Part 3

In the churchyard stand the schools, formerly the Latymer and Charity Schools, now merely St. Paul's National Schools. The school was originally built in 1756 at the joint expense of the feofees of Mr. Latymer and trustees of the Female Charity School, and was restored and added to in 1814. The Charity School was founded in 1712 by Thomas Gouge, who left L50 for the purpose, which has since been increased by other benefactions.

On the south side of the church are two picturesque old cottages, which would seem to be contemporary with the old church itself. Near the north end of the Fulham Palace Road, which here branches off from Queen Street, is the Roman Catholic Convent of the Good Shepherd. The walls enclose nine acres of ground, part of which forms a good-sized garden at the back. The nucleus of the nunnery was a private house called Beauchamp House. The convent is a refuge for penitents, of whom some 230 are received. These girls contribute to their own support by laundry and needle work.

Chancellor Road is so called through having been made through the grounds of an old house of that name. In St. James Street there is a small mission church, called St. Mark's, attended by the clergy of St. Paul's. In Queen Street, which runs from the church down to the river, there are one or two red-tiled houses, but toward the river end it is squalid and miserable. Bowack says that in his time (1705) two rows of buildings ran from the chapel riverwards, and another along the river westward to Chiswick. One of the first two is undoubtedly Queen Street. The last is the Lower Mall, in which there are several old houses, including the Vicarage, but there is no special history attached to any of them. In 1684 a celebrated engineer, Sir Samuel Morland, came to live in the Lower Mall. Evelyn records a visit to him as follows:

"25th October, 1695.

"The Abp and myselfe went to Hammersmith, to visite Sir Sam Morland, who was entirely blind, a very mortifying sight. He showed us his invention of writing, which was very ingenious; also his wooden Kalendar, which instructed him all by feeling, and other pretty and useful inventions of mills, pumps, etc."

Sir Samuel was the inventor of the speaking-trumpet, and also greatly improved the capstan and other instruments. He owed his baronetcy to King Charles II., and was one of the gentlemen of the Privy Chamber and Master of Mechanics. He died in 1696, and was buried at Hammersmith. There are here also large lead-mills. Behind the Lower Mall is a narrow passage, called Ashen Place; here is a row of neat brick cottages, erected in 1868. These were founded in 1865, and are known as William Smith's Almshouses. Besides the building, an endowment of L8,000 in Consols was left by the founder. There are ten inmates, who may be of either sex, and who receive 7s. a week each.

Waterloo Street was formerly Plough and Harrow Lane. Faulkner mentions a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel here, built in 1809, which probably gave its name to Chapel Street hard by.

Near the west end of the Lower Mall is the Friends' Meeting House, a small brick building which, though new, inherits an old tradition; for there is said to have been a meeting-house here from the beginning of the seventeenth century, and one of the meetings was disturbed and broken up by Cromwell's soldiers. At the back is a small burial-ground, in which the earliest stone bears date 1795.

The Lower is divided from the Upper Mall by a muddy creek. This creek can now be traced inland only so far as King Street, but old maps show it to have risen at West Acton. An old wooden bridge, erected by Bishop Sherlock in 1751, crosses it; this is made entirely of oak, and was repaired in 1837 by Bishop Blomfield. Near the creek the houses are poor and mean, inhabited by river-men, etc., and the place is called Little Wapping. There is a little passage between creek and river, and in it is a low door marked "The Seasons." It was here that Thompson wrote his great poem, in a room overlooking the water, in the upper part of the Doves public-house, which was then a coffee-tavern. The poem was so little appreciated by the booksellers, who then combined the functions of publishers with their own trade, that it was with difficulty he persuaded one of them to give him three guineas for it.

Opposite is Sussex Lodge, once the residence of the Duke of Sussex, who came to the riverside for change of air. It was afterwards inhabited by Captain Marryat, the novelist. Sir Godfrey Kneller lived for a time in the Upper Mall; and Bowack tells us that "Queen Katherine, when Queen-Dowager, kept her palace in the summer time" by the river. This was Catherine of Braganza, consort of Charles II. She came here after his death, and remained until 1692. She took great interest in gardening, and the elms by the riverside are supposed to have been of her planting. Her banqueting-hall survived until within the last thirty years. It was a building with handsome recesses on the front filled by figures cast in lead. In the reign of Queen Anne the celebrated physician Dr. Radcliffe lived in the same house. He had the project of founding a hospital, and began to build, but never carried his intention into effect. He bequeathed the greater part of his property and his library to the University of Oxford, and was the founder of the famous Radcliffe Library there. Bishop Lloyd of Norwich was a near neighbour at Hammersmith. He died in the Upper Mall in 1710, and left many valuable books to St. John's College, Cambridge.

In Kelmscott House, No. 26, lived William Morris, R.A., whose influence on the artistic development of printing and in many other directions is well known. On a small outer building of the house is a tablet stating that in this house Sir Francis Ronald, F.R.S., made the first electric telegraph, eight miles long, in 1816. Turner, R.A., lived in the Upper Mall, 1808-14, after which he moved to Sandycombe Lodge, Twickenham. After Riverscourt Road there is a hoarding, behind which was Queen Catherine of Braganza's mansion already referred to. Mickephor Alphery, a member of the Russian Imperial Family, took Holy Orders in England in 1618, and lived at Hammersmith. Weltje Street was named after a favourite cook of George IV.'s, who had a house on its site. He is buried in the churchyard. Linden House is old, but has no history. Beavor Lodge, which gives its name to Beavor Lane, was formerly owned by Sir Thomas Beavor. In it now lives Sir W. B. Richmond, K.C.B., R.A. Old Ship Lane takes its name from a picturesque old tavern, the Old Ship, the doorway of which is still standing. Hammersmith Terrace runs from Black Lion Lane to Chiswick Hall. In it are many old houses remaining. In No. 13 lived P. J. de Loutherbourgh, an artist and member of the Royal Academy. He died here in 1812. Arthur Murphy, whose monument in the church has been mentioned, lived at No. 17. He wrote lives of Fielding, Johnson, and Garrick, besides numerous essays and plays, and was well known to his own contemporaries. Mrs. Mountain, the celebrated singer, also had a house in the terrace.

The fisheries of Hammersmith were formerly much celebrated. They were leased in the seventeenth century to Sir Nicholas Crispe, Sir Abraham Dawes, and others for the value of three salmon annually. Flounders, smelt, salmon, barbel, eels, roach, dace, lamprey, were caught in the river, but even in 1839 fish were growing very scarce. Faulkner, writing at that period, says it was ten years since a salmon had been caught.

In Black Lion Lane is St. Peter's Church, built in 1829. It is of brick, and has a high lantern tower and massive portico, supported by pillars. Close by are the girls' and infant schools, built 1849-52. From this point to the western boundary of the parish there is nothing further of interest.

In King Street West, after No. 229, there is a Methodist Chapel, with an ornamental porch. A few doors westward are the new or Upper Latymer Schools, with the arms of the founder over the doorway. The buildings are in red brick, with stone facings.

Returning to the north side of the Hammersmith Road, which has for some time been overlooked, we find the King's Theatre, stone-fronted and new, bearing date 1902. Near it is the West London Hospital, instituted May, 1856, and opened in July of the same year. Since that time it has been greatly enlarged, and an immense new wing overlooking Wolverton Gardens has been added. The hospital was incorporated by royal charter, November 1, 1894. It is entirely supported by voluntary contributions.

Near the Broadway is the Convent of the Sacred Heart, standing on ground which has long been consecrated to religious uses, for a nunnery is said to have existed here before the Reformation. In 1669 a Roman Catholic school for girls was founded here, and in 1797 the Benedictine nuns, driven out of France, took refuge in it. The present buildings were erected in 1876 for a seminary, and it was not until 1893 that the nuns of the Sacred Heart re-established a convent within the walls. The present community employ themselves in teaching, and superintend schools of three grades.

There stood in the Broadway until within recent years a charming old building called The Cottage--one of those picturesque but obstructive details in which our ancestors delighted. Behind the Congregational Chapel there is an old hall, used as a lecture-hall, which was originally a chapel, and which is said by Faulkner to be the oldest place of worship in Hammersmith. It was built by the Presbyterians. The first authentic mention of its minister is in 1700, when the Rev. Samuel Evans "collected on the brief for Torrington at a meeting of Protestant Dissenters held at the White Hart, Hammersmith, 13s. 6d."

In the Brook Green Road Nos. 41 to 45 contain an orphanage called St. Mary's Catholic Orphanage for Girls. On Brook Green itself one or two old cottages with tiled roofs are still to be seen--reminiscences of old Hammersmith. The long strip of grass, in shape like a curving tongue, justifies the name of "Green." Dr. Iles' almshouses, known as the Brook Green Almshouses, have long been established here, though the present buildings date only from 1839. They stand at the corner of Rowan Road, and are rather ornately built in brick with diamond-paned windows. The charity was founded in 1635 by Dr. Iles, who left "houses, almshouses, and land on Brook Green, and moiety of a house in London." The old almshouses were pulled down in 1839. At the north end of Brook Green, next door to the Jolly Gardeners public-house, stood Eagle House, a very fine old mansion, only demolished within the last twenty years. Bute House stands on the site. Eagle House was built in the style of Queen Anne's reign, and had a fine gateway with two stone piers surmounted by eagles. The back of the house was of wood, and the front of brick, and there was a massy old oak staircase. Like many other old houses, it became for a time a school.

Sion House is a square stuccoed building, plain and without decoration either interior or exterior. This was used as a nunnery until about three years ago, and the wall decorations in the room used by the nuns as a chapel are still quite fresh. This room is ugly and meagre, and without attractiveness. It has a fine garden at the back, stretching out parallel to that of its neighbour, and the two together embrace an area of close upon four acres, which will make a fine playground for the projected school. These gardens are at present neglected tangles of evergreen creepers and trees, but with a little care might be admirably laid out. On Brook Green is now established St. Paul's School for girls, a companion to the large school for boys already described. This is likely to be a very popular institution.

Near the corner of Caithness Road is the Hammersmith and West Kensington Synagogue, opened on September 7, 1890, which forms one of the thirteen synagogues in London that constitute together the United Synagogue, of which Lord Rothschild is the President. The building was designed by Mr. Delissa Joseph, F.R.I.B.A. The leading features of the design are a gabled facade with sham minarets, and a recessed porch with overhanging balcony. The facade is flanked by square towers containing the staircases.

At the south end of the Green there is quite a Roman Catholic colony. The Almshouses stand on the west side, facing the road, behind a quadrangle of green grass. They were founded in 1824, and contain accommodation for thirty inmates of either sex. Five of the houses are endowed, and the pensioners pass on in rotation from the unendowed to the endowed rooms. They must be Roman Catholics and exceed the age of sixty years before they are received. On the north side of the quadrangle is the Roman Catholic parish church, a fine building in the Gothic style, with a high spire and moulded entrance doorway, built in 1851.

Immediately opposite, across the road, is St. Mary's Training College for elementary school masters. These young men must have passed the King's Scholarship examination and be over the age of eighteen before they enter on the two years' course of study. The large building near on the north side is the practising-school, where the students learn the art of teaching practically. There is a pretty little chapel in the college, and the walls enclose three acres of land, including site.

St. Joseph's School for pauper children is adjacent to the practising-school, on the north side. This building is certified for 180 children, who are received from the workhouse, etc. They enter at the age of three years, and leave at sixteen for situations. It was founded and is managed by the Daughters of the Cross, and was established in its present quarters September 19, 1892. Faulkner says of Brook Green, "Here is a Roman Catholic Chapel and School called the Arke," so that this part of Hammersmith has long been connected with the Catholics.

In the Blythe Road, No. 79, is a fine old house with an imposing portico, which now overlooks a dingy yard. This is Blythe House, "reported to have been haunted, and many strange stories were reported of ghosts and apparitions having been seen here; but it turned out at last that a gang of smugglers had taken up their residence in it." It was once used as a school, and later on as a reformatory. It is now in the possession of the Swan Laundry Company.

In Blythe Road there is a small mission church called Christ Church. In Shepherd's Bush Road, at the corner of Netherwood Road, is West Kensington Park Chapel of the Wesleyan Methodists. Shepherd's Bush and many of the adjoining roads are thickly lined with bushy young plane-trees. St. Simon's Church, in Minford Gardens, is an ugly red-brick building with ornamental facings of red brick, and a high steeple of the same materials. It was built in 1879. St. Matthew's, in Sinclair Road, is very similar, but has a bell-gable instead of a steeple. The foundation-stone was laid 1870. In Ceylon Road there is a Board school. Facing Addison Road Station is the well-known place of entertainment called Olympia, with walls of red brick and stone and a semicircular glass roof. It contains the largest covered arena in London.

Returning once more to the Broadway, we traverse King Street, which is the High Street of Hammersmith. It is very narrow, and, further, blocked by costers' barrows, so that on Saturday nights it is hard work to get through it at all. The pressure is increased by the electric trams, which run on a single set of rails to the Broadway. In King Street is the Hammersmith Theatre of Varieties, the West End Lecture-Hall, and the West End Chapel, held by the Baptists. It stands on the site of an older chapel, which was first used for services of the Church of England, and was acquired by the Baptists in 1793. The old tombstones standing round the present building are memorials of the former burial-ground. At the west end of King Street is an entrance to Ravenscourt Park, acquired by the L.C.C. in 1888-90. The grounds cover between thirty and forty acres, and are well laid out in flower-beds, etc., at the southern end. The Ravenscourt Park Railway-station is on the east side, and the arched railway-bridge crosses the southern end of the park. A beautiful avenue of fine old elms leads to the Public Library, which is at the north end in what was once the old manor-house.

All this part of Hammersmith was formerly included in the Manor of Pallenswick or Paddingswick. Faulkner says this manor is situated "at Pallengswick or Turnham Green, and extends to the western road." The first record of it is at the end of Edward III.'s reign, when it was granted to Alice Perrers or Pierce, who was one of the King's favourites. She afterwards married Lord Windsor, a Baron, and Lieutenant of Ireland. Report has also declared that King Edward used the manor-house as a hunting-seat, and his arms, richly carved in wood, stood in a large upper room until a few years before 1813. But the house itself cannot have been very ancient then, for Lysons says it had only recently been rebuilt at the date he wrote--namely, 1795. The influence of Alice Perrers over the King was resented by his courtiers, who procured her banishment when he died in 1378. After her marriage, however, King Richard II. granted the manor to her husband.

There is a gap in the records of the manor subsequently until John Payne died, leaving it to his son William in 1572. This was the "William Payne of Pallenswick, Esq.," who placed a monument in Fulham Church to the memory of himself and his wife before his own death, and who left an island called Makenshawe "to the use of the poor of this parish on the Hammersmith side." This bequest is otherwise described as being part of an island or twig-ait called Mattingshawe, situated in the parish of Richmond in the county of Surrey. At the time the bequest was left the rent-charge on the island amounted to L3 yearly, which was to be distributed among twelve poor men and women the first year, and to be used for apprenticing a poor boy the second year, alternately. Sir Richard Gurney, Lord Mayor of London, bought the manor in 1631. It was several times sold and resold, and in Faulkner's time belonged to one George Scott. It had only then recently begun to be known as Ravenscourt. The house was granted to the commissioners of the public library by the London County Council at a nominal rent, and the library was opened by Sir John Lubbock, March 19, 1890. In a case at the head of the stairs are a series of the Kelmscott Press books, presented by Sir William Morris. Round the walls of the rooms hang many interesting old prints, illustrative of ancient houses in Hammersmith and Fulham. There is also a valuable collection of cuttings, prints, and bills relating to the local history of the parish. In the entrance hall are hung prints of Rocque's and other maps of Hammersmith, and the original document signed by the enrolled band of volunteers in 1803. Among the treasures of the library may be mentioned the minute-book of the volunteers, a copy of Bowack's "Middlesex," and an original edition of Rocque's maps of London and environs.