A Walk from London to Fulham

green t

piece of land on the opposite side of the Thames to Wandsworth, through which wandered the drainage from the higher grounds, or through which the traveller had to Wendon (pendan) his way to Fulham; it would not be difficult to enter into speculations as to the Anglo-Saxon origin of the word, but I refrain from placing before the reader my antiquarian ruminations while passing Wansdown House, for few things are more fascinating and decep

at the estimated expense of ￡9683 17s. 9d. The first stone was laid on the 1st of January, 1827; and it was consecrated by the Bishop of London on the 14th of August, 1828. This was followed by the building of a charity-school upon an angular patch of green, or common land, where donkeys had been wont to graze, and the village children to play at cricket. Then the parish pound was removed from a corner of the high road, near a basket-maker's, to a back lane, thereby de

sle! and happi

s fair and beau

ephyrs court t

brosial banis

nor trouble so

icitude can

happy here I

efy, and smi

nd statesmen, al

r supreme, me c

leasure, own

humble garden

flowers, dignified by distinguished names. In 1755, he printed a 'Treatise on the Cultivation of the Hyacinth, translated from the Dutch;' and in 1761 an 'Essay on Lucerne Grass,', of which an enlarge

ghtest attempt at architectural decoration, but sufficiently spacious and attractive to have received the highest honour that can be conferred on the residence of a subject, by her Majesty and Prince Albert having visited the late lord here on the 26th of June,

elme, whose sha

all that grow

like piramides

east of any by

hose fat sha

neere to him lo

ded plane-tree

thickest, men a

st endures the

ing, ebene,

t in wainscot

e which in the e

per, where worm

hom men through

h, by which (mor

English spirits

st, the tamari

besomes only k

loving birch, a

oving vales

, that doe deli

currents by the s

irtle, ivy, da

l winter, be it

t oftentimes d

scales the wel

housand more wi

ndustry of n

our that might

ties that the wo

Walham Green," so far back as 1602, and at which we shall presently arrive. No connection whatever that I am aware of exists between the locality and the Percy family, and it only affords another, very recent local example of what has bee

rham. After being called to the bar, Mr. Ord practised in the Court of Chancery; and, in 1774, was returned to parliament as member for Midhurst. In 1778 he was appointed Master of Chancery; and the next session, when returned member for Hastings, was chosen chairman of "Ways and Means," in which situation his conduct gave much satisfaction. Mr. Ord retired from parliament i

in 179

respective kinds in the kingdom. As a proof of this may be mentioned the sophora Japonica, planted anno 1756, then about two feet high, now eight feet in girth, and about forty in height; a standard Ginko tree, planted about the year 1767, two feet three inches in girth; and an Illinois walnut, two feet two inches in girth, growing where it was sown about the year 1760. Among other trees, very remarkable also for their growth, though not to be spoken of as the largest of their kind, are a black walnut-tree (sown ann

Fulham,' published in 1813, carries on the history of their growth for three years more; but as, from the marginal pencil note signed J. M., and dated January 1835 in Lysons', I am led

raise the skilfu

befriende

h June, 1814, his garden contained mu

mongst others, a fine Andromeda Arborea, planted about eight inche

rn flowered here on

which, when done, he thought looked so well, he would not allow the layers to be taken off, but laid them down year after year, till it cov

et from the g

in Jun

n Decem

1812 (F

n Jan 1

.

.

.

.

.

ight; it flowered for the first time in August 1807,

0

biloba, standard)

given by Mr. Aiton to Mr. O

iger), sown where it stands in

1 [

0

ted being two years old, in 1

1 [

0

aved oak, s

[1

rnix, or va

ch is covered with

759, produced pods 2 feet long i

in 1757, planted whe

l

e it stands in 1758,

ciduus, s

hazel), between 30 and 40 feet h

edar, (red)

a dioica,

ba, or whi

ar, a cutting in 176

0

plante

out this view, would be an importan

ht of the 9th September, 1807, a fire broke out in the garden-house of Mr. Ord's residence (a cottage upon the site of the present stables): the flame raged so furiously as to burn the principal gardener, an old and valued servant, almost to ashes before any help could be afforded to h

of Mr. Salisbury's communication respecting it, which was read to the Society on the 17th of January, 1817. After acknowledging his obligations to Mrs. Ann

egan to bear, its fruit, though without any external beauty, proved remarkably good, and had a peculiar quality, namely, a melting softness in eating, so that it might be said almost to dissolve in t

t four inches round at a yard above the ground; but it has of late years been very unhealthy, and scarcely

ed some pippins from

it have been distributed about the metropolis with the name of Simpson's pippin. The other seedling of the second generation was several years longer in bearing fruit; and, when it did, the apples were quite of a different shape, being long, with a thick skin and poor flavour, and so numerous as to be all very s

th copper-coloured red, and several darker spots on the sunny side; after the fruit has been gathered some time, the green colour changes to a yellowish cast.

s within extensive grounds, surrounded by a brick wall. This was for some years the residence of Mr. Brand, the eminent chemist, who particularly distinguished himself by the course o

y wall of the grounds of Walham Lodge. Tradition stoutly asserts that this united cottage and villa were,

my St

rly morn

efore-mentioned as having lived at Heckfield Lodge, Little Chelsea; both of which names were introduced on th

y of literary regard; and here he died on the 20th of December, 1809. He was born at Liverpool, in 1738; and, after serving an apprenticeship in London, commenced business as a medical bookseller, upon Fish Street Hi

musement and instruction will remember as that of "Harris and Co., corner of St. Paul's Churchyard." This step was considered at the time, by "the trade," as a bold and inconsiderate measure; but it was successfully imitated by the late Mr. Murray, in his removal from Fleet Street to Albemarle Street; and, indeed, Joh

dealing, soon raised him to eminence as a publisher; and many of the most distinguished names in s

upon the title-pages which first int

ition than that of securing him from expense; but when the public, which neglected the first volume, had discovered the rich mine opened in the Task, and assigned the author his merited place amo

nson are at present in the ascendancy; but they may produce a revolution in favour of the opinion of John Murray against cheap literature. Johnson was the opponent of typographical luxury. Mu

house, and in the room where Mr. Johnson died, is a remarkable chimney

Acacia Cottage, could we procure a c

same manner as drawings are made with sepia, or Indian ink. And it was natural enough that artists should have made every effort to supersede the tedious and elaborate process by which alone a liquid could be rendered available for the purpose of drawing on stone. The mode of drawing technically called "the ink style," consists merely of a series of lines, some finer, some thicker, executed on the white surface of the stone, with ink dissolved in water, by means of a fine sable or a steel pen, in imitation of an etching on copper. All attempts, however, at producing variety of tints, by using the ink thicker or thinner, failed,-the fainter lines either disappearing altogether, or printing as dark as thick ones. In every attempt made to use this ink as a wash, the result was still more disast

s, in which all the raciness, the smartness, and the beauty of touch, are apparent, which hitherto could only be found in the original drawing. In fact, lithotint was not a

e King's Road. It is a house of considerable antiquity, judging from the stone mullions brought to light by some repairs,-probably as old

d retains an old porch leading into the garden. At the farthe

ch pump is now removed, and a new one put in its place. Upon a leaden cistern at the back of

ability to state to whom the monogram belonged. For the name of Arundel I am equally unable to account. No mention whatever is made of this house by Mr. Faulkner; nor does the name of Arundel occur in the parish records of Fulham, although in 1724, as before

Park House, which stands in Parson's Green Lane. A stone tabl

r's C

Au

7

ence which the monthly chronologer i

here were several gentlemen's servants airing their horses, who, taking the alarm, pursued him closely as far as Fulham Fields, where, finding no probability of escaping, he threw money among some country people who were at work in the field, and told them they would soon see the end of an unfortunate man.

s Green is mentioned in support of the conjecture. However, that Purser, and not Percy Cross, has been for many years the usual mode of wr

f ancient and respectable west country family; they were twin sisters, and both died unmarried. What adds to the singularity of this circumstanc

r the late Mr. Powell, it was called High Elms House, and was for some time occupied as a school, conducted by the Rev. Thomas Bowen, who published in 1798 'Thoughts on the Necessity of Moral Discipline in Prisons.' After Mr. Bowen's death in the following year, his widow, with the assistance of the Rev. Joshua Ruddock

e residence of Mr. Croker, of which but a very few copies w

on I shall endeavour to answer. The curious reader will find from Lysons' 'Environs of

y of Fulham,' published in 1813. He merely mentions, adjoining High Elms, or Park House, an old dwelling, which 'ancient house,' continues Faulkner, 'appears to be of the age of Elizabeth, and is commonly called Rosamond's Bower.' This 'ancient house' was taken down by Mr. Powell, in the year 1826, and

ives of respect for the memory of the past, and not from any affectation of romance, to revive an ancient parochial name which had been suffered to die out, 'like the snuff of a candle.' In changing its precise situation, in transferring it from one side of Parson's Green Lane to the other, a distance, however, not fifty yards from the original site, I trust when called upon to show cause for th

ers' cottages in this neighbourhood were called bowers. It was the Saxon term for a room, and, therefore, applied to the dwelling occupied by the labouring class. And Rosamond, or Rosaman, is said to have been the name of a family of gardeners bestowed upon the district which they had long cultivated-possibly a sobriquet derived from the fame of their roses in times when that flower was a badge of party distinction. . . . It only remains for me to add, that 'Rosamond's Bower' stands 22 feet back from the high road, and has a small garden or court before it, measuring, exclusive of the stable-yard, 63 feet. The garden behind the h

drawing-room), at the back of the original building, which thus from a labourer's hut assumed the air of an eight-roomed cottage. It was then discovered that the rooms were of very small dimensions, and it was considered necessary to enlarge four of them by the additional space to be gained from bay windows in the dining-room, drawing-room, blue bedchamber, and dressing-room. But the spirit of improvement seldom rests content, and when it was found that the kitchen, which looked upon the garden, was a more agreeable sitting-room, both as to aspect and quiet, than the more ancient and smaller room which looked upon the road, it was determined to create anot

mus! nemo

nostris hosp

u: postes tu

que me

GA

om which, during sunny June, 'every breeze, of red rose leaves brings down a crimson rain.' [160] The other a weeping ash of singularly beautiful proportions. It has been trained, or rather restrained, to the measurement of fifty-six feet in circumference, the stem being two feet round, and the branches shooting out at the height of five feet with incredible luxuriance. Under its branches I had the pleasure of seeing no less than thirty-eight friends sit down to breakfast on the 22nd June, 1842; and Gunter, who laid covers for forty-four, assured me, that another arrangement with circular ta

t here was pl

pot o'er wh

er thoughts

flowers or

that anot

and brighter h

Irish tradition-the former a remarkably perfect, the latter an exceedingly compact specimen, having on one side a double, and on the other a single hollow. . . . The remaining points of interest in my garden may be noticed in a very few words. It gradually dec

g walk,' separates it from the extensive meadow of Park House, and at the ter

wn dear

others lar

knowest 'tis

s life, but

ely baffled all amateur gardening schemes of defence against their slimy invasions. Among many experiments I may mention one. Some vegetables were protected by a circumvallum of salt; but, notwithstanding, the slugs and snails contrived to pass this supposed deadly line of demarcation by fixing themselves on dry leaves which they could easily lift, and thus they wriggled safely over it. M

by Mr. Croker at 'Rosamond's Bower,' which it is unnecessary further to refer to; indeed, although intended for private circulation

with Thomas Moore's visit to 'Rosam

, Moore wrote to Mr. Cro

however, you must, for my sake, try again; and I shall then be most ready for a rummage of your Irish treasures. Already, indeed, I ha

y dear Mr

y tr

as Mo

at Rosamond's Bower; before luncheon Mr. Croker happened to point out to him the passag

ongs had reached the hearts of some of the descendants of those great Irish families, who found themselves forced, in the dark days of persecution, to see

'Donnells, whose

their youth, amon

at home they had s

leman to whom it had been intrusted, a large portfolio, adorned inside with a beautiful drawing representing Love, Wit, and Valour, as described in the song. In the border that surrounds the drawing are introduc

nied by the following let

ontinent, and being about to proceed to Canada, and personally unacquainted with Moore, requested Mr. Croker to get it safely deliver

nnounced, and appeared to be no less pleased at meeting Sir Cha

Croker received the follo

ber 24

r Cr

y free from other avocations to allow me to devote a good deal of time to the examination of your various treasures. Pray give my kind remembrances to Mrs. Croker.-I constantly think of my

very

as Mo

of a chair which the poet occupied during this visit. It produced

to tell

this C

the Me

y sat,

rs, and the agreeable associations connected with the former title are in the recollection of many who may be unawar

mall cottages. On the left-hand corner of the Green is the 'White Horse' public-house, the sign of which was

Charles Wager; and Dr. Ekins, Dean of Carlisle, died here 20th November, 1791. The house was subsequently modernized by the late John Powell, and became the residence of Mrs. Fitzherbert, w

so prominent a part in Cromwellian politics, that he became immortalized in Hudibras. An old stone building is noticed by Bowack in 1705, as adjoining this house, and presumed by him to be of three or four hundred years' standing, and in all probability a chapel for the rectors and their domestics. This building was pulled down, accord

father of Sir Samuel Meyrick the well-known antiquary. Ho purchased the house, in 1794, of R. Heavyside, Esq., and pulled down the old mansion

1569, died John Tarnworth, Esq., one of Elizabet

mouth's second son, he became possessed of the estate in right of his wife, and after him the place was called Villa Carey, which has led to the belief that old Peterborough House was built by him. It stood facing the pond on Parson's Green, and at about the same distance from the road as the present house. Francis Cleyne, who came over to England in the reign of Charles I., was certainly employed to decorate the rooms. Mr. Carey died about 1635; and his widow, about five years afterwards, married Sir Edward Herbert, Attorney-General to King Charles. Sir Edward was a firm loyalist, and resided at Parso

a young and beautiful lady of a very loyal spirit and notable vivacity of wit

ainst him was kept out of the way, and his judges, being divided in their opinion of his guilt, he was acquitted only by the casting vote of t

d appears to you at this time, as he speaks to sinners in Jesus Christ, for Sir, he doth clear sinners in Christ Jesus even when they are guilty, and so God cleareth you. I will not say you are guilty, but

arson's Green, where he died in the forty-eighth year of his age, on the 5th June, 1675, and was buried in Fulham Church. The son of Lord Mordaunt, who afterwards received the title of Earl of Peterborough, married first, Carey, daughter to Sir Alexander Fraser, of Dover. His second wife was the accomplished singer Anastasia Robinson, who survived him. The earl was vi

ward Saunders, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1682. A sketch of the house will be found in Chambers' Cyclop?dia of English Literature. Drury Lodge, situated on the King's Road adjoining Parson's Green, and immediately opposite the Malt House, formerly known as Ivy Cottage, was

use, the residence of Oliver Cromwell, which was called the Old Red Ivy House. P

akes it a hunting-seat of Charles II., and asserts that an extensive park was attached to it; but Faulkner also tells us that Munster House "was during the greater part of the seventeenth century, the residence and property of Sir William Powell, Bart., who founded the almshouses." How, after this statement, Mr. Faulkner could have admitted the tradition, requires some explanation, as he seems to have followed, without acknowledgment, the part

. Croker, [171] a gentleman who brilliantly retired into private life, but whose character is so well known, and has been so often discussed in political and literary circles, that I shall only venture to remark the local coincidence of three indefatigable secretaries of the Admiralty, during the

mbattlements of brick, and collected there many curious works of art, possibly with a view of reconstruction. In the gard

at her side, obviously the decoration of a fountain, and a rustic stone

gate-piers of Munster House,-not placed there, it must be observed, by Mr. Croker, but which had the popular effect, for some time, of changing the name to Monster House. It is now a Lunatic Asylum. Opposite Munster House is Dancer's extensive garden for the supply of the London marke

rite retirement of the late Duke of York. An affecting story is told by George Colman the younger, connected with his own feelings while on a visit here. He had lost sight of an old college friend, the Rev. Robert Lowth, son of the

st 16

e drawers, and which still 'does the state some service,' though not of plate. But I have an article of yours on a smaller scale, a certain little flat mahogany box, furnished partially, I should say, with cakes of paint, which probably you over-looked, or undervalued as a vade-mecum, and left. And, as an exemplification of the great vanity of over-anxious care, and the safe preservation per contra, in which an article may possibly be found with

, I shall have great pleasure in substituting new ones,-Mrs. Lowth and eleven of our baker's dozen of olive-branches, our present complement in the house department, my eldest boy being in the West Indies, and my third having returned to the military college last Saturday, his vacation furlough having expired. As the summer begins to borrow now and then an autumn evening, the sooner you will favour me with your company the surer you will be of finding me at Grove House, the expiration of other hol

rt Lo

erwise it goes into another postman's walk, who walks it back again to the office, and it does

letter; he answered it immediately, expressing to his old friend how

I desired him to direct to me, as much nearer Chiswick than my own abode, being within a few hundred yards of his old family residence, where we last parted. Whenever I was at this place, I told him the avenue and bishop's walk by the river side, the public precincts of the moated episcopal domain, had

at the impulse of the moment?" Mr. Lowth wrote in reply to Colman, detailing in a most amusing manner his having, in the pursuit o

y to town, that identical day; and, still hoping to accomplish three miles and back, I have hoped from day to day, but I cannot get in travelling condition, even for so shor

othing more than an ordinary cold was the matter with him. A note, however, which followed from one of Mr. Lowth's daughters, stated that the meeting propos

ick, to make inquiries as to Mr. Lowth's health, when the reply given by an elder

d to believe. It stated that "the decease of Mr. Lowth took place on Sunday evening," the very evening appointed by him for their

orrow mingled within me while the slow and mournful tolling of the bell smote upon my heart. Selfish feelings, too, though secondary, might now and then obtrude, for they are implanted in our nature. My departed friend was about my ow

e younger records as having passed through

church at Fulham. The surrounding earth, trampled by recent footsteps, and a slab of marble which had been evidently taken out and replaced in the side of the tomb, too plainly presented traces of those rites, which had been performed on th

ns the following entries with reference

26.-Called. Mrs.

y's din. Colman, Harris, Mrs. G. Good hits. Mrs. Coutts

ge stood, and the ground is partly built

t an Irishman would call the iron mile-stone stood exactly opposite to Ivy

printseller, known (it is not using too broad a word to say) throughout the

ties obliged them to exercise their acquirements and talents as a means of support, found in Mr. Ackermann's shop a repository for the exhibition and sale of decorative articles, which elevated this branch of business to an importance that it had never before assumed in England. Ackermann's name stands prominently forward in the early history of gas and lithography

uch zeal and success, that a parliamentary grant of ￡100,000 was more than doubled by a public subscription. In the spring of 1830, when residing at Ivy Lodge, he experienced a su

n the next chapter accompany the reader