Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney

by G. E. Mitton; John Cunningham Geikie

Returning whence we came, we pass up the High Street and come to Putney Hill, which forms a test of the endurance of cyclists.

At the base of Putney Hill stands The Pines, the residence of Swinburne the poet. Here, where modern villas have risen most recently, and stately trees fallen most rapidly, stood Lime Grove, the seat of Lady St. Aubyn. This mansion derived its name from a grove of limes through which the road to the house formerly led; and it was here in 1737 that Edward Gibbon, the historian, was born. He was educated in Putney till his ninth year, when he was sent to a public school at Kingston. It was on Putney Hill that the following event occurred: When Cardinal Wolsey ceased to be the holder of the Great Seal of England, and, obeying the mandate of Henry VIII., quitted the Palace of Whitehall, he removed to his palace at Esher. Embarking at Whitehall Stairs, he went by water to Putney, and started up the hill, but was overtaken by one of the royal Chamberlains, Sir John Norris, who presented him with a ring as a token of a continuance of His Majesty's favour. Stow tells how Wolsey at once got off his mule unaided, and, kneeling down in the dirt on both knees, held up his hands for joy at the King's most comfortable message.

Passing up the hill, a few new streets are being pushed into the fields, which are, however, still continuous to the westward, the limit of building being apparently reached for a time in that direction, and, after a short climb past fine houses with spacious grounds and drives, we come to Putney Heath near the Green Man, a quaint little road-house of the last century; close by it is the old cattle-pound. The heath, of some 400 acres, somewhat resembles that of Hampstead, and from the higher ground some excellent views are to be obtained, whilst the sandy hollows and surface are plentifully covered with heather, gorse, and brambles. On the northern side, facing the road which leads to Roehampton, are many fine houses—among others, Grantham House, the residence of Lady Grantham; Ashburton House; Exeter House, occupied by the second Marquis of Exeter, who, divorced from his Marchioness, wooed and won for his bride a country girl under the guise of an artist; Gifford House; and Dover House, the seat originally of Lord Dover, afterwards of Lord Clifden, and now the residence of J. Pierpont Morgan. To the west of the heath lie Putney Park and Roehampton. Putney Park—styled Mortlake Park in old memorials—was reserved to the Crown by Henry VIII. Charles I. granted the park to Richard, Earl of Pembroke, who here erected a splendid mansion, which soon after his decease was sold, together with the park, to Sir Thomas Dawes, by whom it was again disposed of to Christina, Countess of Devonshire, whom Charles II. visited at this place with the Queen-mother and the Royal Family.

Putney Heath is divided by the Portsmouth Road, which starts at the Green Man and meets the Kingston Road at the foot of the hill in Putney Bottom, and facing this road are many fine houses, as well as the reservoirs of the Chelsea Water Company, from which water is conveyed to the Middlesex side of the Thames by pipes beneath the roadway of Putney Bridge.

To the south of the reservoirs is a fine new house Wildcroft, the residence of Sir George Newnes, Bart., which stands in the grounds of the old Fireproof House, lately pulled down. This house was erected in 1776 by David Hartley, son of the celebrated Dr. Hartley, to demonstrate the efficacy of his plan for securing buildings from fire. This plan consisted in thin sheets of iron and of copper being laid between floor and ceiling to prevent the ascent of heated air from the lower to the upper rooms. The lower part of this house was repeatedly set on fire in the presence, among others, of the King and Queen, the members of Parliament, the Lord Mayor, and the Aldermen. The House of Commons granted Hartley £2,500 in aid of the expenses incurred, and the Corporation erected in the grounds an obelisk—which can be plainly seen from the Kingston Road—recording the experiments of the grant. The heath was the scene of many duels, among others, in May, 1652, Lord Chandos and Colonel Compton fought with fatal issue, Compton being killed. In May, 1798, on a Sunday afternoon, William Pitt, the Prime Minister, who lived in the Bowling-Green House close by, fought a bloodless battle with William Tierney, M.P.; and in September, 1809, an encounter took place between Lord Castlereagh and George Canning, when the latter was wounded in the thigh. This last duel was fought near the Admiralty semaphore erected in 1796, the site of which is indicated by the Telegraph Inn immediately behind Wildcroft. Across the corner of the green from the inn is Bristol House, which owes its name to the Bristol family, who possessed it till a few years ago, and which was for some two years the residence of Mrs. Siddons. A part of the estate has been built on; many handsome residences have been erected.

Next is a large mansion, Highlands, and west of it is the historical Bowling-Green House, a low, two-storied mansion painted white, with large windows, and the Pitt arms over the doorway. In this house, shaded by fine trees, with a beautiful prospect from the lawn, lived for some years William Pitt, the Prime Minister; and here, on June 23, 1806, he died. The house derives its name from the bowling-green formerly attached to it, and for more than sixty years (1690-1750) the most famous green in the neighbourhood of London. The house had large rooms for public breakfasts and assemblies, was a fashionable place of entertainment, and noted for "deep play." South of this Bowling Green House is Scio, a charming residence, with beautiful lawns facing the main Kingston Road, in the Gothic style, and from here the flagstaff and windmill on the heath are noticed. Close by was the gallows in the olden time, and here it was that one of the last of the highwaymen—Jeremiah Abershaw—hung in chains in 1795, after suffering the penalty of the law on Kingston Common, then the place of execution for Surrey. Being crossed by a main road, this dreary neighbourhood was formerly much frequented by footpads and highwaymen. Aubrey mentions the gallows near here, and adds that Roman urns are often found in the dry, gravelly ground.

Putney Heath merges into Wimbledon Common, a fine expanse of 1,000 acres of breezy upland. The headquarters of the National Rifle Association till 1889 were in the Windmill, a picturesque landmark seen from far and near; but owing to increasing danger and the enormous crowds that flocked to the camp it was removed to Bisley in Surrey. The Windmill was formerly a favourite resort of duellists. Some distance from the windmill is Cæsar's Well, the most historical spot on Wimbledon Common, and its water is said to possess medicinal properties. This common and Putney Heath were in the last century the scene of frequent reviews. George III. reviewed the Surrey volunteers here in 1799, as he had previously done the Guards in 1767; and Charles II., in 1684, also reviewed his forces on the heath. At the north-west corner of the heath lies the village of Roehampton, snugly nestling in a valley, and consisting of a small cluster of houses. The centre of the village is at the angle of Roehampton Lane, where a drinking-fountain, a gift of Mr. Lyne-Stephens, stands in the road, with the Catholic chapel of St. Joseph's, approached through a beautiful carved oaken lych-gate, facing it. This chapel and rectory stand in the grounds of Manresa House, a training college of the Jesuit Fathers. To the north is a quaint old village inn, the Montague Arms, flanked by a row of old cottages. Ponsonby Road and Medfield Street are lined with small houses, for the most part new, very clean, and well kept. The parochial schools, in two buildings, for boys and girls, are in the Ponsonby Road on the hillside, and between them is a church, completed in 1899. In the High Street, which is built up with small shops for a short distance, stands on the north side, well back from the road, the King's Head Inn, with its wonderful signboard displayed in the garden, its big, old-fashioned bay-windows, curious low-ceilinged rooms, and weather-boarded sides, shaded by great elms, giving it a very picturesque aspect. The gardens, with tables set out in little nooks, and the stables of the house across the yard, complete a picture, of which few are to be found near London now. In this street is one of the buildings of St. Mary's Convent, a red-brick pile used as a laundry.

Returning to Roehampton Lane, and passing up the rise to the south, we come to the Alton Road, lined with good houses, and a little to the west the Bessborough Road falls into it, and runs through a favourite residential district built up with fine dwellings. Here the hollows made by gravel-digging on the edge of the heath are being, in a measure, filled up with earth from the building going on near by, and opposite The Elms, on the brow of the common, a peculiar tomblike building is noticed. This is merely a spring-house covering the artesian well that supplies the drinking-fountain in the village. At Highwood, a solidly-built mansion, we come to the Portsmouth Road, and after passing several villas, to Kingston Road at the foot of the hill. Here, on the west side, Richmond Park stretches parallel with the road, the enclosing wall being so close to the road as to give the houses hardly any garden; still, from here to the Robin Hood Gate there are many pretty villas, and at Beverley Brook a row of cottages has been erected close to the wall. On the east side of the road a new cemetery of the Putney Burial Board is under the lee of the hill, and beyond are fields stretching southward, running up to and meeting Wimbledon Common. In the hollow adjoining the main road is the Newlands Farmhouse to which these acres belong, and adjoining is the Halfway House, at one time an inn said to have been the favourite drinking-place of the highwayman Abershaw. Stag Lane leads to the common, and further on Beverley Brook is crossed, here a narrow strip of Wimbledon Common meets the highroad. This stream from here, through the park, and across Barnes Common into the Thames, is the western boundary of London, and by following it we pass cottages on the right, and may note the beautiful views to the east toward Wimbledon and Combe. If we turn into Richmond Park through the Robin Hood Gate, so called from the roadside inn near, we come to one of the prettiest corners of the park, from which roads diverge in all directions. On the rise to the west is White Lodge, at one time the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Teck, parents of the Princess of Wales; and bearing to the right we see the deer-paddock, with Silver Hill and the King's Farm Lodge. The area of the park is a little over 2,015 acres, and it was formed by Charles I. in the early years of his reign out of wood and waste land. The wall—eleven miles in circumference—was built without consulting the owners and tenants of the houses and farms enclosed. In 1649 this park was given to the City of London in perpetuity, but was handed back again to Charles II. on his restoration. The Princess Amelia closed the public rights of way through the demesne, but in 1758 a decision of the courts renewed this privilege.

Leaving the park on the right, we see Mount Clare, built in 1772 by George Clive, and named in honour of Claremont, the residence at Esher of his relative Lord Clive. On the west side of Priory Lane are three mansions, of which one, Clarence House, was for awhile the residence of the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. Clarence Lane skirts the grounds of Grove House, which was in the reign of George IV. the residence of the celebrated danseuse, Mademoiselle Duvernay. The lane comes out into Roehampton Lane opposite Roehampton House, a fine red-brick building, with wings, erected in 1712. The ceiling of the saloon has a painting of the Banquet of the Gods by Sir James Thornhill, the father-in-law of Hogarth.

Southward, nearer to the park, are Cedar Court and Downshire House, two fine old mansions, the latter for a time the residence of the Marchioness of Downshire, and now a training college for army and navy students. At a bend in the road, where it goes downhill, is a quaint old-fashioned house, The Cottage, curiously built. To the west the view is charming toward the park. Holy Trinity Church, now closed, was built in the middle of the nineteenth century, but the original church was consecrated by Archbishop Laud.