Behind St. George’s Place was formerly a foot-barrack, established about 1758. It continued to be used as a depot until 1835 or 1836, when Government sold the remainder of their lease. On part of the drill ground St. Paul’s Church is built, and the barracks are let out as tenements. Over a portion of its parade-ground Mr. Dunn built the St. George’s Gallery, for his “Chinese Collection;” the “Exhibition of Modern Art” was also, with other attractions, located here; among them Mr. Gordon Cumming, with the relics of his African exploits. The lease of this property is just expiring, and various improvements are contemplated.
Tattersall’s.—Richard Tattersall, founder of this well-known establishment, was born in 1723. He became training-groom to the last Duke of Kingston, after whose death, I presume, he started on his own account at Hyde Park Corner, as I find he sold off the Duke’s stud, and an injunction was applied for, December 14th, 1774, to prevent payment of the money to the Duchess, then under indictment. In 1775 frequent advertisements of Tattersall’s show that his business rapidly progressed, and his establishment soon became the head-quarters of the sporting world. That it early gained an aristocratic fame is proved by the allusion in “The Belle’s Stratagem,” first performed in 1782:—
“Flutter: Oh, yes! I stopped at Tattersall’s as I came by, and there I found Lord James Jessamy, Sir William Wilding, and Mr. —. But, now I think of it, you sha’nt know a syllable of the matter; for I have been informed you never believe above one-half of what I say.”
Richard Tattersall died February 20th, 1795, aged 72. Two portraits of him are still in his descendants’ possession; from one of them a portrait in “Knight’s London” is engraved. [198] He was succeeded in his business by his only son, Edmund, who carried it on until his death, January 23rd, 1810. His son, Edmund, who founded the foreign trade, then succeeded; who dying December 11th, 1851, the business came to its present proprietors.
The entrance to Tattersall’s is from Grosvenor Place, down a deep descent under an unpretending archway. At the bottom is a tavern, bearing the appropriate sign of “The Turf,” opposite to which is a gateway, leading into a circular-shaped inclosure, on the skirt of which is a gravel path encircling a grass-plot, from the centre of which rises a solitary tree; here the horses are tried and examined. The subscription room—a well proportioned one—was designed by Mr. George Tattersall, author of “Sporting Architecture.” Over the mantelpiece of the counting-house hang the regulations, dated 1780. In the courtyard is a domed structure surmounted by a bust of George IV. in his eighteenth year, at which period of life he was a frequent visitor. Beneath this dome is a pump, surmounted by the figure of a fox. A writer in the “Sporting Magazine” (June, 1852) stated that “Tattersall’s annual average of horses brought to the hammer, is estimated at £45,000,” and that he believed “there were 97 stalls, and 13 loose boxes, or standing for 110.” The chief business days are Mondays and Thursdays.
Trevor Square, so named from Sir John Trevor, who had a house on its site, was built about 1818. The freehold is still that of his descendant, Lord Duncannon; hence the names to be met with here are derived, such as Hill Street, Arthur Street, Duncannon Cottage, &c.
At No. 1 in the square lived the notorious Harriette Wilson; and Mrs. Andrée, a descendant of the Umfreville, whom William the Conqueror styled his kinsman, died here in 1836.
Trevor Chapel, one of the largest places of worship in the metropolis, belonging to the Independents, was built about 1817, under the ministry of the Rev. John Morrison, D.D. He is still its nominal minister, but his great age and infirmities preclude any active duty. The officiating pastor is the Rev. John Statham. Dr. Morrison is beloved not only by his congregation, but by the whole community of London Dissenters. He is known also as the author of several theological works, the best of which is a “Commentary on the Psalms.”
In the last century a portion of the land about this part was rented by a French Protestant refugee family, named Moreau, of which General Moreau was a member. They returned to France about eighty years since. [200]
All this land one hundred and fifty years ago was the property of Sir John Trevor, many years Master of the Rolls. He was second son of John Trevor, of Bynkinsalt, Denbighshire, Esq., by an aunt of the infamous Chancellor Jeffreys, and was born about 1638. After a very lowly education, he was taken by a relative, Arthur Trevor, a barrister, as his clerk. Here he assiduously applied himself to the study of the law, and afterwards entered the Inner Temple, and was called to the bar. His advancement was very rapid, for, entering the House of Commons, he upheld the Royal Prerogative to an extreme, denying the right of Parliament to inquire into its exercise. He took a prominent part in the unjust prosecution of the unfortunate Lord Strafford, and strenuously defended Jeffreys when he obstructed the right of petitioning in the great controversy between the Petitioners and Abhorrers.