The Municipal Parks Gardens, and Open Spaces of London: their history and associations ... Illustrated, etc

Front matter

THE MUNICIPAL PARKS, GARDENS, AND OPEN SPACES OF LONDON. / must gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance I have received from many friends in the preparation of this history : Mrs. Beck for permission to makeextracts from her late husband's private records with regard to th acquisition of Clissold Park; Mr. John Burns, M .P., for information regarding the agitation for the right of public speaking on Clapham Common ; Mr. Arthur Cates for revising the chapters on Battersea, Kennington, and Victoria Parks ; Mr. George Chambers, the courteous honorary librarian of the Tyssen Library, Town Hall, Hackney, for placing at my disposal the unique collec tion of drawings, manuscripts, etc., relating to the Hackney district ; and to Mr. W. Mines, the donor of Myatt's Fields, for the particulars of the history of that place.

My thanks are also due to the following for the loan of blocks and drawings illustrating this work : The pro prietors of London for the illustrations of parks which have already appeared in that paper ; Mr. McDougall, J. P., L.C.C., for many of the photographs ; Mr. Martin, librarian of Hammersmith Public Library, for the illustration of the Red House, Battersea Park ; Messrs. Oetzmann and Co., Hampstead Road, for views of Hamp stead and other places ; Mr. W. Sugg for photographs of views on Clapham Common ; Mr. W . T. Vincent, author of ' Records of the Woolwich District,' for the loan of illustrations from that work ; and the trustees of Whitefield's Tabernacle for an old view of their ancient place of worship. J- Js. View of Bostal Woods THE MUNICIPAL PARKS, GARDENS, AND OPEN SPACES OF LONDON XTbeir Ibiston? anC> Hssociattons.

BY LIEUT.-COL. J. J. SEXBY, V.D., PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATE OF THE SURVEYORS' INSTITUTION. ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS SKETCHES, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND FACSIMILES. LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C 1898. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PACE

Introduction

... - XV I. BATTERSEA PARK - - - - - I II. BLACKHEATH - - - - - " 24 III. BOSTAL HEATH BOSTAL WOODS — PLUMSTEAD COMMON SHOULDER OF MUTTON GREEN - - "5° IV. BROCKWELL PARK DULWICH PARK - - - 71 V. CLAPHAM COMMON - - - - - 95 VI. HILLY FIELDS, DEPTFORD PARK, AND TELEGRAPH HILL Il6 VII. KENNINGTON PARK ..... 141 VIII. LADYWELL RECREATION-GROUND MARYON PARK - I58 IX. MYATT'S FIELDS — PECKHAM RYE PECKHAM RYE PARK GOOSE GREEN- — NUNHEAD GREEN - - l"]2 X. SOUTHWARK PARK NELSON RECREATION-GROUND — NEWINGTON RECREATION-GROUND WALWORTH RE- CREATION-GROUND ----- 190 XI. TOOTING GRAVENEY COMMON TOOTING BECK COMMON STREATHAM GREEN — STREATHAM COMMON - 20g XII. WANDSWORTH COMMON - - - - - 235 XIII. BETHNAL GREEN GARDENS .... 25O XIV. THE EMBANKMENT GARDENS - - - - 262 XV. THE EMBANKMENT GARDENS (continued) - 2gO XVI.

FINSBURY PARK — CLISSOLD PARK - - - 309 XVII. HACKNEY COMMONS ----- 334 XVIII. HACKNEY COMMONS (continued) HACKNEY MARSH - 35I XIX. HAMPSTEAD HEATH ..... 375 xx. hampstead heath (continued) - - - - CONTENTS CHAPTER PAdE XXI. HAMPSTEAD heath extension, or parliament hill 413 XXII. HIGHBURY FIELDS ----- 436 XXIII. ISLAND GARDENS, POPLAR ROYAL VICTORIA GARDENS 447 XXIV. LEICESTER SQUARE ----- 466 xxv. Lincoln's inn fields — red lion square - - 487 XXVI. ravenscourt park — shepherd's bush common - 518 xxvii. spa green — whitfield gardens - - - 530 xxviii. victoria park meath gardens - - - 552 xxix. waterlow park ..... 575 xxx. western commons ----- 597 xxxi. wapping recreation-ground churchyards and small playgrounds- — places in course of acqui- SITION ...... 615

Appendix

PAGE VIEW OF BOSTAL WOODS Frontispiece THE CARRIAGE DRIVE, BATTERSEA PARK THE CASCADE, BATTERSEA PARK PICTURESQUE CORNER, BATTERSEA PARK THE RED HOUSE, BATTERSEA 2 4 7 9 12 H 16 17 20 22 27 29 39 4i 44 45 5i 53 55 56 57 59 62 66 68 73 THE AVENUE, BATTERSEA PARK THE SUBTROPICAL GARDENS, BATTERSEA PARK VIEW OF THE LAKE, BATTERSEA PARK CYCLING IN BATTERSEA PARK OLD BATTERSEA BRIDGE BREAKFAST BY THE LAKE, BATTERSEA PARK PRINCESS OF WALES POND, BLACKHEATH VANBRUGH PARK, BLACKHEATH CHESTERFIELD WALK, BLACKHEATH VANBRUGH CASTLE, BLACKHEATH MORDEN COLLEGE, BLACKHEATH WRICKLEMARSH, THE SEAT OF SIR GREGORY PAGE TURNER, 173O MAIN WALK TO THE PINES, BOSTAL WOOD - THE PINES, LOOKING SOUTH, BOSTAL WOOD OLD MANOR-HOUSE IN WICKHAM LANE, l886 LESNESS ABBEY RUINS BOSTAL WOODS FROM PLUMSTEAD COMMON ON BOSTAL HEATH JACOBS' SMITHY, PLUMSTEAD COMMON VIEW OF PLUMSTEAD MARSHES FROM THE COMMON, 185I THE OLD MILL, PLUMSTEAD COMMON, IN 1820 IN THE OLD GARDEN, BROCKWELL PARK X PAGE 75 A BAND PERFORMANCE IN BROCKWELL PARK- 78 THE CASCADE, BROCKWELL PARK COLLEGE GATE AND SUPERINTENDENT'S LODGE, DULWICH PARK ------- 8o 82 VIEW OF LAKE, DULWICH PARK 86 COURT LANE, DULWICH, IN WINTER - 87 DULWICH COLLEGE THE ROOKERY, CLAPHAM COMMON IOO IO3 IOg H3 117 THE MOUNT POND, CLAPHAM COMMON THE EAGLE POND, CLAPHAM COMMON THE CRICKET FIELDS, CLAPHAM COMMON GENERAL VIEW OF DEPTFORD FROM BROCKLEY, 1815 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAIL- WAY ------- 120 THE CROYDON CANAL- 121 THE LOCKS ON THE CROYDON CANAL, LOOKING SOUTH 122 THE MANOR-HOUSE, SAYES COURT I25 PORTRAIT OF JOHN EVELYN 127 VIEW FROM THE SITE OF DEPTFORD PARK IN 184O- 129 EXTERIOR OF THE SEMAPHORE-STATION, TELEGRAPH HILL INTERIOR OF THE SEMAPHORE-STATION, TELEGRAPH HILL 132 133 GENERAL VIEW OF TELEGRAPH HILL '35 HATCHAM HOUSE 138 KENNINGTON COMMON AND CHURCH IN 1 830 H3 FLOWER-BEDS IN KENNINGTON PARK r47 THE DRINKING FOUNTAIN, KENNINGTON PARK !54 VIEW OF FLOWER-BEDS AND TINWORTH STATUETTE, KEN- NINGTON PARK ------ 156 SKETCH OF THE LADY WELL - *59 THE SOURCE OF THE RAVENSBOURNE, KESTON HEATH i6i ST.

MARY'S CHURCH, LEWISHAM i65 COX'S MOUNT, MARYON PARK - 170 MYATT'S FIELDS BANDSTAND - !74 THE FOUNTAIN AND RIVULET, PECKHAM RYE PARK i7g THE AVENUE, PECKHAM RYE PARK i83 HEATON'S FOLLY IN 1804 i86 ENTRANCE AND SUPERINTENDENT'S LODGE, SOUTHWARK PARK 192 THE LAKE, SOUTHWARK PARK 197 A BAND PERFORMANCE IN NEWINGTON RECRKATION-GROUND PAGE 2IO 215 THE MAIN AVENUE, TOOTING COMMON THRALE PLACE, FORMERLY OVERLOOKING TOOTING COMMON SUMMER-HOUSE IN MRS. THRALE'S GARDEN, THE FAVOURITE RESTING-PLACE OF DR. JOHNSON 217 STREATHAM CHURCH AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINE- TEENTH CENTURY 219 OLD TREE ON TOOTING COMMON 221 A VIEW ON STREATHAM COMMON IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ------ 233 THE THREE ISLAND POND, WANDSWORTH COMMON - - THE GARRATT ELECTION - 236 242 THE OLD MILL, WANDSWORTH COMMON 247 KIRBY CASTLE, BETHNAL GREEN (THE BLIND BEGGAR'S HOUSE) - - - - - - 257 GENERAL VIEW OF VICTORIA EMBANKMENT GARDENS (WHITE- HALL SECTION) - - - - - 263 THE PRESS BAND, VICTORIA EMBANKMENT GARDENS (TEMPLE SECTION) ------ 265 267 ESSEX HOUSE - Cleopatra's needle chapel royal, savoy 272 273 THE FOX UNDER THE HILL DURHAM HOUSE, 1660 275 277 DURHAM HOUSE AND THE STRAND IN 1660 - 279 ADELPHI TERRACE PRIOR TO THE FORMATION OF THE EM- BANKMENT ------ 28l YORK OR BUCKINGHAM HOUSE AND YORK WATER-GATE (NOW IN THE VICTORIA EMBANKMENT GARDENS) 283 LAMBETH PALACE AND ALBERT" EMBANKMENT GARDENS CHELSEA IN I738 ----- 293 295 CHELSEA EMBANKMENT GARDENS AND CHEYNE WALK SHREWSBURY HOUSE - - - - 297 299 3Qi WINCHESTER HOUSE, CHELSEA THE NEW MANOR-HOUSE, OR CHELSEA PLACE, BUILT BY HENRY VIII. ------ 3° 2 QUEEN'S HOUSE, FROM CHELSEA EMBANKMENT GARDENS DON SALTERO'S, CHEYNE WALK, 184O 3°3 3°5 3°6 CHEYNE WALK, 1 750 - FLOWER-BEDS, FINSBURY PARK PACE 3I2 MANOR-HOUSE ENTRANCE, FINSBURY PARK 3H THE BOATING LAKE, FINSBURY PARK - 316 THE OLD HORNSEY WOOD HOUSE 3^7 THE NEW HORNSEY WOOD HOUSE 319 THE LAKE, FINSBURY PARK 321 THE DEER-PEN, CLISSOLD PARK 324 THE MANSION, CLISSOLD PARK THE NEW RIVER AND PARADISE ROW, CLISSOLD PARK 327 THE BANDSTAND, CLISSOLD PARK 329 queen Elizabeth's walk in 1800 - 331 CLISSOLD PARK, WITH OLD STOKE NEWINGTON CHURCH IN THE BACKGROUND - 332 336 LEA BRIDGE, MILL FIELDS VIEW OF THE HACKNEY BROOK AT HACKNEY DOWNS ABOUT l838 - 344 LEA BRIDGE MILLS AND RIVER LEA ABOUT 183O 347 THE RIVER LEA AND THE JOLLY ANGLERS, HACKNEY MARSH, IN 1850 ------- 348 THE OLD CAT AND MUTTON, LONDON FIELDS, ABOUT 1830 - 353 358 FRENCH HOSPICE, VICTORIA PARK MONGER'S ALMSHOUSES, ERECTED UNDER THE WILL OF HENRY MONGER, DATED 1669 - 360 SEASON TICKET FOR THE WHITE HOUSE FISHERY, HACKNEY MARSH, l8lO ----.. 368 THE WHITE HOUSE, HACKNEY MARSH 372 SIDE-SHOWS, HAMPSTEAD HEATH, ON BANK HOLIDAY JUDGES' OR king's BENCH WALK, HAMPSTEAD HEATH 376 377 SWINGS ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH ON BANK HOLIDAY- 38o 383 NORTH END, HAMPSTEAD 387 WHITESTONE POND, HAMPSTEAD HEATH JACK STRAW'S CASTLE, HAMPSTEAD HEATH, 189I 39i SOUTH VIEW OF THE SPANIARDS, HAMPSTEAD HEATH 393 ERSKINE HOUSE, HAMPSTEAD HEATH, IN 1869 397 THE FIR-TREES,

HAMPSTEAD HEATH - 399 SLUICE-HOUSE ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH 400 WELL WALK.

HAMPSTEAD, SHOWING KEATS' FAVOURITE SEAT 402 THE VIADUCT, PARLIAMENT HILL - - to face p. VIEW OF HIGHGATE IN 1868 FROM PARLIAMENT HILL 415 416 CAENWOOD OR KENWOOD HOUSE, HIGHGATE Xlll I'AGE THE TUMULUS, PARLIAMENT HILL, 1870 423 SHEEP ON PARLIAMENT HILL 43° CHARLES MATHEWS'S HOUSE, ADJOINING PARLIAMENT HILL - 432 HIGHBURY TERRACE, ISLINGTON, 1835 44 1 GREENWICH HOSPITAL FROM ISLAND GARDENS 452 THE SITE OF THE ROYAL VICTORIA GARDENS, NORTH WOOLWICH, ABOUT 1839 - 462 GENERAL VIEW OF LEICESTER SQUARE 467 LEICESTER SQUARE IN 1 7OO - 47o 476 THE LAST OF THE OLD HORSE, LEICESTER SQUARE STATUE OF GEORGE I. AND HOGARTH'S HOUSE, 1790 481 STAIRCASE IN SIR J. REYNOLDS's HOUSE, LEICESTER SQUARE 483 Lincoln's inn- 488 gateway, Lincoln's inn fields 489 ' THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP,' LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS 491 Lincoln's inn fields in 1560 492 Lincoln's inn fields as originally planned by inigo jones - ' - 495 Lincoln's inn fields, circa 1780 - 496 Lincoln's inn fields in 1658 498 ARCHWAY, SARDINIA STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS 502 LINDSAY OR ANCASTER HOUSE, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS 503 NEWCASTLE HOUSE, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS - 504 REVERSE OF SILVER MEDAL IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM 5Q5 COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS 5°6 DUKE'S THEATRE, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS 5°7 sir john soane's museum, Lincoln's inn fields- 509 red LION SQUARE IN 180O 5H THE AVENUE, RAVENSCOURT PARK 520 THE MANSION, RAVENSCOURT PARK 522 THE LAKE, RAVENSCOURT PARK 524 VIEW IN ONE OF THE GARDENS, SPA GREEN 53i PLAN OF THE SITE OF SPA GREEN AND SURROUNDINGS IN 538 J744 Sadler's wells, with the new river in front, in 1756 54° THE NEW RIVER AT SADLER'S WELLS 542 WHITEFIELD'S TABERNACLE, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, 1 756 549 THE PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE TO VICTORIA PARK, WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT'S LODGE PAGE 555 BATHING, VICTORIA PARK THE CHILDREN'S SANDPIT, VICTORIA PARK 557 559 THE BOATING LAKE, VICTORIA PARK THE VICTORIA FOUNTAIN, VICTORIA PARK 562 ALCOVE ON OLD WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, NOW IN VICTORIA PARK ------- 563 565 MAIN WALK, VICTORIA PARK 5&8 THE BOATING LAKE, VICTORIA PARK - MEATH GARDENS BEFORE LAYING-OUT 572 MEATH GARDENS AFTER LAYING-OUT - 573 THE GROVE, THE SECOND RESIDENCE OF COLERIDGE AT HIGHGATE ....-- 579 58i LAUDERDALE HOUSE, WATERLOW PARK ANDREW MARVELL'S COTTAGE, FORMERLY ON THE SITE OF 584 WATERLOW PARK CROMWELL HOUSE, HIGHGATE 586 588 THE LAKE, WATERLOW PARK - AN OLD-FASHIONED GATEWAY, WATERLOW PARK 59i A QUIET NOOK IN WATERLOW PARK 593 st. Joseph's retreat entrance, waterlow park 595 6oo PETERBOROUGH HOUSE Richardson's house at parson's green in 1799- 602 sion house, brook green 6o6 THE GRANGE, BROOK GREEN, FORMERLY THE RESIDENCE OF SIR HENRY IRVING - 6o8 BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WAPPING RECREATION-GROUND 6i8

INTRODUCTION.

. THE meaning of the title and scope of this book calls for some explanation, especially when it will be found that no mention is made of such places as Hyde Park, Regent's Park, or St. James's Park, which have a right to be considered the most important parks in London. In the first place, the history of these parks has been more than once written, and in the second place it must be pointed out that they are national rather than municipal 'lungs,' because they are kept up at the expense of the nation at large, and not by any one municipality. London's municipal parks and open spaces are those which are maintained by the London County Council at the expense of the Metropolitan ratepayers. In addition to the national and municipal places of recreation, there are a number of disused burial-grounds and other small grounds maintained by the various local vestries, whilst the number is completed by those under the care of Conservators, private bodies and individuals, the most important of which are Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath, together making a magnificent open space, 1,412 acres in extent.

The Corporation of the City of London also possesses some 0,500 acres of parks and open spaces which are available for the use of Londoners, but are maintained out of ' city cash ' and the funds derivable from metage on grain. The largest of these is Epping Forest ; but, like the majority of the City parks, this is outside the County of London.

INTRODUCTION.

XVI <• Parks. The London County Council, as is well known, succeeded the Metropolitan Board of Works as the municipal authority for London, and the history of the parks and open spaces described in this volume must commence with the formation of this latter body. The 144th section of the Metropolis Management Act, 1855, authorized the Board to apply to Parliament whenever it was of opinion that further powers were required for the purpose of any work for the improvement of the Metropolis or the public benefit of the in habitants. One of the first steps which the newly-constituted authority proposed to take was to provide public parks in districts where such places of recreation did not already exist, but it was felt doubtful how far the authority to apply to Parliament given by the above statute extended.

To remove all question so far as parks were concerned, a clause was inserted in an amending Act of 1856, in which it was laid down that the powers given to the Board in their original Act did extend to applications to Parliament for the purpose of providing parks, pleasure-grounds, and open spaces. This question having been settled, the Board applied to Parlia ment, and obtained power to purchase and lay out what is known as Finsbury Park. Some seven years later, power was obtained to provide another park in the South - East District, known as Southwark Park. Both these places were opened to the public in 1869, and they were the nucleus of the municipal parks of London, which have now increased to so extensive an area. At the time of the formation of these parks they were, to a great extent, surrounded by open ground, chiefly used for market-gardens, and the schemes for their acquisition were by many people voted as extravagant and unnecessary.

But the wisdom of this policy has been more than justified in the lapse of time, for these parks are now in the midst of a large population, and are invaluable as places of recreation'. The next addition to London's municipal parks was made

INTRODUCTION.

XVII in 1887, when four places, which up to this time had been maintained by Her Majesty's Office of Works at the expense of the nation, were transferred to the late Board. These were Victoria, Battersea, and Kennington Parks, and the gardens surrounding the Bethnal Green Museum. Three more parks were acquired by the Board before passing out of office : Ravenscourt Park at Hammersmith, Clissold Park at Stoke Newington, and Dulwich Park, the land of which was a gift from the Dulwich College Governors. The London County Council in their first year of office, 1889, were presented with two parks : Myatt's Fields and Waterlow Park ; and since this time they have gone on adding to the number, by purchase or otherwise, as will be detailed later. Open Spaces It has been a great advantage to London to have on its outskirts a number of commons and open spaces available for public resort.

The commons have a peculiar charm in their freedom and their natural beauty as opposed to the restrictions and the artificialness of a made park. They are, moreover, part of the history of the country, for they are almost the only relics of the feudal system, and take us back to the time when England was tilled in common, and private ownership of land in the modern sense was unknown. Previously to the year 1866 the inhabitants of London had no rights in connection with these places, since the nature of agricultural holdings had gradually changed, and although they were, like other common land in England, open to the public by custom, the only legal rights were those of the Lords of the Manors and of the copyholders and commoners in each case. It is only of comparatively recent years, owing to the enormous increase of the Metropolis, that they have acquired value as building lands, and have consequently proved a source of temptation to the Lords of the Manor to enclose them. But the first general movement in the way of enclosure seems to date back to the fifteenth century, at the

INTRODUCTION.

XVIII close of the Wars of the Roses, in which so many of the feudal aristocracy lost their lives. Previous to this, the Act of 20 Henry III., cap. 4, had been passed, commonly called the Statute of Merton, which enabled the lord of a manor to enclose common lands without either the assent of the commoners or the sanction of Parliament. In after years this proved the most disastrous law ever passed as regards common land, and it has been the cause of many a fine open space being lost to London. After the Wars of the Roses, the feudal system gradually began to undergo a change, as the necessity for maintaining a large number of armed dependents became less apparent, and the opening of the Continent to trade encouraged the tending of sheep for their wool. By degrees we find the common land being enclosed for pasture, but not without considerable protest on the part of many leading statesmen.

So important a question did enclosure become that a Royal Commission was held at the instance of Protector Somerset ' for the redress of enclosures' ; but nothing came of it, owing to the powerful influence of the nobles, who terrorized witnesses from giving evidence. These common lands which were thus being converted from public to private ownership were not what are now known as commons. The commons of the present day were the waste lands, perhaps not suitable for cultivation, in many cases covered with brushwood and undergrowth, which furnished fuel for the copyholders and commoners of the manor. In the case of those which were suitable, the commons were used for grazing ; but in course of time, owing to the increase of population, they were not able to provide food for the cattle of all the manorial tenants, and, as a consequence, those around London began to lose their value for agricultural purposes.

At the same time their value as building land, and the development of our network of railways, led to a far more serious enclosure movement, by which many of the smaller wastes were taken for building, railway, or other purposes. This resulted in a double loss to London, for not only were the lands not available for pasture, but the general

INTRODUCTION.

XIX health of the Metropolis was bound to suffer if all the breathing-places were built over. The enclosure movement has left its mark on several of the larger London commons, particularly Wandsworth and Tooting, which are intersected by railways in various directions, and, instead of presenting an unbroken extent of ground, are divided into small and almost separate areas. This process would probably have continued, had it not been for the action of the late Board, aided by a number of public-spirited persons who saw that London, as well as other parts of the country, was in danger of losing its open spaces, which were being encroached upon year by year. It was apparent that further legislation was necessary, seeingthat the lord of a manor could combine with his tenants and then sell or dispose of any part of the manorial wastes.

The Board resolutely opposed any alienation of this kind within the limits of its jurisdiction, and as a consequence of its action, backed up by the efforts of private individuals, Parliament appointed in 1865 a Select Committee to inquire into the best means of preserving for the public use the forests, commons, and open spaces in and around London. After a lengthy inquiry, the Committee recommended that the Statute of Merton should be repealed, that no enclosure should take place under the provisions of the Enclosure Acts within the Metropolitan area, and that a body of trustees should be appointed for the preservation of open spaces within the area. In the following year the Government introduced a Bill which, after a good deal of discussion and alteration, became law under the title of the Metropolitan Commons Act, 1866, and which, whilst not quite following the lines suggested by the Select Committee, prescribed a mode of procedure under which the commons in the neigh bourhood of London could be permanently secured for the public.

This Act appointed the late Board the local authority for all commons situate wholly or in part within the Metro politan area, and by its powers, supplemented by subsequent Acts, all the commons and open spaces on the outskirts of

INTRODUCTION.

XX London have been preserved for public use. The circumstances connected with them differed in almost every case. For instance, in the case of Blackheath, one of the first commons acquired, the Earl of Dartmouth, Lord of the Manor in which the greater part of the common is situated, generously refrained from making any claim with respect to his manorial rights, whilst as regards Hampstead Heath and the Hackney Commons, immense sums have had to be paid before they could be secured from encroachment. THE MUNICIPAL PARKS, GARDENS, AND . OPEN SPACES OF LONDON.

Chapter I. Battersea Park

THIS, the largest municipal park in the south of London, is 198 acres in extent, and occupies the site of Battersea Fields. What was forty years ago one of the dreariest and darkest spots in transpontine London, has now become a veritable oasis in the desert. If these lands had not been rescued from the hands of the builder, industrial dwellings, and the third-rate terraces, with their attendant general stores, which abound in Battersea, would have crept down to the water's edge. Battersea is not looked upon with much favour by its more aristocratic neighbours across the water, and this ill-favour for a very long while seemed to attach itself to the park without the slightest foundation, as its varied attractions make it one of particular interest. Before we describe its present condition, we may just go back to the past and see what formerly took its place.

In the sixteenth century Battersea Fields was to all intents and purposes that portion of the River Thames lying between low and high water mark, and at every recurring tide the land was under water. Somewhere about the year 1560 a Jlu Carriage Drive, Battersea Park 2 OPEN SPACES OF LONDON rough embankment was made to keep the water out, and the land thus reclaimed became the property of the lord of the manor, subject to some rights of common exercised by the inhabitants of Battersea at certain periods of the year. It is said that this land was gained for the parish of Battersea by the act of charitably burying a man who had been drowned there, whom the adjoining parish had refused to bury. Battersea certainly reaped a rich reward for this kindness, for this act was held in a subsequent lawsuit as sufficient to prove a right of ownership.

The land thus recovered was naturally of a swampy nature, and was divided into a number of plots, called marshes or shots. A lane led from Nine Elms to the Red House, about which we shall have something more to say. The lands forming the park were part of the common fields of the manor of Battersea, the history of which can be traced back to the time when William the Conqueror had his never-failing Doomsday Book compiled. At this period the manor was in the possession of Earl Harold, to whom it had probably descended from the powerful Earl Godwin. The Battle of Hastings, which ended the power of the Saxon Kings, was followed by the confiscation of their estates. The manor did not, however, pass to any of the Norman adventurer's followers, as he retained it for his private enjoyment till, attracted by the beauty of Windsor, he exchanged the Manor of Battersea for that of the now royal manor, which was then in the possession of the monks of St. Peter, Westminster.

One hide of the Battersea land was not included in this exchange, and this was the property of the Abbot of Chertsey, who somehow had managed to acquire many a broad acre in the south of London. The manor before the Conquest was of great extent and of great value, including as it did, in all probability, part of Wands worth. Lambeth, Camberwell, Peckham, Streatham, Penge, Tooting, and perhaps also Clapham. After the Conquest, the manor dwindled down to its present size, and the lands which have disappeared from the Court Rolls are probably those lying between the present parish and the outlying district of Penge, which is still considered part of the manor. We can see the difference by comparing the quantity of land held by Earl Harold, which was taxed for 72 hides 1 — and valued at £80, with that recorded in the survey, which was taxed for 18 hides only.

The monks remained in undisturbed possession of the manor for 450 years. On two separate occasions the grant of the manor was confirmed to them— once when Henry I. usurped the throne, and later on when Stephen imitated his example. The Church at this time being quite as powerful as the State, it was necessary for any whose titles to the The Cascade, Baltersea Park throne were not quite clear to make the clergy their friends. This will doubtless account for the fact of these confirma tions. But the power of the Church declined, till the great blow fell which deprived the monasteries of their lands under the rule of Henry VIII. Westminster did not suffer so heavily as its sister convents, but the Manor of Battersea was taken from it and vested in the Crown, in whose hands it remained till the reign of Charles I. It was assigned, with other manors, for the maintenance of Prince Henry in 1610, and in 1627 Charles I. granted it to Sir Oliver St. John, afterwards Viscount Grandison.

Upon the death of this nobleman, in 1630, it passed into the possession of his great-nephew, William Villiers, who died of a wound received at the siege of Bristol, 1644. Sir John St. John. nephew of the first Lord Grandison, inherited Battersea ; from him it passed in a regular descent to Sir Walter St. John, and then to Henry, Viscount St. John, who had all his estates in Battersea confiscated, owing to a murder which he had committed, and they were only redeemed by paying the King £16,000. His son, Viscount Bolingbroke, then succeeded to the manor, followed by the latter's nephew, Frederick Viscount Bolingbroke. By an Act of Parliament obtained in 1762 he was enabled to sell his estates, whereupon, in 1763, the trustees of Earl Spencer purchased it, and it has remained in this family ever since.* The origin of the word ' Battersea ' is involved in much obscurity.

Each antiquary has a different derivation for it ; and where doctors disagree, it is not the place for laymen to intrude. We will let these authorities speak for themselves. Spelman, in his Glossary, says it means a member of a manor disjoined from the main body, a villa or hamlet. This would be appropriate in the case of Battersea, as we have just mentioned how the manor was dismembered before the Conquest. But as no other historian has adopted this view, it seems unlikely that it is the true one. Lambarde gives another guess rather wide of the mark. ' Battersey,' says he, ' quasi Botersey ; because it was near the waterside, and was the removing house of the Archbishop of York.' Un fortunately for this ingenious derivation, we need only point out that the Archbishops of York did not possess any property here till the reign of Edward IV.

Others contend that the true spelling is 'Battlesea,' and derive the name from some battle which is supposed to have taken place near here. A fourth solution is that the present word is a corruption of the name by which the district was known at the time of the * Lysons, ' Environs of London,' i8n, vol. i., part I., pp. 20, 21. Doomsday survey, viz., Patricesy, i.e., the 'sea or water of St. Peter or St. Patrick.' Opinion is divided as to which saint it is dedicated to. Those who favour St. Peter quote as a similar example the name of Petersham, which is known to have received its appellation from St. Peter's, Chertsey.* This is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as Patricesham, so that by analogy Patricesy would mean ' St. Peter's water.' We must just mention that Aubrey, on the other hand, makes it the 'water of St. Patrick,' arguing that the Norman chronicler made a mistake in the word, owing to the very unsettled state of spelling at that period.

Seeing that we have not yet reached perfection on this point, Aubrey may be right ; but as England has now been placed, by kind permission of the Pope, under the protecting wing of St. Peter, it might bring joy into the hearts of the inhabitants of Battersea to know that in these early times their neighbourhood was specially dear to him. The old marshes had a picturesqueness of their own. A contemporary writer describes how, late in an autumn after noon in Battersea Fields, he watched a Flemish broom-seller, seated with her brooms in her lap, with a background not unlike a view in the Low Countries. Behind her was a windmill, near the ' Red House,' with some dwarfish build ings among the willows on the bank of the Thames, thrown up to keep the river from overflowing the marsh flat.f Such a view as this could, of course, only be obtained on the out skirts of the marsh, the greater portion being bare, flat and uninteresting.