. So many churches were dedicated to " St. Mary " in the neighbourhood of London that each of them has some distinguishing " surname," and ours reminds us of the Abbot of Abingdon, and of how it comes to pass that we have a vicar as the spiritual head of our parish, and not a rector. The abbot and his monks sent one of their number to minister as their vicar among the people of their estate, and — assigning him a little land and part of the tithe to live on — put the profits of their property into the conventual treasury. We do not know when parishes were first divided in England, but it was at a very remote period, and, as I have endeavoured to point out, boundaries were still very inde- finite in the twelfth century. Our parish extended but a very short way eastward of the site of the church, because the manor of Neyt, which belonged to Westminster, came so near on that side. But Kensington parish comprised the manor of Aubrey of Ver, just as Westminster parish comprised the manor of the Abbot of Westminster. The history of the ecclesiastical benefice, or living as we generally call it, is of the greatest interest, because it reaches back so far and is so complete. In old times, under our native kings, the priest of a parish was, to all intents, the chaplain of the lord of the manor : just as, a little earlier, the bishop was the chaplain of the king. It is quite possible that a parson existed in Kensington while as yet there was a king i6S ;ensington of Middlesex, or at any rate of Essex and Middlesex, whose bishop was the Bishop of London. But, as I have already explained, the first notice we have of Kensington is in the records of the Domesday Survey. Here we read of the existence of the priest and of the endowment he had. The riiNNIS COURT THE CHURCH 169 entry is the more valuable as there is no mention of the church. When the lord of a manor had a house, a church, and a priest, the church was often a wint^ of the house, and the parson lived close by. We may safely picture to ourselves some ancestor of Edwin, liviny in his manor-house, with his church close adjoining it, — and there is an old parish tradition that the original church stood to the northward of the present site — and with the priest's house near it. We know where the manor-house was. We know where the vicarage was and is. The church may well have stood somewhere between them : that is, between the barracks and the vicarage, which would answer very well to the tradition just mentioned. Traditions are not good as evidence : but they are excellent as corrobora- tion. Edwin, or his ancestor, the lord of the manor, with his wife and children, dwelt in his manor-house among his servants and tenants bond or free ; and near him dwelt the priest, also, in all probability, with his wife and children, and cultivated his farm of half a virgatc. It is not easy to find a better example of the persistence of some of our English institutions than this. The lord of the manor has long disappeared : but our present respected vicar dwells with his family, as nearly as possible, on the same spot as that on which Edwin's priest dwelt perhaps a thousand years ago : and the vicarage or glebe is exactly now what it was when the survey was made by William the Conqueror in 1086, namely half a virgatc. A virgate, we know, was quarter of a hide ; and a hide in Kensington was about one hundred and twenty acres : so that the priest's glebe of half a virgate would be about fifteen acres. Newcourt quotes two accounts of the glebe, one written in 1260 and one in 1610. The first is very tantalising: it tells us that Roger Westhorpe, the vicar, is possessed of a certain croft, which extends southwards from the house of the late Philip " de Eonte," to the king's highway leading to London, and bounded on tlie east by the land of the Abbot and Convent of Westminster, and on the west by the croft of a 170 KENSINGTON widow named Avice, a weaver : but it gives us no dimensions. In 1610 there is a vicarage house, with an orchard, a barn, and a stable ; and adjoining them twelve acres of land. Twelve acres with the orchard and the site of the house is as nearly as possible the same as the half virgate of 1086. The survey of 1260, just quoted, was made on the termi- nation of a great dispute. We remember that Aubrey of Ver, when his eldest son Geofi'rey died, gave to Abbot Faricius of Abingdon two hides and a quarter out of his Kensington manor, and the advowson of the church. The Abbot of Abingdon, no doubt, from that time appointed one of his monks vicar, and absorbed the great tithes : but in or about 1260, it was discovered by some acute ecclesiastical law}-er that though Aubrey had obtained the consent of the Pope to the transfer of the advowson, he had not obtained that of either the Bishop of London or the y\rchbishop of Canter- bury. Whereupon various great and learned folk sat on the question, including the Bishop of Salisbury (Giles of Bridport) and the Dean of St. Paul's (Robert of Barnton), and a compromise was made. The Convent of Abingdon was to retain half the great tithes and the vicarage was to be in the gift of the Bishop of London. The following account of the vicarage is very interesting. It is here reprinted from Faulkner, who took it from a manu- script in the possession of Mr. Kcnnell, the vicar. An Account instead of a Terrier given in to tlic Lord ISishop of London, of the Tithes, Glebe, and of the Vicarage of Kensington. Kensington is a Vicarage endowed. The collation belongs to the Lord Bishop of London for ever. liy a composition made between the Abbot of Abingdon and the Vicar of Kensington, in the year 1260, it was agreed that the great tithes shoukl be equally divided between them : and that the tithe of lia>', anil all the lesser tithes whatsoever, should belong to the Vicar. This composition hath been observed constantly ever since. The right to the half of the great tithes, formerly belonging to the Abbot, is now enjoyed by one Mr. Norman of London. THE Cll UKCll 171 The demesne lands belonging to the Abljcy ;il the time of the com- position are lithe free. The glebe of the Vicarage was presented by the jmy of tlie homage for the manor of Abbot's Kensington, in 1672-1674, to be thirteen acres, but appears to have been more. For, according to the composition, it was bounded on the north side by the King's highway ; of which it is now much short, it having, in times past, been dug away for gravel, and the Lord of the Manor claiming and enjoying the pit of many acres, as waste, on which several houses are now built. Ten acres of land, more or less, in the parish of Chelsey, near the College, and in the possession of Mr. Green of Westminster, have, time out of mind, paid tithes to the Vicar of Kensington. The Earl of Warwick and Holland, Lord of the Manor, claims the chancels, and burial for his family there, by what right is not known, unless of often repairing them ; though the Viscount Cambden, in 1630, ceiled the great chancel, gave the east painted glass window, and the rails of the communion table (since destroyed). 1689. The Vicars have always enjoyed the right of burials in the chancels, and been paid the dues, unless for the family of the Earls of Holland. The deed of the contract between the Abbot of Abingdon and the Vicar of Kensington is to be seen in the registry of the bishojiric of London. The land mentioned to belong to this parish, though lying in the parish of Chelsey, formerly in the possession of Mr. Green, hath been since bought by the King, and laid to the College or Royal Hospital of Chelsey. His Majesty paying forty shillings yearly, in lieu of the tithes, as Mr. Green formerly did. It hath hitherto been paid by the Lord Ranelagh, Paymaster to the Army for 1686-7-8. That the contents above are a true copy of the paper writ by the hand of the Rev. Mr. William Wigan, Vicar of Kensington, and one of the Prebendaries of Saint Paul's, is attested by me, who was well accjuainted with his writing, having officiated as his reader in the church of Kensington, from August 30, 1672, to May 1694, and an inhabitant of Kensington from April 9, 1664, to this 12th day of December 1 7 1 2. Charles Seward, Clerk. The following list of Vicars is taken from Newcourt as far as 1 700, and the rest from Faulkner and the Paris/i Alagarsinc. Rog. de Besthorp, vul Westorp (living in 1260). Will, de Northton. 172 KENSINGTON Hen. (le Diiffekl, 7 Kal. Jul. 1322, per resig. Noithton. Tho. de Ryseleppe, Diac. 4 Td. Apr. 132S. Jo. Wyseman, pr. prid. Non. Jun. 1336, per res. Ryseleppe. J oh. de Kernetby. Gilb. Raulein, 4 Kal. Dec. 1363, per resig. Kernetby. Wil. de Lydington, 5 Kal. Mar. 1370, per resig. Raulein. (I'liis vicar rebuilt the church.) J oh. Thomas. Juh. Trigg, 19 Jan. 1372, per resig. Thomas. Joh. Charleton, 11 Kal. Dec. 1373, per resig. Trigg. Will. Carton. Phil. Mongomery, 27 Sept. 1388, per resig. Carton. Ric. Stokes, 8 Maii 1391, per resig. Mongomery. Rog. Paternoster, 6 Mar. 1394, per. resig. Stokes. Will. Tonge, pr. 5 Nov. 1395, per resig. Paternoster. Hamo de la More, 15 Jul. 1396, per resig. Tonge. Joh. Smyth, pr. 7 Nov. 1400. Joh. Wellys. Rob. Caldecott, 10 Nov. 141 5, per resig. Wellys. Dav. Spark, 3 Febr. 14 18, per resig. Caldecott. Will. Roper, pr. 15 Jun. 1432, per mort. ult. Vicarii. Ric. Rumney, pr. penult Febr. 1443, per mort. Roper. Ric. More, 28 Sept. 145 i, per resig. Rumney. Joh. Looke, \n. 19 Mar. 1461. Rob. Cade. Joh. Ifeld, 8 Nov. 1465, per resig. Cade. Tho. Bractoft, D.B., 8 Oct. 1468, per resig. Ifeld. Joh. Ifeld, cap. 2 Jul. 1469, per resig. Bractoft. Edm. Aspis, pr. 11 Jun. 1484, per resig. Ifeld. Joh. Sampson, ca|). 5 .Sept. 1492, per mmt. ult. Vic. Joh. Judson. Joh. Parsons, cap. 20 Jun. 1519, per resig. Judson. Tho. Batemanson, pr. 13 Jan. 1556, per mort. Parsons. Geo. Leeds, cl. 19 Nov. 1558, per mort. Batenuuison. (Tlic tall cup, the oldest object among the communion plate in the churrh, dates from 1559, in this vicar's incumbency.) Leonard Watson, A.M., 18 Nov. 1563. Hen. Hopkins, cl. 4 Jan. 1571, per mort. Watson. Hen. Withers, A.M., 31 Jan. 1571, per resig. Hopkins. Ric. Etkins, 25 Apr. 1608, per resig. Withers. Tho. Hodges, A.M., 11 Jun. 1 64 1, per resig. Etkins. Will. Wigan, cl. 31 Aug. 1672, per mort. Hodges. Joh. Millington, A.M., 20 Maii 1700, per mort. Wigan. THE CHURCH 173 Robert Tyrwhit, 172S. (The Karl of Warwick claimed tlic presentation on Wigan's death, but the Court of Chancery upheld the bishop's right.) John Wilcox, 1731. John Jortin, D.D., 1762. (Dr. Jortin, an eminent preacher and church historian : Boyle lecturer, chaplain to the ISishop of London, Pre- bendary of Harlesden, and Archdeacon of London. He wrote a Life of Erasmus and a work on Ecclesiastical History. He set a good example in wishing to be buried outside the church, and was laid, at his death, in the new part of the churchyard, having composed this epitaph for himself: "Johannes Jortin mortalis esse desiit anno salutis 1770, ajtatis 72." "John Jortin ceased to be mortal in the year of salvation 1770, and of his age 72.") James Waller, D.D. (Archdeacon of Essex : killed at I5romficld, Essex, in 1795; hy the fall of a chimney. The brick tower of the old church was built in his time.) Richard Ormerod. (Died in 18 16.) Thomas Rennell. (A very eminent preacher and writer, B.D. and F.R.S., commemorated in the church by a bust by Chantrey. Died 1824.) Joseph Holden Pott. (Archdeacon of London, resigned 1842, and died 1847.) John Sinclair. (Archdeacon of Middlesex. Died at the vicarage, 22 May 1875. The projector and builder of the present parish church, com- memorated in the west window, and by a bust by Bell.) William Dalrymple Maclagan. (Had served as an officer in the army in India : chaplain to the Bishop of London, who appointed him on the death of Archdeacon Sinclair. He is the first vicar of Kensington raised to the Episcopal bench, and thus it is the only instance of the crown presenting to the living, which, being under £10 in the King's books, falls to the Lord Chancellor's gift. He built the church tower and spire.) The Honourable Edward Carr Glyn. (Appointed by the crown, 1S78.) The old Vicaraf^c House is well shown in Roque's map. It stood between York House and the orphanage, which now occupies tlie site of Mr. Magniac's lioiise. The inner or northern part dated back to the time of James I., being part of what is described in the passage above as standing in 1610. The southern part, which was of very ordinary character, but soHd and comfortable, was built in 1774. The whole was pulled down, and the straight road to Brunswick Gardens was run through the site in 1877. The new vicarage stands a little KENSINGTON to the cast with- in extensive (grounds, and com- prises a spacious hall for parochial purposes. The architecture is Gothic of a kind neither very prctt)' to look at nor }-et very con- venient to live in, but in both these respects some improvements were effected in 1885. It may be taken as a sign of the healthiness of the parish that from the Reformation to the year 1875 there were only eighteen vicars of Kensington. This gives an average of twenty years to each incumbency. John Parsons must have been a very Vicar of Bray : he was here for the longest time, nainch- from 15 19 to 1555. It is bewildering to think of all that went on, in the church cspccialK-, during those scvcn-and-thirty years. Henry VIII. had been ten years on the throne when "Sir John Parsons" came to Kensing- ton. He was pie- viously rectoi of Little Ilfoid, m Essex, which hvm he resigned n 148S. I canncii trace him bctwc tn that year and tli date of his appoint mcnt to Kensmg ton ; but one thmg THE CHURCH seems to be certain about him, namely, that he kept himself carefully out of the religious troubles of the time, though even his curate- Sebastian Harris was involved in them. Between I 5 1 9 and 1556, Henry VIII., Ed- ward VI., and Queen Mary I. reigned over Eng- land, so that he must have witnessed or heard of Henry's con- troversy with Luther (152 i), Tyndale's translation of the Bible (1525), the fall of Wolsey (1529), the royal supremacy (15 31), the suppression of the monasteries (1536 and 1539), the adoption of the Book of Common Prayer (1548), and at least the outbreak of Mary's fanaticism and the persecution of the Protestants. Archbishop Cranmer was burnt at Oxford in 1556, the year after our vicar's death. Of Sebastian Harris, his curate in 1527, very little is known, except that in the Harleian collection is a manuscript describing proceedings against him for having in his possession a New Testament in English, printed according to the document b}' William Hcchym, but no such name is known to bibliographers. A New Testament in English, after Tyndale's version, was printed, as is supposed, at Worms by Peter Schoeffer in 1526, and two surreptitious editions quickly followed it. Plxamples, or rather fragments, of all three are of the greatest rarity, and it is quite possible that poor Sebastian Harris really had obtained a copy of an edition which has now absolutely disappeared. And no wonder, for we read that the unfortunate curate having this Testament, and a volume called Uiiio Dissidcntiiini which 176 KENSINGTON contained all the doctrines of Luthcranism, was summoned before the vicar-general at St. Paul's and ordered to make oath that he would neither retain, sell, nor lend these books ; and, as a punishment for merely possessing them, he was ordered to leave London directly, and not to come with four miles of the city for two years. As Kensington was, and is, more than five miles from London, we may suppose the limit was so fixed that the suspected heretic might retain his post as curate of Kensing- ton. It should be mentioned that one of Tyndalc's assumed names was William Hytchins, and that probably either the copier or the printer is responsible for the name Hechym, which appears in P'aulkner and other books. The present parish church, as rebuilt in 1869 and the following years down to 18S1, is a magnificent example of the revived Gothic style. It shows us what architectural revival can do, and equally plainly what it cannot do. An old Gothic church grew up slowly : it was the combined result of a number of different designs, and was built, not in ten years, by one architect, in one specially selected style, but by many architects, in the course of centuries, and each working in what he con- sidered the best and therefore tlie only possible st}-lc, that, namch', of his own time. Vcr}- few of our old churches were completed ac- cording toa single design : though in many cases the destro\-er, under the name of " re- storation," has rasped them down to uniformity. The most uniform of our cathedrals, Salisbury, has twice undergone this process, with THE CHURCH a most saddening result : and countless parish churches have similarly been ruined by archi- tects who thought that because one window was first pointed all should also be lancets, and took away everything else ; or who, having a favourite style of their own, French or Italian, sometimes restored old English work into something wholly different from what it could ever have been before. These being my views on the most prominent side of the so-called "Great Gothic Revival " of our own day, I ^ ^._^^^, cannot unreservedly admire a building in which as compared with an old Gothic church I recognise so many faults. St. Mary's is all in the same kind of modern Gothic : a kind which I have not seen in any one ancient building, though it certainly resembles parts of several. The colossal size of the church is, in obedience to a fanciful idea, frittered away by annexes which gradually, so to speak, bring it to the ground, or literally degrade it. This is a fundamental mistake. The architect who designs a church in what he believes to be the style in vogue in, say, the first year of the fourteenth century, and adds side chapels of the same date to the central design, spoils both, and commits an evident anachronism, for the side chapels of a genuine Gothic church were either put on afterwards, generally by another hand, or were survivals from some older building. If it be objected that an architect could not be expected to put two styles into the same church, the answer is simply that the whole thing is already a make-believe or sham, and to sham the growth of a church, especially when it would greath' I N KENSINGTON increase its picturcsquencss, would have been no more wrong than to sham the church itself. This congeries of roofs and gables gives us no picturesqueness because, as I have said, they lower the central roof, and because they are so evidently of the same period and style. When we enter the church we find that notwithstanding the appearance of the exterior, it is a single vast room, with hardly the semblance of side aisles and with no side chapels. It is a modern church, and the ground-plan might as well have been Wren's as Sir Gilbert Scott's. The reader may object by saying " Gothic " was the only st}-le possible, and that the architect had no alter- native. That of course was his business : I speak merely as the humble critic. It is not my place to suggest an alternative, but onlj', if I can, to justify my opinion of the new church. A second and even greater fault must be pointed out, and then we may have done with fault- finding. The new church does not in any way suit its position. I can- not believe that the architect, when )]o\\uck, writing in 1705, says of it: " What the cluuxh was formerly may be guessed b\- the old tower now standing, C H LF K CI I which has some appear- ance of antiquity, and looks Hke the archi- tecture of tile twelfth or tliirteenth centuries, being cut low, and built of Hint and rough stone, with little art or order. The old church lately standing (1696) was of the same work- manship, and had little I..: ,1. in it worth taking notice of except its age." Faulkner gives an account of the successive repairs and rebuildings : — "In the year 16S3, the inhabitants, thiding their church too small for the accommodation of the increasing population, built a new aisle on the south side, by licence of the Bishop of London, dated May 29th of that year. "In the beginning of the year 1695, it was found expedient to pull down the north aisle and the chancel, to build another instead of it of larger dimensions. "In the year following, viz. 1696, it was resolved to take down the whole church, e.xcepting the stone tower at the west end. The e.xpense was defrayed partly by subscription. King William gave ^300 ; the Princess Anne, ;£ioo ; Earl Craven, .£100 ; the Bishop of London, ;^5o ; and the Earl of Warwick, ^40 : the whole charge amounted to j{^i8oo. " Bowack, who visited this church in 1705, thus describes it : — " The church thus rebuilt, was in form quadrangular, somewhat broader than it was long, being eighty feet from the north to south, and hardly seventy from east to west, paved handsomely with purbeck stone, the pew- ing and galleries made very neat and convenient, and the pulpit and chancel handsomely adorned with carving and painting." In 1704 this church was in a precarious condition ; and the parishioners had to repair it very thoroughly. In 1772, what a hundred years later would have been called " a thorough restoration " took place, the old tower being taken down and rebuilt. In iSii, again a general reparation was made, the walls were underpinned, the vaults rebuilt, and the interior KENSINGTON painted and decorated in a uniform manner. This cost ^5000, which was guaranteed and paid up in three years by a church rate of sixpence in the pound. Faulkner gives the names of the guarantors, which I cop\-, as it is ahva}-s interesting to see the names of old parishioners, particularly those of so much " credit and renown." Mr. William Smith /200 John Rattye .^I John Hall . 200 Robert Ashton . Sam. E. SUetchley 200 William Warwick Sam. Hutchins . 200 H. N. Willis George Aust 200 William Mair John Ale.xander . 200 Richard Chace . Rev. R. Ormerod. 100 John S. Torriano . Rev. Dr. Hamilton 100 Thomas Baxter . Edw. G. Lutwyche 100 John Erskine D. R. Payne, Ex- 100 W. Smith, Ch. Wn. Stephen Goddard 100 A. R. Robinson . William Doe 100 Rev. Dr. J. Thomson . This church, which many of us remember well, was of brick, not only without any architectural pretensions, but without architectural features except a semicircular gable at the east end, next the street. Below this gable a small chancel projected. There was a railing along the south side of the churchyard, and a wall ran up Church Street, with a gate, over which an iron hoop held a lamp, at the northern end. The parish stocks once stood near the corner, where there was a low pedimcntcd b u i 1 d i n g i n which the sex- liin kept his grave - digging implements. \V hen the older church was destroyed in THE CHURCH 187 1696 the old monuments were in great part destroyed with it. A few are preserved, however, in the pages of VVccver, Bowack, and Strypc. Maud de Berford gist icy Dieu de s'alme eit mercy. Amen. Here under lyeth Philip Meawtis, the son and heir of John Meawtis, oone of the Secretaries to the Kings, Henry the Seventh and Henry the Eighth, Clerk of hys Counsel, and oone of the Knights of Windsor. Whyche Philip decesseyd the eight of Nouember, M.D.X. on whose Soul Jesu have mercy. Amen. Hie Jacent Robertus Rose et Eliz. Richardus Schardeburgh et Eliza- betha Uxor ejus, ac Robertus Schardeburgh Filius corundum Richardi et Ehzabetha, que quidem Richardus Obiit. XI. die Decern. M.CCCC.LHI. quorum animabus propitietur altissimus. Here lyes Adwin Laverock of Callis, Cousin to John Meautas of Ken- sington, and french secretary to King Hen. the VHth whyche decesseyd on Seynt Stephen's Day, M.CCCC.L.XXXXHI. on whose soul God have mercy. Amen. In the worship of God our Ladie Say for all Christen Souls a Pater Noster and an Avie. Hie Jacet Thomas Essex Armiger Filius et heres Gulielmeo Essex. Armigeri, Rememeratoris Domini Regis Edwardi — Ouarti in Saccario, ac vice thesaurar. Anglia;, qui Obiit 25 November 1500. Que sola virgineo nata Laudamus honore, Me protegens Nato fundito vota tuo. Accept our praise, sole virgin though a wife Pray to thy son, protectress of my life. Much greater care was taken in 1 869. When the new church was about to be commenced every tablet and monument, within or without, was carefully removed and preserved ; and, with the addition of some modern brasses and other memorials and stained glass windows, the dead worthies of our parish are kept in memory. As so many came from the old church, it may be well to notice the monuments at once before proceeding to a description of the new church itself. An alphabetical list appears below, taken from the Parish Magazine, and I need only here notice at length those which present features of interest or 145 ^^YHf KENSINGTON importance. The largest and finest stands in a south chapel by itself, and com- memorates the Rich family in general and Edward Henry, Earl of Warwick and Holland, in particular. This was Addison's stepson. He is represented " in a ^^^^^ ^^ _^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^_ Roman habit, sitting, mentinst. m.\rvaubo-i's resting his right arm on ' I an urn." There is a handsome shield of men MONUMENT IN ST. M.ucY ^rms ou thc monumcHt, which used to stand against the east wall, south of the altar. The epitaph is very long and in Latin, and would lead us to believe that the character of the young earl, who died in I 72 1, aged only twenty -four, cannot have been what it was generally represented. " Cum nihil defuit ad summam laudem nisi longa vita," he was snatched away by a heavy fever. These tablets are connected with thc monument : — Underneath lies interred, in the family vault, the remains of The Right Honourable EDWARD EARL of WARWICK and HOLLAND, Baron Rich of Leigh in Essex, and Baron of Kensington, who departed this life the 7th of September, 1759, in the 65th year of his age, leaving only one daughter, the titles became extinct. Also the remains of xMARY COUNTESS of WARWICK, relict of the above Edward Earl of Warwick and Holland, &c., who departed this life the 7th of November, 1769, in the 82d year of her age. Also the remains of The Right Honourable LADY CHARLOTTE RICH, the only daughter of the above, the last Earl and Countess of War- wick and Holland, who departed this life April 12th, 1791, aged 78. In the chancel was also interred Erancis, Earl of Godolphin, the husband of the Duke of Marlborough's eldest daughter, in her own right Duchess of Marlborough. He died in 1766. Another monument relates to the Colby family, already mentioned. THE CHURCH 189 On an clct^ant carvcti marble tablet, ornamented witli foli- atje and cherubim : Here lyeth, in a vault under this pew, the bodies of PHILH' COLBY, Esq. and ELIZABETH his wife. Also of THOMAS COLBY, Esq., his brother, and several others of the family. This monument was erected in memory of them Ijy Sir Thomas Colljy, Iiart., son of the aljovcsaid I'hilip and Elizabeth, anno 1727. The abovesaid Sir THOMAS COLP.Y, Bart., died Sept. 23, 1729, and is here interred. Arms. — Az. a chevron between three escallop-shells, within a border en- grailed or, impaling az. within an orle of fleur de lis or, a lion ram- pant arg. for Flewellin. Mrs. Colby and her elder sister Mrs. Buttock were coheirs of Alderman Flewellin. Two old parishioners must not be omitted. The epitaph of the first was on a pillar in the old church : — Sacred to the Memory of Robert I'hillimore, Esq., of this Parish, who died August 10, 1779, Aged 80 Years. In him was combined the fruit of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance, and Charity. The second was on the west wall : — In Memory of John Hall, Esq., of Halkin Street, Grosvenor Place, and of Netting Hill in this Parish : for those who remember him, that name were his best Epitaph, to others it may be useful to record, that John Hall was one, who in life by good works, and by fervent faith in death, proved that the source of virtue is in the love of God. O friend in life's alternate seasons tried, Who lived for all, for all too early died ; Fond nature weeps that here thy prospects fade. And death debars thee from the long sought shade ; But faith reflects, to thee on earth was given, To toil and suffer, thou hast rest in heaven. He died the loth August 1S16, Aged 54 years. igo KENSINGTON John Hall and Robert Phillimore were both lessees of farms in the parish. Hall's was near the spot where St. John's Notting Hill stands now. Phillimore's was on the southern slope of Campden Hill, and is identified by the local names. William Phillimore, his son, also buried here, inherited Kendalls in Herts, the future country-seat of his descendants, from his mother, Elizabeth Jephson, and died in iSi8. Another interesting monument is that of the Colmans : — Near this place are deposited the remains of His Excellency FRANCIS COLMAN, formerly British Minister to the Court of Florence ; who died at Pisa in the year of our Lord 1733 ; and of his wife, MARY COLMAN, daughter of John Gumley of Isleworth, and sister to Anne Maria late Countess of Bath, who died May 3, 1767. Near this place also are deposited the remains of SARAH COLMAN, wife of George Colman, who departed this life March 29, 1771. To their Memories this marble is inscribed, in testimony of the duty and affection of a son and husband, by George Colman, 1772. This George Colman was the dramatic author who is generally distinguished from his son of the same name as George Colman the elder. He was the writer of the Jealous Wife : his son is best remembered by his tales in verse entitled Broad Grins. Francis Colman, the ambassador, is said to have set a literary example to his descendants, since he wrote the words to Handel's Acis and Galatea. The names of the two Georges are added on the monument. The elder died 14th August 1794, the younger on 26th October 1S36, at 22 Brompton Square, the same house in which Shirlc}' Brooks afterwards lived. An earlier generation of Colmans, John and Anne, the parents of P'rancis, were also buried in the church. A tablet in the south aisle commemorates " Mr. William Mason, late coachman of her Majesty Queen Victoria, who died April 12, 1838, having served forty-eight years in the royal establishment." It was put up b}^ the Queen's commands. Another tablet bears the name of James Mill, who died THE CHURCH k;i 23d June 1S36, and whose son, John Stuart Mill, attained a world-wide fame. In the south porch are tablets to Reginald Spofforth, the composer, best remembered, perhaps, by his chants, who died at Brompton in 1827; and to James Elphin- ""'m's™^MArv"''ABBoiL stone, noticed in the last tablet 10 col. hutchins.n CHUKC... chapter. st. marv abbot's church. In the north porch is the monument erected by Sir Hans Sloanc to commemorate his friend William Courtcn, who had left him his collection of curiosities. Courten died in 1702, and there is no reason why this monument should not have been carved, as tradition asserts, by Grinling Gibbons. In the present south aisle of the nave there is a handsome monument in white marble with coloured heraldry. It stood on the west wall of the old church, and commemorated one of a family often mentioned in our parochial annals : — Here lyeth the body of Mr. Colin Campbell, son to the Earl of Bread Albany and Holland, and to Mary, Countess Dowager of Caithness, daughter of Archibald, Marquis of Argyle. He died the 31st day of March, in the year 170S, and of his age the 29th year. A youth of great parts and hopes. Arms. — Quarterly, I and 4, Gyronny of eight, or and sable, for Camp- bell : 2, Or, a fesse checquy, argent and azure, for .Stewart : 3, Argent, a ship sailing, with flag and pennants, sable, fur Lorn. There are two monuments by Chantrey in the church. One is the bust of Thomas Rennell, D.D., who was Vicar of Kensington from 18 16 till his death, 30th June 1824. I have spoken of him already. He was a grandson of Sir William Blackstonc, and was much respected and admired in his parish. The other Chantrey is a monument to Lieutenant- Colonel Thomas Hutchins, who died 2d July 1823. He had KENSINGTON served with distinction in the Peninsular War, especially at Salamanca, and was a native of Kensington. A brass tablet in the south aisle of the chancel has lateK- been erected to commemorate a former vicar,Thomas Hodges, D.D., who died in 1672. He _^ had attended the liarl of BUST OF MR.JENN-ELL, J^q][^j.j(J q,., ^J^^g SCaffoM at Bl ST OK AKCI, ..EAC .N ST. MAKv ABBOTS Wcstmiustcr In 1649. During ^','',,"5^''';, *kTabbot^s^' the Commonwealth he was a church. Covenanter, but at the Restoration accepted the Deanery of Hereford. A bust of Archdeacon Sinclair is at the west end. The following list contains, in alphabetical order, the name and date of every memorial in the church in June 1SS7. I am indebted for the greater part of it to the Paris// Mc7ga::inc of that year : — Alexander Arm it age Barrett . r>earcroft lienett . Benett . Bland . Boscawen Brazier . Bridgeman Buggin Buller . Bulliick Burnett . Burton . liushby . Butts . Campljcll Carnaljy '--ary 1787 1S81 1797 1845 1S17 1S29 1730 1792 1804 1819 18S2 1732 1S36 1734 1811 1824 1708 1678 I 82 5 Cave Chase Chase . Chase, T. C. Cheyne Colby . Colnian Coonil)e Corbould Corry . Courtcn Cosier . Cross Cure Davies . De Nouall Dickens Dinsdale D'Oylcy Ducket . 1817 1798 1S18 1757 1727 1733 1806 1866 1834 1702 18S0 1724 1789 ■834 1694 1774 1709 >f'93 Uyott . 1S04 O'Halloran . 1S84 Elphinstonc 1809 O'Halloran . 18S5 Fanning 1812 Ormerod 18 16 Fanning 1818 Payne . 1813 Fortrose 1751 Pearson 1878 Fraser . 1822 Perrin . 1803 Frohock 1692 Peyton . 1821 Fynmore .832 Phillimorc 1829 Glover . 1879 Phillimore . 1779 Godfrey . I 803 Phillimore . 1818 Gostling 1813 Port 1842 Gostling 1819 Pott 1818 Gregory 1S.4 Powell . 1823 Grinstone 1820 Ramsden 1831 Giove . 1809 Rcnnell . 1824 Hall . 1816 Reynel . '775 Henshaw 1697 Reyne! . 1798 Hodges 1672 Richman 1882 Hopkins 1822 Ridout . 1734 Husscy . 1807 Rigge . 1794 Hutchins 1S23 Roberts 1882 Janvrin 1821 Robinson '794 Johnson 1S30 Ross 1791 King . 1S36 Searle . 1808 King . 1885 Silvester 1840 Lutyens . 1862 Sisum . 1767 Mackenzie 1766 Sketchley 1834 Mackenzie 1828 Sontag . 1816 Mackennon •833 Tayler . '813 Mackinnon 1821 Telfair . 1796 Mair . 1823 Thomson .S15 Mansfield 1827 Thornhill 1S06 Mason . 1838 Torriano 1825 M'Caskill 1845 Warljuiton 1821 Medows 1787 Ward . 1S14 Merriman 18S1 Warren . 1797 Mico 1658 Warren . i860 Middleton .785 Warwick and Holland 1721 Mill . 1S36 Webb . 1806 Mompesson 1764 White . 18S2 Murray . 1786 Williams 1819 Murray . 1801 Wynyard 'S34 ken.sin(;ton' MEMORIAL WINDOWS. Abercrombie . iS6o Merriman Barlow . . . . 1871 Methwold Bible Classes Muggeridge Clarke . . . . 1864 Napleton Clode . . . . 1S76 Newton Cobb . . . . 1S75 Philp , Cobb . . . . 1840 Potter Confirmation Classes Shaw . Cotton . . . . 1855 Sinclair . Cosier . . . . 1880 Stephens Davidson 1879 Thompson Deacon . . . . 1869 Thompson Good Vallotton Hunter . . . . 1793 Weston . Little . . . . 1873 White . M'Grigor 1858 Williams 1S39 1877 1727 IS57 1867 1869 1871 1858 1878 1847 IS70 This list docs not include a considcfablc number of additions lately fiSS/j made to the stained glass of the church. The church}-ard is extensive, and contains some interesting tombs and memorials. A large addition westward was made in 1S14, when Stephen Pitt cut off the lawn of Campden House, which originally extended to the High Street. The following tombstones and epitaphs, among others, arc mentioned by Faulkner: — William Courten, died 1702, the friend of Sir Hans Sloane, now destroyed ; James Elphinstone, who kept a school at Kensington House, died 1809; Viscount (18 13) and Viscountess Molesworth (18 19), on the wall, near the north- eastern gate. A child of Thomas Frogiial Dibdin, the biblio- grapher, who died iSio, and Samuel Peggc, whose father of the same name is more celebrated, who died in 1800, are also commemorated. John Bellam}-, the founder, we arc told, of "the Societ}^ of Whigs of England," died in 1794. James Gunter, of Earl's Court, died in 1 8 1 9. A son of George Canning, who was living at Oxford Lodge, was buried under a monument designed by Chantrey in 1820: the epitaph is by the great statesman : — IE CHURCH ■95 Lines written by Mr. Canning on tiie day of his son's decease, and inscribed on the tomb designed by Sir Francis Chantrcy in the churchyard of Kensington Parish Church :— " Sacred to the memory of George Cliarlcs Canning, eldest son of the Right Honourable George Canning and Joan Scott his wife, in his i^lh year, 31st March 1820. " The' short thy span, God's unimpeached decrees Which made that shortened span, one long disease, Yet merciful in chastening gave thee scope For mild redeeming virtues — Faith and Hope, Meek Resignation, pious Charity. And since this world was not the world for thee, Far from thy path removed, with partial care. Strife, glory, gain, and pleasure's flowery snare ; Bade Earth's temptations pass thee harmless by And fix on Heaven thine unaverted eye. Oh, marked from birth, and nurtured for the skies, In youth, with more than learning's wisdom wise. As sainted martyrs patient to endure. Simple as unweaned infancy, and pure, Pure from all stain, save that of human clay Which Christ's atoning blood hath washed away : By mortal suffering now no more oppressed. Mount, sinless spirit, to thy destined rest ; Whilst I (reversed our nature's kindlier doom) Pour forth a Father's sorrows on thy tomb." Near this grave is that of Mrs. Inchbald, the actress author, who died in the follow- ing year, 1821. She was not a very estimable person in some of the relations of life, but wrote novels, the Sii/tp/c Stoiy being the best remembered, and was doubly connected with Kcn- suij^ton, for she is said to ha\c caused the quarrel between Lady Sarah and Sir Charles Bunbury, and because she lived 196 KENSINGTON for several years in the old house, next door to Colby House, which I have mentioned above. The vestry of Kensington acts in some ways like a munici- pality : what in a city would be civic buildings are here parochial, and are, or have lately been, close to the church. The old schools, represented in an engraving in Faulkner's History, no longer exist, but the funny little figures of a school- boy and a school-girl of the real Queen Anne period are set on brackets over the entrance to the new school in the churchyard. The old house was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, and was of ruddy brick, and really picturesque, although formal. The statues stood on either side of the central division, which pro- jected and rose in- to a sort of tower. On a scroll which the boy holds he was supposed to be writing, " I was naked and ye clothed mc." The girl holds a prayer- book. Thcbuilding was dated i 713. The vestr\- hall is a little to the westward of the site of the school. It is in the kind of Gothic which was in vogue fifty years ago, and was de- signed by Broad- bridge. As it was only built in 1853, it ought to have been better. THE CHURCH The new town hall is a handsome building, and has superseded Vanbrugh's schools. It has a fine stone front towards the street, in a good Italian style ; but, like all modern work in that style, sadly wanting in proportion. On the other hand, it is not so much overloaded with ornament to conceal its defects as most of its con- temporaries. It was built in 1878, the architect being Mr. Robert Walker, and the cost, including site (i^730o), coming to close on ;^5 0,000. As interest on this sum, the letting of the hall, or of the smaller ^vr"'' rooms, brings in between two and three thousand a year. In 1885 this item is reported at .^2674: 3s. The old workhouse was situ- ated in Hogmore or Hogmire Lane. But Hogmire Lane grew fashionable, and changed itself into Gloucester Road. The workhouse was removed in 1 849, and Kensington Gate, a small square, was built on the site. The workhouse, and cer- tain parochial almshouses, are now situated in Marlocs Road, and are rather handsome, with igS KENSINGTON spacious gardens, and a much more pleasant airy look than these insti- tutions generally wear. They are in a late Tudor style, of no great beauty, and rigidly balanced, but of brightly-coloured brick. The square on the old site pays the charity trustees -^235 a year, on a 99 years' lease from i 849. The old charities of Kensington will, in course of time, become much more valuable. Some of them have already been mentioned : but the picturesque old almshouses have all disappeared. In 1652 William Methwold left the parish a hospital KENSINGTON NATl N \I H I ^ . , . , ^- r for SIX old women, aged htt\', free from vice, and of good report." Three of the si.x were to be elected by the vestry, the other three by the owner or in- habitant of Hale House. In 1 or Cromwell House, was Lady Harrington, one of the coheirs of John Fleming, who had bought Methwold's estate. The annual payment has been commuted, and now the Meth- wold trustees have dividends which amount to about ^^150 a j'car, and are paid to the six almswomcn at the rate of /'21 : 14s. each. The old almshouse stood in Cromwell 1 ,anc, now obliterated, near the .South Kensington station, and the laiul was bought by the railway for £},y$o, which it S20 the owner of Hale House, THE CHURCH 1705 Mary Carnaby left in the Goat public-house, a conspicuous ob- ject on the south side of the Higli Street, nearly op- posite the gate- way of the palace- avenue. Of the rent of this house Kensington has three -eighths, a- mounting tci -^54 : 16 : I I in 1885. Two other gifts, James Mackintosh's, left in 1794, and Thomas Reeves's was arranged was also to extin- guish the rent charge left by Mcthwold, and another charge of i, I a year, charged by Thomas Goodfellow, in 1597, on the same estate. Thomas Young, who must not be confounded with the builder of Young Street, more than a century later, left a small sum for the poor in 1560. This gift brings in only iSs. 6d. Of Jane Berkeley's be- quest I have spoken already. It still brings in its i^io a year. Thomas Sams, who died in 1658, left the parish £s a year. His gift only brings in £4 : i 7 : 8. In the poor of Kensington an interest which, as now handsomely rebuilt, is I ^^ ^\ ^ ^^ "^ ^^^K I ft: ^. ii-"""" KENSINGTON -»^l.-; "^^' '*-»^j 'A.- in 1799, each of i^ioo, bi-inging in £6 : 9 : 6, and there are three bequests conditional on the keeping in order of the benefactors' tombs. These are, Eliza- beth Ramsden's ^^500, given in 1S32, Mary Barnard's ;£^ioo in 1837, and lr''"-:^^B Maine's ^^300, bequeathed in 1867. ■^'Jir ^^^B"^. ^^'^' Searle in i S40 left the parish /"300, the interest to be given by the vicar and churchwardens to poor old women at £\ each; and Mr. Shore, in 185 i, the divi- p,^,, ,,i,Kui dends on ;{^I20 ; 9 : 8 to be spent in bread ' '"" ' and coals. But the Campden Charities are of far greater magnitude, and bring in about i^SOOO a year. They consist of various items all now under the same management. The largest single estate, in value at least, is that called Cromwell's Gift, of which I have some notes in another chapter. Clanricarde Gardens and six shops in High Street, Netting Hill Gate, bring in ^1042 a year, being let for 99 years from Christmas 1 868. The Campden Trustees have also the income of Butt's Field described on another page, and that of Charccrofts which is at Shepherd's Bush in Hammersmith, and for a long time brought in very little. This last-named estate, which consists of 14 acres or thereabouts, was bought in October 1635 with ^200 which the first Lord Campden had left in trust to the churchwardens of the parish. At the beginning of the present century the rent of Chare- crofts was £\OT„ the lessee being John Middlcmist, who still held it in 1832. It was let by public auction for 99 years in 1864 to Mr. John I'"redcrick George Tippctt, THE CHURCH on a building lease at /.480 a year ; but the London and South - Western Railway Company bought a portion for ^10,000 which has been invested by the trustees. Lady Campden's bequest was made in i''>4S. Lik'c her hus- band she left ^200, and her trustees bought with it ]5utt's Field, of which I speak elsewhere. So that the freehold of more than eighteen acres in the immediate neighbourhood of London could be acquired in the first half of the seventeenth century for ;^400. The Campden trustees bought out of the accumulations of many years the site of Thanet House in Aldersgate Street, and have let it on a lease for 80 years at /I^8oo a year. This purchase was made on 9th April 1884 for ^22,000. The income of the charity is entirely employed in the parish pensions to old, infirm, and blind parishioners, with gifts to hospitals ; and there are scholarships and apprenticing fees for promising young people, among the chief objects of expenditure. The accumulations are caused by small annual balances which cannot be carried forward to the next year's account, and so remain unspent. Of the other churches in this vast parish I must speak but briefly. The oldest is Holy Trinit}', l^rompton, which was conse- crated 6th June 1829. The design was by Hakewill, (Cunningham says " Mr. Donaldson,") and it is in the kind of Gothic which KENSINGTON does on a hi^h knoll, might be expected from the date. The situation is good, as a handsome avenue of trees leads up from the Brompton Road, and to the north- ward there was till lately open country to Kensington Gore. The churchyard is still very extensive and well planted. The interior of the church is a surprise after the dulncss of the exterior, as it has been very successfully " Gothicised." Next, in point of age, is St. Barnabas, Addison Road, in a per- pendicular style built in 1830. It was long called a chapel, but has now its ecclesiastical district. St. John's, Netting Hill, is one of the best situated and best designed chui'ches in the parish, and is a very conspicuous object, standing as it ,'here Notting Hill farmhouse stood THE CIlUKCn 203 formerly, and afterwards the hippo- drome. Unfortunately for this fine cruciform stone building with its central spire, it was designed before Gothic details were fully understood, yet, con- sidering that it was consecrated in i 845, we can only say it might have been much worse. The architects were Stevens and Alexander. This was the first of many churches built during the incumbency of Archdeacon Sinclair. In the same year (1845) was con- sT.vrcE IN THE MALL. sccratcd liis second church, St. James, Norland, at the end of Addison Road North, which is much the same in style as the foregoing, and evidently designed, unlike the mother church, for the place it occupies. Christchurch, Victoria Road, consecrated in 1851, was Archdeacon Sinclair's third church, and was designed, in a much more correct Gothic style than that of its predecessors by Mr. Benjamin Ferrey. The interior is very handsome, with good stained glass. Mi Merriman, to whom I am indebted over and over again all through this book, but especially in this chapter, ga\ e the communion plate. A mere enumeration of the other churches and chapels must suffice St. Paul's will be a neu church, near the vicii age, and is rising abo\c its foundations with "^f m^m 204 KENSINGTON great rapidity. Of churches already built the following list appears in the Vestry Report ior i 886, omitting those already noticed : — All Saints, Clydesdale Road. Brompton Chapel, Montpelier Street. Christ Church, Telford Road. St. Andrew and St. Philip, Golborne Road. St. Augustine, Green's Gate. St. Barnabas, chapel, Warwick Gardens. St. Clement, Treadgold Street. St. Clement, mission hall. St. Cuthbert, Philbeach Gardens. St. George, Netting Hill Grove. St. George, mission church. St. Helen, St. Quintin Avenue. St. James, St. James's Square. St. James, mission room. St. John Baptist, Holland Road. St. John, Ladbroke Grove. St. Jude, Collingham Road. St. Luke, Redcliffe Square. St. Mark, St. Mark's Road. St. Mark, mission room. St. Mary Abbot's, mission room. St. Mary, The Boltons. St. Matthias, Warwick Road. St. Michael and All Angels, Ladbroke Grove Road. St. Paul, Onslow Square. St. Peter, Crawley Gardens. St. Peter, Kensington Park Road. St. Philip, Earl's Court Road. St. Stephen, Gloucester Road. The Romanist churches are among the finest in Kensington. The so-called Pro- Cathedral is a little off the High Street, just east of Earl's Court Road, from which a very good view of the high chancel and apse can be obtained. Here, it will be seen at a glance, the architect has avoided the mistake which so spoils the effect of our parish church, and lets his building rise clear of any meaner surroundings. The interior is very disappointing, the fine effect of the exterior being lost, for THE CHUKCI want of length perhaps, but also because of the ex- ceeding " stumpi- ness" of the columns. The de- sign was by Mr. Goldie, and the church was opened in I 869. The Oratory at Brompton over- shadows Brompton Church, and is of vast dimensions, t-MKAh^t. 10 klnsal okttN Li.MKTi.ia. the portico still remaining unbuilt. The style is Palladian, but very plain. The interior is imposingly arranged, and gorgeous with marbles and gilding. The Carmelite Church is in Church Street ; it has a very ugly exterior in brown brick and stone, by Mr. I'ugin : but the intci ior. to wl ich every thing "s sacrifi ccd, has a finer effect. The church of St. I'rancis of Assisi in the Potteries is cramped b}' its situation, but is in a very good style, by Mr. Clutton. There are several other chapels of this denomi- naticjn. The number of Dissenters' Meeting KENSINGTON Houses is very great : but not one of some thirty presents architectural features worth describing. One, a Congregational chapel, in Kensington Park Road and Horbury Road, is of stone, Norman in style. Another was recently built as a Unitarian Church in the Mall, close to the old site of Sir Augustus Callcott's house. It is by Messrs. Chatfield Clarke and Son, in red brick with stone windows, so staringly ugly with its squat spire, that one can only turn back and wonder if English architecture has made no pro- gress since St. John's, Netting Hill, was built in 1845. The two "-rcat cemeteries, at West Brompton and Kensal Green, have been opened in the lifetime of many still living, yet they already present an aspect of crowd- ing, and the town is so fast creeping up to and past them, that we must look forward at no very distant period to seeing both closed. The ccmcter)' at Ken- sal Green is the elder of the two, having been opened in I S3 2 by a company. It comprises about 56 .icres. The number of eminent folk whose bodies arc buried here is enormous, Ihuugh not ver)- many •HE CHURCH concern us. The Duke of Sussex, who died in 1843 at Ken- sington Palace, left particular directions that he was to be buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, as he was greatly disgusted with the ceremonies on the occasion of the funeral of William IV. In the same vault lie his sister, the Princess Sophia, who died at York House in Church Street in 1S4S, and his widow, the Duchess of Inverness, who died in 1873. The grave is marked by an enormous granite slab. Of the greater number it cannot be said that they cvci- inhabited Kensington : but .Sir Augustus Callcott (d. 1S44', Alfred Wigan (d. 1S78) and his widow (d. 1SS2), William 2oS KENSINGTON Makepeace Tliackeray (d. 1S63), Shirley Brooks (d. 1874), John Leech (d. 1S64), and Leigh Hunt (d. 1S73J, were ail entitled to the adjective " Kensingtonian." The West Brompton Cemetery, or the " Westminster and West of London Cemeter}-," is at the south-western corner of the parish near Stamford Bridge. It covers about 40 acres and was consecrated in i S40. The grounds are beautifully laid out and planted : but here, as at Kensal Green, the vulgarity of a majority of the monuments is very painful. I I ^ 1^ CHAPTER VII MODERN KENSINGTON A perambiilatiun of the paiisli— Forty years ago— Croftoii Croker's IVa/i—Knighia- bridge — Bronipton Row — Beloe — Michael Novosielski — Brompton Square- Alexander Square — Flounder F'ield — Alderman Henry Smith — Fulham Road — Onslow Square — Marochetti — Queen's Elm — Tiiistle Grove — Little Chelsea — Earls and Bishops — Lillie Bridge — South Kensington — Queen Anne archi- tecture — South Kensington Museum — The Gore and Hale Estates — Mr. Mon- cure Conway on the Albert Hall and Cross — The statues — Sir Henry Cole — Gloucester Road— Canning— Palace Gate— Butt's Field— Hyde Park Gate, or Campden Terrace — Noel House — De Vere Gardens — Earl's Court — John Hunter— Princess Charlotte— Addison Road— Holland Park Road— Melbuiy Road— Artists' houses— Kensington Road— Campden Hill— Nightingale Lane — "The Dukeries "— The Phillimore Estate— Sir James South— Church Street —The Callcotts— Hornton Street— The Abbey— Notting Hill — The Turnpike- Norland — Kensington Park — Notting Barns — Gallows Close — The Potteries — Recollections of an Old Inhabitant— The Hippodrome — A Walk in North Kensington— The Gravel Pits— PortobelloF'arm—ARookery— Another Rookery —Cromwell's Gift— High Street, Notting Hill Gate— Notting Hill Square- Tower Crcssy — New Lodge — Conclusion. URING thetpast few years the changes in Ivcnsington have been so great that I doubt if any person who knew his way in it forty )-ears ago would know his way now, if he hail not visited it in the meanwhile. I have before me as I write a curious volume published in 1847, just forty \ears ago, which enables us to form an idea of the magnitude of these changes in the western portion of the original Kensington. It is a P KENSINGTON series of diagrams of the streets and roads, with the numbers of the houses, and was printed, no doubt, for the use of the clerg_\- and the parochial officers. I did not m)-sclf set foot in Kensington till ten years later, namcl}', till 1857. But, just to men- tion the first four items in my observations then : I saw Kensington House and Colby House on my left as I entered the High Street ; straight before me was the old Church and on my right the new houses were still being built in Palace Gardens. Those in Palace Green, Mr. Howard's and Thackeray's, had not \-et even been founded. So that many changes have tak-en place since 1 85 7, and, indeed, it might be possible to name a much later date, perhaps not more than seven j-ears ago, since which the alterations have been going on with the greatest rapidit}-. I'or Bromptfin we have the narrative and the cuts in Crofton Croker's de- lightful U'd/i- from London to b'ulliani, which describes streets and rows of houses that were standing, many of them unaltered •F ^ ■> -Jfl till kist year, although what we t; ' „ I" call .South Kensington was not, f ' - 4/^^f y ^ and Cromwell Road and the ad- jacent territories were market gardens and orchards. Mr. Croker's Wail- was contributed to J'TciSii- about fort}- \ears ago, and was republished, with un- dated additions, in I 860, so that, e.vcept when the exact year of iVLACE CREE.N. MODKRN KliNSl NcrrON an event is mentioned, we must be careful of rclyiny on its chronological evidence. Mr. Crokcr, wlio died " at his residence, Gloucester Road, Old Brompton," in 1S54, was long an in- habitant of our parish. Coming from Hyde I'ark Corner, the first part of Kensing- ton the traveller will reach is at Sloane Street. Here if he goes a few doors down from Knightsbridge, he will see the parish boundary marked both on the face of a house on the right, or western side, and on the pavement. It is difficult ttj identify the houses about here with descriptions of them forty years ago. Croker mentions at the very outset of his Jl'a//,' si.v alterations in the name of a single row in half a century. Since his day, and indeed during the past couple of years, an im- mense number of the small, uniform, brown brick houses he writes about have been pulled down, and tall red buildings with shops below have taken their place, obliterating all the histori- cal and biographical associations whicli he had so carefully drawn over Brompton Grove, Yeoman's Row, and Michael's Place, all of which were within our parish. The eminent in- habitants he enumerates arc now for the most part forgotten, and others lived beyond our boun daries : but w e should remember Count Rumfoid, the American re former of open fiic grates, who In ctl at 45 Brompton Row. Aftei his time the s a m ' house was inhab ited by Beloc a bibliographei whose posthumous work TAe Sexa- KENSINGTON g-enariau ; in I Si 7, 7-, the Recollections of a Literary Life, published ;xcitcd much discussion : iur j\Ir. Beloe, after living- a long life at peace with all mankind, and publishing some forty now half- forgotten volumes, contrived after his own death to offend many people who had looked on him as a friend, including Mr. Rennell, the respected vicar of Kensington. A similar example, in which the bequeather of strife was an eminent architect, touched us at Kensington within the last few years even more ncarl)-. I think Rumford's house is still standing : but owing to a senseless custom which has prevailed extcnsiveh' in late j-ears of renumbering streets with the even numbers on one side and the odd on the other, there is no 45 now in what was Brompton Row. On the opposite side, Yeoman's Row was built in 1 767, according to a stone which was on the face of the corner house. At Grove House on the same side William Wilberforce was living in i 82 3. He was succeeded by Jerdan, well known as the editor of the Literary Gazette. Ovington Sc|uare, and the short street lead- ing to it, now stand on the site. Michael's Place was called after its architect Michael Novo- sielski, who began to build it in 1786, but did not at first succeed in finding tenants for houses so far out of town. At No. 8 lived Croly, long the rector of St. Stephen, W'allbrook, in the cit\', and a minor poet not \-et forgotten, lie died in 1861. The whole row was pulled down in 1886, and is now partially rebuilt close to the roadwa}'. lirompton S(|uarc docs not look inviting, and has, so far as I i:an gather, entertained no inhabitants of any '•reat distinction, e.x- MODERN KENSINGTON E, 1833, FROM AN Ol.D PRINT ccpt perhaps Shirley Brooks, the editor of Piincli for a few years. He hved at 22, a house previously tenanted by George KENSINGTON Colman, the comedian, who died here in 1836. Brooks died in I S74. We now reacli Brompton Church, and its cemetery, ahxad}' mentioned, and next to them, thrust most awkwardl)', and indeed, architecturally speaking, impudently, almost against the corner of the church, the chapel of the Oratory. At this point the road divides. If we go straight on, past the Oratory, we come to the garden of the South Kensington Museum, and still farther on to the new British Museum of natural histor\-. The wide and handsome street, which extends from here in a straight line almost to the further extremity of the parish at Ivirl's Court, is named Cromwell Road. New as it is, there is much to tell about it and the museums and other public buildings which border it on the right. But before we enter upon that part of our journey, let us take the road to the left so as to follow Croker to the boundary of Kensington in a south-westerly direction. Passing the " Bell and Horns," then, we turn into Brompton Crescent and Alexander Square. Here too, although Alexander Square on the western side is as yet little changed, the houses of the crescent and a fine old house be\-ond them on the left, within a garden wall, arc all being replaced with tall new buildings which must stand tlierc a long time before they can excite any feeling of in- terest in our minds. Of the site itself Croker tells us that here Novosiel.ski constructed a house for his own residence, the Grange, as he called it. It was pulled down in 1843. After the architect, it is said thai the Grange was inhabited by a gentleman of such deli- cate nerves that he could not MODERN KENSINGTON 215 bear the sound of a bell. The building of Broinpton Church in 1826 and of the new Chelsea Church to the west must have illustrated " the folly of human anticipations," for whichever way the wind blew he must have heard "the church -goinc,^ bell." Hraham, the great tenor singer and composer, lived for a time at the Grange. Planchc, known for his plays, and as an eminent heraldic antiquarian, lived in the crescent, as did, very lately, Mr. T. H. S. Escott, while he edited the Fortiiiglitlv Review. In IVIichael's Place there were a good many inhabitants of moderate distinction in their day, but hardly any worth enumer- ating, the more so as their houses have disappeared. The whole estate which formed the easternmost corner of our parish is sometimes described as " Flounder Field." It was probably, in spite of its gravelly soil, in a marshy and muddy condition, and was bordered, in part at least, on the south by the stream of the Westbournc which marked the boundary between Ken- sington and Chelsea. Croker gives an account of the earliest owner on record of the fourteen acres of which Flounder Field consisted ; but we may observe, before quoting it, that this and all Brompton were originally in the manor of Earl's Court. Croker tells us that Henry Smith, an alderman, who rose from circumstances so humble that as a boy he had been whipped out of Mitcham for begging, possessed some eighty acres in all in this neighbourhood, including this field ; and made over his whole estate in 1620 for charitable purposes, reserving only to himself an annuity of /'500. The chief objects of his bounty were the captive Christians in the hands of North African pirates. It is said that he had himself been taken by a corsair in his early life. He died in 1628, and an Act of Parliament was obtained about a century later, when no application of the funds to Smith's original purpose had been made for many years, to enable the trustees to employ the estates so as to benefit the parishes of Kensington, Chelsea, and St. Margaret's, Westminster. It may be noted here that one of Smith's fields stood within the boundary of St. Margaret's, and that a considerable part of KENSINGTON the Horticultural Gardens behind tlie ,\lbert Hall was placed upon it. In Alexander Square long resided, at No. 24, Mr. George Godwin, the editor of the Bnildcr, an architect of eminence. He designed a considerable number of Kensington churches, such as St. Mary, West Brompton, St. Jude, South Kensington, and St. Luke's. He was born, if I mistake not, where he so long lived, but removed to Cromwell Place, not far off, where ere in print. low reach the Fulham Road, and along the greater part of it, until we come to the site of Stamford Bridge, we have Kensington on our right and Chelsea on our left. For centuries the only houses on this road, once Brompton was passed, were in the village called Little Chelsea, but at the present day it is one long hlrcet. The celebrated John Philpot Curran died in 1817 at 7 Amelia Place, the first iiAi.i, ■^ MK. uhui;.,t. H. i.(,:,, .sih.Lsr. row of houses, but Pelham Crescent and all the ground behind it to the northward were then open fields, gardens, and orchards. Curran's last repartee must have been uttered here : " The doctor remarked that his patient's cough was not im- proved. 'That is odd,' remarkctl Curran, ' fu- 1 have been practising all night.' " Guizot, the minister of Louis Philippe, a statesman who to a strict religious profession added high doctrines on the subject of moral conduct, and illustrated both by a singularly disgrace- ful and dishonest scries of political measures, — measures which not only caused but justified the king's expulsion, — li\cd for soine time at 21 I'clham Place, wlierc his aged niolhcr died in MODERN KENSINGTON 1 848. Onslow and Thuiloc Squares arc now separated by the underground railway, but were originally built on contigu- ous fields. Onslow is the name of the owner of a good estate here, and several of the local streets and rows recall the titles of Earl Onslow, Viscount Cranlc)-, and Lord of Clandon and Imbercourt. The square was built on the site of a lunatic asylum with extensive grounds, of which onl)- a kind of sunken walk or avenue remains. Thackeray wrote The I'iri^iiiiaiis and T/ir Four Georges at what was then 36 Onslow Square, now stupidly rc-numbered. Mrs. Ritchie, in a note to Mr. Laurence Hutton, the author of Literary Landmarks, mentions the avenue. " I used to look up from the avenue and sec my father's head bending over his work in the study window, which was over the drawing-room." Merc in No. 17 long resided Sir Henry Cole, who as " Mr. Cole, C.B.," and previously as " Felix Summerly," kept himself for many years so well before the public e}'c. \Vc shall have more to say about him when wc arrive at the South Kensington Museum. In the same square lived Baron Marochetti, a very poor sculptor, who came over owing to stress of politics in Italy, and obtaining, as a foreigner so often does in England, patronage out of all proportion to his artistic powers, contrived to earn a living here till 1S67. He had " intuitions," or " sparks of genius," or whatever }'ou please to call them, at times, but his most prominent statues, such as the great equestrian group of Richard I. at West- minster, or the seated figure of a Parsee merchant at the * ■""'^^=^tf Jlr- 2l8 KENSINGTON South Kensington Museum, do not show the sh'ghtest signs of them. Yet a monument in St. Paul's to the late Lord Mel- bourne is one of the most impressive pieces of sculpture in England. He failed, shortly before his death, to satisfy opinion by a statue for the Albert Memorial ; why he should have been employed no one knows. At a milestone which mark-s " 1 1 mile from London," that is, I suppose, from Hyde Park Corner, we reach the Queen's Elm. Mr. Croker gives the full legend of this ro}-al tree : — " Queen Elizabeth when walking out attended by Lord Burleigh, being overtaken by a heavy shower of rain, found shelter here under an elm tree. After the rain was over the Queen said, ' Let this henceforth be called the Queen's Tree.' The tradi- tion is strongly supported b)' the parish records of Chelsea, as mention is made in 15 86 (the 28th of Elizabeth, and probably the \-ear of the occurrence) of a tree situated about this spot, ' at the end of the Duke's Walk,' as ' The Queen's Tree,' around which an arbour was built, or, in other words, nine young elm- trees were planted by one liostocke, at the charge of the parish." As " Queen's Elm " the place is first mentioned a hundred years later, or two hundred years ago, but this belongs strictly to Chel- sea, and only the northern side of the road, Selwood Place, called after a nurser}' gardener of that name, is in Kensington. At this side of the way things are completely changed since Crokcr's time. Cranlcy (lardcns now come down to tlie parish boundary, and connect this once remote part of the h'ulham Road with the fashionable squares of the so-called "South" Kensington district, to which we shall return pre- sently. I'histlc Cjiovc, even a MODERN KENSINGTON couple of years ago, was a quiet little lane, with old park -palings, old ivy- clad brick walls, over which clematis and wistaria hung luxuriantly w^ith Virginian creeper and dark shady trees. As I write it is being gradually but rapidly transformed, and though it still retains here and there its old character, it is no longer " a garden pathway to the Old ]5rompton Road." We now come to what on the oldest maps has always been reckoned a part of Kensington. " Little Chelsea "' seems to have been one of the earliest of the out- lying hamlets of our parish ; no doubt its proximity on the west to the bridge over iiDsiLn ..kuve lane, soiin the Creek, and on the south to Chelsea itself, made it convenient as a residence, and, for a place so remote from London, fairly safe. Little Chelsea is hardly to be recognised now. Even so lately as ten years ago there were plenty of open spaces, orchards, and market-gardens close about it ; twenty years ago it was merely a row of houses masking, to use a military phrase, the large villa residences and extensive grazing-fields of the district south of Earl's Court. Fifteen years ago Earl's Court Road, when it reached Richmond Road and the Old Brompton Road, was lost or divided into a number of field-paths, such as Honey Lane and Walnut Tree Walk. Now all these have disappeared. From the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest onwards to the farthest extremity of " West Brompton," there is now, on the right hand, or north side, that is, within the boundary of Kensington, no open space left, if we except the cemetery, already mentioned. Walnut Tree Walk has become Redcliffe Gardens and Honey Lane has been resolved into Adrian Terrace, Ifield Road, and I know not what besides. A few villas, such as Colehernc Court and Hereford House, near the Boltons, survive, but the\' are far back from the frontage of the Brompton Road. 220 KENSINGTON The number of eminent inhabitants of Little Chelsea enumerated by Croker, Faulkner, and others is considerable. Unfortunately, we are very seldom told on which side these remarkable people lived, and cannot be sure whether they belong to Kensington, or to Chelsea, or to Fulham. Shaftesbury House, however, round which a majority of the local anecdotes are tangled, is, or rather was unquestionabl)-, at the time of its greatest celebrity, in Chelsea. Since it was taken for St. George's Workhouse it has been described as part and parcel of St. George's, Hanover Square, a parish which similarly breaks into Paddington on the northern side of Hyde Parle. With Shaftesbury House, then, we have nothing to do. But we read of Charles, fourth Earl of Orrery, that he was born at Dr. Whittaker's house at Little Chelsea, 21st July 1674. Where was Dr. Whittaker's house, and why should Lord Orrery's birth in it be worth noting? I cannot tell where Dr. Whittaker's house was, except that it was on the Kensington side of the road, as Charles Boyle's birth is in St. Mar\-'s parish register ; but the third earl died at Earl's Court in 1703, and his brother, this native of Little Chelsea, succeeded him, and is the Orrery after whom Graham, his \\atchmaker, named "an ingenious piece of mechanism, which exhibits the movements of the heavenly bodies." Two bishops who li\-ctl at Little Chelsea are mentioned, namely, Edward Fowler, Bishop of Gloucester, who died in 1714, and Sir William Dawes, Bishop of Chester, who became Archbishop of York in that j-ear. There was also a second earl, Lord Clarendon, who died in 1723 at his house in Little Chelsea. I have already mentioned Addison's residence somewhere in this neighbourhood. The supposed site of Lord Burleigh's house was marked until some forty years ago bj- a villa which bore his name, but though the parish register men- tions the birth in 1674 of John Cecil, afterwards fourth Earl of Exeter, the " son and heir-apparent of the Right Honourable John, Lord Burleigh, and the Lady Anne, his wife," it goes on to say that it took place at Mr. Sheffield's. This would be more probably on Campdcn Hill than at Little Chelsea. MODERN KENSINGTON 221 We now arrive at IJrompton Cemetery. l'a.ssin<( round it, and keeping within our own parish boundaries, we come to the ex- tremity of the old Brompton Road, which we left at the " Bell and Horns." Here it is generally known as Richmond Road, and a little farther west, beyond the parish boundary, formerly marked by the Creek (sec chapter i.), as Lillie Bridge and Lillie Road : so called from a certain Sir John Scott Lillie, who owned the land adjoining when this thoroughfare was opened. We now lose the pleasant guidance of Croker, and turning eastward find ourselves almost immediately in the fine new suburb of South Kensington, which has sprung up since the Great Exhibition of 1851 ; before which date it consisted of dairy-farms, market- gardens and orchards fenced with park palings. The first houses were built along the Cromwell Road, and another row crept down at right angles from High Street, Kensington, till Earl's Court Road and Cromwell Road met not far from the site of the old courthouse, where is now the Railway Station. We have therefore still to perambulate a three-cornered territory bounded on the west by Earl's Court Road, on the south by Richmond Road and Brompton Road, and on the north by- Cromwell Road : the corners being at Lillie Bridge, at Warwick Road, and at the " Bell and Horns." The district exhibits, better perhaps than any other in London, the comparative merits and peculiarities of modern domestic architecture. In Cromwell Road we have nothing but plain solid houses, of a pale mud colour, comfortable and well built for tin most part, but cssentiall\ commonplace. This 1- especially the case w itli those houses which front the new Natural Histor)- Museum, to which we KENSINGTON shall come pre- sently. Hut be- hind and beyond Cromwell Road, a little to the south and west, we come upon a wholh- diflcrent region. It is not as an inhabited country yet ten years old : but " here," as a flip- ..uEtNb GArt. LODct. pant traveller has been heard to remark, " Queen Anne has gone mad." Street after street, and square after square, are built in red brick and terra- cotta after designs by various eminent architects of the school founded by Mr. Norman Shaw, but far out- stripping his views, and plunging into the wildest extra- vagances of what may be called eclectic art. Nothing comes amiss to the architect in this style. Gothic and classic are all alike to him. He takes features from any ancient or modern building which he thinks may look picturesque. The result is not quite satisfactory, although some of the houses — or rather palaces — in Harrington Gardens and Collingham Road are very handsome, very commodious, and probably ver)- costly. The architects too often seem to me to err, first, b\- bringing in foreign models, and, secondl)-, b\' forgetting that they are building not country but town houses. I object to the foreign air of some of these houses, because I think our English models are better ; and I object to the rural asjjcct of others because it implies the use of c\ery kiiul of trap for soot and dust, and the certaint>- that in a few years these pretty red mouldings and carvings will be as black as Newgate. The two objections come to the same thing if I try to point out, what I have preached in vain for years, that all these charming MODERN KENSINGTON gardens and villas betray the same want. Mr. Norman Shaw, however irregular and even anomalous some of his designs may be, always shows that he has thoroughly thought out his pro- portions, and also that he is thoroughly acquainted with the sterner rules of the st\'lc with which at the moment he may be, so to speak, playing. But there is very little of this appear- ance about most of these daring experiments in brick and tiles ; and too many of them look as if the architect was by no means sure of the effect he was trying to produce. There arc many charming " bits," suitable for a sketcher, among them : but there is the same want, a want of thought, of brains perhaps, to use Reynolds' expression, which mars them all, at least to my mind. When we have passed through tliis new (juarter we may approach the Museum region, and take the various buildings and institutions in ; '/'' ,_, detail. We have al- ready said something - -. i ^\^ Jc^'l/'"'^ about Hale House, and about the name of Cromwell in Kensing- ton (chapter iv.). The South Kensing- ton Museum, it cannot be denied, is a rival tu the older institution in Bloomsbury, and to the National Gallery also. Strictly speaking it is only a collection of cer- tain objects of art and antiquity for the use of the schools of the Science and Art Dcijart- mcnt. But in reality it is much more. The KENSINGTON visitor knows nothing about the schools. He goes to see things similar to those he can see at the British Museum or in Trafalgar Square : and on the whole, whether it is in pictures or objects of other kinds, the ignorant man derives more instruc- tion from a visit to the South Kensington than from twice as much time spent in cither of the other galleries : the reason being that the convenience and information of the visitor is the iirst object aimed at. Everything is clearly labelled. Its pedigree and its price are added to its name if possible : and, even though there are numerous mistakes and mis-statements on these labels, they arc undoubtedly very useful, especially to the student. Everything at South Kensington, even it may be said the rows of houses, sprang directly from the Great Exhibition of 1851, although a school of design had been opened at Somerset House as early as the first of June 1837, a few weeks before her Majesty's accession. The receipts at the Cr\-stal Palace in Hyde Park left no less than i," 170,000 in the hands of the commissioners, and when in 1856 a great part of Kensington Gore was in the market this sum was supplemented by a grant from parliament, and ;^3 00,000 in all were spent in the purchase of a site which is still partially open, but on which nearly all the South Kensington institutions have been, or are being, built. The Gore House estate formed the central portion, with an oblong field belonging to Smith's charity. These two holdings are in St. Margaret's and form "the Gore." On the western side was the Villars estate, w ithin the bound- aries of Kensington, an outlying part of which was exchanged with the Smith trustees. The greater part of this estate is in the parish of St. Margaret, Westminster ; but the South Kensington Museum '^ir. itself, being on the Hale House estate. «-- MODERN KENSINGTON is in Kcnsini^lun, or rather Hrompton. Tlic boundary leaves the high road a few doors west r' of the Albert Hall.divid- ' ■; inq- what used to be I lyde Park Terrace from what used to be Lower '^ Gore, both now called •■' .j simply Kensington Gore. A boundary mark is on No. 1 6. The line dc- -'" -|/j^,^ scending the hill in a southerly direction runs albekt memomal— ameiuca, through the Horticultural Gardens, or the space they occupied, cutting off about a fifth of the area, which is in Kensington, until it reaches a point nearly abreast of Queen's Gate Place, when it turns abruptl}' eastward and crosses Princes Gardens and Ennismore Gardens on its way to Knightsbridge. Thus then, the Albert Hall, the schools of Cookery and Needlework, the India Museum, the " City and Guilds of London Institute," and the late site of part of the National Portrait Gallery, are in Westminster ; but the new British Museum of Natural History, the School of Science, and the South Kensington ..^ Museum itself, with its Schools of Art, arc in Wj^ '^ ^ Kensington It is a subject for regret that of all these important buildings not one shows any architect- ural features of a char- acter likely to instruct the mind or improve the taste of a pupil at the schools. KENSINGTON I can hardly criticise them in detail. Archi- tectural nomenclature contains no technical terms to applj' to the new Natural History- Museum, for example, or the Cit)- Institute. Thc\' are built in defiance of all the rules of proportion laid down b\- the architects of the last jjeneration, and equall)' in defiance of all the rules of taste on which in our own time Mr. Ruskin and other writers have so strongl}- insisted. The onl\' adjective which will characterise the stj'le of the Albert Hall or of such parts of the South Kensington Museum as are completed, together with the other buildings just named, is " anomalous." They are subject to no known laws of artistic beauty. True, they are lavishl)' ornamented, but ornament out of place is worse than waste ; it becomes in itself deformitx' : and the spectator who sees a poor design covered with carved terra -cotta, or \-cllow cast mouldings of no interest, is lik-cl\- to suspect that the archi- Vj . Icct's object is not so yl much to set off as to (. conceal his buikling, f"^ just as in the cast little children wear gaud}- bangles to divert atten- tion from their faces or liml)s anil so avert the iniUicnce of the evil eve. AFRICA. 228 KENSINGTON That such buildings as those of the late Captain I'owke, of the late General Scott, of Mr. W'atcrhousc, R.A., or of Mr. Colcutt, his pupil, should be chosen as the home and headquarters of English art training, is in itself nothing less than a national misfortune. Of all these buildings, to which we may add the Albert Memorial Cross and the Royal College of Music, there is onU' one which it is possible to criticise, namely the School of Science, for the design of which it is understood that General Scott was responsible. It has a curious effect where it stands, the one edifice in which there is any attempt to combine or contrast height and width, or to put ornament where it maj- serve a legitimate purpose, by accentuating features and reliev- ing the studied plainness of the greater part of the composition. Still it is not a very lovely building, and anywhere else would be passed over contemptuousl}-. Mr. Moncure D. Conway, an American gentleman long resi- dent here, has published his views on the Albert Hall, the Memorial and its statues, and other features of the South Kensington landscape. He is an enthusiastic admirer of one iKKN KENSINGTcjN ;ind ;ill, and in his book {'/'ntvfls iit South /\c/i.sh{i^loii) he L;ivcs the follovvint^ descriptions, which, as they may tally bctlci' witli the views of some readers than my own, I venture to quote. Of the Albert Hall he says : — " Since the erection of tlie Coliseum in Rome no Iniildini,' so stupendous and noble has been built as this. It is .i pile worthy of Rome in its palmiest day ; with its superl) oval lorni, an external frieze and cornice moulded after the Elgin marbles, devoted to international industrial and art exhibitions and to music, it stands as grandly amid the European civilisation of to-day as the Parthenon stood in Greece. This palace of art, and the Albert monument in the park opposite, make the beauty spot of London." This is " tall " praise, and I confess I cannot see how it relates to the Albert Hall. Where is the frieze" moulded after the Elgin marbles"? I have never seen it or the splendid cornice Mr. Conway mentions. A really good cornice might have worked wonders with the huge mass, which, as it appears jiow, might have been designed on the graceful and familiar curves of the common bandbox. To coinpare it with the Parthenon is to compare a building which the want of any kind of proportion reduces to an insignificance froin which lavish ornament cannot rescue it, with a building of small size so exquisitely pro- portioned that it remains grand though all orna- ment has been stripped from it. That was a most unhappy com- parison, Ml Conway ! But to continue : of the Memorial Mr. Conway says : — " The latter is m ^^^ s^B^t? >, cxm%^ T KENSINGTON beyond question the tinest monumental structure in Europe. This after- noon, while the golden sunset of a balmy spring day was glorifying the sky, I walked to it passing by the old Kensington Palace, where the little girl was informed that she was Queen of England who has since had her name associated with her country's longest period of peace and Ijrosperity, passing beneath the ancient patriarchal trees and through the gardens beautified by flowers and plants from every region of the world, until at length I saw the spire of the monument shining like flame through the boughs. There, against the clear, orange-tinted sky, the monument stood forth, with its grand marbles at the four corners — Asia, with its genius mounted on a camel ; America on her buffalo, Europe on her bull, Africa on her elephant, and each the centre of a representative group — and its noble reliefs and frescoes rising to the winged angels at the top ; and it appeared to me that every one of the one hundred and sixty-nine life-size portrait figures — the painters from Cimabue to Turner, the architects from Cheops to Gilbert Scott, who designed this monument ; the sculptors from Chares to Thorwaldsen ; nay, the very composers and poets from St. Ainbrose to Rossini, from Homer to Goethe — had done something to raise this triumphal pile, about which their forms seem to move in stately proces- sion. The archi- tects and sculptors are the work of Philip ; the poets, composers, and painters by Arm- stead ; and while both have done admirably it must be said that the reliefs by the latter are not surpassed by any m o d e r n sculpture." A.s Mr. Con- way concludes glowing pass- vvith a sneer MEMOIUAU AND ALUEKT M( !•: K N K E N S I N ( at I'liiicc Albert, \vc may acquit him of any of that luailyism to great folk which is the most common fault of his countrymen ; but it is clear that he honestly admires the Memorial, standing thus almost, if not tjuite, alone among art critics. For this reason I have taken so long a passage from his book ; but I observe that he omits to inform his reader on many points of importance, and that he makes some little mistakes in his description. There are no " frescoes " on the monument, and no reliefs " rising to the winged angels." The four groups are u KENSINGTON Asia b}- Foley, who also designed the central statue of the Prince ; Europe, by MacDowell ; Africa, b)- Theed ; and America, by Bell. The smaller groups are Com- merce by Thornycroft, Manufac- tures by Weeks, Engineering by Lawlor, and Agriculture by Mar- shall. The cross is 175 feet high, and the whole building cost i'l 32,000. The details of the work are very fine throughout, but at a glance one observes that "" ^^""''^ "■'■'-^ mansiuns. it must have been designed for the sake of the details rather than for the general effect. In the first place, any one can see that it has not that first qualit}' in architecture, the appearance of stability. Instead of looking as it should, more secure than it is, it looks as if it could not stand for ten minutes longer ; the fact being that it is a feat, not of architecture, but of engineering ; and a most uncomfortable kind of feat it is, the ephemeral effect being greatly enhanced by the dark masses of the upper parts of the structure, the red granite, the bronze and the gilding, resting ■ .v4-{c:vi on a white base, instead of having a good strongly - coloured founda- tion and the white marble higher up. The Cireat Kx- hibition, the Cry- stal I'alacc, of 1 85 I, stood just east of the Memo- rial, crossing the modern roadway and extendint: :iiNSINGTON want of corner i: 1851 feet into the park, parallel with Rotten Row. The Albert Hall does not exactly face the Memorial, which is a jMty, as both depend oil the situation and each other lor any effect they have. A set of lofty residential flats has of late years sprung up beside the Hall and greatly improved its appearance, as they afford the eye a measure for its vast HALL iiANsin.Ns. ^._^^^ otlicrwisc dlsgulscd by the good proportions. A smaller building nearer the by Mr. Norman Shaw, and is much injured by the proximity of the Mansions. Lowthcr Lodge is a very good example of this architect's style, and bears very close examina- tion. To the westward of this site, nearly where the Albert Hall is now, stood the famous " Kensington Gore House," Lady Blessington's residence, and to the east of it, where the garden of Lowther Lodgi- is now, there was a smallci villa where Lord Auckland's clever sister, Miss Emily Eden, long lived. Further east, in the Gore, and therefore in the parish of Westminster, we come to Lord Listowel's estate, marked by Ennismore Gardens, in which are some well -de- signed mansions, one of which — Bolney House — a good ex ample of simplicity in domestic ' 'P'^ 3,v Tke Corrida KENSINGTON <'^^' architecture, seldom followed, — contains the famous Huth Library. Facing the road are two fine houses, one built by the late Lady Marian Alford, and now the property c^l Mr. J. Williamson M.l'., and the other, Kingston House, Lord Listowel's re- sidence. As we proceed down Exhibition Road southward we come to ;i very charming group, Lowther Gardens, two red brick houses by Mr. J. J. Stevenson ; and then tu the .so-called "City and Guilds of London Institute." What arc the guilds of London ? The institute, apart from lis situation, for it ought to be in the city, and its absurd name, will i)rove a a cat boon to the working man when its objects and advantages are better laiiiwn : but it is many nnlcs too far from the Uvcllings of these for uhom it is intended. The building, in a dark red brick with carvings in lighter brick, lias no merits that I can menliuii, unle.s.s, perhaps, that it is very convenient for its purpose. '-^ XSrXCTdN The India Mu- seum and other collec- tions fill the galleries adjoining the old Horticultural Gar- dens. They do not present any features of architectural or historical interest as jt^Tu buildings. We all remember the e.xhi- LowTHEK Lu: I, bitions held here in recent years, and some of us remember a series of shows on the same ground which did not succeed so well twelve or fourteen years ago. A new road and a new building are to be made across part of the site, for the Imperial Institute. So far as the designs have been matle public they seem likely to rival even the City n'M^^- Institute in ugliness, and to form a mean between ' fC' that and Mr. Waterhou.se's still more unfortunate '; ' Natural History Museum, with which apparentl)-, to borrow a convenient term from heraldr\-, the Institute will be " addorsed." The South Kensington Museum cove nearly as I can make out, the whole of the House estate : for it is describetl in the Official Guide as standing on twelve acres of land, jnu- chased at a cost of £Go,qoqi. The old house still exists, though it is not eas\- to get more than a glimpse of it. The Museum is still unfinished, the front ha\- ing never been built. The old " Brompton Boilers," as the fir.si iron-roofed Museum used to br i k. MODERN KENSINGTON -^isiiiyyi ^^. called, have almost disappeared, and permanent courts and galleries have taken their place. It is not possible to estimate how highly Sir Henry Cole's memory may hereafter be placed by posterity : but the South Kensington Museum unquestionably owes its existence t(j his exertions and his pertinacity. His early career, in the Record Office, and as an author under the LowTHfcK GARDENS, KENSINGTON GOKK. namc of Fcli-X Su ui ui crl)', cau u ot be considered successful : but the exhibition of 185 i gave him an opportunity of coming to the front, hy which he was well able to profit. He and one or two of his associates seem to me to have made considerable use of the name of the late Prince Consort in carrying out schemes which, admirable in themselves, would probably have encountered less opposition had they been more openly presented. It seems probable, though we can hardly pronounce our opinion on events so recent, that Sir Henry Cole created much of the opposition with which the work of the Science and Art Department at South Kensington was received. He contrived, however, to obtain the support of the Government in some of his most high-handed proceedings, and there can be no doubt tiiat he well deserved the mosaic memorial set up on one of the staircases of the Museum : — Erectkd to record the eaonent services OF Sir Henry Cole, K.C.B., who in addition to other labours in the promotion of science and art devoted twenty years to the formation of this museum. i853-'873- A little to the west of the South Kensington Museum is the British Mu.seum of Natural Histoiy. The birds, beasts, and creeping things, as well as the fossils and other collections of the kind, were removed here in 18S1 from the British ;EN.SINr.TON Museum in Bloomsbury. There is much inconvenience in this removal, as the new museum is too far from the library and out of the reach of the people who used to enjoy it most. Of the building the less is said the better. I understand from students that it has not even the one quality which could have excused its ugliness, namely, con- venience. On this site stood the Ex- hibition of 1862, with its two domes, which, though otherwise a useful build- ing, was condemned and pulled down by a special vote of the House of ; Commons, as if its extreme ugliness was not to be borne. The site has certainly been most unfortunate. LHuiiui ci...Lk, OLD LONDON. ^j^^ Mu.scum is 6/5 fcct loHg, and faces the Cromwell Road, along which we may now retrace our .steps westward, to complete our perambulation. There is very little to notice, except new houses, some of them very handsome, until we reach Gloucester Road, which will take us back into the main road a little west of the Gore. It is called after that Duchess of Gloucester whose marriage was one of the causes of the Royal Marriage Act : she was an illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Waipolc, and had married first Lord Waldegrave, who left her a widow in 1763. In i/CjG, she married William Henry, Duke of Glou- cester, one f)f the younger brolhci's of George HI. When he died in 1805, the Duchess came to live here, and built a villa, which she called afttn- her relative, MODERN KKNSINC.TON 2,W I'hc site had been known Morida Gardens, wlicrc, l''aulkncr, "a Mr. Ilyam, an in- Lord Orford previously ;i say L^cnious German gardener," raised flowers, and findinj^ much company resort to him, procured a license and opened a tavern, and " converted his grounds into a public garden ; but by his subsequent miscon- duct he became a bankrupt, and the premises were shut up." The Duchess of Gloucester died in 1807, very soon after her coming to SIX iiiiNRv cole's monument, " Hoguiorc Lane," but she sur\'ived long SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM, gjiougli to leavc tlic ucw uamc to Glou- cester Road. The Princess Sophia, her daughter, sold the villa to George Canning, and lierc his son, the future Governor- General of India, was born in 18 six acres : and the house was smal here for many years ; and Mr. Callcott, who died in 1882, re- membered him very well as attending service at the parish church, where he occupied llie royal pew, and always stood up while the vicar gave out his text. The upper end of Gloucester Road is Palace Gate, and in a field on the east side was built, some time after 1847, a square named " Kensington Gate." At that time a toll gate stood across the road, just where " Thome)- House" is now, and cavalry bar- racks were behind the wall of Kensington Gardens opposite. The Campden Arms, a public- The ;rounds occupiec Canning residet 240 KENSINGTON house, was at the eastern corner of Hogmore Lane, Noel House at the other, the western. It was the residence of Mr. George Aust, some members of whose family- are commemorated in the church. The land consisted of about four acres, which, with much other land adjoining, was the property of the Noel family mentioned above as being the heirs of Sir Baptist Some nursery gardens intervened between Noel House and Love Lane, now Victoria Road ; and when Faulkner wrote, a large new house, " built in the cottage style," was the residence of Mr. Samuel Drew. Of Kensington Square we have already written (chapter iv.) so before we leave this part of the parish we had better turn back for a few minutes and see what lies between Hogmore Lane and the Gore. It is now nearly a continuous row of houses until we come to Queen's Gate : but there are still a few detached villas, and at least one Hicks of Campdcn House. MODERN KENSINGTON open space. In Palace Gate is Sir J. Everett Millais's house and studio, a large, plain, red -brick villa. At the ciirncr, where once stood the Campden y\rnis liHi [ind the turnpike gate, is the white stone villa already mentioned as Thornc}' IIou.se. It stands on ground which belonged to the Campden Trust- ees, from whom it wa.s bought in 1874 by the Duke of Bedford, whose prede- cessor had built the villa. The pur- chase money was iJi 8,500. The house is now occupied by Mr. Watney, who has bought from the same trustees the site of I 2 and i 3 Campden Terrace, now numbered into Hyde Park Gate, for £22,^^00. The Vestry Report for 1810 .says of the site of Kensington Gate that " the Itarl of Warwick erected a building here for a Pest House in the time of the Great Plague, and it appears to 242 KENSINGTON have been afterwards used by the parish for placing in it the parish poor." In 172S it was repaired b}- the parish. In 175 1 the lord of the manor of Karl's Court attempted to recover it, but a compromise was entered into, and a few )-ears later, chiefl)' through the charity of a Mr. Mountain, it was again rebuilt. In 1S03 the house was assigned for the residence and instruction of female pauper children. It was still standing in 1847. Kensington Gate, a small square, was built in 1849, o'l "^ 99 }'ears' lease. A narrow passage leads from the high road into all that is left of " Butt's Field." It is named with the rest of the ground along this part of the road " Hyde Park Gate." Two detached villas, Stoke Lodge and Cleve Lodge, face the oval open space, and a street of houses marks the eastern boundary of the estate, the whole of which belongs to the charity trustees of the parish. In 1645, Lady Campden (Elizabeth, the widow of Baptist Hicks, Viscount Campden, and daughter of Richard May) left to the parish two hundred i)0unds to be laid out in the purchase of land. The trustees, Sir John Thorowgood and seven others, accordingly bought from William Muschamp"a MODERN KENSINGTON close called Butt's Field ; containing 5 acres, 2 roods, and 30 perches, and also three roods to be taken out of Middle Ouaylc Field, at the south end Butt's Field." This estate, it was estimated, would produce iJ'iO a year, and Lady ^^^^,|, ^^^_^^ Campden had de- sired that half of that sum should be given to poor and needy people " that be of good life and conversation," and the remainder to be spent in apprenticing one poor boy or more belonging to the parish. This estate is let on long leases in five holdings, and only produces now about £^^6 a year: but no doubt, as the leases fall in about 19 10, it will become much more valuable. The first houses were called Campden Terrace. They were built between 1.S21 and 1838. To the westward of the site of Noel House is De Vere Gardens, built on the site of a livery stable and riding school. I hey existed behind a iDW of small houses w Inch have also dis- ippcaietl, named Craven riace The Victoria U(iad, with a few short offshoots, contains nothing of much interest. I have already spoken KENSINGTON There is not much to detain us in new, and not very old, and few are Earl's Court Road, we may find m ]iistor\- of the manor of the earls Of the Court House nothing now house which John Hunter the g almost untouched. Now it has given place to new red- brick villas. Before it was obliterated a mound marked the place when; Hiuiter had made dens for the wild beasts he kept. The garden was the scene of his contest with a bull the Queen hai given him : " The bull o\-crpo\v( him and t>ot of the sites of Colby House and Kensington House, and of the Square ; and we ma}- descend Victoria Road, almost on the same ground as Love Lane, of which a little fragment remains as a footpath ; and returning through Corn- wall Gardens, and an im- mense quarter covered with fine houses, may re- gain the Cromwell Road. it. The houses are not very beautiful. But if we stop at ore that is of interest. The has already been detailed, remains. Until iSS6 the ■eat anatomist lived in was KN KKNSIN'CTDX down, and had not one of the servants accidentally come by and frightened the animal away, this frolic would probably have cost him his life." Down to last year the copper chal- dron still existed in which Hunter boiled the body of the Irish giant, whose skeleton is in the Museum of the College of Surgeons. Mrs. Hunter, a sister of Sir Everard Home, was the author of that lovely song, " My mother bids me bind my hair," to Handel's music. She was an accomplished artist and published a volume of poems. After Hunter's death, in 1795, the house was sold and was 246 KENSINGTON occupied successively by some four or five owners, including a Duke of Richmond and a Mr. Nathaniel Gostling. In i 8 i i it was tenanted by Lord Albemarle, whose son, the ]M-esent earl, men- tiDiis it in his fifty Years of >iiy Life. The lamented Princess SIR FREDERICK i.Eu.niMNs noi 41, Charlottc uscd some- times to spend a Sunday here. Lord Albemarle remembers the little princess enticing his sisters, then children, to the top of the mound, in order to roll them into a bed of nettles below, and man}' similar escapades. The next neighbours were the MODF.RN KENSINGTON 247 family of " Mr. Guntcr, the confectioner, nicknamed by us, Currant-jclly-hall." The Guntcr estate lay, and lies, on the other or western ^ide of the road, and con- ^'sts of about sixty acres, now almost all built over. By Earl's Court Road .,„.....„. ^^''-^ reach the High Street -'^'^■- - ' of Kensington, where a turnpike stood until 1864, nearly opposite to the southern end of Addison Road. This comparatively new thoroughfare extends northward to the Ux- bridge Road, and is flanked by Holland Road and Russell Road which faces the "Addison Road " or " West Kensington " Station of the railway which marks the boundary of the parish on this side. Here, as elsewhere in Kensington, the changes have been greatest in the past few years. There arc still, however, a few 24S KENSINGTON detached villas and a good many trees along Addison Road, which is said to derive its name from a tradition that Addison, while he lived at Holland House, used to walk- in an avenue which existed here. About half-wa\- up the road, on the right or eastern side, is a gate which opens on a prett)' wooded lane that leads up to Holland House. This ma\' well have been the original entrance to the " old house" at West Town, in which Sir \\ alter In-ed while " Cope Castle " was being built ; but the manor or court house was always a villa which still exists, somewhat Gothicised, close to St. Barnabas Church, A toll-gate used to stand at the northern end of Addison Road, and since its removal in 1864 all that part of the place has been greatl\- altered. An old villa, L i d h a m Lodge, I think, stood with exten- sive gardens about it till the other tlay. k'roni Addison Road on the right, or eastern side, two roads open which must not be neg- lected. This dis- trict rivals St. j.ihirs \V,„«1 in the number and MOi:)ERN KENSINGTON 349 eminence of the artists who inhabit it. We first come to I [ol- land Park Road, formerly St. Mary Abbot's Mews. A very remarkable house on the north side is that of Sir Frederick Leisjhton, the president of the Royal Academy. »T contains some beautiful apartments, including a domed saloon, adorned with oriental carving and stained glass. A few old cottages and barns are still in this road, but are rapidly dis- appearing. At the eastern end we enter Melbury Road, which, turning a corner, rejoins Addison Road, near St Barnabas Church. Melbury Road consists entirely of detached and semi-detached villas in red brick, some of them of beautiful design. No. I I, which faces us at the corner, and looks partly into Holland Park, IS now the residence of Mr. Luke 1 ildes, and was inhabited by poor Kmg Cetewayo during his brief ' ^ ^ ^ English visit. Next to it is the Gothic villa designed for himself by the late William Burges, R.A. It is more beautiful in its details than as a whole, and the same remark applies to the interior, which is full of curious bits of ornament and quaint conceits, and is, among other things, remarkable for the design and carving of the chimney-pieces. Mr. Pullan, the late owner of the house, published a series of forty photographs, showing its features and decorations. On the opposite side, at first the western, and when we have turned the corner, the southern, the first house is that of Mr. Thornycroft, the sculptor ; and at No. 6 we come to " Little Holland House," the residence and studio of Mr. G. F. Watts. The name recalls the villa of the late General Fox, which was pulled down after his death. Mr. Callcott, in a manuscript note, communicated to me by Mr. Mcrriman, to 2SO KENSINGTON whom I owe so much in- formation, mentions Little Holland House : " i 8th Oc- tober 1875. Walked out to sec the last of Little Holland House, where Miss : and her companion, Miss Vernon, so long re- Milcd. Here Archbishop Whatcley, Dr. Arnold, and Blanco White, so frequentl}' stopped. I remember the mat at the entrance, SALVE. Sydney Smith said of Miss Fox, ' Oh ! she is perfection, she always gives me the idea of an aged angel.'" General Charles Richard Fox died 13th April 1873. He left a famous collection of coins and medals. He is always understood to have been the elder brother of the fourth Lord Holland, born in 1 796, before the marriage of his father in 1797 with the divorced wife of Sir Godfre\' \\'ebster. General I'ox married L;k1}' Alary Fitz- . 9 MELQURY ROAD. MODERN KENSINGTON 1 clarence, a daughtcr t . 1 - of William IV., mik state housekeeper pSF^ „. 1 u at Windsor Castle, who died in 1 864. .Aifl ^^ As a museum of the so - called " Queen Anne " style, Mel- bury I'load is worth *iKra»- ■::aBS'-^wiieas^ii^^gg ^■ a visit. Before we pro- WATTS'S HOUSE, NO. 6 MELBURY ,OAD. ceed to the northern territory of the parish of Kensington, we may take the following passage, relating to the first buildings in the High Street, from Faulkner : — On the west of Earl's Terrace is the Experimental Garden belonging to the Horticultural Society of London. The adjoining land, facing the high road, is to be let on building leases. On the east of Earl's Court Lane, and facing Philliniore Place, Mr. Allen is now building two large rows of houses in the modern style, covered with plaister to re- semble stone. This taste- less innovation in the art of building will entirely super- sede the beautiful brickwork, which we so much admire, in our more ancient domestic structures. Proceeding down Earl's Court Lane, we arrive at the village of Earl's Court. On the west side of the road is situated the manm house, now occupied by M Hutchins; the farm extci^ westward as far as the creek. The road to Holland House formerly ran through the 252 KENSINGTON centre of the lands, planted with elms on each side, all which have long since disappeared, but the land is still called Holland Walk. This avenue extended to Honey Lane (a corruption of Holland Lane), and thus formed a regular communication with the Fulham Road, from which Holland House forms a striking object. ALany houses have been built here within these few years : Earl's Court Terrace, pleasantly situated, was built by Mr. Thomas Smith of Chelsea. To this passage \vc should add that nearly all the vacant land is now built over, and the roads to the southward, which a few years ago led among orchards and detached villas with gardens, are now being covered with new rows of houses. First comes Warwick- Road, then Edwardes Square, called, of course, after the family name of Lord Kensington, then Earl's Court Road, then Abingdon Road, then Allen Street, and lastly Wright's Lane, in which is Scarsdale House, already mentioned. Of " Wright's Lane, leading to Earl's Court P'ields," Faulkner observes that it "takes its name from the late Gregory Wright, Esq., who built the houses at the south end, about the year 1774. Carmarthen House, part of these buildings, is now occupied by Mrs. Tyass as a boarding school for young ladies. The adjoining house was lately occupied b)- Dr. W. Brown, author of the Union Dictioiiivy. A little west is the resi- dence of Captain James Carnegie. This estate, consist- ing of seven acres, with two tenements, was once the pro- perty of Sir Isaac Newton ; the ori- ginal deed of bar- gain and sale, dated 1726, 13 George I., with his autograph, is now in the posses- . N KENSINC.TON 25.- I > '>>-1"-j""'i of houses before we sionof Mr. JIall of Kensint^ton Square. It is now vested in the devisees of Mr. G. Wright, and the present possessor for Hfe is W. Wright Baker, Esq." This was in 1820. The Terrace IS the last row reach the great shops and the raihvay station. Here, in a house then numbered 4, died in 1864 John Leech, the famous artist, worried to death, it was said, by organ-grinders. Down Wright's Lane we reach the Crippled Boys' Home in Woolsthorpe House, part of which is old, and the absurdly named Cheni- ston Gardens, on the site of the very pretty iv)'- covered Abingdon House, which has not long dis- appeared. A little farther along the winding lane we come to the workhouse, and end with MarloesRoad, which opens into Crom- well Road. Returning to the High Street, we may note that where the railway station :ensington is now, William Cobbett lived for some years. We may turn to the northward by any of the numerous roads, once Hol- and Park is passed, which lead up Campden Hill. Of these the prettiest is, of course, Lord Hol- land's Lane, which goes over the top of the hill, close past the house, and skirts the park till the Uxbridge Road is reached. It is full of fine old trees, and the park paling on the left helps to do awa\- with the effect of the backs of the MOUKRN KENSINGTON 255 houses in I'hilliniorc Gardens on the right. Farther on, passing the gardens of Argyll Lodge, Moray Lodge, and Aubrey House, there are palings on both sides. Leading out of Lord Holland's Lane on the right or eastern side, just as the top of the hill is attained, wc reach a road locally known as Nightingale Lane. Here a considerable number of handsome villa residences are tenanted by people of such exalted rank that the district used to be called by the neighbours " the Dukeries." Two dukes still inhabit houses here, the Duke of Rutland has Bute House, and the Duke of Argyll, Argyll Lodge : but the most interesting is Holly Lodge (Mrs. Winkworth), in which Lord Macaulay spent his declining years, and where he died, 2Sth December 1859. Like the other villas here. Holly Lodge has an extensive *t m KENSINGTON gai'dcn and lawn sloping to the southward to a lane known as the Duchess of Bedford's Walk. Moray Lodge is the residence of Mr. Arthur J. Lewis. Phillimore Gardens, Upper Phillimore Gardens, and other streets and roads are on the Phillimore estate. Those parts of it which touch the high road were built upon by William Phillimore, who died in 1 8 1 8, and whose father, Robert Phillimore, who died in 1779 (his monument is in the church), had a lease of the land. The first houses were erected just a hundred MODERN KENSINGTON 257 years ago, but vestiges of the farm buildings were still visible in Upper Phillimore Gardens till lately. The present family is, or was lately, represented by Captain William Brough Phillimore of Kendalls, Herts, the great -great -grandson of Robert, the grandson of John Fcnimore or Phillimore, of Cam, in Gloucestershire, who died in 171 i. In Faulkner's time Sir David Wilkic lived in Lower Phillimore Place, having come to reside in Kensington in i S 1 i , the year he was made an academician. Here he painted " Distraining for Rent," now in the National Gallery, " The P'amily Breakfast," " Blindman's Buff," and the " Scottish Wedding." He afterwards removed to Maitland House in Church Street. The roads which run parallel with Phillimore Gardens contain little of note until we come to Campden House ; but Campden Hill Road, formerly at its northern end called Plough Lane, was only opened for vehicles after the death of Sir James South, the astronomer, and the removal of his house. The observatory stood behind the houses in Observatory Avenue, on a space still vacant, and the house was close by, on the ground now occupied by the roadway of Obser- vatory Gardens, opened in 1886. There arc still, in Campden LHll Road, two South Villas and a South Lodge. Sir James South was avery eccentric man, and stories of his sayings and doings are still oc- 258 KENSINGTON casionalh' heard in Kensington. His lawn was for years strewn with the remnants of an Equatorial, which he described in the title of a lithograph, now very scarce, which I have seen by the kind- ness of Mr. Merriman : — " A view of the lots into which the same useless twenty feet Equatorial, invented by Troughton and Sims, and cobbled by their assistants, the Rev. R. Sheephanks and Mr. G. 15. Airy, was distributed previous to its sale by auction, Sth of July 1839." Some account of the object-glass of the Equatorial, which he presented to the observatory at Dunsink, near Dublin, may be found in Sir Robert Ball's book. The Story of t/tc Heavens, p. i 2. When roads began to be made over Campden Hill, Sir James South was very angry, and resisted to the best of his ability. As late as 1 869 there was only one footway leading from Kensington Road to the Uxbridge Road, west of Church Street, namely. Lord Holland's Lane, mentioned above ; for Campden Hill Road ended where it met Upper Phillimore Gardens, and Sir James South's villa stood between it and Plough Lane. But even the opening of Campden House Road was distasteful to him, and when he was called upon to contribute to the expenses, he flatly refused, until compelled by an action at law. On this occasion it is said that he made his cheque payable to " Messrs. Robbery, Tyranny, and Co., or order." He was dis- tinguished as an as- trometer, and greatly feared the vibration caused by the under- Ljround railway would prevent observations 1)11 Camixlcn Hill, which, in fact, is the case. I Ic foretold the discovery of a satellite MODERN KENSINGTON to Mars, though he never actually saw it. lie so passionately loved his home that it passed into a proverb among his friends as his favourite exclamation, " Thank God ! I'm back in Kensington." Sir James South was born in 1785, and at finst practised as a physician in Southwark, studying astrononi)' in his leisure moments. lie was one of the fdundcrs of the Royal Astronomical .Socict}', and was knighted by William 1 \'. at the instance of the Duke of Well- ington as a recognition of the value of Ills labours on the Nautical Almanack. lie died at Campdcn Hill 19th October 1867. The alterations in Church Street have been very great even in the past five years. Forty years ago the road was narrow and winding until it joined Silver Street ; but except at the church and at Wiple Place, built in 1792, there were no rows of houses on the right or east side, and the street wound up the hill past the barracks (there being no passage into Kensington Gar- dens), Maitland House, York House, the Vicar- age (which was at a turn in the road, so that the front looked down to- wards the church), a large house, now a Roman Catholic orplianage, Wiple KENSINGTON Place, Wiple Cottage (where is now Melon Place), and Sheffield House (which stood in its own grounds as York House stands now). York House, by the waj', was for some years the residence of the Princess Sophia, one of the daughters of George HI. She died here 27th May 1848. K.TCHKN-, r,.n MAI,,. j^^ ^ ^ ^^ Church Street, Miss Jean Ingclow, the poet and novelist, was living in 1863. James Mill, the father of John Stuart Mill, lived at Maitland House. Campden House has alread}- been noticed ; and there is now no other trace of antiquity left on Campden Hill, except Bul- lingham House, also described in a former chapter. The new- vicarage was improved and partly remodelled in 1886, but is still by no means a beautiful building. It stands consider- ably to the east of the old ,,i,u.m,v hi. .mvl. house, which was pulled down in 1877, and the very site wholly obliterated by the new road. Until the turnpikes in Kensington were all abolished and the gates removed in 1 864, the passenger going northward by Church Street when he had en- tered Silver Street, its continua- tion towards Netting Hill, found himself facing the toll bar at Campden Street. Tlierc are still some remains at this corner of the gate-keeper's lodge. A little farther on is The Mall, which MODERN KKNSINCTON opens on the right, and first joining a street of new houses named Palace Gardens Terrace, it turns northward and reaches High Street, Notting Hill. In the Mall, as it appears now, there are two or three dilapidated cottages, rapidly disap- pearing ; but a few years ago Annis Place, Mall Mews, Lucerne Mews, Rabbit Row, ami Ikirkcr's Buildings, were rather pictur- esque with their red-tiled roofs and green vines. Two or three superior houses have also given way to the modern builder. Among them was the residence of the Callcotts, ;i family of which several members were more or less distinguished, especially Dr. Callcott the glee- writer, Sir Augustus Callcott the painter, and William Hutchins Callcott, who inherited his father's musical abilities. There are still many inhabitants of Kensington who remember the last named. He latterly resided in Campden Hill Road, where he died in 1SS3. The first of the family in Kensington is said to have been a builder, some say no more than a brickla}er, engaged on the works at the palace. He married Charlotte Wall, by whom, who was his second wife, he had among other children two sons who distinguished themselves in different walks of art. The elder — who was thirteen years older than his brother — took to music, and was the composer of many well-known songs and glees. He was John Wall Callcott, made a Doctor of Music of the University of Oxford in i 800, and is not to be confounded, as Leigh Hunt confounds him, with his son, William Hutchins Call- cott. Leigh Hunt's mention of him is in- deed so misleading that, as it appears in all editions of the Old Court Suburb, it should be the more clearly exposed. He says, after a brief notice of Sir Augustus, that he .^.Kc- KENSINGTON was preceded to the grave by his brother " William Callcott, a learned and interest- ing musician, cele- brated for his com- position of glees. He was the author of the pathetic composition ■ It was a Friar of Orders Gray,' " and so on. Now William Callcott survived his uncle. Sir Augustus, some thirty years ; and the " pathetic " character of the song mentioned has not been detected by any one but Hunt. John Wall Callcott died in 1 821, aged 61, and was buried in the churchyard of Kensington. His brother, the painter. Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, R.A., was born in 1779, was a choir boy in early life, and was always devoted to music, but took to painting as a profession. He was knighted by Queen Victoria soon after her accession, and dying in 1 844 was buried at Kensal Green. His wife is even better remem- bered. She was Maria, daughter of Admiral George Dundas, and married first a Captain Graham, R.N., with whom she saw many foreign countries and wrote pleasantly about them. In 1827, being a widow, she married Callcott, and after a long period of illness died before him in 1842 "at Kensington Gravel Pits," namely, in the house in the Mall, and was buried at Kensal Green. She was the author of a book almost as well known in the schoolroom as MangnalPs Questions, namely. Utile Artlmrs History of England. The House at the Mall stood well back from the road, and had close behind it to the east the red-brick wall of the palace garden. It was built in 18 10, and pulled down and the materials and site sold in 1871. MODERN KENSINCrrON 263 The Mall now con- tains some labourers' dwellings erected by Sir Morton Peto, and leads to Palace Gardens Ter- race. Before we leave the southern side of Campden Hill, Hornton Street must NOS. 53 ANU 60 HIOH STUBKT, NUTTINt^ MILL GATli. ^^ nOtlCCd. The Origin of the name I have not been able to ascertain. Here, in the last house at the northern end, long lived Thomas Frognall Dibdin, D.D., the bibliographer. He was incumbent of St. Mary's, Bryanston Square ; but is chiefly remembered for his bibliomania, and for being the son of that famous seaman. Captain Thomas Dibdin, on whose death Charles Dibdin, his brother, wrote and composed " Tom Bowling." The large house opposite Hornton Street was recently built by a gentleman named Abbott, and is appropriately named " The Abbey." Another house faces Hornton Street now called " The Red House," and considerably added to in an incongruous fashion ; for origin- ally though only a stucco villa it had some architectural pretensions, being in the style described by Vitruvius as Etruscan Doric, the same style as that in which Inigo Jones designed the church of St. Paul, Covent Garden. Near to ■'' k 264 KENSINGTON the Red House is Niddiy Lodge, where the late amiable and accomplished Campbell of Islay lived for man}' years. Netting Hill may by some be described as the northern side of Campden Hill : by others as that part of Kensington parish which lies to the north of the Uxbridge Road. Leigh Hunt says of the Gravel Pits that they form " a kind of second Kensington High Street, being to the northern boundary line of the suburb in the Uxbridge Road what the High Street, commonly so called, is to Kensington Proper in the road to Hammersmith. Since the disappearance of the actual gravel- pits their name seems to have been superseded, of late years, by the joint influence of the new streets on Notting Hill and in Bayswater — all this portion of Kensington to the west of the turnpike being now addressed, we believe, post-officially, as Notting Hill ; and all of it, to the east of the turniMke, being understood, in like manner, to belong to ]5a)'swatcr." Leigh Hunt — his book is undated — must have written this passage before turnpikes were abolished in our parish, which was in i 864, and we can now distinguish more clearly between Paddington and Kensington. High Street, Notting Hill Gate, is a well-defined thoroughfare, and all the northern parts of Kensington which lie beyond it would be wrongl)- de- r,„'., scribed as 15ays- .,,.•' ■ (, water. They are one and all so new that wc need not delay long over them : the geo- [j^ V a p h \- of the countr}' the)' cover has been already examined, and we may briefl}- divide the district into MODERN KKNSlNCruN 265 tliicc parts. First, there is the Norland division, an import- ant portion of tlic old manor of Netting Barns. Secondly, there is the so-called Kensington Park division, which lies round the hill on which St. John's Church stands, and stretches eastward towards Westbourne Grove in Paddington. Thirdly, there is a new quarter which is rapidly springing up on the slope toward Kensal Green, past the " North Pole," so long an Ultima Thule in this direction, and far beyond Portobello l-'arm. All three formed part of the Notting Barns manor, the manor-house of which, if there is anything in names, must have been that marked on maps less than forty years old as adjoin- ing Notting Hill Square on one side and Holland I'ark on the other, and identical with Aubrey House, already described. That the manor-house of this extensive northern district sliould have been so far south and so distant from the greater part of the estate may be accounted for by the uninhabited state of Notting Hill before the beginning of the century and the insecurity of a more lonely situation. Down to the time of Queen Elizabeth, and long after, a great part of these northern districts was covered with wood, or else open heath and " scrubs." Norland House is mentioned by l-'aulkner as " the residence of C. Drummond, I^^sq., the banker. " Gallows Close," on the left of the high road, close to Shepherd's Bush. This, I think, would be .at the northern extremity of Addison Road, now built over. Two men were hanged here, about 1748, for one of thu highway robberies so common in thi^ neighbourhood at the time. " In Roque's map the gallows are deline- ated as still standing," says P'aulkncr. If so, they were beyond the parish boundaries, as we can only make them out much nearer Shepherd's Bush, He also tells us of rw'^m4 266 KENSINGTON ■iCf- and some way to the west- ward of the Creek. Also, a careful examination shows that three, not two, male- factors hung on the gibbets, which are apparently set up at the eastern corner of the Green, the roads passing on either side of them, so that these cannot be the gibbets of Gallows " Close," for a close is a field and these arc on the open common. It follows that if both Roque and Faulkner arc riglit anotiier set of gallows stood within the Kensington boundary. Such objects were probably very common at conspicuous corners in the neighbourhood of London a century ago. On the northern side of the road was, and indeed is, the notorious district known as The Potteries. A good many relics of old houses of a picturesque character may be found here ; but the picturesqueness is passing away with the squalor, and the influence of such fine places as Royal Crescent and Norland Square, which is on the site of Mr. Drummond's house, is assert- ing itself I should not omit to mention the efforts which have been made in this neighbourhood by the benevolence of a band of self-sacrificing ladies, who, in the " Lily," have provided the means of culture and rational recreation for the inhabitants, most of whom are employed in the laundries and brick-fields with which the Norland district abounds. Netting Barns Farm is a long way north, and practic- ally does not exist now, much of the land being built over. There are public-house signs and street names to commemorate the supposed manorial residence and the Barn which stood near. That Aubrey House was, however far off, the real and original manor-house is, I think, plain from a variety of reasons too long to enumerate ; but from which one may be selected as typical. MODERN KENSINGTCJN 'll 1' l_ ^. ^^. I I |--^^1| '^ I The boundary of the parochial "ward of St. John Nottini; Hill and St. James Norlands " expressly turns southward, over the top of Campden Hill, in order to include Aubrey House and the land adjacent with the main body of the manor on the other or northern side of the Uxbridgc Road. The second division of this great district lies round St. John's Church. An " Old Inhabitant " who wrote some recollections of this parish and Paddington, which were printed for a bazaar at the Paddington Mercury office without a date, but probably about 1882, says, " The first time I heard of Notting Hill was many years since. I was asked to sign a petition, the prayer of which pleaded for parliamentary interfer- ence to stop the action of the proprietors of the Hip- podrome at Notting Hill from running horses on ^^ kv-. t^ ■■- ^. 268 KENSINGTON Sundays. I have since heard that races were not run upon that day, but horses were tried as a prehminary step to the races during the week. " In 1S44, when I first became acquainted with the neigh- bourhood, I inquired wliat had become of the racecourse and was shown an open country, — the place now occupied by St. John's Church, Notting Hill, being the spot on which the grand stand had been erected, and the course, as nearly as I can describe it, is now covered by Clarendon Road, Cornwall Road, Portobello Road, Horbury Terrace, and Ladbroke Square. I found that the inhabitants had insisted upon a right-of-way across the grounds, and taking the law into their own hands, with hatchets and saws had removed the barriers and thus by main- taining their right to cross the ground when they pleased caused the racing men to abandon it." As a fact, " the racing men " made a strong fight before they gave up the Hippodrome. Petitions were got up on each side, and an Act of Parliament was demanded shutting up the public right-of-way. The extent of this open ground may be gathered from the extract above. A map in Mr. Merriman's collection shows that Lord Holland's Lane was continued north- ward across the Uxbridge Road, along a line not quite so straight as Ladbroke Road, that it went right over the knoll on which St. John's Church now stands, which was a grassy mound within the ring of the racecourse, and on, bending a little to the west, past Notting Barns h'arm to the Harrow Road at tlie extreme corner of the parish near Kensal Green. The chief entrance to the Hippodrome was at the junction of Kensington Park Road and Ladbroke Road, opposite the present Notting Hill Gate Railway Station. Portobello Road marked its eastern boundary ; and at that time opened directly from the High Street, where is now Devonshire Terrace. Our " Old Inhabitant " says that "at this point commenced a country lane leading partly between hedges and afterwards through fields to Kensal Green.'' He adds, " It was a most delightful walk ; from ccilain portions of the lane charming views could be obtained. This KENSINGTON can hardly be understood by the present inliabitants ; it will be made more clear if I say that looking from the back of cither mansion I ha\c mentioned from Stormont House to Portobello Lane the whole country was open, and only a few farms here and there. Hampstead, on the north, was visible, and from the hill by the side of Porto Bcllo Farm, then occupied by Mr. Wise ; on the east, London ; and on the north-west, Harrow on the Hill were clearly visible. No wonder that this pleasant lane was the favourite walk not only of the inhabitants of Netting Hill but also of many from the cit}-. From west to north, from north to east, scarcely a house was to be seen. Cornfields and meadowland on every side, the quiet only broken by the occasional passing of a train on the Great Western Railway at Kensal Green. It seems almost impossible to realise the fact, but it is a fact, that during this thirty-eight )-ears the thousands of houses which are now to be seen from I'^aling to Hampstead, and Hampstead to Edgwarc Road, have been built." The Hippodrome flourished as a racecourse only from 1S37 until 1S41. The deep clay of Notting Hill was unsuitcd for running on except at certain seasons, and, though some of the ground still remained open as lately as thirty years ago, it was steadily eaten into bj' tlic builder, until now only Ladbroke Square, or Kensington Park as it is called, and a few- gardens on the sloju' to the westward, re- main of the oiien ipacc. Th fol MODERN KENSINGTON 271 graphs from Faulkner describe this district as it was in his time (1820) : — " Kensington Gravel Tits rcrcivcd its name from the gravel-pits lying between it and the town of Kensington. The principal street runs along the North high road for about three furlongs. " This village enjoys an excellent air, and beautiful prospects on the North, and lying in the direct road for Uxbridge and Oxford, it is en- livened every hour by the passage of mail coaches, stages, and waggons. High-row, on the eastern side of the road, leading from the town to the gravel-pits, is a very pleasant row of houses, built, in part, on ground belonging to Dulwich College ; near which is a large pond, now filling up ; and in the surrounding buildings, called the Mall, reside Dr. Calcott, Mus. D., and R. W. Calcott, Esq., R.A., the eminent landscape painter. "In Greyhound - row, fronting the road, are the Gravel Pit alms- houses. . . . " Near the turnpike is Porto Bello Lane, leading to the fann so called, which was the property of Mr. A. Adams, the builder, at the time that Porto Bello was captured. This is one of the most rural and pleasant walks in the summer, in the vicinity of London, leading to the high bridge over the Paddington Canal, south of the Harrow Road, which is the northern boundary of this parish. At Kensal Green is a very ancient public-house, known by the name of the Plough, which has been built upwards of three hundred years ; the timber and joists, being of oak, are still in good preservation. " Morland, the celebrated painter, was much pleased with this sequestered place, and spent much of his time in this house, towards the close of his life ; surrounded by those rustic scenes which his pencil has so faithfully and ably delineated. " Notting Hill Farm was the residence of the late Mr. John Hall. A public road leads through this farm yard, to the sister-hill of Holland House, which being of great height, and entirely free from wood, commands a most lovely and enchanting view over the adjacent country. " The valley on the north is laid down with grass, and the whole of the district appears to have undergone but little alteration, in respect to culture and division of the land, for several ages ; although the distance from London is scarcely three miles, yet the traveller may imagine himself to be embosomed in the most sequestered part of the country, and nothing is heard but the notes of the lark, the linnet, or the nightingale. . . . " In the midst of these meadows stands the manor-house of Knotting Barns, now occupied by William Smith, Esq., of Hammersmith ; it is an ancient brick building, surrounded l5y spacious barns, and out-houses ; the public road to Kensal Green jjasscs through the farm yard." 272 KENSINGTON This public road is now represented very nearly by Latimer Road, along the course of which an old house or wall or garden may still be found. Beyond, towards the cemetery, is the third district of North Kensington. Of it I have nothing to say more than has been said already, but our Old Inhabitant, above quoted, draws a pathetic picture of the state of the people who dwelt here a very few years ago. At the end of Pottery Lane was " a colony of pig-keepers. Every house here had a colony of the porcine family in its yard. A number of carts filled with tubs passed, daily to London, gathering refuse from hotels and mansions to feed the large families of pigs gathered here. It was not a savoury place, and at the time of the cholera the inhabitants suffered severely. Rough -looking people the}- appeared, but upon closer acquaintance it was seen they looked more uncouth than they really were. The onl)- religious or secular education the people and children received was provided by the members of the Baptist Chapel at Silver Street and the congregation at Hornton Street. Their place of meeting for MODERN KENSINGTON 373 some years was in an unfinished house, with its unplastered walls on two floors not divided into separate rooms. Their teachers were poor, but they had love to God in tJicir hearts, and [jrovcd it by their love to their iicitjh- bours. Their names, unrccordetl on earth, will never be forgotten by Him who said, ' Inasmuch as ye did it to the least of these my brethren, ye did it to Ale.' Beyond this colony I discovered another in Latimer Road, where there was no Sab- bath teaching or secular educa- tion. In looking back 1 feci grateful to God for the numbers I was enabled to gather together on the Sabbath, both of adults and children, and also for the many children who received instiuc tion in a day-school I established . . . But what a place it was when I first discovered it — comparatively out of the world, — a rough road, cut across the field, the only ap- proach, brick-fields and pits on eithei side making it dangerous to lea\e on dark nights. A safe place foi many people who did not wish everybody to know what they wcic doing. I am afraid that there v\eiL more spirits about there than thcic were either bodies or bottles to con tain. I could tell a great deal about Latimer Road in 1 844 to r IN NOTTING HILL S(JU KENSINGTON i^^'- 1850, but other Pharaohs have arisen there who know not Joseph, and they are lining a good work in that A hich, by the opening of a railway station, has become I well-known place." A very wretched quarter was also close to the High .li.,V. ,-. Street. It was called Campden Place, and was a perfect rookery of houses, overcrowded and filthy. It comprised two side streets, Pitt's Cottages and Anderson's Cottages, in all some fifty separate houses of the poorest description, yet almost over- looked by Stormont House, the Hermitage, and Linden Grove, and close to the entrance of Kensington Palace. The great artist, Mulready, li\-ed in the Grove. The growth of Campden AT O D K R N K K N S I N G T O N Place is not easily accounted for ; the land belonged to the parochial charities, and was originally bought on i Sth June 165 1 from Thomas Coppin, Esq., with a sum of forty- five pounds in the hands of the parish trustees, Sir John Thorow- good, and others. Whence that sum of forty-five pounds came no one seems to know, but it was always referred to as "Cromwell's Gift." In 165 i Oliver Cromwell was busy first in Scotland, and afterwards at Worcester, where he defeated Charles II. in September. The gift most probably was made .some time before. I have already said something on the subject in noticing Hale House. The Gravel Pits estate, as it was called, consisted of two acres, occupied by Richard Barton. Almshouses were to have been erected on the site, but instead, it was let on lease ; the lease came to a minor, Henry White, whose name very frequently appears in the law proceedings that ensued, and in the end nothing seems to have been done. A brewery, the Sun, stood on the land at the beginning of this century, but a little later it was let for building, and the wretched cottages, al- ready mentioned, sprang up. In 1 868 the parish authorities at length obtained possession ; tin place was cleareil, and the hand - some street named " C 1 a n - ricarde Gardens " ffjd'- 276 KENSINGTON was built by Messrs. Goodwin and White on a ninety-nine years' lease. The whole estate, with some shops in High Street, brings in ;£^I042 per annum, according to the parochial accounts. High Street, Notting Hill Gate, has greatly changed in appearance of late years. "In iS44,"says the Old Inhabitant already so often quoted, " there were only two shops in the village above one storey high." Close to the turnpike gate were two parochial institutions, the village pump and the village pound. Close by was Farm Street, now called Farmer Street, and behind the houses a large brick-field, where is now New- combe Street, at first New Street. On the site now known as Campden Hill Gardens stood Wj-combe House, and Mr. Boughton's beautiful residence, \\'est House, had not been built. West House is called after Benjamin West, an American artist, who rose to be President of the Royal Academy. Notting Hill Square is close to Aubrey House, and the Uxbridge Road, de- scending to Shepherd's Bush, passes it. The view from the houses which form the southern side of the square is very fine on a clear da\-, and is partlj- described in my opening chapter. The view from Tower Cressy \W. Matterson, Esq.), a lofty stuccoed house in Aubrey Road, is simply magnificent. A handsome entrance in stone to this strange resi- dence has been latch- built b\- its present owner. At the other corner of the square, in New Road, is Hill Lodge (W. G. Rawlin- MODERN KENSINGTON 277 son, Esq.), in the gardens of which springs have been luund in late years. It would be easy to swell out these notes indefinite])-, but this long chapter must now terminate. I have endeavoured in it to give a superficial view of the present state of the whole parish, but have been obliged to omit statistics and such particulars as to gas-lighting, water-works, wood jjavtments, population, birth and death rate, which may all be found in a most interesting comiDilation, the Annual Report of ilic I 'cstry of St. Mary Abbotts, though why that august body should spell the latter part of their name in such a fashion I cannot guess. yj t T> n^ Room .„ rvl^Jiimc, H>n -S I INDEX "Abbey," 263. Abbot's Manor, ^;}, 34, 40, 65, 66 ; pic- sentment in 1672, 35 ; tenants in 1672 and 167s, 36, 37. Abingdon, Abbot of, has grant of portion of Kensington Manor and advowson of church, 32. Addison, Joseph, at Holland House, etc., 75, 220 ; his marriage with the Count- ess of Warwick, and stories relating to it, 76 ; his daughter, 76 ; his letters to the young Lord Warwick, 77, 78. Addison Road, 64, 24S. Adrian Terrace, 219. Albemarle, Lord, 246. AUiert Hall, 226-229. Albert Memorial, 22S-232. " Alcove," 143, 146. Alexander Square, 214, 216. Alexander, William C, of Aubrey House, 106. Amelia Place, 216. Anderson, Sir Henry, purchases Notting Barns Manor, 62. Anne ((/oinwallis) succeeds to Earl's Court Manor, and with her husband, Archibald Earl of Argyll, sells it to Sir Walter Cope, 69, 1 28. Ansdell, R.A., Richard, 113. Argyll, Archibald Earl of, 69, 12S. Duke of, 255. Argyll, family, first connection with Ken- sington, 69. Argyll Lodge, 255. Arnold, Dr., 250. "Aubrey I louse," manor-house of Not- ting Hill, 105, 265, 266. Aubrey "the Grymme," 46, 47. Barker, Christopher, has West Town Manor, 64. ,, Mary, benefactress, 200. Beatrice, Countess of Guisnes, 45. " Bell and Horns," 214, 221. Beloe, Rev. William, 211. Berkeley Gardens, 106, no. Berkeley, Jane, 106, loS, 199. Best, Captain, 83. Birds observed in Kensington Gardens, 25- Blake, Sir William, 1 28. Blanco White, 250. Blessington, Lady, 233. Blount,, Sir John, Governor of 11am, 54. Bolebec, Isabella, 46. Bolney House, 233. Boundaries not fixed by chance, but by circumstances, i. Boyle, Charles, Earl of Biirlinglon, 92. Braham, the tenor, 215. Bray, Sir Reginald, 54, 61. Brompton Crescent, 214. Brompton, probable origin uf name, 16. Brompton Row, 212. Brompton Square, 212. Broglie, Prince de, 122. Brooks, Shirley, 213. Brown, Dr. W., 252. "Buck Hill Gate," now Marlborough Gate, 145. Bullingham family, 104. BuUingham House, 102-104. Bullingham, John, Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, 104. Bullock family, 123. Burges, R.A., William, 249. Burghley, Lord, has Notting Barnes Manor, 62, 220. Burke, Edmund and Richard, 129. Burlington, Lady, at Campden House, 95. liuilinsjlon, Clmiles, 2(1 Earl of, Cnmpdeii House, 92. , , Richard, 3d Earl of, the archi- tect, Campden House, 95. Burne Jones, A.R.A., Edward, 120. Bute House, 255. Buttell, Henry, lessee of Abbot's Manor, 66. Butt's Field, 242. CaI-LCOTT, Sir Augustus, and family, 261, 262, 271. Callcott, Thomas, loS. Calvert, Sir Harry, at LiUle Campden House, 100. Camelford, Lord, 83. Campden Charities, 200, 242. ,, Hill, 105, 106, 254. IliU Gardens, 276.' ,, House, S9-102, 1 10. ,, Place, 274. ,, Terrace, 243. Canning, George, 194, 239 ; lines by, 195- ^jSSS^^'rql^- Carey, Sir Edward, has grant of tithes, 65. Gary, Lucius, Lord Ealkland, no. Carmarthen House, 252. Carnaby, Mary, benefactress, 199. Carnegie, Capt. James, 252. Caunter's, or Counter's, Bridge, 1 1 . Cetewayo, King, 249. Chamberlain, office of, 40, 44, 52. Chantiey, monuments by him, 191. Chapel of Kensington Palace, communion plate, and chaplains, 162-164. Chardin, an Oriental traveller, tenant of Holland House, 78. Charities, 198. Charles Street, 113. Charles X., 122. Chelsea, northern detached portion ac- counted for, 4. Churches and chapels at Kensington, 166. Churches — Holy Trinity, Brompton, 201. St. Barnabas, Addison Road, 202. St. John's, Netting Hill, 202. St. James, Norl.ind, 203. Christchurch, Victoria Road, 203. Others in list, 204. Romanist, 204. ,, Pro-Cathedral, 204. ,, Oratory, Brompton, 205. Carmelite, 205. ,, St. Francis of Assisi, 205. Dissenting, 205. Churches, former, on same site, 184-186. Church "restoration," 176. Church Street, 259, 260. Church, St. Maiy Ablrot's, new, 176; dimensions, 180 ; cost, 181 ; spire, 181; window.s, etc., iSi; pulpit, 182; communion plate, 182 ; bells, 183. Churchyard, tombs and memorials mentioned by Faulkner (Courten, Elphinstone, Viscount Moles- worth, Dibdin, Pegge, Bellamy, Gunter, Canning, Inchbald), 194-195. City and Guilds of London Insti- \vift, Dean, ballad mentioning Campden House, 99 ; at Kensington Gravel Pits, lAI.I.EYRAND, I IS. Thackeray, 114-117, 217; his reference to state apartments of the Palace in The Vir^niiiam, ISS- Miss, the palace chapel in Old Kensington, 162. Thistle Grove, 21S. Thorney House, 239, 241. Thornycroft, R.A., Hamo, sculptor, 249. Thorpe, John, architect of Cope's Castle, 69, 70. Tower Cressy, view from, 276. Turnpike, 146, 260, 264. Vanbrugh, Sir John, architect of the old schools, 196. Vane, Sir Christopher, Lord Barnard, III. Veitch, Dr. James, 120. Ver, Albericus (or Aubrey) de, holding the manor in Domesday Book, 29 ; grants portion of manor and advowson of church to the Abbot of Abingdon, 32, 170. ,, Geoffrey, son of Aubrey, when dying induces his father to grant land to the Abbot of Abingdon, Vere, coheirs of, 128. ,, family, 40 ; the name, 4 1 , 43 ; not resident in Kensington, 42 ; questions as to the earliest Veres, 42 ; extinction, 41, 55 ; pedi- gree, 56-59. ,, Aubrey (2d), created Chamlierlain, 44- ,, Aubrey (3d), 1st Earl of Oxford, 44. „ Aubrey (41I1), 2d Earl of Oxford, 46. „ Robert, 3d Earl of Oxford, 47. ,, Hugh, 4th Earl of Oxford, 47. ,, Robert, 5th E.irl of Oxford, 48. „ Robert, 6th Earl of Oxford ; the Good Earl, 49. „ John, 7th Earl of Oxford, 49. ,, Thomas, 8th Earl of Oxford, 49. „ Robert, 9th Earl of Oxford, K.G., Marquis of Dublin, DuUc of Ireland, 50. „ Aidirey, loth Earl of Oxford, 51. ,, Richard, nth Earl of (Jxford, K.G., 52. Vere, John, 12th Earl of) Oxford, ( executed ,, Aubrey, eldest son of( 1462, 52. 1 2th Earl, ) ., John, 13th Earl of Oxford, 53, 54, 61. ,, George, ) brothers of 13th Earl, ,, Thomas, \ 53. ,, John, 14th Earl of Oxford, " Little John of Camps," 55. „ John, 15th Earl of Oxford, 55. ., John, 1 6th Earl of Oxford. See Pedigree, 58. ., John, 17th Earl of Oxford. See Pedigree, 58. ., Heniy, 1 8th Earl of Oxford. .See Pedigree, 59. „ Robert, 19th Earl of Oxford. .See Pedigree, 59. ,, Aubrey, 20th Earl of Oxford. See- Pedigree, 59. ,, Sir Francis, 55. See Pedigree, 58. ., Lord, of Tilbury, 55. See Pedi- gree, 58. ,, Diana, 55. See Pedigree, 59. ,, Elizabeth, Dorothy, and Ursula, coheirs of 14th Earl of Oxford, 68. See Pedigree, 59. Vicarage Gardens, no. Vicarage, history of, 167; antiquity of site, 169; surveys in 1260 .and 1610, 169; disputes as to tithes, c. 1260, 170; account of, in 1689, 170. Vicarage House, old and new, 173, 259, 260. Vicars, list of, 172. Victoria Road, 113, 243. Villanus, villager or free peasant, 30. Villars estate, 224. Vinca, fruit-garden or vineyard, 29. Visme, George de, 106. WAnCF.R, Rol)crt, arcliitecl of Town Hall, 197. Walnut Tree Walk, 219. Walwyn, William, lessee of the Abbot's Manor, 65. Watt.s, R.A., G. E., 249. Weddell, William, 128. West Brompton Cemetery, 20S. West House, 276. West Town Manor, 34, 40, 54, 64, 68. Westbournc Stream, 215. Westminster Abbey actjuires Notting Barns, 54; despoiled, 61. Whateley, Archbishop, 250. Wigan, Alfred, at Little Campdcn House, 287 Willjcrroicu, William, 2 12. Wilkie, Sir David, 257. William III., 79, 89, 113, 138, 1O2. „ IV., 113. Willi.ims, Richard and Morgan, 127. Wiplo Place, 259. " W.ii.lsthoipc," 104, no, 253. Wren, Sir Cliristopher, 96, 146, i 162. Wriglit's Lane, 104, no. 252. Wycombe House, 276. Yeoman's Row, 212. York House, 260. Young Street, 112, 113, 114. Young, Thomas, benefactor, 199. ,, ,, builder of Young Street, "3- OTE. T may be of iiitcicst to the descendants of those ivho subscribed to Faulkner s History of Kensing- ton /'// 1820 to see their names appended to the following list of subscribers who have honoured my book upon trust zcith their kind notice. cAs the new list is to the old in magnitude so is the modern popu- lation to the old. liut it is worth while to observe that the descendants of some of the subscribers of sixty- eight years ago are in the list of 1888. besides Her i£Majesty and oMembers of the l^oyal Family, there may be many more than I can identify. One example is, I think, unique. In 1820, "^iSMr. John SMerrinian, Young Street,'' is a subscriber. In 1888 zee find ^^ John jf . Q^Ierriman, 45, Kensington Square," ivhich is almost the same name, the house also being really the same. In the old list are to be found some very re- markable names. John 'Britton, the great antiquary, dates from Tavistock Tlace, and the T{ev. C. T. 'Burney n. KENSINGTON from Greenwich. The %ight Hon. George Canning.^ oM.'P., is at Gloucester Lodge. The %cv. T. F. "Bibdin, t/ic bibliographer, lived in Hornton Street ; he was the son, and namesake, of Thomas T>ibdin, whom his brother Charles immortalised as ^^Tom 'Tiozvling," in the sweetest of nautical songs. Lord Qnnismorc was at Kensington Gore, '' jfamcs Guntcr, Gsc/.," at Garfs Court, '^Gdward Goulbiirn, Ssq.," inThillimore Tlace, and Sir Richard Colt LLoare is entered without any address. The great topographers, Samuel L^ysons, ^Keeper of Fdis ^Majesty s T{ccords in the Tower,'' and his brother, the %ev. T)aiiicl Lvsons, figure in their place. " Q,dward Orme, &sq., lHayswatcr,'' was the builder of Ormcs Square, and had been a successful printseller in "Bond Street. The l^ev. Thomas %cnncll was vicar of the parish, fohn Soane, '\R^.c_A., gives his address in LJncohi s Lnn Piclds, ivhcre is note the Soane cMuseum. We read near the end the honoured name of " William Wilberforce, &sq., oM.T., Ken- si )!gton Gore." LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO Kensiiig-toii: Picturcs(|iic and Historical. 1888. Her Majesty the Qlteen. Her Roval Highness The Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Her Royal Highness The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lome. Aberdare, The Lady, I, Queen's Gate, S.W. Adams, James Scovell, S8, Holland Park, W. Adams, Mrs. E., 6, Stratford Road, Kensington, \V. (two copies) IV. KENSINGTON Alexander, JNIrs. Fannv, 42, Warwick Road, South Kensington, S.W. Alger, Miss Mary, High School for Girls, Dulwich, S.E. Allchin, Dr. W. H., 5, Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, W. Allen, Edward G., 28, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, W.C. (three copies) Alston, J. B., Linbank, Shortlands. Alt, Lt.-Col. W. J., 3, Holland Park Gardens, W. Anderson, Lt.-Col. Gaskin, 8, Chester Terrace, Eaton Square, S.W. Anderson, Dr. I. W., Schneider Terrace, Barrow-in-Furness. Angler, Theodore, Buckingham Palace Hotel. Annandale, R. C, q. Queen Street, Hull. Annett, W. F., 5, Church Street, Kensington, W. Antrobus, Rev. Frederick, The Oratory, South Kensington, S.W. Arbuthnott, Hon. Mrs., 26, Colville Terrace, Bayswater, W. Armstrong, Captain George, 4, Ashburn Place, South Kensington, S.W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Armstrong, W. B., 60, Edith Road, West Kensington, W. Ashton, Richard James, 20, Sussex Square, Hyde Park, W. Aspland, L. M., o.c, 47, Linden Gardens, Kensington, W. Asser, W. W., Oak Lawn, Anerley, S.E. Atchley, C, Colonial Office, Downing Street, S.W. Atkins, Thomas, Audley Lodge, Stanley Road, Wimbledon. Atkinson, James. Atkinson, John W., St. Andrew's House, 28, Cornhill, E.G. Avery, E., 53, Greek Street, Soho, W. (two copies) Back, Rev. Henry, m.a., Ashfield House, Midhurst. Bacon, Mrs., Field House, Hursley, Winchester. Baddeley, Mrs. Eraser, 13, Glendower Place, South Kensington, S.W. Baddeley, J. J., Chapel Works, Moor Lane, E.C. VI. KENSINGTON Bagnall, Benjamin, Ellerslie, Eaton Gardens, Hove, Brighton. Bailev, Frank, 4, The Mansions, Earl's Court, S.VV. Bailev, George H., q, Cavendish Place, W. Baker, Charles, Lancaster House, Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampstead, N.W. Baker, Edward, lo, Philbeach Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Bale, Henry A., 1 6, Linden Gardens, Bayswater, W. Balfour, The Lady Frances, 32, Addison Road, Kensington, W. Ball, Daniel, Kensington Palace Mansions, Do Vere Gardens, W. Balls, Miss Emma M., 47, Earl's Court Square, South Kensington, S.W. Barclay, Sir David William, Bart., 42, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Barker, Charles Mylne, 10, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. Barker, Frank, 12, Phillimore Terrace, Kensington, W. Barker, John, 10, West Kensington Gardens, W. Barker, John ^ Co., Kensington High Street, W. (12 copies) LIST OF SURSCRIRKRS Vll. Barnes, J. W., f.s.a., Darhaiii. Barratt, T. }., Bell Moor House, Hampstead Heath, N.W. Bartrum, Walter, E., 9, Campdcn Hill Road, Kensington, W. Batchelor, Miss, I, Phillimore Terrace, W. Bathe, Robert vSamuel, 7, Lower Notting Hill Terrace, W. Battam, Frederick T., 2S, Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, W. Bawden, Peter, 49, Norland Square, Netting Hill, W. Baylis, Miss, 32, Scarsdale Villas, Kensington, W. Baynes, William Wilberforce, j.p., d.l., 21, Kensington Park Gardens, W. Beale, Dr. Lionel S., f.r.s., 61, Grosvenor Street, Grosvenor Square, W. Beaman, Ardern, Slaiidard Correspondent, Cairo, Egypt. Beavis, Stewart £5^ Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne. Bedford, Mrs. Edwin, 17, Ladbroke Terrace, W. Belshaw, Edward, Science and Art Department, South Kensington, S.W. Beney, William A., Johannisbad, Wickham Road, Beckenham. Vlll. KENSINGTON Berens, Randolph, 14, Prince's Gardens, South Kensington, W. Berrev, George A., "The Haven," St. Leonard's-on-Sea. Besant, Walter, 12, Ga\-ton Crescent, Hampstead, N.W. Beslev, E. T. E, Rosemont, Sydenham Rise, Forest Hill. Bevan, Arthur T., Bessell's Green, Chevening, Kent. Bird, Ebenezer Charles, The Ivy House, Tring. Birt, Mrs., 26, Harcourt Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. Bitter, Gustav, 29, Addison Road North, Notting Hill, W. Blackburn, Charles, 34, Ladbroke Road, Notting Hill, W. Blandford, G. Fielding, 71, Grosvenor Street, W. Blood, Edmond M., 50, Elm Park Road, Chelsea, S.W. Blore, Charles Christopher, 7, jMilner Terrace, Cadogan Square, S.W. Boardman, Arthur, Bishop's Stortt'ord. (one copy and one proof copy) Boileau, Sir Francis G. M., Bart., Ketleringhain Park, Wymondham, Norfolk. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 1 Bond, Walter MacGeough, Cairo, Egypt ; Driiinsill, Armagh. Bone, John W., b.a., f.s.a., Bedford Place, Russell Square, W.C. Bonham, Frederick John, S, Addison Terrace, Holland Park, W. Bools, WilHam Edward, 7, Cornhill, E.C. Borthwick, Sir Algernon, Bart., m.p., 139, Piccadilly, W. Bothamley, Rev. Hilton, m.a., Richmond Lodge, Bath. Bottomley, J., Hyde Park, Leeds. Boughton, E. }., 55, North Pearl Street, Albany, New York, U.S.A. Boughton, George H., a.r.a., West House, Campden Hill Road, W. Bovingdon, Miss, 74, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Bovis, Mrs, Woolsthorpe House, Wright's Lane, Kensington, W. Bowker, James, f.r.g.s.i., Royal Terrace West, Kingstown, Lx'land. Bowler, H. A., 21, Pembroke Square, Kensington, W. Bowles, William James, 3, Newdand Terrace, Kensington Road, W. X. KENSINGTON Bowman, G. Cvril, 16, Longridge Road, Earl's Court, S.W. Bowman, J. F., 25, Young Street, Kensington, W. Bowman, Rev. A. Gerald, St. Andrew's Vicarage, Ashley Place, Victoria Street, S.W. Bowman, Sir William, Bart., f.r.s., 5, CliflFord Street, W. Bretherton, Henry James, Couplands, Warlingham, Surrey. Brewer, Frank, 6, Sheffield Terrace, Campden Hill, W. Bridger, E. K., Berkeley House, Hampton, Middlesex. Bridgman, Edward J., 27, Scarsdale Villas, Kensington, W. Brine, Rear-Admiral Lindesay, 13, Pembroke Gardens, Kensington, W. Brinley, William, Stansted, Essex. Brock, G. E., Beech Hyrst, Haling Park Road, Croydon. Brocklebank, Thomas, The Hollies, Woolton, Liverpool. Brook, Joss, Sunnyside, Old Traflford, Manchester. Brooke-Pechell, The Lady, Alton House, Alton, Hants. Brooks, S. H., Sladc House, Levenshuline, Manchester. (])roof copy) LIST OF SURSCRinERS Brown, Charles, 219, St. John's Hill, New Wandsworth, Surrey. Browning, A. Giraud, 3, Victoria Street, Westminster Abbey, S.W. Browning, Robert, 20, De Vere Gardens, W. (proof copy) Bruce, John, Harbour Master's Office, North Shields. Bruce, The Hon. W. N., 2a, Sheffield Terrace, Kensington, W. Brushfield, T. N., m.d., The Cliff, Budleigh-Salterton, Devonshire. Bryce, David & Son, 129, Buchanan Street, Glasgow. Buckland, I. R., 3, Bedford Gardens, Campden Hill, W. Budgen, Ernest, 43, High Street, Kensington, W. Bullock, Mrs. W. T., 6, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Burbury, Mrs., 12, Upper Philliniore Gardens, Kensington, W. Burn, J. R., 5, Upper Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Burnes, Esther S., 40, Ladbroke Square, W. Burnett, Frederic W., 6, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. xn. KENSINGTON Burt, Mrs., 3, St. John's Gardens, Netting Hill, W. Butterworth, Joshua Whitehead, f.s.a., 45, Russell Road, Kensington, W. Button, Frederick, Durban, Natal. Bywater, Ingram, 93, Onslow Square, S.W. Campbell, A. D., m.d., 8, Sheffield Gardens, Campden Hill, W. Campbell, J. T., 13S, Cambridge Street, Pimlico, S.W. Cannon, Mrs. Mary, q. Elm Gardens, Brook Green, W. Carev, J. Macleod, Drynoch House, Kingston Road, New Maiden, Surrey. Cargill, W. W., Lancaster Lodge, Campden House Road, W. Carr-Gomm, F. C, 31, Cadogan Square, S.W. Carswell, J., 26, Old Broad Street, E.C. Carthew, Mrs., 15a, Kensington Palace Gardens, W. Cary-Barnard, Charles, J. p., 9, Prince of Wales Terrace, Kensington Palace, W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Cassels, Mrs., 53, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Gates, Arthur, 12, York Terrace, Regent's Park, N.W. Cave, Vice-Admiral J. Halliday, c.b., 17, Palace Gate, Kensington, W. Challice, William B., 132, Cromwell Road, !3outh Kensington, S.W. Chambers, C. E. S., 33q, High Street, Edinburgh. Chambers, John David, 16, Prince's Gardens, S.W. Champneys, Mrs., Priory Hill, Hampstead, N.W. Chandler, John, 17, Stonor Road, West Kensington, W. Chater, Mrs., 18, Holland Park Gardens, Notting Hill, W. Cheetham, Mrs. J. F., Eastwood, Staleybridge. Chesterton, Arthur 'd Sons, 22, Lower Phillimore Place, Kensington, W. Child, H. W. R., Coniston, Sidcup. Christie, D. A. T., 6, Rus.sell Road, W. Chynoweth, J., 35, Holland Park, W. XIV. KENSINGTON Chrystal, R. S., Urmston, near Manchester. Civil Service Co-operative Societv, Limited, 28, Ha\inarket, S.W. (three copies) Clarke, James S., 13, Fleet Street, E.G. Clementson, A. B. ir" Co., 73, Church Street, Kensington, W. (two copies) Clementson, A. E., Hatton Court, Threadneedle Street, E.G. Clippingdale, S. D., m.d., f.r.c.s., iq. Netting Hill Terrace, W. Clow, Mrs. Frances, 18, Stonor Road, West Kensington, W. Clowes, William, 86, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Coe, Miss, 28, Dawson Place, Prince's Square, Bayswater, W. Colbourne, James, 50-56, Kensington High Street, W. Cole, Miss Julia, 61, Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington, W. Cole, Vicat, k.a., Little Canipden House, Kensington, W. Coles, T. Horsman, 76, Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, W. Combs, Miss, 89, Le.xham Gartlens, Kensington, \V. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Combs, Miss M., Sq, Lexham Gardens, Kensington, W. Comer, Dr. Frank, 79, Queen's Gate, S.W. Compton, Heiirv, The Grange, Harold Wood, Essex. Compton, William J., Sutton Court, Chiswick. Cooper, H., 4, Upper Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Cooper y Co., 80, Gloucester Road, South Kensington, S.W. Corkran, Miss Alice, IQ, St. Mary Abbott's Terrace, W. Corscaden, Mrs. John F., 24, Holland Park, W. Cory, Miss, 13, Cottesmore Gardens, Kensington, W. Cory, A., 1^, Cottesmore Gardens, Kensington, W. Cosens, F. G., 13, Obser\-atory Avenue, Kensington, W. Cosens, Fi-ederick William, f.s.a., 7, Melbury Road, Kensington, W. (proof copy) Courcelles, Rev. |. Hector de, m.a., 24, Arundel Gardens, Kensington Park, W. Courtenay, Miss L. B., 34, Brompton Square, S.W. XVI. KENSINGTON Courtney, Leonard, If, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, S.W. Crament, J. Maude, Mus : Bac : Oxon, loa, Kensington Square, W. Creasv, John, 26, St. Petersburg Place, Bayswater, W. Cromwell, O., 3, Beaumont Villas, North Finchley, N. Crookes, William, f.r.s., 7, Kensington Park Gardens, W. (two copies) Crozier, Rev. J. A., m.a., (^Chaplam to ike Forus), Park Cottage, Warwick. Cullingford, W. H., 198, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. Cumberland, Miss, 23, Scarsdale Villas, Kensington, W. Cundell, Wilfred M., 25, Fairholme Road, West Kensington, W. Cunningham, Major-Gen. Sir A., Cranley Mansion, Gloucester Road, S. Kensington, S.W. Curtis, Walter C, 22, Scarsdale \'iilas, Kensington, W. Curzon, Miss, Scarsdale House, Kensington, W. Curzon, Miss Blanche, Scarsdale House, Kensington, W. LIST OV SUBSCRIBERS XVll. Daglish, Mrs., 2, Palace Green, Kensington, W. Dale, Thomas, The Chateau, gi, Ladbroke Road, Holland Park, W. Daniel, Miss, 107, Eaton Square, S.W. (two copies) Davidson, George W., 132, Queen's Gate, S.W. Davies, C, 36, Ladbroke Grove Road, W. (two copies) Davies, Lloyd, J. p.. Merlins Castle, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Davies & Co., 21, Bevis Marks, E.C. Davy, Mrs. S., 70, Denmark Villas, West Brighton. Dickinson, Mrs. John, 5, Sheffield Gardens, Kensington, W. Dimsdale, John, 4, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Dixon, Charles, Holland House, Kensington, W. Dobree, Bonamy, 4, Queen's Gate Place, South Kensington, S.W. (proof copy) Dobson, William, 26, Albert Hall Mansions, Kensington Gore, S.W. Dolphin, Mrs., St. Milboro', Bolingbroke Grove, Wandsworth Common, S.W. d .will. KENSINGTON Dooley, Henry, 2 2, Hillgate, Stockport. Dovev, J. G., Shetland Villa, Underhill Road, East Dulwich, S.E. Downing, William, 74, New Street, Birmingham, (one copy and proof copy) Drake, Henry, 23, Upper Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Drake, K. Ingalton, Eton, (two copies) Draper, H. M., Lackers Park, Hemel Hempstead. Drnitt, Mrs., 8, Strathmore Gardens, Kensington, W. Dry, Frederick William, 53, Scarsdale Villas, Kensington, W. Drylnirst, A. G., 5, John Street, Hampstead, N.W. Dudtield, Dr. Reginald, 14, Ashburn Place, Kensington, W. Dudley, Mrs. Edwin, Townsend Lodge, Kingswinford, Stafibrdshire. Dudley, Fred., f.r.i.k.a., IQ, Craven Street, Strand, W.C. Duff, Mrs. Norwich, 14, Eaton Square, S.W. DulHeld, J. W., 40, High Street, Kensington, \V. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Dunbar, Phoebe Dunbar, Kinloss and Sea Park, Morayshire. Dyson, Rev. W. H., 66, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Earle, Joseph Sim, 6, Kensington Palace Gardens, W. Ebsworth, Rev. Joseph Woodfall, m.a., f.s.a., Molash Vicarage, by Ashford, Kent. Edge, Henrv K., Rose Bank, Park Gardens, Mattock Lane, Ealing. Edwards, Francis, 83, High Street, Marylebone, W. (two. copies) Elder, Mrs. A. Lang, Campden House, W. Elder, Frederick, 21, Cleveland Gardens, Hyde Park, W. Elgood, George I., 4, Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampslt-ad, N.W. Elliot-Blake, Hubert, 22, Cottesmore Gardens, Victoria Road, Kensington, \V. Elliott, Mrs. William Henry, 41, Holland Park, Kensington, W. Ellis, Tristram, 7, Holland Park Road, Kensington, W. XX. KENSINGTON Elsley, Thomas, 32, Great Portland Street, W. (two copies) Elvin, Charles Norton, m.a., Eckling Grange, East Dereham, Norfolk. Emmerson, Thomas, 47, Connaught Street, Hyde Park Square, W. Essex, E. C, Claremont, Be.N.ley Road, Erith. Fagg, Jesse, Addiscombe Lodge, Crovdon. Farmer, Charles Bartholomew, 164, Fulham Road, South Kensington, S.W. Farmer ^ Sons (Young's Library), 36, Kensington High Street, W. (36 copies and one proof copy) Felgate, Miss Emma, 15, Hornton Street, Kensington, W. Fenwick, George, 93, Eaton Square, S.W. Ferguson, Robert, jMorton, Carlisle. Figes, Miss, SI, Talgarth Road, West Kensington, W. Fisher, Edward, Abbolsbury, Newton Abbot, South Devon. Fisher, Samuel Timbrell, The Grove, Streatluni, S.W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Fitzgerald, J. D., 17, Biamliam Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Forbes, J. S., {C/mirm.ui, L. C. & D. Railway), Victoria Station, S.W. Forbes, R. W., I, Argyll Road, Kensington, W. Fordham, Mrs., 9, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Forster, Mrs. John, Palace Gate House, Palace Gate, Kensington, W. Forsyth-Brown, Mrs., 22, Marloes Road, Kensington, W. Fowler, Rev. Montague, Thornwood Lodge, Kensington, W. Fox, Charles, The Cedars, Warlingham. Foxley, F., q6, Maida Vale, W. Freeman, Mrs., Robert, 25, Earl's Terrace, Kensington, W. (proof copy) French, Mrs., Risden, Hawkhurst. Frost, Sir T. G., Redcliff, Chester. Fryer, Charles H., 35, Gloucester Road, South Kensington, S.W. XXU. KENSINGTON Gales, Miss, 102, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, S.W. Gibbes, Wvndham, 32, Linden Gardens, Bays water, W. Gladstone, Dr., 17, Pembridge Square, Bayswater, W. Glyn, Rev. The Hon. Edward Carr, m.a., The Vicarage, Kensington, W. Godfree, ]Mrs., 17, Netting Hill Terrace, W. Godfree, A. H., 24, Addison Gardens, Kensington, W. Godley, Miss, Weston Lodge, St. Alban's Road, Kensington, W. Goebel, Theodor, Villa Kaiser, Hasenbergsteige, Stuttgart. Goldie, Edward, 9, Kensington Square, Kensington, W. Goldsmid, Major Albert Edward W., 9, Observatory Avenue, Campden Hill, Kensington, W. Goldsmid, Major-Gen. Sir F. J., c.b., k.c.s.i., 3, Observatory Avenue, Kensington, W. Gordon-Pollock, Archibald, 95, Cornwall Gardens, South Kensington, SAV. Gorman, Rev. T. M., In\-ermore, Woodstock Road, Oxford. Graham, )ames, 71, Holland Park, W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS > Gray, B. G., 4, Inverness Gardens, Kcnsinj;ton, W. Gray, J., Mahvood Road, Balham. Greenbank, R. H., 4-5, St. Luke's Road, Westbourne Park, W. Greenhill, Walter, 19, Southwell Gardens, S.W. Grew, Nathaniel, c.e., Dashwood House, 9, New Broad Street, E.G. Griffinhoofe, H. G., 34, St. Petersburg Place, W. Grimston, The Hon. Mrs. E., 30, Collingham Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Gunning, R. H., m.d., ll.d., isfc, 12, Addison Crescent, Kensington, W. Gunston, Edwin, 109, Gloucester Road, South Kensington, S.W. Gurney, Rev. H. P., m.a., 2, Powis Square, Westbourne Park, W. Guy, Tom Ferrers, (S, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. Hadley, Joseph, 16, Dartmouth Park Road, Highgate Road, N.W. Hainsworth, Lewis, 120, Bowling Old Lane, Bradford, Yorks. (two copies) XXIV. KENSINGTON Haldane, xMiss Alice E., 47, Drayton Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Halford, Simon, 15, Albert Hall Mansions, Kensington Gore, S.W. Halford-Adcock, Rev. H. H., 23, Earl's Court Square, South Kensington, S.W. Hall, Marv Jane, m.d. (Boston), 103, St. George's Square, S.W. Halliday, Mrs. Maria, West View, Torquay, &" Glenthorne, Lynton, Barnstaple. Hamilton, J. H., I, Gliddon Road, West Kensington, W. Hanna, Captain (Royal Artillery), Campbeltown, Argyle, N.B. Hanson, Henry Arthur, 132, Coningham Road, Shepherd's Bush, W. Harland-Oxley, W. E., 20, Artillery Buildings, Victoria Street, S.W. Harrington, Elizabeth, Countess of, Harrington House, Kensington Palace Gardens, W. Harrison ^ Sons, 50, Pall Mall, S.W. Hatchard, Messrs., 187, Piccadilly, W. (12 copies and three proof copies) Hatton, W. R., 13, St. Ouintin Avenue, North Kensington, W. H award, George R., 1^, Gloucester Road, .South Kensington, S.W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS Hawes, R. H., 8g, Oxford Terrace, Hyde Park, W. Hav, Alexander S., 21, Fitzjohn's Avenue, Hampstead, N.W. Hebbert, C. T., 12, Heref(.)ra Gardens, Park Lane, W. Heckethorn, Charles William, 67, South Lambeth Road, S.W. Hendriks, Frederick, f.i.a., f.s.s., 28, Linden Gardens, W. Hensley, W. F., 37, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington, W. Hewitt, F. K., 67, Sinclair Road, West Kensington Park, W. Higgs, Frederic L., 115, High Street, Kensington, W. Hilton, William Hughes, 20, Booth Street, Manchester. Hitchman, John, 51 6" 52, Cherry Street, Birmingham. Hobart-Hampden, Major The Hon. Horace, 14, Sheffield Terrace, Campden Hill, W. Hodge, VV. H., 14, Blandford Street, Portman Square, W. Hodges, Figgis is' Co., 104, Grafton Street, Dublin, (two copies) Hodgkinson, T. Ayscough, 12, Mansfield Street, Portland Place, W. XXVI. KENSINGTON Hodgson, Thomas Tarleton, North Eiul Lodge, London Road, Croydon. Holden, Adam, 48, Church Street, Liverpool. Holland, Mrs., Niddry Lodge, Campden Hill, W. Hollingsworth, S. S., {^Deputy Surgeon General), Findern Lodge, Spring Grove, Isleworth. Hollway-Calthrop, H. C, j.p., Stanhoe Hall, Norfolk. Holtz, Mrs., 0, Clanricarde Gardens, Kensington, W. Hoper, Mrs. Henry, 85, Linden Gardens, W. Horne, Richard, 07, Devonshire Road, Forest Hill, S.E. Hovenden, Robert, Heathcote, Park Hill Road, Croydon Howell, Edward, Liverpool. Howell, Frank, 6, Lark Hall Rise, Clapham, S.W. Howell, John, 116, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. Hudson, Cunningham, 14, St. Mary Axe, E.G. Hughes, W. Essington, 89, Ale.xandra Road, St. John's Wood, N.W. LIST OF SliRSCRIRERS Hughes-Kershaw, Mrs. J., 14, Porchester Square, Hyde Park, W. Hume, Heury R., 6, Allen Terrace, Kensington High Street, W. Hunt, John Mortimer, 4, Airlie Gardens, Campden Hill, W. Hurst, Miss, 5, Warwick Gardens, Kensington, W. Husband, Richard John, 3, Silver Street, Netting Hill Gate, W. Hussey, Henry Law, 2, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. Hussey, Thomas, 96, Kensington High Street, W. Hutchinson, J. H., 42, Lancaster Gate, Hyde Park, W. Hutt, Samuel B., 6, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge. Ingelow, Miss Jean, 6, Holland Villas Road, W. Inghs, J., 68, Elsham Road, Kensington, W. Ireland, Dennis Clavfield, 58, Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington, W. ;XVin. KENSINGTON ackson, INIrs. Thompson, 1 8, Observatory Avenue, Kensington W. ackson, R. D., 4, Stanhope Street, Hyde Park, W. acobson, Thomas E., Sleaford, Lincolnshire. alfon, L. J., 2, Sinclair Mansions, West Kensington Park, W. ames, Francis, IQO, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. ames. Captain W. H., iq, Lexham Gardens, W. ames, H. Berkeley, The Oaks, VVoodmansterne, near Epsom. annings, Edward, Salter's Hill, Upper Norwood, S.E. arvis i? Co., Lome House, High Street, Bangor, N. Wales. enings, C. E., The Red House, Sudbury, Suffolk. enkins, Hilton Thomas, 6, Dawson Place, Bayswater, W. ewell, J. R., 2q, Upper Berkeley Street, W. ohns, Samuel Henry, J4, Warwick Gardens, Kensington, W. ohnson, Charles P., II, Savile Row, W. (proof copy) LIST OK SUBSCRIBERS Johnson, Mrs. T. B., 16, Kensington Gate, Hyde Park, W. Jones, Edward, 77, Queen Street, E.G. (eight copies) Jones, Henry Alfred, 4.S, High Street, Kensington, W. Jones, Herbert, 3, Gordon Place, Campden Hill, W. Jones, W. Genird, 45, Ladbroke Square, W. Jones, William, 8, Shepherd's Bush Green, W. Joyce, Thomas, 2, Pembridge Gardens, Bayswater, W. Junior Carlton Club, Pall iMall, S.W. Justone, Mrs. Edward, Kensington Lodge, 68, Addison Road, W. Kay, Henry C, '11, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Kav, Jacob, 64, Bolton Road, Pendleton, Salford, Manchester. Kelly, Mrs. Fitzroy, 7, Prince of Wales Terrace, W. Kennedy, C. M., c.b., 27, Kensington Gate, W. Kennedy, Thomas, 61, Warwick Road, Earl's CouTt, S.W. XXX. KENSINGTON Kent, Herbert, 43, Haverstock Hill, N.W. Kershaw, S. W., m.a., f.s.a., Lambeth Palace Library, S.W. Kidd, William, Whitehall Street, Dundee. King, John, 10, Hyde Park Gate, Kensington Gore, S.W. King, William Frederick, Kensington Palace Mansions, De Vere Gardens, W. King, Zephaniah, 4, Sehvood Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. Kingsford, Mrs. John J., 35, Queen's Gate Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Knowles, Charles J., Shaftesbury House, Kensington, W. Lambert, ^Nlaior George, f.s.a., 10, II & 12, Coventry Street, Piccadilly, W. Langlev, Miss, 37 &■ 39, London Street, Reading. (one copy and one proof copy) Langmore, J. W., m.d., 20, O.xford Terrace, Hyde Park, W. Lankester, Mrs., 5, Upper Wimpolc Street, W. Law, Mrs., 24, Queen's (iate Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. LIST OK SUliSCKIBliKS Leah, Miss, 73, Park Street, Grosvenor vSquarc, W. Leckie, R. Durant, 15, A^hburn Place, S.W. Ledsain, Daniel B., 2fc>, Wynnstay Gardens, Keiisingtun, \V. Lee, Charles, 44, Grooinbridge Road, South Hackney, E. Leech, Mrs., 10, Hyde Park Terrace, W. Leggatt, Major-Gen. E. O., 40, Cheniston Gardens, Kensington, W. Lewis, Arthur J., Moray Lodge, Campden Hill, Kensington, W. Lewis, Col. Somers, 3, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. Lewis, Sir W, Thomas, The Mardy, Aberdare, South Wales. Libraries and Museums, Commissioners for Public. (three copies) Library, Boston Public, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. Library, Free Public, Sydney, New South Wales. Library, Liverpool (Lyceum) Library of John Barker i^ Co.'s Employes, Kensington High Street, W. XXXll. KENSINGTON Library of the Corporation of the City of London, Guildhall, E.C. Library, Public, of Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Library, The Gladstone, Nalional Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, S.W. Library, The Liyerpool Free Public, Liverpool. Library, The London, St. James's Square, S.W. Library, Wigan Free Public, Wigan. Lichfield, Bishop of. Bishop's House, Lichfield. Lidstone, F. Bartlett, 58, Warwick Road, South Kensington, S.W. Linnell, William, Hillsbrow, Red Hill, and The Avenue, 76, Fulhani Rd., S.W. Linoni, John Augustin, Gresham Lodge, Lyndhurst Place, Peckham, S.E. Litchfield, Lieut.-Col. E. F., 3, Vicarage Gardens, Kensington, W. Litchfield, R. B., 31, Kensington Square, W. Little, Brown iff Co., 254, Washington Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. (five copies and two proof copies) Little, James Stanley, The Kraal, Kudgwick, Horsham, Surrey. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS XXXlll. Little, Mrs., Wilton Villa, Campdcn Hill, W. Livesey, Mrs. James, 6, Upper Phillimorc Gardens, Kensington, W. Lloyd, Miss, 15, Philbeach Gardens, Kensington, W. Lockwood, Crosby is' Son, Stationers' Hall Court, E.G. Loftie, Rowley Crozier, Government Residency, Albany, Western Australia. London Listitution, Finsbury Circus, E.G. Long, Claude H., m.a., Oxon., 50, Marine Parade, Brighton. Longueville, Col. C. de, ^}, Pen-y-wern Rd., Earl's Court, S. Kensington, S.W. Lord, S. W., 12, Gloucester Road, South Kensington, S.W. Louttit, S. H., Trematon, Grove Road, Clapham Park, S.W. Low, Dr. Marsden, 2, Nevern Road, Earl's Court, S.W. Lowther, William, Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore, S.W. Lugard, Gen. Sir Edward, g.c.b., p.c, 37, Lansdowne Road, Notting Hill, W. Luker, Henry, Faringdon House, Southend, Essex. XXXIV. KENSINGTON Luker, John, Xewiiham, Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich, S.E. Luker, Robert, Petersficld, Hampshirt. Luker, Miss Sarah, Neu-nham, Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich, S.E. Lupton, Miss M. G., q, St. Lawrence Road, North Kcnsuigton, W. Lvall, J. Watson, 15, Pall Mall, S.W. Lyell, Robert, Ravenscraig, Leigham Court Road, Streatham Hill, S.W. Lvons, Col., 35, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington, W. Lytton-Bulwer, Col. W. E. G., Quebec House, East Dereham, Norfolk. MaccoU, Norman, 4, Netting Hill Square, W. Macdougall, Hanburv Leigh, q, Brunswick Gardens, Kensington, W. IMackey, xM., 8, Milton Street, Newcastle-upon-T^-ne. Mackworth, Miss Fanny A. M., Delaniore, Bishop's Teignton, Teignniouth. Maclear, Miss AL wS., 2;, Philbeach Gardens, Earl's Court, S.W. LIST OK SUBSCRIBERS XX Macmillan, George A., II), Earl's Terrace, Kensintrlon, \V. Macmillan, Maurice, 5'), Wynnstay Gardens, W. Macnamara, Dr., 2.S, Palace (rardens Terrace, W. Madeley, E. S., 3, West Kensington Terrace, West Kensington, W. Majolier, Edouard, 20, Bramham Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Major, R. H., 51, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Maiden, J. C, 2, Westfield Villas, Hermon Hill, Wanstead, Essex. Malkin, H. C, 2, Percy Villas, Kensington, W. Manning, W., 21, Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Mansell, Mrs., 71, Addison Road, Kensington, W. Manvers, The Earl, Thoresby Park, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. Margetts, F., so, St. J(5hn Street, Oxford. Marriage, E. Burgess, 24, Campden Hill Gardens, Kensington, W. (two proof copies) Marshall, Mary A., m.d., 16, Stanley Gardens, Kensington Park, W. XXXVl. KENSINGTON Martin, Miss, 4, Pembroke Road, Kensington, W. Martin, Sir Tlieodore, k.c.b., 31, Onslow Square, S.W. Masland, W., Tiverton, Devonshire. Maslin, Victor, 41, Beaufort Street, Chelsea, S.W. Mathews, C. Elkin, Vigo Street, W. Matterson, William, Tower Cressy, Campden Hill, W. Maw, William H., 18, Addison Road, Kensington, W. Maxwell, W. M. Y., St. Andrew's, 11, Frognal, Hampstead, N.W. Maynard, Miss, 12, Kensington Crescent, W. Mavne, Colburn, 75, Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. McCall, James, 3.S, Sandgate Street, Ayr. McConnal, William, 35, New Square, Cambridge. McUowall, Andrew, Gdsbury Hill, Hook, Surbiton, Surrey. McKerlie, Miss, 2b, Pembridiie X'illas, W. LIST OF SURSCRIBERS XX.XVll. McRae, Charles, m.a., Science and Art Department, Smith Kensin^lnn, S.W. Meadows, Dr. Barr, 47, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. Menzies, John 'iff Co., 12, Hanover Street, Edinburgh. (two copies and one proof copy) Mercer, William John, 12, Marine Terrace, Margate. Merriman, John }., 45, Kensington Square, W. Messel, Rudolph, 53, Ebury Street, S.W. Meynell, Wilfrid, 2 1, Upper Phillimore Place, W. Miall, George Clark, 17, Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, E.C. Middleton-Wake, Rev. C. H., Campden Hill Road, Kensington, W. (two copies) Midlane, H., 23, Addison Road, W. Miles, Arthur E., iq, Warwick Gardens, Kensington, W. Millington, James, 27, Norland Square, W. Mills, William Primrose, 26, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Milman, Rev. W. H,, Sion College. XXXVUl KENSINGTON Milman, William H., 15, Cornwall Gardens, Queen's Gate, S.W. Mitchell, John, The Royal Library, 33, Old Bond Street, W. (three copies) ^Mitchell If Hughes, 14, Wardour Street, Oxford Street, W. Moore, Miss Emma, 33, Hyde Park Gate, S.W. Moore, Miss Elizabeth Catherine, 11, Campden Grove, Kensington, W. xMoore, Mrs. H., Collingham, Maresfield Gardens, N.W. Moore, Mrs. Henry, 30, Maresfield Gardens, Fitzjohn's Avenue, N.W. Moore, Henry, a.r.a., r.w.s., 30, Maresfield Gardens, Fitzjohn's Avenue, N.W. Moore, Samuel, Toronto, Canada. Moore, Verv Rev. Monsignor, I, Leonard Place, Kensington, W. Morse, S. T., 12, Marlborough Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. Mouat, Frederick J., m.d., 12, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Murray, George J. R., Murray Park, Adelaide, South Au.^tralia. Murray, G. S. B., 6, Cain]-)tlen Ilill Noad, Kensington, W LIST OF SlIRSCRIBERS Mulligan, James, 3, Berkeley (iardens, Kensintrton, \V. Musgrave, George Arthur, f.z.s., f.r.g.s., ^c. 45, Holland Park, W. Nalder, Charles Nelme, 15, Gray's Inn Square, W.C. New University Club, ' 57 & 5S, St. James's Street, S.W. Newgass, B., 54, Prince's Gate, S.W. Nicholson, James, Woodhatch, near Reigate. Nicholson, J. O., j.p., Upton, near Macclesfield. Nicholson, W. N., 43, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Nield, Walter, ZQ, Bath Street, Bristol. Ninnis, Mrs., 46, Kensington Park Road, W. Niven, W., f.s.a., Udny House, Teddington. Noble, Mrs., Park Place, Henley-on-Thames. Norman, Philip, 23, ClareviUe Grove, South Kensington, S.W. Normanton, The Earl of, 7, Prince's Gardens, S.W xl. KENSINGTON Oldham, Mrs. Elizabeth, q6, Lfxham Gardens, Kensington, W Olver, Mrs. Charles, 29, Dunstanville Terrace, Falmouth. Paine, Mrs., 170, Cromwell Road, Soufh Kensington, S.W. Panton, Mrs., Manor House, Watford. Parbiirv, Mrs., 33, Queen's Gardens, Hyde Park, W. Parkington, Captain J. Roper, 31, Courtfield Road, South Kensington, S.W. Parr, George, m.d., I'S, Upper Phillimore Place, Kensington, W. Parry, Mrs. Louisa Jane, 45, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Parsons, A., 1 1, Cottesmore Gardens, Kensington, W. Parsons, J. Ramsay, ],^, Kensington Square, W. Patton, Alexander, m.b., ^c, Farnham House, Finglas, County Dublin. Pawson, Henry, 2, Clarcmont Crescent, Sheffield. Pears, Andrew, Spring Gro\-e House, Isleworth, Middlesex. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS > Pearson, J. C, 7, West Kensington Terrace, West Kensington, W. Pearson, R. H., 23, Netting Hill Square, W. Pearson, W. D., 4, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Peckham, H. Thornton, 20, Argyll Road, Kensington, W. Peek, Sir Henry W., Bart., Wimbledon. Pell, Bennett, 6, Granville Park, Blackheatli, S.E. Penha, Eugene de la, 12, Upper Belgrave Street, S.W. Penley, Madame A. F., 13, Napier Road, Kensington, W. Pennefather, Alfred Richard, 7, Cheniston Gardens, Kensington, W. Peppen, Miss, 146, Sinclair Road, W. Peskett, Mrs. Arthur, Magdalene College, Cambridge. Pheasant, William, 31, Gresham Street, E.G. Philips, Charles L., 5, Phillimore Terrace, Kensington, W. Phillips, Henry L., f.g.s., 2S, Brownswood Park, South Hornscy, N. Philp, Captain, Pendoggett, Timsbury, near Bath. Xlll. KENSINGTON Pickard, William, 130, High Street, Notting Hill, W. Pickett, Jacob, m.d., 26, Colville Square, Kensington Park, W. Pixlev, Francis W., 23, Linden Gardens, W. Poix, Edmond de, 3, Argyll Road, Kensington, W. Pollock, Walter H., South Lodge, Campden Hill Road, W. Ponsonby, The Hon. Gerald, 57, Greun Street, Grosvenor Square, W. (two copies) Ponsonby, Gen. Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Frederick, g.c.b., Ambassador's Court, St. James's Palace, SAV. Poole, Mrs., 96, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Pope, Samuel, o.c, 3S, Parliament Street, Westminster, SAV. Potter, Rupert, 2, Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Pounsett, Rothwell, II, Elsham Road, Kensington, W. Powell, Arthur, 15, Anson Road, Tufnell Park, N. Powell, Maiuice, 2, Kensington Palace Gardens, W. Prendergast, Arthur H. D., I I, Chesham Place, Brighton. LIST OF Sl'RSCRIBERS xliii. Pvm, Horace N., 3, Frederick's Place, Old Jewry, E.G. (proof copy) Pvinan, Frank, qi, Warwick Koad, South Kensington, S.W. Ouinn, y. Henry, Librarian, Chelsea Public Libraries. Radford, Francis, ::(:), Penibridge Gardens, Bayswater, W. (two copies) Rae, James, 32, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Ramsden, H., 150, Leadenhall Street, E.G. Randall, Joseph, Bank Chambers, George Street, Sheffield. Randolph, Anson D. F. 'if Co., 3S, West Twenty Third Street, New York, U.S.A. Ravenscroft, Edward, 14, Loudoun Road, St. John's Wood, N.W. Rawlinson, W. G., Hill Lodge, Campden Hill, Kensington, W. Ravner, William, 133, Blenheim Crescent, Netting Hill, W. Reade, Rev. C. Darby, j.p., S3, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Reay, S., gq, Holland Road, Kensington, W. xliv. KENSINGTON Redgrave, Miss Frances, 27, Hyde Park Gate, S.W. Redin b'' Co., lb. Trinity .Street, Cambridge, (two copies) Redwav, George William, 30, Comeragh Road, West Kensington, W. Rendall, Mrs. John, 20, Ladbroke Square, W. Rich, Sir Charles H. S., Bart., f.s.a., Devizes Castle, Wiltshire. Rich, Lieut. -Gen. George W. T., c.b , 10;, Onslow Square, S.W. Richard, T. S., 2, Moreton Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. Richardson, Josiah, The Alliance Bank, Lim., Sloane Square, Chelsea, S.W. Rickman, Thomas M., 8, Montague Street, W.C. Riddell, Patrick, Rosedale, Walton-on -Thames. Ridgway, W., i6n, Piccadilly, W. Rigge, Samuel Taylor, f.s.a., Halifax. Riley, Athelstan, 2, Kensington Court, W. Riley, G. Incell, Sunny Bank, South I.umbcth Road, S.W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS xlv. Ringrose, R. B., 71, Elsham Road, W. Roberts, Arthur, 30, Kensington Square, W. Robinson, J. R., 4, Addison Crescent, Kensington, W. Robinson, Lionel G., 19, Kensington Square, W. Robinson, Joshua, 13, Church Street, Kensington, W. Robson, Henry, Aubrey Lodge, Aubrey Rd., Netting Hill Sq., W. (proof copy) Rodney, Mrs. William, 28, Eldon Road, Kensington, W. Roe, Matthew Thomas, 80, Lexham Gardens, Kensington, W. Roots, G., 2, Ashley Place, Victoria Street, S.W. Roscoe, Mrs., 3, Melbury Road, Kensington, W. Rose, J. Anderson, II, Salisbury Street, Strand, W.C. Rosher, George B., Rosherville Court, near Gravesend. Ross, Mrs. Hugh, 3, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. Rossall, J. H., M.A., Torquay. xlvi. KENSINGTON Routledge, Edmund, 40, Clanricarde Gardens, W. Russell, Francis R., lOQ, High Street, Guildford. Russell, Lady, 86, Harley Street, W. Rutton, William Loftie, -7, Elgin Avenue, St. Peter's Park, \V Sadler, Campbell H., 30, Ale.xandra Road, Southport, Lancashire. Salt, Mrs. Tavleur, 28, Bedford Gardens, Campden Hill. Kensington, \V. Sanctuary, Dr., 36, Russell Road, Kensington, W. Sandeman, John Glas, 64, Pall Mall, S.W. Sanders, S., 7, De Vere Gardens, W. Sanderson, Thomas, 137, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Saunders, Herbert Clifford, o.c, I, Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Savage, James, 41, High Street, Kensington, W. Scannell, Miss Edith, I I, Douro Place, Kensington, W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS xlvii. Scantleburv, E., 4, Tavistock Road, Westbournc Park, W. Scbneberger, W., 4, West Kensington Terrace, West Kensington, W. Scholefield, Mrs., 7, (Jlcdhow Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Sconce, Miss, 3J, Gordon Place, Kensington, W. Scotland, Sir Colley H., 44, Queen's Gate Gardens, S.W. Scott, J. W., 7, West Kensington Terrace, W. Seaman, W. C, m.d., 73, St. Mark's Road, North Kensington, W. Sell, Henry, Boissevain, Leighton Buzzard. Shaen, Mrs., 3S, Clieniston Gardens, Kensington, W. Sharp, Charles, Hartington Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool. Sharpe, Leonard G., 34, High Street, Notting Hill, W. Sharpe, Mrs., Palace Avenue Lodge, la. High Street, Kensington, W. Shaw, James T., Parkhohne, Elm Park Gardens, S.W. Shedden, Captain Thomas, 47, West Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. xlviil. KENSINGTON Sheppard, Miss, 1 8, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Shone, Miss, 13, Norland Square, Netting Hill, W. Short, John, 10, Kensington Park Road, W. Sibbald, John Gordon Edward, Admiralty, Whitehall, S.W. Silver, Mrs. Frances, Beechcroft, Oatlands Park, Weybridge. Simon, Mrs. George, Widmore Lodge, Bromley, Kent. Sinclair, P., 84, Addison Road, Kensington, W. Skrimshire, Rev. Donald, 3q, Holland Street, Kensington, W. Slaughter, Richard, 70, Elm Park Road, South Kensington, SAV. Sloane, John Sloane, 13, Stanley Crescent, Kensington Park Gardens, W. vSmart, Francis Gray, Bredbury, Tunbridge Wells. Smith, George M., 17, Queen's Gate Gardens, South Kensington, SAV. Smith, i\Irs. Michael, 27, Perham Road, S.W. Smith, Richard, Haddington House, 174, Cromwell Road, S.W. T.IST OF SUBSCRIBERS xlix. Smith, Richard, 57, Holland Park, W. Smith, W. J., North Street, Brighton, (four copies) Smith, WiUiam vSims, Richmond Villa, 07, Cambridge Gdns., N. Kensington, W. Smyth, Miss Maidstone, 4g, Linden Gardens, W. Sneyd, Miss, 24, Notting Hill Terrace, W. Soar, Charles D., I, Sussex Villas, Kensington, W. Southward, John, 86, Loughborough Road, S.W. Spicer, Edward, j.p., 188, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, S.W. Stansfeld, J. J., 41, Ladbroke Square, W. Stanton, Charles Holbrow, 65, Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Steege, F. William, 8, Kensington Place, Campden Hill, W. Stepney, Sir Arthur Cowell, Bart., m.p., The Dell, Llanelly, South Wales. Steward, F. G., 7, Kensington Square, W. Steward, Herbert Thomas, 65, Courtfield Gardens, South Kensington, S.W d KENSINGTON Stockdale, Albert, Sheepridge, Huddersfield. Stockum iy Sons, W. P. van, The Hague, Holland. Stokes, S. N., 13, Holland Street, Kensington, W. Strangeways, W. N., 59, Westmoreland Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Street, Arthur E., 6, Aubrey Road, Campden Hill, W. Stretton, Mrs., 36, Edwardes Square, Kensington, W. Studd, Edward Fairfax, 130, Queen's Gate, S.W. Sutton, Lancaster, 53, Eastbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, W. Swindells, George H., 7, Cranbourne Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport. Syer, Horace, II, Silver Street, Notting Hill Gate, W. Tabor, Henry Samuel, 44, Lansdowne Road, Notting Hill, W. Tacey, John C, 33 '^ 3Si City Road, E.G. (two copies) Tayler, William Cecil, 44, Church Street, Kensington, W. Taylor, Mrs. Stainton, 33,Colehcrnu Road, RedclitTc Square, S. Kensington, S.W. LIST OF St'RSCRIBERS Tebav, Mrs., 2, Kensington Crescent, W. Thexton, Robert, 11, Argyll Road, Kensington, W. (two copies) Thomas, P. Alexander, 5, Astwood Road, Cromwell Road, S.W. Thomason, Yeoville, 9, Observatory Gardens, Kensington, W. Thompson, George, Kensington, W. Thomson, Miss, 2, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Thomson, W. Sinclair, m.d., 40, Ladbroke Grove, Kensington Park Gardens, W. Thornhill, Henry, 20, Addison Road, W. Thornton, Thomas, u, Talgarth Road, West Kensington, W. Thornycroft, Mrs. Thomas, Moreton House, Melbury Road, Kensington, W. Tinline, George, 12, Pembridge Square, Bayswater, W. Tinline, James Madder, 12, Pembridge Square, Bayswater, W. Tisdall, Sydney, 18, Church Street, Kensington, W. Todd, Sidney, 16, Eldon Road, Kensington, W. hi. KENSINGTON Torpliichen, The Lord, Dunchurch Lodge, Rugb}-. Toynbee, Paget, m.a., Stanhoe Grange, Norfolk. Tozer, Miss, iS, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Tressider, Samuel J. L., 23, Green Bank, Falmouth. Treves, Frederick, f.r.c.s., 6, Wimpole Street, W. Trinder, Fred., Jim,, 14, Chepstow Place, Bays-.vater, W. Turner, Charles, 77, Park Street, Grosvenor Square, W. Union Society, The, O.xford. Unwin, George, 71a, LudgateHill, E.G. Urquhart, Mrs., Feulan House, Leamington Spa. (proof copy) Valentine, John Sutherland, S, Campden House Road, Kensington, W. Valentine, J. Tristram, f.z.s., 1, ShefTield Gardens, Kensington, W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS liii. Verrinder, Thomas, 10, Park Road, Wandsworth Common, S.W. Vicary, John, J. p., Broadlands, Newton Abbot, Devonshire. Wade, Miss, 25, Kensington High Street, W. Wakeham, J. W., 4, Bedford Terrace, Kensington, W. Waldron, Laurence, Dubhn. Walker, Henrv, f.g.s., 36, Leamington Road Villas, Westbourne Park, W. Wall, Reginald Bligh, 72, Bishop's Road, Paddington, W. Wallas, T. I., 7, Pandora Road, West End Lane, N.W. Walmisley, Edward, 5, Melbnry Road, Kensington, W. Walmsley, Gilbert G., 50, Lord Street, Liverpool. Walpole, H., 18, Linden Gardens, Bayswater, W. Walton, Charles, Ardenhurst, Culverden Park, Tunbridge Wells. Warburton, Thomas, 1 1 , Grange Road, Canonbury, N. llV. KENSINGTON Ward, John, f.s.a., Lenoxvale, Belfast, Ireland. Ward, John Robert, Holland Road, Kensington, W. Watney, John, f.s.a.. Mercers' Hall, 4, Ironmonger Lane, E.C. (proof copy) Watson, Frederick George, 30, Kensington High Street, W. Watson, W. Clarence, 30, Gloucester Square, Hyde Park, W. Way, The Hon. S. J., Chiif Justice, South Australia, (proof copy) Wayte, Miss, q, Royal Crescent, Netting Hill, W. Weaklin, Frederick, 14, Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. (two copies) Weaver, William, c.e.. Town Hal!, Kensington, W. Webb, Henry, 18, Campden Hill Road, Kensington, W. Webb, Jubal, "Brookville," The Terrace, Kensington, \V. Webb- Aston, Miss, 16, Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington, W. Webling, Robert James, 4, ]?oyne Terrace, Holland Park, W. Webster, wSir Augustus F., Bart., Guard's Club, Pall .Mall, S.W. (proot copy) LIST OF SUHSCRIRERS Webster, Sir Richard Everard, Hornton Lodge, Kensington, W. Weekes, I. Ernest, 20, Sinclair Gardens, West Kensington, W. Wells, Henry T., r.a., Thorpe Lodge, Campden Hill, W. Westlake, William, Copthall Buildings, Throgmorton Street, E.G. Westmacott, Mrs., I, Kensington Gate, W. Westmacott, Denham, 1, Kensington Gate, W. Whitby, Miss L., 32, Pembroke Square, Kensington, W. White, G. H., Gen thorn, St. Mary Church, Devonshire. White, Henry, j.p., f.s.a., 30, Queen's Gate, South Kensington, S.W. White, John H., 2, Shaftesbury Villas, Kensington, W. White, J. Holmes, 13, Claremont Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. White, Robert, Park Place, Worksop. Whitehead, Gilbert, Highfield, Catford Bridge, Kent. Whiteley, William, 31, Porchester Terrace, W. Ivi. KENSINGTON Whiteley, AVilliani, Westbourne Grove, W. Whiteman, Miss Elizabeth Horsley, 23, Upper Grosvenor Street, W. Wilkinson, Mrs. Henrv, 17, Durham Villas, Kensington, W. Williams, A., 3, Atherstone Terrace, South Kensington, S.W. Williams, John, 36, Croftdown Road, Highgate Road, N.W. Williams, Miss Caroline E., 4, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W. Williams, Mrs. Henry Headly, 37, Pembridge Villas, Bayswater, W. Williams, Thornton A., Rosslyn Cottage, Pilgrims Lane, Hampstead, N.W. Williams, Watkin Wynn, 32, Upper Phillimore Place, Kensington, W. Williamson, C. J., 76, West Hill, Putney, S.W. Williamson, George, The Lodge, Huntly, N.B. Williamson, J. H., 13, Cresswell Gardens, South Kensington, S.W. Williamson, Mrs., Alford House, Prince's Gate, W. Willis, Mrs. Brittan, 12, Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS IVll. Wilson, p. R., Bengal Club,, Calcutta. Wilson, Richard, 28, Commercial Street, Leeds. Wilton, J. H., 2, St. John's Gardens, Netting Hill, W. Winkworth, Mrs. SteiDhen, Holly Lodge, Campden Hill, W. Wolcott Ss" West, Vanderbilt Square, Syracuse, N.Y., U.iS.A. (five copies) Wood, Miss Stewart, 44, Holland Street, Kensington, W. Wood, John, j.p., Arden, Stockport. Woodcock, Benjamin, Llandudno. Woodforde, W. T. G., m.d., Oak Bank, Spencer's Road, Reading. Woodhouse, Mrs., 37, Warwick Gardens, Kensington, W. Woodhouse, Robert Hall, I, Hanover Square, W. Woodhouse, Rev. R. I., Ardmore, Bickley, Kent. Woodroofe, Mrs., Ballysaggartmore, Lismore, County Waterford. Woods, Grosvenor, 30, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. Iviii. KENSINGTON Woodward, C. L., 78, Nassau Street, New York, U.S.A. WooUey, George, Ludlow. Wright, Alfred W. G., 36, Ladbroke Square, Netting Hill, W. Wright, Mrs., Lower Oak, Tyldesley, Manchester. Wright, Mrs. Parkinson, 12, Kensington Court, W. Wurtzburg, John H., 2, De Grey Road, Leeds. Wynne-Ffoulkes, His Honour Judge, Old Northgate House, Chester. Yeates, Rev. George, Lissan Rectory, Moneymore, County Derry. Young, Francis, 53, Ennismore Gardens, S.W. Young, Harold Edgar, 6, Arundel Avenue, Sefton Park, Liverpool. lix. List of Subscribers TO aulknefs Histijry of Kciising-ton. 1820. HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY KING GEORGE IV. HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF KENT. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF KENT. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. Charles Adams, Esq. Queen's Elm. W. Astbury, Esq. Portugal Street, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. W. T. Alton, Esq. F.L.S. Kensington Palace. Mrs. Alton, Kew. John Alton, Esq. Windsor. Miss Alton, Kensington Palace. Miss Jane T. Alton, Kensington Palace. E. F. Akers, Esq. Priory Mead, Acton. John Alexander, Esq. Kensington Terrace. Rev. F. B. Astley, Mannlngford Abbot's Rectory, Marlborough. George Aust, Esq. F.R.S. Noel House, Kensington. Ix. Mr. Charles Barber, High Street, Kensington. George Battye, Esq. Campden Hill. Charles Battye, Esq. Kensington Gore. Mrs. Bliss, Kensington, and Loughton Hall, Essex. Mr. Booth, Duke Street, Portland Place. John Britten, Esq. F.A.S. Tavistock Place. Mr. E. Brown, High Street, Kensington. John Butts, Esq. Kensington Terrace. Rev. Weeden Butler, Gayton Rectory, Northampton. H. W. Burgess, Esq. Sloane Square. Mr. E. Breeze, High Street, Kensington. S. Buonaiuti, Esq. Kensington Terrace. Miss Black, Kensington Square. Mr. W. Birch, Bookseller, King Street. Miss Burnett, Kensington Square. \V. Benthain, Esq. F.A.S. and L.S. Upper Gower Street. Rev. C. P. Burney, M.A. F.R.S. and F.A.S. Greenwich. John Caley, Esq. F.A.S. Bedford Square. The Right Hon. George Canning, M.P. Gloucester Lodge. John Cassells, Esq. Belgrave Place. Nathaniel Chasemore, Esq. Fulham. Mr. Clarke, New Bond Street. Rev. Thomas Clare, M.A. Vicar of St. Bride. College of Arms, Library of. Major Codd, Holland Street, Kensington. Major Colgrave, Campden Hill. Francis Cooper, Esq. Thistle Grove, Little Chelsea. Henry Colburn, Esq. Conduit Street, Hanover Square. Mr. Alfred Carter, Christ Church, Surry. A. Copland, Esq. Great George Street, Westminster. Richard Chase, Esq. Kensington Square. Eustace Danby, Esq. Chelsea College. James Delafield, Esq. F.A.S. Campden Hill. The Rev. T. F. Dibdin, F.A.S. Hornton Street, Kensington. Mr. Dyer, Printseller, Compton Street, Soho. Ixi. The Right Hon. Lord Viscount Ennismore, Kensington Gore. The Rev. Edmund Ferrers, M.A. F.A.S. Cheriton, Hants. Wm. Forsyth, Esq. Nottingham Place. Mrs. Forsyth, Phillimore Place. The Hon. Richard Henry Fox, Holland House. The Hon. Miss Caroline Fox, Little Holland House. Mr. Faulkner, Walham Green, Fulham. Mr. James Faulkner, York Street, St. James's. Mr. J. Faulkner, Fulham. Mr. W. Faulkner, Amsterdam. Thos. Fuller, Esq. Clapham. Mrs. I. Louis Goldsmid, Netting Hill House. Edward Goulburn, Esq. Phillimore Place. M.Gen. SirWilloughby Gordon, Bt. K.C.B. Chelsea College. Mr. Gosden, Saint Martin's Lane. James Gray, Esq. Brompton Park Nursery. James Gunter, Esq. Earl's Court. J. Gray and Son, Brompton Park Nursery, 3 Copies Mr. Gibbs, Horticultural Garden, Brompton. Mr. Garner, Bookseller, Margate. The Right Honourable Lord Holland. The Right Honourable Lady Holland. Rev. W. Haggitt, M.A. Senr.Chaplain of H.M.R.H. Chelsea. Rev. Dr. Hamilton, F.R.S. and F.A.S. Kensington Square. Mr. E. Hawkes, High Street, Kensington. Thomas Harrison, Esq. Nursery, Old Brompton. Rev. I. Hebert, M.A. Ranelagh Place, Pimlico. Francis Hargrave, Esq. King's Counsel, Queen's Elm. Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart. William Simonds Higgs, Esq. F.A.S. Kensington. Mr. E. Hooker, High Street, Kensington. Samuel Hutchins, Esq. Earl's Court. Charles Hatchett, Esq. F.R.S. and F.A.S. Belle Vue House, Chelsea. Mr. Howard, High Street, Kensington. Ixii. Dr. Jay, Earl's Court. Swinfin Jervis, Esq. Holland Street. Mr. Jaques, Lower Sloane Street. The Right Honourable Lord Kensington. Kensington Book Society. Rev. J. Keysall, M.A. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty, Bredon Rectory, Gloucestershire. Kensington Select Book Society. Mr. Knight, Attorney at Law, High Street, Kensington. Mr. Kirke, Nursery, Brompton. The Right Hon. and Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London. Lieut. Col. Le Blanc, Chelsea College. Rob. Langford, Esq. Southampton Street. Mr. Lomas, High Street. Miss L. Lindengren, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. The Countess Dowager of Lonsdale, Fulham. Rev. J. Liefchild, Kensington. William Lewis, Esq. Salisbury. Edward Lloyd, Esq. Bankside. Robert Lynn, Esq. Chelsea College. Samuel Lysons, Esq. F.R.S. and F.A.S. Keeper of His Majesty's Records in the Tower. The Rev. D. Lysons, A.M., F.R.S. and L.S. Rector of Rod- marton, Gloucestershire. His Majesty's Library. Francis Magniac, Esq. Church Street, Kensington. William Mair, Esq. Colby House, Kensington. Rev. Thomas Martyn, Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge. Rev. John Morison, Hans Place. Gen. M'^Leod, King's Road, Fulham. John Milner, Esq. Southcot House, near Reading. Gen. Moore, Kensington Palace. John Merriman, Esq. Young Street. Ixiii. John Nichols, Esq. F.A.S. Highbury. Mr. A. K. Newman, Minerva Printing Office, London. Edward Orme, Esq. Bayswater. Mr. Paxton, High Street, Kensington. Mr. Robert Perkins, High Street, Kensington. Charles Pilgrim, Esq. Vicarage Place, Kensington. William Plasted, Esq. Chelsea. John Bellamy Plowman, Esq. Lowestoft, Suffolk. Mr. Samuel Poupart, Little Chelsea. R. B. Pollard, Esq. Blemmell House, Brompton. Rev. Thomas Rennell, M.A. Christian Advocate in the Univer- sity of Cambridge, and Vicar of Kensington. WilHam Richardson, Esq. Maida Vale, Edgeware Road. Rev. Richard Roberts, M.A. King's Road, Chelsea. Rev. Joshua Ruddock, M.A. Wimbledon. Lawrence Rogers, Esq. Guildford Street. The Right Honourable Earl Spenser. Joseph Sabine, Esq. F.L.S. Edward Street, Portland Place. Mr. William Savage, Little Chelsea. William Shone, Esq, Hornton Street, Kensington. Mr. Simco, Air Street, Piccadilly. John Soane, Esq. R.A. Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. Mr. Thomas Slater, High Street, Kensington. Col. B. C. Stephenson, Hertford Street, May Fair. WilUam Stevens, Esq. Trafalgar Place, Kensington, Mrs. Suardy, Kensington Gore. William Smith, Esq. Netting Barns. Miss Spence, Kensington Square. S. E. Sketchley, Esq. Phillimore Place. Mr. Stratford, Earl's Court. Mrs. Stewart, Campden House. Mrs. Simonds, Broad Street, Reading. Ixiv. Major Torriano, Kensington Square. Mr. Taylor, Professor of Music, Kensington Terrace. Mr. William Taylor, Sloane Street. William Terwin, Esq. Belgrave Place. Henry Thomson, Esq. Church Street, Kensington. The Rev. H. I. Todd, Keeper of the Archbishop of Canter- bury's Records. Miss Tod, Earl's Terrace, Kensington. Arthur Tyton, Esq. F.L.S. Wimbledon. Mrs. Tyass, Carmarthen House, Kensington. Thomas Vardon, Esq. Smith Street, Chelsea. Peter Vere, Esq. F.A.S. Grosvenor Place. Charles Walker, Esq. Kensington Square. The Rev. Richard Ward, M.A. Manchester Street. B. West, Esq. P.R.A. Newman Street. Mr. Wheler, High Street, Kensington. Lady Elizabeth Whitbread, Grove House, Kensington Gore. Henry Norton Willis, Esq., F.R.S. and F.A.S. Kensington. Mrs. Whitaker, Kensington, and Loughton Hall, Essex. William Wilberforce, Esq. M.P. Kensington Gore. Miss Wilson, Kensington Gravel Pits. Mr. A. Wilson, High Street, Kensington. The Rev. Thomas Wrench, M.A. Rectory, Cornhill. Mr. Wayland, High Street. Thomas Williams, Esq. Campden Hill. Miss Winnock, Scarsdale House. Thomas Walford, Esq. Bolton Street, Piccadilly. Mr. Watts, Bear Street, Fulham. C. G. Young, Esq. Rouge Dragon, Pursuivant at Arms. ' you want some volurr I and fetch them in a t EXTRACTS FROM Field & Tuer's List, so, LSoATiS^H^dLL STTiSGT, S.C. upwards 0/300 Superb lUusirations (some beauUfuUy hand-coloured). KENSINGTON: picturesque and HISTORICAL. By W. J. LoPTlE, B.A., F.S.A., Author of " A History of London," fi-c, Sc. Illustrated by W. LuKER, JuN., from Original Drawings carefully finished on the spot and engraved in Pans. [£2 5S. Since the publication of Faulkner's work in 1820, no history of Kensington pretending to accuracy or completeness has been produced. This sumptuous work contains full and descrip- tive accounts of the parish of Kensington and the adjoining Palace and Gardens, with the changes and improvements of the past half century or more ; notices of Kensington celebrities and of the great national institutions which have sprung up at Kensington Gore and Brompton Park ; and a fund of discursive matter of local and historical interest. In regard to the very numerous and absolutely faithful illustrations, two years have been spent by the artist in making for this work original drawings of old and modern Kensington. They include artistic exteriors and interiors ; glimpses of Kensington Gardens ; the Palace in which the Queen was born ; the park ; the people, streets, houses, churches, and ruins ; and pretty, quaint, and taking " bits " of Kensington scenery. All the drawings have been engraved in Paris in the finest possible manner, and the paper on which they are printed has been specially manufactured of a quality to ensure the delicacy of the originals being fully retained. For the curious, a few PROOF copies of KENSINGTON : PiCTUREsguE AND HISTORICAL at five guineas, bound in full morocco, have painted in water-colours on the front, under the gilt edges of the leaves, a couple of Kensington views, which, until the leaves are bent back at an angle, are invisible. LONDON : Field & Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, E.G. IS THERE ANY RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN SHAKESPEARE i- BACON ? By C. F. S. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. — Shakespeare. Modern play acting is but a toy, except when it is too biting and satirical. — Bacon. LONDON : Field & Tuer, The Leadenhall Press. B.C. [Three-and-Si.vrence. THROUGH ENGLAND ON A SIDE-SADDLE IN THE TIME OF WILLIAMS MARY; being the Diary of Celia Fiennes. 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LONDON : Field &■ Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, E.C. [One Shilling. THE DAWN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: ist January, iqoi. LONDON: Field & Tuer, The Leadenhal Press, E.C. [One Shilling "Displays an exhaustive knowledge of the diplomatical relations between the different countries of Europe and of history in general." — Morning Post. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. By Charles Lamb. With an Introduction by Andrew Lang. Illustrated with eight beautiful steel plates engraved in facsimile from the original edition. LONDON: Field ^5^t•llBRARY•Q^ WHiW 3 1158 01037" 0269 ^UIBRARYO/ ^.OFCAllFOft^ 000 -^^lllBRARYOr _^^MM'NIV[Rr/4 ^OfCAllFOfi>< mi :JrtiO. i-:\\\> -/fliMV;: :i'>m\% mrs4» iliiiil