John Cunningham Geikie

“ And thus we take leave of Putney, one of the pleasantest of the London suburbs, as well as the most accessible. The immense increase in the number of houses in late years testifies to its popularity; but there is still an almost unlimited extent of open ground which cannot be covered; and with wood and water, common and hill, there will always be an element of freshness and openness in Putney seldom to be obtained so near London. ”

“ At the north-west corner of the heath lies the village of Roehampton, snugly nestling in a valley, and consisting of a small cluster of houses. The centre of the village is at the angle of Roehampton Lane, where a drinking-fountain, a gift of Mr. Lyne-Stephens, stands in the road, with the Catholic chapel of St. Joseph's, approached through a beautiful carved oaken lych-gate, facing it. This chapel and rectory stand in the grounds of Manresa House, a training college of the Jesuit Fathers. To the north is a quaint old village inn, the Montague Arms, flanked by a row of old cottages. ”

“ A gate marked "Private" leads into Putney Park Lane, and passing south under an avenue of magnificent elms, with the remains of orchards and market-gardens to the east and rolling fields to the west, we pass Putney Park House, and beyond a nurseryman's gardens see the Granard Presbyterian Church, a stone church with slated spire, standing at the corner of the lane that leads across the fields and past orchards and market-gardens to Howard's Lane. ”

“ The part of Fulham to the east of the Fulham [Pg 44] Palace Road is very dreary; long, dull streets, lined by small houses and varied by small chapels and big Board schools, constitute an area at the best highly respectable, and at the worst squalid. It is useless to enumerate all the churches and chapels that have sprung up here, particularly as there are none of any architectural or historical interest. They have been built from time to time to meet the rapid increase of population in a growing district that will doubtless soon spread over the market-gardens that now reach the river. ”

“ At the beginning of Bishop's Avenue is the entrance to the Manor House, or Fulham Palace, as it is commonly called, the residence of the Bishop of London. Passing between two lodges of red brick, and following a short drive, we come to a massive gateway with heavy oak doors. Through this lies the first courtyard, very little altered from Faulkner's print in 1813. ”

“ The carriage-entrance is in Fulham Palace Road, and this leads to an avenue of limes. To the north lies a part of the public park, once a field belonging to the Bishops. The drive crosses the wonderful moat, which is nearly a mile in circuit, and, if dug by the Danes as conjectured, must be a thousand years old. This moat has given rise to much discussion, as it is too far from the palace for any purpose of defence, and the idea that it was made by the Danes as a partial safeguard against the floods of the river is that which gains most credence. ”

“ At the west end of King Street is an entrance to Ravenscourt Park, acquired by the L.C.C. in 1888-90. The grounds cover between thirty and forty acres, and are well laid out in flower-beds, etc., at the southern end. The Ravenscourt Park Railway-station is on the east side, and the arched railway-bridge crosses the southern end of the park. A beautiful avenue of fine old elms leads to the Public Library, which is at the north end in what was once the old manor-house. ”

“ The house is distinctly picturesque. The southern half is of red brick, and is surrounded by a high wall, in which is a gateway with tall red-brick piers surmounted by stone balls. Over the wall hangs an acacia-tree, and on the front of the house is an old sundial—altogether a house one could well associate with an imaginative novelist. It was the residence of the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Bart. The other part of the house has been painted a light stone colour. Even as early as 1813 the Grange had been divided into two houses.
St. Mary's Church, facing the Hammersmith Road, is in Fulham. ”

“ On the south side of the church are two picturesque old cottages, which would seem to be contemporary with the old church itself. Near the north end of the Fulham Palace Road, which here branches off from Queen Street, is the Roman Catholic Convent of the Good Shepherd. The walls enclose nine acres of ground, part of which forms a good-sized garden at the back. The nucleus of the nunnery was a private house called Beauchamp House. The convent is a refuge for penitents, of whom some 230 are received. These girls contribute to their own support by laundry and needle work. ”

“ This stream from here, through the park, and across Barnes Common into the Thames, is the western boundary of London, and by following it we pass cottages on the right, and may note the beautiful views to the east toward Wimbledon and Combe. If we turn into Richmond Park through the Robin Hood Gate, so called from the roadside inn near, we come to one of the prettiest corners of the park, from which roads diverge in all directions. On the rise to the west is White Lodge, at one time the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Teck, parents of the Princess of Wales ”

“ To the west short roads have been pushed out into the market-gardens, and north, at the angle, stands the Quill Inn, behind which Quill Alley, a narrow paved passage skirting the backs of the houses, leads into a labyrinth of small streets set at all angles and of all degrees of respectability. There are many newly-built flats on either side of Quill Alley. Every foot of ground is taken up, and [Pg 79] from the Coopers' Arms to Gardeners' Lane the district is compact with small houses and shops. ”

“ It faces a small angle of lawn, backed by a hedge of rhododendrons, and is a plain, square, two-story dwelling with a porch, flanked by greenhouses; the walls are hidden behind ivy that climbs to the tiled roof. East of the Manor House rows of red-brick cottages on the north side stretch to Dyers Lane, and opposite is Putney Park Avenue, with its small cottages closely built; there are fields before Putney Park Lane which is lined with tall Scotch firs. Workmen digging here disclose the depth of fine sand and gravel which underlies all this region and gives it such perfect surface drainage. ”

“ It contains the largest covered arena in London.
Returning once more to the Broadway, we traverse King Street, which is the High Street of Hammersmith. It is very narrow, and, further, blocked by costers' barrows, so that on Saturday nights it is hard work to get through it at all. The pressure is increased by the electric trams, which run on a single set of rails to the Broadway. In King Street is the Hammersmith Theatre of Varieties, the West End Lecture-Hall, and the West End Chapel, held by the Baptists. ”

“ Near the Broadway is the Convent of the Sacred Heart, standing on ground which has long been consecrated to religious uses, for a nunnery is said to have existed here before the Reformation. In 1669 a Roman Catholic school for girls was founded here, and in 1797 the Benedictine nuns, driven out of France, took refuge in it. The present buildings were erected in 1876 for a seminary, and it was not until 1893 that the nuns of the Sacred Heart re-established a convent within the walls. The present community employ themselves in teaching, and superintend schools of three grades. ”

“ Passing up the hill, a few new streets are being pushed into the fields, which are, however, still continuous to the westward, the limit of building being apparently reached for a time in that direction, and, after a short climb past fine houses with spacious grounds and drives, we come to Putney Heath near the Green Man, a quaint little road-house of the last century ”

“ On Brook Green itself one or two old cottages with tiled roofs are still to be seen—reminiscences of old Hammersmith. The long strip of grass, in shape like a curving tongue, justifies the name of "Green." Dr. Iles' almshouses, known as the Brook Green Almshouses, have long been established here, though the present buildings date only from 1839. They stand at the corner of Rowan Road, and are rather ornately built in brick with diamond-paned windows. The charity was founded in 1635 by Dr. Iles, who left "houses, almshouses, and land on Brook Green, and moiety of a house in London." ”

“ The girls are employed in house and laundry work, which is taken in from outside, and the proceeds go to the funds. After two years' training they are placed in service. This institution has a branch at Hammersmith, and a small one at Walham. It belongs to the Church of England. In Lillie Road, to the east of North End Road, is the Mount Carmel [Pg 46] Hermitage. This convent is a red-brick building with a small chapel attached, erected in 1880 by some French Sisters who had come to London in 1865, and settled at Fulham in 1867 in a house near the site of the present convent. ”

“ Putney Heath merges into Wimbledon Common, a fine expanse of 1,000 acres of breezy upland. The headquarters of the National Rifle Association till 1889 were in the Windmill, a picturesque landmark seen from far and near; but owing to increasing danger and the enormous crowds that flocked to the camp it was removed to Bisley in Surrey. The Windmill was formerly a favourite resort of duellists. Some distance from the windmill is Cæsar's Well, the most historical spot on Wimbledon Common, and its water is said to possess medicinal properties. ”

“ There are eleven nuns, of whom three are lay Sisters. They are devoted to the contemplative life. Just opposite is a large brewery, established 1867. At the east end of Eustace Road is a small brick Wesleyan chapel, hidden away in a corner, which deserves a word of mention, as it is a German chapel and the services are in that language.
The Fulham Congregational Church in Dawes Road is a large building of red brick with stone facings, opened on April 5, 1887. There is a lecture-room beneath, besides library, class-rooms, and infant Sunday-school. ”

“ The single persons have one room, with 5s. per week. The houses are neatly built of brick with slate roofs and high chimneys. In the centre there is a room used as a chapel. There are altogether fourteen inmates. On a stone let into the wall nearest the road is the inscription: "The Fulham Waste Land and Lygon Almshouses, founded 1833 and rebuilt 1886. This stone was laid by Frederick, Lord Bishop of London, April 21, 1886." ”

“ The cornerstone at the east angle of the north transept was laid by Archibald Campbell Tait, 1880, and the church was re-consecrated by John Jackson, Bishop of London, on July 9th, 1881."
The monuments preserved from the older buildings stand in the church in rather different order from formerly. In the west end is that in remembrance of Viscount Mordaunt, son of the Earl of Peterborough. It is a statue of a man larger than life; the figure, which is carved in marble, has a proud and defiant attitude. ”

“ The railway-station adjoining occupies the site of some very old houses, and in the railway-cutting the workmen came upon a sewer, in which were discovered some silver spoons of ancient date. A Baptist chapel in the Werter Road, Oxford Congregational Chapel in the Oxford Road, and Emanuel Church in the Upper Richmond Road, supply the religious needs of the neighbourhood.
Passing along the Putney Bridge Road from the High Street, Brewhouse Lane runs north to the waterside; on one side are rows of new shops, on the other a swimming-bath. ”

“ The palace is built round two courtyards, and the one first entered is by far the older. It was built by Bishop Fitzjames in the reign of Henry VII., and the great gateway which leads to it bears his arms cut in stone. There are few places that preserve so completely their ancient aspect as this courtyard; the material is red brick, and in summer, when creepers climb over the worn bricks, its attractiveness is greatly enhanced. ”

“ The buildings are of brick, with stone dressings. In the Moore Park Road, which branches off the Fulham Road near the boundary, stands St. James's Church, an ugly brick building with no spire or tower, which was consecrated on June 28, 1867, and the apse was built out at the east end about a dozen years later. There is a row of stained-glass windows low down across the west end. Going back to Walham Green proper, we find a double row of almshouses, shut off from the Vanston Place Road by iron gates. ”

“ Just across the road is the Fulham and Hammersmith Union Workhouse and Infirmary, facing Fulham Palace Road. Between the workhouse and the river is a stretch of land used by market-gardeners. It was by the riverside that Brandenburg House, built by Sir Nicholas Crispe in the beginning of Charles I.'s reign, was situated. ”

“ Since 1786 this fishery has been abandoned. Mention is also made that occasionally a porpoise was caught here, and, as a matter of fact, two watermen shot one here lately; but it was confiscated, and the men fined for discharging firearms on the river. The ferry at the time of the Conquest yielded 20s. a year to the Lord of the Manor, and Putney appears at all [Pg 72] times to have been a considerable thoroughfare, as it was usual formerly for persons travelling from London to the West of England to come as far as this by water. ”

“ An engraving of Fulham by Preist in 1738 is evidently taken from the steps, and shows the bridge and Fulham Church. From this landing a fine view is to be had of Putney Bridge; upstream and downstream is seen the big iron lattice bridge that carries the District Railway over from Fulham on its way to Wimbledon. A soap-boiler's establishment with several smaller yards makes the [Pg 81] lane busy, but there are still a lot of small cottages—some very old—of a poor type, and rented for the most part by labourers. ”

“ On the west side is a fine conservatory, on the east the large dining-rooms and smoking-lounge, which have been added to meet requirements. Within the house itself the drawing-room and coffee-room have been ornamented with coloured designs on ceiling and walls, and are very bright and handsomely furnished. ”