Mr. Bentley, one of Mr. Wedgwood’s partners, superintended a branch establishment at Chelsea, about 1770, for finishing and painting the best pieces.
Mr. Paul Bedford, the popular comedian, late of the Adelphi and Haymarket Theatres, resides in Lindsey Place. He is much respected in private life, and as an actor few have obtained greater celebrity.
Returning to the King’s Road, and proceeding from Beaufort Street, we arrive at “the Man in the Moon” tavern. There are many conjectures respecting the origin of the sign of this house, but nothing certain has been elucidated. As a celebrated neighbouring tavern was called the “World’s End,” perhaps the original proprietor thought he would give his house an equally singular sign.
We have already noticed the Clock House, Lord and Lady Cremorne’s Villa (now known as Cremorne Gardens), Ashburnham House, Stanley House, St. Mark’s College, &c.; but there are one or two others to which we will now briefly allude. The first of these is Messrs. Christie’s Flour Mills, established a great many years ago. The premises are situated at the western extremity of the parish, and close to the Chelsea Railway Station. Mr. Ormson, horticultural builder, resides at Dudmaston House, which is opposite the entrance to St. Mark’s College.
The King’s Road, at the commencement of this century, was by no means a place for general business. There were here and there, it is true, tradesmen who succeeded very well, but, generally speaking, the line of road was almost exclusively occupied by nurserymen and florists, and thus it became a fashionable resort for the nobility and gentry. The road, in most parts, was very narrow, and the different grounds were mostly enclosed by wooden palings. There was nothing like a good pathway for passengers, excepting at certain places. At night there were only a few gloomy oil-lamps, and the lives and property of the inhabitants were principally entrusted to a small number of private watchmen. When disturbances or robberies in the streets occurred in the daytime, the tradesmen-constables of the parish had the onerous and sometimes the dangerous duty to quell them, and take into custody the offenders or perpetrators. It need scarcely be added that when sent for, on such occasions, the constables were frequently—“Not at home!”
Let us now take a glance at the present state of the King’s Road, and a few more of the vast improvements which have been made in it. But, before doing so, we will give some particulars descriptive of a novel enterprise which is attracting a large share of public attention at the present time.
The Chelsea Steam Captive Balloon.—This monster aerial balloon ascends daily, weather permitting, from a part of the grounds known as the Ashburnham estate, a little beyond Cremorne Gardens. The balloon itself is 93 feet in diameter, and has a cubical capacity for gas of 421,161 ft. It is capable of taking up into the air no less than 30 passengers, and is attached to one strong rope, 2000 ft. long, which passes round a balance wheel, and thence to a large cylinder worked by an engine of 200 horse power. These appliances are all fitted in a kind of amphitheatre, from the centre of which the ascents take place. The supposed altitude to which the rope allows ascent is 2000 feet, but as a rule the height is generally less. The cost of the balloon alone is stated to be £24,000, and the value of the gas required (pure hydrogen) £600. It is composed of linen and India rubber, made of five thicknesses, and is the property of a French gentleman well known for his attachment to scientific experiments.
On the opposite side of the road, and adjoining St. Mark’s College, is Mr. Veitch’s Royal Exotic Nursery. These grounds for a great many years belonged to Mr. Knight, who possessed a most choice collection of Cape plants, &c., and who was patronized by nearly all the nobility and gentry in this country. Mr. Veitch has fully sustained the celebrity acquired by his predecessor.
A little further eastward is Mr. W. Bull’s Nursery, and on the opposite side is the Ashburnham Park Nursery, belonging to Mr. J. W. Wimsett. Both of them are distinguished cultivators of rare and valuable plants.
Near to Cremorne Gardens, on the opposite side of the road, is the extensive Show Establishment belonging to John Weeks and Co., Horticultural Builders and Hot-Water Apparatus Manufacturers, Engineers, and Iron Founders. The Horticultural Building and Engineering department is carried on near to Messrs. Downing’s Floor Cloth Manufactory, in the King’s Road.