Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater Part 1

Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater.

by Geraldine Edith Mitton.

PREFATORY NOTE

A survey of London, a record of the greatest of all cities, that should preserve her history, her historical and literary a.s.sociations, her mighty buildings, past and present, a book that should comprise all that Londoners love, all that they ought to know of their heritage from the past--this was the work on which Sir Walter Besant was engaged when he died.

As he himself said of it: "This work fascinates me more than anything else I've ever done. Nothing at all like it has ever been attempted before. I've been walking about London for the last thirty years, and I find something fresh in it every day."

Sir Walter's idea was that two of the volumes of his survey should contain a regular and systematic perambulation of London by different persons, so that the history of each parish should be complete in itself. This was a very original feature in the great scheme, and one in which he took the keenest interest. Enough has been done of this section to warrant its issue in the form originally intended, but in the meantime it is proposed to select some of the most interesting of the districts and publish them as a series of booklets, attractive alike to the local inhabitant and the student of London, because much of the interest and the history of London lie in these street a.s.sociations.

The difficulty of finding a general t.i.tle for the series was very great, for the t.i.tle desired was one that would express concisely the undying charm of London--that is to say, the continuity of her past history with the present times. In streets and stones, in names and palaces, her history is written for those who can read it, and the object of the series is to bring forward these a.s.sociations, and to make them plain.

The solution of the difficulty was found in the words of the man who loved London and planned the great scheme. The work "fascinated" him, and it was because of these a.s.sociations that it did so. These links between past and present in themselves largely const.i.tute The Fascination of London.

G. E. M.

Some attempt has been made in this volume to indicate the quality of the district described by inserting one or two names of present occupiers; but these names are only representative, and must not be considered as const.i.tuting in any sense exhaustive lists.

MAYFAIR, BELGRAVIA, AND BAYSWATER

Mayfair is at the present time the most fas.h.i.+onable part of London, so much so that the name has come to be a synonym for wealth or pride of birth. Yet it was not always so, as he who runs may read, for the derivation is simple enough, and differs from most cases in that the obvious meaning is the right one. In James II.'s reign a permission was given for a fair to be held on the north side of Piccadilly, to begin on the first day of May, and to last for fifteen days. This fair, we are told, was "not for trade and merchandise, but for musick, showes, drinking, gaming, raffling, lotteries, stageplays and drolls." It was immensely popular, and was frequented by "all the n.o.bility of the town,"

wherein, perhaps, we see the germs of the Mayfair we know. It must be remembered that Grosvenor and Berkeley Squares, with their diverging streets, were not then begun, and that all this land now covered by a network of houses lay in fields on the outskirts of London, while Hyde Park Corner was still the end of the world so far as Londoners were concerned. It was about the end of the seventeenth century that the above-mentioned squares were built, and at once became fas.h.i.+onable, and as the May fair continued to flourish until 1708, it must have seen the growth of the district to which it was to give its name. Though suppressed, doubtless on account of disorders, it revived again, with booths for jugglers, prize-fighting contests, boxing matches, and the baiting of bears and bulls, and was not finally abolished until the end of the eighteenth century.

But Mayfair is not the only district to be noticed; we have also its rival--Belgravia--lying south of Hyde Park Corner, which is equally included in the electoral district of St. George's, Hanover Square. This electoral district takes in the three most fas.h.i.+onable churches in the Metropolis, including the mother church, St. Paul's, Wilton Place, and St. Peter's, Eaton Square, besides many others, whose marriage registers cannot compete either in quant.i.ty or quality of names with these three.

The district can also show streets as poor as some are rich; it includes not only Park Lane and Piccadilly, but also Pimlico and the dreary part to the south of Buckingham Palace Road. It is a long, narrow district, stretching from the river to Oxford Street. As a parish, St. George's was separated from St. Martin's in 1724, and it is now included in the city of Westminster, with which it has been a.s.sociated from its earliest history. In the charter given by King Edgar to the monks at Westminster, their possessions were defined as reaching to the highroad we now call Oxford Street on the north, and to Tyburn Lane, or Park Lane, on the west. But of this the parishes of St. Margaret and St. John at Westminster were the City, and the rest lay in the "Liberties."

The larger portion of the district is included in the ancient estate of Eia, 890 acres in extent, reaching from the Bayswater Road to the Thames, which was given by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who at his death bequeathed it to the Abbey of Westminster.

In Domesday Book it is divided into three manors of Hyde, Ebury, and Neyte. Of these the first occupies the site of Hyde Park; Ebury, from Knightsbridge to Buckingham Palace Road; Neyte, nearer the river, was the favourite residence of the Abbots. Here John of Gaunt lived, and here, in 1448, John, son of Richard, Duke of York, was born. The monks remained in possession until dispossessed by Henry VIII. in 1536. Hyde then became a royal hunting-ground. Neyte, or Neat, and Ebury remained as farms, which in 1676 came into the possession of the Grosvenor family by the marriage of Mary, daughter and heiress of Alexander Davies of Ebury, with Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bart. With her came also the Grosvenor Square property, extending from Oxford Street to Berkeley Square and Dorchester House, and from Park Lane to South Molton Lane and Avery Row. Other large landholders in the district are the Crown--Hyde Park, and Buckingham Palace; Lord Fitzhardinge, the Berkeley estate; the City of London, New Bond Street and parts of Conduit Street and Brook Street; Earl Howe, Curzon Street; Sir Richard Sutton, Piccadilly; the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, Knightsbridge; and the Lowndes family, Lowndes Street and Chesham Place.

More than a quarter of the district is covered by Hyde Park, 394 acres in extent. Long before its acquisition by the Crown in 1536 it had been a favourite royal hunting-ground, and it so continued until Charles I.'s accession, when it was opened to the public. During this reign, and until 1736, the world of fas.h.i.+on centred round the Ring, a circular drive planted with trees, some of which are still carefully preserved on the high ground near the Ranger's house, though all trace of the roadway has long been obliterated. The Park was sold by auction during the Commonwealth, but resumed by the Crown at the Restoration, and in 1670 was enclosed with a brick wall and restocked with deer, who have left their traces in the name of Buck Hill Walk and Gate, close to the east bank of the Serpentine. This prettily-laid-out area, formerly known as Buckden Hill or the Deer Paddock, is now tenanted only by peac.o.c.ks, ducks and rabbits.

The Serpentine, a n.o.ble stretch of water of 50 acres, has already been described in "Kensington."

Hyde Park has always been noted for its springs. In 1725 the Chelsea Waterworks Company obtained a license to supply the surrounding districts, and built a reservoir and engine-house near Grosvenor Gate, which existed until 1835, when, on the recall of the license, the engine-house was demolished and the basin laid out with flower-beds and a fountain. The present reservoir stands in the centre of the Park, while opposite Stanhope Place on the north side is a Gothic drinking fountain, the gift of the Maharajah of Vizianagram. The oldest of the present roads in Hyde Park is Rotten Row, made by William III.; it is now reserved for riding only, while under the trees on either side rank and fas.h.i.+on have lounged and gossiped since the days of the Ring. The popular derivation of the name is from Route du Roi, since it was known first as the King's or Lamp Road; but possibly it has its origin in the soft soil of which the ride since 1734 has been composed. The south road, now the fas.h.i.+onable drive, was made by George II. about 1732, as a short way to Kensington Park. The road from Alexandra Gate to Victoria Gate crosses the Serpentine by a stone bridge built by Rennie in 1826, and is the only one open to hired vehicles, which were first forbidden the use of the Park in 1695. From the Serpentine a soft ride runs parallel to the roadway as far as the Marble Arch; from this point Hyde Park Corner is reached by a broad drive bordered with flower-beds and trees, which replace the famous double avenue of walnuts cut down in 1811. It is much patronized by society, who congregate opposite Hyde Park Corner, near the Achilles statue, by Sir R. Westmacott, R.A., cast from captured French cannon, and erected at a cost of 10,000 by the women of England in 1820, "in honour of the Duke of Wellington and his brave companions in arms." It is copied from a Roman antique, but the name is a misnomer. The road along the north side of the Serpentine is now thronged every day with bicyclists, to whom the Park has been lately thrown open. Here also are held the annual meets of the Four-in-Hand and Coaching Club during the season. This road was widened in 1852. Of past and present buildings in Hyde Park the following may be noted: When the Serpentine was made, an old lodge was demolished which may have been the tavern known in the reign of James I. as the "Grave Maurice's Head," and which later became Price's Lodge. Up to 1836, on the bank of the Serpentine stood an old house called the Cake House, and close to it was the old receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, which was replaced in 1834 by the present building, designed by Decimus Burton. Among the trees behind it is an old farmhouse (Hyde Park Lodge), the residence of Major-General Bateson, Deputy Ranger, adjoining which are the old barracks, now a police-station and guard-room, the head-gardener's house, built in 1877, and the old magazine. The new magazine stands close to the Serpentine Bridge, and contains over 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition. Near Grosvenor Gate stood the Duke of Gloucester's riding-house, built in 1724, which, after serving as the headquarters of the Westminster Volunteer Cavalry, was demolished in 1824. The old Ranger's Lodge at Hyde Park Corner was pulled down when Apsley House was built.

The princ.i.p.al entrance to Hyde Park is at Hyde Park Corner, and consists of a triple archway combined with a fluted Ionic screen, by Decimus Burton, completed in 1828. The iron gates are by Bramah. c.u.mberland Gate, the next in importance, was opened in 1744, with wooden gates.

Here in 1643 was posted a court of guard to watch the Oxford Road, where the Court was residing, and here also military executions took place.

The Marble Arch, an imitation by Nash of the Arch of Constantine at Rome, erected originally as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, was moved to this site in 1851. Albert Gate was made in 1841, on the site of the Cannon Brewery. The iron gates were set up in 1845, and the stone stags on either side were brought from the old Lodge in the Green Park.

The remaining gates are Alexandra Gate and Prince of Wales's Gate, erected since 1851; Victoria Gate, Grosvenor Gate, made in 1724 by subscription of the neighbouring inhabitants; and Stanhope Gate, opened about 1760. There are also numerous entrances for foot pa.s.sengers.

The present Park railing was put up after the Reform Riots in 1866 to replace the one demolished by the mob, which had stood since 1825.

In duelling days Hyde Park was a favourite battle-ground. Of many encounters the following may be recorded:

1685. The Duke of Grafton and the Hon. John Talbot, the latter being killed.

1712. The Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun, which took place near Price's Lodge. Both died on the ground, and Lord Mohun's second, General Macartney, was afterwards tried, on the accusation of Colonel Hamilton, for stabbing the Duke when on the ground; he was, however, acquitted.

1763. John Wilkes was wounded by Mr. Samuel Martin, M.P.

1770. Lord Thurlow and Mr. Andrew Stewart.

1777. Charles James Fox and Mr. William Adam, M.P.

1780. Colonel Fullarton, M.P., wounded the Earl of Shelburne.

After 1803 the practice of duelling fell gradually into disuse.

In troublous times military camps occupied the open ground, notably in 1649 under Lord Ess.e.x, in 1665 during the Plague, and in 1715 and 1722 to guard against Jacobite rebellion.

Reviews have been held at intervals from 1569 until 1876, but are now of very rare occurrence.

Hyde Park has also been the scene of some serious riots, notably those in 1821 on the occasion of the removal of Queen Caroline's body; in 1885 against the Sunday Trading Bill; and in 1862 the Garibaldi disturbances.

The most important riot, however, broke out in 1866, when the Reform Leaguers forcibly entered the Park by pulling down the railing. From the Reform League the Reformer's tree near the reservoir took its name; though the original one has been felled, the name is still applied to a neighbouring tree, and political demonstrations, which have been declared legal since 1866, are still held on the open s.p.a.ce in the vicinity.

Oxford Street, which forms the northern boundary of the district, has already been described in the book on "Marylebone," with which district it is closely identified. It is only necessary here to mention some of the notable houses on the south side which fall within our compa.s.s.

The first is Camelford House (Lord Hillingdon), an unpretentious building in a courtyard, once the property of the Pitts, Earls of Camelford. George Grenville occupied it in 1805, and subsequently H.R.H.

Princess Charlotte and her husband, afterwards Leopold I. of Belgium.

Adjoining it is Hereford Gardens, a row of handsome private houses built in 1870 on the site of Hereford Street (1780).

At the corner of Lumley Street (south side) is the Royal a.s.sociation in Aid of the Deaf and Dumb. The building, erected in 1870 from designs by Sir A. Blomfield, of red brick, contains a reading-room, lecture-hall, and on the upper floor St. Saviour's Church, in early Pointed style.

From Dering Street, on the south side of Oxford Street, the garden of Lord Carnarvon's house in Tenterden Street extended nearly to Harewood Place. On the site are a noticeable stone-fronted house, now a carriage warehouse, and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, founded 1838 and removed here from Bloomsbury Square in 1856.

Park Lane, up to 1769 called Tyburn Lane, was in the reign of Queen Anne a desolate by-road, but is now a favourite place of residence for the fas.h.i.+onable persons in the Metropolis. It is open to Hyde Park as far as Hamilton Place, whence it reaches Piccadilly by a narrow street. At its junction with the former stands an ornamental fountain by Thorneycroft, erected in 1875 at a cost of 5,000, the property of a lady who died intestate and without heirs. At the base are the muses of Tragedy, Comedy, and History in bronze, above Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton in marble, the whole being surmounted by a bronze statue of Fame. The princ.i.p.al mansions in Park Lane are: Brook House, at the north corner of Upper Brook Street, designed by T. H. Wyatt, and the residence of the Earl of Tweedmouth, and next to it Dudley House. Dorchester House (Captain Holford) was built by Vulliamy in 1852 on the site of the town house of the Damers, Earls of Dorchester. The building, which stands in its own grounds, is rectangular, and constructed of Portland stone in Italian Renaissance style. On the narrow front is a carriage portico.

The reception rooms and marble staircase have few rivals in London; they contain two libraries and a collection of pictures by old and modern masters. Here died in 1842 the Marquis of Hertford. Londonderry House, No. 18 (Marquis of Londonderry), was built in 1850 by S. and J. Wyatt on the site of the residence of the D'Arcys, Earls of Holdernesse. It contains a fine gallery of pictures and sculpture. Other inhabitants: the Duke of Somerset, in a house adjoining Camelford House, No. 35; Sir Moses Montefiore, d. 1885; Park Lane Chambers, Earl Sondes, Lord Monkbretton.

At the corner of Upper Grosvenor Street (then No. 1, Grosvenor Gate) Benjamin Disraeli lived 1839-73. No. 24, Lord Bra.s.sey. No. 21, for many years the Marquis of Breadalbane, and afterwards Lady Palmerston, when left a widow in 1850; Earl of Scarborough. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton at a house then numbered 1. In 23, Richard Sharp, 1822-24; Mrs. Fitzherbert, 1785; Warren Hastings, 1790-97; Marquis Wellesley, 1796.

Grosvenor Square and the surrounding streets have always been the centre of the aristocratic world; the Square, which includes about six acres, was built in 1695. The garden was laid out by Kent, and in the centre stood formerly an equestrian statue of George I., by Van Nost, placed there in 1726. On the site, in 1642, was erected a fort named Oliver's Mount, which stood as one of the defences against the Royalists until 1647. Owing to the prejudices of the inhabitants, Grosvenor Square was not lit by gas until 1842.

Inhabitants: d.u.c.h.ess of Kendal, d. 1743; Earl of Chesterfield, 1733-50; Bishop Warburton, 1757; Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, 1758-64; Lord Rockingham, d. 1782; Henry Thrale, d. 1781; Lord North, d. 1792; Thomas Raikes, 1832; Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles; 10, Lord Canning and Lord Granville, 1841; 22, William Beckford, 1800; 23, the Earl of Derby here married Miss Farren, actress, in 1797; his successors resided here until 1832; Lord Stratford de Redclyffe, d. 1880; 24, the Earl of Shaftesbury; 29, Sir John Beaumont; 30, John Wilkes, d. 1797; 39 (now 44), the Earl of Harrowby, 1820 (here the Cato Street conspirators proposed to murder the Ministry); 44, Countess of Pembroke. The houses have since been renumbered. To give a list of the present inhabitants of note would be impossible; it would be like copying a page out of the Red Book. Suffice to say there are living in the Square two Dukes, one Marquess, three Earls, six Barons, and five Baronets, beside many other persons of distinction.

At the corner end of Park Street, and in South Street and Aldford Street, the old houses have been pulled down and have been replaced by large, red-brick, ornamented structures, such as have also been erected in Mount Street, Grosvenor Street, and North and South Audley Street.

The s.p.a.ces behind the houses are occupied by mews. Great improvements have also been effected since 1887 in the housing of the working cla.s.ses, particularly in the neighbourhood of Oxford Street, and in Bourdon Street and Mount Row, by the erection of blocks of industrial dwellings by the St. George's and Improved Industrial Dwellings Companies, under the auspices of the Duke of Westminster.

In Park Street, formerly called Hyde Park Street, lived Miss Nelly O'Brien, 1768; 7, Sir William Stirling Maxwell, M.P.; 26, Sir Humphry Davy, 1825, till his death; 113, Miss Lydia White, d. 1827; 123, Richard Ford, author of "The Handbook for Spain." In North Audley Street, opposite Green Street, is St. Mark's Church, built from designs by J. P.

Deering in 1825-28, and reconstructed in Romanesque style in 1878.

Adjoining is the Vicarage, built in 1887, and at the back the St. Mark's Inst.i.tute, containing a church-room, mission-room, gymnasium, and a working men's club. Attached to the inst.i.tute are the parish schools, built soon after 1830, and enlarged and repaired in 1894.

Near the church lived the Countess of Suffolk, mistress of George II.; at 1, Maria Edgeworth; 26, the Misses Berry.