No. 58-59, Charing Cross and Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens

Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1935.

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'No. 58-59, Charing Cross and Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens', in Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross, (London, 1935) pp. 127-130. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol16/pt1/pp127-130 [accessed 19 March 2024]

In this section

CHAPTER 18: XI—NO. 58–59, CHARING CROSS AND NOS. 11 AND 13, SPRING GARDENS

Ground Landlords.

No. 58–59, Charing Cross, is the freehold of the London County Council. Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens, have been demolished.

History of the Site.

Among the sales of George and Thomas Cole on 20th December, 1618, (fn. n1) was that to Thomas Marshall of "all that messuage … on the Southside of the Kings highway leading from Charing crosse … towards St. James Feilds, now in the tenure … of … Thomas Marshall, … and all that other messuage thereunto adioyning on the Westside late in the tenure of Rowland Hartley and now in the tenure of Anne Vaughan alias Anne Evans, midwyfe … abutting uppon the Kings highway on the Northparte and uppon the Wall of St James Parke on the South parte." No further trace of the property has been found for over a century. (fn. n2) In 1721 is a reference (fn. n3) to four houses near Charing Cross "held by John Green, late citizen and Carpenter of London by Lease under Captain Dorrell Deceased." Captain John Dorrill died in the disastrous expedition against Quebec in 1711, (fn. n4) and no particulars of his estate have been found, but in 1769 John Chambers Dorrill mortgaged (fn. n5) "all those two Messuages … situate … on the South side of Charing Cross … and also all those two other Messuages … situate in Spring Gardens on the back side of the first mencioned Messuages … Which … four Messuages … were formerly Two Houses in the Several Tenures of Thomas Marshall and Anne Vaughan otherwise Anne Evans … and were afterwards used as three Messuages … and in the Occupation of Nicholas Highmore, (fn. n6) Anne Jones, Widow, and Anne Stone, Widow … which said four Messuages … now are or late were in the Several Tenures … of John Humphrey, Stephen Wright, Margaret MacLeod and Elizabeth Hatsell." (fn. n7) These houses are readily identifiable by means of the ratebooks with Nos. 58 and 59, Charing Cross, and Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens. No. 59, Charing Cross, is in many deeds specified as The Black Horse.

Date and Description of Structure.

Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens, had a brick front of three storeys (see Plate 90), and the architectural evidence suggests that they probably dated from the middle of the eighteenth century. A lead cistern on the premises with a panelled front bore the date 1764 (Plate 84). It is, however, doubtful whether the latter can be regarded as dating the house, and the evidence of the ratebooks is almost decisive that both houses were rebuilt in the period 1744–6. (fn. n8) They were demolished to permit of the formation of the Mall Approach.

Figure 26:

No. 13, Spring Gardens

No. 58–9, Charing Cross, is a house of four storeys, including shop. The first floor has two bay windows with shaped lead roofs, dating from the early part of the nineteenth century, and probably inserted when the front was given a coat of stucco. The staircase of the upper part of the premises has turned balusters and a close string, and dates from the early part of the eighteenth century. Normally this might be taken as indicating the date of erection of the premises, but the evidence of the ratebooks rather suggests a date about 1683, which might accord with the appearance of the back wall. The two houses seem to have been combined about 1838 (see Historical Notes).

Condition of Repair.

Poor.

Historical Notes.

The following are lists of the occupants of the houses from the time of their probable erection to 1840:

No. 11, Spring Gardens
1747–51 Eleanor Pymm
1752–53 Robt. Wood
1754 Chas. Slingsby
1755–58 Chas. Duncomb
1759–61 Hen. Drummond
1762–70 Eliz. Hatsell
1771 Phineas Atherton
1772–78 Eliz. Gleed
1779–82 Jas. Silver
1783–86 Anth. Groves
1787–89 Jas. Chaffy
1790–95 Mrs. North
1796–99 Miss Vernon
1800 Jas. Waldegrave
1801 Jas. Welwyn
1802–3 Gordon John Donaldson
1804–5 Gordon Graham Donaldson
1806 Rd. Ironmonger
1807–8 — Benstead
1809–11 W. R. Rogers
1812 — Davis
1813–15 Thos. Bonner
1816–20 Dr. Hutchinson
1821–24 Wm. Arnold
1825–29 Thos. Justice
1830– Chas. Witt
No. 13, Spring Gardens
1748–50 Lord John Sackville
1751–58 Richd. Vernon
1759–60 Col. Lindsey
1761–62 Wm. McLeod
1763–4 (Ratebooks missing)
1765–78 Margaret McLeod
1779–98 Stephen Wright
1799–1801 Chris. Papendick
1803 — Alexander
1804–08 Hen. Vaughan Brooke
1809–17 John Greathead Harris
1818–20 Dr. Boyton
1821–24 Dr. Jas. Johnson
1825–33 Wm. John Delange Arnold
1834– Thos. Baker
No. 58, Charing Cross
1684–1704 Sheldon Vicarage
1705–06 Anth. Blunt
1707–09 John Griffis
1710–25 Wm. Sinclair
1726–46 John Phillips
1747–52 Cath. Maddocks
1753 Chas. Lowder
1754–61 John Wayman
1762–98 Stephen Wright
1799–1800 Louisa Wright
1801–20 Valentine Read
1821–26 Eliz. Read
1828–33 Chas. Mcintosh
No. 59, Charing Cross
1683–95 Thos. Blackwell
1696–1703 Geo. Serle
1704 Geo. Bedoe
1705–12 Robt. Smith
1713–14 Widow Smith
1715–17 Ric. Daniell
1718 Widow Donnell
1719–25 Wm. Hutchinson
1726–34 Wm. Hatton
1735 Ann Hatton
1736–47 John Bigby
1748–64 John Humphrey
1765–70 Alex. McIntosh
1834–38 Saml. Matthews and Chas. McIntosh
1771–76 Jas. Chaffy
1777–81 Chas. Chaffy
1782–3 Jos. Rea
1784 Wm. Lord
1785–88 Danl. Steward
1789–96 Wm. Deluce
1797–99 Geo. Broome
1800–02 Ann Broome
1803 — Dickenson
1804 Wm. Watkins
1805 — Palmer
1806–08 John Styche
1809 Thos. Elliot
1810–13 T. S. Lowther
1814–21 Saml. Kettle
1822–26 Francis Pontet
1828–37 Wm. Henry Clark
No. 58–9, Charing Cross
1839– Saml. Matthews and Chas. McIntosh

Lord John Philip Sackville, son of Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, was born in 1713 and died in 1765. His son became the 3rd Duke in 1769.

James Johnson, born in 1777 at Ballinderry, Ireland, was at the age of 15 apprenticed to a surgeon-apothecary at Port Glenone, co. Antrim. After further medical education at Belfast and London he was appointed surgeon's mate and afterwards full surgeon in the navy. At the end of the war, in 1814, he settled in private practice at Portsmouth, removing in 1818 to London. In 1816 he founded the Medico-Chirurgical Review, which from 1818 to 1844 he conducted at his own expense. In 1822 he suffered a long and painful illness, "and shortly afterwards removed from Spring Gardens, where he had lived for the last few years, to 8, Suffolk Place." (fn. n9) He died in 1845.

In the Council's Collection are:

Nos. 11 and 13, Spring Gardens
(fn. n10) Plan of premises (drawing).
(fn. n10) Exterior of premises (photograph).
(fn. n10) Detail of lead cistern (drawing).
No. 58–9, Charing Cross
(fn. n10) View of buildings in Charing Cross, from Trafalgar Square (photograph).

Footnotes

  • n1. P.R.O., C. 54/2385, No. 43.
  • n2. It is, however, almost certainly to be identified with the two messuages which formed the subject of a final concord between Nicholas Highmore, gentleman, quer: and James Marshall and Helen his wife deforc: in Michaelmas, 1661. (P.R.O., C.P. 25(2), 660.)
  • n3. Indenture, dated 21st December, 1721, between Elizabeth Greenbury and Henry Dottin. (Middx. Register, 1721, I, 266.)
  • n4. "Decimo Nono die emanavit Commissio Margaretae Dorrill Relictae Johannis Dorrill nuper parochiae sancti Martini in Campis et capitanei in Legione Honorabilis Colonelli Claytons in expeditione apud Canadam defuncti." (P.C.C., Admon., Oct. 1711.)
  • n5. Indenture, dated 22nd July, 1769, between John Chambers Dorrill and William Houghton. (Middx. Register, 1769, V, 94.)
  • n6. Nicholas Highmore is shown by the ratebooks as occupying the house next to The Bull Head from 1638, when he succeeded Widow Marshall, until 1671. In the Hearth Tax Roll for 1666 he is assessed at 10 hearths, and in 1674 his name is replaced by that of Seaward, who does not appear in the ratebooks. The sequence of occupiers for a few years after 1672 is not clear.
  • n7. An earlier deed describes the four houses as "One whereof is now Untennanted and adjoyns to the Cardigans head Taverne, and another in possession of — Banks, Gentleman, Another called the Black horse in possession of Wm Hutchinson, Another in possession of —Phillips, Chandler." (Indenture, dated 22nd February, 1725–6, between James Bindon and Lydia his wife and Rachel Sawell—Middx. Register, 1725, VI, 438.)
  • n8. Nos. 11 and 13 were empty from 1744 to 1746 and 1747 respectively, and there is no other twelve months' gap covering both the houses.
  • n9. A Sketch of the Life and … Writings of the late Dr. James Johnson, by H. J.Johnson, p. 40.
  • n10. Reproduced here.