LITTLE CHELSEA, OR WEST BROMPTON.
Proceeding a little to the north-west, we arrive at what was formerly called Little Chelsea, but which is now designated West Brompton. Without wishing to remove our neighbour’s land-mark, or to trespass beyond the precise boundaries of Chelsea, the parish of Kensington being on the north side of West Brompton, we will notice the residence of William Boscawen, Esq., who resided near to those spacious mansions now being erected on the grounds formerly known as Walnut-Tree Walk, now called Redcliffe Gardens. Mr. Boscawen was the younger son of General George Boscawen, and was born in 1752. At an early age he was sent to Eton, where he obtained the particular notice and favour of the celebrated Dr. Barnard. From Eton he removed to Exeter College, Oxford, and afterwards studied the law, became a member of the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar. His legal studies were not unfruitful, as he published an excellent book under the title of “A Treatise of Conviction on Penal Statutes,” &c., 1792, 8vo. In 1785 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Victualling Office, in consequence of which he soon after quitted the bar, and in the following year married a daughter of Dr. Ibbetson, Archdeacon of St. Albans. Being an excellent classical scholar, and warmly attached to literary pursuits, Mr. Boscawen published, in 1793, “A Translation of the Odes of Horace,” which, being much approved of, was soon followed by a Translation of the Satires, Epistles, and Art of Poetry. In 1801 he published a small volume of Poems, which displayed an elegant taste, a poetical mind, and a correct versification, and he was for several years an able coadjutor to the British Critic. He died, after a short illness, in 1811. That excellent institution, the Literary Fund, he considered almost as his child, and his affection to it was testified not only by contribution, but by annual verses in its praise, and assiduous attendance at its meetings.
Mr. Lochee’s Military Academy was established at this place about the year 1770, and enjoyed a high degree of reputation; many of our most eminent military characters received their education under him. The premises, which were laid out as a regular fortification, and were opened to view, excited much attention at the time. Mr. Lochee afterwards, unfortunately, engaged in the revolutionary troubles which agitated Flanders in the year 1790, and being taken prisoner by the Austrians, was condemned to be hanged; he, however, obtained permission to come to England, to settle his affairs, upon condition of leaving his only son as a hostage; and upon his return to the Continent he suffered the punishment of death. His son, afterwards, married a daughter of the late Mr. King, an eminent book auctioneer, of King Street, Covent Garden, and, lamentable to relate, fell by his own hands.
Balloon Ascent in 1784.—On the 16th of October, in the above year, an immense concourse of people assembled at Mr. Lochee’s Military Academy, to witness Mr. Blanchard’s ascent in his balloon. The fields, for a considerable distance round the spot, were crowded with horse and foot, in consequence of which, a general devastation took place in the gardens, the crops being either trampled down or torn up; the turnip grounds were totally despoiled by the multitude; all the windows and houses were filled with company, and every roof and tree was crowded with spectators. At twelve o’clock Mr. Blanchard, and Mr. Sheldon, a surgeon, stepped into the car, and the cords being loosened, the balloon slowly ascended, when it was discovered that it would be requisite to throw out some ballast; but before this could be accomplished, it struck some trees and descended to the ground. Being lightened, it again ascended, and moved horizontally about a quarter of a mile, when it made a rapid direction towards Sunbury, where they alighted, and Mr. Sheldon reluctantly quitted the car. Mr. Blanchard re-ascended, and pursued his aerial excursion to Rumsey, Hants, where he descended, at half-past four in the afternoon, in a meadow, and still standing in his car. The balloon was first seen over Abbotswood Common, and appeared about the size of a small hogshead. Upon his alighting he was jovially entertained. The day being rather dark, and the atmosphere low, the balloon was out of sight in about thirty minutes.
About the year 1699, the Earl of Shaftesbury purchased an estate at Little Chelsea, which had formerly been the property of Sir James Smith, whose widow resided there in 1695. The Earl rebuilt the house, and generally resided in it during the sitting of Parliament. He was first charged to the parish rates in 1700. Locke here wrote part of his “Essay,” and Addison several of the Spectators.
Anthony Astley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftesbury, the learned author of “The Characteristics,” was born in 1671, in the house of his grandfather, who took such care of his education, that, at the age of eleven, he is said to have read with ease both Latin and Greek. In 1683, he was placed at Winchester School, where he continued till 1686, when he made the tour of Italy and France. About five years after his return from Italy, he visited Holland, where he passed much of his time in the society of Bayle, Le Clerc, and other ingenious men. Soon after his arrival in England, he became Earl of Shaftesbury, by the demise of his father, but did not attend the House of Lords during the first session after he had succeeded to the peerage; nor did he appear there till his friend, Lord Somers, sent a messenger to acquaint him with the pending partition treaty in February, 1701. On the accession of Queen Anne he retired to Chelsea, to continue his favourite course of study; here he resided till 1711, when he set out for Italy, and died at Naples in 1719. His lordship’s philosophical writings are generally known. Of his letters there are several extant, dated from Chelsea in 1708.
The house was afterwards the residence of Sergeant Wynne, and of his son, Edward Wynne, author of several Tracts, whose knowledge and proficiency in polite literature could only be exceeded by his charity and benevolence. Dying a bachelor in 1785, his estates, together with his house at Little Chelsea, and his very valuable library, collected chiefly by his father, devolved to his brother, the Rev. Luttrell Wynne. This house was alienated by him to William Virtue.
The parish of St. George, Hanover Square, purchased it in the year 1787, as an additional workhouse for the poor. An Act of Parliament passed that year, declares it to be in St. George’s Parish, so long as it shall continue to be appropriated to its present use. The same act exempts it from all dues and rates demandable by the Rector and the parish of Chelsea, on condition of paying to the former £3 3s. per annum, and to the latter £6 13s. 4d.
Sir John Cope, Bart., about the year 1700, resided in a large house at Little Chelsea, according to Bowack, which was subsequently occupied as a private mad house. The house has been pulled down, and its site is now called Odell’s Place. Sir John sat for Oxfordshire and Banbury in several Parliaments. He married Anne, daughter of Mr. William Booth, by whom he had seven sons, and one daughter. There are some entries of their baptisms in the Parish Register. Sir John died January 11th, 1721. His fourth son, Galen, born at Chelsea, resided there about the time of his father’s death. The worthy baronet was a magistrate for this county, and his name regularly appears for a series of years affixed, in confirmation of the parochial rates.
Robert Boyle, Esq., a most distinguished philosopher and chemist, the seventh son of Richard, Earl of Cork, resided, in 1661, at Little Chelsea, and there he was visited by the learned and eminent of his time. Monsieur de Monconys, in his Travels, thus mentions a visit which he made to Mr. Boyle at this place:—“I went after dinner with Mr. Oldenburg and my son, two miles from London, in a stage coach, for five shillings, to a village called Little Chelsea, to visit Mr. Boyle.” After giving an account of several experiments which Mr. Boyle made in his presence, he thus proceeds:—“He has a very fine laboratory, where he makes all his extracts, and other operations, one of which he shewed me with salt, which being put in quite dry with gold leaves sixteen times thicker than that used by gilders into a crucible on a slow fire, even over a lighted candle, the salt calcined the gold so perfectly that water afterwards dissolved them both, and became impregnated with them in the same manner as with common salt. He possesses a very fine telescope, and two excellent microscopes, which are larger than mine.” Mr. Evelyn, in his Diary, has also recorded a visit to the same place. “I went with that excellent person and philosopher, Sir Robert Murray, to visit Mr. Boyle at Chelsea, and saw divers effects of the Eolipile for weighing air.” Bishop Burnet, in Mr. Boyle’s funeral sermon, has given an eloquent account of this great philosopher and scholar.
Charles, fourth Earl of Orrery, grand-nephew to Mr. Boyle, was born at Little Chelsea in 1676. He was author of a comedy, entitled, “As you Find it,” and of some verses which discover his wit and poetical genius. Queen Anne created him a peer of Great Britain in 1711, by the title of Lord Boyle, of Marston, in the county of Somerset. His lordship died in 1737. He was the improver of that noble instrument the Orrery, which, in honour of him, was called after his name.
Sir James Wishart resided in Little Chelsea, and died in May, 1723. He was a native of Scotland, and was made an Admiral by Queen Anne; in 1710 he became a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, in which year he was returned Member of Parliament for Portsmouth. The Queen also conferred the honour of knighthood upon him; but, in the following reign, he lost all his places, and was dismissed from the service, for favouring the interest of the Pretender.
Admiral Sir John Balchen, another distinguished naval officer, resided in Little Chelsea about 1723. He was lost in the “Victory” in the year 1744. Sir John sailed, in July, from Spithead with a strong squadron, in quest of an opportunity to attack the French fleet at Brest, under the command of M. de Rochambault. In the Bay of Biscay he was overtaken by a violent storm that dispersed the ships, and drove them up the English Channel. Admiral Stewart, with the greater part of them, arrived at Plymouth; but Sir John Balchen’s own ship, the Victory, which was at that time considered to be the most beautiful first rate in the world, foundered at sea; and this brave officer perished, with all his officers, volunteers, and crew, amounting to eleven hundred choice seamen.
The Right Hon. Edward Hyde, third Earl of Clarendon, died at his house at Little Chelsea in 1723. He married Catherine, daughter to Henry Lord O’Brien, eldest son and heir to the Earl of Thomond, of Ireland, by whom he had a son and two daughters. The title descended to the Earl of Rochester, and soon after became extinct.
Fatal Duel.—In January, 1784, a duel was fought in a field near Little Chelsea, between Captain Charles Mostyn, of the navy, and Captain Clarke, of the African Corps, which terminated in the death of the former, who was shot through the heart. The quarrel originated in defence of a Jew, who went about diverting company, by taking off Mr. Fox. Some words arising, Captain Clarke demanded an apology, which Captain Mostyn declined to make to him. Mr. Mostyn was a gallant officer, only 25 years of age, who, for his intrepid behaviour, had been made post-captain in the Solitaire, a French ship of the line, taken by the Ruby. Happily for the humanity of England, such dark blots on its history are now for ever erased, by the adoption of more stringent laws and the advancement of religious and moral principles.
Dr. Baldwin Hamey was born in 1600. He retired to Little Chelsea from the hurry of his profession the year before the Fire of London, saving thereby his library; he also escaped from the direful effects of the plague in London. At Chelsea he contributed largely towards the erection of the church steeple, and gave the great bell which had his name on it. I may here state that the first large bells are mentioned by Bede, in the year 680. Before that period the early British Christians made use of wooden rattles (sacra ligna) to call the congregation of the faithful together. Dr. Adam Littleton, in gratitude to Dr. Hamey for the above benefactions, printed at the end of the first edition of his Latin Dictionary, a copy of Latin verses which he dedicated to him. Dr. Hamey was a great scholar, a philosopher, and an eminent physician. At his death he bequeathed to the College of Physicians the estate of Ashlins, in Essex, besides money and books. There is a manuscript life of him, written about 143 years ago, by his relation, Mr. Palmer. “Chemistry,” says the biographer, “now began to come into vogue, which Dr. Hamey could not well be reconciled to, from his Galenical principles, and at his age. It seemed to him to be a stroke of quackery.” He declined a knighthood, and the offer of being first physician to Charles II. after his restoration. The same modesty made him waive the offer of being President of his beloved College of Physicians, although he had held all other subordinate offices in it. He died in 1676, and was buried in the Old Church.
The Goat and Boots Tavern still stands at the eastern corner of Park Walk, West Brompton, or Little Chelsea, although from its age it seems probable that in a few years a new house will be substituted for it. The sign was originally painted by Morland, to pay his tavern bill. In old deeds it is called the Goat. Perhaps poor Morland added the “Boots” to the sign to make it more attractive, and to get a better price from the proprietor, but this is mere conjecture.
Park Walk, in a very old map of Chelsea, is called Lovers’ Walk, and it appears to have been planted with trees, but from some unknown cause—surely all the loving lads and lasses had not left the parish—it degenerated into Twopenny Walk. After dark, from its retirement and seclusion, it was dangerous for persons passing that way. It has been now for many years a good thoroughfare from the King’s Road to West Brompton, having Park Chapel in a central position, and houses on both sides of the road. When the improvement at the bottom of Milman’s Row is entirely completed, there will then be an excellent and continuous roadway to the river-side.
Park Chapel, &c.
This Chapel was so called from being situated within the precincts of Chelsea Park, which originally formed the northern part of Sir Thomas More’s grounds. It was built in 1718, by Sir Richard Manningham, who, in 1730, granted a lease of it to the Rev. William Lacey, of Battersea. At that period there was only the Old Church, and an additional episcopal place for Divine worship was needed for the convenience of the residents in Little Chelsea.
The following is a complete list to the present period of the Clergymen who have been Ministers at Park Chapel:—
| 1730 | Rev. William Lacey, Battersea. |
| 1736 | — Dr. Sloane Ellesmere, Rector of Chelsea. |
| 1766 | — Mr. Gower, Chelsea. |
| — | — Mr. Jacobs, Rector of St. Dunstan’s in the West. |
| 1785 | — Dr. Kelly, Vicar of East Mere, Hants. |
| 1792 | — Jas. Ward, Fellow of Queen’s Col., Cambridge. |
| 1797 | — Thomas Ellis. |
| 1800 | — J. Manning. |
| 1802 | — J. Gee Smyth, Rector of Chellesworth, Suffolk. |
| 1812 | — John Owen, Rector of Paglesham, Essex. |
| 1822 | — Henry John Owen, son of the preceding. |
| 1834 | — John Harding. |
| 1836 | — Henry Vaughan. |
| 1836 | — Thomas Vores. |
| 1841 | — John C. Miller. |
| 1846 | — W. Cadman. |
| 1852 | — C. J. Goodhart. |
| Dec. 1868 | — J. G. Gregory. |
The Rev. J. Gee Smyth, M.A., who it will be seen possessed Park Chapel in 1802, made very considerable alterations in it about 1810. It may be said to have been almost rebuilt by him. The late Mr. Richard Mann, of Chelsea, took a very correct sketch of the chapel, as altered by Mr. Smyth. Since 1810, at different times, it has undergone great repairs and some material improvements.
The Rev. John Owen, M.A., was born in London in 1765. He received his education at St. Paul’s School, and removed from thence to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he prosecuted his studies with such success as to obtain several prizes, and to be elected a Fellow of his College. After taking holy orders, he soon distinguished himself as a preacher, and attracted the notice of Bishop Porteus, who bestowed on him the living of Paglesham, in Essex, having previously recommended him to the Curacy of Fulham, which he held until the decease of that venerable prelate; and, on his resigning the Lectureship, in 1813, the inhabitants of that parish presented Mr. Owen with a handsome testimonial of their attachment, as an acknowledgment of the faithful manner he had discharged his duties. He was one of the distinguished founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and acted as honorary secretary for eighteen years. During the whole of this period he most zealously advocated, in every possible way, the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, in conjunction with the Rev. Dr. Steinkoff, and the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M.A., of Battersea. Mr. Owen possessed great mental talents, both as an extempore preacher and a writer. He was remarkably quick and correct in his conceptions, extremely thoughtful in forming his conclusions, and kind and considerate whenever a sense of duty compelled him to differ from others in opinion. He wrote the History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and other works; and continued to discharge his sacred duties as Minister of Park Chapel as long as his health permitted. He died at Ramsgate, the 26th of September, 1822, in the 57th year of his age. He resided at Fulham during nearly the entire period of his active life.
The Rev. Henry John Owen, M.A., succeeded his father in 1822. While at Park Chapel he was much esteemed by the congregation, and when he left many deplored the loss of him.
The Rev. John Harding, M.A., was appointed Minister of Park Chapel in 1834. Some time after he became the Rector of St. Ann’s, Blackfriars. In both parishes he was much beloved by his congregations, and greatly esteemed by the parishioners. At length he was consecrated Bishop of Bombay, and, having remained in India for many years, he returned to England, and a short time since preached on a Sunday evening at Park Chapel. An affecting scene took place on that occasion, as his lordship left the chapel. A great number of persons had assembled outside to shew the respect they entertained towards him, notwithstanding his long absence from Chelsea. When Bishop Harding approached, he seemed almost overpowered with the kind recollection manifested by so many of the congregation and other inhabitants, and, after a slight pause, he said, with considerable emotion, “My dear friends, I thank you from my heart for your kind remembrance of me. May God bless every one of you!” It should here be mentioned that Bishop Harding, previously to his ministry at Park Chapel, had been at St. Luke’s New Parish Church, with the late revered Rev. H. Blunt, M.A., father of the present respected Rector, at which Church he was also greatly esteemed.
The Rev. Henry Vaughan, M.A., did not long remain at Park Chapel, as the state of his health rendered it impossible for him to continue. Some short time afterwards he was called to his eternal rest. I heard it once stated that Christian love was engraved on his forehead.
The Rev. Thomas Vores, M.A., who was next in succession, was, like his predecessors, much beloved. About five years after his appointment he vacated it, and went to Hastings.
The Rev. Dr. Miller, the Rev. W. Cadman, M.A., and the Rev. C. J. Goodhart, M.A., were equally respected as being zealous and faithful ministers. The two former are, at the present time, in the full vigour of life, and actively engaged in discharging their sacred duties in large parishes. With respect to Mr. Goodhart, who has only recently left the chapel, and whose ministry there extended over so many years, it would be a difficult task to notice him adequately in a given space; the best summary will be to state that on his retirement he was presented with a silver salver and a purse containing about £540, as a testimony of the high respect entertained by the congregation for his long and faithful ministrations.
The Rev. J. G. Gregory, M.A., succeeded Mr. Goodhart at the close of the year 1868. The body of the chapel, since his appointment, has been entirely re-pewed, the old high pews having been all removed, and the seats made more commodious by additional width being given to them. Several other alterations have been made, and a few more are said to be in contemplation. The whole interior of the chapel is therefore now greatly improved, both as regards comfort and appearance. The exterior of the structure, however, requires to be altogether rebuilt, as soon as practicable, so as to accord with the ecclesiastical architecture of the present day, especially in such a locality as West Brompton and South Kensington. In the Vestry Room are portraits of the different Ministers of Park Chapel, commencing with the Rev. John Owen, and terminating with the Rev. Mr. Goodhart, with only one exception, the portrait of Mr. Vaughan, the absence of which may be attributed to the short period of his ministry, in consequence of his illness and death, and the difficulty afterwards of procuring a correct likeness of him. It would be well if this memorial portrait could be added to the others.
Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex attended this chapel in 1812, when a collection was made for the benefit of the schools, on which occasion a guard of honour, selected from Queen Charlotte’s Royal Volunteers, was stationed at the doors on their arrival and departure.
Adjoining the chapel a building was erected, in 1828, by subscription, and the profits of a sale of fancy work, for the reception of the children of Park Chapel Schools, &c. The whole charge originally was £900. Several alterations, however, have since been made in the arrangement of this building. The Girls’ Day and Sunday Schools, and the Infant School, are now only held in it, besides a few occasional meetings in connection with the numerous benevolent societies supported by the liberal contributions of the congregation. The boys’ school was transferred to the Clock House some years since. This latter school owes its origin to Samuel Gower Poole, Esq., who once resided in Dudmaston House, King’s Road, and to whom reference has already been made. The annual meetings. &c., are also held in the Clock House schoolroom.