Part 13

"the manor of Paddington is put wholly into the hands of the Almoner ... and whatsoever shall be the final overplus shall be expended charitably in distribution to the poor. On the day of celebration the Almoner is to find for the Convent fine manchets, cakes, crumpets, cracknells, and wafers, and a gallon of wine for each friar, with three good pittances, or doles, with good ale in abundance at every table, and in the presence of the whole brotherhood: in the same manner upon other occasions the cellarer is bound to find beer at the usual feasts or anniversaries on the great tankard of twenty-five quarts.

"He shall also provide most honourably and in all abundance for the guests that dine in the refectory, bread, wine, beer, and two dishes out of the kitchen besides the usual allowance. And for the guests of higher rank who sit at the upper table under the bell, with the president, ample provision shall be made as well as for the Convent: and cheese shall be served on that day to both.

"Agreement shall likewise be made with the cook for vessels, utensils, and other necessaries, and not less than two shillings shall be given over above for his own gratification and indulgence. The Almoner is likewise to find for all comers in general, from the hour when the memorial of the anniversary is read to the end of the following day, meat, drink, hay and provender of all sorts in abundance: and no one either on foot or horseback during that time shall be denied admittance at the gate."

There are further provisions for allowances to the nuns at "Kilborne," and 300 poor who were to have a "loaf of mixed corn" and a "pottle of ale." The above is taken from Dr. Vincent's translation of the MS. He was Dean of Westminster in 1804. Mr. Loftie says: "Westbourne was probably at a very early period separated from the original manor of the Church of St. Peter.... Of Paddington we only know that it was separated from the manor of Westminster at some time between Domesday Survey and the middle of the twelfth century. It was restored to its original owners ... by the above mentioned agreement between Abbot Walter and the brothers Padinton."

Mr. Loftie says also that Westbourne and Paddington are named together in 1222 among the possessions of St. Margaret's. He is unable to ascertain how the manor of Westbourne came to belong to the Abbot of Westminster. In the reign of the second Edward several inquisitions of land were made which are quoted by Robins in his "Paddington, Past and Present." In one we find mentioned "that Walter de Wenlock [a second Abbot Walter] had acquired to himself and his house ... twelve acres of land in Padinton of William de Padinton, and three and a half acres of Hugh de Bakere of Eye, and thirteen acres of land in Westbourn of John le Taillour, and eleven acres of land there of Matilda Arnold, and two acres of land there of Juliana Baysevolle, after the publication of the statute edited concerning the nonplacing of lands in mortmain, and not before. And they (the commissioners) say that it is not to the damage nor prejudice of the Lord the King, nor of others, if the king grant to the Prior and Convent of Westminster that the Abbots of that place for the time being may recover and hold the aforesaid messuages and land to them and their successors for ever."

But the Abbot had to pay the King a small yearly sum, and cause certain services of reaping and ploughing to be performed for him, which showed that he held the land in some sense subject to the Crown. In Henry VII.'s reign his mother, the Countess of Richmond, bought certain lands in Kensington, Willesden, Paddington, and Westbourne. She left the greater part of her possessions to Westminster, so that the Abbey lands in this vicinity must have been increased. The manor acquired by the Countess seems to have consisted chiefly of two farms--Notting Barns in Kensington, and "Westborne" in Paddington; the former is fully dealt with in the section devoted to Kensington. Besides the lands left to the Abbey, she bequeathed part of her possessions to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

In the account of the Church property which fell into Henry VIII.'s hands at the dissolution of the monasteries we find mentioned "Westborne."

King Henry also held other lands here, which he had obtained by exchange or purchase. He made Paddington a part of the endowment of the new See of Westminster. After the abolition of that See Edward VI. gave "the mannor and rectory of Paddington" to Dr. Nicholas Ridley, then Bishop of London, "and his successors for ever" (Newcourt).

Westbourne remained in the possession of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster; thus the two manors parted company. Paddington was confiscated during the Commonwealth, but was claimed by Bishop Sheldon at the Restoration. It was restored to him, and he let it to his nephew, Sir Joseph Sheldon, knight, and Daniel Sheldon. It was held by the Sheldon family until 1740, when it was let by Gibson, the Bishop of London, to Sir John Frederick, in whose family it remained for many generations.

Perambulations.

A survey of London in 1827 shows us very few streets in the quarter to the south of Praed Street and east of Westbourne Terrace and Street. Connaught Square and Connaught Place are marked, and the curious rectangular piece of ground of about 5 acres belonging to St. George's, Hanover Square. This was bought by St. George's Vestry in 1764, when the land was surrounded by fields, and was suitable for a cemetery. Among others buried there was Laurence Sterne, whose body is said to have been exhumed by body-snatchers. But this ground does not belong to Paddington. In the above-mentioned survey Cambridge Street is Sovereign Street, and the oval piece with Southwick Crescent at one end is Polygon Crescent, a name now only retained in Polygon Mews.

Hyde Park Gardens is marked "Intended Crescent," but except in the triangular corner, now bounded by Cambridge and Albion Streets, there are few houses.

Cambridge Street and Oxford and Cambridge Terraces and Squares preserve in their names the memory of the gift of the Countess of Richmond to those universities.

In Southwick Crescent stands St. John's Church, built originally in 1826, and then known as Connaught Chapel. In 1832 a district was allotted to the chapel. In 1844 a portion of this was transferred to the new church of St. James. Four years later St. John's obtained a portion of the chapelry district, and in 1859 the district itself was made into a new parish. Part of the new parish was transferred to St. Michael and All Angels in 1864. The church is in a late Gothic style. It was completely renovated during 1895, when the present reredos was added.

In Titchborne Road are St. John's Schools. In Junction Mews, off Sale Street, is a boatmen's chapel. In Market Street is one of the Dudley Stuart night refuges for the destitute. And to the north, in Praed Street, is a small Baptist tabernacle with painted front, and further westward the church and schools of St. Michael and All Angels. The church was built in 1862; it is in the Decorated style, and the architect was Mr. Hawkins. Its predecessor was a chapel of ease to St. John's, but in 1859 the district was made separate. The organ is by Hill.

In Norfolk Square we find All Saints' Church. This has been lately rebuilt, having been burnt down on May 31, 1894. The old church was consecrated on All Saints' Day, 1847, and its architecture is described as having been "Gothic of the eleventh century." The first architect was Mr. Clutton. The building was restored and the chancel added in 1873 from Mr. J. Brooks's designs.

The new church is striking, being of red brick with terra-cotta mouldings over the doors and windows. The architect was Ralph Nevill, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. The old walls that remained have been engrafted into the new building. The organ is by Hill. The floor of the church is of mosaic, and stalls, screens, and nave seats are of Burmese wood, called padouk. The church is lit by electric light.

In the 1827 map a spot at the extreme end of Stanhope Street, just where it touches Westbourne Street, is marked Archery Ground, and a little to the north, at the corner of Bathhurst Street, are "Bagnigge Wells," probably named after the more famous Bagnigge Wells, near Gray's Inn Road.

In Maitland's "History of London" we are told that in the year 1439 the Abbot of Westminster granted to the Mayor and citizens of London one head of water containing twenty-six perches in length and one in breadth, together with all its springs in the manor of Paddington, for which two peppercorns were to be paid annually. In these wells of water we have the origin of the latter part of the word Bayswater. Some writers affirm that the name originated in a public-house kept by a Mr. Bays, where horses were given water, hence the more ancient rendering "Bayswatering." Lysons says of it, "The springs at this place lie near the surface, and the water is very fine." He adds, "The conduit at Bayswater belongs to the City of London, and, being conveyed by brick drains, supplies the houses in and about Bond Street, which stand upon the City lands."

Robins quotes an Act (49 George III.) in which "Byard's Watering Place" is mentioned in Tyburn.

In George III.'s reign the mayor and citizens were empowered by an Act of Parliament to see their water rights at Bayswater, which was done for the sum of L2,500.

Robins says that a Juliana Baysbolle held land in Westbourne, and conjectures that the former part of her name may have descended to the place. He adds: "At the end of the fourteenth century we find from Tanner's note, before quoted, that the head of water given by the Abbot was called Baynard's Watering Place; and although this may have been the name used in legal documents for the district surrounding it, yet Bayswatering has been the name used by the people."

From the springs doubtless arose the names of Brook's Mews, Conduit Mews, Spring Street West, and Eastbourne Terraces.

Bayswatering is marked on Rocque's 1748 map at a spot nearly due south of Christ Church. St. James's Church was built and made parochial in 1845. Loftie says that then "the parish for the fourth time changed its patron and reverted to its former saint."

The old parish church will be noticed at Paddington Green, on which it stands. The new church of St. James's, one of the finest modern churches in London, was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower and spire, in 1882, the material used being flint, and the design was the last of G. E. Street's. The chancel is now at the west end, having been transformed at the time of rebuilding. There are some very fine stained-glass windows, and the organ is by Hill. The walls of the chancel and nave are faced with Devonshire marble, and the pulpit and font are of the same material. The reredos, of the Last Supper, is a marble bas-relief. The old registers are now held by St. James's, and contain some interesting entries, notably those referring to burials in the time of the Great Plague. Among other items there are the following, which, it must be remembered, really refer to the old church:

"William Hogarth, esq., and Jane Thornhill of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, married March 23, 1729."

"Joseph Francis Nollekens, buried Jan. 24, 1747." This was the father of the famous sculptor.

"Sarah Siddons, buried June 11th, 1831."