Chelsea, in the Olden & Present Times

by George Bryan

The house adjoining the entrance to the Moravian Chapel and Burial Ground, some few years since pulled down, was for many years in the occupation of the Howard family, of the Society of Friends. The elder Mr. Howard was gardener to Sir Hans Sloane; his brother having a natural genius for mechanics, became a clockmaker, and made the clock in the Old Church, in 1761, for the sum of £50. In the front of Howard’s house was placed a large clock, and hence the origin of the appellation, “Clock House,” as now applied to what was once the Moravian chapel.

LINDSEY ROW.

It was mentioned at the commencement of the description of Lindsey House, that it had been divided into five houses, called Lindsey Row. These houses still remain, and are inhabited at the present time by families of great respectability. They command a most delightful prospect of the Thames, which here forms a sort of bay; the view from the upper stories is bounded on the south by the Surrey Hills, and Putney Heath on the north.

Henry Constantine Jennings, Esq., a most eccentric and unfortunate gentleman, resided in the first house on the east. He was born in 1731, and was descended from a very ancient and illustrious family, the Nevils. The celebrated Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, he reckoned among his progenitors. At an early age he obtained a commission in the first regiment of Foot Guards, and afterwards went abroad on his travels. While in Italy, he formed an acquaintance with the Duke of Marlborough, then Marquis of Blandford, and it is said he suggested the idea of the cabinet of antiques, afterwards engraved by Bartolozzi, and so well known as the Marlborough Gems. It was at this period, doubtless, that Mr. Jennings acquired a passion for objects of taste. On his return to England, he repaired to his seat at Shiplake, in the county of Oxford, and unfortunately for him became addicted to the pleasures of the turf, and the result was that his fortune was soon dissipated. Mr. Jennings now withdrew from society and lived in obscurity. A sudden change of fortune seems, however, to have released him from pecuniary difficulties, for we find him collecting, with great ardour, every object of antiquity, &c., that was presented to his notice, and which he could purchase. He also possessed a most valuable library. But, again, he became reduced in his circumstances, and had to dispose of his books and collections at a vast loss.

From this time but few particulars are known of Mr. Jennings, until he settled at Lindsey Row, about 1792. Here he continued to reside, fully occupied as an antiquary, a virtuoso, and an author, until, at length, his health began to decline, and his fortune daily became deteriorated, in consequence of his inordinate passion for collecting objects of taste; at last he closed his eccentric career a prisoner within the rules of the King’s Bench, where he expired February 7, 1819, aged 88.

This remarkable gentleman, whom I well remember, seemed more properly to belong to some distant generation rather than the one in which he lived—his character, dress, and manners, were so different in every respect. The fate of such a man, to a certain extent, awakens our sympathy, for his pursuits were generally throughout his life most refined; and the disasters which befel him is a warning to many in the present day.

Mr. Jennings’s Museum well deserves to be noticed. It consisted of a rare and valuable collection of the most chosen specimens of taste, and probably the completest collection of shells. Many fine specimens of minerals and scarce coloured gems, cameos, and intaglios; crystals, and other choice productions of nature, such as diamonds of almost every colour, rubies, emeralds, pearls, sapphires, &c.; not to omit many excellent specimens of well-preserved birds and quadrupeds. Old, and first-rate impressions of prints from Raphael, and others of the Roman school; some fine specimens of sculpture, both ancient and modern; many fine and scarce impressions of first editions, classical and of the entertaining kind, with many original drawings and pictures; in short, all that could interest one who had been long a real amateur. Among the portraits was a fine one of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and another of Titian and his Mistress, the Mary in her fourteenth year; likewise several rare enamel miniatures of interesting characters; among which was one of the Princess Elizabeth, about seventeen years of age, this latter by Holbein; with some well-preserved medals in gold and silver.

This collection was disposed of by auction, by Mr. Phillips, in 1820; the shells, and most valuable articles, being removed to Bond Street, and the preserved birds, quadrupeds, and other articles of rarity, together with the furniture, were sold at Lindsey Row.

T. Bonner, Esq., a gentleman much respected in the parish, resided in Lindsey Row for many years. Mrs. Bonner was at all times most active in relieving the necessitous and deserving poor. She occupied the house some time after the death of her husband, and died a few years ago.

Sir Mark Isombard Brunell, the originator and designer of the Thames Tunnel, resided for a considerable period in the centre house. His public works will immortalize his name to the latest posterity, as being one of the most eminent engineers of the present century.