Chapter 3

Berkeley Square was built about 1698 on the site of the gardens of Berkeley House, the residence of Sir John Berkeley, afterwards Lord Berkeley, of Stratton, to whose descendant, Earl Fitzhardinge, the property still belongs. It slopes somewhat steeply to the south, and has a well-wooded garden in the centre, planted about the end of the eighteenth century. The equestrian statue of George III., by Beaupré and Wilton, erected by Princess Amelia in 1766, was removed in 1827, and the pedestal is vacant, but a drinking-fountain, the gift of the Marquis of Lansdowne, stands at the south end. In 1805 the north side was occupied by small tradesmen's shops, which have been replaced; but some of the other houses are old, and still have the iron link extinguishers before the door, which may be seen at many houses in this district. No. 25 is Thomas's Hotel, which dates from 1809. Charles James Fox lived here in 1803. No. 40 is noteworthy for the style of its architecture, but the finest house in the Square is Lansdowne House (Marquis of Lansdowne), standing in its own garden on the south side. It was built by Robert Adam for the Earl of Bute in 1765, and sold while still unfinished to the Earl of Shelburne, afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, for £22,500. It contains a sculpture gallery commenced in 1778, with a collection of statuary by Gavin Hamilton. The pictures were collected by the third Marquis (1807-50), and comprise specimens by Raphael, Murillo, Velasquez, Hogarth, Reynolds, Landseer, and others. The library was added in 1790. Priestley was librarian when, in 1774, he discovered oxygen.

No. 44, designed by Kent for Lady Isabella Finch, has a fine staircase and drawing-room.

Other inhabitants: Corner of Bruton Street, No. 20, Colley Cibber, 1753; 45, the residence of the Earl of Powis, has a name-plate on the door (here, in 1774, Lord Clive committed suicide); 10, Lord Clyde, 1863; 11, Horace Walpole, 1774-97, Lady Waldegrave, 1800; 6, second Earl of Chatham; 13, Marquis of Hertford, Earl of Carnarvon; 17, Lord Rowton; 18, Sir S. B. Bancroft, actor; 21, Lady Anne Barnard, authoress of "Auld Robin Gray," d. 1825; Lord Brougham and Vaux, 1842; 28, Earl Grey, Lord Brougham, 1830-34, Sidney Smirke, R.A., architect, 1842; 38, here, in 1804, the Earl of Jersey married Lady Sophia Fane, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland, d. 1867, Lord Londesborough, 1891. It has now been rebuilt in red brick by Lord Rosebery; 48, Lord Brougham, 1849; 52, Field-marshal Lord Strathnairn, d. 1894.

Berkeley Street was built on the grounds of Berkeley House in 1684 by Lady Berkeley, under the direction of John Evelyn. It skirts the garden wall of Devonshire House, and is now chiefly occupied by stabling.

Here lived: Richard Cosway, R.A., 1770-80; No. 4, Shackleton, painter; 9, Pope's Martha Blount, 1731-63; General Bulkeley, d. 1815; Mrs. Howard, mistress of Louis Napoleon.

Bruton Street, built _circa_ 1727, was named after Lord Berkeley's Dorsetshire estate. It contains large private houses, the most noticeable being No. 17, now Lord Stratheden and Campbell. At No. 22 (now Earl Bathurst) was the Pioneer Club for ladies.

Other inhabitants: The Duke of Argyle, d. 1743; Horace Walpole, 1749; William Pitt, 1760; General Lawrence, d. 1775; R. Brinsley Sheridan, 1786; Mrs. Jamieson, 1851-54; General Sir G. Macdonald, d. 1850; 15, Right Hon. Lord Hobhouse, P.C.; 16, Lord Granville, d. 1846; Lord Chancellor Cottenham, 1847; 23, Sir W. H. Humphery, Bart.; 23A, Marquis of Granby, M.P., 1895; 24, George Canning, 1809; Countess of Longford; 26, Sir Matthew Tierney, physician, 1841; 33, William Owen, R.A., d. 1825; 36, Earl of Orford.

The district west of Berkeley Square, bounded by Piccadilly and Park Lane, has already been mentioned; though the streets are narrow and cramped, and many of the houses small, it has always been a fashionable locality.

In Hill Street (1743) lived: Lord Lyttelton, 1755-73; Admiral Byng, 1756; Smollett's Lady Vane, d. 1788; Mrs. Montagu, 1795; Lord Chief Justice Camden, d. 1794; Earl of Carlisle, b. 1802; Sir J. F. Leicester, 1829; No. 5, Mr. Henry Brougham (Lord Brougham), 1824, Lord Londesborough, 1835; 6 (a new house), Marquis of Tweeddale, 1895; 9, Admiral Sir Philip Durham, 1841; 8, The Mackintosh of Mackintosh; 20, Lord Barrymore; 21, William Grant, Earl of Malmesbury, d. 1820, Countess Darnley; 26, Lord Revelstoke; 27, Countess of Roden, 1895; 30, Lord Westbury; 33, Lord Hindlip; 34, Sir Charles G. Earle-Welby, Bart.; 41, Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise, Bart.

In Farm Street (_circa_ 1750), named from a neighbouring farm, and now a mews, is the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception, a handsome and lofty Gothic structure in Decorated style, designed by Scoles, and built in 1849. The front is a miniature reproduction of the cathedral at Beauvais. The high altar, designed by Pugin, was a gift by Miss Tempest, and cost £1,000. The church is lit by a clerestory.

In South Street (_circa_ 1737), up to 1845, stood a Roman Catholic chapel, attached to the Portuguese Embassy. Here is a school endowed by General Stewart in 1726, and carried on in conjunction with the Hanover Branch Schools.

Inhabitants: No. 10, Miss Florence Nightingale, 1895; 22, Beau Brummell; 33, Lord Holland; 36, Mlle. d'Este, daughter of the Duke of Sussex, 1835; 39, Lord Melbourne, 1837.

Aldford Street (_circa_ 1734) was named Chapel Street (from Grosvenor Chapel) until 1886. Part of the north side has been lately pulled down, and with it No. 13, where Beau Brummell lived in 1816 and Sir Thomas Rivers Wilson in 1841.

Other inhabitants: No. 23, Shelley, 1813; 5, Earl of Kilmorey.

Deanery Street was built _circa_ 1737, and was first called Dean and Chapel Street, from the Chapter of Westminster, the ground landlords. In Tilney Street (_circa_ 1750) lived Soame Jenyns, d. 1787; No. 2, Viscount Esher; 5, Lord Brampton; 6, Mrs. Fitzherbert, wife of George IV.

Great Stanhope Street, built _circa_ 1750 by Lord Chesterfield, is broad, and contained fifteen spacious houses, of which No. 7 was demolished to build a mansion in Park Lane for a millionaire.

Inhabitants: No. 1, Lord Southampton, 1796, Duke of Bedford, 1810, Earl Bathurst, 1822, Duke of Manchester, 1890; No. 1, Viscount Clifden; 4, Earl of Mansfield, 1823, Marquis of Exeter, 1829, Lord Brougham, 1834; 5, Lord Raglan, 1853; 6, Lord Reay; 9, Lord Palmerston, 1814-1843; 10, Bamber Gascoyne, grandfather of the present Marquis of Salisbury; 12, Colonel Barré, d. 1802; Sir Robert Peel, 1820-25; 15, Viscount Hardinge, d. 1856.

Waverton Street was renamed in 1886, instead of Union Street, built _circa_ 1750. Charles Street is so called after Charles, Earl of Falmouth, brother of Lord Berkeley. At the corner of Hayes Street a public-house bears the sign of a running footman in the dress of the last century, with the inscription, "I am the only running footman."

Inhabitants of Charles Street: No. 22, H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence (William IV.); Admiral Sir G. Osborn, d. 1792; Sir G. Bulwer Lytton; the Earl of Ellenborough, Viceroy of India; J. H. Scott, of Abbotsford; Thomas Baring, M.P.; Lady Grenville, widow of the Premier, 1806-07; 33, Admiral Sherard Osborn, 1795; Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, d. 1815; Sydney Smith, 1835; 37, Earl of Dartmouth; 39, Earl of Camperdown; 40, Earl of Cork and Orrery; 48, Lord Burghclere; 49, Lord Romilly.

In John Street (_circa_ 1730) is Berkeley Chapel, the property of Lord Fitzhardinge, which dates from about 1750. It is a plain building both within and without. The interior was redecorated in 1874, and the east end and chancel in 1895, when a window was put up to the memory of the late Duke of Clarence. Sydney Smith and Rev. H. F. Cary (1812) are the best known among the incumbents.

In Queen Street (_circa_ 1753) lived: No. 13, Dr. Merriman, 1796-1810; 20, Thomas Duncombe, M.P., 1824; 22, Sir Robert Adair, d. 1855; 21, Duke of Hamilton, d. 1895; 25, R. Brinsley Sheridan, 1810.

In Chesterfield Street lived George Selwyn, 1776; No. 3, Sir Ian Hamilton; 4, Beau Brummell till 1810; 1, Sir W. H. Bennett.

Chesterfield Gardens contain fine red-brick houses built by Mr. Magniac on the site of the gardens of Chesterfield House.

Inhabitants: No. 2, Lord Hothfield; 6, Duke of Grafton; 9, Lord Leconfield.

Some fine houses with an outlet by steps to Pitt's Head Mews form Seamore Place (_circa_ 1761).

Inhabitants: No. 8, Lady Blessington, 1832-36; 1, Alfred de Rothschild; 2, Lord Blythswood; 7, Sir James Lyle Mackay; 9, Hon. A. de Tatton Egerton.

Curzon Street was named after Curzon, Earl Howe, d. 1758, to whose family the property still belongs. It was known before that time as Mayfair Row.

On the south side is Curzon or Mayfair Chapel, an ugly building, first erected in 1730, but since rebuilt. The Rev. Alex Keith was the first incumbent. Here he performed marriages without banns or license until his excommunication in 1742. He then established a chapel close by, where clandestine marriages were continued until the Marriage Act put an end to them in 1754. The most celebrated of these were: the Duke of Chandos and Mrs. Anne Jeffrey, 1744; Lord Strange and Mrs. Lucy Smith, 1746; Lord Kensington and Rachel Hill, 1749; Sewellis Shirley and Margaret Rolle, widow of the second Earl of Oxford, 1751; Duke of Hamilton and Miss Gunning, 1752; Lord George Bentinck and Mary Davies, 1753.

Opposite the chapel is Wharncliffe House, a plain building with courtyard and garden. Here lived in 1708 Edward Shepherd, the builder of Shepherd's Market. It was sold for £500 in 1750 to Lord Carhampton, who rebuilt it. From 1776-92 it was occupied by Lady Fane, and by Lady Reade from 1793 to 1813. In 1818 it was bought by Mr. J. Stuart Wortley, M.P., for £12,000, and is now in possession of the Earl of Wharncliffe.

Other inhabitants: No. 1 (pulled down in 1849), Madame Vestris; 8, the Misses Berry, d. 1852; Baron Bunsen, 1841; 14, Richard Stonehewer, 1782, Earl of Crewe; 16, Sir Henry Halford, d. 1844; 19, Earl of Beaconsfield, d. 1882; 20, Viscount Curzon; 21, Earl Howe; 24, Sir Francis Chantrey when a young man; 30, Lord Macartney, d. 1806; 37, Sir C. M. Palmer, Bart.; 41, Prince Soltykoff; 64, Earl Percy.

At the end of Curzon Street is Bolton Row (1728), until 1786 called Blicks Row.

Inhabitants: Martha Blount, 1731-37; Horace Walpole, 1748; Angelo, the fencing master, 1800.

A passage leads between the gardens of Lansdowne and Downshire Houses to Berkeley Street. The bars at each entrance were set up after the escape of a highwayman, who galloped through.

Bolton Street was built in 1699, and was then the western limit of London. Here lived: Earl of Peterborough, 1710-24; George Grenville, d. 1770; Madame d'Arblay, 1818; Lord Melbourne; Hon. Mrs. Norton, 1841.

The Young Pretender is said to have lodged here secretly when in London.

Clarges Street was built 1716-18 on the site of Clarges House, the residence of Sir Walter Clarges, nephew of Anne Clarges, wife of Monk, Duke of Albemarle. Hatton in 1708 described it as a stately new building, inhabited by the Venetian Ambassador.

Here lived: Admiral Earl St. Vincent, 1717; Earl Ferrers, 1717; Lord Archibald Hamilton, 1717; Lord Forester, 1717; Sir John Cope, 1746; Miss O'Neil, actress; Mrs. Delany, 1742-44; Mrs. Vesey, 1780; No. 2, W. T. Brandes, chemist, 1822-23; 3, Macaulay, 1838-40; 9, Daniel O'Connell, 1835; 10, Sir Nicholas Wraxall, 1792; 11, Lady Hamilton, 1804-06, Countess Stanhope, 1807-29; 12, Edmund Kean, 1816-24; 14, William Mitford, 1810-22; 43, Charles James Fox, 1803; 47, at the corner of Piccadilly, a dull, ugly building, was formerly the residence of the Dukes of Grafton. In 1876 the Turf Club, established 1866, moved here from Grafton Street. Formerly the Arlington Club, it is now a great whist centre, and one of the most select clubs in London.

Half-Moon Street, so called from a public-house at the corner of Piccadilly, was built in 1730.

Here lived: Boswell, 1768; Shelley, 1813; No. 5, Mrs. Pope, actress, d. 1797; 26, Dr. Merriman; 27, Lola Montes, 1849; 29, John Galt, 1830; 40, William Hazlitt, 1827-29; 45, the widow of Charles James Fox, 1809.

On either side of Mayfair Chapel are East and West Chapel Streets, built _circa_ 1785. In the latter, at No. 7, lived Chantrey in 1804. They lead to Shepherd's Market, a congeries of small streets, which occupy the site of Brook Field, so called from Tyburn, which flowed through it. Here was held the May Fair, from which the district derives its name. First held in 1688, it lasted with many vicissitudes till the reign of George III., when the Earl of Coventry, d. 1809, procured its abolition. The ground in 1722 was an irregular open space, but in 1735 Shepherd's Market was built by Edward Shepherd, the lower story consisting of butchers' shops, and the upper containing a theatre where plays were given during the fair time. The block was built in 1860, and now consists of small provision shops.

Whitehorse Street, built about 1738, is so called from a public-house. In Carrington Street (1738) was the residence of Kitty Fisher and of Samuel Carte, the antiquary. Here also was the Dog and Duck tavern, behind which was a pond 200 feet square, where the sport of duck-hunting was pursued in the eighteenth century. The site is now marked by Ducking Pond Mews. In Carrington Mews are the Curzon Schools in connection with Christ Church, Down Street; they were built about 1826, and provide tuition for 85 boys, 90 girls, and 110 infants. In Derby Street, No. 5 is the parish mission-house, used also for parochial meetings. Little Stanhope Street was built about 1761, and leads to Hertford Street (1764), now chiefly inhabited by doctors.

Here lived: Lord Charlemont, 1766; Lord Goderich, 1782; Earl of Mornington, 1788-97; No. 10, General Burgoyne, d. 1792; R. Brinsley Sheridan, 1796-1800; Mr. Dent, d. 1819; 11, Earl of Sandwich, d. 1792; 12, George Tierney, 1796-99; 14, Earl Grey, 1799, Sir W. Jenner; 23, Robert Dundas, 1810, Charles Bathurst, 1822; 26, Earl of Liverpool, d. 1818; 36, Lord Langdale, 1829, Lord Lytton, 1831-34; 37, Granville Penn, 1822-24.

In this street also the Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III., married Miss Horton, the actress. On the site of Down Street (1730) stood Mr. Deane's school, where Pope was educated. The north end was called Carrington Place (1774) until 1867. On the west side is Christ Church, a building of great beauty erected in 1863, with a one-sided transept. The east window was presented by the Hope family. The street has been lately rebuilt with red-brick flats and chambers.

Inhabitants: William Hazlitt, 1823-27; No. 8, Rev. H. F. Cary, translator of Dante; 22, Sir W. G. Nicholson.

Brick Street at its southern end was until 1878 called Engine Street, from a water-wheel by the Tyburn, which here crossed Piccadilly.

Piccadilly enters our district at the end of Bond Street, and forms its boundary as far as Hyde Park Corner. The origin of the name is obscure; the street is first so called in Gerard's "Herbal," 1633, but as early as 1623 (and up to 1685) a gaming-house named Piccadilly Hall stood near Coventry Street. In 1617, and for some years afterwards, the name "Piccadill" was given to a fashionable collar, according to Gifford, derived from _picca_, a spearhead, owing to the spiky nature of the folds. Hence it may have been applied as a nickname to the hall and street, but there are numerous other conjectural derivations. The name was originally given to the part extending from the Haymarket to Sackville Street. From that point to Brick Street was styled Portugal Row, from Catharine of Braganza, wife of Charles II. The stone bridge over Tyburn gave its name to the short distance between Brick Street and Down Street; west of that was Hyde Park Road. As the houses were built the name Piccadilly spread westwards, until, soon after 1770, the whole street was so called. From the Park to Berkeley Street was also popularly known as Hyde Park Corner, now confined to the actual vicinity of the Park. In the sixteenth century Piccadilly was a lonely country road known as the "Way to Redinge." In 1700 the western portion was occupied by statuary yards, which soon after 1757 gave way to houses. The remainder contains many large private houses, and in recent years has been further changed by the erection of numerous handsome club-houses. In 1844 it was widened between Bolton Street and Park Lane by taking in a strip of the Green Park with a row of trees, near the entrance to Constitution Hill, and throwing it into the roadway; and again in 1902 by cutting off a part of the Park. The following are the principal buildings:

At the corner of Albemarle Street the Albemarle Hotel. Hatchett's restaurant, formerly called the New White Horse Cellar. After the resuscitation of stage-coaching in 1886, Hatchett's was a favourite starting-place, but is now little patronized. The new White Horse Cellar was named after the White Horse Cellar (No. 55) on the south side, so called from the crest of the House of Hanover, which existed in 1720, and was widely renowned as a coaching centre. It is now closed.

Adjoining Hatchett's is the Hotel Avondale, named after the Duke of Clarence and Avondale. The house was opened as a dining club, the "Cercle de Luxe," in 1892, after the failure of which it was reopened as an hotel in 1895.

No. 75 is the site of the Three Kings' Inn, where stood up to 1864 two pillars taken from Clarendon House.

At the corner of Berkeley Street is the Berkeley Hotel and Restaurant, formerly the St. James's Hotel, which stands on the site of the Gloucester coffee-house.

Opposite, at the corner of the Green Park, is Walsingham House, an enormous block built by Lord Walsingham in 1887, and on which he is said to have spent £300,000. It has been used as an hotel, and is shortly to be pulled down and rebuilt. Part of it was occupied by the Isthmian Club, established in 1882 for gentlemen interested in cricket, rowing, and other sports, which removed here from Grafton Street in 1887.

Opposite Berkeley Street stood the toll-gate, removed to Hyde Park Corner in 1725. No. 78, adjoining it, is Devonshire House, the residence of the Dukes of Devonshire, which stands in a courtyard concealed from the street by a high brick wall, in which are handsome iron gates. It is an unpretending brick building built by Kent in 1735, with a large garden at the back. The interior is handsome, and contains a gallery of pictures by old masters, a large collection of prints, and the famous Devonshire collection of gems. On this site stood Berkeley House, built about 1655 by Sir John Berkeley on a property called Hay Hill Farm, the grounds then covering the present Lansdowne House and Berkeley Square, as well as Berkeley and Stratton Street. It came into the possession of the Cavendish family before 1697, but was destroyed by fire in 1733. Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark, lived here from 1692 to 1695. Stratton Street, a cul-de-sac, was built about 1693 by Lady Stratton. At No. 1 lived Mrs. Coutts (Miss Mellon), afterwards Duchess of St. Albans, d. 1837. It now belongs to her heir, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

Other inhabitants: Lord Willoughby, of Brook, 1698; Hon. George Berkeley, 1735; No. 2, Thomas Campbell, 1802; 7, William Gifford, 1797, Right Hon. Arnold Morley; 11, Roger Wilbraham, 1822-29, Lord Welby; 12, General Lord Lynedoch, d. 1803; 17, Earl of Clonmell.

At No. 80, Piccadilly, Sir Francis Burdett was arrested for treason in 1810, when he was imprisoned in the Tower. He was succeeded by the Duke of St. Albans. In 1849 Lady Guilford occupied the house.

At No. 81 in 1807 was established Watier's Gambling Club, which lasted until 1819; it was named after the Prince Regent's cook, the manager. It afterwards became a public gaming-house, and is now a private residence.

No. 82, Bath House, at the corner of Bolton Street, was built for Pulteney, Earl of Bath, who died 1764. The gardens then extended nearly to Curzon Street. It was rebuilt in 1821 for Lord Ashburton.

At No. 89, the east corner of Half-Moon Street, lived Madame d'Arblay.

At No. 94, Cambridge House (Naval and Military Club), standing in a courtyard, occupies the site of Carpenter's Statue Yard, which was succeeded by an inn. It was built in 1760 for the Earl of Egremont. The Marquis of Cholmondeley lived here 1809-29, after which the Duke of Cambridge was the owner until 1850. Lord Palmerston occupied it from 1855 till his death in 1865, when it was purchased by the Naval and Military Club, established 1862, for officers of the army and navy, who made extensive alterations in 1878. This was the first club located in Piccadilly.

No. 97, at the corner of Whitehorse Street, is a square white building; the New Travellers' Club (social and non-political) was established here. It now houses the Junior Naval and Military Club.

No. 100 is the Badminton Club (proprietary), built on the site of a mews, and established in 1876 for gentlemen interested in coaching and field sports. Next door is the palatial house of the Junior Constitutional Club for members professing Conservative principles. On the site stood the town house of the Earls of Mexborough.

No. 105, on the site of Jan Van Nost's figure-yard, the Earl of Barrymore built a house in 1870, which remained unfinished at his death. After being partially burned down, it was completed and opened as the Old Pulteney Hotel. Here the Emperor of Russia and his sister, the Grand Duchess of Oldenburg, stayed in 1814. In 1823 the house came into the possession of the Marquis of Hertford, who partially rebuilt it in 1861. His son, Sir Richard Wallace, sold it to Sir Julian Goldsmid, M.P., who died 1896. It is now the Isthmian Club. Near here stood the Queen's Meadhouse.

No. 106, at the corner of Brick Street, stands on the site of the Greyhound Inn, which was purchased by Sir Henry Hunlocke in 1761. He was succeeded in 1764 by the Earl of Coventry, who built the present house, which became in 1829 the Coventry House Club. In 1854 it became the home of the St. James's Club, established in that year as a centre for the members of the British and foreign diplomatic bodies. Next door is the Savile Club, until 1836 the residence of Nathan Meyer Rothschild, the head of the banking firm.

No. 116, Hope House, at the corner of Down Street, a handsome structure, was built by Mr. Hope in 1849 at a cost of £30,600, and was sold by his widow to the members of the Junior Athenæum Club (social and non-political), established in 1866, which is now located there. The house was enlarged in 1887.

The private houses west of Down Street were built about 1873.

Two handsome houses, Nos. 127 and 128, were built about 1887. The first is the Cavalry Club, established in 1890 for officers of the cavalry and Yeomanry, and the second the Hyde Park Club.

No. 137, Gloucester House, stands on the site of Dickinson's Statue Yard. It belonged to the Earl of Elgin in 1808, from whom it was purchased in 1811 by the Duke of Gloucester on his marriage with Princess Mary. He was succeeded by the present owner, the Duke of Cambridge.

Other inhabitants of Piccadilly were: No. 96 (No. 15 Piccadilly west), Mr. Dumergue, with whom Sir Walter Scott resided in 1800; 99 (then 23), Sir William Hamilton, d. 1803; next door, Sir Thomas Lawrence; 114, Lord Palmerston, before 1855; 133, Kitty Frederick, mistress of the Duke of Queensberry, who built the house 1779; 139 (13, Piccadilly Terrace), Lord Byron, 1815; 138 and 139, the Duke of Queensberry, 1778-1810.