Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

Regent's Park.]

EARLY HISTORY OF THE LOCALITY.

into execution every part of their intended plan, they have done enough to entitle them to the lasting thanks of a grateful public. A park, like a city, is not made in a day; and to posterity it must be left fully to appreciate the merits of those who designed and superintended this delightful metropolitan improvement.”

As we have stated in the previous chapter, this park was formed out of part of the extensive tract of pasture land called Marylebone Park Fields, which, down to the commencement of the present century, had about them all the elements of rustic life; indeed, the locality seems to have been but little altered then to what it was two centuries previously; for in Tottenham Court, a comedy by Thomas Nabbs, in 1638, is a scene in Marylebone Park, in which is introduced a milkmaid, whose song, which we quote as a motto to this chapter, testifies to the rural character of the place.

In the reign of James I. the manor of Marylebone was granted to Edward Forest; the king, however, reserved the park in his own hands, and here he entertained foreign ambassadors with a day's hunting, as Queen Elizabeth had done before him. In the Board of Works accounts for 1582 there is the entry of a payment "for making of two new standings in Marebone and Hide Parkes for the Queene's Majestie and the noblemen of Fraunce to see the huntinge." In 1646, Charles I. granted Marylebone Park to Sir George Strode and John Wandesforde, by letters patent, as security for a debt of £2,318 11s. 9d., due to them for supplying the king with arms and ammunition. After the death of Charles no attention was paid to the claims of these gentlemen, but the park was sold by the Parliament to John Spencer, on behalf of Colonel Harrison's regiment of dragoons, on whom it was settled for their pay. At this time, the deer and much of the timber having been sold, Marylebone Park was disparked, and it was never again stocked with deer. At the Restoration, Sir George Strode and Mr. Wandesforde were reinstated in their possession of the Marylebone Park, which they held till their debt was discharged, except the great lodge, or palace, as it was sometimes called, and sixty acres of land which had been granted to Sir William Clarke, secretary to the Lord General (Monk) the Duke of Albemarle. A compensation was also made to John Carey for the loss of his situation as ranger, which he had held before the Protectorate.

After both park and manor had been "disparked" by Cromwell, the land was held on lease, for various terms, by different noblemen and gentlemen in succession: the last who held it in this way

263

being the Duke of Portland, whose lease expired in 1811.

The present park was commenced in 1812, from the designs of Mr. Nash, the architect, who had lately finished Regent Street; and for several years the site, we are told, presented "a most extraordinary scene of digging, excavating, burning, and building, and seemed more like a work of general destruction than anything else." Indeed, it took such a long time to lay out and build, that Hughson, in his "Walks through London," published in 1817, speaks of it as "not likely to receive a speedy completion," though it was already "one of the greatest Sunday promenades about the town." By degrees, however, the elements of confusion and chaos were cleared away; and in the year 1838, when the park was thrown open, Nash's grand design received the admiration of the public. It was at first proposed to build a large palace for the Prince Regent (after whom the park is named) in the centre, but this plan was not entertained, or, if entertained, it was speedily abandoned. It was, likewise, at first intended, as we have already stated, to connect the park with Carlton House; and this design, though never realised in its full extent, gave birth to Regent Street.*

The park is over 400 acres in extent, and is nearly circular in form. It is crossed from north to south by a noble road, bordered with trees, known as the Broad Walk, and is traversed in every direction to all points of the compass by wide gravel paths, furnished with seats at short intervals. Around the park runs an agreeable drive nearly two miles long; and an inner drive, in the form of a circle, encloses the Botanic Gardens-which, it is stated, was the site reserved by Mr. Nash for the proposed palace of the Prince Regent-adjoining which is the garden belonging to the Toxophilite Society. When the park was laid out, much expense was saved by the building of terraces round the enclosure, and by letting some part of the land to certain gentlemen who were willing to build villas for themselves within the grounds on long leases. These, and the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society and the Zoological Society, do not injure the general effect, but rather add to the beauty of the place. The full extent of this park, which is decidedly one of the finest in London, is nowhere seen, in consequence of the public road crossing it towards the south end, and the Inner Circle being taken out of it. And besides the Inner Circle, the gardens of the Zoological

* Vol. IV., p. 250.

[graphic][merged small]

Regent's Park.]

THE ORNAMENTAL WATERS.

265

Society cover a large portion on the north side. | growth, would have been of the greatest assist-> The ornamental water in this park is superior to ance. Passing along the western road from Portthat of St. James's; and that part of the ground where it is situated is in all respects the most interesting. "The water itself," says the author of Weale's "London and its Vicinity Exhibited" (1851), "is of a good form, with its terminations well covered, and several fine islands, which are well clothed with trees. It lies also in the midst It lies also in the midst

land Place to the Inner Circle, there is a very
picturesque and pleasing nook of water on the
right, where the value of a tangled mass of shrubs
for clothing the banks will be very conspicuously
seen." Here are a number of aquatic birds, almost
rivalling those already mentioned in St. James's
Park.
Park. They build and rear their young freely in

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][merged small]

of some villas and terraces, from which it receives additional beauty. It is on the south side of the park. Some noble weeping willows are placed along its southern margin. Three light suspension bridges, two of which carry the walk across an island at the western end of the lake, are neat and elegant, but the close wire fence at their sides sadly interferes with the beauty of their form. These bridges are made principally of strong wire rods. It is to be regretted that the material which came out of the lake at the time of its formation has been thrown into such an unmeaning and unartistic heap on the north side; although the trees which have been placed upon it in some measure relieve its heaviness. Here, perhaps, more than anywhere else, a good mass of shrubs, as under

the bays and islands. The ornamental water consists of a large lake, with three widely-diverging bays or inlets, and it is a favourite resort of skaters in the winter season. At that time, whenever the ice will bear, notwithstanding the throng of fashionables, there may be seen here a large number of the working, and even of the vagabond classes, pursuing their favourite recreation with perhaps more spirit than elegance. In the winter of 1866-7 a terrible accident occurred in one portion of the ornamental waters; a large field of ice gave way suddenly, and upwards of 200 persons were immersed. Forty were drowned; and the lake was afterwards cleared out, and the water reduced in depth. Boats, of late years, are allowed to be let for amusement here, and during the pleasant

Taken as a whole, the Regent's Park is more like the demesne of an English nobleman than the breathing-ground of the denizens of a great city, being well wooded and adorned with trees, many of them of ancient growth, and standing in ranks, avenues, or clusters picturesquely grouped. It is, however, situated too far from the Court and the Houses of Parliament ever to be fashionable in the best sense of the word; but still it is much frequented by those of the higher professional classes who wish to unite the enjoyments of town life with fresh air and the sight of green leaves, The nightingale still is often heard here.

Thirty or forty years ago it was remarked, and with some show of justice, that foreigners are perfectly surprised when they contrast the splendour of our streets and public edifices with the waste and dreary appearance of our parks; but such a remark would certainly not hold good now, though we are not even yet as well off as we might be.

evenings of summer a very agreeable scene is here jets of water springing up from the basins. The presented. The banks of the lake and its three architect was Mr. Darbishire. armlets during the summer months form a most agreeable and picturesque promenade, and in fine weather they are at all times crowded with idlers and juveniles, to whom this park, from its central situation, is conveniently accessible. Between the water and the top of the long walk lies a broad open space on the slope of a hill facing the west. "Perhaps," says the author above quoted, "as the area is intersected with several walks, it may be a little too bare, and might possibly be improved by a few small groups of trees or thorns; but in parks of this description, such a breadth of grass glade, especially on the face of a hill that does not front any cold quarter, is of immense value, both for airiness and effect. It will only want some scattered groups of trees along the edge of the slope, near the summit, to form a foreground to any view that may be attainable from the top of the hill, and also to get a broken horizontal line when looking up the slope of the hill from the bottom. The space we are speaking of is by no means favourably circumstanced in the latter respect, as the hill is crowned by the fourfold avenue of the long walk, which presents an exceedingly flat and unbroken surface line." The Brothers Percy, in 1823, call it one of the greatest ornaments of the metropolis, "around which noble terraces are springing up as if by magic." Walker thus writes in "The Original" in 1835: "The beauties of the Regent's Park, both as to buildings and grounds, seem like the effect of magic when contrasted with the recent remembrance of the quagmire of filth and the cow-sheds and wretched dwellings of which they now occupy the place." It was thought, indeed, so magnificent at the time of its completion and opening to the public, that a panoramic view of it was published on five large sheets.

Of late years the surface has been, in common with that of the other metropolitan parks, considerably improved. It has been thoroughly drained, so that the dampness of the clayey soil is greatly obviated. A portion of the central avenue has had its sides opened, and laid out as elegant Italian gardens, which are well supplied with flowers, and kept in order with the greatest taste; and more recently some enclosed portions of the park have been thrown open.

At the upper end of this long walk, opposite the principal entrance to the Zoological Gardens, stands a handsome drinking-fountain, presented, in 1871, by Lady Burdett-Coutts. It is of granite, marble, and bronze, with statuary and carving, and is surmounted with a cluster of lamps, with

The park is always full, but on Sundays and holidays it really swarms with pleasure-seekers, who find in its trees, grass, and flowers a very fair substitute for the fields of the country. During the summer months a band plays on Sunday afternoons on the green-sward by the side of the long avenue, and is the means of attracting thousands of the working classes thither. Still, the numbers that are now to be found there are not unexampled in the same place, for it is on record that 50,000 persons have been at one time in the Marylebone fields on a fine Sunday evening to hear the preaching of Whitefield.

On entering the park at York Gate, which is opposite Marylebone Church, will be noticed a fine range of buildings, called Ulster Terrace, extending some distance to the right; on the left is a similar range, named Cornwall Terrace; and further on are Clarence Place, Sussex Place, and Hanover Terrace-all bearing names connected with royalty. Though differing in architectural style, the mansions comprised in these several "places" and "terraces" have a corresponding uniformity of design, consisting of a centre and wings, with porticoes, piazzas, and pediments, adorned with columns of various orders. Sussex Place is crowned with singular gourd-like cupolas. Hanover Terrace, unlike Cornwall and the other terraces, is somewhat raised from the level of the road, and fronted by a shrubbery, through which is a carriage-drive. The general effect of the terrace is pleasing, and the pediments, supported on an arched rustic basement by fluted Doric columns, are full of richness

[blocks in formation]

and chaste design, the centre representing an emblematical group of the arts and sciences, the two ends being occupied with antique devices, and the three surmounted with figures of the Muses. The frieze is also light and simple elegant. The terrace was built from the designs of Mr. Nash. Altogether, Hanover Terrace may be considered as one of the finest works of the neighbourhood, and at one time it was an object of special admiration.

"The architectural spirit which has arisen in London since the late peace, and ramified from thence to every city and town of the empire, will present an era in our domestic history." Such is the opinion of a writer in Brande's Quarterly Journal, in 1827; and he goes on to describe the new erections in the Regent's Park as the "dawning of a new and better taste, and, in comparison with that which preceded it, a just subject of national exultation." Of the general merits of these erections, the same author further says:— "Regent's Park and its circumjacent buildings promise, in few years, to afford something like an equipoise to the boasted Palace-group of Paris. If the plan already acted upon is steadily pursued, it will present a union of rural and architectural beauty on a scale of greater magnificence than can be found in any other place. The variety is here in the detached groups, and not as formerly in the individual dwellings, by which all unity and grandeur of effect was, of course, annihilated. These groups, undoubtedly, will not always bear the eye of a severe critic, but altogether they exhibit, perhaps, as much beauty as can easily be introduced into a collection of dwelling-houses of moderate size. Great care has been taken to give something of a classical air to every composition; and with this object, the deformity of door-cases has been in most cases excluded, and the entrances made from behind. The Doric and Ionic orders have been chiefly employed; but the Corinthian, and even the Tuscan, are occasionally introduced. One of these groups is finished with domes; but this is an attempt at magnificence which, on so small a scale, is not deserving of imitation.".

It must not, however, be supposed that all the various terraces of the Regent's Park front the green-sward of the park. For instance, Kent Terrace, so named after the father of her present Majesty, faces Alpha Road and St. John's Wood, a little above the top of Upper Baker Street. Here, at No. 5, the genial and kindly humourist, Shirley Brooks, the life and soul of Punch almost from its commencement, and the successor of Mark Lemon in its editorial chair, spent the last few years of his life, and there he died in February, 1874. He

267

was buried at Kensal Green : may the turf lie light upon his grave!

Most of the mansions to which we have referred above are situated in or near what is called the Outer Circle, a carriage-drive which, for nearly two miles in extent, encloses the whole area of the park; while some of them are in the park itself, their beautiful private gardens forming part of the enclosed land. Among the most remarkable of these noble edifices are The Holme, nearly central in the park-land, built by Burton, the architect; St. John's Lodge, long the residence of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid; and St. Dunstan's Villa. As we mentioned in our account of Fleet Street, when old St. Dunstan's Church was pulled down, the clock was sold by auction, and bought by Lord Hertford, for whom Mr. Decimus Burton erected St. Dunstan's Villa here. In the grounds of this villa the old clock was put up, with its automaton giants striking the hours and the quarters; and it is still to be seen there in full working order, performing the same duties as of old in Fleet Street, as may be seen in our illustration.* The clock and figures were put up in old St. Dunstan's Church in 1671, the "two figures, or boys with poleaxes," being made to strike the quarters. The clock had a large gilt dial overhanging the street, and above it two figures of savages, life-size, carved in wood, standing beneath a pediment, each having in his right hand a club, with which he struck the quarters upon a suspended bell, moving his head at the same time. To see the men strike was very attractive, and opposite St. Dunstan's Church was a famous field for pickpockets, who took advantage of the gaping crowd. When the old church was taken down, in 1830, Lord Hertford attended the second sale of the materials, and purchased the clock, bells, and figures for £210, and placed them in the grounds of his new villa here. In the year 1855, after the death of the Marquis of Hertford, the "costly effects" of St. Dunstan's Villa were brought to the hammer of the auctioneer. In a notice of the sale which appeared in the newspapers of the time, it is stated that "the interior of this building is somewhat grotesque and irregular, it having been erected at enormous expense and by instalments, for the sole purpose of entertaining the late marquis's numerous friends.” The sale consisted of the furniture and effects, a few valuable pictures, antique sculptures, Florentine bronzes, &c.

South Villa, which is situated between the Inner Circle and the ornamental water, was for many years the residence of Mr. Bishop, whose observa

* See Vol. I., p. 49.

« ПредишнаНапред »