The Huguenots at Wandsworth
and their Burial Ground at Mount Nod

The Article

The President then called upon Mr. John Traviss Squire to read the following paper upon the Huguenot settlement at Wandsworth:—

This paper was suggested by a visit, in company with your Secretary, to the old graveyard at East Hill, Wandsworth, known by the various names of Mount Nod, the French Churchyard, and the Huguenot Cemetery.

As the idea of the paper originated there, I may be permitted to deal with that part of my subject first.

It will readily be conceded, that if this graveyard be what it is generally called, namely “the French Churchyard,” it is important to preserve the names and various particulars recorded upon the stones contained therein, in a more substantial manner than by the mute testimony of the stones themselves, subject as they are to neglect and decay, and I have therefore made a copy of the inscriptions which forms an appendix to this paper.

It will be observed that I say if this graveyard be what it is generally called, viz., “the French Churchyard,” and I say if because it has been asserted by a member of this society, whose opinion is entitled to great weight, that Mount Nod was not a Huguenot Cemetery. For an answer to that assertion I refer to the parish rate books for the years 1707–22, in which the

immediate neighbourhood is designated as the “French Churchyard,” and also to the fact that upon the stones themselves may be found upwards of thirty surnames, which if not all French are at least of foreign extraction; and, as it can be shown from the rate books that, of the strangers resident in Wandsworth, the French nationality preponderated, it would seem that in this instance the popular voice was not far wrong in naming it the French Churchyard.

I admit that the majority of the names there have no interest for this Society, but from the notes of the wills which are appended and the extracts from the parish registers it will be seen that in addition to the strangers, some who are buried there are related to them by marriage or are descended from them.

The main reason for printing the whole of these inscriptions is, that when the stones have become unable to speak for themselves, those who come after us may know exactly what were existing at this date, and it may not be open to conjecture whether or not such a one may possibly mark the resting place of a Huguenot.

A manuscript copy of these inscriptions, at present in the Library of the French Hospital, was lent to me by your Secretary, but I found it was not to be relied upon as accurate. Some of the inscriptions are also contained in a little pamphlet which was some time ago reprinted from a local newspaper, it however made no pretensions to completeness, and was also in some respects inaccurate.

The appendix to this paper has been carefully gone through and may be relied upon, and to facilitate reference a plan has been made by your Secretary by which the present position of each stone or mound may be ascertained.

In a list of the deeds and documents relating to parish lands &c. at Wandsworth, printed in 1883, I find No. 37 is a grant of land in 1700 to enlarge the East Hill Cemetery. I have been unable to see this deed, but a later one dated the 11th March, 1774, enrolled in Chancery, 14 Geo. III, 2, 17, informs us that a portion of the ground at the extreme west end, equal to nearly one-third of the present area, was conveyed by John, Earl Spencer, to William Allison, Clerk, Vicar of Wandsworth; William Waller and William Groves, late Churchwardens of the parish of Wandsworth; Thomas Rackett and James Chabot, late Overseers of the said parish; George Ward and John Webster of the same parish, Esquires; Thomas Hatcher, John Squire, Daniel Pindar, John Nelson, Joshua Spyers, and Thomas Edmonds of the same parish; Trustees

nominated and appointed on behalf of the parishioners of the said parish, in trust that the same might be for ever added to and made use of for enlarging, and considered for ever to remain as part of, the churchyard of the said parish. It was provided that when the number of Trustees should be reduced by death or other means to seven, the surviving Trustees should nominate to Earl Spencer, his heirs or assigns, for his approbation six other Trustees for the purpose of keeping the trust subsisting for ever, but so that the Vicar of Wandsworth and the Churchwardens and Overseers thereof for the time being should always be of the number of the said Trustees.

Only a few years ago the place was described as having “been allowed to fall into ruin and decay until it had become an eyesore to the neighbourhood, and an insult to the friends of those interred therein:— horses, &c. were allowed to wander over the graves of the departed.” Public attention was, however, directed to it by Mr. B. B. Portal, of Upper Tooting, and subscriptions were invited for its restoration, when it was neatly fenced, turfed and planted with lignum vitae, and the result was so far satisfactory that it became one of the most picturesque spots in the neighbourhood, which is rapidly being devoured by that omnivorous reptile, the jerry-builder.

I am informed that the ground was kept in a decent condition by a subscription collected by Mr. Coventry, while he resided opposite to it, and since he left, Mr. Pulman, who resides in the adjacent house, has directed the person whom he employed to continue to look after it. Having regard to the terms of the conveyance above referred to I cannot help thinking this duty ought not to devolve upon a private individual, but should be cast upon the parish equally with the maintenance of the other two parish burial grounds.

During the restoration, it is said that twelve tombstones were unearthed, and it is quite possible there may be others still hidden by the turf. When copying the inscriptions last summer I noticed between the stones numbered 93 and 94 an oblong patch of grass which had dried up with the summer heat, and upon probing the place with a cane, I found the surface soil was not very deep, but whether it was merely a brick vault or a stone beneath I did not venture to ascertain, the fear of having to appear before the local police magistrate upon a charge of wilful damage enabling me to overcome the temptation of attempting any further discoveries.

I have not come across the name Mount Nod as applied to this graveyard in any old account of the place, but the will of Mrs. Judith Grolleau, dated 1760, directed her “body to be buried in Wandsworth Burial Ground commonly called Mount Nod.”

The earliest tombstone is a small freestone fixed to the east wall recording the death of William, son of Thomas Pearce, on the 9th October, 1687. The latest stone is that numbered 4, to the memory of William, Infant Son of Mr. George Frost, who died 23rd November, 1849; and this would appear to be also the date of the last interment, and it will readily be imagined that after 160 years’ use many of the graves are unmarked by any stone.

I now turn to the history of the Huguenot settlement at Wandsworth. It was not entirely due to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, for there is evidence of a prior settlement, but it is only after that date that this colony appears to have been of any importance.

Aubrey, in his History of Surrey, when writing of Wandsworth, says:— “There is a Manufacture of Copperasse and Copper things. The Trade was kept as a Mystery among a few, most of them Dutch, some of which now live here.” He also says that there were brass pans made there, “but of Dutch, not French people.” This is of importance, for it distinguishes between the Dutch and French refugees who settled there; the Dutch being engaged in the pan-works, whilst the French were more generally employed in the hat-making industry.

It will be observed that Aubrey only noticed the Dutchmen of the pan factory, and as he says “the trade was kept as a mystery” it must have been in the hands of very few. His Perambulation was begun in 1673, and it may be assumed that if any number of refugees were settled here at that time, he would have noted the fact.

Doubtless a few were there as the parish registers testify, and if the statements in the copy of the epitaph of Nicolas Tonnet can be relied upon as correct, it would show that he came there about 1631. Two old rates are in existence, one dated 27th April 1630, “for and towards the new building of the steeple and repayring of their church,” and one in the year 1666, for “moneys alreadie disbursed for the poor visiters in Wandsworth,” but Tonnet’s name does not appear in either. The parish registers contain an entry of the burial of “Suzanna, daughter of George Tonnett” on the 2nd July 1666, so that it is quite possible Nicolas Tonnet was in Wandsworth at that time though not a householder.

The parish registers contain very numerous entries relating to strangers; in fact they are so numerous that I think it is worthy of consideration whether the Society may not deem it desirable to obtain the Vicar of Wandsworth’s permission to make a full transcript of the Registers. He has very courteously permitted me to have full access to them and to make extracts therefrom, but it is so difficult to say who is “a stranger” that it would be much more satisfactory to have a full transcript even if it were not possible to print them. Some of the names have anything but a foreign appearance, e.g., Chester Dunslow, Penn, and Scoreman are about the last one would have thought pertained to Dutchmen, and yet they are stated to be so in the registers.

The next question that arises is, who are these colonists? They include all ranks of society, rich and poor. An illustration may be taken from the epitaph of James Baudouin (No. 133). This gentleman built a house at Putney, known as Winchester House, occupied at the time of writing by Mr. Walter Rye, to whom Squire was indebted for several particulars.

Baudouin desired his body to be buried in the plainest manner that decency would permit, “before night, without flamboys, escutcheons, or hangings,” and instead distributed £100 to the poor of the French Protestant Refugees. He further gave legacies to the poor of the French Hospital (of which he was the first Deputy Governor named in the original Patent of the 24th July, 1718). He gave a legacy to his brother upon condition that he should come out of France, and pass the remainder of his days in England — his “conscience not allowing me to increase his income in a country of persecution and idolitary, seeing if I did it, it would be a

motive for him absolutely to fix himself there the more.”

This wish was not fulfilled, as two years later we find the will of Peter Baudouin, Knight of the Military Order of St. Louis, Brigadier of the King’s Armies, living at Paris, parish of St. Eustache, a Christian Catholic Apostolic and Roman, who gave all his property in England to his nephews James and Charles Molinier, and his niece, Mrs. Mary Molinier, the wife of David Montolieu, the Baron Saint Hippolite, one of the first Directors of the French Hospital.

Mary Molinier was the heiress and executrix of James Baudouin, and was the daughter of his sister. The rate books show that James Molinier was assessed in respect of his dwelling-house, coach-house, and stable at Putney Gutter, valued at £22 per annum, from 1734 to 1750. This house is still in existence and known as Molinier House.

Another resident in Wandsworth was Peter Paggen, whose grave, No. 80, is described as being formed of various costly marbles, none of which seem to have been able to successfully withstand the influences of the weather. He was the owner of, and probably built, the large mansion on Wandsworth East Hill, called the Manor House, and

probably descended from the Paggens mentioned in the Visitation of London, who came from “Neere Gulick in the Low Countries,” one of whom was a brewer in London in 1634.

It is stated that Voltaire resided for some time in Wandsworth as the guest of Sir Everard Fawkner. The names of Edward and Kenelm Fawkner occur in the rate books as carrying on the business of dyers there. The following extract from the Calendar of Domestic State Papers, although it does not relate to Wandsworth, may serve to throw some light upon the question as to why some foreign craftsmen chose Wandsworth for their place of residence.

Nothing I can say will give you a clearer picture of the class of men who thus brought their hands and their brains to this country, and the difficulties they met with on their arrival here.

It is quite possible that Wandsworth was selected as a convenient place where the hatters might carry on their trade out of reach of the various trade Guilds in London, although it would appear that the hat manufacture had been carried on in Wandsworth long before strangers thought of settling there.

A memorial of the Fullers to the Lord Mayor, in 1376, recites that “the hurers (makers of hures,— a shaggy fur cap), of the said city are wont to full their caps in the mills at Wandsworth . . . where the said fullers full their cloths,” and it prays “that the said hurers shall not be allowed from thence-

forth to full in the said mills, having regard that the said fullers cannot there full their cloths by reason that when the caps are mixed with their cloths in fulling, such caps crush and tear the cloths to the great damage and loss as well of the said fullers as of all the community.” [Riley’s Memorials of London, p. 401.]

The strangers were connected with other trades in Wandsworth besides making hats and brass pans, e.g., dyeing and calico printing. Lysons mentions a Mr. Barchard, a name very suggestive of foreign extraction, and Joseph and Priscilla Krull appear in the rate book as carrying on the business of dyers. In 1707 a Peter Dubison resided here, and on the 19th November 1715, a Peter Dubison obtained a patent for “a new peculiar way or method of printing, dyeing, or staining of callicoes in grain with colours more bright and lasting, and which shall bear washing and weather much better than any heretofore used in Europe, and that such callicoes shall equal, if not exceed in beauty and use, those stained in the Indies.”

In connection with this surname it is interesting to note how much the orthography of surnames depended upon the individual taste of the writer. This name was written by the parish officers, Dubisison in 1707; Debison in 1712; Debuson in 1718, and Duboson in 1722.

Again, Chatting (Tombstones Nos. 5 and 6), has been supposed to have become corrupted from Chataigne or Chatelaine. It first obtained the modern spelling in 1747; in 1728 the spelling was Shatteen; in 1723, Shattean; in 1722, Shattine; and in 1718, Shattin; and in 1712, what are apparently the same premises are described as being in the occupation of Sutton.

The time at my disposal will not permit me to go more fully into particulars relating to the various Huguenots settled here, but some notes of wills and administrations of the various persons buried in the old graveyard will be found in the appendix.

It would not be proper to close this paper without some allusion to the place of worship used by the strangers. I endeavoured to obtain some authentic information in regard to

the building which is admitted to have been used by them, but I found that the first deed held by the present possessors of the building which took its place was dated only in 1800. It, however, recited that in 1761 a lease for 61 years was granted by Thomas Brand, late of the Hoo, county of Hertford, to Humphrey Webb of Wandsworth, and it also bears a plan showing the arrangement of the sittings.

By the kindness of one of the Trustees of the present building I am permitted to use a woodcut which formed the frontispiece to a pamphlet entitled “Last Days Should Speak,” showing the appearance of the Chapel before it was rebuilt in 1882.

The French Chapel, Wandsworth, before its rebuilding in 1882. Woodcut frontispiece to the pamphlet “Last Days Should Speak.” (Click to enlarge.)

I was informed that when the old Chapel was pulled down in 1882, a vault was found beneath the flooring, which afforded very strong evidence that it had been used as a place of interment with the greatest possible disregard for the health of those who worshipped there. Concerning its previous history, M. le Baron Fernand de Schickler writes:— “It existed at least as early as 1687, and lasted till 1787, for we find in the Livre des Minutes du Comité Ecclesiastique, in 1787, ‘M. Carle pasteur de l’Eglise française de Wandsworth qui vient de se fermer expose les raisons qui l’ont determiné à en transporter le service à Londres même, dans l’espérance de conserver ce qui lui avait été remis pour céler depuis 1765. Le Comité; accorde la continuation de la subvention.’”

[M. Carle, pastor of the French Church of Wandsworth, which has just closed, sets out the reasons which have led him to transfer the services to London itself, in the hope of preserving what had been entrusted to him for safekeeping since 1765. The Committee agrees to the continuation of the subsidy.

[So the picture is clear: by 1787 the Wandsworth French congregation had dwindled to the point where the chapel closed, Carle moved the remaining services to London, and the Ecclesiastical Committee continued to pay him his stipend. A quietly melancholy end to a century of Huguenot worship in Wandsworth. ]

[Add notes and a reference to Dorian Gerhold's article on the French Church.]<
p. 240

The following extracts from MSS. in the Bodleian supply some information necessary about this Church.

The following extracts from MSS. in the Bodleian supply some information necessary about this Church.

The “List for the Distribution of Her Majestie’s Bounty” for 1703 contains the following ministers at Wandsworth ordained since the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes: La Chapelle (aged 30); La Roqueboyer (aged 38); and Tapin de Barhaye, Reader. A similar list for 1706 adds their Christian names, Paul and Jaques respectively.

In addition to the above, Baron de Schickler mentions: La Salle (Jean François), at Wandsworth 1687–93; Bossatran (Pierre), at Wandsworth in 1699; Henry in 1759; and Carle, 1765–1787.

Apparently there were two ministers at Wandsworth in 1731 and in 1733, for Claude Baudouin of Wandsworth bequeaths “to the two ministers of French Church of Wandsworth, £10 each,” and William Vignon (No. 127, Appx.) bequeaths “£5 apiece to the two ministers of the French Church at Wandsor aforesaid, who shall be ministers there at the time of my death.”

This paper is necessarily incomplete, as the whole of the facts relating to the persons forming this colony at Wandsworth can only be ascertained by patient and laborious research. It is, however, hoped that the notes here brought together may serve as the starting point of any enquiry as to any of the Huguenot settlers at Wandsworth or their descendants.