PUTNEY
Putelei (xi cent.); Poultenheth, Pultynghyde
(xiv cent.); Potenhith, Pottenhith (xv cent.);
Putenega, Putneythe, Puttennethe, Potney (xvi cent.);
Pottnie, Puttney (xvii cent.).
The suburban parish of Putney, a ward within the
metropolitan borough of Wandsworth, is situated
about 4¼ miles from Hyde Park Corner on the River
Thames, which bounds it on the north-east. The
Beverley Brook, flowing northwards into the Thames,
forms the western boundary. In the river palaeolithic,
neolithic and bronze implements have been found,
possibly washed down from the higher ground or
carried down the brook.
The elevation of Putney parish is about 50 ft.
above the ordnance datum near the river, and rises to
about 150 ft. at Roehampton and on Putney Heath,
again sloping down to 50 ft. in Putney Vale and that
part of Richmond Park which is included in the
parish. Its area is a little over 2,252 acres. A map
printed in 1800 shows that the land was then mostly
park or heath, with some arable and a little market-garden and pasture. (fn. 1) There were three common
fields—Thames Field, between the village and the
mouth of Beverley Brook; Park Field, south of the
Richmond Road; and Basin Field, east of Putney
Hill. No Inclosure Act is known. Putney Lower
Common formed the end of the present Barnes
Common, in Putney parish. A great deal of land
still unbuilt over, as well as common, remains, and
includes 1,447 acres of permanent grass, 66¾ of
arable land and 15 of woods and plantations. (fn. 2) The
heath is a fine expanse of about 400 acres. An
ornamental piece of water called King's Mere,
which lies to the south near the parish boundary,
was completed in 1891. Putney has always been
part of the manor of Wimbledon, (fn. 3) and has no separate
manorial descent. In the Domesday Survey it
appears as the vill of Putelei, the toll from which
was worth 20s. to the lord of the manor. (fn. 4) This
was probably from the ferry across the river, for a
long time the only means of transit.
The village, which originally clustered with the
church near the bank of the river, has developed very
rapidly during the last half-century into the flourishing town it is at the present day. In 1849 it was
said to be only partly paved, (fn. 5) although as early as
1656 thirteen parishioners of Putney petitioned
Cromwell to be allowed to pave the High Street,
which they said was long and broad and could not
be made by gravelling. (fn. 6) The population increased
from 3,811 in 1831 (fn. 7) to 24,139 in 1901. (fn. 8) The
Richmond branch of the London and South Western
railway has a station at the top of the High Street,
which extends from the bridge. East Putney station
is on the District railway.
The continuation of High Street, which lies at
right angles to the river, is called Putney Hill, and
ascends towards Wimbledon Common. A branch
from this, called Kingston Road, leads over Putney
Heath to the low ground called Putney Vale, and
crossing the Beverley Brook by a bridge continues to
Kingston. High Street is crossed above Putney
station by the Upper Richmond Road, which leads
from East Putney station to Sheen and Richmond,
being joined at Barnes Common by the Lower Richmond Road, which runs from Putney Bridge through
Putney Common. Three roads branch from the
upper road to Putney Heath and Richmond Park;
they are Putney Park Lane, Roehampton Lane and
Priory Lane.
With the growth of the town High Street has
become much modernized, shops and other business
premises having taken the place of the old houses
which once stood there. Two hotels called the
'White Lion' and the 'Red Lion' until lately preserved the names of inns which were in existence in
1636, (fn. 9) but of these only the 'White Lion' now
remains. A new arcade known as Putney Market
connects High Street with Brewhouse Lane. In
Brewhouse Lane are some 18th-century cottages; a
row of three two-storied houses built of stock brick
with red brick dressings and wooden cornices remain
pretty much in their original state. The free public
library, in a branch road near the station called
Disraeli Road, was opened in 1899. The building
and site were the gift of the late Sir George Newnes,
bart., J.P., one of whose residences was Wildcroft,
Putney Heath. The Royal Hospital for Incurables
is at West Hill, Putney Heath.
The present schools in Putney are St. Mary's
(National), founded in 1851 and rebuilt in 1867;
All Saints (National), 1858; Upper Grade Boys' and
Girls', in connexion with All Saints' National; Council
Schools, Brandlehow Road and Deodar Road, opened
in 1901 and 1902 respectively; Roehampton Church,
1850; The Sacred Heart, Roman Catholic, 1887.
The Putney Embankment, which extends for half
a mile from the bridge to the Beverley Brook, was
constructed in 1887. One of the great events of the
year is the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, which
starts from here and is rowed to Mortlake. The
championship course was altered from Westminster
to Putney to Putney to Mortlake in 1845. Putney
has superseded Westminster and Lambeth as a rowing
centre, and is the head quarters of several noted rowing
clubs, including the Leander Club, the London
Rowing Club, the Thames Rowing Club and others.
The Metropolitan Amateur Regatta was established
at Putney in 1866.
In or about 1670 there appears to have been a
project for building bridges across the Thames at
Lambeth and Putney, but this was not permitted by
the Rulers of the Company of Watermen, 'as their
society of 60,000 souls would thereby be ruined, the
nursery of seamen supplanted, and navigation much
prejudiced.' It was stated that 'during the Dutch
war 2,500 able seamen were at once impressed from
among them.' (fn. 10)
In 1642 during the Civil War, when the king's
army had retired from Turnham Green to Kingston, (fn. 11)
and his further intentions were uncertain, a bridge of
boats was thrown over the river from Fulham by
Essex to enable him to cross into Surrey readily
should the king advance south of London. (fn. 12) In 1647
the village became the head quarters of the Parliamentary army, whose councils were held in the
church. (fn. 13) In the succeeding year Putney Heath was
the meeting-place of the Surrey petitioners to Parliament, (fn. 14) and they marched thence round by London
Bridge to Westminster; so presumably the bridge of
boats had been removed. In 1729 the ferry was
superseded by a wooden bridge from Fulham to
Putney, (fn. 15) built under an Act of Parliament passed in
1726. Two years later the income derived from the
tolls was said to be £1,500, and at the end of the
century to be nearly double that amount and constantly increasing. (fn. 16) An Act for enabling the Metropolitan Board of Works to construct the present stone
bridge, consisting of five arches, was passed in 1881. (fn. 17)
The foundation-stone was laid by King Edward VII,
then Prince of Wales, in 1884, and the bridge opened
by him in 1886.
In 1580 there was a dispute between the tenants
of Putney and Wandsworth as to the right of fishing
in the Thames. The fishermen of Wandsworth were
reported to have taken 140 salmon between Monday
and Saturday, 'to the great honour of God,' but their
fishing room had been denied on account of Putney.
After a long contest it was restored to them by the
Lord Mayor and Council of London. (fn. 18) It is on
record that in 1663 Putney fishery was let for an
annual rent of the three best salmon that should be
caught in the months of March, April and May.
When Wimbledon Manor was sold to the Duchess of
Marlborough the fishery was let for £6 a year; the
rent was afterwards increased to £8, (fn. 19) at which it
continued until 1786, when the fishery is said to
have been abandoned. (fn. 20)
The earliest known reference to Putney Park
occurs in a document of 1397, when it was held by
the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of his manor of
Mortlake. (fn. 21) The name usually appears in the evidences
as the 'park of Mortlake, alias Putney,' so that it
evidently once extended into Mortlake. The situation of this park is south of the Upper Richmond
Road, a lane still called Putney Park Lane forming
the eastern boundary. The extent is said to have
been 300 acres. (fn. 22) It descended with the manors of
Mortlake and Wimbledon (q.v.) until the death of
Queen Katherine Parr in 1548, after which it was
reserved to the Crown, being expressly excluded from
the grant of Wimbledon Manor to Sir Thomas Cecil
in 1590. Robert Tyrwhit had been appointed
custodian of the park in or before 1544, (fn. 23) and the
office seems to have been granted by Queen Elizabeth
to Sir William Cecil Lord Burghley. (fn. 24) After his
death in 1598 (fn. 25) his patent licence for the park was
returned by his son Thomas Lord Burghley, (fn. 26) whose
third son Sir Edward Cecil was appointed custodian
for life in 1603, and in 1608 wrote to Sir Walter
Cope begging him to recommend the repair of the
park to the Earl of Salisbury. (fn. 27) In 1615, before
the death of Sir Edward Cecil, who was created
Baron Putney and Viscount Wimbledon in 1625, (fn. 28)
Sir Charles Howard, junior, kt., received a grant of
the custody for life, (fn. 29) but Sir Edward Cecil evidently
retained some interest in it. Five years later Sir Charles
Howard had a further grant of £15 for the relief of the
deer there and £15 a year for preservation of them in
winter and hard weather. (fn. 30) In 1626 the king, by
the advice of his commissioners, resolved to dispark the
inclosed ground and sell it away in fee farm. He therefore declared it disparked, relieved Edward Viscount
Wimbledon and Sir Charles Howard of the custody,
and granted all the deer to Sir Richard Weston, kt. (fn. 31)
The following year Sir Richard Weston obtained a
grant of the park, (fn. 32) but this probably represented the
uninclosed land, as in 1634 he, as Earl of Portland,
was given licence to inclose 450 acres of his demesnes
in the parishes of Putney and Mortlake and to make
a park and fill it with deer. He and his heirs were
also granted free warren in all their lands in those
parishes. (fn. 33) The earl is said to have been the builder
of a splendid mansion at Roehampton, the site of
which was afterwards occupied by a house at Roehampton Grove, (fn. 34) but it is doubtful whether a park
of this size was made, as he died about nine months
after obtaining the licence, (fn. 35) and his son Jerome Earl
of Portland began to alienate the estate in 1636. He
conveyed the park in that year to Sir Abraham
Dawes, kt., and John Dawes, (fn. 36) apparently in trust for
Sir Abraham's son, Sir Thomas Dawes, (fn. 37) who about
1650 sold the house, and possibly the park, to Christian
Dowager Countess of Devonshire, an enthusiastic
supporter of the royal cause and an intimate friend of
Queen Henrietta Maria. After the Restoration she
was frequently visited at Roehampton by Charles II.
Her son the third Earl of Devonshire died at the
house in 1684. (fn. 38) It seems to have been sold after the
death of his widow in 1689 to Sir Jeffrey Jeffrys,
alderman of London, who died in 1707. (fn. 39) Subsequently it came into the possession of Joseph Bagnall,
after whose death it was sold by a Private Act of Parliament of 1743–4. (fn. 40) How long the park went with
the house is uncertain, but in 1780 it was the property
of Earl Spencer, lord of the manor of Wimbledon. (fn. 41)
The house came into the possession of Fordyce, the
banker, who sold it to Thomas Parker. In 1792 it
belonged to Sir Joshua Vanneck, bart., (fn. 42) afterwards
Baron Huntingfield, (fn. 43) who pulled down the house
and built a more modern villa. (fn. 44) This apparently
was not the original house, for Manning and Bray (fn. 45)
say that the latter was pulled down soon after 1700.
The house was acquired by a Mr. Fitzherbert, and at
the beginning of the 19th century by William Gosling,
a London banker. (fn. 46) In 1632 a chapel was consecrated
by Laud, then Bishop of London, in the Earl of Portland's house, and his son Jerome Weston was married
in it the same year. It was under the invocation of
the Holy Trinity. Thomas Parker pulled it down
in 1777 and built a new chapel about 100 yards from
the house. (fn. 47)
Roehampton is a hamlet in Putney which now
forms a separate ecclesiastical parish. The village of
Roehampton is situated about the centre of Putney
parish. In the reign of Henry VII it consisted of
fourteen houses, (fn. 48) at the end of the 18th century
there were forty-four, (fn. 49) and in 1901 the number of
inhabited houses was 285. (fn. 50) Roehampton Park lies
to the south of the village between Putney Heath on
the east and Richmond Park on the west. Robert
Tyrwhit, who afterwards had a grant of the custody
of Putney Park, was made master of the hunt of deer
in Roehampton Park in 1540–1. (fn. 51)
There are many interesting houses in Putney
parish, situated chiefly at Roehampton and on the
brow of Putney Heath, which commands a beautiful
view. Roehampton House in Roehampton Lane
was built about 1710, and during the 18th century
was the residence of Thomas Cary, William Earl of
Albemarle, and William Drake. In the 19th century
it was one of the seats of the Earls of Leven and
Melville, (fn. 52) and is now occupied by the present earl.
The house was designed by Archer, and is a fine
and complete example of its date. It is of red brick
and three stories in height. The centre portion of the
front is slightly broken forward, and a central feature
is formed by the dressings of the central entrance
and large arched window above; Doric pilasters and
entablature, with a broken curved pediment, frame the
entrance, while the arched window is treated with a
Corinthian pilaster order, and contained beneath its
entablature. This portion having been kept painted,
it is impossible to tell whether it is of stone or stucco.
The floors are marked by brick string courses; the
window openings, with the exception of those just
mentioned, have cut-brick projecting keys, and are
surrounded by a bead of the same material. A bold
modillion cornice of stone or stucco crowns the whole,
surmounted in the centre by a balustrade and at the
sides by a plain brick parapet. A flight of twelve
stone steps of a complicated geometrical plan with
wrought-iron railings leads up to the entrance. The
landings, of which there are two, are paved in alternate
lozenges of red and white stone. An arcade of brick
arches connects the house with the stables on the
south and a corresponding outbuilding on the north.
The garden front is nearly similar to the entrance
front, with the exception that a niche takes the place
of the central arched first-floor window on that
elevation. A wing was added on the north in 1859
by Lady Leven, the owner. The entrance hall is
nearly square, measuring about 20 ft. by 22 ft., and
paved with squares of white marble, with black marble
margin. The walls are panelled in painted deal, and
Corinthian pilasters are introduced, whose entablature
is carried round the hall. The dining-room opens
out of the hall by a doorway immediately opposite
to the entrance, and is panelled in the same material.
The hall and dining-room occupy the full depth of
the central portion of the house. To the right of
the dining-room, and opening out of it, is the boudoir.
The chimney-piece is a remarkable piece of work,
carved in freestone, and said to be the work of
Grinling Gibbons. The walls are panelled. To
the left of the dining-room, also opening out of it, is
the drawing-room. The chimney-piece is of white
marble, the design of Louis XIV type. These three
rooms occupy the rear or garden front. Two rooms
of similar size and shape to the boudoir and drawingroom occupy the entrance front on either side of
the hall. The space in the centre of the house left
between the pair of rooms on the right-hand side of
the hall is occupied by the principal stairs, a very
uncommon piece of work in two flights. The soffit
of each step is shaped to the form of the console
bracket. The answering space on the left-hand side
of the hall was originally occupied by the back stairs
and a dressing-room opening out of the room on the
entrance front. On the first floor directly over the
hall, occupying the full height of the first and second
floors, is a room painted by Sir James Thornhill.
The painting is executed on the plastered surface of
the walls. The subject of the ceiling is 'The Feast
of the Gods.' The ceiling is coved and flat. The
walls are painted with landscapes in architectural
settings. The chimney-piece has mirror and concave
pyramidal overmantel, and the enrichments of the
mouldings are painted on the flat. In the stables to
the south of the house one of the original stall
divisions still exists.
Downshire House, which is nearly opposite Roehampton House, was built by Brettingham for the
Marquess of Downshire in the latter part of the
18th century. (fn. 53) The Dowager Marchioness of
Downshire died there in 1836. It is now occupied
by Col. H. M. Bosworth. The house is a square
brick building of the 18th century of no particular
architectural interest; most of the original internal
fittings have been removed. The entrance hall is
panelled in plaster and paved with black and white
marble, and a fine white marble carved chimneypiece remains in the library. Upper Grove House
is the residence of Mr. Bedingfield.
Bessborough House was erected for Brabazon
Ponsonby, Earl of Bessborough. A fine collection of
antiques and pictures was formed here by the family,
but most of it was sold by auction in 1801. Gifford
House, at the head of Putney Park Lane, is the
residence of Mr. Douglas Charrington. Dover
House, now occupied by Mr. J. P. Morgan, belonged
to Lord Dover towards the end of the 18th century, (fn. 54)
and Mount Clare (built in 1772 by a relative of
Lord Clive) to Sir John Dick, bart. The latter was
the residence of Admiral Sir Charles Ogle, bart., in
1841.
Bowling Green House on the heath is so called
from there having been a public bowling-green here
which was in existence in 1696. (fn. 55) It became a
fashionable place of entertainment and of gambling
in the 18th century, but is chiefly memorable as
the residence of William Pitt (fn. 56) and the scene of his
death in 1806. Not far from this stood Bristol
House, one of the seats of the Marquess of Bristol in
the early 19th century. (fn. 57) It has lately been pulled
down and the site is now occupied by modern villas.
Fireproof House was built in 1776 by David Hartley
(son of the metaphysician Dr. Hartley) for proving
his invention for securing houses against fire by
laying thin sheets of iron and copper between double
floors. (fn. 58) An obelisk to commemorate the invention
was erected close by at the expense of the Corporation of London. By the river, near the present
'Star and Garter,' once stood a red brick house
which was built in 1596 on the site of an ancient
mansion of the Welbecks (fn. 59) by John Lacy, a citizen
and clothworker of London, who was frequently
visited here by Queen Elizabeth. James I is also
said to have been entertained at the house, which
acquired the name of the Palace in consequence of
its royal visitors. (fn. 60) After the Civil War in 1647 it
was probably occupied by General Fairfax (fn. 61) when
the head quarters were at Putney during the negotiations of the officers with the king. Sir William
Wymondsold was then the owner. In 1716 Sir
Theodore Jannsen owned it and shortly afterwards
sold it to Paul d'Aranda, whose daughter was the
last inhabitant. It was deserted, but not finally
pulled down till after 1800. (fn. 62)
Putney House and the Cedars stood on the site
afterwards occupied by two ranges of buildings known
as The Cedar Houses. From about 1839 to 1857 a
college for civil engineers, founded by subscription,
existed at Putney House, but it was broken up in
the latter year and the fine old mansion demolished.
In Putney Bridge Road are two 18th-century houses,
now known as Cedar Lodge and Crest House.
Winchester House, now the Putney Constitutional
Club, is a good specimen of 18th-century work.
North House, on Putney Hill, is a stucco mansion
dating from about sixty years ago. The grounds
are beautifully timbered. Grantham House, facing
Putney Common, is a large house of the latter half of
the 18th century.
The High Street not many years ago presented a
very different appearance from its modern and townlike aspect. It contained many large old-fashioned
houses with spacious lawns and lovely gardens at the
back. Among the most interesting was Fairfax House,
which is thought to have been built by a gentleman of
that name in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. At the
time of the occupation of Putney by the Parliamentary
army it is said to have been the property of a Mr. Whyte,
and at a later date was owned by the Pettiwards.
Before its demolition in 1886 it was occupied for
many years by the late Mr. Todd. The older parts
of the house were of c. 1600. The front was altered
some hundred years later. Fairfax House was connected by a so-called subterranean passage, now
blocked up, with a house in Putney Bridge Road,
which is remembered by some of the older inhabitants of the town as 'Oliver Cromwell's Dog-Kennel.'
Essex House is believed to have been built and
occupied by Queen Elizabeth's favourite, the Earl of
Essex, and it is said that the wood which wainscoted
the various rooms was taken from one of the vessels
belonging to the Spanish Armada. The Spotted
House is an existing example of 18th-century work,
Nos. 98 and 96 High Street are of about the same
date; they are two-storied, the centre recessed, and
have projecting wings, tiled roofs and wooden
cornices.
Among the most noted residents of Putney was
Thomas Cromwell, who was born in the village
at a place which was described in 1617 as 'an
ancient cottage called the Smith's shop, lying west of
the highway leading from Putney to the upper gate,
and on the south side of the highway from Richmond
to Wandsworth, being the sign of the Anchor.' (fn. 63)
Thomas was the son of Walter Cromwell, (fn. 64) who
followed a diversity of trades, as blacksmith, keeper
of a hostelry and brew-house, and fuller and shearer
of cloth at Putney. The lease or possession of a
fulling mill is said to have belonged to the family
since 1452, when it was granted to William Cromwell, possibly the grandfather of Walter. (fn. 65)
A famous cleric born at Putney was Nicholas
West, LL.D., who is alleged to have been the son of
a baker. He was born in 1461 and became a
favourite of Henry VIII, but opposed the divorce
project and fell into disfavour. He died in
1533. West was a scholar of King's College,
Cambridge, took orders, and in 1515 was made
Bishop of Ely through the influence of Wolsey. He
built a chapel of great beauty in Putney Church at
the end of the south aisle. When the church was
rebuilt in 1836 the chapel, which is one of its chief
ornaments, was removed to its present position north
of the chancel. (fn. 66) Edward Gibbon, the author of The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was the grandson of an army contractor who had accumulated a
large fortune and was the owner of a 'spacious house
with gardens and land' at Putney called Lime
Grove at the foot of the hill, which Edward Gibbon
the elder bought in 1736 from John eldest son of Sir
John Laurence. (fn. 67) It is said to have belonged to
Antony Earl Rivers in the 15th century, and to have
been known then as Upper Place. (fn. 68) The historian
was born at this place and as a child attended a day
school here. His father afterwards lost money and
with his consent sold the Putney estate. (fn. 69) It afterwards came into the possession of Robert Wood, the
writer and traveller, who was buried at Putney.
John Toland, the deistical writer, was also buried
here.
John Evelyn notes in his Diary
(fn. 70) that on one
occasion in 1649 he 'went to Putney by water in
the barge with divers ladies, to see the schools or
colleges of the young gentlewomen,' (fn. 71) and on another
'to take prospects in crayon to carry into France,'
where he 'thought to have them engraved.' The
philosopher Thomas Hobbes spent much of his time
at Rochampton as tutor in the family of the Earls of
Devonshire. (fn. 72) William Law resided at Putney as
tutor to Edward Gibbon, the father of the historian,
and continued to do so after his pupil was grown up. (fn. 73)
Daniel Lysons, the author of the Environs of London
and other topographical works, was a curate of
Putney about 1790. (fn. 74) Mary Wollstonecraft is said
to have lived at Layton House; on one occasion
she tried to drown herself by leaping from Putney
Bridge, but was rescued by a passing boat. (fn. 75)
CHURCHES
The church of ST. MARY was
rebuilt in the year 1836, the 15th-century tower and 16th-century chapel
built by Nicholas West, Bishop of Ely from 1515 to
1533, being the only portions
surviving of the original fabric.
Bishop West's chapel was removed from the south side of
the chancel to its present position on the north side at the
time the church was rebuilt.
The chapel measures 15 ft. in
length by 10 ft. in width;
the height to the intersection
of the groining is 15 ft. The
structure is divided lengthwise
into two bays and the roof is
fan-vaulted. The two compartments between the pendentives are occupied by quatrefoiled circles containing Bishop West's coat of arms. The vaulting shafts
at all four angles and the central vaulting shaft on
the north side are brought down to the ground.
On the south side are two arched openings the height
of the chapel giving into the chancel, occupying the
two bays on that side. The square portions of the
jambs and the soffits of the arches are richly panelled.
The face of the wall included between the jambmoulds on the central pier thus formed is swept inwards the thickness of their splay, and the mouldings
die into the square at about one quarter the distance
from the springing of the arches to the ground. The
pier below this is panelled in a similar manner to the
jambs. The central vaulting shaft on this side is
stopped by a richly carved corbel. The chapel is
lighted on the north side by two three-light windows
with depressed fan-centred arches and normal tracery
in the heads, and by a similar window at the east
end. In the eastern bay on the north side, below the
sill of the window, is a shallow niche with moulded
jambs and foliated fan-centred arch within a square
head about 1 ft. 6 in. in height, and immediately
above it a smaller unmoulded niche. These probably
formed the piscina and credence table; there is,
however, no trace of a basin in the lower niche, and
it is too shallow to contain one. This may have
projected and been removed long since; this wall, of
course, was the south wall when the chapel was in
its original position. At the north-west, north-east
and south-west angles a corbel is attached to the
vaulting shafts, about 4 ft. 6 in. from the ground;
these may have once carried figures. In the western
bay on the north side are fragments of a brass removed from the nave of the old church; only a
portion of the inscription has been preserved:—
… Welbeck armig. et Agnes ux: ejus qui
quidem JohĶs … die mensis Martii A dĈ
MCCCCLXXVI et pdict … die Octobris A dñi
MCCCCLXXVIII quarum animabus propiciet Deus.
West. Argent a cheveron sable between three roses gules.
In the east wall is a brass tablet stating that the
chapel was restored in 1878 in memory of Sarah and
Anne Lewis of Putney. In the west wall which
divides the chapel from the north aisle is a stone
panel, probably not in its original position, containing
the coat of arms of Bishop West, surmounted by a
mitre, and the initials N.W. Beneath is the following inscription: 'This chapel, originally erected on
the south side of the church by Nicholas West, born
at Putney, and in the reign of King Henry VIII
Bishop of Ely, was removed from its former site and
restored when the church was rebuilt in the year of
our Lord 1836. Edward Lapidge, architect, John
Young, builder.' The outside of the chapel is faced
with white brick to correspond with the materials of
the nave, aisle and chancel, which are of white brick
with stone dressings, poorly designed in 15th-century
style. The interior is plaster, with galleries on three
sides. The tower, which is in two stages above the
old nave roof, is of uncoursed stone, with plain twolight square-headed windows in the belfry, angle
buttresses in three stages, with semi-octagonal stair
turret at the north-east angle. The four-light west
window and doorway, though apparently dating
from the restoration of 1836, correspond more or less
with those shown in old prints before that period.
The tower arch survives apparently untouched,
though cut midway by the present floor of the ringingchamber. The character of the mouldings would date
the tower about the middle of the 15th century.
On the south wall of the west porch, formed at
the base of the tower, is a fine marble mural monument to Richard Lushet of Putney, who died in
1615. The inscription states that he married Mary
second daughter of G. Scott of Shackleford, a mural
tablet to whose memory is to be found near the east
end of the north aisle, where it is stated that she
married secondly Thomas Knyvett and died in 1623.
On the north wall of the west porch is a fine mural
tablet to the memory of Lady Catherine Palmer,
first wife of Sir Anthony Palmer, who died in 1613.
Sir Anthony Palmer's second wife, and Philadelphia
the daughter of his first wife (referred to in the
above-mentioned tablet), who died in 1619 and 1621
respectively, are commemorated by a tablet on the
west wall of the nave, to the north of the entrance.
An inscription hanging in the ringing-chamber
states that 'the six old Bells were recast and two
treble Bells added A.D. 1836.' These bells were
cast by Thomas Mears of London. (fn. 76)
The communion plate was all re-cast in the year
1858, the metal of each piece being kept distinct and
worked up again into a corresponding piece. The
names of the original donors are inscribed on the
remodelled plate. There are two patens and chalices
given by William Wymondsold and Sir Thomas
Chamberlen, kt., in 1653 and 1660 respectively.
The two flagons were given by Catherine Hughes
in 1645.
The registers begin in 1620: (1) marriages and
baptisms 1620 to 1699, burials 1620 to 1686
(the burials from 1686 to 1699 are apparently
missing); (2) 1699 to 1734; (3) marriages 1734
to 1754, baptisms and burials 1734 to 1760. (fn. 77)
The parish of HOLYTRINITY, ROEHAMPTON,
was formed in 1845. The church, built in 1842,
consists of chancel, nave in five bays with clearstory
and north transept, with tower and spire at the
north-west. The materials are stone, faced internally with brick, and the style possibly early 14th
century.
The church of ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST,
in St. John's Road, a chapel of ease to the parish
church, was built in the year 1859, and consists of
a chancel, nave of five bays with clearstory, aisles,
shallow transepts, and tower and spire at the north-west. It is faced with rag, and is a rather poor
version of the Early English style.
ALL SAINTS, Putney Common, also a chapel of
ease to St. Mary, was built in 1874, and consists of
chancel, nave of five bays with no clearstory, aisles
and shallow transept. The materials are brick with
stone dressings.
The Roman Catholic church of St. Joseph is in
Roehampton Lane, and lower down in the same
street is the Convent of the Sacred Heart, near which
is a private Roman Catholic chapel. Manresa House
at Roehampton is a Jesuit College. The Emmanuel
Free Church of England is in the Upper Richmond
Road. There are also a Union church, and Wesleyan,
Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist chapels in
the parish.
A cemetery was consecrated in 1763 on land
given to the parish by the Rev. Roger Pettiward, D.D.,
adjoining the road from Wandsworth to Richmond. (fn. 78)
A new one on the Kingston road was laid out in
1856.
ADVOWSONS
No date can be assigned to the
first erection of a chapel at Putney.
It is asserted by Lysons (fn. 79) to have
been older than Mortlake Church, as Archbishop
Winchelsey held a public ordination in it in 1302,
but no verification for this has been found. It was
originally a chapel of ease to Wimbledon, (fn. 80) which
was then the parish church. In June 1658 the
commissioners appointed by the Parliament to inquire
into the state of ecclesiastical benefices recommended
that the chapelry of Putney should be divided from
the parish of Wimbledon and made a distinct parish
on account of its being 'situated from the said parish
church of Wimbledon about 2 miles and from the
said chapel of Mortlake about 2 miles, and there is
a constant resort through the chapelry of Putney
being a thoroughfare for persons resorting from
London by the River Thames unto the said county of
Surrey.' (fn. 81) In November of the same year it was
decided that Putney and Mortlake chapels should be
constituted distinct parish churches, (fn. 82) but in 1660 this
arrangement ceased and Putney continued to be a
perpetual curacy in the gift of the Dean and Chapter
of Worcester, the patrons of Wimbledon. (fn. 83) The
living is now styled a vicarage under the Act of
1868. (fn. 84) The patronage of Holy Trinity is in the
gift of the Bishop of Southwark.
CHARITIES
Sir Abraham Dawes in his lifetime erected and by his will in 1648
endowed almshouses for twelve poor
inhabitants, men and women. The benefaction has
been supplemented by others, and the almshouses in
the Lower Wandsworth Road have been rebuilt.
Thomas Martyn in 1684 by will built and endowed
a school for teaching, feeding and partly clothing
twenty sons of watermen. The master was to receive
£80 and was to be skilled in mathematics, so that
presumably the rudiments of navigation might be
taught. The bequest was challenged and partly lost,
and this and the expenses diminished the funds,
which have, however, been largely repaired by good
management.
Smith's charity is distributed as in other Surrey
parishes, and there are small bread and clothes
charities.
In 1625 three pest-houses existed in Putney Lower
Common; they are referred to in the church books.
Lord Spencer subsequently gave these as rent-free
dwellings for poor persons.