Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater Part 2

Other inhabitants: No. 3, Madame de Stael; 7, Admiral Sir Edward Hawke; 8, David Mallet, poet, 1758-63; Sir William Beechey, R.A.; Sir Thomas Phillips, R.A., d. 1845; 9, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1803; 13, Lord Chancellor Cowper, 1723; 15, Sir George Wombwell, afterwards for a short time the Junior Travellers' Club; Earl of Albemarle, 1726; Lord Stair, 1726; Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, d. 1762; Sir Thomas Clarges, 1726; Colonel Francis Charteris, 1729; Lord Shelburne, 1748.

Maddox Street was built by the Earl of Burlington in 1721, and named after Sir Benjamin Maddox, the ground landlord (d. 1670). It contains a museum of building appliances established in 1866 in connection with the Inst.i.tute of British Architects. Mill Street is so called from a mill which stood near the corner of Hanover Square; near it is Pollen Street; both are unimportant. Conduit Street, completed about 1713, is so called from the city conduit which carried water from the Tyburn to Cheapside.

It was built for private residences, which have now been transformed into shops. On the south side, where is now a tailor's, stood, until 1877, Trinity Chapel, a plain, red-brick building built by Archbishop Tenison, in 1716, to replace the old wooden chapel which James II. had originally set up on Hounslow Heath, but which was brought to, and left at the top of, Old Bond Street about 1691. Four-fifths of the income derived from the three houses on this site are devoted to the maintenance of the district churches in the parish, the remainder going to the parish of St. Martin's. The share of St. George's parish now amounts to a capital sum of 5,075, and an income of 1,600.

At No. 9, once the town house of the Earls of Macclesfield, are the offices of the Royal Inst.i.tute of British Architects, established 1835, and other kindred societies.

At the Princess of Wales' Tavern, now demolished, David Williams started the Royal Literary Fund in 1772.

In this street lived: Duke of Wharton, 1725; Charles James Fox, b. here 1749; Boswell, 1772; Wilberforce, 1786; Delme Radcliffe, d. 1832; Balfe, composer; No. 36, Sir William Farquhar, physician to William Pitt; 37, George Canning, 1802-03, after him Dr. Elliotson (the house has since been rebuilt); 39, Sir Astley Cooper, surgeon, d. 1841.

Old and New Bond Street form a continuous thoroughfare, in which are situated some of the most fas.h.i.+onable shops in London. Though somewhat narrow, and architecturally uninteresting, it has always been a favourite society promenade, and when first built was "inhabited by the n.o.bility and gentry" (Hatton). New Bond Street dates from about 1716, and occupies part of the site of Conduit Mead (twenty-seven acres), the property of the City of London. Of the houses the following are interesting:

No. 135, the Grosvenor Gallery, the chief of the many picture-galleries in Bond Street. The house was erected in 1877 for Sir Coutts Lindsey, Bart., and contains a lending library and until recently the Grosvenor Club (proprietary, social and non-political). The doorway, by Palladio, was brought from Venice, and the front is by Soames.

Nos. 15 and 16 are Long's Hotel, much frequented by Sir Walter Scott; it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1888.

At No. 18, now a jeweller's, was Steven's Hotel, fas.h.i.+onable during the Regency, and afterwards a haunt of Lord Byron's.

At No. 169, on the west side, was the Clarendon Hotel, formerly the town house of the Dukes of Grafton, and afterwards the residence, about 1741, of the elder Pitt. The hotel was closed in 1877, and replaced by a row of shops.

Inhabitants: Swift, 1727; Mrs. Delany, 1731; Lords Craven, Abergavenny, and Coventry, 1732; George Selwyn, 1751; Dr. Johnson, 1767; Thomson, the poet; No. 141, Lord Nelson, 1797; 146, Sir Thomas Picton, 1797-1800; 147, Mrs. and Miss Gunning, 1792; 148, Lord Camelford, 1803-04; 150, Lady Hamilton, 1813.

Old Bond Street, and the adjoining Stafford Street, Albemarle and Dover Streets, occupy the site of old Clarendon House, the grounds of which covered nearly 30 acres, granted to Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, by Charles II. The house, described by Evelyn as a n.o.ble pile, was erected in 1664, and after being leased, in 1670, to the Duke of Ormonde, was sold in 1675 to the second Duke of Albemarle, who parted with it to Sir Thomas Bond for 20,000. The latter, in 1686, built Bond Street, the west side of which was first called Albemarle Buildings. Residents: 1708, Lords Coningsby, Abingdon, and Anglesea; 1725, the Duke of St. Albans, Countess of Gainsborough; 1741, Duke of Kingston; 1753, Countess of Macclesfield; at the present No. 41, in 1768, died Laurence Sterne; Pascal Paoli, 1761; Boswell, 1769; No. 24, 1791, Sir Thomas Lawrence, R.A., afterwards the offices of the Artists' Benevolent Inst.i.tution, founded 1814, the Artists' Orphan Fund, and the Arundel Society for promoting the knowledge of Art, established 1848. These have now been removed.

Halfway down on the west side is the Royal Arcade, a short pa.s.sage leading to Albemarle Street, containing shops, with a handsome entrance at each end. It was opened in 1883.

In 1820, on the east side, stood another arcade, communicating with the Burlington Arcade, and named the Western Exchange. It failed, and was closed.

In Stafford Street a stone let into the wall of a public-house had the inscription: "This is Stafford Street, 1686." At the corner of Albemarle Street, in 1852, was the Stafford Street Club, formed by Roman Catholics.

Albemarle Street, Grafton Street, and Dover Street contain handsome houses, the residences still of many of the aristocracy. The former was built in 1684-1708 by Sir Thomas Bond, and named after the Duke of Albemarle. Its chief houses are: No. 21, the Royal Inst.i.tution, established by Count Rumford in 1799, for "diffusing the Knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements," etc.; has a stone front, with a row of half engaged Corinthian columns, designed by Louis Vulliamy, and erected in 1837. It contains a lecture-theatre, reading-room, and library of 50,000 volumes.

Members are elected by ballot, and courses of lectures are delivered on science, philosophy, literature and art. Eminent men connected with the Inst.i.tution: Faraday, 1830; Murchison, Lyell, Sedgewick, Whewell, Tyndall, Huxley, Lord Rayleigh, Professor Dewar. The President of the Society is the Duke of Northumberland.

Opposite is St. George's (proprietary) Chapel, a plain building, celebrated for its musical services.

No. 7 is the Royal Thames Yacht Club, inst.i.tuted in 1823 for the encouragement of yacht building and sailing on the river Thames. It was formerly Grillion's Hotel. Here Louis XVIII. lodged in 1814, and Grillion's Club, formed 1813, had its meetings. The Roxburghe Club dinners also took place here.

No. 13 is the Albemarle Club, established in 1875, admits both s.e.xes as members. Messrs. R. and J. Adam lived here in 1792, and the house was afterwards the Pulteney Hotel.

No. 22 is the office of the Royal Asiatic Society, founded in 1823, the British a.s.sociation for the Advancement of Science (1831), the London Mathematical Society (1865), etc.

No. 23 was in 1808 the Alfred Club, which was succeeded by the Westminster Club, which shortly failed.

No. 41, the Amphitryon Club, was established 1870; it was celebrated for the excellence of its cuisine, and the high scale of its charges.

No. 43, the Junior Conservative Club, was established in 1889.

No. 50, the publis.h.i.+ng house of John Murray, was removed here in 1812.

His private house next door was, between 1812 and 1824, the resort of Byron and other literary celebrities.

The noted opposition club, the Coterie, formed in 1763, also met in this street.

Other inhabitants: Lords Portmore, Poulet, and Orkney, 1708; Duke of Rutland, Viscount St. John, 1725-41; Marquis of Granby, 1760; Lord Bute, 1764; Zoffany, artist, 1780; C. J. Fox; Richard Glover, 1785; Byron, 1807; No. 26, Sir James Mackintosh, 1811; 41, Hon. Hedworth Lambton; 41a, Earl of Sandwich.

Grafton Street was named after the Duke of Grafton, who, with Lord Grantham, bought the site in 1735. It was first called Ducking Pond Row, and in 1767 Evans Row.

No. 4, the New Club (proprietary), social and non-political, was established with a view to providing a club conducted with economy in administration. Here lived Lord Brougham (1849) till his death. The Turf Club afterwards occupied it until 1877.

No. 7 is the Grafton Galleries, where periodical exhibitions of pictures are held.

No. 10 is the Green Park Club for ladies, established in 1894, and removed here in 1896.

Other inhabitants: C. J. Fox, 1783; No. 24, Mrs. FitzHerbert, 1796; 11, Admiral Earl Howe, d. 1799; his daughter, the Marchioness of Sligo, and her husband; Lord Stowell, after 1813; 16, Lord Stowell up to 1813; Marquis Cornwallis, 1801; 20, Right Hon. George Tierney, 1809; 11, Sir Dyce Duckworth; 24, Viscount Cranborne, C.B., M.P.; 23, Oswald Partington, M.P.

Dover Street, built in 1686, was called after Henry Jermyn, Earl of Dover, who died here 1708.

At the top of Hay Hill was Ashburnham House (Earl of Ashburnham), a plain square building in a courtyard. It was occupied by the Russian Emba.s.sy in 1851. Now Nos. 28 and 29 are the premises of the Sesame Club for ladies.

No. 37, a stone-fronted house, is the town house of the Bishops of Ely, built in 1772, and granted by Government in exchange for Ely Place.

No. 34, the Bath Club, opened 1895, contains swimming and other baths for both s.e.xes, gymnasium, etc. It has also an entrance in Berkeley Street.

No. 35, the Empress Club for ladies, is on a scale of great magnificence.

No. 36 was the Hogarth Club for gentlemen a.s.sociated with the arts, founded as the Artists' Club at the Turk's Head, Gerrard Street; removed here from Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square, in 1888.

The Literary Club met in 1785 at Le Telier's in this street.

Other inhabitants: John Evelyn, 1699-1706; Marquis of Wharton; Harley, Earl of Oxford; Dr. Arbuthnot, 1714-21; Pope, 1729; Bolingbroke, 1730; Sir William Wyndham, 1731; Archdeacon c.o.xe, b. 1741; No. 23, Lady Byron, 1841; 29, John Nash, Architect; 35, Samuel Whitbread, M.P., d. 1815; 33, Earl of Mexborough, 1895.

The steep descent of Hay Hill was so called from a farm in the neighbourhood, which, perhaps, took its name from Tyburn (the "Ayburn,"

the "Eia Burn"), which flowed at the foot. Here in 1554 Sir Thomas Wyatt's head was exposed, and three of his companions hung in chains. In 1617 Hay Hill was granted to Hector Johnstone for services to the Elector Palatine. By Queen Anne it was granted to the Speaker of the House of Commons, who sold it for 200 and gave the proceeds to the poor. It afterwards came into the hands of the Pomfret family, and was sold prior to 1759 for 20,300.

Berkeley Square was built about 1698 on the site of the gardens of Berkeley House, the residence of Sir John Berkeley, afterwards Lord Berkeley, of Stratton, to whose descendant, Earl Fitzhardinge, the property still belongs. It slopes somewhat steeply to the south, and has a well-wooded garden in the centre, planted about the end of the eighteenth century. The equestrian statue of George III., by Beaupre and Wilton, erected by Princess Amelia in 1766, was removed in 1827, and the pedestal is vacant, but a drinking-fountain, the gift of the Marquis of Lansdowne, stands at the south end. In 1805 the north side was occupied by small tradesmen's shops, which have been replaced; but some of the other houses are old, and still have the iron link extinguishers before the door, which may be seen at many houses in this district. No.

25 is Thomas's Hotel, which dates from 1809. Charles James Fox lived here in 1803. No. 40 is noteworthy for the style of its architecture, but the finest house in the Square is Lansdowne House (Marquis of Lansdowne), standing in its own garden on the south side. It was built by Robert Adam for the Earl of Bute in 1765, and sold while still unfinished to the Earl of Shelburne, afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, for 22,500. It contains a sculpture gallery commenced in 1778, with a collection of statuary by Gavin Hamilton. The pictures were collected by the third Marquis (1807-50), and comprise specimens by Raphael, Murillo, Velasquez, Hogarth, Reynolds, Landseer, and others. The library was added in 1790. Priestley was librarian when, in 1774, he discovered oxygen.

No. 44, designed by Kent for Lady Isabella Finch, has a fine staircase and drawing-room.

Other inhabitants: Corner of Bruton Street, No. 20, Colley Cibber, 1753; 45, the residence of the Earl of Powis, has a name-plate on the door (here, in 1774, Lord Clive committed suicide); 10, Lord Clyde, 1863; 11, Horace Walpole, 1774-97, Lady Waldegrave, 1800; 6, second Earl of Chatham; 13, Marquis of Hertford, Earl of Carnarvon; 17, Lord Rowton; 18, Sir S. B. Bancroft, actor; 21, Lady Anne Barnard, auth.o.r.ess of "Auld Robin Gray," d. 1825; Lord Brougham and Vaux, 1842; 28, Earl Grey, Lord Brougham, 1830-34, Sidney Smirke, R.A., architect, 1842; 38, here, in 1804, the Earl of Jersey married Lady Sophia Fane, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland, d. 1867, Lord Londesborough, 1891. It has now been rebuilt in red brick by Lord Rosebery; 48, Lord Brougham, 1849; 52, Field-marshal Lord Strathnairn, d. 1894.

Berkeley Street was built on the grounds of Berkeley House in 1684 by Lady Berkeley, under the direction of John Evelyn. It skirts the garden wall of Devons.h.i.+re House, and is now chiefly occupied by stabling.

Here lived: Richard Cosway, R.A., 1770-80; No. 4, Shackleton, painter; 9, Pope's Martha Blount, 1731-63; General Bulkeley, d. 1815; Mrs.

Howard, mistress of Louis Napoleon.

Bruton Street, built _circa_ 1727, was named after Lord Berkeley's Dorsets.h.i.+re estate. It contains large private houses, the most noticeable being No. 17, now Lord Stratheden and Campbell. At No. 22 (now Earl Bathurst) was the Pioneer Club for ladies.

Other inhabitants: The Duke of Argyle, d. 1743; Horace Walpole, 1749; William Pitt, 1760; General Lawrence, d. 1775; R. Brinsley Sheridan, 1786; Mrs. Jamieson, 1851-54; General Sir G. Macdonald, d. 1850; 15, Right Hon. Lord Hobhouse, P.C.; 16, Lord Granville, d. 1846; Lord Chancellor Cottenham, 1847; 23, Sir W. H. Humphery, Bart.; 23A, Marquis of Granby, M.P., 1895; 24, George Canning, 1809; Countess of Longford; 26, Sir Matthew Tierney, physician, 1841; 33, William Owen, R.A., d.

1825; 36, Earl of Orford.