Kensington.] THE OLD COURT SUBURB. 123 a name, however, suggestive of farm-yards and piggeries, which then, doubtless, were plentiful in the neighbourhood. Horticultural Gardens, is St. Stephen's Church, very pleasant-sounding name of "Hogmire Lane" built in 1866, from the designs of Mr. Joseph Peacock, and is an architectural ornament to the neighbourhood. In this immediate locality was Orford Lodge, built on the site of the "Old Florida Tea Gardens," for the late Duchess of Gloucester, after whom Gloucester Road is named. The Lodge was subsequently tenanted by the Princess Sophia, and also by the Right Hon. George Canning, who was here visited by Queen Caroline. The house was taken down in the year 1852. The thoroughfare which connected Chelsea with the great western road through the village between the Gore and Kensington Square rejoiced in the not Christ Church, in the Victoria Road, is a fine edifice, of Gothic design, dating from the year 1851, and accommodating about 800 persons. All its seats are open. It was built from the designs of Mr. Benjamin Ferrey. The architecture is of the Decorated style, varying from geometrical to flowing. It comprises a nave and chancel, tower and spire. The windows throughout are of flowered quarries; that at the east end is a rich diaper pattern, copied from one in York Minster. CHAPTER XI. KENSINGTON (continued). "Faith, and it's the Old Court Suburb that you spoke of, is it? Sure, an' it's a mighty fine place for the quality."—Old Play. The Old Court Suburb-Pepys at "Kingly Kensington "-The High Street-Thackeray's "Esmond "-Palace Gate-Colby House-Singular Death-Kensington House: its Early History-Famous Inhabitants-Old Kensington Bedlam-The New House-Young Street-Kensington Square-Famous Inhabitants-Talleyrand-An Aged Waltzer-Macaulay's Description of Talleyrand-The New Parish Church-The Old Building-The Monuments-The Bells--The Parish Registers-The Charity School-Campden House "The Dogs"-Sir James South's Observatory-A Singular Sale-Other Noted Residents at Kensington-Insecurity of the Kensington Road-A Remarkable Dramatic Performance-A Ghost Story-The Crippled Boys' Home-Scarsdale House-The Roman Catholic University College-Roman Catholic Chapels-The Pro-Cathedral-The "Adam and Eve." HITHERTO, since leaving the side of the river at Chelsea, we have been mostly passing over modern ground, which a century ago was scantily dotted with private residences, and which, therefore, can scarcely be expected as yet to have much of a past history. But now, as we look round the "Old Court Suburb❞ of Kensington, and its venerable and somewhat narrow High Street, we find ourselves again confronted with houses and persons of an earlier era, and, consequently, we shall be able to dwell at greater length on the annals and anecdotes of which Kensington has been the scene. The Palace and the Church, of course, will form our central objects, to which, perhaps, we ought to add that old-world haunt of fashion, Kensington Square. The old town of Kensington consisted principally of one long street, extending about three-quarters of a mile in length, from the Gore to Earl's Terrace; but even that thoroughfare is of comparatively modern growth, for the only highway for travellers westward, in former times, was the old Roman (or present Uxbridge) Road, then bending southerly (as it still branches) to Turnham Green. Within the last century a number of small streets have been built on either side. Bowack, in his "History of Middlesex," thus describes the place in the middle of the last century :-"This town, standing in a wholesome air, not above three miles from London, has ever been resorted to by persons of quality and citizens, and for many years past honoured with several fine seats belonging to the Earls of Nottingham and Warwick. We cannot, indeed, find it was ever taken notice of in history, except for the great western road through it, nor hath anything occurred in it that might perpetuate its name, till his late Majesty, King William, was pleased to ennoble it with his court and royal presence. Since which time it has flourished even almost beyond belief, and is inhabited by gentry and persons of note; there is also abundance of shopkeepers, and all sorts of artificers in it, which makes it appear rather like part of London than a country village. It is, with its dependencies, about three times as big as Chelsea, in number of houses, and in summer time extremely filled with lodgers, for the pleasure of the air, walks, and gardens round it, to the great advantage of its inhabitants. The buildings are chiefly of brick, regular, and built into streets; the largest is that through which the road lies, reclining back from the Queen's House, a considerable way beyond the church. From the church runs a row of buildings towards the north, called Church Lane; but the most beautiful part of it is the Square, south of the road, which, up from Westminster, and that took the part of for beauty of buildings, and worthy inhabitants, the regiment at Kensington." The sequel is soon exceed several noted squares in London." Kensington "kingly Kensington," as Dean Swift called it is not very frequently mentioned by Pepys, as that country village had not, in his days, become the "court suburb." He mentions, however, accompanying "my lord" (the Earl of Sandwich) to dine at Kensington with Lord Campden, at Campden House, and afterwards to call at Holland House. With two other trivial exceptions, this is all that we learn about Kensington from the old gossip's "Diary;" neither does the place figure in the "Memoirs of the Count de Gramont." It is on record that George II. admired the flat grounds of Kensington and Kew, as reminding him of "Yarmany." It is described by Bowack, in 1705, as being about three times as big as Chelsea. The manor of Abbots' Kensington, which occupies an area of about 1,140 acres in all, extends northwards so far as to include all the Gravel Pits and Notting Hill. Although Kensington is so near London, and contains so many new buildings, the High Street has a considerable resemblance to that of a country town. The houses, for the most part, are of moderate size, and considerable variety is displayed in the style of building, so that the fronts of scarcely any two houses are alike. Faulkner, writing in 1820, remarks: "The town, being in the direct road for the western parts of England, is in a considerable bustle, and resembles the most populous streets in London, especially in an evening, when the mail-coaches are setting out for their various destinations." The chief coaching-inn and postinghouse, at that time, was the "Red Lion," at the back of which is still to be seen a curious sun-dial, bearing the date 1713. Readers of Thackeray's "Esmond" will not have forgotten the picture he has given of the scene which might have been witnessed from the tavern at the corner of the old High Street, on the occasion of the accession of King George I. :-"Out of the window of the tavern, and looking over the garden wall, you can see the green before Kensington Palace, the palace gate (round which the ministers' coaches are standing), and the barrack building. As we were looking out from this window in gloomy distraction, we heard presently the trumpets blowing, and some of us ran to the window of the front room looking into the High Street, and saw a regiment of horse coming. 'It's Ormond's Guards,' says one. 'No, by G-; it's Argyle's old regiment!' says my general, clapping down his crutch. It was indeed Argyle's regiment that was brought told, and it shall here be told, in the words of "Esmond: "-"With some delays in procuring horses, we got to Hammersmith about four o'clock on Sunday morning, the 1st of August (1714), and half an hour after, it then being bright day, we rode by my Lady Warwick's house, and so down the street of Kensington. Early as the hour was, there was a bustle in the street, and many people moving to and fro. Round the gate leading to the palace, where the guard is, there was especially a great crowd; and the coach ahead of us stopped, and the bishop's man got down, to know what the concourse meant. Then presently came out from the gate horse-guards with their trumpets, and a company of heralds with their tabards. The trumpets blew, and the herald-at-arms came forward, and proclaimed 'George, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith.' And the people shouted 'God save the King!' Thus was the first sovereign of the Hanoverian line proclaimed in the High Street of Kensington; and there, with the sound of King George's trumpets, were the last hopes of the Stuart line scattered to the winds of heaven. The spot where this proclamation took place is surely an object of historic interest to after ages. Almost at the entrance of the High Street is the Palace Gate, with its sentinels on duty, and opposite to it stood, till recently, a good, moderatesized house-a sort of undergrown mansion-which, as Leigh Hunt says, looked as if it "had been made for some rich old bachelor who chose to live alone, but liked to have everything about him strong and safe." Such was probably the case, for it was called Colby House, and was the abode of Sir Thomas Colby, of whom Dr. King tells us in his "Anecdotes of his Own Times," that being worth £200,000, and having no near relatives, he met with his death by getting up from his warm bed on a winter night to fetch the key of his cellar, which he had forgotten, for fear his servant might help himself to a bottle of wine. The house was inhabited, when Faulkner wrote his "History of Kensington," by one of the leading magistrates of the county. Its former eccentric owner was buried in the parish church. The house was standing till about 1872, when it was pulled down, along with the large red house, Kensington House, adjoining, to make a site for Baron Grant's mansion. Kensington House, a dull and heavy building of red brick on the south side of the high road, nearly facing the Palace gates, was for some years Kensington.] KENSINGTON HOUSE. 125 denly transferred to a Parisian college. Having inhabited by the notorious Duchess of Portsmouth, much amongst Frenchmen as if I had been sudone of the many mistresses of Charles II. The house was long and low in proportion, and was screened from the road by a high wall. It is recorded that King Charles supped here the night before he was seized with the illness which proved his last. The house was afterwards turned into a school, kept by Elphinstone, who was known as the translator of Martial, and as a friend of Dr. Jortin, Benjamin Franklin, and Dr. Johnson. He was ludicrously caricatured by Smollett, in "Roderick Random," which was consequently a forbidden book in his school. At the outbreak of the first French Revolution the house was occupied by some French emigrant priests, members of the Jesuit Order, who kept here a college for the youth of the French and some of the English aristocracy, under the assumed name of "Les Pères de la Foi." The late Mr. Richard Lalor Sheil was sent here when a boy, and he tells us how the school was visited by "Monsieur "-as Charles X., afterwards King of France, was then called-in his brother's lifetime. The building has been described as follows by Mr. Sheil*:-"I landed at Bristol, and with a French clergyman, the Abbé de Grimeau, who had been my tutor, I proceeded to London. The abbé informed me that I was to be sent to Kensington House, a college established by the Pères de la Foi for so the French Jesuits settled in England at that time called themselves-and that he had directions to leave me there upon his way to Languedoc, from whence he had been exiled in the Revolution, and to which he had been driven by the maladie de pays to return. Accordingly, we set off for Kensington House, which is situated exactly opposite the avenue leading to the palace, and has the beautiful garden attached to it in front. A large iron gate, wrought into rustic flowers, and other fantastic forms, showed that the Jesuit school had once been the residence of some person of distinction. . . . It was a large oldfashioned house, with many remains of decayed splendour. In a beautiful walk of trees, which ran down from the rear of the building through the play-ground, I saw several French boys playing at swing-swang; and the moment I entered, my ears were filled with the shrill vociferations of some hundreds of little emigrants, who were engaged in their various amusements, and babbled, screamed, laughed, and shouted, in all the velocity of their rapid and joyous language. I did not hear a word of English, and at once perceived that I was as Here, in 1821, whilst the house was still in the hands of the Jesuits, died-it is said, from the effects of tight lacing-Mrs. Inchbald, the authoress of the "Simple Story." She had resided in several other houses in Kensington before coming here. She had written many volumes, which she had by her in manuscript; but on her death-bed, from some motive or other, she requested a friend to tear them to pieces before her eyes, not having the strength to perform the heroic deed of immolation with her own hands. Mr. and Mrs. Cosway, too, resided here for a short time, after leaving Stratford Place, and before settling down in the Edgware Road. The building was subsequently turned into a private lunatic asylum, and was then popularly known as Old Kensington Bedlam. It was purchased in 1873 by "Baron" Albert Grant, who pulled it down and erected a modern Italian palace on its site. The cost of the building and grounds is stated to have exceeded one million sterling. The mansion contained a grand hall and staircase, built entirely of white marble, drawing-rooms, library, picture-gallery, three dining-rooms en suite, and a spacious ball-room. In the construction of the windows, numbering over a hundred, no less than three tons of stone were used. In the formation of the grounds, which are twelve acres in extent, Mr. Grant purchased an Irish colony situated in the rear of the Kensington High Street. formerly called the "Rookery" and "Jenning's Buildings "--both of which had been a nuisance to the parish for years past. These places were entirely demolished, and the ground was verted into a picturesque lake, three acres in extent, with two small islands in the centre. Baron Grant got into difficulties, and the house, after various efforts to secure a sale, in order that it might be converted into a club or hotel, was sold piecemeal as so much old materials, and finally pulled down in 1883 to make way for smaller houses. Continuing our way westward, we come to the turning at Young Street, which leads into the square above alluded to. It is an old-fashioned, oblong enclosure, and bears the name of Ken sington Square. It was commenced in the reign some of Montaigne's "Essays." It is said that, "persons of quality," ambassadors, gentry, and clergy; and at one time, as Faulkner tells us, upwards of forty carriages were kept by residents in and about the neighbourhood. In the reigns of William and Anne and the first two Georges, this square was the most fashionable spot in the suburbs; indeed, in the time of George II., the demand for lodgings here was so great, "that an ambassador, a bishop, and a physician have been known to occupy apartments in the same house." The celebrated Duchess de Mazarin appears to have resided here in 1692; and here she probably had among her visitors her "adoring old friend, Saint Evremond, with his white locks, little skull cap, and the great wen on his forehead." Here, too, Addison lodged for some time; and here it was that he read over for singularity in writing?" "Why, let me tell you," replied Addison, "if he had been a horse he would have been pounded for straying; and why he ought to be more favoured because he is a man, I cannot understand." We shall have more, however, to say of Addison when we come to Holland House. Somewhere about the south-west corner of the square lived, for several years, physician to King William III., and butt of all the wits of the time, Sir Richard Blackmore, the poet, of whom we have spoken in our account of Earl's Court. Hough, the good old Bishop of Winchester, lived here for many years; as also did Mawson, Bishop of Ely; and Dr. Herring, Bishop of Bangor, and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. Among other noted |