Eaton Place.—Among former residents may be enumerated General Caulfield, author of several works on the Government of India; Sir Robert Gardiner, one of the bravest of the old Peninsulas; Sir H. Duncan, son of the victor of Camperdown, and himself a tar of true British stamp, died here in 1836. Sir Thomas Troubridge was another of that mighty school; he fought with Nelson at Copenhagen, and elsewhere, and died here in 1852. Sir William Molesworth, one of our ablest and most advanced statesmen of modern times, and who has secured to himself a permanent position in our literature, died at his residence (No. 87) in 1855.
Among present residents are Dr. Lushington (18), Sir Erskine Perry (36), Sir George Grey (14), Mr. Justice Wightman (38), Mr. Heywood (5), Sir Arthur Elton, M.P., and the Bishop of Hereford.
At No. 80, the residence of Captain Massingberd, the Hungarian statesman, Kossuth, stayed on his first arrival in this country, in the autumn of 1851.
Eaton Place West.—General Sir Peregrine Maitland, who fought at Corunna, and commanded a brigade at Waterloo, died at his residence in this street, May 30th, 1852. Mr. Collier, M.P. (2), and Mr. H. F. Chorley (13), live in this street.
Eaton Square was commenced in 1827, but not wholly completed till 1853. It is 1,637 ft. long by a breadth of 371 ft. Among its distinguished residents may be noticed the late Lord Chancellor Truro, who died at his residence (No. 83) in 1853. Mr. Henry Redhead Yorke, at 81; Lord Alvanley, of celebrity in the days of the fourth George, at 62; General Sir Thomas Bradford, and Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, the victor of Navarino.
The late Ralph Bernal, Esq., resided at 75, and here formed one of the most splendid collections of ancient art ever brought together. He died here in 1853. No. 71 is the residence (official) of the Speaker of the House of Commons; in one year, says Mr. Cunningham, the rent, rates, and taxes of this house amounted to £964.
Among present residents in Eaton Square are the Earl of Ellenborough at No. 115, Sir Frederick Thesiger, now Lord Chelmsford (7), Mr. Justice Willes (16), Sir John Pakington (41), Sir Francis Baring (4), Mr. Fielder, Commissary-General in the Crimea (57), Colonel Tulloch (63), Mr. M. J. Higgins (71), Mr. Cardwell (74), Baron Martin (75), Sir Augustus Clifford (92), Sir W. Clay (93), and General Codrington, our Commander-in-Chief at the capture of Sebastopol, at 110.
At the east end stands St. Peter’s Church, built in 1826, and denounced by Mr. Cunningham as one of the “ugliest in all London.” The site is an excellent one, few superior in the metropolis; it is a just source of regret, therefore, that a more creditable design was not chosen. It was designed by Henry Hakewill, in the Ionic Order, and consecrated by Dr. Howley, then Bishop of London, July 27th, 1827. It was burnt down in 1835, when the altar-piece, “Christ crowned with Thorns,” a good specimen of Hilton, R.A., was with difficulty saved. It was presented to the Church by the British Institution.
Grosvenor Crescent is still unfinished. Here reside the Rev. A. P. Stanley, Sir Charles Trevelyan, and at No. 1 the Earl of Clarendon, late Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The Crescent is ultimately to be continued to open into Grosvenor Place, and thus it will form the main entrance to Belgravia; an improvement very greatly needed.
Grosvenor Place.—The story pertaining to the foundation of this street has been told already. Originally the houses were built no further than the Lock Hospital, which occupied the site of the Grosvenor Place Houses. At the bottom, where the junction with the King’s Road was formed, was a cluster of mean dwellings, and one inn, known as “The Feathers.”