Part 3

Returning to Charing Cross, the stranger may pursue his tour through Cockspur Street to Pall Mall, and thence proceed up Regent Street. As he enters this new line of route, he will perceive that the buildings assume a more important aspect. They are for the most part stucco-fronted, and being frequently re-painted, they have a light and cheerful appearance. In the Haymarket are Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Haymarket Theatre; and near at hand are many club-houses and Exhibition-rooms. Pall Mall displays a range of stone-fronted club-houses of great magnificence. At the foot of Regent Street is the short broad thoroughfare of Waterloo Place, lined with noble houses, and leading southwards to St. James’s Park. Here stands the column dedicated to the late Duke of York; not far from which is the Guards’ Memorial, having reference to troops who fell in the Crimea. From this point, for about a mile in a northerly direction, is the line of Waterloo Place, Regent Street, and Portland Place, forming the handsomest street in London. At a point a short way up we cross Piccadilly, and enter a curve in the thoroughfare, called the Quadrant; at the corners of which, and also in Upper Regent Street, are some of the most splendid shops in London, several being decorated in a style of great magnificence. Regent Street, during the busy season in May and June, and during the day from one till six o’clock, exhibits an extraordinary concourse of fashionable vehicles and foot-passengers; while groups of carriages are drawn up at the doors of the more elegant shops. Towards its upper extremity Regent Street crosses Oxford Street. The mass of streets west from it consist almost entirely of private residences, with the special exception of Bond Street. In this quarter are St. James’s, Hanover, Berkeley, Grosvenor, Cavendish, Bryanstone, Manchester, and Portman Squares—the last four being north of Oxford Street; and in connection with these squares are long, quiet streets, lined with houses suited for an affluent order of inhabitants. In and north from Oxford Street, there are few public buildings deserving particular attention; but a visitor may like to know that hereabouts are the Soho, Baker Street, and London Crystal Palace Bazaars. The once well-known Pantheon is now a wine merchant’s stores.

The residences of the nobility and gentry are chiefly, as has been said, in the western part of the metropolis. In this quarter there have been large additions of handsome streets, squares, and terraces within the last thirty years. First may be mentioned the district around Belgrave Square, usually called _Belgravia_, which includes the highest class houses. North-east from this, near Hyde Park, is the older, but still fashionable quarter, comprehending Park Lane and May Fair. Still farther north is the modern district, sometimes called _Tyburnia_, being built on the ground adjacent to what once was “Tyburn,” the place of public executions. This district, including Hyde Park Square and Westbourne Terrace, is a favourite place of residence for city merchants and other wealthy persons. Lying north and north-east from Tyburnia are an extensive series of suburban rows of buildings and detached villas, which are ordinarily spoken of under the collective name St. John’s Wood: Regent’s Park forming a kind of rural centre to the group. Standing higher and more airy than Belgravia, and being easily accessible from Oxford Street, this is one of the most agreeable of the suburban districts.

[Picture: Bunyan’s Tomb, Bunhill Fields]

If, instead of the Strand and Piccadilly route, or the Holborn and Oxford Street route, a visitor takes the northernmost main route, he will find less to interest him. The New Road, in its several parts of City Road, Pentonville Road, Euston Road, and Marylebone Road, forms a broad line of communication from the city to Paddington, four miles in length. Though very important as one of the arteries of the metropolis, it is singularly deficient in public buildings. In going from the Bank to Paddington, we pass by or near Finsbury Square and Circus, the buildings and grounds of the Artillery Company at Moorfields, the once famous old Burial-ground at Bunhill Fields, St. Luke’s Lunatic Asylum, the Chapel in the City Road associated with the memory of John Wesley, the old works of the New River Company at Pentonville, the Railway stations at King’s Cross (Great Northern), and St. Pancras (Midland),—the vast span of this station’s roof is noteworthy,—and Euston Square (L. and N. Western), several stations of the Metropolitan Underground Railway, St. Pancras and Marylebone churches, and the entrance to the beautiful Regent’s Park. But beyond these little is presented to reward the pedestrian.

It is well for a visitor to bear in mind, however, that all the routes we have here sketched have undergone, or are undergoing, rapid changes, owing chiefly to the wonderful extension of railways. Cannon Street, Finsbury, Blackfriars, Snow Hill, Ludgate Hill, Smithfield, Charing Cross, Pimlico, &c., have been stripped of hundreds, nay, thousands of houses.

PALACES AND MANSIONS, ROYAL AND NOBLE.

[Picture: St. James’s Palace and Park. (Green Park in the distance.)]

These two preliminary glances at the City and the West End having (as we will suppose) given the visitor some general idea of the Metropolis, we now proceed to describe the chief buildings and places of interest, conveniently grouped according to their character—beginning with _Palatial Residences_.

St. James’s Palace.—This is an inelegant brick structure, having its front towards Pall Mall. Henry VIII. built it in 1530, on the site of what was once an hospital for lepers. The interior consists of several spacious levée and drawing rooms, besides other state and domestic apartments. This palace is only used occasionally by the Queen for levées and drawing-rooms; for which purposes, notwithstanding its awkwardness, the building is better adapted than Buckingham Palace. The fine bands of the Foot Guards play daily at eleven, in the Colour Court, or in an open quadrangle on the east side. The Chapel Royal and the German Chapel are open on Sundays—the one with an English service, and the other with service in German.

Buckingham Palace.—This edifice stands at the west end of the Mall in St. James’s Park, in a situation much too low in reference to the adjacent grounds on the north. The site was occupied formerly by a brick mansion, which was pulled down by order of George IV. The present palace (except the front towards the park) was planned and erected by Mr. Nash. When completed, after various capricious alterations, about 1831–2, it is said to have cost about £700,000. The edifice is of stone, with a main centre, and a wing of similar architecture projecting on each side, forming originally an open court in front; but the palace being too small for the family and retinue of the present sovereign, a new frontage has been built, forming an eastern side to the open court. There is, however, little harmony of style between the old and new portions. The interior contains many magnificent apartments, both for state and domestic purposes. Among them are the Grand Staircase, the Ball-room, the Library, the Sculpture Gallery, the Green Drawing-room, the Throne Room, and the Grand Saloon. The Queen has a collection of very fine pictures in the various rooms, among which is a _Rembrandt_, for which George IV. gave 5000 guineas. In the garden is an elegant summer-house, adorned with frescoes by Eastlake, Maclise, Landseer, Stanfield, and other distinguished painters. This costly palace, however, with all its grandeur, was so badly planned, that in a number of the passages lamps are required to be kept lighted even during the day. Strangers are not admitted to Buckingham Palace except by special permission of the Lord Chamberlain, which is not easily obtained. In the front was once the _Marble Arch_, which formed an entry to the Palace, and which cost £70,000; but it was removed to the north-east corner of Hyde Park in 1851.

[Picture: Buckingham Palace, and West End of St. James’s Park. (Queen’s Garden and Hyde Park Corner in the distance.)]

Marlborough House.—This building, the residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is immediately east of St. James’s Palace, being separated from it only by a carriage-road. It was built by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1709, as a residence for the great Duke of Marlborough. The house was bought from the Marlborough family by the Crown in 1817, as a residence for the Princess Charlotte. It was afterwards occupied in succession by Leopold (the late king of the Belgians) and the Dowager Queen Adelaide. More recently it was given up to the Government School of Design; and the Vernon and Turner pictures were for some time kept there. The building underwent various alterations preparatory to its occupation by the Prince of Wales.

Kensington Palace.—This is a royal palace, though no longer inhabited by royalty, occupying a pleasant situation west of Hyde Park. It was built by Lord Chancellor Finch late in the 17th century; and soon afterwards sold to William III. Additions were made to it from time to time. Certain portions of the exterior are regarded as fine specimens of brickwork; and the whole, though somewhat heavy in appearance, is not without points of interest. During the last century Kensington Palace was constantly occupied by members of the royal family. Many of them were born there, and many died there also. The present Queen was born in the palace in 1819. The Prince and Princess of Teck reside there at present. This, like the other royal palaces, is maintained at the expense of the nation; though not now used as a royal residence, pensioned or favoured families occupy it.

[Picture: Lambeth Palace from the River]

Lambeth Palace.—This curious and interesting building, situated in a part of the metropolis seldom visited by strangers, is the official residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. It is on the south bank of the Thames, between Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges. The structure has grown up by degrees during the six centuries that Lambeth has been the archiepiscopal residence; and on that account exhibits great diversities of style. Leaving unnoticed the private and domestic apartments, the following are the portions of the irregular cluster possessing most interest. The _Chapel_, some say, was erected in the year 1196; it is in early English, with lancet windows and a crypt; but the roof, stained windows, and carved screens, are much more recent. The archbishops are always consecrated in this chapel. The _Lollard’s Tower_, at the western end of the chapel, was named from some Lollards or Wickliffites supposed to have been imprisoned there. It is about 400 years old. The uppermost room, with strong iron rings in the walls, appears to have been the actual place of confinement; there are many names and inscriptions cut in the thick oak wainscoting. The _Hall_, about 200 years old, is 93 feet long by 78 feet wide; it is noticeable for the oak roof, the bay windows, and the arms of several of the archbishops. The _Library_, 250 years old, contains about 15,000 volumes and numerous manuscripts, many of them rare and curious. The _Gatehouse_ is a red brick structure, with stone dressings. The _Church_, near it, is one of the most ancient in the neighbourhood of London; it has been recently restored in good taste. Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered here, in 1381, by Wat Tyler’s mob, who stormed the palace, burned its contents, and destroyed all the registers and public papers. Lambeth Palace is not, as a rule, shewn to strangers.

[Picture: Lambeth Palace—Lollard’s Tower]

Mansions of the Nobility.—London is not well supplied with noble mansions of an attractive character; they possess every comfort interiorly, but only a few of them have architectural pretensions. _Northumberland House_, lately alluded to, at the Charing Cross extremity of the south side of the Strand, looks more like a nobleman’s mansion than most others in London. It was built, in about 1600, by the Earl of Northampton, and came into the hands of the Percies in 1642. _Stafford House_ is perhaps the most finely situated mansion in the metropolis, occupying the corner of St. James’s and the Green Parks, and presenting four complete fronts, each having its own architectural character. The interior, too, is said to be the first of its kind in London. The mansion was built by the Duke of York, with money lent by the Marquis of Stafford, afterwards Duke of Sutherland; but the Stafford family became owners of it, and have spent at least a quarter of a million sterling on the house and its decorations. _Apsley House_, at the corner of Piccadilly and Hyde Park, is the residence of the Dukes of Wellington, and is closely associated with the memory of _the_ Duke. The shell of the house, of brick, is old; but stone frontages, enlargements, and decorations, were afterwards made. The principal room facing Hyde Park, with seven windows, is that in which the Great Duke held the celebrated Waterloo Banquet, on the 18th of June in every year, from 1816 to 1852. The windows were blocked up with bullet-proof iron blinds from 1831 to the day of his death in 1852; a rabble had shattered them during the Reform excitement, and he never afterwards would trust King Mob. [Picture: Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, Wellington Statue. (Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in the distance.)] _Devonshire House_, in Piccadilly, faces the Green Park, and has a screen in front. It has no particular architectural character; but the wealthy Dukes of Devonshire have collected within it valuable pictures, books, gems, and treasures of various kinds. _Grosvenor House_, the residence of the Marquis of Westminster, is situated in Upper Grosvenor Street, and is celebrated for the magnificent collection of pictures known as the _Grosvenor Gallery_; a set of four of these pictures, by Rubens, cost £10,000. _Bridgewater House_, facing the Green Park, is a costly modern structure, built by Sir Charles Barry for the Earl of Ellesmere, and finished in 1851. It is in the Italian Palazzo style. Its chief attraction is the magnificent _Bridgewater Gallery_ of pictures, a most rare and choice assemblage. This gallery contains no fewer than 320 pictures, valued at £150,000 many years ago—though they would now, doubtless, sell for a much higher sum. {40} _Holland House_, Kensington, is certainly the most picturesque mansion in the metropolis; it has an old English look about it, both in the house and its grounds. The mansion was built in 1607, and was celebrated as being the residence, at one time of Addison, at another of the late Lord Holland. The stone gateway on the east of the house was designed by Inigo Jones. _Chesterfield House_, in South Audley Street, was built for that Earl of Chesterfield whose “Advice to his Son” has run through so many editions; the library and the garden are especially noted. _Buccleuch House_, in Whitehall Gardens, is recently finished. _Lansdowne House_, in Berkeley Square, the town residence of the Marquis of Lansdowne, contains some fine sculptures and pictures, ancient and modern. Scarcely less magnificent, either as buildings or in respect of their contents, than the mansions of the nobility, are some of those belonging to wealthy commoners—such as Mr. Holford’s, a splendid structure in Park Lane; Mr. Hope’s, in Piccadilly, now the _Junior Athenæum Club_; and Baron Rothschild’s, near Apsley House, lately rebuilt.

HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; WESTMINSTER HALL; GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

Houses of Parliament.—This is the name usually given to the _New Palace of Westminster_, which is not only Sir Charles Barry’s greatest work, but is in all respects one of the most remarkable structures of the age. The building, which occupies a site close to the river, and close also to the beautiful new Westminster Bridge, was constructed in consequence of the burning of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834. It is perhaps the finest modern Gothic structure in the world—at least for civil purposes; but is unfortunately composed of a stone liable to decay; and, to be critical, its ornaments and details generally are on too minute a scale for the magnitude of the building. The entire structure covers nearly eight acres. [Picture: Houses of Parliament from the River] Certain old plain law courts on the north are intended to be removed. The chief public entrance is by Westminster Hall, which forms a vestibule to the Houses of Parliament and their numerous committee-rooms. The rooms and staircases are almost inconceivably numerous; and there are said to be two miles of passages and corridors! The river front, raised upon a fine terrace of Aberdeen granite, is 900 feet in length, and profusely adorned with statues, heraldic shields, and tracery, carved in stone. The other façades are nearly as elaborate, but are not so well seen. It is a gorgeous structure, which, so long ago as 1859, had cost over two millions. A further cost of £107,000, for frescoes, statuary, &c., &c., had been incurred by the end of March, 1860; and the constant outgoings for maintenance of the fabric, and additions thereto, must every year represent a heavy sum. Nevertheless, the two main chambers in which Parliament meets are ill adapted for sight and hearing. On Saturdays, both Houses can be seen free, by order from the Lord Chamberlain, easily obtained at a neighbouring office; and certain corridors and chambers are open on other days of the week. Admission to the sittings of the two Houses can only be obtained by members’ orders; as the benches appropriated in this way are few in number, such admissions are highly prized, especially when any important debate is expected. On the occasion when the Queen visits the House of Lords, to open or prorogue Parliament, visitors are only admitted by special arrangements.

Among the multitude of interesting objects in this stupendous structure, the following may be briefly mentioned. The _House of Peers_ is 97 feet long, 45 wide, and 45 high. It is so profusely painted and gilt, and the windows are so darkened by deep-tinted stained glass, that the eye can with difficulty make out the details. At the southern end is the gorgeously gilt and canopied throne; near the centre is the woolsack, on which the Lord Chancellor sits; at the end and sides are galleries for peeresses, reporters, and strangers; and on the floor of the house are the cushioned benches for the peers. At either end are three frescoes—three behind the throne, and three over the strangers’ gallery. The three behind the throne are—“Edward III. conferring the Order of the Garter on the Black Prince,” by C. W. Cope; “The Baptism of Ethelbert,” by Dyce; and “Henry Prince of Wales committed to Prison for assaulting Judge Gascoigne,” by C. W. Cope. The three at the other end are—“The Spirit of Justice,” by D. Maclise; “The Spirit of Chivalry,” by the same; and “The Spirit of Religion,” by J. C. Horsley. In niches between the windows and at the ends are eighteen statues of Barons who signed Magna Charta. The _House of Commons_, 62 feet long, 45 broad, and 45 high, is much less elaborate than the House of Peers. The Speaker’s Chair is at the north end; and there are galleries along the sides and ends. In a gallery behind the Speaker the reporters for the newspapers sit. Over them is the Ladies’ Gallery, where the view is ungallantly obstructed by a grating. The present ceiling is many feet below the original one: the room having been to this extent spoiled because the former proportions were bad for hearing.

Strangers might infer, from the name, that these two chambers, the Houses of Peers and of Commons, constitute nearly the whole building; but, in truth, they occupy only a small part of the area. On the side nearest to Westminster Abbey are _St. Stephen’s Porch_, _St. Stephen’s Corridor_, the _Chancellor’s Corridor_, the _Victoria Tower_, the _Royal Staircase_, and numerous courts and corridors. At the south end, nearest Millbank, are the _Guard Room_, the _Queen’s Robing Room_, the _Royal Gallery_, the _Royal Court_, and the _Prince’s Chamber_. The river front is mostly occupied by _Libraries_ and _Committee Rooms_. The northern or Bridge Street end displays the _Clock Tower_ and the _Speaker’s Residence_. In the interior of the structure are vast numbers of _lobbies_, _corridors_, _halls_, and _courts_. The Saturday tickets, already mentioned, admit visitors to the _Prince’s Chamber_, the _House of Peers_, the _Peers’ Lobby_, the _Peers’ Corridor_, the _Octagonal Hall_, the _Commons’ Corridor_, the _Commons’ Lobby_, the _House of Commons_, _St. Stephen’s Hall_, and _St. Stephen’s Porch_. All these places are crowded with rich adornments. The _Victoria Tower_, at the south-west angle of the entire structure, is one of the finest in the world: it is 75 feet square and 340 feet high; the Queen’s state entrance is in a noble arch at the base. The _Clock Tower_, at the north end, is 40 feet square and 320 feet high, profusely gilt near the top. After two attempts made to supply this tower with a bell of 14 tons weight, and after both failed, one of the so-called ‘Big Bens,’ the weight of which is about 8 tons, (the official name being ‘St. Stephen,’) now tells the hour in deep tones. There are, likewise, eight smaller bells to chime the quarters. The _Clock_ is by far the largest and finest in this country. There are four dials on the four faces of the tower, each 22½ feet in diameter; the hour-figures are 2 feet high and 6 feet apart; the minute-marks are 14 inches apart; the hands weigh more than 2 cwt. the pair; the minute-hand is 16 feet long, and the hour-hand 9 feet; the pendulum is 15 feet long, and weighs 680 lbs.; the weights hang down a shaft 160 feet deep. Besides this fine Clock Tower, there is a _Central Tower_, over the Octagonal Hall, rising to a height of 300 feet; and there are smaller towers for ventilation and other purposes.

Considering that there are nearly 500 carved stone statues in and about this sumptuous building, besides stained-glass windows, and oil and fresco paintings in great number, it is obvious that a volume would be required to describe them all. In the _Queen’s Robing Room_ are painted frescoes from the story of King Arthur; and in the _Peers’ Robing Room_, subjects from Biblical history. The _Royal Gallery_ is in the course of being filled with frescoes and stained windows illustrative of English history. Here, among others, specially note the late D. Maclise’s stupendous fresco, 45 feet long by 12 feet high, representing “The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo;” and the companion fresco, “The Death of Nelson.”