COACHMAN’S TOOLS.
Our friend Mr. Jarvis assures us, that an experienced Coachman, who understands the care of a Carriage, can do many little Jobs, just as well as a Coachmaker, and can soon save his Employer not only the cost of the following things, but rectify several trifling derangements, which, if adjusted immediately, will prevent many heavy Repairs.—The shaking of the Carriage frequently loosens Bolts, Nuts, &c., which, if not immediately attended to, the Wood and Iron work soon suffers great injury; therefore, desire your Coachman to tell you the moment that he discovers any Repair to be wanting, or there appears any probability that any part is likely soon to break.
REQUISITE IMPLEMENTS.
| A Setter Prop | £1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ditto, for an Underspring Carriage | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Screw Wrench | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Pair of Pincers | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Hammer | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Water Brush | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Spoke Brush | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Lining Brush | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Horse Brush | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Rag Mop | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Yard of Stout Leather for Washing and for stopping Rattling, &c. | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| ———— | |||
| £4 | 8 | 3 | |
| ———— | |||
To ensure Punctuality in your Visits, which, Civility says, ought to be returned with as much Celerity as Convenience will permit, give your Coachman a List of the Places he is to take you to, and the Time you are to be there: the various branches of the Gad-abouts, who delight in the laborious Idleness of paying Morning Visits, and wish to pay as many as possible, in as little time as possible, and spend their time in being Driven to Doors, where they anxiously desire—not to be admitted, will find the above hint very valuable.
When you go about paying Visits, (especially in Cold Weather), desire your Coachman not to drive faster than Five miles an Hour:—Nothing destroys more Coach Horses, than the practice, so common in London, of driving them fast till they are Hot, and then keeping them standing still in the Cold.
Buildings have now spread themselves over such an immense extent of Terra Nova et Incognita, that a modern
MAP OF LONDON
and the Environs is as needful an Article in a Carriage, as a Compass in a Ship.
The size of this said Town of London is strangely changed since Mr. Sorbiere wrote his Journey to London, 8vo. 1698, in p. 5 of which he says, “But that which makes the dwelling in the City of London most delightfully diverting, is the extremely pleasant facility of walking out into the Fields!!!”
“Happy were the Days then,
To what they is now.”
Old Bawlit.
Now, instead of the Fields being come-atable with extremely pleasant facility! before you can put your Foot upon a blade of Verdant Grass, (there is Black Grass enough in the Squares), you must drag your Legs through a Grove of Houses of at least two or three Miles in length!
The New Road from Paddington to Islington was, till lately, the Boundary line for limiting the ruinous rage for Building on the North side of the Town.—There is a Ground Plan of the New Road, from Islington to the Edgeware Road, shewing the then state of the Ground, (and the names of the Proprietors thereof) between Oxford Street and the New Road, in the Supplement to the Gentleman’s Magazine for 1755.
A Stop ought to be put to the practice of constructing irregular groups of Houses. “The Act of Parliament for forming the New Road, which was made in 1755, directs that no building be erected within Fifty feet[21] of the New Road.”
“The present mean appearance of the backs of the Houses and Hovels have rendered this approach to the Capital a scene of confusion and deformity, extremely unbecoming the character of a Great and Opulent City.”—Gwynn’s London Improved, 4to. p. 11.
Mr. Gwynn’s remarks apply very aptly to that Quarter of a Mile of the New Road which is between Westgate Turnpike at the crossing of Gower Street North, and the East Entrance to the Regent’s Park.
The Southern and Western avenues to The Regent’s Park are as they ought to be: the Roads are wide, and the space between the Houses and the Road is laid out in Gardens, as the Act directs—very different is the approach from the City along the Eastern Road from the point above mentioned, which is narrow, and is perpetually obstructed by the Waggons, &c. that are unloading at the Timber and Stone Yards, &c.; occupying the ground which the Act of Parliament has ordered shall be used only for Gardens. The intention of this judicious clause was, no doubt, to preserve the Light, Air, and Cheerfulness, so highly necessary to a great leading Thoroughfare—such it has hitherto been, and with increasing respectability, excepting at the one point I am about to mention—many great Improvements have taken place—such as the Regent’s Park and Crescent—The New Pancras Church and Euston Square, &c. &c. With these useful and even splendid works upon the same line of Road, it becomes a matter of Surprise, that the distance between Westgate turnpike, at the crossing of Gower Street North, up to the Regent’s Park, should not only remain without any reformation, but that buildings,—workmen’s huts,—sheds,—smoky chimneys, and all manner of nuisances, should be allowed not only to continue, but to increase daily close to the Road.
In proceeding from the City Westward, a fine line of road, and noble footpaths on each side, are found, until on arriving near Tottenham Court Road both appear to terminate abruptly, and the Road is faced, and its regularity destroyed by the projection of a range of low buildings and hovels, converted, or now converting, into small Houses, close to the Highway, which, strange to say, is much narrowed, at a point where, from the increased traffic caused by the crossing of the Road to Hampstead, a considerable increase of width is doubly requisite.
But here the Houses project about Ten feet, and nearly close up the footpath; and this being one of the stations for the Paddington Coaches to stop at, it becomes a service of no small danger to drive through the very small opening that is left for the public to pass through.
A few yards further, on both sides of the Road, are ranges of Stone Yards, with the incessant music of Sawing, Chipping, and Hacking stone, grinding Chisels, and sharpening of Saws. Cow yards, picturesque stacks of Timber, building materials, and dead walls.
Another angle turned, and the Traveller emerges again from the region of smoke, stone dust, and mud, and traversing some hazardous passages, pounces at once into the magnificent Crescent of the Regent’s Park, wondering at the utter lack of Public Taste, which could allow such a combination of Nuisances to exist, and even increase, in the immediate neighbourhood of this great Public Improvement, and along the only Road leading to it from the City of London.
Can the blame attach to the Commissioners of Mary-le-bone Roads Trust?—or is it caused by the contending Interests of the 21 Paving Boards of the Parish of St. Pancras, that the footpath on the South side of that quarter of a mile of Road is neither Paved nor Watched.
Without venturing to propose a Circus, or large open space, at the crossing of the New Road and Tottenham Court Road, with an Obelisk in the centre, like that in St. George’s Fields, where there is not half the traffic there is at this point—at which, for want of space, Accidents happen almost daily; and which accommodation to the Public, in this age of Improvement, is not to be considered impossible—it may not be impertinent to suggest, that the few houses which project into the Road on both sides, as well as the Sheds, which are, by continual additions, gradually converting into Houses, should be immediately removed; some of them are at this present time undergoing additions,—the longer this measure is delayed, the more expensive will the purchase become;—at present, Money might be easily raised for amply remunerating the occupiers of the premises alluded to, and a great public Benefit produced without any injury to Individuals.
If the Clause in the Act of Parliament, alluded to above, had been kept in due force, the Evils would not have arisen.
It is hoped that the New Commissioners of the Roads, who have the power, will have also the inclination, to remedy these Evils without delay, and that the Parish, and the Commissioners who have the management of the Regent’s Park will unite their endeavours for the same purpose.
In other quarters of the Town, our Economical Ancestors appear to have considered him as the most ingenious Architect, who could build up the greatest number of Houses in a given Space—the Palladios of the present day, are as prodigal of Space, as their frugal Forefathers were parsimonious, and seem to fancy, that he is the cleverest fellow who pulls most Houses down in a given time.
It must be granted, that the Town is improved by the Widening of the Streets; but while it is the Fashion, for the Idle Children of the Largest Growth, to all run together, into one Street, at One Hour; it avails little how wide it may be; nor can it counteract the sad inconvenience which arises from the extending of the Buildings, making it impossible for two-thirds of the Inhabitants of London ever to enjoy the animating influence of a walk in the fresh and fragrant Air of the Country—a blessing which was within their reach, when they had only to cross the New Road to be in the Mary-le-bone Fields;[22] on which, read the following remarks, which we copied from “the Examiner” of Sunday, the 22d of October, 1826:—
“To call the enclosure of these Fields a Park, is, with all submission, a little bit of a Misnomer; at least, it is no Park at present for the Public, who are excluded from all but the gravelled Roads, which are ornamented with about Fifteen Benches (without backs), in a circle of Three Miles in circumference! the nearest of which to the New Road, on the West side, is more than a Mile from it!! Surely the Managers of this concern might afford to give us as comfortable Seats, and as plenty of them, as those which have been lately so liberally and so properly placed in ‘Hyde Park.’
“Many Valetudinarians, and Persons advanced in Life, who stand most in need of the invigorating influence of pure Air, cannot Walk more than a Mile without Resting—such persons are tired by the time they get to the Park; but if there were Benches placed along the Walks opposite Park Square, York Terrace, &c., the weak and the weary might rest themselves, and then toddle on and treat their Lungs with a little fresh Air.”
It is said, that the Reason given for excluding the People from the Park, is, that the Trees are so young that they might be easily torn up—so may those on the North side of Hyde Park, for they are no older: but softly, is not this presuming that Mr. Bull is a greater Brute, than the Beasts which are grazing where he ought to be walking?
The Persons who keep this ground from the Public, charity commands us to hope, do so, for reasons which appear to them to be good and sufficient; perhaps they think that it is most profitably, if not most properly, employed in being let out, as it appears to be, to Gardeners and Graziers!—at the same time gradually cutting it up into sites for Buildings as fast as they can find persons to speculate in it. To effect this without incurring the notice and consequent indignation of the Public, the encroachments upon their expected Playground have generally been commenced in the Winter Season, at a time when there are few People to observe them; and are so far advanced before the arrival of Fine weather, that it is useless to complain—The Ground is gone, for 99 years!!!
“Our gracious King gave this ground to the Public,—surely a part of it at least might be open to that Public. Is it not a pity to see it wholly occupied by Market Gardeners, and Horses, and Cows, and Calves, to the total exclusion of Mr. Bull himself!”
“When and What Part of the Park is to be opened?”
The Public should certainly be informed of this, as it would guide them in the choice of Residences: some will like to live opposite to the lively scene which will be in the Part which is thrown open,—others, the quiet of that part that is opposite to the Slip of ground which is appropriated to the occupiers of the houses in the Park, and Persons who pay for Keys.
A certain portion, opposite to Portland Place, from which there is no View and no Variety, has been recently decorated with Rows of Trees. Surely this is not all that is to be saved from the Villa builders.
Who would propose to build Villas upon the highest and best ground in Hyde Park? and why should a difference be made?
Are these Parks not equally the property of the Public? And the site of the Regent’s Park, if left unoccupied by buildings, would be more generally valuable to the Public as an Airing Ground, as it is more centrically situated than the other.