Marylebone is quite a large and diverse parish, and today I only covered a small portion of it. I only had the intention of visiting the St. Mary-le-Bone parish church today, and then continue on to Regents Park but I did explore a little - but only the bit that lays between Euston and the Park, and that is mostly an extension of Euston Road.
I'm going to leave the church until last today, as I need to do a major amount of research.
Meanwhile...............................
PARK CRESCENT
Park Crescent is at the north end of Portland Place and south of Marylebone Road in London. The crescent consists of elegant stuccoed terraced houses by the architect John Nash, which form a semicircle. The crescent is part of Nash's and wider town-planning visions of Roman-inspired imperial West End approaches to Regent's Park.
It was originally conceived as a circus (circle) to be named Regent's Circus but instead Park Square was built to the north. The only buildings on the Regent's Park side of the square are small garden buildings, enabling higher floors of the Park Crescent buildings to have a longer, green northern view.
Both terraces and the communal garden have statutory protection in the highest, rarest categories. This is Grade I listed status: on the National Heritage List for England and on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens (as part of Regent's Park)
Halfway round is this water trough:
The plaque states that it is drinking water for man and beast. It's divided in two, so I assume one half is for animals, and the other for people.
A little further round the outside of the gardens, just inside the garden railings, facing the top of Portland Place, is a bronze statue of Queen Victoria's father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Sculpted by Sebastian Gahagan and installed in January 1824, the statue is seven feet two inches tall and represents the Duke in his Field Marshal's uniform, over which he wears his ducal dress and the regalia of the Order of the Garter.
The gardens are private and kept locked. They are only accessible by residents of Park Crescent, who are issued with a key. The gardens have a couple of interesting features.
One is a large ice house which predates the crescent.
The other is an unusual and original local feature, called the "Nursemaids' Tunnel", an early example of an underpass, linking the gardens of Park Crescent to the gardens of Park Square on the other side of Marylebone Road.
Obviously, I couldn't access either of these, so you'll just have to take my word.
On the corner of Marylebone Road and Marylebone High Street, a building bears a plaque to Charles Dickens. He lived in the parish, in a house that stood on this site, where he wrote six of his most famous works. The plaque shows him, and several of his major characters. He also had his son baptised in the parish church.
Now, before I get onto the church, directly opposite it, is York Gate, and impressive row of Nash houses that leads towards York Bridge and the entrance to Regents Park.
The first thing you notice, are the lamp posts. There are some electric ones which bear the cipher of our late Queen Elizabeth II. These are interspersed with gas lamps which bear the cipher of King George IV.
At the end of the first building on the right, is a blue plaque to Francis Turner Palgrave. Who?
Well, according to the plaque, he was the compiler of 'The Golden Treasury'.
Francis Turner Palgrave (born Sept. 28, 1824, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Eng.—died Oct. 24, 1897, London) was an English critic and poet
The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics is a popular anthology of English poetry, originally selected for publication by Francis Turner Palgrave in 1861. It was considerably revised, with input from Alfred, Lord Tennyson, about three decades later. Palgrave excluded all poems by poets then still alive.
The book continues to be published in regular new editions; still under Palgrave's name. These reproduce Palgrave's selections and notes, but usually include a supplement of more recent poems. Christopher Ricks in 1991 produced a scholarly edition of the original Treasury, along with an account of its evolution from 1861 to 1891, with inclusions and exclusions.
Must admit, I've never heard of it, but I'm now determined to try and track down a copy.
ST. MARY-LE-BONE PARISH CHURCH
Usually, I'm more likely to visit earlier churches, but I was attracted to this one by its connection to both Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Barratt Browning.
St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Oxford Street.
For more than 30 years, St
Marylebone has pioneered the work of Christian healing and, as well as being
home to the internationally respected St Marylebone Healing and Counselling
Centre, the Crypt also houses an innovative NHS doctor’s surgery. It has active
links with some of medicine’s Royal Colleges and provide chaplaincy to The
London Clinic and King Edward VII’s Hospital.
St Marylebone has a flourishing
Young Church and two schools and provides chaplaincy services to the Royal
Academy of Music and the University of Westminster, and work closely with
nearby Regent’s University. The present parish church, opened in February 1817,
is the fourth parish church to serve this parish.
Charles Dickens lived for many years next door to the parish church; he brought his son here to be baptised and vividly described the ceremony in his novel ‘Dombey and Son’. Bomb damage during World War II destroyed the stained glass windows; fragments of glass were collected and set in the windows seen today
The impressive, but severe exterior belies the riches to be found inside.
Proceed up the few steps, and there's a plaque over the door that explains that the build was financed by the parishioners themselves.
Pass through into the vestibule, and there are rooms off to either side. Straight ahead, a glass door leads into the nave. The Royal Arms are above this inner door.
The moment I opened the inner door, I was blown away - not only by the decor and amount of memorials, but by the fact that a very good organist was playing Bach. The organ sound is magnificent, and the acoustics fantastic. The organ is one of the finest
recital instruments in the world and was built by Rieger Orgelbau of Austria in
1987.
Sir John Stainer wrote his Oratorio Crucifixion for the choir in 1886 and it has been performed every year since.
Memorials adorn the walls commemorating, among others, colonial administrators and governors and members of the East India Company. The walls and windows are covered with memorial tablets. I couldn't photograph all of them, there were so many, so I selected those that I thought might have a bit of a story to them, and I'll dump these at the end of the article while I research them.
Meanwhile, we'll have a good look around this overly-ornate, but nevertheless beautiful, interior and fitments.
The pews are all numbered. I guess this dates from a time where churches used to rent out pews, and it could be this money went towards building the church. Beautifully made.
There's two of these gorgeous chandeliers. This is the one nearest the organ. The chandeliers were relocated here
in 1968 from the old Council Chamber of St Marylebone Town Hall.
The pulpit is made of various marbles and beautifully inlaid
The apsidal end of the sanctuary ispainted from floor to ceiling, in really vibrant colours
The ends of the choir stalls are mounted with carved musician angels, each with a different instrument.
The reredos of the main altar features the crucifixion
Wonderful brass lectern
The altar before
which Robert Browning married Elizabeth Barrett in 1846 can be seen in the Holy
Family Chapel and hanging above it is the painting of the Holy Family donated
to the new parish church by Benjamin West, PRA (1738-1820).
candle holder next to the font
With real estate in central London in great demand, it's not really surprising that the graveyards have been steadily evacuated, and the bodies respectfully re-interred elsewhere, in more peaceful surroundings.
What remains of the churchyard is now a Garden of Rest in the care of the City of Westminster
The rest of the pictures are of memorials. I'm going to park them here, whilst I do some research.
So here we go.......Judging by the ones I've researched so far, I really do need to return and try to capture the ones I couldn't do yesterday. There's some reral history here.
Let's start with this memorial window. It was riaed by the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in memory of thir founder, Lt. General Sir Alan Cameron of Erracht, K.C.B. who died in 1827
And that's a good a place as any to start. Thanks to The Highlanders Museum, I now know a whole lot more about him.
Alan Cameron was born in Erracht in Lochaber in 1753. His father, Donald Cameron of Erracht, fought with the Jacobites during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, and went on the run for three years before returning to his home. As a young man, Alan Cameron went to fight in the American Colonies against the rebels during the War of Independence and was a Prisoner of War in Pennsylvania for two years.
Sir Alan raised the 79th Cameron Highlanders at his own expense in 1793. He raised a second battalion in 1798 after the original battalion was renumbered and many of the soldiers sent to the Black Watch (42nd of Foot). Having fought in many engagements during the Peninsula War under Wellington, he retired as a Lieutenant General. Alan Cameron was famous for being outspoken, particularly with regards to the wearing of the kilt by Highland Regiments (the wearing of which was banned for 35 years following the Jacobite defeat in 1746).
His mother (whose own father, a MacLean, had died at Culloden) designed the regimental tartan which is the only tartan in the British Army that does not have Government (Black Watch) tartan as a backing. The 79th were also the only regiment raised by someone who was not a Clan Chief (the Chief of the Camerons was Lochiel not Erracht). Alan Cameron died in London in 1828 aged 75.His mother (whose own father, a MacLean, had died at Culloden) designed the regimental tartan which is the only tartan in the British Army that does not have Government (Black Watch) tartan as a backing. The 79th were also the only regiment raised by someone who was not a Clan Chief (the Chief of the Camerons was Lochiel not Erracht). Alan Cameron died in London in 1827 aged 75.
Lieutenant Commander John White was lost at sea, and no body recovered. H.M.S. Genista was minesweeping off the west coast of Ireland, when she was torpedoed by U-57 which fired two torpedoes. HMS Genista sank very rapidly, taking with her all her officers and 73 ratings. Only 12 ratings were saved
Sir James Sibbald, Bart. Having a little problem with this one. I'm continuing to research him, but it begins to look as though the baronetcy passed to a different line, as I can find no mention of a straight Sibbald after 1806, and the Scotts from then on, added 'Sibbald' to their names.
From the "London Gazette" of 8 November 1806 (issue 15973, page 1466):-
'The King has been pleased to grant the Dignity of a Baronet of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland to James Sibbald, of Sittwood Park, in the County of Berks, Esq; with
Remainder to David Scott, of Dunninald, in the County of Forfar, Esq; Nephew to the said James Sibbald, Esq; and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten.'
SCOTT, Sir JAMES SIBBALD DAVID (1814–1885), bart., of Dunninald, Forfarshire, antiquary, born on 14 June 1814, was eldest son of Sir David Scott of Egham, nephew and successor of Sir James Sibbald of the East India Company's service, who was created a baronet in 1806
During the Blitz in World War II, a bomb exploded nearby, blowing out all of the windows in the church. The larger pieces were gathered ip, and used to build pretty frames for the plain glass chosen to replace the damaged ones. The result is light floods the church, and the coloured frames are themselves, a very attractive reminder of the windows that were lost.
Sir John Sewell LLD (memorial eracted by his widow, Dame Ann Sewell). He was a Doctor of Civil Law, at Pembroke College, Oxford, and the College of Advocates, London, Judge of the Vice-Admiral Court of Malta until 1815, Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire, Justice of the Peace for Berkshire and Middlkesex, F.R.S., F.S.A. He was knighted in 1815.
He died on 15th. January 1833. I'm not surprised - he must have been worn out, poor thing!
Lieutenant Wallace Howard Davis of the Sherwood Forresters. Killed in action 1st. July 1917, age 30. He was an Assistant Master at All Saints' Boys' School, Wandsworth, and High St. Marylebone Boys' School. He us memorialised on the Loos Memorial in France.
Window depicting St. Luke - the 'Beloved Physician'. In memory of Ernest Harold Drinkwater, who died 20th. January 1938. So possibly he was a doctor? Not found enough evidence of him yet. Only thing for sure is he was born in 1880 in Sunderland.
Sad memorial to two lost sons. William Gordon age 8 years 9 months died 1st. November 1809, and Charles Mackinen age 21 died 14th. April 1824. The only sons of the late Stephen Haven Esq. and his wife Lydia. The only mention I have found under the name 'Stephen Haven', is an English gentleman resident in Sassau, Bahamas with something to do with the sugar trade and Spaniards. No correlation at present
BENJAMIN BURTON ESQUIRE, of Pollerton in the County of Carlow and of
Gloucester Place, Portman Square, second son of Sir Charles Burton, 1st Bart. of Pollacton, co. Carlow. and Grandson of John,
Lord Desert. Died January 3
rd 1834, aged 43 Also
ANN GRACE, widow of the above, who died December 12th 1837, aged 42 Also
FRANCIS CONYNGHAM, fourth son of the above, who died December 7th 1837, aged 4 years 8 months.
Also
ROBERT BENJAMIN LAWRENCE, son of the above. Died April 14th 1842, aged 18. buried at Kensal
Green.
Sacred to the dearly loved and honoured memory of LOUISA STEWARD HARCOURT, COUNTESS OF BEVERLEY, Daughter of the Hon. James Archibald Stuart Wortley Mackenzie; Wife of George Percy, Second Earl of Beverley, who became 5th Duke of Northumberland 17 years after her death. She was born 1779, died January 30th 1848 and is buried in the church in the vault of the Earls of Beverley.
She was Mother of Major General William George Lennox; Lady Louisa Margaret Percy; Algernon George Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland; Lord Josceline William Percy; General Lord Henry Hugh Manvers Percy, VC KCB and and Lady Margaret Percy.
And if you look at her brothers and sisters, and her antecedants, you realise just how important her family members were!
She's a little history lesson all in herself!
In Memory of Lt. Colonel Richard Fitzgerald (Brevet Major) of the 2nd Life Guards, who fell aged 43 in the field of Waterloo, and of Georgiana Isobella Simha D'Aguilar, his
widow, who died 11th. December 1830 aged 63 years
He married Georgiana Isabella d'Aguilar, daughter of Baron Ephraim López Pereira d'Aguilar and Sarah Mendez da Costa, on 16 February 1797, she was the widow of Admiral The Honourable Keith Stewart of Glasserton.
He was commissioned in 1795 with the rank of Ensign, in the service of the Colonel Podmore's Regment. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in 1796 in the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1797 in the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot, then to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the 2nd Life Guards. He gained the rank of Brevet Major in 1812. He fought in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, where he died.
There is also a tablet in the church at Waterloo where he is buried. He married in Marylebone Parish Church and his wife is also buried there.
Erected to the memory of GILBERT HALL ESQUIRE, a native of Edinburgh, formerly a Surgeon of the
service of the Hon. East India Company at Calcutta, but late of Manchester Street, Manchester Square.
He died on the 20th March 1820 aged 58 years, and is interred in the vault of this church.
Nothing else yet apparent.
Sacred to the memory of EDWARD TERRENCE HEARD ESQUIRE, Lieutenant Royal Flying Corps,
formerly of 2nd Kind Edward’s Horse Guards who fought in the Great War from 1914, and made the
supreme sacrifice while flying on service 17th May 1918. He was 28 years old.
Sacred to the memory of Lt. GENERAL WILLIAM ST. LEGER, who commenced his military life at the
age of 16 years in the 17th Light Dragoons then serving in America. He highly distinguished himself
by his gallantry in that and other regiments. He also served during a long and honourable career to the latest period of his health, in Europe and Asia, and after a life of unremitting exertion in the service of
his country departed this life on the 28th March 1818 in the 58th year of his age.
(Note. He is buried in a vault beneath the church)
His military record speaks for itself:
Major in 6th Dragoons 31 October 1789; Lieutenant-Colonel in 93rd Foot 30 October 1793; Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of 31st Light Dragoons 5 November 1794; exchanged to Lieutenant-Colonel in 27th (later 24th) Light Dragoons 5 April 1796
Service 1793-1815: Served in India 1799-1811
Staff & General Officer Service: Brevet Colonel 26 January 1797; Major-General 25 September 1803; Lieutenant-General 25October 1809
to the dear memory of CONSTANCE AUGUSTA MEREDYTH
of this City, aged 42, who entered into the Kingdom of God on August 15th 1912. The brass names her as an authoress. Not heard of her, but that's nothing new!
All I have found so far, is a book by her, called 'Whisperings From The Great'.
SIR WILLIAM FRASER, F.S.R. one of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House and
formerly commander in the Hon. East India Company’s Naval Service. He departed this life at his
house in Bedford Square on the 13th February 1818 in the 78th year of his age, leaving a widow with 3
sons and 11 daughters.
In the 18th century nearly 2200 voyages were made by ships sailing for the East India Company. Of these, 42 ships were ordered to remain abroad and on 2014 occasions the ships returned home. Another 34 ships were captured by the enemy and 108 were lost. Of this 108, sixteen blew up or were burnt, eighteen were wrecked, some were just lost and not seen again, but ten were lost in the Hugli River approaching Calcutta. One of these was the Lord Mansfield under Captain William Fraser. His ship was ‘Lost in the Bengal River, 7 Sept 1773’ but thankfully the crew and passengers were all saved.
This was Fraser’s first voyage in command of an East Indiaman, but instead of leaving the service of the Company in disgrace the Court found the loss was due to an error of judgement by the pilot and that the Captain was in no way to blame. Fraser went on to captain a new ship, Earl of Mansfield, for three more voyages under the same owners before he retired from the sea in 1785.
Many of the East India Company officials and administrators came home from India to build luxury homes and become Members of Parliament, J.P.s etc. However the captains, being used to command and making instant decisions, often wanted a life with more challenges. Many of them continued their connection with the sea by managing ships for voyages carrying the East India Company cargoes. Fraser continued in this way for 25 years, managing nine ships making 34 voyages. He was a little unlucky early on in this venture: Ocean struck a reef in the Banda Sea (east of Indonesia) and was scuttled on 5 February 1797, while two years later Earl Fitzwilliam was burnt in the Hugli River on 23 February 1799.
Fraser was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1791 and was created 1st Baronet of Ledeclune in 1806. He was also an Elder Brethren of Trinity House. He attended the Prince Regent’s levee on 12 February 1818 in good health, but he died suddenly the next day in a fit of apoplexy at Bedford Square, London.
In loving memory of Lieutenant GERALD DAVID LOMAX, 3rd Welch Regiment, who was mortally wounded on May 9th 1915 aged 20, when fighting for his country at Fromelles with the 2nd Berkshire Regiment. He died on May 10th on a Hospital barge on the Lys and lies buried in the cemetery at Eszaires.
Second lieutenant Lomax was born in Manorbier, Wales on 6 January, 1895. His father, Captain David Alexander Napier Lomax, was killed in action at Driefontain, South Africa on 10 March, 1900.
His mother, Annette, later married Major Frank Towle and they lived in the Marylebone area. Gerald was educated at Marlborough College – also the alma mater of his stepfather – and was gazetted into the 3rd Battalion, the Welsh Regiment on 15 August, 1914.
He played rugby for Rosslyn Park RFC and is mentioned in the recent book The Final Whistle, by Stephen Cooper.
A second plaque carries the name of his nephew, Peter Lomax.
Peter Napier-Lomax was a Blenheim fighter-bomber pilot of the RAF’s 229 Squadron, who was killed in February 1940 aged 19
Son of Major-General Cyril Ernest Napier Lomax, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O. and Bar, M.C., and Rene Lomax; grandson of Lady Towle, of Winkfield, Berkshire, nephew of the above.
Joined RAF in April 1939, becoming Pilot Officer in Oct 1939; posted to 229 Squadron at RAF Digby, Lincolnshire on its formation (the same month). Flew Bristol Blenheim fighters to protect shipping and patrol the east coast. (Guy Gibson was based there at the same time.) Died Feb 1940 at Spilsby, Lincolnshire – his aircraft crashed in poor visibility on night operations. His ashes are buried in his step-grandfather’s family grave (Towle).
Sacred to the memory of COLONEL HUGH HENRY MITCHELL, Of the 51st Regiment of Foot. He was the son of Hugh Henry Mitchell Esquire of County of Cork. Married 3rd July 1804 Lady Hariet Isabella Elizabeth Somerset, daughter of the 5th Duke of Beaufort, and departed this life Apl. 20th 1817 in the 47th year of his age.
Colonel Hugh Henry Mitchell, CB (9 June 1770 – 20 April 1817) was a British military leader, of Irish birth, who fought in several decisive battles during the Napoleonic Wars, including the Battle of Salamanca and the Battle of Waterloo, and was commended by the Duke of Wellington.
It was his uncle, General Alexander Gordon who encouraged him to join the army at the tender age of eleven. He is another one whose military service was extensive. He was one of the few officers below the rank of general to be mentioned by the Duke of Wellington's Waterloo Dispatch.
There is still a plethora of memorials that I have yet to photograph, and histories to explore, but they will have to wait for another time.
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