A Walk from London to Fulham Part 3

Banim's kindness-his sympathy, indeed, for Griffin, deserves notice.

"I cannot tell you here," writes the latter, "the many, many instances in which Banim has shown his friends.h.i.+p since I wrote last; let it suffice to say, that he is the sincerest, heartiest, most disinterested being that breathes. His fireside is the only one where I enjoy anything like social life or home. I go out (to Brompton Grove) occasionally in an evening, and talk or read for some hours, or have a bed, and leave next day."

Again, in a letter dated 31st of March, 1824, Griffin says:-

"What would I have done if I had not found Banim? I should have instantly despaired on ****'s treatment of me. I should never be tired of talking about and thinking of Banim. Mark me! he is a man, the only one I have met since I left Ireland, almost. We walked over Hyde Park together on St. Patrick's Day, and renewed our home recollections by gathering shamrocks, and placing them in our hats, even under the eye of John Bull."

MICHAEL'S PLACE, on the same side of the way with the Bunch of Grapes, is railed off from the main Fulham Road, although a public footpath admits the pa.s.senger as far as No. 14. It consists of forty-four houses, and was a building speculation of Michael Novosielski, already mentioned, whose Christian name it retains, having been commenced by him in 1786.

But the sh.e.l.ls of his houses for many years remained unfinished, and in 1811, the two last houses (Nos. 43 and 44) of Michael's Place were not built. Novosielski died at Ramsgate, in 1795; and his widow, for some years after his death, occupied No. 13.

[Picture: No. 8 Michael's Place] No. 8 Michael's Place, to be recognized by its bay-windows, was, for several years, the residence of the Rev. Dr.

Croly, now rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, distinguished in the pulpit by his eloquence, admired as a writer in almost every walk of English literature, and respected and beloved by those who know him. Croly's fame must live and die with our language, which he has grasped with an unrivalled command.

BROMPTON SQUARE is opposite to the commencement of Michael's Place, to which it will be necessary to return, after a visit to the square.

At No. 6 has lived Mr. John Baldwin Buckstone, the actor-author, or author-actor, so well known and esteemed by the public. And at No. 14 has resided Mr. Edward Fitzwilliam, the musical composer, who died on the 19th of January, 1857, at the early age of 33.

No. 21 was, between the years 1829 and 1833, the residence of Spagnoletti, the leader of the Opera band. He was succeeded in the tenancy by Mrs. Chatterly, a lively and accomplished actress, who continued to occupy the same house after her marriage with Mr. Francis Place.

[Picture: Nos. 22, 23, 24, Brompton Square] At No. 22 (which now belongs to the well-known and much respected actor Mr. James Vining, and is at present tenanted by Mr. s.h.i.+rley Brooks) George Colman the younger died on the 26th of October, 1836, at the age of 74, having removed to this house from No. 5 Melina Place, Kent Road. "He ceased to exist on the 17th of October, 1836," says his medical attendant, in a letter published in the memoirs of the Colman family. But this is an error, as on the 19th of October he appears to have written to Mr. Bunn. The last earthly struggle of George Colman has been thus described:-

"It has never fallen to my lot to witness in the hour of death so much serenity of mind, such perfect philosophy, or resignation more complete. Up to within an hour of his decease he was perfectly sensible of his danger, and bore excruciating pain with the utmost fort.i.tude.

"At one period of his life a more popular man was not in existence,"

observes Mr. Bunn; "for the festive board of the prince or the peer was incomplete without Mr. Colman. He has left behind him a perpetuity of fame in his dramatic works; and much is it to be lamented that no chronicle has been preserved of his various and most extraordinary _jeux-d'esprit_. He has, moreover, left behind quite enough of renown, could he lay claim to none other, to be found in the following tribute from the pen of Lord Byron:-'I have met George Colman occasionally, and thought him extremely pleasant and convivial. Sheridan's humour, or rather wit, was always saturnine, and sometimes savage; he never laughed (at least that I saw and I have watched him), but Colman did. If I had to _choose_, and could not have both at a time, I should say, let me begin the evening with Sheridan, and finish it with Colman. Sheridan for dinner, Colman for supper. Sheridan for claret or port, but Colman for everything, from the madeira and champagne at dinner, the claret with a layer of port between the gla.s.ses, up to the punch of the night, and down to the grog or gin-and-water of daybreak. Sheridan was a grenadier company of life-guards, but Colman a whole regiment-of light infantry, to be sure, but still a regiment.'"

The sale of Colman's effects took place on the 29th of November, 1837; among the pictures sold was the well-known portrait of George Colman the elder, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which has been engraved; another by Gainsborough, also engraved; a third in crayons, by Rosalba; and a fourth by Zoffani, which formerly belonged to Garrick, a highly-finished miniature of Shakspeare, by Ozias Humphrey, executed in 1784 (a copy of which, made for the d.u.c.h.ess of Chandos, sold at her sale for 40); some watercolour drawings, by Emery, Mrs. Terry, and others; some engravings; more than 1,000 volumes of French and English books; and a collection of miscellanies, including the MSS. of the elder Colman's most admired productions, and several by George Colman the younger,-amounting in all to twenty-six pieces. John Reeve bought largely of the books; but before two months had elapsed Reeve himself was no more.

No. 23 Brompton Square is occupied by Mr. William Farren, who was for a long period the unrivalled representative of old men upon the stage, {53} and who took his farewell at the Haymarket Theatre in 1855; and No. 24, between the years 1840 and 1843, was the residence of Mr. Payne Collier, who has given to the public several editions of Shakspeare, and who has been long distinguished by his profound knowledge of dramatic literature and history, and his extensive acquaintance with the early poetry of England.

Mr. Collier's house, in Brompton Square, stood between that which Mr.

William Farren occupies, and one (No. 25) of which Mr. Farren was proprietor, and has now been sold. At No. 28 resides Mr. William Frogatt Robson, Solicitor and Comptroller of Droits of Admiralty. Mr. William Farren has resided at No. 30, next door to Mr. Henry Luttrell (No. 31), "the great London wit," as Sir Walter Scott terms him, well known in the circles of literature as the author of many epigrams, and of a volume of graceful poetry, ent.i.tled 'Advice to Julia,' and who died on 19th December, 1851, aged 86.

In addition to these literary and dramatic a.s.sociations of Brompton Square, Liston resided for some time at No. 40, Mr. Yates and Mr. John Reeve at 57 and 58; and that pair of comic theatrical gems, Mr. and Mrs.

Keeley, have been inhabitants of No. 19.

[Picture: First grave] BROMPTON NEW CHURCH, a little beyond the Square, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The architect was Mr. Donaldson, and the first stone was laid in October, 1826. On the 6th of June, 1829, the Bishop of London consecrated this church and its burial-ground, which had been a flower-garden. When the first grave was made in the month following, many of the flowers still appeared among the gra.s.s; and, after viewing it, Miss Landon wrote the following verses. The "first grave" is in the extreme south-west of the corner churchyard, close to the narrow pathway that skirts the wall, leaving only s.p.a.ce for a grave between.

The inscription on the stone which originally marked the "first grave,"

was,-

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF MR. IOHN CORPE OF THIS PARISH OF ST. GEORGE'S HANOVER SQUARE WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE 18TH OF JULY 1829 AGED 51 YEARS.

"A single grave! the only one In this unbroken ground, Where yet the garden leaf and flower Are lingering around.

A single grave!-my heart has felt How utterly alone In crowded halls, where breathed for me Not one familiar tone.

"The shade where forest-trees shut out All but the distant sky,- I've felt the loneliness of night, When the dark winds pa.s.s'd by.

My pulse has quicken'd with its awe, My lip has gasp'd for breath; But what were they to such as this- The solitude of death?

"A single grave!-we half forget How sunder human ties, When round the silent place of rest A gather'd kindred lies.

We stand beneath the haunted yew, And watch each quiet tomb, And in the ancient churchyard feel Solemnity, not gloom!

"The place is purified with hope- The hope, that is, of prayer; And human love, and heavenward thought, And pious faith, are there!

The wild flowers spring amid the gra.s.s, And many a stone appears Carved by affection's memory, Wet with affection's tears.

"The golden chord which binds us all Is loosed, not rent in twain; And love, and hope, and fear, unite To bring the past again.

But _this_ grave is so desolate, With no remembering stone, No fellow-graves for sympathy,- 'Tis utterly alone!

"I do not know who sleeps beneath, His history or name, Whether, if lonely in his life, He is in death the same,- Whether he died unloved, unmourn'd, The last leaf on the bough, Or if some desolated hearth Is weeping for him now?

"Perhaps this is too fanciful, Though single be his sod, Yet not the less it has around The presence of his G.o.d!

It may be weakness of the heart, But yet its kindliest, best; Better if in our selfish world It could be less repress'd.

"Those gentler charities which draw Man closer with his kind, Those sweet humilities which make The music which they find: How many a bitter word 't would hush, How many a pang 't would save, If life more precious held those ties Which sanctify the grave."

Now (1860) the grave-stone has received two additional inscriptions, and the character of the upright stone has been altered.

[Picture: Reeve's Grave] Corpe was a ladies' shoemaker, and his son carried on that business at No. 126 Mount Street, Berkeley Square, after the father's death. While sketching the grave, the s.e.xton came up, and observed, "No one has ever noticed that grave, sir, before, so much as to draw it out for a pattern, as I suppose you are doing."

John Reeve's grave ("alas, poor Yorick!") is in the first avenue at the back of the church, to the left hand, and immediately at the edge of the path that runs parallel with the north side of the building. The stone, which is similar to others in the same vicinity, is inscribed:-

IN MEMORY OF IOHN REEVE ESQ.

LATE OF THE THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.

OBIIT JANUARY. 24TH. 1838.

ALSO OF IOHN REEVE ESQ.

UNCLE OF THE ABOVE OBIIT JANY. 22ND. 1831 AGED 71.

In the central path, leading from the Church Tower, is the grave of Harriet Elizabeth Farren, who died 16th of June, 1857, aged 68. She made her first appearance in London in 1813, as Desdemona.

[Picture: Bell and Horns sign] Close to Brompton New Church, at a public-house called the Bell and Horns, {58} the road branches off again; that branch which goes straight forward leading to Old Brompton, Earl's Court, Kensington, and North End, Fulham. The turn to the left, or bend to the south, being the main Fulham Road. Here, till within the last few years, was standing the stump of an old tree, shown in the accompanying sketch. [Picture: Stump] A cl.u.s.ter of trees at the commencement of the Old Brompton Road have also been removed, and the road has been considerably widened. On the right-hand side, adjoining Brompton New Church, is the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, a Roman Catholic Establishment of considerable extent, which stands on the ground once occupied by Mr.

Pollard's school. It was opened on 22nd March, 1851, and was originally located in King William Street, Strand. It is bounded on the east by the avenue of lime trees leading up to Holy Trinity Church, on the north by its cemetery, on the west by the South Kensington Museum, and on the south by the road, which has been widened by the commissioners to eighty feet. The superior in London is the Rev. F. W. Faber, and at Birmingham, the Rev. J. H. Newman, D.D. The building, which does not show its size to advantage from the road, is erected in the shape of the letter T.

Some idea of the scale on which the building is executed may be gathered from the following dimensions. The oratory 72 feet long, 30 wide, 29 high. The library 72 feet long, 30 wide, 23 high. The refectory 50 feet long, 30 wide, 28 high. The corridors of the house 164 feet long, 9 wide, 14 high. The architect is Mr. Scoles. Next to the oratory is the South Kensington Museum, which was built upon the Kensington Gore estate, [Picture: Oratory and Museum] purchased by the Royal Commissioners with the surplus funds derived from the Exhibition of 1851. It was opened on the 24th June, 1857, and is a result of the School of Design, founded at Somerset House in 1838. It is the head-quarters of the Government Department of Science and Art, previously deposited in Marlborough House, which is under the management of Mr. Henry Cole. The collections are temporarily placed in a range of boiler-roofed buildings, hence the term "Brompton boilers" has been applied to them. There are specimens here of ornamental art, an architectural, trade, and economical museum; a court of modern sculpture, and the gallery of British Art, founded on the munificent gift of Mr. John Sheepshanks. Mr. Sheepshanks having bestowed on the nation a collection of 234 oil paintings, mostly by modern British artists, and some drawings, etc., the whole formed by himself, including some of the most popular works of Wilkie, Mulready, Sir Edwin Landseer, Leslie, and other eminent artists of the English school. To these have been since added, in several large rooms, the Turner Collection, and the pictures from the Vernon Gallery; also the collection bequeathed to the nation by the late Mr. Jacob Bell, and the pictures by British artists removed from the National Gallery; all which are well lighted from the roof. The objects of ornamental art consist of medieval furniture and decoration, painted gla.s.s, plaster casts, electrotype copies, photographs, engravings, and drawings, etc., the whole designed with the view of aiding general education, and of diffusing among all cla.s.ses those principles of science and art which are calculated to advance the individual interests of the country, and to elevate the character of the people: facilities are afforded for taking copies of objects upon application at the Art Library. The Educational collections formed by the Government, which are in the central portion of the building, comprise specimens of scientific instruments, objects of natural history, models, casts, and a library; refreshment and waiting rooms are provided; and there are lectures delivered in a building devoted to that purpose.

The admission, which is from ten till four, five or six, according to the season, is free on Monday, Tuesday, and Sat.u.r.day, also on Monday and Tuesday evening, from seven till ten, when the galleries are lighted; on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, being students' days, the admission is 6d.

In form the building is rectangular, the centre or nave is 42 feet wide, and is open from the floor to the roof. Along the aisles galleries run, access to which is obtained by two large central staircases at the ends of the building, which is for the most part lighted from the roofs.

There is ample ventilation, and by means of hot water pipes, the building is heated when required. The exhibition s.p.a.ce in floor and galleries is nearly one acre and a half, exclusive of the wall s.p.a.ce in the galleries and aisles. The arrangement, it may be seen from this description, is much the same as that adopted in the Great Exhibition of 1851. There are separate catalogues for each department to be had, which give the visitor all necessary information. The building was constructed from designs and drawings prepared by Messrs. Charles D. Young and Co. of Great George Street, Westminster. Opposite the Museum is Thurloe Place. No. 1 may be mentioned as the residence of Mr. Henry Holl, well known some years ago as the light comedian of the Haymarket Theatre. That gentleman has now retired from the profession, but in addition to some dramatic productions written many years since, he is the author of two or three successful pieces recently produced. It is not the intention of the writer to follow the course of the Old Brompton Road, but he will at once return to the main road after alluding to the newly-formed magnificent approaches from this point to Kensington, by Exhibition Road and Prince Albert's Road, on the site of Brompton Park, now broken up. {62} A winter garden is in course of formation here, and the Horticultural Society intend to appropriate part of the ground for their annual fetes. The total amount expended on the purchase and laying out of the Kensington Gore Estate from 1851 to 1856 inclusive, was 277,309.

CHAPTER II.

FROM THE BELL AND HORNS, BROMPTON, TO LITTLE CHELSEA.

To return to the continuation of MICHAEL'S PLACE. It is divided between Nos. 11 and 12 by MICHAEL'S GROVE, which led to Brompton Grange, for some years the seat of the favourite veteran vocalist, Braham, who made his appearance as a public singer at the age of ten years, and so far back as 1787. The Grange was taken down in October 1843, and, in the course of twelve months, its s.p.a.cious grounds were covered by a decided crescent and other buildings. Brompton Grange, which was constructed by Novosielski for his own residence, was, previous to Mr. Braham's tenancy, occupied by a gentleman of large fortune and weak nerves, which were most painfully affected by the tone of a bell. After considerable research, this spot was selected for his London residence, in the belief that there he would be secure from annoyance. But the folly of human antic.i.p.ation was speedily ill.u.s.trated by the building of Brompton Church on the north side of his abode, and of Chelsea New Church on the west; so that, whatever way the wind blew,

"The sound of the church-going bell"