LXXV.–LXXIX.—PARK CHAPEL, AND PARK
ROW, Nos. 5, 7, 9 and 11, PARK WALK. (Formerly Chapel Row).
Ground landlord.
The property belongs to R. C. H. Sloane-Stanley, Esq.
General Description and Historical Notes.
Lord Wharton's park of 40 acres was bounded on the north by the
Fulham Road, on the east by Church Lane, on the south by the King's
Road, and on the west by Park Walk, called in Dr. King's MS. Lover's
Walk. There were no houses built here when Lord Wharton's nephew, the
Earl of Abingdon, conveyed the Danvers House property to William
Sloane in 1717. From a deed, dated 31st May, 1724, preserved at the
Chelsea Public Library we find that Chelsea Park was leased by William
Sloane to Sir Richard Manningham, the famous accoucheur, by whom it
was gradually leased out for building, as appears by various deeds entered
at the Middlesex Registry. (fn. 1) A clause in the document makes the tenure
subject to a lease of the large house built "for nursing silkworms," held
by William Lilly, William Pett, and Robert Slater, who had a royal patent
for silk manufacture.
Before this, however, Sir Richard Manningham seems to have
obtained permission to erect Park Chapel within the precincts of the park,
and Faulkner (fn. 2) tells us it was begun in 1718. The chapel is extra-parochial,
and was held on lease from the owners by the successive clergymen who
ministered to it, until in 1855 it was purchased by the congregation, who
appointed trustees.
The chapel was repaired and enlarged in 1810, but has just (1913)
been pulled down for rebuilding. In the vestry were water colour
drawings of the chapel before and after alteration, and an oil
painting showing the gallery that formerly filled the east end. The
following clergymen, according to Faulkner, served the chapel from 1730
to 1800.
|
| 1730–1736. | William Lacey of Battersea. |
| 1736–1766. | Dr. Sloane Elsmere, Rector of Chelsea. |
| 1766–. | Mr. Gower, Schoolmaster in Chelsea. |
| –1785. | Mr. Jacobs, Rector of St. Dunstan's-in-the-West. |
| 1785–1792. | Dr. Kelly, Vicar of East Mere, Hants. |
| 1792–1797. | James Ward, Fellow Queen's Coll., Camb. |
| 1797–1800. | Thomas Ellis. |
John Owen [1766–1822] Secretary to the British and Foreign Bible
Society, who published a History of the origin of the Society, was a minister
of this chapel.
Nos. 5, 7, 9, and 11, Park Walk, are four Georgian houses dating from
soon after 1725, standing at the north end of the street on the east side.
No. 5 retains its stair and panelled hall, and is the best preserved of the
group. The others have been largely modernised inside, but they all retain
the upper parts of their brick fronts with moulded brick cornices. The
ground floors have been converted into shops.
The following names are taken from the rate books:—
|
| No. 5. |
|---|
| 1737–1741. | —Hutchins or Hutchinson |
| 1748. | Lady Isham (with No. 7) |
| 1749. | John Cordes. |
| 1750. | Marryat (?) Sowle. |
| 1751–1757. | Abraham Heath. |
| 1758–1761. | Michael Kelly. |
| 1762. | Edmund Kelly. |
| 1763–1766. | Elizabeth Price. |
| 1767–1770. | John Ellison. |
| 1771. | Hetty Darby |
| 1772–1773. | John Fletcher. |
| 1774–1783. | Thomas Piercy. |
| 1790. | Andrew Hogg. |
| 1792. | Thomas Robinson. |
| 1793. | Thomas Bradley. |
| 1794–1795. | William Bradley. |
| 1796–1800. | Elizabeth Page. |
| No. 7. |
|---|
| 1729–1736. | Councillor Sawyer. |
| 1737–1740. | Robert Cooke. |
| 1741. | James Blow. |
| 1748–1749. | Lady Isham. |
| 1750. | Mrs. Marsh. |
| 1751. | Thomas Kirwood. |
| 1755–1757. | Martha Hoare. |
| 1758. | Jane Lynn. |
| 1759–1767. | Thomas Lynn. |
| 1768–1794. | Ann Smith. |
| 1798–1799. | David Lawson. |
| No. 9. |
|---|
| 1729–1737. | James Blagrave. |
| 1738–1757. | Ann Bever. |
| 1758. | Mr. Sibley. |
| 1759–1762. | Rev. Charles Thomas. |
| 1763–1765. | Isabella Dunkley. |
| 1766–1767. | Samuel Dunkley. |
| 1768–1775. | Mary Cottrell. |
| 1776–1782. | John Heck. |
| 1783–1793. | Luke Gilgour (or Kilgour). |
| 1794. | Thomas Turner. |
| 1796–1797. | John Williams. |
| 1798–1800. | Rev. George Hatch. |
| No. 11. |
|---|
| 1730–1733. | Richard Rigsby. |
| 1734–1737. | M. Le Blonc (Le Blon). |
| 1738–1739. | Mansell Cardonnell. |
| 1740–1757. | Mrs. Cave Ratcliffe. |
| 1758. | Mr. Threadwell. |
| 1759. | Mrs. Sibley. |
| 1760–1762. | George Downing. |
| 1763–1769. | Elizabeth Billingsley. |
| 1770–1775. | Benjamin Paine. |
| 1776–1783. | Roger Penry (or Penny). |
| 1790–1795. | Robert Adcock. |
| 1796–1799. | William Walmsley. |
Faulkner (fn. 3) gives among "gentry formerly resident" Mr. John Hutchins, who
lately had £5,000 in the Lottery. A stone in the middle aisle of the old church is
inscribed to the memory of John Hutchins and his wife Elizabeth, who died in 1762,
in February and December respectively.
Beaver (fn. 4) tells us that "Christopher Le Blon, an engraver of Flemish birth, came
to Chelsea between 1732–4, and set up a factory in the Mulberry Ground, Chelsea
[Park] for the purpose of weaving tapestries, after Raphael's seven cartoons." Walpole
praised his efforts, but he was not successful, and was forced to give up the enterprise.
He was the inventor of the modern system of chromo lithography. (fn. 5)