Hampstead and Marylebone Part 3

Primrose Hill rises to the height of 216 feet in a conical shape, and commands a magnificent view. The earliest name was Barrow Hill, and the name Primrose Hill was first used in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; it originated, it is said, from the quant.i.ty of primroses which grew here.

Professor Hales, in an address to the Hampstead Antiquarian and Historical Society, quoted from the "Roxburgh Ballads," printed about 1620:

"When Philomel begins to sing, The gra.s.s grows green and flowers spring, Methinks it is a pleasant thing To walk on Primrose Hill."

It was in a ditch on Primrose Hill that the body of Sir Edmondbury G.o.dfrey, who was mysteriously murdered, was found in 1678. Soon after Queen Victoria's accession the hill was obtained by the Crown as a public s.p.a.ce for the people for ever, the provost and fellows of Eton surrendering their rights in consideration of an exchange of land.

The derivation of the odd name of Chalk Farm was not from any chalk found in the vicinity, but is a corruption of Chalcots, a country house or farm which stood on the south side of England's Lane. Contemporary prints show us a large white house with balconies and pleasure-grounds, for the house was at one time one of the minor tea-gardens in which the North of London seemed particularly rich.

Chalk Farm was a favourite spot for duels in the earlier half of the nineteenth century. The Adelaide Tavern dates from 1839, and facing the spot there was previously a toll-house with turnpike gate.

We have now traversed the length and breadth of Hampstead, finding there much that is picturesque, some few things ancient and many modern; and above all we have experienced some of the charm and freshness of this favoured spot. It is not difficult to see why Hampstead has been so frequently selected as a home by artists--and not by artists alone, but by literary men of all cla.s.ses. Its natural advantages and its many a.s.sociations have exercised, and continue to exercise, a fascination which draws men potently, in spite of some drawbacks, not the least of which is its inaccessibility.

MARYLEBONE

The derivation of this name is simple. Lysons says: "The name of this place was anciently called Tiburn, from its situation near a small bourn or rivulet formerly called Aye-brook or Eye-brook, and now Tybourn Brook. When the site of the church was altered to another spot, near the same brook, it became St. Mary at the Bourne, now corrupted to St. Mary le bone or Marybone." There is a possibility that the "bourne" did not indicate the brook, but the boundary of the parish, in which case Marybone would still be a corruption of St. Mary at the Bourne.

The borough of Marylebone is unique in many respects. It contains many well-known and magnificent houses, such as Montagu House, Portman Square; Hertford House, Manchester Square, where is Sir Richard Wallace's collection of pictures and curiosities; Portland House, Cavendish Square; and others. More than two-thirds of Regent's Park are within its boundaries, including nearly all the Zoological Gardens. In some parts of the borough the street lists furnish many t.i.tled and famous names; in others are the poorest and most squalid districts, rivalling in misery those of the East End.

Many foreign emba.s.sies are located within the parish boundaries. But the most striking characteristic is the great number of hospitals. There are hospitals for special diseases everywhere, besides large inst.i.tutions which have acquired more than Metropolitan fame.

The ancient Tyburn stream ran right through this district. It rose not far from Swiss Cottage, and ran for a few hundred yards through Regent's Park, across the road at Suss.e.x Place, between Gloucester Place and Baker Street, across the Marylebone Road, then, turning westward under Madame Tussaud's, by South Street to the foot of High Street, pa.s.sing along close to Mandeville Place, it crossed Wigmore Street and so reached Oxford Street.

The manor of Tyburn is mentioned in Domesday Book among the possessions of the Abbess and Convent of Barking. Early in the thirteenth century it was held by Robert de Vere, whose daughter married William de Insula, Earl of Warren and Surrey, from whom the manor pa.s.sed to their heirs, the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel. The Berkeleys, Nevilles and Howards divided three-quarters of it later, and one quarter went to Henry V. as heir of the Earls of Derby.

About the end of the fifteenth century Thomas Hobson bought up the greater part of the manor, and in 1544 his son Thomas exchanged it with Henry VIII. in consideration of lands elsewhere.

The manor remained with the Crown until James I. sold it to one Edward Forset, who had previously held it at a fixed rental under Elizabeth.

James reserved to the Crown the tract of land then known as Marylebone, now Regent's, Park. Sir John Austen, Forset's grandson, sold the estate to John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, for 17,500. The Duke of Newcastle's only child, Henrietta, married Edward Harley, who succeeded his father as Earl of Oxford and Mortimer. He carried on his father's collection of books and MSS., and formed what was afterwards known as the Harleian Collection, which was bought by the trustees of the British Museum for 10,000. Henrietta's only daughter, Margaret, married William Bentinck, second Earl of Portland, and thus the estates pa.s.sed to the Portland family.

In the west was another manor, that of Lyllestone, a name still preserved in the corruption, "Lisson" Grove. This manor is mentioned in Domesday Book among the lands in the hundred of Ossulston. In 1338 it was in the hands of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Sir William de Clyf held it from the knights. In 1512 the then Lord Prior granted a parcel of land out of the manor to John and Johan Blennerha.s.set on a fifty years' lease. On their decease Chief Justice Portman acquired their interest, afterwards obtaining the land in fee simple, and thus creating the Portman estate. This estate comprised 270 acres. The remainder of Lyllestone Manor included several estates of importance.

The St. John's Wood estate was granted by Charles II. to Lord Wotton in discharge of a debt. In 1732 it was bought by Samuel Eyre, after whom it was known as the Eyre Estate.

Another estate lying along the Edgware Road was bequeathed to Harrow School by John Lyon. A third was known as City Conduit Estate. The borough at present embraces the Eyre estate at St. John's Wood, the Baker estate, comprising the poor district to the west of Lisson Grove, the Portman estate, the Portland estate, and other land, including the park held by the Crown.

Beginning our ramble at St. John's Wood Station in the heart of the borough, we find ourselves near the well-known Lord's Cricket Ground.

Thomas Lord first made a cricket-ground in what is now Dorset Square, and in 1814 it was succeeded by the present one, which is the headquarters of the Marylebone Cricket Club, the club that gives laws to the cricketing world. Among the most popular matches which take place here are the annual contests between Oxford and Cambridge, Eton and Harrow, when the resources of s.p.a.ce are taxed to the utmost. Besides these, during the season, the M.C.C. matches, the Middles.e.x Club matches, and Gentlemen _v._ Players are played here. Lord's has been increased many times since its inauguration; most recently by a piece of ground, about two acres, which was formerly part of the site of the Clergy Orphanage. This was presented by the Great Central Railway Company in return for the privilege of being permitted to tunnel a corner of the cricket ground.

The extension of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolns.h.i.+re Railway, now known as the Great Central Railway, has completely altered the face of Marylebone. The demolition caused by it extends up the west side of the Wellington and Finchley Roads; but it is further south that the greatest changes have taken place. St. John's Wood Road is itself untouched, the line pa.s.sing under it.

The part of the parish lying to the west and north contains nothing of any exceptional interest. There are wide roads and well-built terraces, and an air of prosperity that speaks well for the neighbourhood. A Home for Incurable Children, founded in 1873, is near the Maida Vale end of St. John's Wood Road, and in Hamilton Terrace is St. Mark's Church, in modern Gothic style; a Presbyterian church and several chapels are also to be found in this neighbourhood.

Returning to the point from whence we set out, we find St. John's Wood Chapel, which is in the cla.s.sical style, designed by Hardwicke in 1814.

The chapel stands well at the junction of four important roads; its Ionic portico is dignified and suitable to the position. The body of the chapel is covered with ivy, and the windows look down on a large burial-ground, now open as a public garden, which is peculiarly bright and well kept. In it are many fine trees, chiefly willows, which overhang the seats placed for public comfort. The gravestones, which are many, have not been removed, and with few exceptions are of the regular round-topped pattern. In the vault beneath the chapel lies the wife of Benjamin West, P.R.A. In 1833 there had been about 40,000 persons buried in this ground, and it is probable this number was greatly exceeded before the burials ceased. Joanna Southcott was buried here in 1814.

Further north in the Finchley Road All Saints' Church stands up conspicuously. This is a fine church in the Perpendicular style, built in 1846. The chancel was added in 1866, and the tower and spire in 1889.

It is really the church of the Eyre estate, and was largely built by the Eyre family. There is in it a beautiful marble font of uncommon pattern, and a pulpit to match.

This part of Marylebone, to the north of Regent's Park, has a High Street of its own--a wide street with comparatively low buildings. The vista, on looking back from the top to the trees of the burial-ground and Regent's Park, is not unattractive. The shops which line either side of the road, though small, are clean and bright. St. John's Wood Terrace is a very wide thoroughfare. In it stands St. John's Wood Church, chiefly distinguished by a very heavy portico. The church is at present used by the Congregationalists, and was formerly known as Connaught Chapel. Just beyond the chapel we come to the St. Marylebone Almshouses.

They are built round three sides of a square, and enclose a quadrangle of green gra.s.s. The blue slate roofs and drab stuccoed walls form a gentle contrast. The central house, occupied by the superintendent, is fronted by a clock over the Royal Arms.

By the will of Simon, Count Woronzow, dated September 19, 1827, the sum of 500 was left for the poor of the parish of Marylebone, and this sum was given by the Vestry, under certain conditions, to the committee for the proposed erection of almshouses in 1836, to be by them applied to building purposes. Various charitable subscriptions and donations have been added from time to time, until at present the almshouses afford an asylum to about fifty-two single women and eight married couples. The recipients must be of good character, and must have paid rates in the parish of Marylebone for at least ten years, and never received parochial relief. They must be over the age of sixty years. They must have a small weekly sum of their own or guaranteed by a friend. They receive shelter and free firing; the single inmates receive in addition 7s. a week, and the married couples 10s. 6d. The corner houses, in which the rooms are larger, are occupied by the married couples. The central building contains the board-room, lined by the names of generous donors.

On the staircase is a bust of Count Woronzow, whose name is also commemorated in the road which runs on the east side of the houses.

The parish extends to within about fifty yards of the summit of Primrose Hill on the south side. At this spot three stones, erect, standing together, mark the point where the three boroughs of Hampstead, St.

Pancras, and Marylebone meet. Not far below is a covered reservoir. This spot was formerly known as Barrow Hill, a name supposed to be derived from burials which anciently took place here. St. Stephen the Martyr's Church stands just within the parish boundaries of Marylebone. It is a pretty little Gothic church with a square battlemented tower and triple-gabled east end. It was built in 1849, and restored thirty years ago. The interior of the church is not equal to the exterior. All the roads lying to the north-west are in uniform style, with comfortable modern villa houses.

When the Manor of Tyburn was let to Edward Forset, King James reserved Marylebone Park for the Crown, and it remained in the same keeping until 1646. In that year King Charles I. granted it to two faithful adherents, Sir G. Strode and J. Wandesford, in payment for arms and ammunition which they had supplied to him. In the time of the Commonwealth the park was seized and was sold on behalf of the opposite cause, the proceeds being devoted to the payment of one of Cromwell's regiments of dragoons.

At the Restoration it was restored to its former holders, who retained it until the debt due to them was discharged. The park was then let to various leaseholders, the last of whom was the Duke of Portland, whose lease ended in 1811, when the land reverted to the Crown.

The ground was laid out by Nash in 1812, and was named Regent's Park in honour of the then Regent (George IV.), for whom it was proposed to build a palace in the centre of the park, in the spot now occupied by the Botanical Gardens.

Regent Street was designed to form a continuous line between the Palace and Carlton House, near St. James's Park. Nash built all the terraces in the park except Cornwall Terrace, which was the work of Decimus Burton.

By a clause in the lease the lessees of the houses in these terraces have to repaint the exteriors in August every fourth year. The broad walk and adjacent flower-beds were laid out and opened to the public in 1838.

The park is about 400 acres in extent. The ornamental water is in shape something like the three legs on a Manx halfpenny. A terrible accident happened here in 1867, when the ice gave way and forty skaters lost their lives; since then the pond has been reduced to a uniform depth of 4 feet. The water for this is supplied by the ancient Tyburn Brook.

South Villa was built about 1836, and an observatory was erected here by Mr. Bishop; this was frequently used by Dawes and Hinde, who here discovered many asteroids and variable stars.

St. Dunstan's Villa was formerly occupied by the Marquis of Hertford, and is of considerable size. It is in the Italian style, and was designed by Decimus Burton, whose name is almost as closely a.s.sociated with the park as Nash's own. The name of St. Dunstan's arose from the two gigantic wooden figures of Gog and Magog, which the Marquis brought from St. Dunstan's, Fleet Street, where they had been since 1671.

A panorama was formerly exhibited in Regent's Park, in a great building called the Colosseum. This was opened in 1829, and attracted crowds of people. It stood on the east side of Regent's Park near Park Square.

Regent's Park Baptist College is established in an old house known as Holford House, from its first owner Mr. Holford.

The building is of great size and stuccoed; within, the central hall, used for prayers, has an ornamental gallery. The domed skylight is of coloured gla.s.s, and a huge bronze statue of Bunyan, by Sir E. Boehm, stands on the south side.

The former ballroom, now used for lectures, debates, etc., is a magnificent room, with richly mounted ceiling and walls decorated with plaster work painted to resemble wood. The dining-room is also of great size. The students' studies are at the east and west ends of the building, and the common rooms in the centre. The extreme west wing is let privately, as the whole house is too large for the college requirements.

Regent's Ca.n.a.l was begun in 1812, and was opened August 1, 1820, with a procession of boats, barges, etc. It is in total length 8 miles 6 furlongs, and descends about 84 feet from the beginning to the end.

In Regent's Park there are various enclosed gardens and grounds--namely, the Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, and the grounds of the Toxophilite Society. The first of these is too well known to need much description. The Zoological Society originated in 1826, and was incorporated three years later. Sir Humphrey Davy and Sir Stamford Raffles are the two names most closely connected with its foundation.

The Gardens were opened in 1828, and contain the finest collection of animals in the world. They are open to the public on payment of 1s.

daily and 6d. on Mondays. On Sundays admittance is obtained only by an order from a Fellow.

The Botanical Gardens belong to the Botanical Society, incorporated in 1839 by a Royal Charter. The Gardens fill nearly the whole of what is known as the inner circle in Regent's Park, a s.p.a.ce of ground comprising nearly 20 acres in extent, held on a lease from the Crown. These gardens are tastefully laid out, and include a hot-house (covering about 20,000 feet of ground), winter garden, conservatory, special tropical houses, museum and lecture-room, tennis court, and an ornamental piece of water.

Entrance is obtained by an order from a Fellow. Exhibitions of plants, flowers, and fruit take place during the spring and summer. The Duke of Teck is the President.

The Toxophilite Society was founded by Sir a.s.sheton Lever in 1781. He had previously formed a museum of curiosities in Leicester Square on the site of the present Empire Music Hall. It was in the grounds of this house that targets were first shot by the Society. When the museum was sold in 1784 the ground was no longer available. It was in this year that an Archers division of the Honourable Artillery Company was formed.

In 1791 an archery ground was rented on the east side of Gower Street, on part of which site Torrington Square now stands. In 1805 this ground was required for building purposes. From this date to 1810 there are no authentic records of the Society, and from then until 1821 the records are intermittent. It is probable the Society shot at Highbury. In 1821 Mr. Lord allowed the members to shoot on his cricket ground on payment of three guineas a day. Mr. Waring, who had been Sir a.s.sheton's coadjutor in founding the Society, owned ground in Bayswater to the east of Westbourne Street. He had previously offered this site to the Society, and his offer was eventually accepted. In 1833 the present ground in Regent's Park was obtained. This is about 6 acres in extent and well laid out. It includes a hall with accommodation for members.

The shooting season is divided into two parts: one from the first Thursday in April to the last Thursday in July, and the other from the last Thursday in September to the first Thursday in November. Ladies'

days are a feature of the club, and every Thursday between the above-mentioned dates has some fixture or compet.i.tion. The only rival to the Royal Toxophilite Society is the Grand National Archery Society.

The part of the borough lying to the west of the park has been immensely altered by the new railway. In fact, the greater part of the buildings have been demolished, and the amount of compensation paid to dispossessed owners and leaseholders is said to be unprecedented.