Wilton Place, occupying the site of a cow-yard, into which there was a narrow entrance from the main road, was built in 1827. At No. 15 Sir James Macdonald, the gallant defender of Hougoumont, lived, and died there in May, 1857; also the Hon. Thomas Stapleton, an antiquary, at 13; Mr. Westmacott at 21. The Chisholm used to occupy 35; and Miss Reynolds, the actress, still resides at No. 4.
With Wilton Place these notices of Knightsbridge (proper) close; mention of those eminent persons whose locale cannot be traced will, I think, appropriately finish this chapter.
Richard Bensley, the celebrated actor of the last century, resided the latter part of his life at Knightsbridge. Appearing for the first time, in 1765, as Pierre in “Venice Preserved,” he maintained a good reputation as an actor for a lengthened period, not quitting the stage till May 6th, 1796. He had the honour to deliver Johnson’s prologue to Goldsmith’s “Good-Natured Man;” and as Pierre, Iago, and Hotspur, his fame stood high among his contemporaries. He was appointed barrack-master at Knightsbridge (he had in early life been in the army), which appointment he held till his death in 1817.
Thomas Harrison, a poet, a friend of Addison and Swift—“my own creature,” the latter calls him—who brought over the celebrated Treaty of Utrecht, died at Knightsbridge, on February 14th, 1713. He was a protégé of Swift, who describes him, in 1710, as “a young fellow we are all fond of; a little pretty fellow, with a great deal of wit, good sense, and good nature.” He was then tutor to a son of the Duke of Queensbury on forty pounds a year; Swift introduced him to the Ministry, and he was sent out as Secretary to the Embassy to arrange the Peace of Utrecht, St. John presenting him with fifty guineas to bear his expenses. Less than two years had elapsed on February 11th, 1713, when Swift, returning from a dinner, found a letter on his table from Harrison, telling him he was ill, and desired to see him. He went in the morning, found him suffering from fever and inflammation, harassed and penniless; got thirty guineas for him from Bolingbroke, and a Treasury order for £100 of his arrears of salary. He then removed him to Knightsbridge for change of air. On February 14th, Swift writes,—“I took Parnell (the poet) this morning, and we walked to see poor Harrison. I had the £100 in my pocket. I told Parnell I was afraid to knock at the door. My mind misgave me. I knocked, and his man, in tears, told me his master was dead an hour before.” Swift seems to have loved Harrison, and felt his loss acutely. “Think,” he says, “what grief this is to me! I went to his mother, and have been ordering things for his funeral with as little cost as possible, to-morrow at ten at night. Lord Treasurer was much concerned when I told him; I would not dine with Lord Treasurer, or any one else. No loss ever grieved me so much.” And the next day he records, “At ten at night I was at his funeral, which I ordered to be as private as possible. We had but one coach with four of us; and when it was carrying us home, after the funeral, the braces broke, and we were forced to sit in it, and have it held up, till my man went for chairs, at eleven at night, in terrible rain.” [209]
Tickell, in one of his poems, mentions Harrison as—
“That much loved youth, whom Utrecht’s walls confine;”
and indeed, though little is known of him, he seems to have been a favourite with his contemporaries.
Bernard Lens, miniature painter to George II., retiring from his profession, settled at Knightsbridge, where he died, December 30th, 1740. According to Vertue, he was buried at Kensington, but his name does not appear on the register. He was tutor to the celebrated Duke of Cumberland, and excelled as a copyist of Rubens and Vandyke, whose colouring he imitated admirably.
Robert Miller, a loyalist in the American War of Independence. He held two official situations in Virginia, which he lost in the revolution. He died at Knightsbridge, February, 17th, 1792.
Francis Xavier D’Oliveyra, a Portuguese chevalier, born in 1702, and filled the office of Secretary to the Embassy at Vienna. He was persecuted by the Inquisition on account of the publication of his travels, and accordingly came to England, where he abjured the Romish creed. Thus sacrificing fortune to the dictates of conscience, he first encountered great difficulties, but found friends, especially Archbishops Potter and Herring. Frederick, Prince of Wales, also assigned him a pension. He resided some years at Knightsbridge, which he quitted in 1775. He died October 11th, 1783. [211]