Part 3

From Dering Street, on the south side of Oxford Street, the garden of Lord Carnarvon's house in Tenterden Street extended nearly to Harewood Place. On the site are a noticeable stone-fronted house, now a carriage warehouse, and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, founded 1838 and removed here from Bloomsbury Square in 1856.

Park Lane, up to 1769 called Tyburn Lane, was in the reign of Queen Anne a desolate by-road, but is now a favourite place of residence for the fashionable persons in the Metropolis. It is open to Hyde Park as far as Hamilton Place, whence it reaches Piccadilly by a narrow street. At its junction with the former stands an ornamental fountain by Thorneycroft, erected in 1875 at a cost of L5,000, the property of a lady who died intestate and without heirs. At the base are the muses of Tragedy, Comedy, and History in bronze, above Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton in marble, the whole being surmounted by a bronze statue of Fame. The principal mansions in Park Lane are: Brook House, at the north corner of Upper Brook Street, designed by T. H. Wyatt, and the residence of the Earl of Tweedmouth, and next to it Dudley House. Dorchester House (Captain Holford) was built by Vulliamy in 1852 on the site of the town house of the Damers, Earls of Dorchester. The building, which stands in its own grounds, is rectangular, and constructed of Portland stone in Italian Renaissance style. On the narrow front is a carriage portico. The reception rooms and marble staircase have few rivals in London; they contain two libraries and a collection of pictures by old and modern masters. Here died in 1842 the Marquis of Hertford. Londonderry House, No. 18 (Marquis of Londonderry), was built in 1850 by S. and J. Wyatt on the site of the residence of the D'Arcys, Earls of Holdernesse. It contains a fine gallery of pictures and sculpture. Other inhabitants: the Duke of Somerset, in a house adjoining Camelford House, No. 35; Sir Moses Montefiore, d. 1885; Park Lane Chambers, Earl Sondes, Lord Monkbretton.

At the corner of Upper Grosvenor Street (then No. 1, Grosvenor Gate) Benjamin Disraeli lived 1839-73. No. 24, Lord Brassey. No. 21, for many years the Marquis of Breadalbane, and afterwards Lady Palmerston, when left a widow in 1850; Earl of Scarborough. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton at a house then numbered 1. In 23, Richard Sharp, 1822-24; Mrs. Fitzherbert, 1785; Warren Hastings, 1790-97; Marquis Wellesley, 1796.

Grosvenor Square and the surrounding streets have always been the centre of the aristocratic world; the Square, which includes about six acres, was built in 1695. The garden was laid out by Kent, and in the centre stood formerly an equestrian statue of George I., by Van Nost, placed there in 1726. On the site, in 1642, was erected a fort named Oliver's Mount, which stood as one of the defences against the Royalists until 1647. Owing to the prejudices of the inhabitants, Grosvenor Square was not lit by gas until 1842.

Inhabitants: Duchess of Kendal, d. 1743; Earl of Chesterfield, 1733-50; Bishop Warburton, 1757; Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, 1758-64; Lord Rockingham, d. 1782; Henry Thrale, d. 1781; Lord North, d. 1792; Thomas Raikes, 1832; Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles; 10, Lord Canning and Lord Granville, 1841; 22, William Beckford, 1800; 23, the Earl of Derby here married Miss Farren, actress, in 1797; his successors resided here until 1832; Lord Stratford de Redclyffe, d. 1880; 24, the Earl of Shaftesbury; 29, Sir John Beaumont; 30, John Wilkes, d. 1797; 39 (now 44), the Earl of Harrowby, 1820 (here the Cato Street conspirators proposed to murder the Ministry); 44, Countess of Pembroke. The houses have since been renumbered. To give a list of the present inhabitants of note would be impossible; it would be like copying a page out of the Red Book. Suffice to say there are living in the Square two Dukes, one Marquess, three Earls, six Barons, and five Baronets, beside many other persons of distinction.

At the corner end of Park Street, and in South Street and Aldford Street, the old houses have been pulled down and have been replaced by large, red-brick, ornamented structures, such as have also been erected in Mount Street, Grosvenor Street, and North and South Audley Street. The spaces behind the houses are occupied by mews. Great improvements have also been effected since 1887 in the housing of the working classes, particularly in the neighbourhood of Oxford Street, and in Bourdon Street and Mount Row, by the erection of blocks of industrial dwellings by the St. George's and Improved Industrial Dwellings Companies, under the auspices of the Duke of Westminster.

In Park Street, formerly called Hyde Park Street, lived Miss Nelly O'Brien, 1768; 7, Sir William Stirling Maxwell, M.P.; 26, Sir Humphry Davy, 1825, till his death; 113, Miss Lydia White, d. 1827; 123, Richard Ford, author of "The Handbook for Spain." In North Audley Street, opposite Green Street, is St. Mark's Church, built from designs by J. P. Deering in 1825-28, and reconstructed in Romanesque style in 1878. Adjoining is the Vicarage, built in 1887, and at the back the St. Mark's Institute, containing a church-room, mission-room, gymnasium, and a working men's club. Attached to the institute are the parish schools, built soon after 1830, and enlarged and repaired in 1894.

Near the church lived the Countess of Suffolk, mistress of George II.; at 1, Maria Edgeworth; 26, the Misses Berry.

South Audley Street takes its name from Hugh Audley (d. 1662), the owner of some land in the neighbourhood. It has several interesting houses. No. 8, Alington House (Lord Alington), was, in 1826, Cambridge House, the residence of the Duke of York, and afterwards, until 1876, belonged to the Curzons, Earls Howe. In 73, Bute House, lived, in 1769, the great Earl of Bute, and near him his friend Home, author of "Douglas." Chesterfield House, a large mansion standing in a courtyard at the corner of Curzon Street, was built by Ware in 1749 for the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, d. 1773, who wrote the "Letters" in the library. The portico and marble staircase, with bronze balustrade, were brought from Canons, the seat of the Duke of Chandos. In 1869 the house was sold to Mr. Magniac for L175,000, and he built over the gardens. It is now the town house of Lord Burton.

Opposite Aldford Street is Grosvenor Chapel, erected in 1730; an ugly building, with sittings for 1,200. It is now a chapel of ease to St. George's. Here were buried Lord Chesterfield, 1773; Ambrose Phillips, poet, 1749; Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, 1762; David Mallet, poet, 1765; William Whitehead, poet, 1785; John Wilkes, 1797; Elizabeth Carter, 1806. The churchyard at the back was, in 1889, converted into a public garden. Just outside the gate is the Public Free Library, erected in 1894 under the Free Libraries Act.

Other inhabitants: General Paoli; Holcroft, dramatist, 1761; Sir William Jones; Lord John Russell; Lord Sydenham, 1841; 8, Archbishop Markham, d. 1807; 14, Sir R. Westmacott, sculptor, d. 1856; 15, Baron Bunsen, 1841; 72, Charles X., when in exile, and in 1816 the Duchesse d'Angouleme; Louis XVIII., in 1814, also lived in this street; 74, the Portuguese Embassy early in the eighteenth century; 77, Sir Matthew Wood; here Queen Caroline resided in 1820. In the enlargement of the street called Audley Square Spencer Perceval was born. North Row has no interest. In Green Street lived Sydney Smith, d. 1845; Lord Cochrane, d. 1814; 61 is Hampden House, residence of the Duke of Abercorn. At the corner of Park Street stood St. Mary's Church, pulled down in 1880.

In Norfolk Street lived Lord William Russell, murdered by his valet in 1840; at 27 the Earl of Dunraven, 1895. In Upper Brook Street lived Lord George Gordon, b. 1750, and George Grenville; 3, Sir Lucas Pepys and the Countess of Rothes; 18, Hon. Mrs. Damer, sculptor, d. 1828; 27, "Single Speech" Hamilton, d. 1796; 18, Sir William Farrer, F.R.G.S.; 32, Marquis of Ormonde.

Upper Grosvenor Street contains Grosvenor House, the residence of the Duke of Westminster, a handsome building standing in a courtyard, with a garden at the back, skirting Park Lane as far as Mount Street. On its purchase in 1761 by the Duke of Gloucester, brother of George III., it was known as Gloucester House. The present screen and metal gates by Cundy were erected in 1842. The house contains a very fine collection of pictures.

In this street lived: No. 2, Lord Erskine; 11, Mr. Francis Hale Rigby, 1817; 16, the first Sir Robert Peel; 18, Lord Crewe, 1809.

Among present inhabitants are:

The Dowager Duchess of Northumberland; Dowager Countesses of Galloway and Wilton; Lord Templemore; Major-General Hon. H. F. Eaton; Prince Alexis Dolgorouki; Sir E. Chandos Leigh.

Balfour Place has been lately rebuilt, and was so named in 1892 instead of Portugal Street.

Mount Street (1740), called from the Fort of Oliver's Mount, was rebuilt with ornamental red-brick houses; it contains the Vestry Hall--now the Register Office for the district--built by Bolton in 1887, at a cost of L15,200, on the site of the old workhouse, now removed to the Fulham Road.

Inhabitants: Lady Mary Coke, 1810; Martin Van Butchell, d. 1810; Sir Henry Holland, 1816; No. 102, Madame d'Arblay, 1832; 111, on the site of an old manor-house, was in 1891 occupied by a college of Jesuit priests; 2, Sir Charles Hall, Q.C., M.P., d. 1900; 49, Earl of Selborne; 54, Lord Windsor; 105, Winston Churchill, M.P.; 113, Right Hon. Akers Douglas, M.P. In Carlos Place, so renamed in 1892 instead of Charles Street (1727), lives: No. 1, Sir George Chetwynd, Bt., 1896. Its prolongation, Duke Street, rebuilt in 1889 in red brick, dates from about 1770, and was named probably after the Duke of Cumberland. In that year a lying-in hospital stood in the street; opposite a small square is the King's Weigh House Congregational Chapel, a large building erected in 1891. Blocks of artisans' dwellings occupy the small streets round about.

In Gilbert Street are St George's, Hanover Square, District Schools, which replaced the old schools in South Molton Street. The building was erected in 1888 by Caroe on a site given by the Duke of Westminster, and cost L5,000. These schools were incorporated in 1818 with General Stewart's schools in South Street.

Davies Street is very narrow at its northern end, where it forms a prolongation of South Molton Lane, an old street known in 1708 as Shug Lane. It takes its name either from Miss Mary Davies, who is said to have lived in an old house still standing at the corner of Bourdon Street, or from Sir Thomas Davies, to whom Hugh Audley left his property. Here is the new church of St Anselm, built in Byzantine style, from designs by Balfour and Turner, at a cost of L20,000, and opened in February, 1896, to replace Hanover Chapel, Regent Street. At No. 8 are the Westminster Public Baths and Washhouses.

In Bourdon Street is St. Mary's Church, a chapel of ease to St. George's, built for L12,000 by the Duke of Westminster in 1881 to replace St. Mary's Church in Park Street. The building, from designs by Blomfield, is in medieval style. Adjoining is St. George's Workmen's Dwellings Association.

In Grosvenor Street (1726) lived: Countess of Hertford, 1740; Lord North, 1740; Sir Paul Methuen, 1740; Miss Vane, mistress of Frederick, Prince of Wales; Lord Crewe, 1784; Marquis Cornwallis, 1793-98; No. 13, William Sotheby; William Huskisson; at 16 was formerly the Royal Institution of British Architects; 17, Samuel Whitbread, 1800; 28, Sir Humphry Davy, 1818; 48, Earl St. Vincent, d. 1823; 72, Dr. Matthew Baillie, d. 1823; 6, Sir E. Ashmead Bartlett, M.P., d. 1902; 25, William Allingham, surgeon; 50, Earl Carrington; 59, Right Hon. James Lowther, M.P.; 72, Sir James Reid; and many others.

Brook Street was first called Little Brook Street, and afterwards Lower Brook Street. It takes its name from the Tyburn, which flowed down the course of South Molton Lane and Avery Row, by Bruton Mews to the bottom of Hay Hill, and through the gardens of Lansdowne House to Shepherd's Market. It then crossed Piccadilly at Engine Street, and flowed through the Green Park to Buckingham Palace.

In Brook Street is Claridge's (formerly Mivart's) Hotel. Here lived: No. 25 (now 72), Edmund Burke; Sir Henry Holland, 1820-73; 63, Sir William Jenner; 74, Sir William Gull; 57 (now 25), Handel, the composer; Lord Lake, d. 1808; Welbore Ellis, Lord Mendip, d. 1802; Mrs. Delany; 20, Gerald Vandergucht, engraver, and his son Benjamin Vandergucht, painter; Thomas Barker, painter; 25, Rev. Sydney Smith; 30, Sir Charles Bell, d. 1832; 34, Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1809; 63, Sir John Williams, physician; 66, Sir B. Savory, Bart.; 74, Lord Balcarres; 84, Sir William Broadbent, physician; 86, Lord Davey, P.C., F.R.S.

In South Molton Street, on the wall of No. 36, is an inscription: "This is South Molton Street, 1721." At No. 17 lived William Blake, poet and painter, in 1807. The St. George's Schools, at No. 53, were removed in 1889 to Gilbert Street, and the building sold for L2,500.

In Woodstock Street lived: Dr. Johnson, 1737; Prince Talleyrand, 1793; Dr. Parr, 1814. Running out of it are Sedley Place, so named in 1873 instead of Hanover Place, and Blenheim Street, up to 1760 called Pedley Street.

East of New Bond Street, Hanover Square, four acres in extent, was built as a fashionable place of residence in 1716-20. It was to have been called Oxford Square, but the name was changed in honour of the house of Hanover. A few of the old houses still remain, notably Nos. 17 and 23, but most of them have been rebuilt at various times, and are not in any way remarkable. The centre is enclosed and planted with trees, and at the southern end stands a bronze statue of Pitt by Chantrey, erected in 1831 at the cost of L7,000. The principal houses are: No. 3, the offices of the Zoological Society, established in 1826, and removed here in 1846; those of the Anthropological Society; 4, a large handsome building erected in 1774 by Sir George Gallini, and opened by him as the Hanover Square Concert and Ball Rooms. Here J. C. Bach, son of Sebastian Bach, gave concerts from 1785-93. The concerts of Ancient Music and those of the Philharmonic Society also took place here. In 1862 the rooms were redecorated and styled the Queen's Concert Rooms, but were in 1875 disposed of to the Hanover Square Club, established in that year.