(14716 × 1834) D. 62-1896.
77. Schomberg House, Pall Mall, 1894 (Black and white).
Schomberg House, Nos. 81 and 82, on the south side of Pall Mall, is an interesting specimen of a nobleman's mansion in the late seventeenth century, though its symmetry has been spoiled by the destruction of the east wing, about the year 1850. Timbs thought that it dated from the time of the Commonwealth; it is, however, generally supposed to have been begun for the famous Duke of Schomberg, the favourite of William III., who was killed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and not to have been finished until some years after his death. His second son, Meinardt, the third Duke, died in 1719, when the title became extinct. The house then came into the hands of Meinardt's daughter, Frederica, who married first the Earl of Holdernesse, and afterwards Benjamin Mildmay, created Earl of Fitzwalter in 1730. Thirty years later, on the accession of George III., the Duke of Cumberland, victor at Culloden, came here as tenant, from St. James's Palace, but he did not remain long; the Earl of Holdernesse soon afterwards selling the mansion for £5,000 to "Beau" Astley, the portrait painter, who had married Lady Daniell, a wealthy widow. Astley spent a large sum in converting it into three dwellings, and fitting up the central part fantastically for his own use. It was probably he who set up the bas-relief of "Painting" over the doorway, which still remains. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Hone, R.A., now chiefly remembered by his picture called "The Conjuror." In 1781 this central portion was let to Dr. Graham, the notorious quack, who exhibited here his "Temple of Hymen" and "Celestial Bed," and here "the blooming Priestess of the Temple endeavoured to" "entertain ladies and gentlemen of candour and good nature" by reading a lecture on the means of preserving "health, beauty, and serene mental brilliancy even to the extremest old age." Soon, however, the farce was played out, and in 1786 Graham was succeeded by Richard Cosway, the miniature painter, and his handsome wife. They lived here for some years, and society flocked to their parties, which were not unfrequently attended by the Prince of Wales, who had access to them through a private door from the garden of Carlton House. The western wing of Schomberg House was from 1774 occupied by that great artist, Thomas Gainsborough, and here he died in 1788. Reynolds had visited him, at his request, a few days before, when he used the often-quoted words: "We are all going to Heaven and Vandyck is of the party." And here in the following spring his widow held an exhibition of his works still remaining on her hands. In the course of last century Messrs. Dyde and Scribe converted the east wing into a place of business. They were succeeded by Mr. Harding, in whose time George III. and the Princesses used to visit the shop and make their own purchases. Other well-known people have been connected with Schomberg House. Robert Bowyer, miniature-painter to Queen Charlotte, here collected a large number of engravings and paintings to illustrate the history of England, which he called the Historic Gallery. It proved unsuccessful, and he applied for help to Parliament, which passed an Act empowering him to dispose of it by lottery; this he did in 1807. The bookseller, "Honest Tom Payne," moved in 1806 to Schomberg House from his old shop at the Mews Gate, where the National Gallery now stands. Messrs. Payne and Foss succeeded him, who brought together a matchless collection of old books, and stayed here until their retirement from business. It had been said (Smith's Nollekens, Vol. II., p. 398) that Jervais, the portrait painter, eulogised by Pope, was also for a time a tenant. Schomberg House, or what remains of it, has for many years been incorporated in the War Office.
(14 × 858) D. 63-1896.
78. Back of Devonshire House, Piccadilly, from the Garden, 1893 (Black and white).
Devonshire House stands on the site of Berkeley House, built in 1665 for Sir John Berkeley (created Lord Berkeley of Stratton), which in its turn was on the site of Hay Hill Farm. The property at first included the site of Lansdowne House and Garden and Berkeley Square. Lord Berkeley died in 1678, and in 1684 two new streets (Berkeley Street and Stratton Street) were built on a portion of the grounds by his widow. In 1695 the Princess Anne, who was then on bad terms with her brother-in-law, William III., lived here with her husband till the death of her sister, Queen Mary, in the same year. William, first Duke of Devonshire, bought the house in 1697, and the first and second Dukes both died here. The original mansion was destroyed by fire in 1733, and the present one—rather a dull piece of architecture—was built from William Kent's design in 1735, at a cost of £20,000. It has since been considerably altered. In 1874, as we are told by Sir N. W. Wraxall, the great rallying points of the coalition against Pitt were Carlton House, Burlington House, and Devonshire House, where Georgiana, the charming Duchess of Devonshire, reigned over her brilliant court. In the ball-room here was acted before the Queen and Prince Albert, on May 16th, 1851, for the benefit of the Guild of Literature and Art, Lord Lytton's play, "Not so bad as we seem." Among the actors were Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Augustus Egg, Frank Stone, R. Horne (the author of "Orion"), Mark Lemon, and John Tenniel. The fine wrought-iron gate in front of the house, facing Piccadilly, which was placed there in Queen Victoria's Jubilee year (1897) had stood since 1837 at the entrance to the grounds of Chiswick House, having been brought originally from Heathfield House, Turnham Green, once the residence of Lord Heathfield, who, as General Elliot, so bravely defended Gibraltar. Devonshire House is one of the few London mansions still possessing a large garden, which is adorned by copies of antique statues.
(1078 × 15116) D. 64-1896.
79. Lansdowne House, from Berkeley Square, 1893 (Black and white).
Dividing the gardens of Devonshire House and Lansdowne House is Lansdowne Passage, a short cut for walkers from Curzon Street to Hay Hill. Thomas Grenville records that the iron bars at the two ends were put up late in the 18th century, because a mounted highwayman who had committed a robbery in Piccadilly escaped through this passage by riding down and up the steps. Lansdowne House, like that last described, is interesting from its connection with historic personages, as a specimen of the dwelling of a great nobleman in the 18th century, and from its having a considerable garden. It was designed by Robert Adam (the most famous of the brothers who built the Adelphi) about the year 1765, for Lord Bute, then Prime Minister, whose treaty of peace with France raised such a fury of opposition that his enemies did not hesitate to say that he had been bribed. On his fall from power it passed, as yet unfinished, into the hands of Lord Shelburne, afterwards the first Marquis of Lansdowne, to whose descendant it still belongs. Embowered in foliage it certainly has a picturesque effect from the adjoining Berkeley Square.
(758 × 1038) D. 65-1896.